Odds and Ends

There's a bit of a new paradigm at work lately (departmental realignments, new responsibilities, longer hours) and it's starting to affect my life outside the workplace. I've been feeling really...disconnected in recent months. The economy has everyone on pins and needles and so I haven't dared to be seen surfing the net during work hours. It doesn't matter that I'm usually here quite late and fifteen minutes online will most certainly be made up later in the evening. Most of my time online is spent at home in the wee hours and, frankly, by then I'm not much in the mood. I have a huge backlog of emails to deal with. (I recently heard from a really good friend of Mike's...and mine...from college who just heard the news of his death and haven't had the time—or the heart—to respond yet.) And, worst of all, I don't think I've picked up a pencil to draw in two weeks. I've often referred to myself as a compulsive doodler (something my art teacher in high school called me) but lately...I got nuthin'. It's very disconcerting. Never in my life have I experienced this. There have been many times when I've hated what came out of my pencil and just wanted to give up. But I've never gone this long without the overwhelming urge to create something. Even just a head sketch on a post-it note.

Part of it is frustration at work. We're being expected to learn a lot of new software that I'm really excited about but we're not being given any training or even the time to learn it ourselves during work hours. Nobody has come out and said it but I assume they want us to stay after hours. Since Suze and I ride in together, on the occasions I don't have to work late, we usually run for our lives. And besides, there are so many other things I want (or need) to do on my own limited free time that the conflict is starting to drive me nuts. I think that, with all these demands on my time, I've gotten to the point where I don't want to face any of it and I'm just shutting down. Which is not good because now is the time I need to dig in my heels and start accomplishing as much as possible.

I keep hearing Mike in my head. Whenever I'd get like this and complain to him about it, he'd get frustrated with me and say, "You got a job? You got health benefits? And a retirement plan? Then what are you complaining about? Shut the *#@% up and do your job!" Then I'd realize he was right and laugh and take his advice. So I'll try that now.

A couple of bright spots. A new theater recently opened here in Richmond and they're trying something new. Since they're new, they installed digital projectors (something established theaters are reluctant to spend the money to do) and sound systems so the presentation is incredible. This is the theater at which we saw WATCHMEN. And, this past Sunday, THE MALTESE FALCON. I've always been a fairly big Bogie fan and FALCON and THE BIG SLEEP are my two favorites of his films. The Bow-Tie Cinema (as it's called) has something called "Movies and Mimosas" on Sunday mornings. As you can guess, mimosas are served in the lobby...no alcohol in the theaters...and then they show classic movies. This is my chance to see all the great old movies I've loved my whole life (like just about all of Hitchcock's films) but never got to see outside my living room. Not only that, but this sort of thing doesn't attract the element that ruins the movie-going experience for me. You know the type: people that don't want to see the movie but want to be seen at the movie, usually going to extreme measures to attract attention to themselves. None of that at M&M. Going to see FALCON with Suzanne and a theater full of people (It was a packed house!) who actually were there for the movie was nothing less than delightful. I hope they keep this going for a long time.

Also, Suzanne and I are nearing the end of our 10K training. I have to say that this year has been a bit of a waste for me. I haven't made any progress and have actually gotten in worse shape. Just walking six miles on Saturday laid me up for the rest of the weekend with aching hips and back. A bad cold and an endless series of back injuries really took their toll this year and I'm probably going to end up walking the race for the first time this year. That makes me sad but at least I'll get to hang with Suze this time. But one thing I have managed to keep up with is my weight training. I missed a couple of weeks because of the back problems but I've really made a point of keeping up with it. I feel like that's the one thing I can control these days. And though I'm not really in any better conditioning than I was in January, I'm a lot stronger. If I can keep my back healthy for a while, I may be able to accomplish something.

Okay, that's it for now. If you're a friend waiting to hear back from me, I'll do my best to do that this week. In the meantime, I'm going to make a deal with myself to not post until I have something to show. And hopefully that will be soon.

Later.

