Spider-Cat! by Janet and Ethan Lee (8)

This is a terrific submission from Janet Lee, artist of the upcoming series, “Return of the Dapper Men” with Jim McCann at Archaia. She and her eight-year old son, Ethan, created the next member of the Spider Family … SPIDER-CAT! Complete with song! Check out Janet’s Web site here.

Here are her notes:

Here’s Spider Cat, as dictated to me by Ethan Lee. He now has a nemesis, so there may be more coming.

So:
Concept: Ethan Lee (age 8)
Pencilling, Inking, coloring, lettering: Janet Lee

And our song:
Spider Cat, Spider Cat,
Does whatever a Spider Cat can,
Got no webs, he has claws,
Why’s he do it? Just because!
Look out! Here comes the Spider Cat!

In addition to drawing, Grace and Cate came up with their own version of the Spider-Cat song:

And, then there’s this …

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American Sp-Idol! by Grace (6)

Gracie went with an extra drawing tonight … and wanted to think about what it would be like it Spider-Man was a pop singer. I love it.

Flying Purple People Eater! by Jessica Saunders (7)

Okay…so this is brilliant …

Lita & Venus! by Erin (23) and Maddy (15)

Black Widow! by Grace (6) & Dad

Cate wanted to take a break tonight, but Grace and I are getting ready for “Iron Man 2.” In interest of full disclosure, we took 7 minutes.

P.S. Our buddy, Kelly Thompson, regularly blogs about how much or how little the Black Widow’s costume is unzipped. I decided to be chaste, but open it up a little to be able to draw the cool zipper collar. Hope you approve, KT.

Serena and Serenity! by Erin (23) and Maddy (16)

The ladies are still

Poison Ivy! by Jessica Saunders (7)

She goes it alone again and rocks out a member of Bat-Man’s rogues gallery. Nice work, Jessica!

Swarm and Insect Queen

I don’t know what got into Cate tonight, but she definitely had bugs on the brain. She picked Swarm — a character I loved since “Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends” — but, but decided it was too hard. So, she turned to a VERY obscure DC character — The Insect Queen, a super identity of Superboy’s pal, Lana Lang.

Wasp & Scarlet Witch! by Stephanie Buscema

Okay … so this one was exciting. Another artist from Marvel’s Girl Comics, Stephanie Buscema, was kind enough to take time to draw with Grace and Cate … and just look at the result. Those pics of Wasp and Scarlet Witch are terrific. Take a long look at them and see how, in just five minutes, Stephanie both added her own style and brought out the true personality of these time-honored characters. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the result of countless hours or practice.

To see more of Stephanie’s artwork, please visit her web site — http://www.stephaniebuscema.com/

Stephanie is a tremendous illustrator whose star is truly on the rise. And, she is related to Marvel Comics royalty. Her grandfather is legendary Marvel artist, John Buscema, co-author of my personal bible for comic art How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. Whether you are 5 or 55 and want to form a solid foundation for comic art (or art in general), buy this book and read it cover to cover.

Thanks, Stephanie, for your time and for exciting Grace especially to do some strong work of her own.

Cate wasn’t quite up for a double-header. (Umm … no pun intended.)

Sailor Moon! by Erin (23) and Maddy Wahl (15)

Erin and Maddy added a splash of vibrant color to the first of several Manga drawings they sent in. Great stuff!

Catwoman! by Jessica Saunders (7)

Tonight, she flies solo … but Jessica did a tremendous job with this drawing of Catwoman!

Ace, The Bat Hound! by Chris and Laura Samnee

Chris Samnee has long been a favorite artist of mine. But, after the girls and I met he and his wife, Laura, over Twitter and then in person at the C2E2 convention … they are among our favorite people, too. One of the things that has amazed me since launching 5MM with Grace and Cate is how generous professional artists have been with their time. Chris was genuinely delighted to meet the girls and get art from them … and then he and Laura agreed to draw with us.

In addition to his main blog (here), Chris draws daily sketches for Laura, which she posts on her awsome Lunchnotes blog. After seeing a lunchnote she drew a few weeks ago … well, we had to have her draw with us. And, draw they did, creating two incredible sketches of Bat-Man’s faithful pooch, Ace … the Bat-Hound!

So here’s how to go from here. 1) Love the art. 2) Go to Chris’ blog and Lunchnotes. 3) Subscribe to Chris’ newly announces all-ages Thor series at Marvel. ‘Nuff said.

(P.S. Special thanks to Grandpa Miner for his contribution!)

The Master Chief! by The Wahl Family

Continuing to prove that the family that sketches together stays together, the Wahl family’s productivity and ability to engage more and more family members in 5MM is impressive. Now, the girls and I don’t play HALO, but I’m led to believe the Master Chief is a tough hombre. And, he certainly looks it here.

