DeMatteis Day: Blue and Gold

In a conversation that might have precipitated this day in part, J.M. DeMatteis collaborator Mike Cavallaro and I were talking the other day about the immense impact Giffen and DeMatteis's Justice League had on me-- it remains, probably, my favorite run on any comic to this day.

I knew right away that I wanted to draw the characters who have come to embody that period of the League more than any others, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. Through the writing of DeMatteis and Giffen, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold evolved into the greatest best friend duo in comics. During the heyday of the JLI, the letter pages were always a twitter with rumors of a Blue and Gold spinoff series that never materialized. We finally, years later, finally kind of have it-- DeMatteis has been doing wonderful work on the ongoing Booster Gold series, costarring the currently deceased Blue Beetle.

Moonshadow: Ira

To a prince among men, JM DeMatteis. Thanks for sharing your imagination with us all these years.

J.M. DeMatteis day

Looking back it's really surprising how many DeMatteis titles are scattered throughout my formative years. The Dr.Strange Shamballa graphic novel, MOONSHADOW, and Brooklyn Dreams. One that always seems to drift back to me is The Last One, the story of Myrwann the immortal...

J.M.DeMatteis Day

"Moonshadow" by J.M.DeMatteis and Jon J. Muth was one of those comics that showed me what the form was capable of, and in turn made we want to do comics myself.
Many years later, I had been doing just that for a living, but it was a tough road and I was reaching a point where it seemed wiser to give up.
Right about then, I got an email from DeMatteis himself. He'd read my self-published work, and was writing to say how much he had enjoyed it.
Those few words made all the difference for me, and were just what I needed to keep going. That included the opportunity to develop "The Life And Times Of Savior 28" with J.M.D. himself, which we published last year through IDW Publishing.

Thanks, J.M., for many years of inspiration, and here's to many more!

- Mike

My sketch: SAVIOR 28, of course! [click image for larger view]

DeMatteis Day - Kraven on the MTA

Sat next to this dude on the subway this morning; sketched a quick portrait. He didn’t look too pleased and rumbled something about “knife” and “ribs,” but I got off the train before there was any trouble.

Seriously, I think Kraven’s Last Hunt is an extraordinary piece of comics storytelling. Mike Zeck’s artwork is incredible and it’s powered along by one of the most certain, unsettling and psychologically informed scripts ever published in the mainstream comics arena. Kudos and thanks to you Mr DeMatteis.

J.M.DeMatteis Day - My Favorite Martian

Arrrgh! I was just moments too late to be the first drawing of the Martian Manhunter today!

I loved Justice League under DeMatteis, Giffen & McGuire and my favourite character was the Martian Manhunter. Maybe it was because he was the one trying to hold it all together and the one who needed it the most. He has all these random powers that effectively let him vanish, but he doesn't do that, he wants to be seen for what he is...more or less. Maybe it's because he's an Alien and I've been an alien for most of my life. These guys made the Manhunter a rounded and profound character, DeMatteis most of all.

I also LOVED Kraven's Last Hunt. It takes some writing chops to make a character as kooky as Kraven into such an impressive and tragic threat.

Oh and DeMatteis' Captain America was great, then Savior 28, Abadazad and a great deal more. Thanks for all the great stories Marc.

J.M. DeMatteis

We are honoring the talented and all around nice guy J.M. DeMatteis
today at Drawbridge.If you don't know his work, just
google his name. He has a BIG resume.

I believe(Google didn't resolve this question for
me)J.M. created Vermin, and I have always had a strong
memory of the character's first appearance during DeMatteis'
run on Captain America waaaay back in the early eighties.

Thus, I give you, Vermin:

DeMatteis Day

For J. M. DeMatteis Day, I drew J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter in his natural state, inspired by the mini series of the same name that J.M. did with Mark Badger for DC Comics. Whatever results from their fantastic collaborations, it comes highly recommended (see Gargoyle and Greenberg the Vampire). I also threw in some Oreos (J'onzz' favorite) as a tip o' the hat to DeMatteis' run on Justice League, and some Dostoevsky (one of J.M.'s favorite).

--Fiffe