Paul E. Schultz Presents...

2010-02-02T10:36:00.000-08:00

The other night, my wife and I were watching "The Unborn" and I found it so bad that it reminded me that it was about time for another review. Don't worry, I won't be reviewing "The Unborn." Instead I present to you the 1971 Italian T&A treat "The Devil's Nightmare."

The movie begins at the end of World War II where a Nazi baron has to kill his newborn daughter while, thanks to some grainy stock footage, the Allied Forces pound the shit out of Berlin. The murder scene is brutal and comical at the same time as it appears the baron mistakenly stabs a baby doll. The baron's wife subsequently died in child birth.

Flash forward to "the present," at least the 1971 version of it, a bus with seven passengers takes refuge from the night in the baron's castle. When the bus driver asks this weird guy along the road for directions to any nearby inn, he directs them to the castle where the baron has been known to take in guests.

Like any bunch of dumb tourists would, they listen to the creepy guy's advice and find themselves at the castle door.

The tourists, including two 1970s hot Italian chicks and a "seminarian" (as he calls himself) are symbolically the Seven Deadly Sins and each fall victim to a scarlet-haired succubus played by the vampy Erika Blanc haunting the castle.

The death scenes are silly and the only one even remotely gruesome is the scene where the bus driver (Gluttony) eats himself to death. There's also a sex scene between the two 1970s hot Italian chicks that is right up there with the stuff you see today on late night Cinemax.

I won't ruin how it ends, but (SPOILER ALERT) it isn't called "The Devil's Nightmare" for no good reason. Suffice it to say, it has something to do with the baron's past, the weird guy along the road and the "seminarian."

The only problem I had with this movie was the dialogue. Translated from Italian, it just seemed a bit stiff and did little more than carry the plot along. The best example is during a passionate love scene between two characters, one of whom is one of the two 1970s hot Italian chicks who apparently plays for both teams. The 1970s hot Italian girl says, "Do you like the way I kiss?" and the overly-hairy 1970s Italian stud replies, "Yes. I love your mouth."

I love Italian horror movies, particularly those of the 1960s and '70s and "The Devil's Nightmare" is no exception. I give it two out of four quarters minus about a dime. The movie plays out like a horror comic of the era, has some pretty creepy music, takes place in a cool castle haunted by a sexy succubus and has a few soft-core sex moments. I can forgive a lot if you throw in some 1970s hot Itailan chicks.

Legend of the Dollar Store Cinema

2010-01-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year resolutions for this year is to do at least one review per month of movies you probably shouldn't waste your time watching. I was doing it for awhile as "Dollar Store Cinema" as most of the movies came from the dollar store down the street. They were supposed to be horror films and some of them such as "Atom Age Vampire" were actually quite good. But writing/drawing comics took center stage and all the dollar stores in town dried up their movie sections, so I just sorta stopped posting reviews. But, recently I've managed to come across a few decent horror movies, so, until that well runs dry, I'm going to attempt to review movies at least once a month.

Up first..."The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires!"

"The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" is a Shaw Brothers & Hammer House of Horrors coagulation that is quite good, in spite of a little less than spectacular fight scenes and an "it's suddenly over" ending.

After vanquishing Count Dracula, Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) apparently goes on a world-wide speaking tour where, while in China, is asked to do the same in a cursed village near Chung King. As it turns out, Count Dracula is behind the whole mess, though sadly not portrayed by Christopher Lee but rather a guy who looks like a toss up between Ceasar Romero and Unknown Hinson. In spite of it's few flaws, there was enough zombies...

...fighting...

...mood lighting and topless virgins to keep me interested.

The story would make for a good role-playing-game campaign. Julie Ege plays a wealthy widow who funds the excursion to vanquish the seven golden vampires who plague the village.

There are seven brothers and one sister who are, of course, martial artists and it's a good thing because not only do they defend Van Helsing, his son and Miss Ege from a band of brigands, but apparently Chinese zombies are also martial artists. Even though Count Dracula, who possesses the form of an evil Chinese priest, is kinda silly looking, the priest is creepy enough to make up the difference.

All things considered, it's a pretty good movie although it lacks a bit of what made both the Shaw Brothers and Hammer Studios great. To its credit, the movie was filmed entirely in China. I give it a solid two quarters (out of four obviously as four quarters make a dollar) as it was good enough to watch twice.

"Wild Card" Wednesday!

2009-08-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first of a (hopefully) regularly scheduled post I like to call "Wild Card" Wednesday. As many of you know, I took the summer off from my comic book "work" to spend time with my wife and kids but as summer is drawing to a close (every pun intended), I've started doing warm-up drawings to get back in the swing of things. Among other things, I've been doing a lot sketch cards of my favorite Marvel and DC characters, some of whom are probably too obscure for my own good. I've decided to make these cards available to anyone who wants them for the meager price of five bucks (shipping included). It's first come first served, so the first one out there to let me know they're interested in purchasing said sketch card will be the first person for whom I'll hold the card. Paying for the card is easy. I'm not set up for Paypal at the moment, so simply send me a money order for five bucks, I'll send you the card and everybody walks away happy. No personal checks, please. Once we've agreed who'll be taking the card home with them, I'll email you all the necessary ordering information.

Today's "Wild Card" is...Iron Man!

Screw the Surgeon General!

2009-07-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

When I got an email from Yahoo Geocities that, starting in October, they'll no longer be offering their free website builder, I downloaded all of the image files I've posted there over the years. As I trolled through them, I uncovered images I'd all but forgotten. So, in the interest of wackiness, I'll be posting some of them here and there.

This little photo comic strip came together when my Swedish buddy Mike Hill of Badmouth was in the States a few years back.

Screw the Surgeon General, you've just gotten the real warning about cigarettes.

The Epic of BIO-WULF!

2009-07-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

For years, I've played around with the idea of a "wide-screen" comic. It finally happened awhile back with "Salem, AZ," a book I'm working on with my good friend Nik Havert of Pickle Press and artist-in-arms Bill "Inkslinger" Wilkison (both of whom you can find links to on your right). It proved to be not only an artistic challenge for myself, but a publishing challenge for Nik. Nik's challenges are hopefully at an end with the first issue, which has had so many problems I believe the book to be cursed. But my motto has always been "Nothing worth having ever came without a fight."

My first attempt at "wide-screen" was an online comic I did a preview for several years ago now called "The Epic of Bio-Wolf." My Sweedish friend Mike of the rock band Badmouth, back in 2001, asked me to make him into a super hero. "The world just needs more heroes," he told me. This was just a few months after 9-11 and he, like the rest of the world, was feeling a bit defeated. So, Bio-Wulf was born. Here, for the hell of it if nothing else, is that preview...

July Game Night Update!

2009-07-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

A man's home is his battlefield*, even when he's dead and especially when he's a super villain. This past weekend marked the second full-fledged game night of my as-of-yet unnamed super hero role-playing game. It was the biggest turn out of players I've had under one roof in quite sometime. It was me and my imagination against five of my friends; "Machine" Mike Indovina, Marc, Guy, Zander and James. I was beginning to think I was having a panic attack at the last minute because of it, but my wife reminded me that the headache pill I'd taken was loaded with caffeine, which accounted for all my symptoms. That settled, it was game on!

While laying low in a cheap motel, licking their wounds from their first attempt at going straight, Stinger, Thermo & Big Horn (the last two still haven't picked names for themselves) meet two other like-minded erstwhile villains, Boogeyman & Magnetron ("Magnetron" also just the name I'm using for now).

Magnetron (pictured above, below Boogeyman)told the others about a secret headquarters once used by the recently deceased Mechanic. The Mechanic, who apparently died in an explosion in a recent run-in with Goldenhawk & Black Falcon, was an inventor for the notorious Mr. Big, the city's crime boss. With the Mechanic out of the way, his secret lair might make the perfect hide-out and supply them with enough raw material to make repairs and modifications to their weapons and equipment. So, the group set out that night to find the deceased Mechanic's former headquarters. It turns out the rumors were true. The would-be heroes found a small but elaborate lair hidden under an abandon, boarded-up gas station a few miles outside of the city on a lonely stretch of highway.

A few minutes into investigating what appeared to be a rather swingin' bachelor pad under the old gas station, the team came upon a large swimming pool and in a scene right out of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," they watched a rather stacked, statuesque redhead climb out of the pool. To their shock (not quiet like that of Judge Rienhold) they were not only spotted, but recognized her as Acetylene of Damage Inc., one of the city's more heavy-hitting team of super villains.

It was during the fray against the musclebound, flame-throwing redhead that the rest of her teammates, Hammer, Slammer & Destroyer showed up.

In a battle that nearly wrecked the place, Boogeyman tossed a razor bat that short circuited Acetylene's bionic, flame-throwing arm, Magnetron used his megnetic powers to trap Slammer underwater until the bubbles stopped coming up, Stinger accidentally killed Hammer, Thermo shot off more ice bullets than the assassin in "Three Days of the Condor," and Big Horn finally managed to hit somebody.

If that weren't enough for one day, after the fray, the lair was beset upon by a company of S.W.O.R.D. operatives headed up by Goldenhawk & Black Falcon.

S.W.O.R.D. is a counter-terrorist organization specializing in the apprehension of super villains. The organization had heard a rumor that Damage Inc., who had just committed a major bank robbery, were using the seemingly abandoned lair as a hide-out. As it turned out, Acetylene, though a member of the red-meat-for-breakfast team of super villains, had a soft heart and she and the deceased Mechanic were an item prior to his death.

After a brief explanation from the wanna-be do-gooders as to their involvement in the night's festivities, Goldenhawk made them an unofficial offer. They could keep the headquarters and its contents and S.W.O.R.D. will keep its location a secret, if the team will act as undercover S.W.O.R.D. agents when needed. As a reward, S.W.O.R.D. would make their criminal records disappear. The burgeoning crime busters agreed and Boogeyman initiated a "hands in."

And now for the truly incriminating images...

When yours truly, the "Evil GM" (not to be confused with my blogger buddy The Evil DM) speaks, it pays to listen...

"Machine" Mike (aka Boogeyman) lookin' thoughtful in sunglasses from the Brett Somers collection...

Marc (aka Stinger) rests in preparation for the game...

Birthday girl Brandi showed up and to my amazement, stuck around for a while. I'm guessing it was for the beer and not the gaggle of dorks sitting around the table rolling dice...

Zander & Milkdud (aka Big Horn & Thermo) are our youngest players. Yes, we old gamers do our part in corrupting today's youth...

Sweet G (aka Magnetron) cheeses it up for the camera...

And just one more incriminating shot of Marc to bring this blog post to a close.

* With apologies and props to Invincible Iron-Man #127...

The Future is Now!

2009-07-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Everything I ever learned about writing, I learned from reading men's adventure books. Along with the SOBs, there was another great series. The Zone! The series, masterfully written by British author James Rouch, took place in an alternative near future where the Berlin Wall did not fall. Instead the cold war suffered a meltdown. A war across Europe imploded, concentrating itself in a great contaminated swathe of no-mans land slashed across the continent. Imagine if "Kelley's Heroes" was written and directed by Sam Rami and you'd have "The Zone." Given the original publishing date of the books, I think it's safe to say that Rouch's "near future" was now and the "alternative near future" is a more recent re-imagining. I've discovered, much to my delight, that along with there being a role-playing game based on the series, Rouch recently wrote a TENTH book in the series that is available on CD, so Santa, if you're listening, you know what to bring me for Christmas.

But Wait, There's (Unfortunately) More...

2009-06-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here's more evidence that I thought I knew what I was doing. Back in '88, I decided to take a crack at turning the Valiant Four into a comic book series. Mini comics, ashcans and fanzines (this was before the Al Gore changed the publishing world forever with the internet) cost about a fifty cents a piece to produce, so it just seemed like a cheap way to get my stories out there. I had recently written "Lawyers, Guns & Money," what I thought was my best story so far*, so I decided to illustrate that one first, rather than go back to square one. I roughed it out to be about thirty pages long and managed to complete almost all of it before common sense took over and I shelved the project. Looking back over the pages, which I unearthed after my first V4 post, they're very indicative of the late 1980s and were fun to read, though a bit humbling, so I've decided to post them here on a semi-regular basis, starting with the cover below.

*With apologies to the Jaded Minstrel.

A Blast from the Past!

2009-06-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

Egad! Awhile back, my friend Chuck uncovered some pretty incriminating material that I did over two decades ago and the masochist in me just feels the need to share. Pictured below is the first issue of a series of short stories I wrote revolving around my friends and I...sort of. Back in the fall of '86, my friend Steve wrote a short story about us rescuing my parents from neo-Nazis (for what reason exactly I'm no longer sure). I was so caught up in the idea that I, with Steve's blessing, started churning out a number of sequels, adding a bit of a science fiction angle to the stories. There was an 18' foot tall female robot in one, for example. Eventually I went back and tweaked Steve's original story "The Valiant Four" to coincide with the science fiction angle of my stories. Instead of neo-Nazis kidnapping my parents, it was an aged Nazi scientist who found out my friends and I had found his secret formula for creating "super soldiers." I was pretty heavy into Doc Savage at the time, so naturally I (the writer) was the only one to use the formula before it was destroyed by the conscience heavy Steve (pictured below in the black jacket). Suffice it to say, the stories were terrible, but everybody's gotta start somewhere.

I've always said everything I ever learned about writing I learned from reading action/adventure novels and it was about that time that I, thanks to Karl (pictured above in the camouflaged jacket), discovered Gold Eagle Books. Ah, for those halcyon days of the Cold War. Gold Eagle offered quite a line-up of action/adventure novels, from The Executioner and Able Team, to Phoenix Force and The Guardians. Mack Bolan, aka The Executioner, was the Wolverine of his day, appearing in more books than humanly possible. Anyway, out of them all, my favorite series was The S.O.B.s, or Soldiers of Barrabas. Doubtless Nile Barrabas and his team of mercenary bad-asses probably played a huge role in influencing how I was writing my stories at the time. Like I said, everybody's gotta start somewhere, right?

