FINAL FOUR!

Ram It, Critics!

For a school whose alumni include David Baldacci, Stephen “Flounder” Furst, the band GWAR, Dr. “Patch” Adams, Mark Waid and, my personal favorite, Mike Wieringo...(not to mention having the distinction of being where I first met the lovely Suzanne)...VCU sure didn’t get any respect from the pundits when they were named an “at large” pick for the NCAA tournament this year. And this, even after they caught national attention when they knocked Duke out of the tourney back in 2007. It was called, and I quote, “the worst decision” the committee had ever made. People were shaking their heads and laughing. Well, who’s laughing now, suckas? For the first time in VCU history, we’re heading to the Sweet Sixteen, facing Florida State next Friday. If the Florida State coaches are smart, they won’t write us off as a chip shot. VCU has been wiping the floor with their opponents with their “Chaos Defense”, full-court press, spectacular three-pointers and mind-boggling free throw percentage. And nobody seems to know just what to do with my new hero, Joey Rodriguez. At 5’10”, he still manages to be everywhere on the court at once, powers unstoppably to the basket only to unselfishly pass the ball to a teammate who scores and gets in the faces of much larger guys, throwing off their shots. Is there not a place in the NBA for someone with this much heart and skill?

At least ESPN had the good sense to apologize:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/2011/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=6242035

Oh, and by the way...with the University of Richmond also shocking the NCAA, the little bitty city I live in now represents 12.5% of the Sweet Sixteen. As Charles Barkley put it, the city of Richmond now has as many teams in the Sweet Sixteen as the Big East Conference. There’s a real possibility that VCU and UofR could face each other in the next round. This town would explode.

Wow. It’s good to be a Ram.

Luke Cage

I never knew what to make of Luke Cage when I was a kid. I loved the iconic look of him, courtesy of John Romita, all primary colors and buccaneer boots. But the villains he fought were so off-the-wall outrageous (Black Mariah???) and, like Thor, the way he talked was so foreign to me that Cage might has well have been from Krypton. I grew up in rural Virginia and our house was nearly a mile from the nearest paved road. The African American kids I knew in school and played football with never once, to my knowledge, referred to anyone as a "jive turkey" or "sucka." So, whenever I opened a Luke Cage comic, I was like..."What the hell is this supposed to be?" It was like watching a French film without subtitles.

But there must have been something there because the book lasted nearly 50 issues before it merged with IRON FIST (itself only reaching, what...15 issues on its own?) And it was nice to see Marvel producing a book about an African American hero who didn't have the word "Black" in his name. (Even as a kid that was glaring and I remember wondering if anyone found it insulting.) But then they went and made him an escaped convict. Sigh.

Romita's Cage design is so eye-catching, though, that I've been wanting to do a sketch of him for a long time. I mentioned that to Christian while we were at one of our occasional Drink 'n' Draws at Legend last week. He promptly loaned me Brian Azzarello's MAX CAGE miniseries. While I appreciated the loaner and loved Richard Corben's typically beautiful artwork and Azzarello's clever reworking of the FISTFUL OF DOLLARS plot, the character of Cage left me cold. It seems to be a recurring theme with Marvel's MAX line that they take a popular character, strip away anything "comicbooky" (ie. costumes and selfless heroism) and give them a shattered psyche. Throw in R-rated dialogue and graphic sex and you got y'self a MAX book. It was a good read but it sure wasn't Luke Cage. Gone was the yellow flair-collared shirt, wrist and head bands and chain-belt. This time, Cage's "costume" was a puffy vest, jeans and ever-present headphones. And there were f-bombs and n-words aplenty. Ugh. I get that this is a sort of "Elseworlds" Cage but...no, thanks.

Anyway, I hope you like the drawing. I loved doing it. And it went really fast. For me, anyway. I really miss this version of Luke Cage. I can see why Marvel has felt the need to redesign him but this look will always be Cage to me. I think it may be fun to try redesigning his costume for a modern audience and seeing if I can retain the feel of Romita's design in the process. Something to think about.

Later.

Daring Myself

Well, here it is. Two weeks in the making (in two-to-five minute bursts). My perspective is a little wonky but, in my defense, I really only had room for the paper on my new desk and not much room for even the smallest of rulers. Still, it is a poor craftsman that blames his tools so I’ll own it.

I tried to throw a few curves at myself this time. Often, I get frustrated and resort to straight-on shots of my subject. This time, I "dared" myself to do something a little bit different. Not much but just out of my comfort zone. Wormseye view. Underlighting. Heavy backgrounds. It’s not my best drawing but I’m happy that I did it. I’d actually tried several passes at a different character in a much different setting then gave up and, for some reason, felt the need to draw Daredevil. Gotta run with the inspirations when they come. Because they don’t come often.

I hope you like the drawing. That’s all I’ve got time for. I am getting KILLED at work this month.

Later.