I Watch the Watchmen

I'm nursing a bad back and a recuperating wife so I'll keep this short. We had a huge tree limb fall in our back yard during the recent snow storm. (14 degrees one day, 80 the next. That's Richmond for ya.) It fell in the exact same place as another limb about three weeks ago, which I'd just cleared. Seems ground zero in our back yard is somewhere between the posts of our clothesline. While I managed to cut the last one up with a handsaw, this one required the chainsaw as it was about the size of a small tree. In the process, I managed to aggravate my already-sore back. Suze and I went to see WATCHMEN at the midnight show on Thursday night and we got there early. Four hours in a theater seat and my back was crying in protest. Follow that with three hours in a chair in the E.R. and, well...

Why the E.R.? Well, Suzanne had a...thing. I won't go into detail because it's kind of her business but it's nothing life-threatening and it happens every few years so we're used to it. She's perfectly healthy and happy. Suffice it to say I feel a little guilty because the midnight movie I dragged her to was probably a contributing factor. I'll know better next time.

Was it worth it? No, but it was pretty darned good. I hear a lot of people complaining that they followed the book too closely and people who aren't fans of the book won't like it. But you know what? If you aren't making the movie for fans of the book, who are you making it for? Yes, there are problems and yes, there are some things missing I would have liked to have seen included. But mostly these were minor tweaks that I completely understand the need for. The movie is already nearly 3 hours long and I understand that a lot of footage will be added in the DVD release anyway.

One of the minor changes relates to the story Rorschach tells his prison therapist. (If you've read the book, it's the scene with the dogs.) This scene was probably changed to avoid comparisons to a similar scene at the end of MAD MAX and it's not a big deal. What is a big deal is the ending. If you care, you've heard by now that there is no squid. I assure you, it doesn't matter. I was initially disappointed but after having some time to think about it, I think it's a better ending. (Oh, blasphemy!) It works in the context of the story and, I think, isn't as contrived or hard to swallow. And that's all I'll say about it so I don't ruin it for anyone.

If I was going to sum it up, I'd have to say that this is the movie comic fans have been waiting for. A movie that is much better and much closer to the source material than we had any right to expect. I've read the Sam Hamm script that was written for Terry Gilliam and THAT movie would really have pissed off the fans. This movie won't make the splash that the graphic novel did because that was lightning in a bottle. What it did for comics has already been done for superhero movies by BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT and, to a lesser extent, IRON MAN. It would have had to have been made ten or fifteen years ago. And I don't think they could have made this movie back then.

Anyway, I highly recommend you see this movie in the theater. It begs for that kind of presentation. Besides, I want it to make money so it validates the faith the studio had in making it. I want to see more movies like this. (But, please god, no sequels, prequels or spinoffs!) Do NOT wait for the DVD.

Unless you're my friend Paul, who actually lives in a theater.

From the Shameless Plug Department...(UPDATED)

**** UPDATE: Ken has informed me that Diamond has recently moved one of it's warehouses, wreaking havok with the delivery of some independent books, including (unfortunately) SUPERHUMAN RESOURCES. Ken and Justin made sure they had all the books "in the can" before soliciting and Ken has done a bang-up job of promoting the book. Unfortunately, Diamond has virtually undone all that. They have had the book for three weeks and still haven't delivered it to retailers. The first issue now won't hit stands until NEXT Wednesday. Diamond certainly aren't making any friends outside the big two lately, are they? Ken was joking that the second issue will probably hit the stands before the first issue. Hopefully that won't be the case. Sorry for any inconvenience and I hope you'll still pick it up when it eventually comes out.****


Though it’s scheduled to hit the stands today, Ken Marcus tells me that, due to a distribution glitch, SUPERHUMAN RESOURCES issue #1 may actually be arriving next week. In any case, keep your eyes peeled. Word on the street is that my LCS, Nostalgia Plus in the Shops at Willow Lawn, will have LOTS of copies when they come in. Some time soon, there’s even a signing with Ken (and maybe me) in the works. The series’ artist Justin Bleep isn’t local so I doubt he’ll be there. More details when I get them.

Did I mention my pinup got moved up from issue 4 to issue 1? So, by all that’s holy, pick up a copy of this issue.

Cover Me.

It's amazing how much the cover of a book will influence your reading experience.