Bat-Man! by Devin (8) & Uncle Alex

A first posting from the Ortiz family … and it’s a nice, brooding duo of sketches of the World’s Greatest Detective, the imposing Bat-Man!

Harley Quinn! by Jessica (7) and Uncle Jerry

We continue to be impressed by the artistic stylings of young Jessica Saunders, a classmate of Grace’s. And, this sketch of the Joker’s madcap girlfriend, Harley Quinn, is no exception. Awesome stuff. Keep it up.

Iron Man! by Jason (4) & Uncle Jerry

The Saunders family is back! And, this time with their beloved Uncle Jerry riding shotgun. Here’s a great sketch duo of Iron Man’s classic scarlet and gold armor.

Venus! by Grace (6) and Dad

This one’s been floating around on a drive since last Sunday. When we woke up and got ready for C2E2 in Chicago last week, Grace got out “Girl Comics” #1 and was enchanted by the Venus (the goddess of love) story by artist, Stephanie Buscema. Stephanie’s Web site is here: http://www.stephaniebuscema.com/

And, she drew what I think is one of her best yet. Once she heard Venus’ power is to make people fall in love with her … she was on it with gobs of gusto. While Stephanie drew the original blonde version, Grace and I chose the modern redhead version … in honor of Grace’s mommy.

Galactus! by Cate (5) and Dad

After a long week at school, the girls were bushed tonight … so they took the night off.

Never fear, though. We have some art on standby for the nights were even 5 minutes of sketching feels a bit too long. And, oh, what a sketch. The hungriest dude in the universe … GALACTUS!

The Shining Knight! by Grace and Dad

Cate and I drew Sir Justin, the Shining Knight, several weeks ago … and Grace wanted to join in … um … several weeks ago.

Catwoman! by Kelly Thompson

We’ve been blessed with many friends here at 5 Minute Marvels … but, hands down, our bestest bud is blogger and writer, Kelly Thompson of 1979 Semi-Finalist. She championed our little blog from “jump” and has helped with so many wonderful suggestions that shaped the 5MM of today. She likes to draw. And, we like to draw with her. Check out her site here … you’re just in time for my favorite feature of hers: Her three-sentence solicit breakdowns.

Tonight! It’s Selina Kyle, the Catwoman! The girls had a ball tonight. I chose to go old school  … again.

Ninjas! by George (10) & Maddy Wahl (16)

To truly appreciate this submission, you have to read Maddy’s description:

“It was George’s turn to pick and he picked Ninjas.  We all love ninjas, but I was in more of a samurai mood (because of my brand new samurai socks.) so I stuck samurai socks on my ninja, who otherwise is COMPLETELY invisible in the shadow of the building.  George’s ninja is actually himself, just to up the awesome another step.  I’m sorry for my hideous email, this is why we usually have Erin, so stuff makes sense.”

Wonder Woman! by Katie Cook

This morning started by opening an e-mail to find a gorgeous drawing of Wonder Woman by the mega talented illustrator, Katie Cook! What a perfect way to start the day! Please do yourself a favor … click on the image to see it nice and large and take a look at how Katie built this image.

The girls and I met Katie at C2E2 this Sunday, and she could not have been nicer. I have to say, as a father, when someone takes time to not only talk to and be nice to your kids and then draws with them … well, that person is aces in your book. Great things are happening for Katie right now. And, I have a feeling it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out her work and her Web site: http://www.KatieCanDraw.com THANKS, KATIE!

Visit http://www.KatieCanDraw.com

The girls recently drew Wonder Woman, so we opted to do Wonder Girl. Cate and Grace had fun. I learned the painful lesson of 5 minutes. I loved my drawing until I was done and saw that poor Donna Troy seems to have been hit by the Ultra-Humanity’s brain bulging beam. Her forehead is HUGE! But, five minutes is five minutes. I had to leave it alone and post it. 🙂

Iron Fist by Jen Richards

Bloggin’ is a funny business. You start out trying to “say” something. And, you end up doing a lot of listening. Two of the best buddies I’ve made on the Interweb are Jen Richards (AKA @Mockingnerd) and her beau, Kevin Spooner (AKA @TheBlackSwan). Jen is really, really cool and the #1 Mockingbird fan on the planet. And, she a hell of an artist. Check out her drawings at http://themockingnerd.wordpress.com/

And, now … THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST

And, the girls were inspired to do this …

And, one to grow on …

The Bat-Man! by Maddy (16), Miranda (15), Jessica (14) & Erin (23)

Another terrific entry from the intrepid Wahl family. Here’s a note from Maddy about this submission.