Um...yeah, I didn't draw this.

Recently, NEWSARAMA ran a series of articles about the history of C. C. Beck’s Captain Marvel character. I noticed it because they used a blog sketch of the good Captain that Mike had posted on his site years ago. To tell ya the truth, it gave me a little bit of a thrill. I love seeing Mike’s work pop up from time to time and they had some nice things to say about Mike. Several installments in, they posted another drawing I’d never seen before that appeared to be inked by the great Jerry Ordway. But there was something familiar about the face so I clicked on it and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was another Mike drawing! I clicked the “like” button and thanked NEWSARAMA for posting the drawing.

Well, that started a long Facebook thread with Mike's friends about a wonderful drawing that Alex Ross whipped up of Mike lamenting his (sort of) famous decision to not draw an offered Captain Marvel series for DC at the time. (I vaguely remember Mike telling me he’d turned it down and that some folks were not very happy with him for doing so. But that was the extent of my recollection. Sometimes, folks mistakenly think that I'm an authority on Mike's career. I wish I was but we were living 100 miles apart for years and I only knew what he told me. Often, I would see covers he'd drawn on the stands and was as surprised as any other fan.) I mentioned that I remembered seeing the drawing shortly after Mike’s passing but that I couldn’t remember who’d shown it to me. Someone pointed out that it was not the kind of thing Mike would give away and asked if I’d checked in his art stash.

So I dove in to the artwork that we had stored away and there it was. I’d obviously realized what it was because I'd taken the time to put it in a protective sleeve. But, as I told everyone on the thread, I was in a different frame of mind back then so I hope I can be forgiven for forgetting about the drawing.

I love this drawing. Mr. Ross so perfectly captured Mike’s likeness and an eyewitness told me that he did it purely from memory. I’ve watermarked it because I have no way of contacting Mr. Ross and asking permission to post it. I hope he doesn’t mind. (Mr. Ross, if you see this and want me to take it down, just let me know.)

I’ve only met Alex Ross one time. Mike introduced us waaaaay back when MARVELS had first come out. It was at Heroes Con and I think it was Mike’s first Heroes as a pro. (I've had a rough week. Can someone do the math for me?) But I was so excited to see Mike and there was so much going on that, though I was gaga for MARVELS, the name didn’t quite sink in. I shook Mr. Ross’ hand and I didn’t exactly ignore him but, admittedly, I wasn’t very friendly. I only had eyes for my bro. Later, I saw Mr. Ross and Kurt Busiek together in the hotel bar. As I walked past the small table where they were seated, I noticed Ross was sketching on a pad. I may be misremembering but I believe it was some concept art for ASTRO CITY. But I recognized the art style immediately and slapped my forehead. “THAT Alex Ross! Crap!”

Okay, that's all I've got. Hopefully, I’ll post again soon with some of my OWN artwork. I’ve got a sketch in the works that’s going pretty well but my new work environment is really not conducive to frequent drawing.

Later.

Slam Evil!

I really didn’t want to start off my first post in about two weeks with sadness but the news of Dwayne McDuffie’s passing really has me down. I don’t want to pretend that I knew the man or that he was something special in my life. That would be a lie. But he did make some damn fine cartoons and was, by all accounts, a hell of a fine man to know. I’ve read several interviews with him and he impressed me as an intelligent, thoughtful and talented guy. I find myself wishing that I had had the opportunity to meet him and tell him how much I enjoyed his work. That reminds me an awful lot of the sentiments I heard after Mike died. It seems to me that the comics industry has been losing a lot of really talented, really nice folks the last few years and losing them young. Mr. McDuffie was only 49 years old. The unfairness of that is staggering. And it’s a loss the comics industry can ill afford. There are some really nice remembrances on Newsarama (Tom Breevort’s almost made me cry) and Peter David said some really nice things about him on his blog. I can imagine what his family is going through right now and my thoughts and good wishes go out to them.
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We’ve moved into our new space at work. It’s...not horrible. I can’t lie and say I wouldn’t prefer my old spot with three walls and a window. But the current situation is workable. Though there’s zero privacy, folks are seeming to be respectful of each other’s space and that includes keeping their voices down. It’s like study-time at the library. Oh, well. As I’ve said, they can put me wherever they want, as long as the checks find me.

I’d tried to rush out a drawing before I moved out and, as a result, it came out pretty disappointing. It was a full-color marker drawing of my latest obsession, The Phantom. For someone with such a simple costume, it’s nearly impossible for me to get a feel for him. I was torn between trying for the classic Sy Barry look and going with something more...”me.” The result was about 40 sheets of balled up paper in the recycling bin. I finally finished the full-color drawing after stinking up the agency with marker fumes and shook my head. Then, once we moved, I stopped worrying about it and started drawing and you can see the result above. I kind of like it.