Below is the cover to episode #7. To my knowledge, these are the only two stories to survive. I think I wrote about ten of them, which were eventually boiled down into a full-length novel, which, after changing names and a few concepts, almost saw print. Mercifully, the small press publisher that wanted to do it changed formats and started publishing cook books exclusively before I signed anything. Sometimes I wonder if reading my book made them change formats.

Who knows, boppers, maybe someday I'll print the stories on a blog or do a weekly web strip out of them.

It's Time for a Big ol' Photo Dump!

2009-06-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I blogged regularly, so I'm trying to get the ball rolling again. What better (easier) way to get started than with a big ol' phamily photo dump?

The perfect match: Karen's butt & daddy's face.

Busted!

Karen's first french fry. We can call them that again, right? Not Freedom Fries?

Batgirl's secret identity revealed?!

Sleepy Karen

Arlaux on www.barbie.com

"Time for me to slide." The lesser-known REO song.

Atticus reading Spiderman.

Karen just watchin' the world go by.

Atticus at 2009 Preschool Graduation!

Jeep & Karen at graduation ceremony.

Reward for a job well done!

Atticus at the park in his Green Lantern costume under a Spiderman tank top. It's what happens when we let him dress himself.

That does it for this time around, boppers. Keep it here for more whackiness!

Saturday Night's Alright for Fightin'

2009-06-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

It was a battle royal last Saturday night as some friends came over to help me test out some of my new rules for character generation and combat for my super hero role-playing game. Some of you may recall that awhile back I was testing the rules to a fantasy RPG after being inspired by "Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell." After a few game sessions the whole thing just kinda fizzled for me. As I've been a gamer since '81, I've just become burned out running fantasy games. But since I've yet to play a super hero game I really liked, I decided to adapt the rules for my fantasy game into a super hero game. The result has been spectacular thus far and the rules are complete enough, after much revamping, that I felt it was time to launch a full-on campaign.

Here's how it all went down: The year is 1981...

Three down-on-their-luck super villains, Stinger, Thermo & Big Horn (tentative names on those last two) decide they're just tired of getting beat up and sent to jail in the name of the all mighty buck, so they get together incognito at a local tavern to discuss a career change.

(Big horn isn't pictured because, well, I just ain't made a card of him I like yet.)

Anyway, the problem is that turning over a new leaf isn't as easy as it sounds for two reasons. Reason one, the city's crime boss, a mysterious and dangerous figure known only as "Mr. Big" has all the city's other super villains in his employ and would likely put contracts out on the three of them fearing they knew too much about his criminal operations. Reason two, the local heroes simply wouldn't trust them. So, with scarcely two grand and a beat up Chevy van between them, the trio have to carefully plot their next move.

Unfortunately, Fate won't let that happen for that night, outside the little tavern, an armored prison transport vehicle is attacked by Deadbolt, Harpoon & Pyromaniac, a trio of Mr. Big's more ruthless goons.

With little time to think things through, Thermo slips on his mask and steps out to face his former larcenous allies while Stinger & Big Horn make their way to their van to change into their somewhat clunkier costumes. It just seemed like the right time to turn over a new leaf, but their erstwhile companions weren't intimidated by Thermo's presence. Thermo, who can project both fire and ice from his hands takes a sound beatin' from the terrible trio. While he's getting electricuted, torched and shot at with explosive projectiles, his companions make their way through the alley and join the fray just in time for all hell to break lose. While the deadly-accurate Buzzkill joins in the fun, Deadbolt focuses his lightning upon the armored vehicle, freeing a handful of dazed prisoners, including the Goldsmith and Eugene Andrews. A bolt of lightning to Andrews triggers his transformation into Zenoman, the walking 12' tall video game!

What erupts next is a knock down dragged out rock & roll party in the street! Big Horn clobbers Goldsmith, whose very touch covers one in immobilizing, nearly unbreakable golden skin, with a car, Zenoman attempts to vaporize anyone and everyone with his eye beams, Deadbolt is mortally wounded and as the battle starts to turn in favor of the newbie heroes, the villains begin to scatter like cockroaches. Only Zenoman manages to teleport successfully from the scene. It seemed whatever strings Mr. Big was pulling that night were severed by his former flunkies.

After the fray, with unconscious bodies and property damage lying everywhere, and fast approaching police sirens in the distance, two of the city's super heroes, Goldenhawk & Black Falcon (sorry, no images just yet) show up on the scene. After a brief, desperate explanation on the part of the battle-weary would-be heroes, Goldenhawk just says, "I'll give you all a ten minute head start."

To be continued...

Oh, and if any of the characters seen here seem maybe a bit more than sorta familiar, it's completely intentional.

That's it...I'm Done with "Modern Comics"

2009-05-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

I realize that this happened awhile back, but I've been out of the loop of late where recent comics are concerned, but while Googling some random images this morning over coffee, I came across this. What the hell's wrong with comic books today?!

That's it, I'm through with "modern comics." At least from the Big Two. Sorry, Deathstroke. Just personal.

The Stupidest Thing I've Ever Seen!

2009-05-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

I found this over at Comic Related and had to post it here. Marvel has officially lost the last brain cell it had with this one!

The Jig is Up!

2009-04-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

"Non Sequitur," by Wiley is one of my favorite comic strips. It's visually stunning and, at times, pretty relevant and humorous, but this Sunday it just went TOO FAR! I'm speaking, of course, about one of the "artistic community's" best-kept secrets!

Just click the strip to learn the BIG SECRET!

Curse you, Wiley! The jig is up! Now we gotta come up with a new trick! Just kidding. It's funny 'cause it's true.

Frank Springer, R.I.P.

2009-04-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

Anybody who spends more than ten minutes talking to me about comics knows what a huge influence on me Frank Springer is and sadly, I've just learned of his passing. Springer, a prolific comics artist for such strips as "Terry and the Pirates" and "Rex Morgan, M.D.," died Thursday at his home in Damariscotta, Maine. He was 79. His work in comic books is unequaled, maybe not in volume, but style. From "Invaders," to "Dazzler" to "Luke Cage, Hero For Hire," Springer's style is as easily recognizable as Jack Kirby's, Steve Ditko's and John Byrne's. Although you'll never hear me claim to hold a candle to the guy, Springer's artistic style, use of black and ability to cram so much into each panel are a few things for which I strive thanks to him. I never had the chance to meet him, but I feel the loss of something great in the world with his passing, perhaps it's the last shred of comic book innocence, that books don't have to be all dark, moody and full of t&a. He'll be missed but his legend will live on.

A Kwiky Before Work

2009-04-04T05:43:00.000-07:00

I'm off to work, but before I go, here's this month's Kwiky. Sorry about the graininess. The images didn't hold up over the years...

Keep it here, boppers.

S.P.A.C.E. Approaches!

2009-03-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

It's true, boppers, the comic book convention season for your truly gets underway April 18th & 19th, in Colombus, Ohio at S.P.A.C.E.! S.P.A.C.E. is my favorite show of the year. It has none of the whistles and bells of the bigger shows, you won't find Gil Gerard hawking old photos or be overwhelmed by platoons of Storm Troopers, but what S.P.A.C.E. "lacks" in all that, it makes up for in awesomeness. If you're looking for an alternative to overpriced hoopla, S.P.A.C.E. is the place. Hope to see you there, boppers.

The Adventures of Kwiky

2009-03-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

I realized this morning that it was the eleventh of March already and I hadn't done my first-of-the-month Kwiky installation. So, better late than never...
As for Game Night updates, play has been sporadic, so I just kinda forgot to do it. Rest assured, though, Black Samson and Iron Gauntlet continue to fight crime in their own inept way, between sandwiches of course. We recently held an "American Idol"-esque audition to enlist help to thwart a bank robbery by a telepathic giant, a time master and an unfortunate bunch of gang bangers who are still being scraped off the bank walls. Sometimes Black Samson doesn't know his own strength.

Kwiky Update!

2009-02-01T06:42:00.000-08:00

As promised, the first day of the new month brings a "new" installation into the Chronicles of Kwiky. Who knows, maybe if I run out, I just might make more...

If you missed the first installation, just click here.
Keep comin' back for more, boppers.

The Misadventures of Black Samson & Iron Gauntlet!

2009-01-26T06:26:00.001-08:00

Things aren't lookin' too good for our heroes. Black Samson & Iron (Fisto) Gauntlet were hired by the mayor of Central City to find the whereabouts of their local crime buster, the Protector (a pragmatic if not unimaginative name), and clean up the crime wave left in the wake of his mysterious absence. Well, in our usual ass-backwards manor, we rolled into town, beat up some gang bangers, dined at some of the city's better restaurants and took in some of the local sites. While attempting to thwart the theft of a rare snake on display at the zoo, we got our asses handed to us by a pair of snake-themed super baddies, who managed to make off with the snake in spite of our best efforts. But as our luck would have it, while we were at the Dollar General Hospital, Black Samson accidentally found the Protector as a "John Doe" lying beaten and comatose. Iron Gauntlet, deciding we were in over our heads, posted a message on a super hero recruiting message board on the internet, welcoming all would-be heroes to come to Central City to help "clean up the town." Within the first five minutes, there were twenty-five hits on the site. Tonight's "Game Night Monday" should prove interesting.

In the meantime, boppers, enjoy the Black Samson & Iron Gauntlet trading cards.

Three Birthdays Today!

2009-01-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Today has the distinction of being the birthday of three of my favorite people, people who have, one way or another, influenced my life greatly.

The Jaded Minstrel, himself, sadly taken from us only a few years ago, Warren Zevon.

Mister Bad Example also shares a birthday with one of the hardest working, yet greatly under appreciated actors of our or any time, Ernest "Give 'em Hell, Pike!" Borgnine.

Then there's Jeep, born nine years ago today. Where has the time gone?

Tasma Unplugged!

2009-01-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, while watching "Creatures the World Forgot" on Svengoolie, I got the idea for this pin-up upon realizing that, aside from a snake and a warthog, there were no "creatures" in the movie at all. But in true Hammer fashion, there were a couple cave hotties, including Miss Julie Ege. Anyway, it didn't stop me from watching it and inspired the image below, so it wasn't all bad.

Cover Your Ears, Mortals! Black Bolt Speaks!

2009-01-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Last year at S.P.A.C.E. I asked Tom Scioli, whose personal mission it seems is to keep Jack Kirby alive and preserve the pure spirit of comic books, to draw Black Bolt of the Inhumans for me. He said something like, "I was looking for an excuse to draw Black Bolt."

My intent was to ink it when I found the time, but it was almost a year before that happened and by then, I'd misplaced it in the Big Move. Well, I found it at the very bottom of a box marked "art" over this Christmas break, one of the few times of the year when I don't even attempt any "serious" art. Between my kids being home and the Holidays, there's almost no time for that, but I gotta do something just to keep in practice.

And here it is inked by yours truly. I added the background and sparkles coming from that wacked-out tuning fork on his forehead.

Keep it here, boppers.

First Post of the New Year!

2009-01-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy New Year! All things considered, 2008 was a pretty good year for my family and me. We had a new baby, now ten months old, and moved into a nicer place over the summer. The kids are in a new school, but their old friends are not too far away. The Serial Squad! Thrill-O-Rama rolled off the printing press and the response to it far exceeded any of my expectations. So, all things considered, 2009 looks like it's gonna be a good year.

With the kids being on Christmas vacation, I haven't done too much "serious" artwork, mostly just sketch cards, images on 4"x6" card stock, which I'll post soon. Below is a concept drawing to the Chimera's vehicle, circa 1978, when the Chimera is actually the daughter of Richmond Kane, Kane being my version of Mike Indovina's brainchild. Confused? Somewhere down the road, I plan on doing something with the 1970s second generation of Squad! members. Richmond Kane (aka The Chimera) and Kay Campbell (aka Tasma the Congo Queen) had twin girls before, on a final Serial Squad! mission, she disappeared. Both girls are mutants (or whatever synonym Marvel Comics will let me use), one with superhuman healing powers due to her mother's exposure to a fountain of youth, the other has the power to generate bursts of light due to her father's prolonged exposure to the radioactive power supply of his Flash Gun. The latter twin becomes the Chimera. Her Chimera Mobile, or "Carmera" is a 1978 Corvette originally designed by George Barris for a TV pilot of some sort that didn't take off, then anonymously purchased by the new Chimera and loaded with Martian tech weaponry for catching bad guys.

I've set the Wayback Machine to 1990 for this next image. About twenty years ago, I entered a contest to create a newspaper daily comic strip. To enter, you had to do a week's worth of an original strip, including a double-sized Sunday edition. My entry, which obviously didn't win, was called "Kwiky" and was based on the stuffed animals of my friends' and my childhood. The first of each month, until July, I plan on posting an installment of "Kwiky." Sorry for the grainy images.

See you soon, boppers.

Ancient Art-ifacts

2008-12-29T22:00:00.001-08:00

In an attempt to make up for a year-long lack of "If They Move...Blog 'Em!" posts before the year is up, I bring you, gentle boppers, some ancient art-ifacts. Get it? ART-ifacts? Yeah, I know.

Up first is a real blast from the past and a particular favorite of mine. Decades ago, my good friend Ken Holewcyznski created a wonderful but short-lived comic book called "Futurama." That's right, you read that right. No offense to Matt Groening, but Ken's "Futurama" was a well-written, uniquely-drawn masterpiece in the vein of Thea von Harbou's "Metropolis." Ken was selling his original artwork for the series for something like twenty bucks and I didn't hesitate at buying my favorite page, posted below.

