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The Last "Hollywood Heroes" Update!

That's right, boppers, you read it right. It's been awhile since I posted anything, so I thought I'd start off with a bang. This is the last update for "Hollywood Heroes." But never fear, I'm not abandoning the project, simply changing the name. Henceforth, the book's official title is "The Serial Squad!" Catchy, huh?
And along with the name change comes an ongoing series! That's right. Thanks to a well-placed question from my wife, I've decided these guys merit an ongoing series! I kept coming up with ideas for future characters and future plots, so it became obvious I couldn't just do one graphic novel and be done with them, although the frequency of each issue (24 pages each) is not certain, adhering to the laws of time and cash flow. So, with that big news out of the way, enjoy the story so far:

1943, somewhere on a small uncharted island off the coast of Africa...

"Behold! Za greatest veapon of za Sird Reich!"
"Ullaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Meanwhile, somewhere in the heart of Kansas, upon a hot, wooden stage, a handful of Saturday morning serial heroes gather for a War Bond rally.

Although the lot of them never quite reached the star status of the Phantom, the Shadow or even Ray "Crash" Corrigan, to this crowd, they are all stars. Heroes.
Today, their names are legend.
William Waters, Olympic silver medal swimmer turned actor achieved fame in "The Underwater Empire" as the Atlantean hero the Blue Wave.
Sidney Rosenthal as the crimson-clad Latin swashbuckler El Rojo.
Wally "Booster" Martin as the rocketeering Nightflyer.
Burt Barnes, aka the high-flying Captain Nighthawk.
Dylan Morrow, Olympic gold medal-winning archer as the Scarlet Archer.
The reclusive Richmond Kane as the mysterious Chimera.

And Jack Hart, the All-American Hero!
"Remember, kids, don't let the Nazis win! Get your parents to buy war bonds! It's the American way!"
And the crowd goes wild.

Soon after, backstage, after a few autographs for the "kids" of some barrel-chested teamsters, Booster Martin laments the lowly state of his career.
"I can't believe I'm hawkin' war bonds fer a livin'."

Hart assures Martin that there are worse ways to make a living, when, suddenly...
"Jou gentlemen vill come vis uss."
For a moment, nobody moves, until...
It's Morrow to the rescue! "Let's take these Ratzi bastards, boys!"
Adrenaline takes over from this point as reasonably sane men go for broke.

"Son of a bitch!" cries the wounded Nazi.
"Look out!" cries another. "Here they come!"

Like a man possessed, Jack Hart lays into them, the flying bullets all but forgotten, while Kane can't help but notice their adversaries have suddenly lost their German accents.

Morrow frantically searches for his next target while Martin puts his heavy movie prop to good use.
Barnes scrambles for the wounded Nazi's discarded pistol only to discover that he is either a terrible shot or the bullets are blanks!
In the heat of it all, a stray stream of cigarette smoke catches Morrow off guard. Finding it a bit odd and driven by curiosity, he follows the smell.

"Holy shit!" he gasps. "President Roosevelt!?"
"Would you boys care for a ride?"

Later, at an abandoned airfield in the middle of nowhere...

The "Serial Squad" is asked to appear in the photo opportunity of a lifetime. They are to follow behind a platoon of Marines sent to "a little island" to retrieve a defecting Nazi scientist, but what the American public will see when they watch the news reels is their Saturday morning heroes tackling Hitler's war machine. In these dark days of The War, such a stunt would go a long way in boosting public morale.

Barnes questions the sanity of the whole hair-brained operation, until...

Their mode of transportation, a working prototype of Captain Nighthawk's fabled Nighthawk is revealed.
"If my producers find out about it, they're gonna sue your ass off."

Yes, that's the wounded ersatz Nazi the heroes are talking to. But who is the little bald man looming behind him?

To be continued, boppers...

Big News!

There's big news over at They Call Me Boo Boo! Check it out, boppers.

In Loving Memory

Happy birthday, Pony.
Stay golden.

