Kind words from the Collinsport Historical Society

The Collinsport Historical Society had some very kind things to say about say about some pages I did as a submission to Dynamite Entertainment for their ongoing Dark Shadows comic book series. You can read their blog here:

 

The Collinsport Historical Society

 

As I've stated in the past, I'd jump at the chance of doing an issue or twelve or a one-shot graphic novel of Dark Shadows for them ;-)

 



Wallace "Wally" Wood

Wally Wood was probably one of my favorite MAD artists. Although, he did so much more work than just MAD Magazine. I had first come across his work in a compilation called The Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics. This book was really my first introduction to many other classic comics and classic comic book artists. And Plastic Man.

And the page above from MAD Magazine's Superduperman was one of the stories in that compilation.

There were several things that attracted me to Wally Wood's art... other than the way he drew women since I was going through puberty at the time... one of which was his drawing style and the way he was able to mix the slightly more realistic style of the superhero comics with a very cartoony style. Years before Todd MacFarlane did it in the pages of Spider-Man. The other was the insane and almost obsessive way he would cram so many odd images and jokes into every panel. Even something as simple as constantly changing Superduperman's logo in every single panel.

Another favorite of mine was the work he did on a parody of Walt Kelly's Pogo. Apparently, Walt Kelly himself liked it and even did parodies of his own comic in MAD on occassion. Even in his attempts to make the characters look bizarre and different in this parody, Wood does an amazing job aping Kelly's style.

Wood had also done many penciling and inking jobs for the big boys Marvel and DC, doing work on titles such as Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Challangers of the Unknown, House of Mystery as well as artwork for TOPP's classic Mars Attacks trading cards and helping to create the Earth 2's version of Supergirl called Power Girl.

I have to confess, I never read any of Wood's more adult work like Sally Forth.

Sadly, Wood's later life was not the happiest having suffered bouts of inexplicable headaches and kidney failure due alcoholism. A stroke in 1978 caused him to lose eyesight in his right eye. Faced with declining health and career prospects he committed suicide by gunshot in 1981 at the age of 54.

I was thrilled recently to see that Batman: Brave and the Bold animated his immortal Batman parody Batboy and Rubin. The animation was a terrific homage to Wood's original.

At his height he was definitely up there with the greats. And if you're just getting started out in comics and comic books I definitely recommend you check out Wally Wood's work.

Fall Classes at the Worcester Art Museum

My Fall Classes at the Worcester Art Museum are only a mere month away. And this Fall I am offering a Cartooning Class for 8 to 10 year olds in the morning and 11 to 13 year olds in the afternoon.

And I will be doing all things cartoon in these classes. Cartooning, comic book art, comic strips, tradition animation... you name it and I'll probably be teaching it.

Click on the link below (the course titles are clickable links) to choose the class you wish your child, teen or tween to sign up for today:

ART OF CARTOON: 8-10 YEAR OLDS

Code	Begins	Ends	Meets	Fee
12FYDRW404	10/06/2012	12/01/2012	Saturday from 10:00 AM to 12 N, 8 Sessions	190.00

CARTOONING: 11-13 YEAR OLDS

Code	Begins	Ends	Meets	Fee
12FYDRW501	10/06/2012	12/01/2012	Saturday from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM, 8 Sessions	190.00

Batman (1943)

There is a misconception of the 1943 Batman movie serial starring Robert Lewis that it is terrible and the worst adaptation of Batman ever made.

 

This is actually false. That dubious honor belongs to the 1949 follow up serial Batman and Robin which starred Robert Lowery as the Caped Crusader.

 

Batman creator Bob Kane seems to misremember the films stating that the second serial was the better of the two and Lewis Wilson being out of shape in the role of Batman.

 

As a matter of fact it was Robert Lowery who was completely unsuitable in the role of Batman. Apparently, he was so out of shape that they actually had to give him oxygen between takes.

 

As a matter of fact, the 1943 serial is the only time on film or on television where the actor playing Robin the Boy Wonder is actually relatively close to the age the character was in the comic book. Douglas Croft was 16 when he played Robin.

 

Johnny Duncan was 26, Burt Ward was 19 and Chris O'Donnell was 25 when they played the character in their respective adaptations.

 

It's true the 1943 Batman has the dubious honor of being racist and very politically incorrect by today's standards with the key villain being Japanese stereotype. But you have to keep in mind when this film came out it was at the height of WWII and not too long after Pearl Harbor.

The film is very low budget. So don't expect to see mind-blowing special effects or acting of Shakespearean caliber. Heck! There's not even a Batmobile in the film. Then again, Batman doesn't actually have a "Batmobile" in his first comic book appearance.