I first read HUNTERS OF THE RED MOON by Marion Zimmer Bradley and her brother Paul Edwin Zimmer (who went erroneously uncredited on some editions of the book) about 25 years ago. Mike and I had branched out from reading comics to novels but our tastes had started to diverge. I'd been curious about the cover to CUJO for months and finally took the plunge, becoming an instant horror (and Stephen King) junkie. With Mom's help, I located and devoured King's entire output to that time. I quickly moved on to the likes of Joe Lansdale, John Skipp & Craig Spector, Michael Slade and Robert McCammon. Mike, on the other hand, was drawn to the Science Fiction/Fantasy novels put out by DAW Books. He read everything he could find by Michael Moorcock (especially the Elric of Melnibone books), John Jakes, C. J. Cherryh, Tanith Lee and dozens of others. He had an entire wall of novels he'd bought at a local used book store (Givens Books). And they weren't just for show. He read and adored every one of them, eventually branching out from DAW to blaze through everything he could find by J. R. R. Tolkien.

I couldn't really blame him. The covers of the books he was reading were enticing and often incredibly beautiful. They made me want to read the books even though the subject matter really didn't appeal to me. I'd managed to turn Mike on to the horror novels I was reading, especially King and McCammon, but I just couldn't get into his SF stuff. I tried several times to read the Elric books because of the brilliant covers but was too intimidated. My science fiction reading had been limited to quite a few Star Trek novels (ahhh, THE ENTROPY EFFECT). Finally, I guess Mike got tired of watching me blindly picking at his collection, trying to find something I liked and picked out something for me.

He handed me the book you see above and it was the beginning of a decades-long love affair. I saw the anthropomorphic crocodile and tiger on the cover and was hooked instantly. In fact, everything about the cover grabbed me. The fascinating characters, the ominous moon looming in the sky, the brilliant colors. (For years after this, I was drawn to books with purple on the cover only to find out that research has shown that books with purple on the cover sell better — go figure.) The red tunics looked like the uniforms of a superhero team, appealing to the comic book fan in me. And the cat-man looked like a werewolf, appealing to the horror nut I was becoming. It was such a successful cover that it wasn't until recently that I realized how wrong it was.

That first time, I tore through the book in no time. Couldn't put it down. The story was fairly simple. A man sailing on the ocean is abducted by slave-trading alien cat-people called Mekhars and is thrown in with a menagerie of diverse creatures including Aratak (the lizard-man), Rianna (the woman) and Dallith, a frail empath (not pictured.) They make a futile escape attempt and are sold, along with Cliff-Climber (one of the Mekhars injured in the escape) to the Hunters. The Hunters are a mysterious society that live only to stalk and kill the most formidable creatures in the galaxy. This time, it's our heroes. If it sounds like goofy, geeky fun, it is. But emotional and intellectual depth save it from being pure candy.

I've read the book over and over, pulling it off the shelf every few years when I want something comfortable. In fact, I'm reading it now for probably the sixth or seventh time, more than any other book I've read. And for the first time, I've noticed that the characters on the cover don't look anything like how they're described in the book. Each and every time I've read the book, in my mind's eye, Aratak was a rich green and looked much like you see him. Cliff-Climber looked like an overgrown brown tabby. Rianna had reddish-brown hair. And Dane, the main protagonist, wielded a scimitar-like sword. Reading it now, I've just realized that Aratak is described as squat and a dull gray. The Mekhars (including Cliff-Climber) are supposed to look like lions, mane and all. And Rianna is described as having blazing fire-red locks. Dane's sword, by the way, turns out to be a samurai's katana.

How did I miss this...six times? It may seem unimportant (and it is) but this is arguably my favorite book and I can't believe the cover influenced my mind's image of the characters so much that I had it wrong for 25 years. After all, when I pictured what Johnny Smith looked like in THE DEAD ZONE (another favorite), it wasn't anything like the guy on the cover.



Anyway, my intention this week was to redraw the cover with the characters depicted as the authors described them. But, as usual, work had other plans. I haven't been quite as busy this week but the bean counters are keeping a close eye on us so every minute has to be accounted for. Not that I goof off at work but it's best to be seen as indispensable. And next week promises to be, well, horrible. So all I've got to show is this character study of Aratak. I did a few sketches that didn't go anywhere and then hit on the idea that, as described, Aratak would probably have more in common with a komodo dragon than a crocodile. So that's how I drew him. I was pretty pleased with the result until a friend of mine saw it on my desk and said, "Hey cool! Is that a Gorn?"