Arissa Lynn Marie Gaekle
1994 to 2004

Yankee Rose

It just occurred to me that it's been awhile since I've posted anything. I've sort of taken a small break from drawing to do, among other things, some much-needed, long overdue work around the house, but the big news is my friends in Yankee Rose have asked me to design the cover for their forthcoming CD. To your right you'll see a concept drawing I've already done for them. It's the first one I've done that I actually like and apparently they like it as well as it already graces their MySpace page. Check 'em out and tell 'em what you think. And keep checkin' back here, boppers, for updates on the project.

Oops!

Okay, I'm an idiot. For some reason I kept calling Anita Eckberg "Anita Eckert." I guess I should check my file names more carefully, huh? Anyway, here's a random image of the Swedish "Ice Queen" herself. They just don't make bombshells anymore, boppers.

In other blogger news, I've added a new link to the list to your right. One of the coolest blogs I've seen, brought to my attention by my good friend Nik Havert. Check it out!

Anita Eckert

At one time I think I promised more images of Swedish "Ice Queen" Anita Eckert, so here you go, boppers.

Movie Poster Madness!

Fellow blogger the Evil DM posted a link to this totally superfluous, dangerously addictive but extremely fun website tool.
After spending a couple hours playing around with it, I've decided to post this one I did as a total exercise in humility. Hey, we were all young once, right?

Just click to enlarge the image if you can't make it all out.
Until next time, boppers...

The Challengers of Evil!

Back in the late 1980s, my buddies and me put down our 1st Edition AD&D rule books and took a crack at playing super heroes for awhile. I had the serendipitous pleasure of meeting Jeff Dee, co-creator of the RPG Villains & Vigilantes the first time I attended the Michiana Comicon back in '85. I'd been a fan of his art since I first cracked open the basic D&D rule book back in '81 and had bought the V&V rule set just a few months before meeting Mr. Dee. I was stoked, so the summer of '85 my pals and I put down our swords and spell books, donned tights and acquired superhuman powers in the name of justice.

In this short-lived fervor, many characters were created and some pretty memorable adventures took place. Over the years, we'd played many different RPGs, including frequent returns to V&V, but none of the latter characters could seem to top those first handful of heroes. At one time, not so long ago, I even entertained the idea of chronicling our adventures in comic book form, but life always has a way of getting in the way of one's plans. So, for the hell of it, here are a team of characters you're likely never to see. Some of their names and abilities have been modified from their original versions due to just plain corniness, but here goes:

Six-and-one-half inches of action, Action Figure packed enough miniature high-tech ordinance to take on a small army.

A human "soul" trapped in an android body, Atomika was a walking nuclear generator.

A "low level" telepath, Blue Frost's real power was his telekinetic-like ability to generate ice and cold. Blue Frost was killed in the line of duty by a team of super-powered female assassins, but returned a short time later as the Deadman-esque Psycho-Phoenix.

Armed with an anti matter blade and the incredible strength of his robotic body, Centurion came from outer space to warn Earth of an impending invasion.

The team's leader, Star Hawk possessed vast pyrokinetic abilities, which he used to hurl bolts of flame and create fiery wings which enabled him to fly.

Able to run super humanly fast, Tesla also wore a special suit that generated electricity with each step.

Who knows, maybe one day these heroes of yesteryear will see the light of day, perhaps in the 1980s sequel to Hollywood Heroes. Until then, keep it here, boppers.

Not a "Hollywood Heroes Update"

While trolling through the murky depths of my hard drive, I came across an old image of my femme fatal, Nora Frost. Ms. Frost first appeared to me in a dream well over ten years ago and has haunted my imagination ever since. She made her first "appearance" in a short story I wrote called "The Wizard of Holiday Ave." as the spell-slinging stripper love interest to the story's hero Jack. Later, I attempted to expand Jack's world by compiling and adding to all the short stories I'd written about him in a book called "The Charmed Life." It was an attempt to combine film noir with fantasy. One of these days, I may get around to finishing the book, but in the meantime, just enjoy the picture.