But we forget that films weren't created to be realistic. They were created for people to escape reality. There was a great deal of bad stuff going on in the world at that time, so you'd save up your pennies and escape into the world of fantasy that Hollywood created.

It really has only been in the past few decades this push for gritty realism in both the subject matter of the movies as well as the special effects.

At that time the country was both getting out of  the Great Depression and there was a war going on across the pond. Films had to be made quickly. And as cheap as possible.

Movie serials satisfied both needs.

 

That aside, it may not be Christopher Nolan or even Tim Burton. But it's a fun watch. This is less the brooding Dark Knight style Batman but more of the swashbuckling action/adventure style version of the character.

 

Which is actually something I wouldn't mind seeing the character return to. Maybe not as low budget as the serials. But maybe something a little more of a James Bond with a cape and less of the tortured soul.

 

If you're a fan of Batman or a film history buff, I would definitely give this film a try. Despite the low budget and production flaws, you might find it to be a lot of fun to watch.

Happy Birthday Batman!!

 

Yesterday marked the 84th Birthday of Mr. Adam West.

 

Although Adam West is not the first person to don that famous cape and cowl. That honor goes to Lewis Wilson who portrayed Batman in the 1943 for Columbia. It goes without saying that West is the first actor to make a live action version of the character a success.

 

He's pretty much to Batman what Basil Rathbone is to Sherlock Holmes. You cannot think of the character without immediately connecting their names to it.

 

Although his campy Andy Warholesque take has drawn some ridicule from some fans who feel the character should always be dark and not played for laughs. I even heard one over-zealous fan at a convention refer to Adam West's portrayal as a travesty.

 

I do not agree with that outlook.

 

Personally, I enjoy Adam West's take on the Caped Crusader and I think there's a place for his Batman just as much as there's a place for either Michael Keaton or Christian Bale's take on the character.

 

Funny to think an television commercial for Nestle Quik is what won him the part.

 

 

 

Adam West has had many roles before and after Batman. In recent years, he's introduced himself to a new generation of fans as the eccentric Mayor West on the animated series Family Guy.

 

Happy Birthday Adam West!! Still my favorite Batman to date!!

Paul Loudon

I came across an artist based in Manchester England by the name of Paul Loudon (who also goes by the name Lantern Jaw) on the web. I really like the work he's doing on a proposed comic book called Bust-Up which features a team of female superheroes as pictured in the image above. His work on that reminds me of a cross between Dan Clowes, Darwyn Cooke with a touch of Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez from the Love and Rockets series.

But a great deal of his work is not in this particular style. But I think it's one that works really well for this project and I would definitely get my hands on a copy when he releases the series.

Check out his work on his website:

Paul Loudon

Dark Shadows Proposal for Dynamite

I just completed a few Dark Shadows sample pages for a submissions I'm preparing to send out to Dynamite Entertaiment.

Dynamite has a really great roster of titles and the cult classic gothic soap Dark Shadows is one of them. Although I am aware Dynamite's portrayal of Barnabas Collins is his much later incarnation which he is cured of his vampirism I'm just more fascinated by the dynamics of his earlier Dracula/Renfield redux relationship between himself and Willie Loomis.

And being a fan of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, I decided to render the pages in sepia tones.

PAGE ONE

Page Three

Sometimes the mind boggles...

I think any kid who has ever read comic books has fallen into the trap of the nefarious COMIC BOOK MAIL IN AD'S.

Even I have fallen victim. As a kid I had seen scissors based on Daffy Duck and Sylvester the Cat. Two of my favorite Looney Tune characters. So my Grandmother had sent away for some.

When they arrived, not only were they the most crappiest renderings of the characters but the scissors were completely useless to cut with. I think I gave myself blisters trying to cut something.

And I'm not alone. My buddy Andy Fish has mentioned on his own blog being duped by an ad for a life size Frankenstein's Monster. So imagine his horror thinking that this life sized version of Karloff's creature would be arriving in a crate, only to find it being delivered in a tube.

Instead of a larger than life replica, he had actually ordered a six foot tall poster of the monster. WITH A DOPEY GRIN!!

There are a lot of ads which make me just shake my head and think, "Did people actually fall for this??" The Polaris Nuclear Sub which two kids can ride in and the Sea Monkey's usually tops my list.

But sometimes I come across old ad's and I think to myself: "HOW DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS???" The ad above is one of them. Even though this ad was printed in the 1970's and the rules were a bit less stringent than they are now. Still!! This seems more suited for Playboy than the latest issue of Billy the Kid.

Especially if you consider who the target audience of most comics books back then. Young boys either just about to or had already hit puberty.

Then again I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by an ad like that in comic books. I'm reminded of Marvel's decision that it seemed like a great idea to "sex up" Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four's costume in the 1990's.

For those of you who were either very young or not born yet. This was a time in comic books when the most important accessory on a female superheroes costume was a painful looking wedgie.