Recently, the 1996 Billy Zane film came out on Blu-ray and I snatched it up. Suzanne and I were probably the only two people who loved the movie when it was released. I was disappointed that the marketing department at Paramount at the time had pumped up the magenta in stills of the suit for some reason. That’s probably what kept people out of the seats. Because it’s a hell of a fun movie. It was written by the late Jeffery Boam, one of my favorite screenwriters and, though the film has it’s problems, it’s so much fun that I find myself smiling every time I watch it.

The reason for that is Billy Zane. I’m not sure why people have such a problem with the guy. He’s been good in everything I’ve seen him in and in this film especially. He famously pumped iron for a solid year to win the part without the help of a padded suit (Lookin’ at you Michael Keaton!) and completely inhabits the role. No brooding dark knights here. Zane’s Ghost Who Walks is a grinning, unselfconscious boy scout having the time of his life. His aw shucks attitude is completely without irony and he’s a joy to watch. The film has built a cult following over the years and I suspect in this case “cult” is code for “gay.” Because, I’m straight as an arrow but lets face it, Billy Zane makes the purple tights work. The costume designer did a great job translating the suit into the “real” world, really only sacrificing the blue-and-black striped trunks. Those trunks look great in the comics but I imagine they’re rather inexplicable if you think about them too hard. The result was still a little shocking but Zane really looks great in the suit and never once behaves as if he’s not doing a serious movie. In fact, everyone in the film seems to be taking the material seriously. Well, almost everyone. I don’t think Treat Williams got the memo. He camps it up like he’s in the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.

I remember at the time Suze and I had been picking up the cheap Phantom skull rings at the 7-Elevens (I think) and I was just skinny enough that they fit. Suze would wait until a quiet moment when I least expected it and then stick her fist inches from my face and exclaim, “SLAM EVIL!” It was a ridiculous tagline that appears nowhere in the film but she would crack me up every time she did it. We had so much fun with those rings. Ah, back when we were so easily amused.

Before the movie came out, my only exposure to The Phantom was Mike’s collection of Charlton PHANTOM comics when we were kids. They were drawn by Jim Aparo and, after that, the great Don Newton. (Newton’s painted covers were SPECTACULAR.) The character has such an appealing, iconic look that the more outlandish aspects of his costume are easily overlooked. And his story and concept are so...neat. I can’t believe there hasn’t been more done with him outside the comic strip. No offense to Moonstone, but The Ghost Who Walks is an A-list character that deserves much broader exposure.

Since re-watching the film on Blu-ray, David Newman’s beautiful, underrated original score has been on heavy rotation on my iTunes. Like I said, it’s my latest obsession. If you’ve never seen the film, give it a try. And, if you don’t like it, I fear we may be cross.

Thanos

I had so much fun drawing Darkseid the other day, I thought I’d share some love for his Marvel counterpart, Thanos. I don’t know for sure if Jim Starlin was inspired by Kirby’s creation when he birthed this big bruiser but there are some similarities.

I think I’ve mentioned Mike’s love of all of Starlin’s work back in the Seventies. And how he used to practically trace Starlin’s work in the WARLOCK and CAPTAIN MARVEL series in his developing years. When we were dealing with Mike’s massive comic book collection back in ‘07, his Starlin CAPTAIN MARVELs were some of the very few books I kept that Mike didn’t work on. I already had my own copies but these were special books.

It took a while for Mike’s love of Starlin’s stuff to rub off on me because I liked the more accessible guys like John Romita, Sal Buscema, Gil Kane and Ross Andru. At my age, I knew the art was good but it was a little over my head. And the stories...forget it. Now, though...man-o-man. Do I love that stuff.

I had a blast drawing this sketch. I don’t think it’s wishful thinking to say I see a lot of Mike in there. It probably has less to do with me trying to emulate him as it has to do with the fact that he was so influenced by Starlin. As I was drawing this, I kept referring to scans of Starlin’s work to get costume details right. I think it’s just a case of shared influences.

I didn’t ink it because my penciling has been suffering because I’ve been doing most of the drawing in the inking stage lately. Since I’m going to start back drawing the PERHAPANAUTS pages I still owe Todd and Craig, I thought it would be nice to get in some practice doing more detailed pencils.

Speaking of pencils...recently, through Rich Woodall and Rod Hannah, I became aware of Ken McFarlane’s ink job over my Hunter sketch from a couple years back. Christian had already given me a beautifully inked version that he’d done. Finding out that someone else had done the same thing was pretty flattering. And, to be honest with myself, Ken really improved the drawing. This kind of thing doesn’t happen to me often and it’s the little things in life...

So, thanks Ken!

I’m hoping I can keep up the sketching but I just don’t know. Next week, we move into our new space at work and they’ve spent a lot of time and money removing as much comfort and privacy from our work environment as possible. We’re going from something like this:



To something more like this:



I’m hoping that, once I figure out my comfort zone, I can get my groove back. We’ll see.

Okay, that’s it for now. Later.