Here's an article I found awhile back while blogging (the cyber space equivalent of "dumpster diving," I suppose). I told some friends about it not too long ago and meant to post it then, but I sorta forgot about it. I don't know how reliable the article is, but it makes for a helluva story. If you can't read it at this size, just click the image for a bigger version.

What happened one night when Clark Kent took his date to see a dirty movie.

Gee, Clark, it didn't take "super intelligence" to figure that one out.

Just a random image of the Swedish "ice queen" Anita Eckberg. Note the shape of her eyes and the shape of her eyebrows and then look at Nora Frost again. I swear I had no idea who Anita Eckberg was when I created Ms. Frost. Maybe I should do a homage to this image with Ms. Frost. It only seems right, I guess.

Well, boppers, this pretty much wraps up this post. More "Hollywood Heroes" updates to come.

Hollywood Heroes Update #12: The Story So Far...

1943, somewhere on a small uncharted island off the coast of Africa...

"Behold! Za greatest veapon of za Sird Reich!"
"Ullaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Meanwhile, somewhere in the heart of Kansas, upon a hot, wooden stage, a handful of silver screen serial heroes gather for a War Bond rally.

Although the lot of them never quite reached the star status of the Phantom, the Shadow or even "Crash" Corrigan, to this crowd, they are all stars. Heroes.
Today, their names are legend.
William Waters, Olympic silver medal swimmer turned actor achieved fame in "The Underwater Empire" as the Atlantean hero the Blue Wave.
Sidney Rosenthal as the crimson-clad Latin swashbuckler El Royo.
Wally "Booster" Martin as the rocketeering Nightflyer.
Burt Barnes, aka the high-flying Captain Nighthawk.
Dylan Morrow, Olympic gold medal-winning archer as the Scarlet Archer.
The reclusive Richmond Kane as the mysterious Chimera.

And Jack Hart, the All-American Hero!
"Remember, kids, don't let the Nazis win! Get your parents to buy war bonds! It's the American way!"
And the crowd goes wild.

Soon after, backstage, after a few autographs for the "kids" of some barrel-chested teamsters, Booster Martin laments the lowly state of his career.
"I can't believe I'm hawkin' war bonds fer a livin'."
Hart assures Martin that there are worse ways to make a living, when, suddenly...
"Jou gentlemen vill come vis uss."

Hollywood Heroes Update #11: The Story So Far...

1943, somewhere on a small uncharted island off the coast of Africa...

"Behold! Za greatest veapon of za Sird Reich!"
"Ullaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Meanwhile, somewhere in the heart of Kansas, upon a hot, wooden stage, a handful of silver screen serial heroes gather for a War Bond rally.

Although the lot of them never quite reached the star status of the Phantom, the Shadow or even "Crash" Corrigan, to this crowd, they are all stars. Heroes.
Today, their names are legend.
William Waters, Olympic silver medal swimmer turned actor achieved fame in "The Underwater Empire" as the Atlantean hero the Blue Wave.
Sidney Rosenthal as the crimson-clad Latin swashbuckler El Royo.
Wally "Booster" Martin as the rocketeering Nightflyer.
Burt Barnes, aka the high-flying Captain Nighthawk.
Dylan Morrow, Olympic gold medal-winning archer as the Scarlet Archer.
The reclusive Richmond Kane as the mysterious Chimera.

And Jack Hart, the All-American Hero!
"Remember, kids, don't let the Nazis win! Get your parents to buy war bonds! It's the American way!"
And the crowd goes wild.

Hollywood Heroes Update #10

Meanwhile, somewhere in the heart of Kansas, a handful of silver screen serial heroes gather at a War Bond rally to the delight of a gathering crowd.For those of you keeping score, there are a few characters on that stage whom you might not know. I thought it would be cool to throw them in for flavor.

Laughing Boy

For those of you burned out on my Hollywood Heroes posts, here's something a bit different. For those of you who don't know him, this is my three-year-old son Atticus. I took this picture about a week ago and "painted" it with Microsoft Picture It.

His mother calls Atticus my Mini Me and it's not just because he looks so much like me, but because he's as big a super hero freak as I am.