I even bought a "Futurama" t-shirt, but have since outgrown it and have no idea where it ended up.

About ten years ago, I started working on a book about three guys in their mid-twenties who barely got along and were thrown into the shadow world of magic and monsters. Each one "found" a powerful magic item with which they used to battle evil under the watchful guidance of reclusive horror novelist/sorcerer Desmond Craft. Although I'd outlined the first story arch and nearly finished issue one, the story just lost steam for me.

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I say "found" because it turned out the magic items were actually looking for them.

In the next few years, you'll probably see some incarnation of Goldenhawk (below) in the pages of "The Serial Squad!" This was the original concept I had for him.

I had a bunch of costume pieces in my head left over from drawing all kinds of warrior chicks and threw them together for this piece, which I called "Mistress of Steel."

Morgoth (below) is a character a buddy of mine played a number of years back in my Kirby-esque world of Skataris. As it turned out, in a time-traveling adventure, one of Morgoth's companions, an orc raised by peaceful Martial Arts monks was accidentally responsible for Skataris's near destruction that turned it into the string of planetoids it was.

Lastly, a little slice of cheesecake.

Keep it here, boppers.

A Few Images I Really Like!

2008-12-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Up first is the cover to Mike Indovina's The Chimera Strikes! #2, art by yours truly. I really like this picture simply because, upon seeing it, Mike emailed me saying it was, "The coolest thing I've ever seen." That's the kind of reaction I like. Mike's a helluva storyteller and artist, so that kind of praise goes a long way.

The cover is a long way (literally) from the image below. My mother unearthed this drawing recently, drawn by yours truly some twenty-seven years ago, when I was first introduced (I think) to The Ghost Who Walks.

I'm not exactly sure why I gave him a high tech hunk of handgun, possibly because I was also pretty into Dethlok at the time. If I remember right, I had a dart gun that looked similar to the gun in the picture.

Tom Scioli has long been one of my favorite artists since I stumbled upon his series The Myth of 6-Opus at my first Mid-Ohio convention a few years back. Tom is, I believe, the reincarnation of Jack Kirby, obviously and his work for Image Comics on Godland, penned by Joe Casey, is a great book, but I keep asking Tom every time I see him when the next issue of 8-Opus is coming out. I get the same answer, essentially: "When I can find the time."

Below is a picture of Captain America I asked Tom to draw at S.P.A.C.E., back in '07, when I found out he was only charging twenty bucks a sketch! I finally found the time and nerve to ink it.

Somewhere I have a sketch of Black Bolt he did for me last year. I wonder if Tom needs a new inker. Wishful thinking, I suppose.

Oh, well, keep it here, Boppers, for more posts.

Terror at the Bottom of the World! Update 12-17-08

2008-12-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

If you were lucky enough to pick up a copy of The Serial Squad! Terror at the Bottom of the World! ashcan at this year's Mid-Ohio Con, then you've already gotten a sneak peak of things to come. I say lucky because I haven't even seen the ashcan yet, though I'm told it looks great. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, below are the first five pages of TSS!TatBotW! as well as the front cover, which I hope doesn't drive our colorist mad.

The story takes off not long after the first book (still available at Bad Place Productions, finer comic shops abroad and various upcoming conventions), where the events that unfolded during the burgeoning team of adventurers' first mission still resonate in the back of their minds, shaping their immediate futures.

I'm a quarter of the way through the book as I write this and hope to have it done well before S.P.A.C.E. in April of next year, where as it turns out, The Serial Squad! Thrill-O-Rama! has been nominated for the S.P.A.C.E. Prize!. Until then, enjoy these sneak peeks and check back often.

Remember, keep 'em flyin', boppers!

Game Night Update for 12-16-08...

2008-12-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Well, to say that the debut of Black Samson & Iron Gauntlet was a smashing success would be adding just a wee bit too much hyperbole. We managed to uncover the culprits behind a string of explosive bank robberies but almost completely by accident. We spent the majority of the adventure eating in nearly every restaurant in the neighborhood where the banks were being robbed, antagonizing a couple of non-super wannabes and unwittingly allying ourselves with the actual criminals behind the robberies. But, when it was all said and done and the smoke had cleared, we came up smelling like a rose, in spite of the fact that Iron Gauntlet took a major beatdown and Black Samson inadvertently caused a spectacular traffic accident that resulted in the capture of the real bad guys. Our initial instincts, however, proved valid as Hammer & Anvil, the two guys everyone thought were behind the robberies, proved to be innocent. All's well that ends well, I say.

For information regarding Heroes Unlimited, the RPG system this adventure took place in, you can visit the Palladium Books website.

Project Update, 12-16-08!

2008-12-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

A lot has been going on since The Serial Squad!, Thrill-O-Rama debuted earlier this year at SPACE. The reception for the book has way exceeded my expectations, thanks in no small part to John's rock-n-roll promotional style. Thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy and if you haven't picked up a copy yet, it's available at the Bad Place Productions website as well as any of the conventions we'll be attending in the fast-approaching new year.

In an attempt to at least post here on a semi-regular basis, along with my usual bits of tomfoolery, I'll be posting various images and news concerning project updates, etc. Up first are the first five pages of The Chimera Strikes! #2, which, aside from the front cover, I recently completed penciling and inking for Mike Indovina. Issue one is still available through Mike's website as well as the conventions he too will be attending. Mike don't talk much. He don't have to. His books speak volumes. Check 'em out!

As you read this, I'm diligently toiling over the pages for The Serial Squad! #1, Terror at the Bottom of the World! Keep it here, boppers, for all the updates fit to print, including pages from that very book.

Game Night 12-01-08!

2008-12-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

Due to crummy weather, a cold I can't seem to shake and an impending, self-imposed deadline to finish The Chimera Strikes! #2, Game Night was canceled. I've only got a few more pages left to finish for Mike Indovina, which I'm hoping to have done before the dreaded Christmas Break, two weeks of utter chaos as my kids run rampant through the house hopped up on Holiday Cheer.

Since resuming Game Night a few weeks back, I've been trying to figure out what type of RPG campaign I wanted to run. Don't get me wrong, playing Black Samson is a blast, but I also enjoy running a game, the trouble is, I've been burned out for the past few years from decades of being Designated DM. This DM Block as it were has caused me to reflect upon just exactly what it is that has me in a creative bind where creating adventures is concerned. It's certainly not the lack of time I have to dedicate to such an endeavor. LORD knows I've got plenty of that, what with the various comic book projects I've got on my drawing board...literally.

Every time I sit down with a note book to jot down ideas for a game, I hit a brick wall. The spark just isn't there. What was it about those early teen years that made D&D marathons full of limitless possibilities come so natural? After all, I'm a wiser, more creative person these days than I ever was back then. Surely ideas should flow a freely as Mt. Dew on Game Night. Then, last night it hit me.

Boobs. It was while watching "Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell" on DVD that the epiphany struck. The imagery and inspiration for adventures fueled by the bad fantasy movies of the day that rode the wave of "Conan the Barbarian," stacks of wax by Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden & Judas Priest, Saturday Mornings watching "Thundarr the Barbarian" as well as yearly calendars by masters such as Frazzetta & Boris all seemed to boil down to one thing. Boobs. Technically, that's two things, but you get the idea and maybe it wasn't boobs exactly, but they seemed to be everywhere you looked back then. Looking back, it was the cheesy naivete of the fantasy genre that was so great. And back then, D&D was a boxed set of rules (which usually concealed an issue of Easy Rider or Playboy), a handful of dice and a few guys who couldn't get girlfriends. Good times...

It's that same feeling of fantasticaly cheese-laden naivete that I'm hoping to recapture in my upcoming campaign of Wizards & Winchesters. What? Never heard of WW? Adding an "&" between the "Ws" is too much of a tongue-twister, but I digress. Originally, I was just gonna blow the dust off of my old D&D boxed set, set the doubtlessly-collectible copy of Easy Rider aside and have at it. Then, I found the one and only dot matrix copy of an RPG I created back in the 90s called Mercs, which we all had fun playing but just kinda fizzled after a few adventures. It's a basic enough set of rules that could really be applied to any genre of gaming. Thus, WW hit me.

The setting is this (keeping in mind I'm attempting to not over think it)...

In 1981 (the year I started gaming) Earth suffers a full-scale attack from alien invaders whose primary arsenal was a terrible Terra-forming bomb and an army of lizard men. Humanity is all but wiped out, blasted back to nearly the Stone Age, rounded up by the lizard men and enslaved by the invaders. Meanwhile, Earth teemed with new lifeforms. Lesser beings evolved in generations rather than millions of years. Revered and feared as sorcerers, the invaders' reign is short-lived. With the rediscovery of firearms, mankind won a successful revolt against their tyrannical masters, forcing them to flee to distant lands and deep underground.

Now, a thousand years later, amidst forests teeming with terrible new creatures, evil sorcerers and hordes of nomadic lizard men, mankind has built walled cities in attempt to reclaim his place in the world.

So, there you have it, the basic premise for my upcoming campaign. I'll keep you posted as to how things go.

Oh, and for the record, "Nyphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell," a 1991 Troma Team production was so bad I had to watch it twice to truly appreciate it. Sadly, it didn't exactly deliver in the Boob Department. Lots of bad acting, stop-motion animation and an over-baring soundtrack, though. I highly recommend it.

Keep it here, boppers...

Game Night, 11-09-08!

2008-11-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

Well, it was Game Night again last Monday. Glen Evans, our GM, whipped us up the "Heroes Unlimited" versions of Power Man & Iron Fist for myself and Marc, whose last name I'm hiding to protect his identity. By the end of the Game session, however, we'd modified the two Marvel Bronze-Aged badasses into the characters you see below. My buddy Jay Fife once said "homage" was French for "halfassed," but I tend to put my whole ass into everything I do. Anyone who knows me knows of my love for Bronze Age Marvel characters, so behold, two characters we created that you'll never see on a comic book page for fear of numerous lawsuits. I give you: Black Samson & Iron Gauntlet!

Fearful of being spotted and thus hindering his chances of ever getting laid again, Marc attempts to conceal his true identity by doing his best Emperor Palpatine impression. "Emperor Palpitation" is more like it. Way to go, man, that'll work!

Glen clearly has no such problems. He appears to be livin' large and laughin' easy.

In this adventure us two burgeoning "Heroes for Hire" are trying to find out whose been targeting (and destroying) the banks in our area. Two "retired" heavy hitters named Hammer & Anvil are the key "persons of interest," but I seriously doubt it's them. They were home snug in their beds when the last bank was hit. I know this because I burst in on one of them just moments after the last bank was destroyed. Keep it here, boppers, for the further adventures of Black Samson & Iron Gauntlet!

Halloween '08 Recap!

2008-11-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

And so, yet another Halloween has came and went. Next to Christmas, it's our busiest season. So, I took some time off from the various comic book projects I'm working on, and just enjoyed the week with my wife and kids.
There were so many super hero costumes lying around the house after Trick or Treating it looked like a Justice League pool party. Pictured, from left to right, are Atticus as Superman, Arlaux as Hawkgirl, Jeep as Iron Man and their friend Evan as Flash. Ever the businessman, Iron Man clearly plugs Hot Tamales.

Iron Man flies solo for this shot.

Lest you think only the little ones got to enjoy themselves this Halloween, that's yours truly in the "grown up" Flash costume. Atticus was so impressed, he put on his own speedster suit. Barry Allen and Wally West never looked so good!

No costumes in this next picture, just a shameless "Serial Squad!" product placement and a picture of myself on the newest member of the family, nine-month-old Aramiss.

Pop Rocks, anyone? Some of the spoils of Trick or Treat Night sizzle away upon the tongue of my daughter Arlaux (that's "Arlo" to the uninitiated).

And lastly as many of you know, Wednesday nights around here are referred to as "Billy Night" or "Movie Night." This past week, the feature was the 3-D epic "Journey to the Center of the Earth," complete with 3-D glasses. While the 3-D effect was less than spectacular, the movie wasn't bad. I'd give a solid "C" ("A" being the best it could be, "E" being worthy of Cinema Insomnia). No offense to Mr. Lobo, of course.

Pictured above, from left to right, are my son Jeep, my wife Alivia and, of course, Billy.

That's it for this post. I've got lots more, but the clock on the wall says I gotta get going to work soon. Hopefully, it won't be over a year before I can get back to it.

Movie Trailer Alert!

2007-09-17T22:38:00.001-07:00

Color vs. Black & White

2007-09-04T12:59:00.001-07:00

The Last "Hollywood Heroes" Update!

2007-09-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-10T08:29:00.001-07:00

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

In Loving Memory

2007-08-08T23:37:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday, Pony.
Stay golden.

Arissa Lynn Marie Gaekle
1994 to 2004

Yankee Rose

2007-07-16T06:01:00.001-07:00

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!

2007-06-28T08:17:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-23T11:48:00.001-07:00

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

Movie Poster Madness!

2007-06-23T10:55:00.001-07:00

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!

2007-06-21T07:43:00.001-07:00

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"

2007-06-08T07:00:00.001-07:00

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...

2007-06-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2007-05-31T18:38:00.001-07:00

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

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

2007-05-31T10:57:00.001-07:00

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

2007-05-29T06:23:00.001-07:00

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

2007-05-28T12:29:00.001-07:00

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

2007-05-26T12:32:00.001-07:00

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)

2007-05-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

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!

"Hollywood Heroes" Update #6!

2007-05-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

One of the best aspects of working on Hollywood Heroes is getting to use some previously created characters created by some friends of mine who also share a love for serial heroes. In a small way, using previously established characters such as these, although not actually created in the 1930s & '40s, seems to ground this project in that era. One such character is Mike Indovina's Chimera, first published by Mike in mini-comic format back in the 1990s before graduating to full-size comics.