Maybe some day, I'll get to do the cover recreation like I wanted.

Later.

Rom...again.

I’ve been practically living at my desk the last few weeks, enduring long nights and weekends and, while it’s extremely frustrating in that it keeps me from doing the things I’d rather be doing, it’s also very reassuring. Because, in a field that’s bleeding jobs like a hemophiliac, it’s very nice to be needed. At least that’s what I keep telling myself every time I hear the phrase “So, you around this weekend?” Every day, I hear news about another big company in Richmond closing its doors or laying off large numbers of people. Circuit City is probably the most high-profile example. It's getting really scary. Not only that, but I have several friends going through much more difficult situations than having to work too much. So enough whining.

I've been buying most of the magazines put out by Two Morrows. In fact, I spend more on magazines about comics than on comics themselves. Of all the great mags they put out, BACK ISSUE! is my favorite. It sort of took the place of COMIC BOOK ARTIST when that book went to (I believe) Top Shelf and went from a semi-monthly to semi-never schedule. Imagine my delight when I opened the latest issue of BACK ISSUE! to find a retrospective on one of my favorite characters of all time, second only to Nova, Rom: Spaceknight. I excitedly read the article and was thoroughly...disappointed. Sadly, the article was filled with some uncharacteristic proofreading problems (not that big a deal) and some glaring omissions (The writer heaped much love on the covers of Bill Sienkiewicz and Frank Miller but never once mentioned the sublime contributions of the great Michael Golden.) At one point, there was a mention of the debut of inkers Ian Akin and Brian Garvey (something I was very interested in) only to have the article skip (like a needle on a record) mid-paragraph to another subject entirely. All this could be forgiven except for the annoying tendency of some of the interviewees to pile onto ROM writer Bill Mantlo. Mantlo was one of my favorites growing up and since his accident years back (which prevents him from giving his side in interviews) it seems every time his name comes up in magazines or online, people find one way or another find something derogatory to say about him. In this article, Jim Shooter in particular seems to trip all over himself trying to claim credit for any and every aspect of the ROM book that made it a success. Even his compliments were backhanded. Perhaps it's a drawback to reading so much about the creation of the comics I loved as a kid but I really don't like to see someone whose work I loved being denigrated. I think I'm just going to stick my head in the sand on this one. Bill Mantlo's and Sal Buscema's names were in the credit box and that's enough for me. Those guys put out a great book that was ten times better than it had any right to be and I'm grateful.

This post's drawing was done in ten-minute spurts over about five days. I draw in my downtime at work and that has been in very short supply lately. In good times, nobody cares if you sketch while you wait for a render or for something to be proofread. In times like these, doodling away your potential billable time is not a good idea, career-wise. As much as I love Rom, his armor has always been hard to figure out. I have nothing but admiration for Sal Buscema and Michael Golden who could take such a rigid-looking character and make him look so graceful and interesting. Respect.

I'll try not to go so long between posts next time, just for my own sanity. (This drawing was really hard to complete because I've allowed myself to get rusty.) Unfortunately, I can't promise anything.

Later.

Miller Time!

Well, I was certainly serious about my resolutions but nobody told the folks I work for. Holy crap, last week was nuts. The previous week, I got in quite a bit of writing and lots of time at the gym. But this week...No time for writing or drawing. Certainly no time for reading or TV. I didn’t get anything done on the website and it was only by sheer will power and determination that I got in my three workouts. Suzanne and I had our first 10K training session on Saturday morning in 5-degree temperatures. I had no idea how out of shape I was and couldn’t even run a mile without stopping to catch my breath, which felt like ice cold razors in my throat. Three days later, I think I’ve caught a cold. Man, I hate this time of year.

Since I haven’t had any time to do anything, I thought I’d resort to my old stand-by of posting old artwork. The piece above is one of three drawings I did a couple years ago for some students at the Ad Center (Now called the Brand Center) which is part of VCU. It’s a highly-regarded post-graduate school for people interested in working in advertising. These students wanted to do a series of print ads using drawings with a “Frank Miller” vibe to them. They’d become enamored with the SIN CITY movie and had gotten hooked on Miller’s drawing style.

