HEROES OF THE BEAST!

...Tough as nails and hellbent for leather. I wonder what present-day character in the WS Universe she may have inspired...

...I don't want to give too much away about Midnight Rider, but I will say she was fun to design, even with the difficulty involved in finding reference for her motorcycle.We round out our exclusive look at the heroes of Number of the Beast tomorrow with the debut of Johnny Ray-Gun!



Update 4/08/08


... Engine Joe's best pal next to Tumbleweed. Mago is the Paladins' resident spellcaster. He didn't sell his soul for magical power... he rented it out.

... Mago was the most difficult character to design out of the bunch we're highlighting. There are so many magical characters in comics that everything's been done before. I finally settled on his look because I happened to be re-reading Scorpio Rose by Steve Englehart & Marshall Rogers and this inspired the idea of a sort of Romanian/Eastern European vibe. I know "mago" is an Italian word, but I think the look still suits the character.Come back to Newsarama on Monday for a look at the seventh hero, the Midnight Rider!

Update 4/04/08

...The Thrush's teen partner-in-crimefighting, still learning the ropes.

...Falconette is Robin to The Thrush's Batman, basically--a younger, spunkier winged wonder. I designed Thrush first, and just went with the same basic bird helmet look for Falconette.

Next up… the mysterious Mago!



Update 4/03/08

...Winged fury. She's not the first Thrush.

... The Thrush was one of those characters that I saw in my head while reading the script and was somehow able to quickly get her down on paper exactly as I visualized her. She was the third character I designed, right after Engine Joe and Aeronaut, and with her design I felt like I was on to something, really getting the retro feel.

Stay Tuned – tomorrow si the debut of Thrush’s sidekick, the Falconette!

Update 4/02/01

...Before there was HEMI, there was Engine Joe. He's the guy you call when you need a little roadside assistance.

...This guy was my favorite Number of the Beast character the instant I read his first appearance in the script. Engine Joe is supposed to look as if he's made from converted car parts, so I gathered up a bunch of 1950's Edsel reference photos and came up with what you see. He's very difficult to draw, but he's still the highlight of the book for me.


update 4/01/08

... The most solid, stand-up hero in the Paladins. He's the guy you want at your back in a big fight, mainly because he's virtually indestructible.

...Black Anvil is a super cool 70's style hero, but instead of giving him an iron afro as Scott suggested in the proposal, I went with a hairstyle that reinforced the anvil theme.

Come back tomorrow as we introduce you to Engine Joe!


Update 3/31/08

In the ashes of Revelations comes the forgotten heroes of the WildStorm Universe. It breaks wide open with the upcoming eight issue miniseries Number of the Beast. Written by Scott Beatty and illustrated by Chris Sprouse, the series follows a hereto unknown group of heroes known as the Paladins, who were an unrevealed until now.

The first issue of Number of the Beast hits shelves on April 9th.

...Aero-Nut and Jet-Jerk in just a few pages. You'd have to be arrogant and self-assured to strap a mini fighter jet to your back for a little solo-flying.

...He thinks he's cool, funny, and irresistible to the lady-superheroes, but he's just a type-A jerk! Design-wise, he was one of the harder characters to nail down, since there are already a few rocket-pack powered guys out there and I didn't want to make him too terribly similar to any of them. In the end, We settled on a sort of old-fashioned US Navy pilot flight helmet and flight suit look.

Ooooo thats Sprousey goodness!Newsarama is showing a series of stetches with commentary by creators Scott Beatty and Chris sprouse. Stay tuned on Monday for Day 2, and the hero known as the Black Anvil.

For more Sprousey goodness and NOTB pics check out his Blog!

http://www.sprousenet.blogspot.com/