Mike's love for pulp & serial-style heroes really comes through with the Chimera although the character isn't anything as simple as a pastiche of such iconic characters. Mike toils over his plots and characterization like no one else I know and the end result is worth his mental anguish. When Richard Penn dons the mask and fedora of the Chimera, a pulp character created by his grandfather decades earlier, Richard takes on the persona of the masked mystery man. Complete with a "flashgun" and a not-so-typical "girl Friday" who shares the same last name as the pulp hero's assistant, Penn slugs his way through the crime ways of Mike's fertile imagination.

I had the privilege of working with Mike on an upcoming issue of the Chimera, a book he'd waited patiently for me to angle enough free time to work on, which is kind of ironic as I'd pestered him for quite sometime to relaunch the character. So, when I began to work on Hollywood Heroes, I was thrilled that Mike was gracious enough to allow me to continue drawing the Chimera in my own book. But to further add to the Chimera's already complex history, I added a twist of my own.

Richmond Kane, reclusive actor and conspiracy theorist not only played the Chimera in such Saturday morning serials as "The Chimera Strikes" and "The Chimera vs. Doctor Satanic," but played a number of other roles as well, including co-staring with the lovely Kay Campbell in "Tasma the Congo Queen & the Pharaoh of Fear" where the two shared a romantic, off-camera interlude. Smelling a good mystery, when Kane was asked to join the Hollywood Heroes he was on board quicker than a flash from his flashgun which was supplied to him by the team's inventor Professor Armstrong. Jack Hart, the All-American Hero might be the team's heart, but the Chimera is its brains.

Keep checking in, boppers, more updates are right around the corner. Don't worry, there's a black & white Tasma coming soon.

"Hollywood Heroes" Update #5!

2007-05-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Something occur ed to me this afternoon while working on concept drawings for Hollywood Heroes. I've never considered this book to be anything but a black & white comic book to keep it in the vein of the old Saturday morning serial of the 1930s & 40s. While designing a character, I kind of have an idea of what color they'd be "in reality," but I've never considered, until working on Jack Hart, the All American Hero, what their colors would look like in black & white.
Confused? There's more. Now I'm considering gray tones for the book. I've always figured, most cases, gray tones overpower the artwork too much. I'm not knockin' gray tone artists, but sometimes editors/writers/the-powers-that-be allow them to flex their skills and sometimes the two don't mesh. The task I'm now considering is finding a gray tone artist that I think will work well with my style (such as it is). That, or do it myself. The trick I'm imposing on myself is making the grays look like movie grays and not artist strokes.

In the meantime, while I toil over it, enjoy a little comparison and let me know what you think.

"Hollywood Heroes" Update #4!

2007-05-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

The trouble as I see it with creating a patriotic superhero is that they've been done to death. You name it, someone's already using the name you want or the costume you've so carefully created so as to not infringe on any others is too close to someone you've never heard of. And as for naming them, forget about it. Captain America, Super Patriot, Commander Steel are just a few of the better ones and the number of variances thereof are incalculable. So, when you want to create a classic-looking patriotic serial hero, what do you do? I just said "to hell with it" and did what I wanted. I went with a more subdued-looking stars & stripes type that has some obvious influences in the serials the likes of which you, the reader can toil over. The serials, after all, were black and white, so garbing Jack Hart, the All American Hero in too flashy an outfit would be just a waste.

So, who is Jack Hart, you ask? What separates Hart from the other Hollywood Heroes and other actual serial heroes for that matter is that Jack Hart the actor and the All-American Hero are one in the same. In much the same way Bill Boyde and Hopalong Cassidy were one in the same, Jack Hart is the All-American Hero. Everywhere Jack goes, he goes as Jack Hart, the All-American Hero, signing autographs and telling kids everywhere to get their parents to buy war bonds.

Strong as an ox and as determined as the American spirit he symbolizes, Jack Hart is a natural leader if not a bit too gung-ho. With a .45 on his hip, Jack Hart, the All-American Hero foiled many a dastardly plot by enemy saboteurs every Saturday morning and so, when his country called, Jack Hart the man didn't hesitate to become a true Hollywood Hero.

Don't worry about that ridiculous-looking mask, it's just for show.

"Hollywood Heroes" Update #3!

2007-05-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

And the updates just keep on coming!
Equally as important to the team as her pilot Captain Nighthawk is...The Nighthawk herself, a one-of-a-kind prototype airplane based on the models used in the Captain Nighthawk serials. Lightweight and built for long range, the Nighthawk can land on water as well as land. Her dark colors and whisper-quiet engines make her nearly invisible in the night sky as she delivers her payload against tyranny.
Wally "Booster" Martin might be the shortest and most reluctant member of the Hollywood Heroes, but his daring soon knows no height as he straps on a working model of the jet pack he wore as "The Nightflyer, Vigilante of the Skies!" Along with his astonishing jet pack, Martin packs a mini-flamethrower as a sidearm against those who would appose liberty.

And, of course it wouldn't be an update without at least one Tasma picture.Keep swingnin' in and checkin' it out, boppers.

"Hollywood Heroes" Update #2!

2007-05-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

I've always felt that the non-powered or gadget-based members of DC's Justice Society of America would've translated beautifully into serial form. Flash Gordon had Prince Vulcan, so why not a Hawkman? Wildcat & Atom just wore costumes and beat the hell out of guys and what was more "serial" than that? But, Dr. Midnite would've been the best. So, while creating my "Hollywood heroes," there may be a little JSA influence shining through, particularly in the persona of Captain Nighthawk, an obvious nod to Midnite. Since he's the pilot of the team, zooming our heroes around in a prototype airplane (The Nighthawk), I also thought of doing an homage to Captain Midnight.

Burt Barnes, originally a circus barnstormer, turned his skills to stunt work in the serials before staring in his own as "Captain Nighthawk, Vigilante of the Skies." An ace pilot and a crack shot with a .45, Barnes was recruited into the Hollywood Heroes as the team's pilot, flying them around in a one-of-a-kind replica of his trademark Nighthawk. Barnes is a chain smoking daredevil who lives to fly.

It's been a dream of mine to do something with Tasma since Ken published her first (and only) adventure, "The Pharaoh of Fear," back in B-Movie Presents #3 in 1986. So, any chance I get, I'll gladly post whatever pin-up of her I've got lying around.

One addition I added to Tasma's character is her trained tiger, pictured above. I was actually going to crop it out of this image because it kinda looks more like a Guinea pig than a ferocious tiger, but, what the hell, it's my first attempt at drawing a tiger.

So, who is Tasma, you ask, or at least my version of Tasma? Kay Campbell, military brat and third-place winner for Miss America, turned her obvious beauty into a lucrative career as an actress, starring as Tasma the Congo Queen in a number of serials. But when her country went to war, Campbell stepped out of in front of the camera to get behind one herself and became an award-winning photojournalist. Recruited into the Hollywood Heroes as the team's photographer, Campbell's skills with a knife, gun and Judo prove invaluable.

Keep it here, boppers.

Hollywood Heroes Update #1

2007-05-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

For the past few years, I've had the pleasure of working with some really great and talented people in the indie comic book scene who've helped me sharpen my skills as an artist and visual storyteller. During that time, I've been wanting to work on my own projects as well, but aside from painting, so far that hasn't really happened, not that I'm complaining. While trying to come up with an idea that I could stick with, I came up with a helluva lot of 'em that just went nowhere. Through them all, though, there seemed to be a few prevailing themes. I wanted to do a period piece, something with old-fashioned pulp-style heroes and Martians. That's right, I said Martians. Finally, something jelled and "The Hollywood Heroes" was born (No relation to Robert "Hollywood" Swinton).

So far, I've plotted out over half of the book, which will be a self-contained story with no current page count in mind. When it's done, it'll be done. The story revolves around the dark days of World War II, a morale-boosting photo opportunity gone terribly awry with a handful of Saturday morning serial heroes and, you guessed it...Martians.

Anyone who knows me knows about my love for the Saturday morning serials of the 1930s & 1940s, so when it came time to create architypes of those heroes of yesterday, it wasn't an easy task. I would like to thank my long-lost good friend Ken Holewczynski for letting me use his character Tasma the Congo Queen (pictured below), and Mike Indovina for letting me use a version of his character The Chimera. Mike, who knows more about the serials than I do, is also responsible, in part for Nightflyer, having coaxed me into using a jetpack-wearing character, which actually brought the story together in a weird way. I'm happy to announce that Mike has also agreed to letter the book, something I definately wasn't looking foreward to.In the future, I'll be posting updates regarding the status of the project, including character sketches like the ones you've seen above and, eventually, actual pages, so keep it here, boppers.

Reports from SPACE!

2007-04-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

And so, another visit to SPACE has come and gone. This year marked my third appearance at Columbus, Ohio's independent comic book convention. It's my favorite show to set up at, free of the whistles, bells and Z-list celebs hawking twenty-year-old photos of themselves, allowing us indie guys a chance to find our audience. This year the show ran for two days, which was great because shows like these are too few and too infrequent.

This year, Nik & I went to SPACE (I love saying that) with a friend of Nik's and fellow artist Jon Culczar, creator of Wicket & Imp, an insane comic that must be seen to be believed.

This year we got to hang with a lot of friends and had an all-around blast. The Man himself, Robert "Hollywood" Swinton was at the table next to us and Mike Indovina was just one table away, so it was a reunion of sorts for we OTF members. Unfortunately Jon's table was clear across the room.

Nik & I cheese it up for a picture taken by Hollywood.

Medicated Betty (above), one of Hollywood's (also above) creations, was my first-ever drawing of a bald woman.

Nik & Hollywood (below) fall victim to my ninja-style photography.Mike Indovina, creator of Satyr, Chimera and fellow OTF member was just one table down from us. This show was the debut of not only his Satyr tarot cards but The Chimera Collection, which as you can about imagine, is the complete collection of every published issue of his masked mystery man The Chimera.

Saturday night was spent dining at a faux Mexican joint that reminded me of a Chili's but with better food although my steak kinda tasted like a tongue and Mike had a bit of difficulty building his own burrito. But, they had Dos Equis on tap in chalice-style mugs as big as my head that Jon encouraged me to steal, but we couldn't figure out how to sneak the enormous goblet out the door.

One of my favorite stops as SPACE is the Torc Press table. The guys over there are in it for the love of the game and they're always coming up with newer, stranger books. Their latest effort (as far as I can tell) is an "all ages" book called Gulatta! and it involves Akuma Boy, the Japanese Chaos spirit trapped in the body of an American punk whose heroic motivation revolves around his love of simply beating people up.

Above is a drawing I did for them for the heck of it featuring my favorite character of theirs, Alice is Lost. Check out their website and, more importantly, check 'em out at a show.

Well, that about wraps up my report from SPACE. I've still got a ton of books to read that I picked up there, including Jon's books and issue three of Sgt. Death, and plan on reviewing the good ones as I go.

Keep it here, boppers.

In Honor of my April Banner...

2007-04-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of the Kinks...

I remember when you were down
You would always come running to me
I never denied you and I would guide you
Through all of your difficulties
Now I'm calling all citizens from all over the world
This is Captain America calling
I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now I'm falling

Spidertoad!

2007-03-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

Imagine being three years old and having your main goal in life come true!
Where do you go from there?
Such was the case a week ago when my son Atticus, better known as Toad, went to Walmart to meet none other than the webslinger himself...Spiderman!
Needless to say, Toad was speechless.

What amazed me was that none of the other kids were in costume!
What's wrong with parents today?
On almost any given day, you can drop by our house and at least one of the kids will be running around in costume.
Why limit the fun your kids can have to just Halloween?
Keep it here, boppers.

Girl Power!

2007-03-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

In the few years that I've been "doing" the convention scene, I've had the distinct pleasure of meeting some pretty awesome folks, some of whom I'm now able to call my friends.
Aside from being one of my all-time favorite pin-up artists, Jay Fife is one of the nicest people I've met in my conventioning experience. Not to mention one of the most patient people I've ever met. Awhile back, when I first met Jay, he had me do a sketch of Hawkgirl for his daughter, a burgeoning comic book fan discovering the positive female roles in comics. Since then, I've drawn a few more for her.
One thing that always gets me about drawing for Jay and his daughter is that he actually asks me to draw these girls, especially if you've ever seen his work. When I told him this, his reply was something like, "Let me put it to you this way. She doesn't ask me to draw them." I guess that's one of the best compliments I've ever got.
About a year ago, he'd asked me to draw Supergirl for her, which I did but somehow managed to forget to mail to him. See what I mean about patient?
As it's closing in on the date for the big Motor City Comicon, I promised Jay in an email that I'd bring that Supergirl sketch for him. He asked if I'd mind doing another one in the meantime. Like most kids today, his daughter is into the Cartoon Network's version of the Teen Titans. Terra and Starfire are among her favorites, so...

...the above picture of Terra sits in my "take everywhere" portfolio alongside Supergirl.
Keep it here, poppers.

Ayden the Poet

2007-03-16T09:03:00.001-07:00

There's never any telling what goes through the mind of a seven-year-old. Especially an amateur paleontologist like my boy Ayden (pictured below). Today, he brought his journal home from school and I found an entry in it that would've made Shel Silverstine proud.I wish I had 100 caterpillars.

I wish I had 100 ants.
I wish I had 100 snakes.
I wish I had 100 bugs.
But I wouldn't want 100 hats.

I'm pretty sure he didn't intend it to be a poem, but that's how I read it. Sometimes we create art without knowing it, and that, I think, is the heart of it all.

Keep 'em flyin', boppers...

