NEW YEAR - Same Tom!!

More on my trip to New York City later, but for now I just want you guys to see Sue and me by the big Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.
Some nice tourist asked us to take their picture and they took ours.
But not our camera!!!
Later folks.

Tom

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!

Well, the trip to New York City was delayed by one week, so I'm in Virginia today and on my way to Scott Hanna's house. Monday we'll be meeting with a bunch of edtors at Marvel and Tuesday is our DC Comics day. I haven't been to New York for this kind of thing since 2003, but it seems fine. I'm not nervous. I know I can do this stuff.
So, we'll see what happens and I'll try to post some pictures from my trip as well when I get back next week.

Later.
Tom

Wow! Hello! New Art from Tom

Hi all. It was a hectic fall quarter (my fourth at SCAD), but it's over and I'm working on some new sample pages to be inked by Scott Hanna. We are going to make another push to get some mainstream work from Marvel or DC. I did the first five pages of issue 170 of ROBIN using a script that Chuck Dixon had sent me.
It's the first time I've had a chance to draw Batman or Robin in quite a long time and I must say I had a great time.
If all goes as planned, I'll be going into New York City with Scott sometime during the week of December 8 to 12.
Here's the first 5 pages - pages 2 and 3 are a double page spread:

Some Old Pencil Art

MUTANT X












Back in 2000 I became the penciler for MUTANT X and got to work again with Howard Mackie, my co-conspirator on SPIDER-MAN. I was generally enjoying the book and definitely enjoying the work, but two things were causing problems at the time. One: my mom had suffered a stroke in June of 2000. She was in the hospital for some time, but when she didn't die some people wondered why I was affected by it. Not my editor, Jason Liebig, but some others. Two: the atmosphere in comics at the time was highly charged because Marvel had fallen on hard financial times and everyone was seeing books get cancelled and artists losing their jobs. I had started drawing with a "got to please the editor" attitude first and foremost in my mind when I had always drawn with a "got to please myself" attitude first for all of my career before that.
In the end, my art suffered because of an atmosphere of fear.
No one can do well with that going on.
That said, here are four pages from issue 23 of MUTANT X. My figure work is good, but I'm skimping on backgrounds BIG TIME in an effort to save time. Not good.
I like the look of these overall. If you want, you can fill in the "X" areas with black as that was what the inker was supposed to do and you'll see that the pages would have worked fine as they are, but they should have and could have been so much better.
What do you guys think?

SEPTEMBER IS HERE!!!
Where did the year go?????

Yet another Memoriam! Too many. Too soon.

IN MEMORIAM - ROBBIE GREENBERGER

BOB GREENBERGER gave me my first work for a major comics company. In late 1987 Bob gave me the new title STARMAN to work on as it's penciler. I designed the character sheets and started to work on the pencils for the actual monthly comic in early 1988 around the time that his son, Robbie, was born.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Robbie and now I never will. Robbie Greenberger was taken from this world, in what I say was, way too early. God had different plans for him.

Leukemia took him from us. Let these types of things remind us all to live our lives to the fullest ... and to fully appreciate friends, family and loved ones while they're here.

I hope that Bob, his wife Deb and their daughter, Katie, can find some peace over this some day. They say time heals. I hope so.

I owe Bob so much and I think that his son and family deserve some kind thoughts, love and energy from us all. I know that I am trying to send that.

Please go to Bob's site and read his touching blog detailing the entire arc of his son's heroic and valiant struggle against leukemia. Bob's website can be found at www.bobgreenberger.com.

I would also encourage any of you that can to register with the bone marrow registry at the address that Bob mentions on his website. bone marrow registry

Please help others.

Here's a note from the family: "In lieu of flowers, contributions in Robbie’s memory may be made to The Tommy Fund for Childhood Cancer, Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, 20 York Street, New Haven, CT 06511-3202 (www.tommyfund.org). For information or to offer an online condolence please visit www.spearmillerfuneralhome.com"

God bless you all. God bless you, Robbie.

New ART Pages

Here's four more pages of layouts from CHICKASAW ADVENTURES #5 that I did back in 2006. I did a very tight job on these. The layouts were done at a 6" x 9" size and I blow them up, print them out on bristol board in blue and then ink directly over the layouts instead of doing finished pencils. I try to add more black placement on the finished art than I do here, but I do try to make sure I place a good bit of the black areas even on my layouts.