“[Tonight, we brought] some new people, our other cousins, Miranda(15) and Jessica(14) along with regulars Me(16) and Erin(23).  We actually had to have an epic game of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock (see Big Bang Theory for rules) to decide who would get to choose the character, the actual choosers were between Miranda and Jessica, but Erin and I played anyway, just because we love serial killers (it’s a long story, but there’s really no other way I can explain it.).  Miranda won out and we ended up drawing post-Dark Knight Batman(Pre-Dark Knight Batman was Jessica’s pick).  I actually colored mine a little, but their scanner scanned it black and white.  Oh well.  Miranda and Jessica had never actually  drawn Batman to my knowledge, (I’m not sure why they picked him) but I thought they did quite well (he looks very broody and no one had to draw his nose(his nose is very, very important).”

C2E2 Was a Blast!

Miner girls (including Mom) and I happened to be up in Chicago this weekend visiting “Granny O.” Meanwhile … a killer comic book convention was going on downtown. We snuck off for a few hours to introduce Grace and Cate to their first convention and to meet some of the artists with whom they’ve drawn or whose characters they love. What we didn’t expect was the reception we’d get. It was awesome. Everyone was so nice to the girls… and they were so excited. The biggest thrill was when the girls were able to give their art to the creators who’ve supported them.

To learn that people we respect know and love our little blog was a real treat. Here are some highlights!

The girls and I with Jim McCann, writer of "Hawkeye & Mockingbird" and "Return of the Dapper Men."

... with "Return of the Dapper Men" artist, Janet Lee!

... with "Thor, The Mighty Avenger" artist, Chris Samnee!

... with "Mouse Giard" creator, David Petersen.

... with Marvel's "Girl Comics" editor, Lauren Sankovitch!

... with StarWars.com artist, Katie Cook.

... with "Magic Trixie" creator, Jill Thompson!

 The girls gave a lot of their art away, but Colleen Coover was a last-minute addition to the show, so they took a gander at “Girl Comics” #1 Saturday morning and created some fresh art from one of their biggest supporters …

... with illustrator and "Girl Comics" contributor, Colleen Coover!

Wonder Woman! by Grace (6) & Dad (Tim Miner)

Today,we flew to Chicago to see Grace and Cate’s great-grandmother and tomorrow … we’re swinging by the C2E2 comic convention downtown. The girls are looking forward to meeting lots of the artists and writers who have been part of 5MM … so we should have some fun photos up Monday.

In the meantime, here’s the venerable Diana Price by Gracie and me!

dhdhdhdh

Bandit! by Cate (5), Grace (6) & Tim Miner

Under the direction of Chris Samnee, the boys over at Comic TWART are drawing the characters of Jonny Quest this week. Well, naturally, the ladies and I wanted to draw Jonny’s dog, Bandit, (Grace decided to draw Sumggler, Bandit’s brown-furred cousin 😉 )

I cheated, took another 7 minutes and took down the whole JQ Crew. Enjoy.

Zombies! by Maddy (16), Nick (13), Erin (23) and Georgie

More 5MM greatness from the Wahl family (Wow! Maddy whipped out 5 minute watercolor!!!!) and sage advice from George:

A word to the wise to the zombies (by George the awesome vampire and zombie slaying gun-slinging space cowboy saver of shoes from vicious puppies rock star ninja of doom) — Do NOT eat your own brains. I don’t care how hungry you are DON’T EAT THEM!

Norman Osborn! by Erin (23), Maddy (16) & George (10)

I can already tell the Wahl family are going to be favorite contributors on this site. They bring a lot of fun and whimsy to their art.

The Flash & The Joker! by Sam (4 1/2) & Pete White

More good stuff from Sam and Pete. I love the Joker’s shock of green hair and the frenetic quality of Pete’s drawing suits the Flash.

And, it came with a great note:

Wow! Sam and I both got a real kick out of seeing our drawing up on your blog. He made me reload it over and over. Today, he wanted to make a new drawing, and after carefully examining all of the other drawings on your blog, he decided that I would draw Flash, and he would draw the Joker, but that we had to do it in color this time. Because he is right-handed and I am a lefty, we are able to draw on the same sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper at the same time, and have stuck faithfully to the 5 minute time limit. Thanks again for the great
site, and for the fun new activity for me to do with my son.

A Grace Miner Classic: Spider-Man Ballet!

I am out of town tonight, so I wasn’t able to draw with the girls in person and scan the art. But, I do have this little gem to share … a drawing of Spider-Man as a dancer Grace drew about four months ago while Cate was in ballet class.