But it still makes me shake my head that they were able to get away with selling what is technically a blow up doll!! I can't imagine a parent entering their son's room and finding the doll on the floor with her wig a mess, her clothing in disarray and Jr. sitting on his bed with a deer in the headlights look gripping the deflating doll saying: "This is not what you think."

Has anyone ever bought this? That's my question? If you have, please leave a post on this blog. You will not be laughed at since we've all bought something crappy out of a comic book at one time or another.

But given the history of false advertisement in these ads, I am very curious what these things actually looked like when you got them.

Batman Incorporated

About a year or so ago (I think) I commented in this blog about thinking it was only a matter of time before they brought Bruce Wayne back. Characters very rarely stay dead in the DC Universe. And besides the fact it was later revealed that Bruce Wayne wasn't dead but thrown back in time. Or something along those lines.

But that's besides the point.

Around the time Bruce Wayne was missing, dead or both I had made a comment how much I was actually enjoying the Dick Grayson Batman in Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin series and if they were to eventually bring Bruce Wayne back I thought they should do like they have done with the Flash and Green Lantern and have Grayson remain Batman. Sort of the way Wally West has remained the Flash even though Barry Allen has returned.

As much as I doubt either Grant Morrison or the head honcho's at DC Comics read my blog religiously I was very pleased with the return of Bruce Wayne, my off the cuff blog comment seems to be coming to fruition.

Both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are now becoming dual Batmen the same way Barry Allen and Wally West have become the Flash. I figured it would be Wayne Batman teaming up with Tim Drake's Red Robin while Grayson remained a team with Damian Wayne's Robin.

Speaking of which, are Oliver Queen and Conner Hawke sharing Green Arrow duties? Oh, never mind ;-)

However Grant Morrison seems to be going a step further than I would have imagined by having Bruce Wayne pretty much turn Batman into a global franchise called Batman Incorporated! And to show the distinction between the two Batmen, they have once again given Wayne's Batman costume a different look as seen below.

One comment online mentioned it seems very inspired by the costume design for the Arkham Asylum game. To me it seems like a slight cross between the Arkham costume with the Christian Bale costume from the movies. But slightly lighter. Which kind of gives it a very James Bond international adventurer sort of look.

One blogger pretty much described Bruce Wayne's Batman pretty much becoming a cross between Nick Fury and Tony Stark.

I imagine the messageboards will start buzzing with debates, arguments and all out hockey style cage match fisticuffs's between people who either love the new look and the whole idea of a global Batman police force.

Personally, I don't mind the idea.

I don't see myself keeping up with the series. But the idea intrigues me and I may sneak a peek at a few issues when I'm nosing around my local comic book shop from time to time.

Classes at WAM start NEXT WEEK!!!

My Fall classes as well as my December Workshops are up and running on the Worcester Art Museum website!! There is still plenty of time to sign up so if you have a talented kiddo that loves to draw cartoons or wants to create their own comic book, sign up today by clicking the link below:

Boston Comic Con in April 2010

I'm already making plans on attending Boston Comic Con in April!! This time I'm going in on a table with horror writer Bob Heske who has a couple really great comic book anthologies on the market. One of which includes a short story by the hardest working artist in the business as well as my Undercoverfish/Worcester Art Museum chum Andy Fish!!

Also, the guest list is through the roof this year which includes:

Jim Lee, MIKE MIGNOLA, ERIC POWELL, Gene Colan, Bill Sienkiewicz, STEVE RUDE, Skottie Young, Jim Starlin, Jim Mahfood, Joe Quiones, JH Williams III, Christopher Golden, Joe Jusko, MICHAEL GOLDEN, TOM SNIEGOSKI, Mark Chiarello, Norman Lee, CRAIG ROUSSEAU, Billy Tan, Ben Templesmith, Cameron Stewart and Pat Broderick

To check out their website, click on the banner above for directions to their larger location this year!! I hope to see you there in April!!

Today's the day!!

Well, I'm up at 6:14am. I've actually been up since 4:30am but I just got out of bed around 6am.

Well, today's the big day!! BOSTON COMIC CON!! If you happen to be in close proximity of the Back Bay Center in Boston, come on out and see me at Boston Comic Con from 10am till 5pm!!

It's always a lot of fun to check out all the artists as well as all the collectibles.

Boston Comic Con is approaching fast and furiously!!

I will be signing copies of Diary of the Black Widow as well as two of my latest releases The Spaghetti Strand Murder and The Adventures of Polly and Handgraves: A Sinister Aura.

I will also be selling signed prints of my work there as well.

So come on out for a day with comic books, comic book artists and people dressed like comic book characters!!