That’s one of the things that drives me crazy about doing freelance illustration. I’m always asked to draw like someone else. Sometimes it’s fun (as in this case) but most of the time it’s just irritating and the results are never satisfying. I was asked last week to do some storyboard illustration and, despite my crazy schedule, I was about to agree to it. Then the words, “...we’d like you to match this guy’s style...?” entered the conversation and I ran away, screaming.

This one, though, was kind of an interesting challenge and I was excited about the project. Unfortunately, though the clients were thrilled, this was the only piece out of the three that I was happy with. So I gave them a break on the price. I learned a lot about using negative space to define shpaes with this series and I was very happy to have done it. This assignment also has the distinction of being the first freelance work I was actually paid for doing. I’ve been stiffed more times than I can count and it was very satisfying to have someone happily and willingly hand over money for something I drew.

Okay, that’s it. Back to work. Hopefully, I’ll have something more interesting to post later this week.

Happy Inauguration Day, everybody! Good times lay ahead.

Resolutions

I'm not usually big on New Year's resolutions. Most people resolve to lose weight or save money on January 1st, probably because the new calendar makes them feel like they're getting a fresh start. But January 1 has always been just another day off for me. And I've been on one diet or another my entire adult life so that one would be pointless for me. But I have a few things I've been letting slide lately so I've decided to take the plunge and commit to a whopping three resolutions this year. I hearby resolve to:

1. Get in shape. This doesn't really mean lose weight though I hope that will be a side-effect. When Mike died, I lost my focus and though I was, at the time, in the best shape I'd been in since high school, I quickly backslid and my weight has slowly crept up to a place I'm uncomfortable with. Worse, I stopped going to the gym and lost any strength I'd built up. That has to change. But I feel pretty good about this one because I didn't wait for the new year to get started and I'm almost a month into my new commitment to getting in shape. The gym has been practically deserted and it's been great. Unfortunately, the "resolvers" will be back in force for at least a few months to come and I'll have to start waiting my turn on the weights again. Sigh. I already feel a lot stronger, though, and I'm starting to see a bit of a difference in my overall shape. Not much but enough to encourage me. With our 10 K training starting in less than a month, the weight should start to take care of itself soon.

2. Promote Mike's scholarship fund. I'm a little ashamed of myself for this one. Suze and I busted our butts getting it set up and did a couple of conventions but I've been coasting since then. An email conversation with PJ has my enthusiasm up again, though, and my short-term goals for the fund are now getting a dedicated website (including an online store) up and running this year along with putting together some sort of book with Mike's blog sketches and entries that we can sell to raise money for the fund. There are a lot of legalities to work out but PJ has me psyched so cross your fingers.

3. Start serious work on my book. This one's tougher and the first two on my list aren't going to make it any easier. Nor have the multitude of other obligations, distractions and just plain laziness that everyone on the planet deals with every day. But I have been "working" on the book in my head and have developed some supporting characters that have me very excited in a way that none of my other pet projects ever has before. All my other unfinished stories have been plot driven. This is more of a character piece. I have my "angle". I have my MacGuffin. I have my cast of characters and their interrelationships and motivations. I almost have an ending. All I have to do it write the damn thing out. So that's what I'm going to do.

I haven't aspired to a career in comics in many years but I do want to have something that's mine out there for people to read. Just once. For years and years I've "dabbled" with my stories because I thought I had all the time in the world to do something with it. But now, with Mike's passing, I feel like I'm living on borrowed time and that time is quickly running out. That's a fairly stupid attitude because I've had a complete physical and I'm supposedly fine. But I can't shake it and so now I'm in a hurry to do...something.

The plan is to put in at least one-to-three hours a week writing this story out in script form. Since I plan on drawing it myself, it doesn't have to be too formal. Hopefully, in a few months, I can have the entire miniseries written out and can see about drawing it. This will probably put a crimp in my time here (and on the xBox, sorry Leaf.) But it's very important to me. Let's see how I do.

Getting it published...that's a hurdle for another day.