Ace Hazzard

Here are some early sketches of Ace Hazzard, the lead character in the story. I wanted him to be big, but not overly cut and muscular. He couldn't look like a star. He's the guy they throw in the match to make the star look good. We finally settled on the design that you see on the main page and cover.

Jackie Dugan

Here are some early concept sketches of Jackie Dugan:

This is one of the earliest sketches. The character is based on real life pro wrestler Terry Funk and this one looked too much like Terry. But I do love the sadness in the eyes and it was a great springboard.

We started to play with the brow and getting him less "Funk-like" in appearance but this one proved to resemble a certain (albeit aged) super-hero. He is the best there is at what he does.

This is a nice combo of both the above and really started to give Jackie his look. Then it became the final version:

This is the version we're going with. I love how Jeff captured the sadness in the eyes and general world-wearyness in the character. The handlebar mustache into the mutton chops is a nice touch too and really gives him a definitive look. The detail will be flattened some to match the style of the comic, but this is the dude I had in mind when writing it.

Marisol Ruiz:

Marisol was tricky because she's in her mid thirties so you need to show some maturity without making her look "old". It's tough to convey on page as in drawing "a line is a line" and it can look harsh. She started looking almost "alien-esque" in the pic on the right.

I wanted Marisol to be more on the lines of a Carrie Ann Moss than a Selma Hayek. She's a small town doctor and, while very attractive, I didn't want her to be the cliche knockout.

A combo of the above and this version here is what we're going to go with. She's an athlete as well (that becomes important as the story progresses) and tries to downplay her looks. So the ponytail and casual dress will be important features of the character.

Pencils for Page Four

This is the big reveal of the story introduction. It was so important to the story to get that jaded, broken look and attitude across. Here he is, living out what he always thought was his dream and now he can't remember why he ever got into this in the first place.

The pencils here are much more detailed than the final colored product turned out. We wanted more of a Hellboy/Powers/Batman:The Animated Series style than a realistic one. Jeff's style really lends itself to that and it is easier to keep the character looks consistant from panel to panel. You can click on the thumbnail to see the full sized pencils.

The flashback characters

From time to time in the story (and in the opening), I flash back to Ace's youth. The whole theme of the book is really about this passion and love he had for pro wrestling and how he lost that and got burnt out and beaten down along the way. He has to rediscover that passion again and get back to that. So there will be a lot of parallels between what's going on now and what happened when he was a kid.

(c) 2005 John Keating/Jeff Schuetze