Still time left to bid on original artwork

Click on the image below to check out some of my E-Bay auctions:

Monsters Do Not Scare Me

Pages two and three for an upcoming story for Detour #12's Friends and Monsters issue. The title of the story is Monsters Do Not Scare Me and it's another silent movie style story.

I suppose if you would like to read into the story, it's could be seen as cutting the monsters in your own life down to size.

November Authors Showcase

If you happen to be in close proximity of Shrewsbury Street and Boston Turnpike Road, why stop on by and check myself and other local authors out at Borders Books and Music this afternoon at November Authors Showcase!!

Hosted By: Borders Books and Music
When: Friday Nov 28, 2008
at 1:00 PM
Where: Borders Books and Music
476 Boston Turnpike
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts 01545

I will be onhand to sign copies of Diary of the Black Widow and Confessions of a Peculiar Boy... And Other Stories.

The never-ending battle...

Well, this graphic novel is shaping up to be my longest project to date. Most of my past project have been in between the range of 8 to 80 pages total. For me, my first big milestone was reaching page 24 of Diary of the Black Widow. Before that, I had the difficulty of getting past page 10 of a project before I started to lose steam.

I just started laying out page 87 of my Sherlock Holmes graphic novel. Which officially makes it my longest graphic novel project to date.

I suppose it's a milestone of sorts. It means I've reached a point in my career as a professional artist where I can do a project and see it through to the very end. And it's not something I've done alone. I have a lot of people in my professional life that have helped me along in my own maturity. Of sorts.

But I'm very happy with the progress and growing impatient at the same time. I tend to get like that nearing the end of a project anyways. But this one is probably moreso because I took on a pretty tall task.

And I've had a lot of good things happening in my life of late that have really inspired me and have pushed me to do even better work.

The most important being the lovely Trina who constantly inspires me and is the inspiration for many of my loveliest characters. And no. She is not the Black Widow. But she is Stone-Toe Maiden for those of you out there who are curious about just who she was based on. And she has appeared in countless other illustrations. You have to look closely.

And believe me. My paltry scribblings DO NOT do her justice. I could never capture just how pretty she is in person.

So, for those of you who see me on a daily basis and are wondering "What is he so happy about" and why I have such a spring in my step.

Well, she's the reason!!

Well, it's nearly seven months to the day.

On May 9th 2008 I embarked on page on of my Sherlock Holmes graphic novel. Nearly seven months and 83 pages later the work continues.

However the project itself has been at least several years in the making in at least one form or another. But I was finally able to successfully start putting pen on bristol in May.

Not time to crack the champagne bottles and throw the confetti just yet. But it does feel pretty darn good to be this far into the project.

Boston Comic Con is THIS coming Sunday!!

The Boston Comic Con will be packed with even more tables this time around! Guest comic book artists! Toys and collectibles! New and old comic books! Superhero memorabilia!

For parking and transportation information, please visit the Back Bay Events Center website. Discounted validated parking is available at 100 Clarendon St.

For more information about the show, please e-mail us at bedrockcx@aol.com, or call 508-320-1440.

Better luck next year

Well, I started to come down with a cold so I wasn't able to do the entire 24 Hours of the Comic Book Challenge. I woke up Saturday morning after making sure to put myself to bed around 9:30pm. I don't think I've gone to bed at that time since... since... I can't remember. Nonetheless, it's been a while and I wanted to make sure I got plenty of rest before the challenge.

I didn't. I slept fitfully during the night. I even had a dream I was in a Laurel and Hardy film before I finally woke up in the morning.

But that morning I didn't feel rested at all. I knew something was up and I felt annoyed about it.

I had been looking forward to the challenge for some time now. I had thought about it for a couple years but I didn't have the courage to commit. Well, after much mental debate I finally did. I had signed up, got the supplies ready and I was ready to go.

And then the particularly evil cold that has been visiting several members of the Art Museum staff had finally decided to come along and pay me a visit.

I haven't had a cold since sometime in either late Winter or early Spring. So, I was probably overdue for one.

And being someone who becomes a complete and utter whiney wuss when I get a cold, I decided it would be best to bow out of the 24 Hour Challenge for a good night sleep.

But Andy talked me into doing at least a three hour challenge which consisted of three pages in three hours. So, I did it and I was able to get three pages in the can in less than three hours.

I'm still a little bit disappointed. I had been looking forward to the event and perhaps having a comic book story completed. But at least I was able to get a taste of what it is like. And I like it!!

All the comic art completed during the challenge will be on display at the Art Museum for the next couple of weeks. So, come on out and see what people have accomplished.

But the three hours definitely gave me a taste of the challenge (as well as a slice of buffalo chicken pizza at Blue Jeans) and I am looking forward to giving it another try next year.

Hopefully, I won't be visited by the plague next time.