Hot in the valley!

I left the office for a bite and I noticed a ribbon of smoke south of Burbank. I thought that there must be a fire near Universal City and I was right. Nothing I could do so I went to lunch. It was on the drive back that felt the effects of an intense and thankfully, short lived wildfire. Falling ashes, a strange haze and the smell of burning leaves!

Not a good feeling, but like I said, It was short lived.

Uncle Ben...The Bossman

I caught this article at the NYTimes website. I like that the company is changing a formerly racist stereotype and putting him in a true position of respect and power.

Another Western Cover

As excellent as this cover is, I think I like the lettering best. "Bite the desert dust --and die"? How do you read that and not buy the book? And at 20 cents, It's quite a bargain!

Western Cover

This is not really a cover from a Western comic. It's from an issue of MARVEL FANFARE! Alan Weiss drew this cover and I am waiting for that retrospective book about his life and work. His brush work is the some of the best I've ever seen and his characters are strong and brawny! I forget what issue number this book is, but the art looks better in black and white.

Khan Sketches

I drew a book for Moonstone Comics called KHAN. It was a sword and sorcery style book witten by Tom DeFalco. I drew the first issue and penciled the second before they cancelled the book! So here I am with 23 pages of un-inked pencil pages. I don't mind the wasted effort, just the wasted time. Maybe I'll have the book inked and it may see print. Until then, here is a sketch.

New Gallery

I went to a gallery opening on the West side of Los Angeles last night. It's a big, beautiful, U shaped space with a back patio. The space was great, and the art was excellent! The wildest part of the night was it's location. The gallery was across the street from the Mar Vista Bowling alley. I used to bowl there every Wednesday some years ago, and the neighborhood has really improved.

After the gallery show I had a drink at another new attraction on Venice Blvd., Club Good Hurt. They feature unsigned bands on the weekend. Cool! The bartender girls dress in dopey nurse outfits and they can't make a decent martini. Bummer.

Ad Agency

About two weeks ago a got a cold-call from an Ad Agency I won't name. The woman left a message about finding my work on the internet and wanted to know about my availability. She saw some art I did a year or so ago and kept some samples around. Neat!
She called about my availability, but I'm kinda busy these days. I did two spec frames from a script she sent just to show her that I would like to work with her in the future. I can't tell you what the product is, you'll have to use your imagination!

Costume Design

Congrats to me! I am working on a Star Trek Story for TOKYOPOP. I won't tell you the story, but it does involve a beautiful space princess! No shock there! I'm looking forward to drawing the story, so I am getting some character designs together.

I have to create the Princess. I'm not a fashion designer, so I think it's a cross between a Prom Queen and a Paegent Contestant. I don't want to put some crown on her, but a headdress would be appropriate. Oh, I don't know. Opinions are welcome!

Drawing of the day!

This is a frame from the Jersey Boys show. I haven't seen the show lately so I don't know when it pops up.

More Dollar Comics

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am buying some old comics at my local shop. Some guy sold his collection and The shop is selling most of them for a dollar a piece. This is is a bonanza for me because most of the books are from the Eighties and the unknown collectors buying habits were similar to my own.

The early eighties were a very furtile time for Independent books! There were more than one distributor and the direct market could give you exposure. I remember in High School, hearing about a new comic called the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was such a big deal, but I thought the art was heinous. I shouldn't talk. My art back then was just as bad. Anyway, The book was a direct market smash and it inspired all kinds of artists and publishers.

This image is of a book called The Survivors printed in 1983. It looks like it was created by just one guy in a studio and printed as a labor of love! I can relate! It was published by Steve Woron out of Connecticut, and I wonder what happened to him. Is he in the business or gone on to another field? If you are out there Steve W., know that you have a fan. Independent publishers rule!

Help!

I checked my TokyoPop blog and I saw this stat! Please someone visit it so I can get rid of this profile viewed number!

Star Trek

I did some Star Trek samples for a job. It's the drawing of the day!

Morgan Freeman

I found this snapshot in a magazine. I wonder if J. Aniston has seen this coaster.

Final Salute

Okay. Captain America is dead. I doubt the Simon and Kirby creation will disappear forever, The character has always changed with the political climate. He was at times a commie-basher, a nomad without a country and a weapon against terror. The problem I have with the news of his death is the dopey storyline that brought him there.

I have been reading the current Captain America series since issue one. The stories have been very good and well drawn, but I gave up on the book when the Civil War storyline started. If you don't know it, the Civil War plot is about having persons with superpowers register with the government. Some Heroes are for it and some are against it. Nice enough idea, but I knew things were heading south when Spider-Man registered and disclosed his secret identity.

The whole Civil War storyline saddens me because it seems like the inmates are running the asylum at Marvel right now. No one seems to be protecting the characters for future readers and the writers have more power than they should. I read a NYTimes articlethat had a quote the publisher Dan Buckley. He said "Sometimes stories just take you places" Maybe he's right. But killing Captain America takes me somewhere I don't want to go.

How do they get out of this one?

I want to read more about this before I comment. So please stay tuned.

Sketch of the day!

And what is the sketch of the day?

Dollar Comics

I stopped by my local comic shop and theyv'e had a bunch of new back issues. About a dozen new long boxes in new bags and for sale for a dollar. The manager told me that they bought someones private collection. The shop pulled the rare books and put the others out there priced to sell. I love reading comics. I noticed that this guys collection looked a lot like mine! I wonder when I might let go of my collection.

Editorial in 1990

I spotted this Bullpen Bulletins from 1990. Dwayne McDuffie leaves Marvel and Tom Brevoort takes his place. Tom used to be Marc McLaurens assistant! I think I was at VALIANT at the time so I missed the shuffle. It was always interesting to see the Editorial cards shuffling back then. I remember dating a girl who started as a secretary at Marvel, and when she got an assistant Editor job, she kept her secretary salary. It was more than the normal assistant starting pay and it caused a commotion. I wonder how Marcus remembers it.

Allen's Page

My friend and fellow blogger Allen Gladfelter posted a blog last week, Feb 17th. He's working on a comicbook and he had an issue with a page he was working on. He drew the page, but he thought he could have done better. He put it out there for public comment and I think he was brave to do that.

I think Allen is an excellent artist! He constantly works on improving his art and I can relate. Take a look at his blog Click Here As for critiquing his page, I did a few sketches. In the early days of my blog, I used to comment on other peoples art. What an ego! But this is not some mean dress-down of his art, just a response to his blog.

1-I changed the camera angle. The Hero looks in the window, and is surprised by a guard! I put the guard inbetween Hero and window. The hand touches the window showing interest.

2-Turn the head of the guard. Allens' page lacks close-ups and if there is any dialogue, you should have at least one head shot. Also, I show The Hero reacting in the BG.

3-The guard has a weapon and he is about to use it! I put the gun in the foreground. The Hero reaches out at the reader/camera.

4-I sketched 2 ideas for the fourth panel, 2 camera angles. The Hero gets his hands on the Guards throat and takes the weapon in the same move. The guard is supposed to hit the ground, and I address that in the next panel.

5-I put the camera on the ground to show the knocked out guard and the victorious Hero. The low-angle shows the Hero dominating the frame. Other guards enter the scene and it looks like they don't have a chance.

It's up to the artist to decide lighting and everything else. So there is my two-cents and I hope I was able to help.