One Tough SOB!

2007-03-10T08:25:00.002-08:00

God, I miss the Iron Curtain! Or rather the forest of men's adventure paperbacks produced dtowards the tail end of the Cold War. They were a throwback of sorts to the pulps such as The Phantom and The Shadow of earlier generations. I've always said everything I've ever learned about writing I learned from men's adventure novels, specifically Gold Eagle's gritty epic series The SOBs. Lead by the last man out of Vietnam, Colonel Nile Barrabas, the "Soldiers of Barrabas" were a mean bunch of mercenary sons-o-bitches who got the dirty jobs done. Barrabas got the jobs from Walker "The Fixer" Jessup, who got the jobs from an unscrupulous octogenarian senator referred to only as "The Senator" and Barrabas and company went to work. They fought the private little wars that kept us safe! Were they realistic? Of course not! But they made for a consistent hellasciously-good read, though unlike Gold Eagle's more popular if not drawn-out series The Executioner, which is still being published today, the SOBs only lasted less than forty books. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading The Executioner for awhile, but how many times can a guy get shot in the friggin' shoulder?!

Unlike The Executioner, the mortality rate in The SOBs was almost as certain for the heroes as it was for the villains. Towards the end of the series, Barrabas reflected upon how the original team had started with thirteen and steadily dwindled down to a mere seven. Of course a few of the team had seemingly "died" only to return to the ranks. William "Billy Two" Starfoot II for instance, a full-blooded Osage Indian who'd been shot in the back on a Siberian airstrip, tortured to the point of near insanity, managed to escape and return to the ranks of his mercenary buddies with the help of the Hawk Spirit. The true presence of the Hawk Spirit was constantly debated amongst Starfoot's pals, but they never doubted his belief in such an apparition. Another aspect of merit that put The SOBs on a par all their own was the series' author "Jack Hild," a pseudonym shared by only a few ghost writers, whereas other Gold Eagle books like The Executioner, Pheonix Force and Able Team, shared a plethora of ghost writers. This made for consistently tighter continuity and flashbacks.

Sadly all good things come to an end. Not only did the cancellation of The SOBs mark the end of my interest in men's adventure books, but it was quickly followed by a rising trend the genre. Science fiction began to be as prevailing of a topic as topless Asian chicks. If The SOBs were still in print today, they'd have found Osama Bin Laden, liberated Iraq and took care of Kim Jong Il's plans for global nuclear dominion over the Free World.

Dollar Store Cinema Unleashed!

2007-03-10T06:25:00.000-08:00

That's right, boppers, "Dollar Store Cinema" has it's very own blog!

In the tradition of all the great horror hosts of late night television, such as Svengoolie, Son of Svengoolie and Mr. Lobo, I'll be posting over at $SC as...The Scary Guy! It was a nickname given to me by some friends years ago that involved the mother of a stripper, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Rest assured, boppers, I'll be posting announcements here everytime I post over there, so you won't miss a single review to movies you're likely never to see.

Marvel Comics Has Officially Lost It's Mind!

2007-03-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK - Captain America has undertaken his last mission — at least for now. The venerable superhero is killed in the issue of his namesake comic that hit stands Wednesday, the Daily News reported.

On the new edition's pages, a sniper shoots down the shield-wielding hero as he leaves a courthouse, according to the newspaper.

It ends a long run for the stars-and-stripes-wearing character, created in 1941 to incarnate patriotic feeling during World War II. Over the years, an estimated 210 million copies of "Captain America" comic books, published by New York-based Marvel Entertainment Inc., have been sold in a total of 75 countries.

But resurrections are not unknown in the world of comics, and Marvel Entertainment editor in chief Joe Quesada said a Captain America comeback wasn't impossible.

Still, the character's death came as a blow to co-creator Joe Simon.

"We really need him now," said Simon, 93, who worked with artist Jack Kirby to devise Captain America as a foe for Adolf Hitler.

According to the comic, the superhero was spawned when a scrawny arts student named Steve Rogers, ineligible for the army because of his poor health but eager to serve his country, agreed to a "Super Soldier Serum" injection. The substance made him a paragon of physical perfection, armed only with his shield, his strength, his smarts and a command of martial arts.

In the comic-book universe, death is not always final. But even if Captain America turns out to have met his end in print, he may not disappear entirely: Marvel has said it is developing a Captain America movie.

A friggin' sniper?! Are you kidding me? Joe Quesada's a retard anyway! Keep 'em flyin', boppers, he's probably an LMD so Steve Rodgers can get his anonymity back.

Dorthy...

2007-02-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after watching his mother go through a harrowing experience with the dentist, our son Ayden (age 7), drew this zebra for her. He said if she took it with her next time, things would be better. I don't know what goes through a kid's mind sometimes, but then I don't know what goes on in my mind half the time. Why else would I have done this with it?

Convention Schedule '07!

2007-02-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

Big news, boppers. Now that beach beauty Marisa Miller has gotten your attention, listed here is my convention schedule for this year.

March 10th there's a one day show in nearby Portage, IN I plan on attending just because it's local and to see what it's about. Aparently it's the second annual show, so maybe they're doing something right. For some reason I lost the link to this show so I can't post it.

I'll be setting up at SPACE, in Colubus, OH, April 21st-22nd with Nik Havert, Mike Indovina, Robert "Hollywood" Swinton and hopefully a few other good guys. Along with all the great stuff available from Pickle Press, I personally hope to have my Big 'Fro Brown t-shirts ready. Look for them at both our table and the table of the "Man In Brown's" creator Robert Swinton.

About a month later, Nik and I will be setting up at Motor City, which is actually in Novi, MI May 18th-20th. It'll probably be more like the 19th & 20th though. With any luck, maybe one of those days, you might even catch a glimpse of the Real Kerry Connelly. Mike will be at Motor City as well. We're feverishly working to get his Chimera "relaunch" ready by then.

After that, I'll be at InConJunction in Indianapolis, IN with Nik on July 6th-8th.

I plan on attending Wizard World, Chicago one day this summer, along with Nik to hopefully help pitch Salem, AZ to potential publishers.

And that'll pretty much wrap up the convention year for me. All above dates, of course, are subject to cancelation at the whim of God. Keep it here, boppers...

Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear!

2007-02-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Reading all the old comics from my youth has gotten me nostalgic for some of the superheroes I myself had created. From about 1975 to 1980, I must've created a million of 'em. Some were hopeless pastiches of popular characters, but a few were pretty cool. Or at least I like to think of them as being pretty cool.
As I've said before, at first I drew a number of mini comics (folded over 8 1/2" by 11" typing paper) of my friends and I as the Fantastic Four. One day, when I can figure out how to avoid a lawsuit and getting pummeled by my friends, I plan on recreating those little gems. The first issue will be called "It Was A Dark & Stormy Night." But soon after I started creating "original" characters of my own, though still based on friends and myself. So, I thought it would be fun to recreate some of the less embarrassing ones for your view amusement.
Never one to pass up a chance to embarrass myself for the sake of entertainment, I figured I'd draw myself first.

The Laser (I thought it was a cool-sounding name at the time) was a 12-year-old me who, struck by a bolt of "alien energy from deep space" was given the scientific knowledge of an "alien world long dead" to create powerful wristbands that allowed me to fly at the speed of light, fire powerful, destructive bolts of energy and gave me superhuman strength. I wasn't bullet proof, but I could melt the bullets before they even reached me. The dead alien race, it seemed, put all their scientific knowledge into this "beam," which they fired off as a sort of distress/warning signal and as luck would have it, it struck this "C" average earthkid whose head was always in the stars anyway.
I think I was really into Marvel's Nova & Captain Mar-Vel at the time and probably caught "Forbidden Planet" on Son of Svengoolie in order to create this one.
Keep it here for more nostalgic fun, boppers...

The One That Started It All

2007-02-15T07:24:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to share this painting with you gentle boppers for quite some time, but never felt that the time was right.

Back in '04, I painted this picture of Arissa's favorite Power Puff Girl for her as she was getting ready to leave us and go to school out of state.
It was the first time I'd picked up a brush that wasn't to paint a house since high school nearly two decades ago.
Well, she loved it but we later found out the school wouldn't allow her to bring it. It was some sort of religious rule, I guess. Well, their loss as it sits prominently displayed atop my computer desk, beside my 12" Taylor (from Planet of the Apes) action figure and my Frank Frazetta's "Death Dealer" statue.
Since doing this painting, I've gone on, with my wife's encouragement, to do many more paintings for friends and family.

Keep it here, boppers.

R.I.P. Anna Nicole Smith

2007-02-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

She was a "True Hollywood Story" in the making, one we knew wouldn't end well. From humble beginnings to a meteoric rise in fame to a Eriwn Allanesque disastrous ending, love her or hate her, everyone knew who she was. Anna Nicole's life played out like a 1950s Hollywood starlet, forever immortalized in a tragic tale that will mutate over time but will never be forgotten. I'll admit I was a fan of her Guess Jeans ads and own her Playboy issues and her reality show was one of my guilty pleasures. I often called her a "pink train wreck," something you couldn't look away from. I empathized with the tragedy of her last remaining days, from the death of her son to her own sad end. I'm sure the world hasn't heard the last of her bizarre life as the news channels and tabloids will bleed every drop from it they can and therein lay the true tragedy of it all. I guess the moral of her life story would be never give a hillbilly too much money.

And as a parting shot (every pun intended), here's one for my "girls with guns" segment.

Think Warm Thoughts!

2007-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

I just checked the temperature outside. It's eight friggin' degrees out there! So, here's a little something to warm us all up a bit. This beach beauty is Mallory Snyder, brought to you courtesy of my handy-dandy Sports Illustrated desktop calendar.

I just might have to make this a regular post, what do you think?

The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!

2007-02-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

Here's another one from my past. Probably one of the most important comic books I ever bought, or rather my parents bought as I was only nine or ten at the time and didn't exactly get a weekly allowance. The Old Man didn't believe in allowances of a financial nature. We had a roof over our head, clothes on our back and food in our belly, what more did we need? As I've gotten older and have kids of my own, I see the logic in the Old Man's philosophy. I've also adopted His "If you don't work you don't eat" mantra, but I'm getting off track.

Fantastic Four #185 pitted the Fantastic Four against the evil warlock Nicholas Scratch (one of my favorite badguy names of all time), a mess of hooded witches and a sky full of gargoyles as they desperately attempted to rescue li'l Franklin Richards. As usual, the cover was misleading. In the Mighty Marvel tradition, the issue ended on a cliffhanger. Comics veteran Len Wein really knew how to write a suspenful tale, but what impressed me most and left a lasting impression on me to this day, was the artwork. This was the first of many issues of the "world's greatest comic magazine" that I bought. I was familiar with them, of course, through the cartoons being aired around that time, but they fell short of their four-color counterparts. Relative newcomer George Perez, teamed with another veteran Joe Sinnott, longtime inker for Jack Kirby, provided some of the most indellible images of my youth. I think I even aped this cover as a kid with my own version of the Fantastic Four. I used to draw these crude mini comics where me and three friends had become the Fantastic Four and...well, that's a post for a different day.

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting George Perez. I shook his hand, a hand that has penciled some of the greatest work in comic book history, and said, "Mr. Perez, I just wanted to remind you that you're awesome." He laughed, caught off guard a bit, I think and said, "Thanks."

Getting back to my youth, due to my infrequent trips to town, I never managed to pick up #186 to see how they rescued Franklin or defeated Nicholas Scratch and his band of witches.

So, along with completing my Invaders series this year, I also intend to find out. Keep it here, boppers and I'll let you know how it turns out.

Am I Just Gettin' Old?

2007-01-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, I didn't get to town much. We lived out in the country and trips to town were seldom and usually revolved around buying groceries. I'm not trying to give you the impression that we grew up on Waltons Mountain or Walnut Grove, but most of what we ate, we grew, but trips to town were still needed. My parents were smart. I see parents today dragging their screamin', mulin' kids through the grocery stores today and I just shake my head. Dragging your kid along the the grocery store or Walmart and not buying them anything is torture for both parent and child! Why put yourself through that?

I'm getting off the point. When I was a kid, circa 1977, if I was lucky enough to get to ride along (With no seat belt on, I might add!) with the Old Man to whatever store he had to go to to buy oil or a box of 12-gauge shells, for a buck, I could buy two comic books, a candy bar and a bottle of pop, usually a bottle of Royal Crown. Of course, he'd always tell me how much comics were in His Day and how he'd earned that dollar, but as my own kids are getting older and I find myself reflecting on my youth, I totally get where he was coming from.

Once again, I'm off track. The biggest draw back to living out in the sticks and rarely getting to town was the big holes between issues of my favorite comic book titles. Back then, I didn't care so much. I'd read whatever I had so many times that, now, thirty years later, those old books of mine have since crumbled and returned to the elements from wince they came.

Thank God for little comic book shows like the one I attended last week. If you look around, you can find almost all of those great old books for a buck or two and relive those glorious days of yesteryear! As I see it, why buy the crap today for three bucks when, for a buck, you can read comics from those halcyon days when people still knew what the hell a comic really was! Of course, there are still some good "mainstream" titles out there today as well as some fantastic "Indy" books such as those produced by my contemporaries (Yeah, that was a shameless plug).

One of my favorite issues from my youth was Marvel's Invaders #36. I'd originally bought it because of Captain America, but the book's villain Iron Cross quickly became one of my favorite bad guys and served as an archetype for all the armored characters I'd create in my formative years. More so that even Iron Man. Of course, the end of the issue left me hanging for nearly thirty years. As most of you know, finishing my Invaders collection was my big resolution for '07 and, with the help of such little shows as the one I recently attended in South Bend, I just might make it.

Back during WW II, code names like "The Whizzer" conjured up whole different meanings than they would today.