Hollywood Heroes Update #9

Okay, this post is technically a Hollywood Heroes update, but it's a bit of a stretch. It's more just an excuse to show off a couple of drawings I did today. The one on your left is White Cherri, super spy sexpot extraordinaire and a possible player in a future sequel to Hollywood Heroes. "A sequel?" you ask. "But," you're thinking, "Hollywood Heroes isn't even in print yet!" Well, in the grand George Lucasian sense of the term sequel, White Cherri will possibly be appearing in book four(ish) of my ongoing series revolving around the rise of super heroes and the Martian invasion of over five hundred years ago, but likely I'll be dead before the book's ever done as it's taken me this long to even get book one started. Confused? Me too!

And to your right is my first attempt at the 1963(ish) variation of Marvel Comics' Black Widow (back when she was a bad girl manipulating that poor sap Hawkeye. This drawing, like the forthcoming painting, has been a long time coming. Google is good for a lot of things, but I'd had poor luck over the past year tracking down images of the femme fatal. I finally picked up the Iron Man Essentials Vol. I (half off, I might add) which, along with having some of my favorite stories of ol' Shell Head's early adventures, had ample images of the beautiful Russian she-spy.

On a related note, Nik Havert, whom I'm beginning to feel is the real nemesis, asked me why I haven't challenged Uko Smith to a Black Widow draw-off! My response? I'm not crazy! But, Uko, if you're reading this and you want to throw your hat into the ring, I'll be glad to email you some scans of Black Widow. Maybe we could do a set of drawings and auction them off somewhere for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. What do you say?

Hollywood Heroes Update #8

Prologue: 1943, somewhere on a small uncharted island off the coast of Africa...

"Behold! Za greatest veapon of za Sird Reich!"

"Ullaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

'Nuff said, for now, boppers...

Motor City Madness '07 Review (The Short Version)

Top 10 Convention Moments of '07 (In some sort of order):

1. Upgrading to king-sized suites when the hotel realized they'd overbooked. Other than that, the hotel sucked.

2. Having Uko Smith refer to me as his nemesis.

3. Having Jay Fife refer to Uko as my nemesis.

4. Witnessing Lou Ferrigno apparently escorting Seka back to her table.

5. Realizing I was taking a leak right next to Richard "Oscar Goldman" Anderson.

6. Not having the guy dressed up like Wonder Woman taking a leak next to me.

7. Mike Indovina begging "Don't eat me" after I explained my philosophy on food: If you're slower than me and stupider than me, pass the salt (Thank you, Anthony Bourdain).

8. Meeting the legendary Dick Ayers & buying an original original Ghost Rider sketch off of him for next to nothing!

9. Finally finding some decent images of the Black Widow's first costume!

10. "Sweet Christmas!" This awesome Power Man drinking glass! Pictured below filled with an inaugural bottle of LaBatts Blue.Keep it here, boppers for more Motor City Madness!

Hollywood Heroes Update #7

Good news, boppers! I've officially begun working on the pages of Hollywood Heroes.
Behold! Page one!
Okay, I know it's not much, but it's a start.
That's one down...39 more to go (approximately).

In this scene, it's 1943 and on a small, uncharted island off the coast of Africa, Nazi scientists have unearthed the Third Reich's ultimate weapon!

Keep it here, boppers, more pages to come!
Tell your friends this is where the cool kids hang out.

I...AM...IRON MAN!

At this year's Motor City Comicon, I officially started my dream sketchbook. My plan is to get pencil sketches of my favorite Marvel characters (circa 1963-65) by some of my favorite artists who also happen to be some of my favorite people. My goal is to find just the right artist for just the right character and who better to draw the original clunky ol' Iron Man armor than Jason Howard? I've long admired Jason's style for all things metallic and, when I gave him the choice between the original armor and, say, the sleeker version that it was soon modified into, he naturally chose the ol' iron pants version.

Above you can see Jason's fantastic original sketch, while below you can see the ink job I did to a copy of it. My dream sketchbook has two purposes. One is to gather sketches as I said before. The other is to give me a chance to ink their work.

Keep it here, boppers! More Motor City madness to come!