Namor! by George (10), Erin (23), Mom & Maddy Wahl (16)

This one was a real treat for me … and I for you, too. Four sketches of Marvel’s Namor the Sub-Mariner … a character who, along with the Human Torch, established the modern Marvel universe. There is a lot to love in this offering from the Wahl family … from George’s playful “Speedo” on Namor’s trunks to Sue Storm on the Fish-O-Vision in Erin’s to the power of Mom’s and, let’s face it, the fantastic composition and talent Maddy used. And, from what I can tell from her e-mail, Maddy was the instigator of this sketch session … and her passion shows. Methinks we have not heard the last of the talented Ms. Wahl.

Wow. Seriously. What can I say.  THIS is why we started 5 Minute Marvels. Thanks, Maddy. It was a privilege to put this up. Don’t be a stranger! PEOPLE, PLEASE TREAT YOURSELF & CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO EXPAND IT!

Chip & Dale (and … um … Cate) by Cate (5), Grace (6) & Tim Miner

The Chipmunk love (wow, that sounded wrong) continues with this ode to Disney’s Chip & Dale (pre-Rescue Rangers). The girls went all-out on this one with Grace taking a bit more time to render both chipmunks and Cate … in a Van Gogh moment … inserting a self-portrait below Chip.

Brittany the Chipette! by Cate (5), Grace (6) & Tim Miner

Yes, the insanity that is “Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakwel” has invaded our home and this blog. We are seeking a 12-step program. I promise.

Atom Eve! by Ryan Cody

One of the sites that inspired the creation of 5 Minute Marvels was Daily Sketchjam!, a fantastic blog featuring daily work by Ryan Cody and several others. We have admired Ryan’s work for a long time and had a ball drawing Atom Eve!, a heroine from the Invincible series by Robert Kirkman. Artists say, “Draw every day.” And, Ryan lives his artistic life that way to be sure. To learn more about Ryan and his art, here’s an interview I conducted with him at my other blog.

Enjoy Ryan’s blog below, and visit Daily Sketchjam and his personal blog, 75 Super Comics, to see more of his work!

Wonder Woman! by Amelie (6), Isabella (6) & Lillie (8) & John Howard

Wow! It’s not just one Wonder Woman … by three! Oh, I’m talking about the three young ladies who rocked out these incredible renderings of Diana of Themyscira. Congrats to their dad, John Howard, for raising three budding artists.

You may not know John, but if you follow comics and comic book movies, I’m willing to bet you’ll remember the buzz he created a few years back when he created a poster of Megan Fox as Wonder Woman. Check out his site here – www.wonder-who.com

Astro Boy & Big Spike! by Sam (4 1/2) & Pete White

Everybody give a hearty, “Howdy” to Sam and Pete White who make their 5MM debut with this awesome pic of Astro Boy attacking an original bad guy that Sam has dubbed, “Big Spike.” Awesome. And, check out Pete’s blog, http://pedrobot.wordpress.com/

Aquaman by Matthew (5) & Matt McGloin

Another entry from our favorite “Matts” — Matthew and Matt McGloin. And, when you’re done checking out the majest of his highness of the seven seas, Aquaman, head over to Matt’s site, Cosmic Book News!

Iron Man! by Damon (8) & Adam Koford

Tonight, we received a surprise submission by Damon Koford and his father, Adam — AKA Ape Lad. Adam is an gifted cartoonist I have followed on the Web for many years … and I suspect you have, too. Adam is a fantastic example of someone who combines skill, technology and tenacity to make themselves a success. And, from Damon’s art below, it’s easy to see he’s a chip off the old block.

Adam has cranked out an impressive library of daily work with his Laugh-Out-Loud Cats strips for many years. The strip combines the nostalgia of Krazy Kat with modern, pop culture references to brilliant effect. I am most impressed at how fresh Adam has kept it. Okay … now look at the drawing below and then head over to Adam’s Hobotopia blog to check out the Cats yourself.

Batwoman! by Cate (5), Grace (6) & Dad

Inspired by Kelly Thompson’s piece on the end of Greg Rucka’s run on Batwoman and the Batwoman request over at Project: Rooftop, I decided to go for Batwoman when it was my night to pick  — to some “interesting” results that may help some of you out there.

Cate went right to work on her piece. Knocked it out and moved on. Grace got stuck on Batwoman’s mask … and went through draft after draft. She was really frustrated. Despite my (repeated) suggestions we take a night off … she drew through tears. Finally, I got out a light box to help her out with a little tracing. She got it done, but after much consternation and many more than 5 minutes. But, she was happy with the result.

When it was over and she’d calmed down, we talked about the fact that 5 Minute Marvels was supposed to be about spending time together and having fun. And, it is. If it ain’t … pencils down.