One of my earliest comic book characters I created was an armored guy named the Crimson Crusader, who looked suspiciously like Iron Cross, although I had the good sense to remove the Iron Cross and pointy helmet from his suit. I'd post a picture of him, but that would be embarrassing for all of us. Hey, I was, like twelve at the time.

Finally, after nearly thirty years, I found out the fate of Cap & Company in Invaders #37!

I was also able to nearly complete the nine-issue Bicentennial storyline running through Captain America around issue 200 (what else, right?), written & drawn by Jack "The King" Kirby. The "Mad Bomb" storyline, beginning with #193, marked Kirby's return to the book and offered up a whole new dynamic that makes no bones about being a comic book. The story might come off as a bit cheesy compared to the "ultra reality" of today's books, but if I wanted "reality," I wouldn't read comic books.

Amidst a story of over-the-top action, we have a moment of social commentary between Cap and his buddy Falcon that is as well placed as any roundhouse punch delivered by the Star-Spangled Avenger.

And speaking of action, fergeddaboudit! Nobody did action like The King!

Here's another comic from my youth that was lost in time. Although long-time Hulk artist Herb Trimpe, along with Joe Staton supplied the interior art for this issue, the cover (though uncredited in the Mighty Marvel Manner) was clearly penciled by industry giant Gil Kane. This along with countless other reasons is what's wrong with Marvel Comics today. Covers sell books, it's a fact. Back in the day, a comic book's cover gave you a glimpse of what waited for you inside, although sometimes misleading you on purpose such as the cover to Invaders #35 (posted above). Nonetheless, the covers told a story as much as the interior. Anymore, Marvel's covers are just mini posters of the book's heroes just standing around striking heroic poses with little clue as to what awaits you within its glossy, overpriced pages.

This particular issue pitted Doc Samson in a rematch against the green-skinned Goliath. Samson has always been one of my favorite super heroes who, for some reason, never got his own title. Peter David did some cool things with him within the past decade, but he still never got his own book, until recently, but here's the catch: Marvel, in its infinite wisdom, changed his friggin' uniform! Why would you change that uniform?! I can't tell you how many times I've aped that uniform for some of my own characters! One day, I plan on doing a Doc Samson painting, but more on that later.

And as for other things I'll be doing in the future, with the popularity of my "Dollar Store Cinema" posts (from all twelve of you who read my blog), I'm going to be turning DSC into its own blog.
My first post will be for "Isle of the Snake People," starring the legendary Boris Karlof.

And having said that, all I can say is, see you next time, boppers!

Fangs of the Dollar Store Cinema!

2007-01-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

I can't say anything too bad about this movie.

This one delivers, folks. I read a couple of not-so-forgiving website reviews lambasting it for not having a single original idea, but let's face it, it's a friggin' vampire movie. Even back in 1968, there was nothing new under the sun in vampire movies, pun intended."Long life!" toast Italian hotties Diana Lorys (left) & Anita Eckberg as foreshadowing for things to come. At first, Eckberg orders a whiskey but, upon discovering they haven't any, settles for beer. What a woman!

The plot goes something like this...

Sylvia (Eckberg) inherits her family's ancestral home in a remote Italian village. When she arrives to inspect it, she finds it to be full of a handful of Amazon-like vampires, her creepy, metrosexual uncle, who doesn't appear to be any older than she is and one big peeping tom. Sylvia's husband and his friend, whose name isn't really important, attempt to rescue her. There's blood sucking, a little S&M and some humor here and there.
In an unfortunate, libido-driven misunderstanding on Sylvia's husband's best friend's part (see, told you his name wasn't important), when one of the vamps asks him if his blood is hot, he replies, "Hey, I'm Italian!"
Maybe Fangs of the Living Dead wasn't the most original vampire movie ever made, but it certainly wasn't the worst. A buck's a buck, right?

See you soon, boppers.

Photo Album!

2007-01-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

As some of you might know, I'm beginning a comic book project I'm particularly excited about with the Mr. Satyr himself, Mike Indovina. Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't been excited about all the other projects I've worked on, but this one is of special importance to me. Not only have I been promising a very patient Mike that I'd get to this project eventually, but ever since I was twelve years old, all I've ever wanted to do was draw superhero comics and in the almost three years I've been getting my feet wet in the Indy scene, this is the closest I've come to doing a "long underwear" book.

So, for the next few months, between working with Mike, working on a handful of paintings, doing more work on Salem, AZ with the Inkslinger hisself and Big 'Fro Brown, I don't exactly know what images I'll be able to post and when, so in the meantime, here's a super sized post. Inspired by a recent post by fellow blogger the Evil DM, I thought I could fill some time with a bunch of photos and images I've amassed over the past few months.

First up, a creepy little dinosaur picture my six-year-old Ayden drew using Microsoft Paint.

Ayden, who turns seven on January 24th, just so happens to share a birthday with Ernest Borgnine and the late Jaded Minstrel himself, Warren Zevon. Not too shabby company if you ask me. I share mine with Jenna Jameson, also not too shabby.

Here's a random 1970s comic image for ya and a perfect example why Marvel's Misty Knight was one bad sister.

Speaking of bad girls, what's hotter than a redheaded Russian spy in a skin-tight Emma Peel knock-off? Nothing! If I'd been writing comic back in the 70s, I'd have teamed her and Misty Knight up in their own book in a second!

I miss you, Maestro.

In a Viking way, of course.
Drop me an email, man!

My wife's probably gonna kill me for postin' this one, but that's what she gets for showing me this picture. Thank God Arlaux takes after you, baby.

And now for the opposite of "cute," Danny "Navajas" Trejo is simply the scariest-lookin' hombre in Hollywood.

Why hasn't anybody done anything with Black Vulcan lately? Talk about a waste! If DC Comics could bring the Wonder-friggin'-Twins from the 70s small screen to comic books, why not a character worth salvaging? And what about Super Chief and Eldorado, for that matter? His magic cape allowed him to teleport, for cryin' out loud! How cool was that?

Speaking of salvaging worthwhile things? Does anybody remember Jackie Brown? There's an old saying that goes Stagecoach made John Wayne a star, but The Searchers made him an actor. In my humble opinion, the same could be said about Pam Grier. Foxy Brown made her a star, but Jackie Brown made her an actress. Don't get me wrong, Miss Grier's made about fifty movies, most of which I've seen and I enjoyed her in each one, but there was something about Jackie Brown that made me wonder why the hell doesn't she have a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame?!

She would've made a helluva Misty Knight too!

Can you believe this bow-huntin', head-turnin' painter, who isn't afraid to get her hands bloody (literally) would have anything to do with a couple of comic geeks like Nik and myself? For any of you living in a cave up till now, Miss Nicole McClain has taken on the likeness of Salem, AZ's gunslingin' witch Kerry Connelly.

"If they move...Kill 'em!"

Remember the good ol' days of comic book ads? This ad sure promises a lot for only $6.98!

The OTF?

Here's a cool dude in a loose mood. If anybody even remembered who he is, I'd say, "Move over, Tone Loc." Hard to believe my little boy's three years old!

Speaking of incorrigible three-year-olds, here's a long-thought lost picture of Arlaux at about that age, turning our old entertainment center into her own hide out. Now that's entertainment!

And that pretty much wraps things up. Keep checkin' back, boppers...

Gun Street Girls

2007-01-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

"With a head full of bourbon and a dream in the straw.

And a Gun Street Girl was the cause of it all."

--Tom Waits, Gun Street Girl

Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard once said, "All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun." As much as it pains me to agree with a cheese eatin' surrender monkey (thank you Groundskeeper Willie), he's right. Apparently the late Warren Zevon had similar sentiments when it came to song lyrics. I think it's maybe some sort of "black widow" fixation, beautiful but deadly. As I've been trying to come up with new themed posts for '07, "girls with guns" seemed to be as good a topic as any. And so, our first entry is the totally yummy Yuko Moriyama in a still from the 1993 Japanese horror flick Zeram! I highly recommend this movie for more than just Moriyama's role in it, but film critique isn't exactly the point of this entry. Here's a few more to demonstrate what is.

Project Update for the New Year!

2007-01-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

Pass the air freshener because it's time for a big ol' photo dump! Yeah, I know, pretty gross, but I couldn't help it. I'm only leaving this particular post up for a few days, however as it's meant mostly for my contemporaries to see what I'm up to. Posted here are the pencils to Salem, AZ#1, pages 24 to 38 along with the finished cover and a penciled pin-up I did awhile back.

Enjoy 'em while ya can.

Return of the Son of Dollar Store Cinema!

2007-01-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

A young girl is mysteriously found dead in her Louisiana hometown and Sheriff Whitacker (David Janssen) tries to crack the case. Tensions build as more and more suspects come into play. The people of the town believe a pack of wild dogs are to blame for the girls' death, but are they more than just wild dogs? The film's ending is quite unusual.

At least that's what the back of the box claims and if that final boast is true, I couldn't tell you. I fell asleep every time I tried watching it. People in Louisiana have a different definition of "tension" as this 1972 made-for-TV masterpiece was as tense as an episode of the Cajun Chef. Forty-five minutes into this sleeper, character actor extraordinaire Geoffrey Lewis is chased around a jail cell by a menacing shadow and is ultimately killed, subsequently killing any interest in the movie for me. To her credit and possible dismay, Leslie H. Whitten wrote the book this fine film was based on.

Because I can't fairly critique "Moon of the Wolf," having slept through it's "unusual ending," I figure I'd take this opportunity to review a movie I actually managed to stay awake through. "Five Minutes to Live," stars Johnny Cash and, oh hell, who cares beyond that right? In his 1956 debute, Cash stars in this tale of a kidnapper who takes a housewife hostage and demands a ransom from her wealthy husband. This movie actually delivers plot twists up the wazoo, a little singing on Cash's part, and an opening scene that has the future Man In Black behind the muzzle of a blazing Tommy Gun. Want more? How about Vic Tayback for starters?

Long Time No Post!

2006-12-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been a long time since I've had the chance to update this lil ol' blog. So long, in fact that Blogger has apparently been consumed by Google and, I guess has a whole bunch of new features I'll have to learn to use. This was news to me. Anyway, since It's been awhile, I figured you good folks out there deserve a update bonanza, so here goes.

Images gallore! That's what it's all about, right? First up is a picture of my incorrigible five-year-old Arlaux and an unsuspecting Santa. When we asked her what she wanted to wear to go see The Man, she immediately decided that the only outfit suitable was her Supergirl outfit. That's my girl!

Next up is my latest obsession. During the 1970s, Marvel Comics published one of the best WWII-era comic books of all time. Roy Thomas and Frank Robins produced some of the most memorable, over-the-top stories I've ever read. My collection of "Invaders" books is only about a dozen, but I plan on filling in the many gaps over the course of the '07 convention season.

Here's something that I almost never do! When a friend at work asked me to do a portrait of a friend of his for a birthday present, I cautiously accepted the challenge. Hey, I'm no Inkslinger. I never know how people are going to react when they see a picture of themselves drawn in my "style." Well, this one went over pretty well, I guess as her whole family wanted copies of it.
No, it's not "Snakes on a Plane," but it is a pretty close likeness to Mr. Samuel Jackson taken from an early issue of "Hero for Hire." I took some time off from drawing comics to actually read a bunch of dusty old comics I've acquired over the past year. I'll be posting images worth sharing, including the "Marvel Two-In-One" WTF panel of all time. Stay tuned. Okay, I altered that last word balloon a bit.

Finally, I managed to get two paintings under my belt, both for my buddy Dwayne's boys for Christmas. Since they were going to be hung in the same house, I decided to try an experiment in light and dark contrast, making Cap the brighter of the two and Hawkeye a little more menacing. I've got two more on the way and you'll be seeing them as soon as they're done.

Well, that about sums things up this time around. I'll be posting more soon, including further installments on "Dollar Store Cinema." I might even post a review of a movie with both Bo Hopkins and Jerry Reed in it! Considering I thought those two were the same guy, it was quite a shock.

Dollar Store Cinema Double Feature!

2006-10-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you wondering, yes, I'm still diligently working on various comic book projects. At this writng, I'm a mere three pages from finishing the pencil work on Salem, AZ#1. Rest assured, there will be plenty on display here very soon. But, in the meantime, I'm watching more bad horror movies than I should admit to.

This time I give you a "Dollar Store Cinema Double Feature," featuring Atom Age Vampire and Dr. Jekyll vs the Werewolf (yeah, you read that right).

Atom Age Vampire is almost too good for this segment and is only a "b" movie as a matter of circumstance.

After the beautiful dancer Janette (played with sultry glamour by Susanna Loret) is dumped by her boyfriend, she, in a fit of restless despair, suffers a horrible car accident, hideously scarring her once beautiful face. Lying in a hospital bed, suffering from the blackest depression, Jeanette is given a glimpse of hope from Monique, a beautiful, mysterious assistant to the sinister Professor Levin. Desperate to repair her mutilated face, Jeanette finds herself the latest experiment of the bizarre doctor, and an accomplice to a series of savage murders committed to maintain the effects of her restored beauty.

There are a few aspects of this film that the box doesn't cover. One of which is more of a misnomer. Jeanette doesn't exactly volunteer for the experiment and there's more to the mad doctor than meets the eye. All things considered, this was a pretty damn cool movie. Find it, buy it, even if it costs you $1.99, which is actually what I paid for it.

I tried to google a decent picture of Susanne Loret, but this is the best I could do.

And that brings us to Dr. Jekyll vs. the Werewolf, not exactly one of Italy's finest exports.

Tired of turning into a wolf, a man seeks a cure from Dr. Jekyll's grandson. RUNTIME: 76 MINUTES.