I even try to work out my perspective (when I have a background that needs more than a horizon line) at this size so that the vanishing points aren't too far out for the page.

Take care.

Tom

More TOM-Foolery!!

Hey! Guess who this manly young man is?

I know, I'm getting to be a pain with all these pictures and stuff. I'm just having fun looking at some stuff from the past.

If you guessed Tom Lyle, you'd be mostly right. I was still "Tommy" at that point ... but don't call me that now. Only my mom could call me that and get away with it.

This is from about the second grade.

I'll put some Tom Lyle art up in a day or two.

Later, Gator!!

GEEK TIME!!

I was so flattered and thrilled to see a young man dressed as the SCARLET SPIDER at last weekend's HEROES CON. I was the designer of that costume and I must admit it's really fun to see someone take the time to make and wear a costume of a character that you designed.

His name was Thomas (as is my full, real name) and he was nice enough to provide a link to the photo that his friends took of us together. I'm attaching it.

As you can see, I'm not in costume. I'm not quite in shape for it right now. But I have started jogging again since my father's death. So, hopefully I'll be more svelt by next year's con.

Thanks, Thomas. I'm really geeking out on this.

Tom

REAL Heroes Con Photos and INFO

Hi all-
First off, let me say that I'm overwhelmed by Matt Wieringo's scholarship in his brother's name that is to be awarded to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) where I am currently teaching. For all the info, you can read about it at Newsarama.

His brother, Mike passed away very prematurely and this will add to Mike's already voluminous legacy in such a positive manner. I thank everyone at HEROES CON (Todd Dezago and company) who was helping to raise money for the scholarhship. Some very deserving students will be helped a great deal by this effort.

Now, for photos from the show. That second one up there scares me. I've always been accused by my wife of being a mouth breather ... this confirms it.
;-)

In the first photo, featured prominently is Diana (Shazzbaa) Bennett. She was at last year's con and this was her second Heroes Con. She and all the other student volunteers (that's Andrew Greenstone sitting down) were a huge help. We couldn't have done it without them.

Btw, these photos are from famous SCAD Professor and new Sequential Department Chair, David Duncan. Go see more photos and info on David's site Gobnobble.

We'll be at HEROES CON next year as well. COME AND SEE US!!!

HEROES CON REPORT

HEROES CON 2008 was in Charlotte, NC this last weekend. SCAD had a huge presence and it was fun. SCAD professors and one grad student conducted 7 workshops on varying topics around
Sequential Art and they all went well. Of course, yours truly went with his normal skill set and his workshop was on "Superhero Anatomy".

I want to thank all the teachers and students who helped. They were all great.

I have no pictures ... yet. I hope to have some soon. For now, you'll have to settle for this picture from last year's Heroes Con.

The summer quarter at SCAD starts today, so I'll be busy despite being tired as heck from the convention and the drive home.

Thinking about the Past!

Well ...
guess who this little, precious wonder is!

If you guessed a future teacher at SCAD, then you are so genius.

This is little Tom Lyle at about age 2 with his Easter Basket full of fun stuff. I love this picture because I'm smiling so big. I was a shy kid except in front of a camera. What a ham!

I used to like to act out the songs from commerials on TV from back then. You'd have thought I'd become an actor, but ... no, I had to become a comic artist.

Spider-Man never knew I was coming.

Dad's funeral is tomorrow. I'll be teaching summer school starting on the 23rd. I will also be in Charlotte the weekend right before school starts for the Heroes Con. Come and see me.

I'm kind of not posting much art, am I? I'll start back with some soon.
See ya.

Henry Durham Lyle, Sr. 1914-2008

HENRY DURHAM LYLE, SR - My DAD!!

My dad passed away today at about 11:00 am this morning. He was 94 years old. I remember the good and the bad things, but I'll tell you ... that man did pretty good raising three wildly divergent and different boys.

I've always been intrigued by the changes in life and society that my dad saw in his life. I mean, movies, airplanes and cars were very new when he was born.