That's pretty much all the box says. Sounds like a pretty cool plot, right? I don't think the guy that wrote the little synopsis actually watched the movie and I can't say as I blame him. Now, I'll admit I watched this movie over a quart of Miller High-Life, but I don't think that had anything to do with how bad it was. 76 minutes never seemed so long. It reminded me of an Igmar Bergman movie, just not shot as well.

The movie's only saving grace was one Shirley Corrigan (below), which made it a buck well spent.

Next time, a bit of a departure as Dollar Store Cinema brings you Moon of the Wolf, starring the fugitive himself David Janssen (much to his shame, I'm sure).

Dollar Store Cinema Returns!

2006-10-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing about October. I watch a lot of monster movies in October. When else can you get away with it, right? Luckily, dollar stores realize this so there's no short supply of crappy monster movies to be found. I call them "monster movies" instead of "horror movies" because, well, they're just not scary, which would imply horror. At least to me.

Today, I picked up a copy of Atom Age Vampire, which is actually almost too good for my "Dollar Store Cinema" review, but more on it later. Instead, as promised, I give you...Bloody Pit of Horror!

A group of photographers and models arrive at an Italian castle owned by a deranged ex-actor who is the reincarnation of the notorious medieval torturer, the Crimson Executioner. When he discovers that his ex-girlfriend is among the group, the enraged madman subjects them to his dungeon of torture. With scantly clad victims pleading for mercy as they face unendurable tortures, Bloody Pit of Horrors is a titillating over-the-top European horror epic.

The box had me at "titillating." This movie delivers, too, folks and "over-the-top" is putting it lightly. A bevvy of barely-dressed Italian beauties is chased around the creepy, old castle by one mantastic Mickey Hargitay, father (with a little help from Jane Mansfield) of the lovely and talented Marishka Hargitay, whom some of you may recall from previous blogs, is one of the few reasons TV was invented. But I digress.

Bloody Pit of Horror's seemingly inexhaustible supply of screaming cheesecake is only matched by an almost laughable, if not downright disturbing amount of mancake supplied by Hargitay. Perhaps that is the true horror within this bloody pit. It's a "b" movie in its purest form and must be seen to be believed. It might sound like I'm putting this movie down, I'm really not. If you can find it, buy it, but don't pay more than a buck for it and you won't be disappointed.

Next time, as promised, Atom Age Vampire! God bless the Italians...

Dollar Store Cinema

2006-09-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

It's a little known fact that so-called dollar stores are a great place to scout out cheap movies on DVD. We have about a half dozen such stores in my little hometown here and, every chance I get, I scour them for DVDs. My philososphy is simple: if you pay a buck for a movie and it turns out to be crap, you're only out a buck.

In the past, I've managed to find quite a few good movies this way, Kansas City Confidential, Deep Red and Legend of the Eight Samurai are among the good ones. Horrors of Spider Island, however, wasn't. It was, though, worth watching for its pure absurdity and it gave me the idea for a (hopefully) regular segment. I'm calling it "Dollar Store Cinema" and it will feature movies I've found that are so bad I couldn't look away.

A team of girls find themselves caught in a deadly web when they are shipwrecked on a remote South Seas island. The lush, tropical isle seems an ideal place to await their rescue, but hidden in the jungle are giant poisonous spiders. A venomous bite transforms the girls' escort into a disfigured beast, half-man and half-insect. Consumed with lust and craving blood, the monster hunts down the defenseless girls and slaughters them one by one.

At least that's what the box says. What you get are cat fights, cheap special effects, horny broads and bad acting. It's just THAT good. I've actually watched it about a half dozen times and what cracks me up most is, through all the horror going on around them, all these girls want to do is party. Keep in mind this movie was made in the early sixties and when it hit the American shores, it was probably nothing short of shocking for its brazen sexual content, which by today's standards falls short of a Disney movie. I highly recommend this movie on that merit alone.
Next time...Bloody Pit of Horror!

The Lost Lore of American Life

2006-09-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

My dad sent this to me today and ordinarily I don't even open "forewards," but he usually sends me some good ones. I thought I'd share it with you. I don't know who wrote it, but they were dead on when they did:

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking .
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents .
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.
and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

I sent him back this email:

"Kill all the lawyers." --Shakespeare, Henry VI

If I've offended anyone, sue me. It's what we do.

Along Came A Spider...

2006-09-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Project updates this time 'round!

First, a bit of shocking news. Apparently Joe "Madskills" Fuentes had a bit of a setback when his computer crashed, taking with it all the color work he's done for Pickle Press. That includes all 32 pages of Three Keys #2 as well as work on a number of other Pickle Press books. But, he's assured Nik he's working night and day to get caught up. Per angusta ad augusta, I always say. Loosely translated: No pressure no diamonds.
My work on the fist issue of Salem, AZ stalled out for a bit, but I'm back in the swing of things with only about eight more pages to pencil. Bill "Inkinator" Wilkison assured me in an email that his ink work on it is going swimingly. I believe his words were: Who said anything about a dry spell, bitch? I'm rolling in it! You gotta know the guy, I guess.

Below are two panels from page thirty. Awhile back I did this picture of Kerry Connelly and when Nicole McClain saw it, she announced she was afraid of spiders. That little bit of personal information from the big bad deer hunter made drawing page thirty particularly fun for me.

Nik has agreed to letter what is going to be an ashcan version of Up Jumped the Devil in trade for a Lady Blackhawk painting. You gotta know the guy, I guess. More on that later.

Well, that pretty much wraps things up this time 'round.

Fun with "Sneezed."

2006-08-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, the random verb is "sneezed." I may never forgive Nik for introducing me to this damn game.

1. “Every time Paul sneezed, he blew the roof off the bunkhouse.” So they made me sleep outside at camp.

2. “Paul sneezed during class. He was turned into an apple.” And got kicked out of Hogwart’s for it, too!

3. “Paul sneezed. ‘Bollocks,’ he said, ‘I think I have caught a cold.’” Yeah, I can’t add anything to that one. It’s friggin’ perfect.

4. “Paul sneezed two cubes.” Hey, nobody told me not to drink my ice tea through my nose.

5. “Paul sneezed loudly and dabbed his nose with a lace-edged handkerchief.” Okay, it was my grandma’s and we were in church.

6. “Paul sneezed on the Superman comic.” Thus ruining the collector’s value!

7. “Paul sneezed the napkin off the table.” I got nothin’.

8. “Paul sneezed and made faces trying to stop himself from sneezing again and altered his voice which showed some signs of strain.” Emergency hernia surgery immediately followed.

If you have no idea what you just read, try this. "Google" your first name with any verb like "jumped" or "slapped" and read the subtext following the initial headline.

Three Minutes with the Inkslinger

2006-08-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

For sometime now, Bill "The Inkslinger" Wilkison has been posting "three minute interviews" with various artists in the field of comics. Now, you're not gonna find these folks listed in the credits of the everyday garden variety comic books you find at your local newstand (do they even have comics at your local newstand anymore?). No, these folks are on a path all their own and all of them are extraordinarily-talented individuals, so it seemed only right to interview the interviewer.

But who is Bill Wilkison? Aside from being the force behind his three-issue comic book series featuring the Amazing Walter, Bill is an artist who knows no limits. I've only known Bill a few years, but it somehow seems longer. You can interpret that however you want, but I credit it to his love of the game of life. Bill has used Sharpies for so many years he should suffer a permanent contact buzz and he's the only guy I've ever met who gave himself his own nickname and it stuck.

Paul Schultz: Bill, you've managed to find a common thread among artists across the board that Dr. Seuss had a big influence on them growing up and that influence continues today. What influence has Dr. Seuss had on your life, work or art?

Inkslinger: He taught me to loosen up. In art and in life. The stories are really all about not being so uptight...about discovery...about taking risks and letting yourself be transformed. This is how you should treat your art as well...no matter what boundaries you think exist, no matter what limitations or expectations you put on yourself, there is always something else in store.

PS: I guess the guy who invented the question should have the best answer. Hey, Bill, art is interpretive. What is this?
Inkslinger: I made this game up, so I'm allowed two answers. At first I thought it was an olive in shadow, but I know this is because I finally broke down yesterday and bought 10 very expensive Olives stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes. But anyone can clearly see that this is the nose and mouth of Boo-boo Bear from the Yogi cartoons.

PS: What's your favorite "secret shame" movie?

Inkslinger: Milk Money starring Melanie Griffith. (In fact all of my "secret shames" invlove Melanie Griffith.)

My Son the Artist

2006-08-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

My six-year-old son Ayden drew this the other day and posted it on the 'fridge. I just had to share it.

Meme Alert!

2006-08-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

My buddy Nik was right in his latest blog entry when he said: " I think memes exist solely to give bloggers things to post." And in keeping with that declaration, Here's his latest meme, followed by mine:

1. FIRST NAME: Paul
2. WERE YOU NAMER AFTER ANYONE?: Uh, I'm pretty sure a baby in the hospital was named before me.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?: Watching "Benchwarmers." I laughed so hard I cried.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yep.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Smoked turkey
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?: Yep.
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?: Probably not as I can be pretty caustic & intimidating (or so I'm told).
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?: Only online.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?: See #7
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?: Yep
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?: Maybe ten years ago.
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?: Lucky Charms though I seldom eat cereal
13. YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?: Not usually.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?: Stronger than I give myself credit for, I'm told.
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?: Never touch the stuff.
16. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?: Whether they look me in the eye or not. It says a lot.
17. RED OR PINK?: Pink.
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF?: Weird question. Who doesn't like something they like about themself?
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?: If you know me, you know that answer.
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?: If I sad "No," that'd be just plain rude.
21.WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?: Jeans, no shoes (see #13).
22. THE LAST THING YOU ATE?: A beef chimichanga.
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?: Well, "Golden Girls" is on in the background...
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?: Ultraviolet
25. FAVORITE SMELL?: The laundromat on the way to work on Sunday mornings.
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?: My wife's aunt.
27. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?: I hate sports.
28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?: Technically, I vamped this meme from Nik's blog and he's a'ight.
29. FAVORITE DRINK?: Non-alcoholic: lemonade; alcoholic: Johnny Red on the rocks.
30. HAIR COLOR?: Brown(ish) .
31. COLOR OF EYES?: Brown(ish).
32. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?: No.
33. FAVORITE FOOD?: Burritos or egg rolls.
34. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING?: Who doesn't like a happy ending?!
35. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?: "V for Vindetta." It was awesome.
36. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?: Mostly green leaves with tucans all over it.
37. SUMMER OR WINTER?: Winter.
38. HUGS OR KISSES?: Kisses. Hugs have almonds in 'em and I'm not a fan of almonds.
39. FAVORITE DESSERT?: Black coffee.
40. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?: Slowy.
41. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?: Zombie Boy.
42. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?: "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac MacCarty.
43. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?: Looks like a jelly stain..
44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?: The first six episodes of "Weeds." They were pretty good.
45. FAVORITE SOUNDS?: My kids laughing.
46. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?: Paint it black, you devils!
47. THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?: Vegas, baby.
48. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?: I can work and talk at the same time. Turns out a lot of people can't.
49. WHEN WERE YOU BORN?: Exactly seven years to the day before Jenna Jameson.
50. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?: In a hospital.
51. WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO MEET?: God & He knows why.

And that's pretty much me in 51 questions.

Busy Weekend!

2006-08-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

It was a busy weekend! First there was my twenty-year high school reunion. It was actually two reunions in one as a good number of people that I graduated high school with I'd also graduated elementary school with. I think my entire elementary school student body was around three hundred and my high school graduating class was over three hundred. Big change. In a way, seeing some of the old grade school kids was more special. But that's not to say it was great seeing some of my old high school chums, some of whom I literally haven't seen since graduation twenty years ago.

Then there was Wizard World, Chicago. I didn't set up with Nik this year. I've got a love/hate relationship with this show. It's a great convnetion to buy stuff, but they treat us small press guys like leppers when they should be kissing our feet. Artist Alley, the home of small pressers and day-jobbers like myself help keep the show afloat. Some of the finest books you'll ever read can be found in Artist Alley. We put everything we've got into our work and it shows. I'll have reviews soon, I've just a lot more of 'em to read.

I got a lot of really cool stuff, including an autographed picture of Joyce Dewitt, the nicest celebrity I've ever met. My wife Barbi and I met her last year at the Motor City Comicon. It was great seeing her again.

I got to reconnect with a few very talented friends of mine like Ryan "Sarge" Sargeant, Mike Indovina (a fellow OTF conspirator) and Rafael Navarro.

This year the costume themes were (as usual) Storm Troopers & pirates, but I was totally blown away by the girl in the Power Girl outfit. Who the hell dresses up like Power Girl?! I was told by Nik that she's also been known to dress up as Poison Ivy and Shanna the She-Devil. She told me she liked to portray the more obscure characters.

Totally commited. That's how I'd describe the boys at the Ape Entertainment booth, particularly Ben Lichius, co-creator of The Black Coat, A Call to Arms. These guys rock and I wish them every bit of success. Ben was cool enough to do this sketch card of the Black Coat for me and signed it to my good friend Billy, the only guy I know who enjoys the series even more than me!

One of my missions whenever I go to a convention, be it Wizard World or a glorified fleamarket, is to hunt down cheap comics from the 1970s, particularly those drawn/written by Jack "The King" Kirby. Marvel Comics in particular hold particular interest to me due to the characters and the grandeur of their scope and the dynamics of their action. That's not to sell short Kirby's New Gods or Demon, but Kirby's work for Marvel just bursts from the page. The best part about collecting Kirby comics is I could spend my whole life collecting them for a buck a piece and never run out of books. The guy drew dozens of titles and did hundreds of issues of them in some cases. As a burgeoning comic book artist, I can't comprehend doing that big of a body of work!

I talked with Rafael about the artist's role as "director of photography" in a comic book. We'd both agreed that Darwyn Cooke is a master of this philosophy. It's more than just moving a story along, it's dropping the ready smack dab in the middle of a bloody frey. It's making the reader feel all the emotion of the scene. Cooke can do this without a single caption or word balloon. Cooke is a master, but Kirby is a pioneer, a maveric and a legend because of his ability.

And let's not forget his monsters...

Killer androids...

And of course, robots, robots, ROBOTS!

Well, that pretty much wraps things up this time around. See you around the funny books...

Better Late Than Never

2006-08-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Over a year ago, at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund auction at the spring Motor City Comicon, Nik bought this original Matt Feazell sketch of comic bookdom's first family, the Fantastic Four. Nik knows what a fan I am of Matt and his work, the guy's a true pioneer in the field of independant comics. If you're ever in my house, you'll see examples of Matt's genius almost everywhere. I can't go on enough about the guy. The Inkslinger shares my "hero worship" as well.

Anyway, about the picture. I'd meant to post it after Nik gave it to me, but as John Lennon once said: Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. So, here it is, over a year later and I'm finally getting around to posting the Human Torch, the Invisible Girl, Mister Fantastic and the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing. Even my kids like this one.

Go Google Yourself!

2006-07-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Wait, it's not as bad as it sounds! I realize it's been awhile since I posted anything. Life, if nothing else, is full of surprises. That's all I'm sayin'. Since I don't have any pictures to post this time 'round, I'll post this:

My pal Nik Harvert brought this little game to my attention. Simply type your name into Google followed by a neutral verb such as "watches," "eats" or, in my example below, "thinks." It's a lot of fun on a night of reruns on TV.

Here's one I just did:

Paul Thinks That We Are The A-Team.
Paul thinks he's Batman.
Paul thinks that people were doing just fine. (Admittedly, this is an abridgement of a boring statement concerning Social Security, but it's damn funny out of context)
Paul thinks of snow.
Paul thinks it's OK transpixel. (Only because it sounds kinda dirty)
Paul thinks of the body as “something like a ganglion in a network of nerves." (Only because it sounds kinda dirty)
Paul thinks about thinking. How fast do people think? Is thinking faster than worrying? (It's true. I do)
Paul thinks the food can be eaten just like any other food. Nothing magical has taken place, no change has occurred, it is still just food. (True, unless it's a spinnach & sausage calzone)
Paul thinks that life couldn't possibly get any worse. But he was wrong.
Paul thinks that computers are evil.

See what I mean? Fun for the whole family! Give it a try.

Something I Wrote

2006-06-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided to take a crack at writing again. It's always been my second passion. While searching for the first draft of a book I wrote nearly a decade ago, which I figure could use a little work, I uncovered a bunch of short stories. To get back into the swing of things, I thought I'd polish 'em up a bit and post 'em for your entertainment and comments. The one I posted below is probably the last short story I ever wrote. It ain't too long & sorry, no pictures.

"A Stray"

By Paul E. Schultz

Two Dobie pups roughhouse noisily in the dust, testing mettle, like all children will. Before Time's march leads them to adulthood. The lucky ones grow up. Some just grow old.

I sit on the unfinished deck, in the thinning shade of the old house, watching idly, remembering what I can't forget. A boy I used to know, a stray who couldn't be house broke. Or broken.

I light a cigarette from my nail apron--a candle in the window--drawing a concerned glance from the screen door. Eyes too old for one so young. I don't even try to figure out the dog years.

"Her's called Sleepy-eyes."

Corn silk hair caught on an invisible breeze. Rabbit eyes stare out from behind taped-up frames.

Popsicle purple drips on new lumber.

"As good a name as any, I suppose."

"Mommy don't like her playin' with them others."

"In this heat, I don't blame her."

"She says them's too mean, but them's just playin'."

Inside the house, a man's voice calls. An echo from a nightmare.

The little girl jumps. "Gotta go now. Bye."

The screen door smacks, echoed from inside a moment later. I hear his voice, remembering the tone if not the words.

How many times do I have to tell you...? Why do you make me do this...? What's wrong with you...?

In the driveway, the playing stops and the pups scatter. Sleepy-eyes continue to stare. I know what she's asking.

I give the butt a flick, pick up my hammer and reach for the door.

If you like what you just read and would like to read more of my stuff, head over to this blog and check it out. Let me know what you think, good or bad. How else am I gonna know, right? I'll be adding new material periodically and will let you know when I do.

I Should Look So Good.

2006-06-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

This picture was presented to me a few days ago by my four-year-old daughter Arlaux. "It's you, dad," she announced.

I've Never Been More Proud

2006-05-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

I'd normally save this post for my daughter Arlaux's blog, but I just had share it here.

The other day, Arlaux (4) and my son Ayden (6) were trying to figure out which presidents were on which coin.

When they reached the penny, Arlaux triumphantly announced, "I know who's on the penny!"

"Who?" asked her brother.

"Johnny Cash!"

Kris Kristofferson was right, I suppose.

I've never been more proud.
Keep it here, boppers.

Motorcity Madhouse!

2006-05-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

It was convention time again this weekend & it was off to Detroit, Michigan to the Motorcity Comicon, which is, oddly enough, held in Novi, Michigan. Anyway, this time around it was all for fun. I've not attended a comic book convention just for the "fun of it" since I first started this wacky ride some two years ago.

And this time around, it was a small army of us along for the ride. Barbi, Dwayne, his two boys Alec & Dylan and our friends Larry & Amanda "Sprinkles" Berker and their two boys Tyler & Jeremy all made the trek to geekdom this year. Aside from the radio konking out on us on the way home, the trip was uneventful, which is never the case.

One of our first and most frequented stops was the Inkslinger's table. There's not much more about this guy that I can say that I haven't said before. Since I'm not sure how he might take that, I'll say one more thing: Bill will soon be taking the inking reigns on Salem, AZ. His work on part one of Up Jumped the Devil was so awesome that Nik & I offered him the inking spot on Salem, AZ. It only seemed right as he is the book's #1 fan.

Pirates, Storm Troopers & Caped Crusaders, oh, my! The three seemed to be the preferred costumes this year artist Sherrie Spencer was more than happy to pose with one of my packs of candy cigarettes. Be sure to check her out.
Anybody into Nick Cave, Tom Waits & The Man In Black can't be all bad.

Sympathetic to my crusade as well (yeah, I said it) against the consumption of candy cigarettes, the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder were more than willing to pose for this picture. I just want to make one thing clear. I'm against banning almost anything, and it's not my intention with candy cigarettes, I merely want the general public to realise that these candies are still being made. Do I have to say more? Knowing me, I probably do, so I'm in the process of putting together another blog to do just that. By the way, these guys were awesome and I owe them a big "thanks."

If you haven't read David Petersen's Mouse Guard, you have no idea what you've been missing. Issue one is currently sold out and issue three is due out in June. I picked up issue two Saturday, read it in the hotel and was blown away! David is also a super nice guy who, in spite of his busy work load of requested sketches, took the time to talk shop with me and pose for this picture. Perched upon this tree stump are all the characters, which he also hand made, in Mouse Guard. Check it out!

No, it's not Bat-Mite, just the best costume I saw all weekend.

Model, bow hunter & arachniphobe Nicole McClain poses behind the curtain of legendary George Perez and strikes a pose for a photo reference for an upcomg Salem, AZ postcard. Postcard supplied by the Inkslinger. Notice the orange t-shirt (if you can stop looking at Nicole for a minute).

The "Kerry" costume is coming together nicely thanks to the tireless efforts of both Nik Havert & Nicole and here's proof. As an artist, it just makes me proud beyond belief and even a bit giddy to see a walking, talking version of my two-dimensional creation. Nicole's willingness and gung-ho enthusiasm towards the whole project just fuels the excitement.

Nik, Nicole & yours truly pose for a group shot. A big "thanks" goes out to the incomperable (and tall) Dave Nestler for snapping this shot.

If the croud response we got while test running what we currently have of the costume is any indication of things to come, this thing's gonna be bigger than anything the three of us can imagine.

Flabbergasted by the Salem, AZ preview the Slinger let us run in Lucius Hears A Wha?, Nicole was more than happy to pose for a final quick flash.

Lucius Hears A Wha? not only wraps up the adventures of the Amazing Walter, but sports some major guest talent. Contributions from the likes of Stephen "Bad Music for Bad People" Blickenstaff, C.J. Filer & Bill "Don't Call It A Comeback" Loebs must be seen to be believed.

Keep it here, boppers...

Images from SPACE!

2006-05-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

And so another trip to SPACE has come and gone!

This convention was a special one for a lot of reasons. It not only marked the second SPACE appearance for Mr. Pickle Press himself, Nik Havert & myself, but it was also the largest gathering of the happy few that make up the Orange Tablecloth Front. Who or what the hell is the OTF? you might ask? Well, I'm glad you asked. Basically a few of us indy guys got together to form a support group to help promote and support each other against the staggering odds against us set up by The Man. We're not out to change the world, just to let comic book fans know that there's a huge chunk of iceberg just below the surface. Why orange? you ask? If you ask fellow OTF conspirator Bill "The Inkslinger" Wilkison, he'll tell you it's because nothing rhymes with "orange."

Above is a picture of myself (left) and Nik at the Pickle Press table just a few hours into the show. Aside from being set up across the aisle from Uko "Mr. Pin-Up" Smith, my only qualm about our area was the lighting. I wasn't the only one who noticed either. A number of artists I talked to had the same complaint.

By the way, Uko is an artist's artist and as humble as they come. More on him later...

For the life of me, I can't remember this guy's name, but he did an awesome picture of Vampirella for Nik. While the guy was working on it, I mentioned to Nik how the guy just had to be in Salem, AZ. Nik agreed and the guy was flattered. The Vampi drawing was awesome and as soon as I can get his name and website, you'll find it here, boppers.

Jay E. Fife (above) is not only a fantastic artist, but a fan as well, or most importantly, his daughter Erin is. After all, what's more important than inspiring the next generation? Jay poses here with a Wonder Woman drawing I did for her.

"What I don't get," I told him while leafing through his pin-up book, "is why does she want me to draw pictures for her?"

"Let me put it to you this way," he said, "she's not asking me to draw Wonder Woman for her."

That's probably the highest praise I've gotten since Steve The Dude Rude said, "I like that you're not afraid to use black."

Corey of Young American Comics was gracious enough to pose with a pack of candy smokes for my upcoming website deticated to the cancerous confectionary. YAC had some of the finest mini comics I've ever read. I particularly enjoyed Pair-O-Normal Investigators #1 in which Bigfoot & the Loch Ness Monster are paranormal investigators in Monstra City. Check out YAC's website, buy some stuff & support indy comics!

"Jam books" were all the rage this year. If you were an artist, it was only a matter of time before someone slipped one under your nose. For those of you not in the know, a jam book is just a piece of drawing paper, sometimes several pieces stapled together, with some form of story going on that you're asked to contribute a panel to. It's a great idea, but after about my fourth jam book, it occured to me that it's also a pretty good racket to garner some free orginal art.

The one you see above was, I believe, a hastily stapled scam to get some free art, so I got greedy and took the whole back cover. I realize it's fuzzy, but it's Nik and me standing at our table:

"Dude," says Nik, "you totally over-committed to that sketch."

"Dude," I reply, "I'm across the aisle from Uko Friggin' Smith!"

Thanks to the Slinger for that bit.

Uko was put back by the compliment.

No this isn't the back cover to a Molley Hatchet or Foghat album. I owe a Big 'Fro-sized thanks to Hollywood for providing me with this group shot of the OTF. With the exception of Joe Fuentes, the OTF were all present and accounted for. From left to right, are Mike "Can't Get Me No Satrysfaction" Indovina, myself, Hollywood, the Inkslinger & Nik. Keep it here, boppers for all the latest news about the OTF, yours truly and anything else that comes to mind. The countdown to SPACE 2007 is on...

Artist in Training

2006-05-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

I know I usually reserve the pictures of my daughter Arlaux for her own blog, but I just wanted to share these here. Here's my little four-year-old artist-in-training working diligently at my desk.

For all the latest groovy news in her life, check out her blog: They Call Me "Boo-Boo."

Manditory Kerry Pic!

2006-05-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Not since my last pice of request art have I done any drawings for the fun of it, which isn't to say that drawing isn't just plain fun anyway, but I've been so busy with my various projects that, sometimes it's fun to sit down and see what the paper's hiding.

In this case, it was a picture of Kerry Connelly I like to call "Cat's Cradle."

I'm thinking about turning this one into a print available for purchase at the conventions I'll be attending this year.

Well, that's all for now, boppers.

Art Update 04-27-06!

2006-04-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Big news, boppers!

The first few inked pages of "Up Jumped the Devil" are in and Bill "The Inkslinger" Wilkison has really knocked 'em out of the park!

What Bill's done with my pencils is nothing short of awesome!

For those of you living in caves, "Up Jumped the Devil" stars jazz trumpeteer/fix-it man Big 'Fro Brown, the creation of Robert "Hollywood" Swinton.

Almost a year ago, I picked up Hollywood's "Blow: Avenue of Escape" at the '05 SPACE convention in Columbus, Ohio and just had to get involved with this gun-totin' jazzman.

After a few emails, Hollywood was gracious enough to let me run with this unique character.

Enjoy!

Page One

Page Two

More pages will be trickling in soon.

And while we're on the subject of the Inkslinger, I finally finished his art request. He wanted drawing of (shudder) his cats. If this drawing makes no sense, visit Bill's website or blog.

"Cats...Why did it have to be cats?"

Keep it here, boppers.