The photo to the right is one of my mom and dad from Christmas of 1955. I would have been 2 years old. My brother Larry would have been 5 and Sandy would have been 8. What a dress, eh?

Anyway, I got to be with dad over the weekend and on Monday for his last really lucid days. I really appreciate that I was able to be there for that.

My dad was sent back to his home in Williston, Florida by Hospice, so he got to die in the home that he lived with my mom in at the end of her life as well. I think that being there made him happier. He was definitely ready to go to the Lord. I know that he missed mom tremendously. They were married for 67 years after all.


The photo to the left is from the summer of 1959 - July to be exact. I was 5. My brother Sandy is behind me - he is 11. My brother Larry is in the back - he is 8. That's my Daddio in those neat-o plaid slippers on the back steps of the house on Oak Street in Jacksonville. 2910 Oak Street to be exact ... again.

Larry has been gone for 13 years now. He died of AIDS in 1994.

Sandy is still here and strong as a horse. It's down to me and him now. I want to acknowledge that my brother was at the bedside for both my mother and my father's passing. I'm glad that they were not alone.

I was getting ready to go back to Florida tomorrow to be with dad, but ... at least I was able to say all my goodbyes on Monday.

I was lucky to have both of my parents for so long. It's just really odd trying to get used to the idea that the Lyle, family of 5, is now down to 2.

Say a brief prayer for every parent and thanks to all for your support.

Coming Soon!!

Well, here I am with some more art - a con sketch from last year's HEROES CON - and no more news about my dad.

Dad is deteriorating rapidly and will probably move up to heaven within a day or two.

I am learning to deal with changes and no parents. Kind of weird, I must say.

My brother and I are not that close, but I do know that I want to have a relationship with him. However, the graphic novel story that I want to do involves both of us, family stuff, and personal stuff for me and I think he may not like what I do with it.

My wife, Sue, says to "write fearlessly" and to not worry about reactions from family or friends.

I will try to remember that.

Summer school starts June 23rd and I am teaching four classes again this year. I need the money and I like how easy the classes are with 8 or less students in each class.

Everyone be good and keep plugging. More tomorrow or Friday. I'll be away from home from Friday on with no access to the internet, so I won't be able to post for awhile after the next couple of day.

Best-
Tom

Promises, PROMISES!!!

All right!
I'm back.
I'm alive.
I will post more often.
I will post art AND pictures.
I will not be a bum.

But ... just to fill you in:
It appears that life marches on.
I have just come back from two days in Jacksonville, Florida where my dad is (or was) living. He went into the hospital on May 29th and is now headed back to his house in Williston, Florida where he and my mom lived for 10 years to be under Hospice care. He is going to die and soon and I will have lost both parents in 6 months. That said, I've had them for a long time. My dad is 94. He regaled us with lots of stories this weekend ... and he had some life confessions. He, however, is fully ready to move on to the afterlife and be with my mom and brother in heaven ... and that's okay.

I'll be fine. I'm sad, but okay. I'm in Savannah until later this week, then I'm driving back down to FL to see my dad before he goes.

On a positive note:
I'll be at HEROES CON in June as a SCAD representative.
Come by and see me there.

The art posted is two pages of my tight roughs from CHICKASAW ADVENTURES #5. That's how tight I work. The originals are 6" x 9" for the actual art area. Small, but proportional to the final page. More to come.

Take care.

Tom

Still Alive!!

Hey all-
To those of you asking about commissions ... I'm not currently doing them. By the summer I may have time. I'm trying to get finished with a huge job before I take on anything.

Sorry to have been so long between posts. I've been really busy with school - teaching at SCAD!

I'm taking on 5 classes for Spring quarter, so I'll likely be fairly unavailable again.

I haven't heard a thing from Marvel or DC in quite a while, so I'm pursuing other options. If they call, terrific. If they don't, life goes on and I can quite enjoy it.

I appreciate all the support since my Mom died in November. I've found out about a friend who has died two years ago (we lost contact with each other) and so I keep getting reminded of my mortality. Darn it.

My health is good. My wife, Sue, is doing great. Savannah is fine. SCAD is terrific. I'll post some new artwork soon.

In the meantime, here's a header I created for one of the Drawing classes I teach. Fun, huh?

See you all soon.

Tom