Andy's Page on Undercoverfish

WEREWOLVES OF WISCONSIN Graphic Novel ON SALE NOW

2011-11-17T13:12:00.000-05:00

125 pages of Fright mixed in with a few laughs-- it's available now world-wide-- through the publisher's website and on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble, Books A Million and your local retailer.

DRACULA THUMBNAILS

2011-09-17T17:57:00.000-04:00

Re-working some pages for the DRACULA Trade Paperback, some scenes that I felt needed improving or fleshing out-- the scene after HARKER's shaving incident and the attack of the vampire brides seemed rushed and confusing in the original take- so it's time to do them over again.

This thumbnail represents the page where Harker first see's DRACULA climbing down the castle wall.

Frankenstein Sketch

2011-04-28T10:25:00.001-04:00

Preliminary sketch for an upcoming assignment.
VISIT MY REAL BLOG HERE

SKETCHBOOK Section

2011-04-25T15:01:00.001-04:00

This'll soon be nothing but posts of works in my sketchbook.
Stay tuned.

Batman's Cowl

2011-04-20T09:49:00.000-04:00

DRACULA on the KINDLE

2011-03-11T10:29:00.002-05:00

Go to Amazon-- key in Andy Fish DRACULA and buy the KINDLE edition. No matter if you don't have a KINDLE-- you will someday-- get it now!

Dracula Mug Giveaway!

2011-03-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

We're giving away a dozen DRACULA mugs in a random drawing for anyone who buys either a print copy or digital edition of the book. Just send us a copy of your receipt, or a picture of you holding the book, or your eReader with Dracula on it and we'll put your name into the zombie hat for a chance to win one of these swell mugs (retails for $12 in the www.deadtravelfast.com store).

The drawing will be held Apr 30th at Midnight-- so enter now.

Send your entry to info@undercoverfish.com with DRACULA MUG in the subject line.

DRACULA eBook Available NOW

2011-03-07T10:36:00.002-05:00

You can buy it through Barnes and Noble, iTunes or various other outlets for $4 or so, or you can buy it direct at www.deadtravelfast.com for under a buck for a limited time only.

An ALMOST FREE Dracula eBook-- it looks great on the eReaders, I just put it on my nook.
Get yours today.
Book Two right behind it.

DRACULA Webpage REVAMPED-- BOOK TWO Shipping

2011-02-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

DRACULA; THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST website has been revamped with ORIGINAL ART, a Full PREVIEW and better organization-- check it out!
www.deadtravelfast.com

Article on Andy Fish in THE PULSE

2011-02-05T22:32:00.001-05:00

THE PULSE Magazine has a nice little interview with me in their latest issue:

With images of starving artists suffering for their work, living on the fringe of society, eating rarely and crashing on friends’ couches, the stereotypical artist’s life seems a tough one. It’s the type of life that artist Andy Fish once thought inescapable, “I always envisioned setting up paintings in the park and eating out of trash cans.”

Happily, Fish found that art and commerce can indeed co-exist. He has managed to stay out of the trash cans...

READ THE WHOLE THING HERE

I like THE PULSE Magazine and it's staff-- they are always great to work with and very professional. It's funny sometimes when you give an interview it can be quite some time before it runs so you forget what you said. It's like reading it for the first time when it comes out.

DRACULA goes into SECOND PRINTING

2010-12-08T14:26:00.000-05:00

2nd Printing Cover

DRACULA; CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT Book One goes into it's second printing this week. The first run of 13,000 copies is gone and now we're going back to press with it.

The 2nd print edition has a slightly different cover design from the first one and you are able to order it for $6.99 with FREE SHIPPING until 12/12/10 if you enter the code HOLIDAY305 at the checkout!

If you wanted a copy-- this is your chance to save not only 30% off cover but get FREE SHIPPING too.

ORDER HERE.

Pirates of Mars Book!

2010-11-30T07:55:00.000-05:00

JJ Kahrs and Veronica Fish!

Pirates of Mars is a pulp adventure comic written by JJ Kahrs and illustrated by Veronica Fish. This special preview includes issue 1 of Pirates of Mars (32 pages) as well as excerpts from "Wunk & Fagnalls Guide for the Aspiring Freebooter" and extra sketches and production notes.

ORDER YOURS NOW!

Retailing Advice: The Front End

2010-11-22T15:38:00.000-05:00

Your front end people are the face of your store. This includes your cashiers and service providers who man the checkouts. It doesn't matter if you have one cashier or a dozen, they are the key to a positive experience from your consumer.

One of the key phrases I would instill is "A customer is not an interruption of your work, they are the reason for it." This meant that cashiers were to focus on the customer, not their co-workers, not on their breaks and not on their outside activities. A customer walking up to the cashier should be greeted and made to feel welcome. The cashier knew who to call should that customer have a complaint and never NEVER dismiss a complaint with just an apology or worse-- by ignoring it.

A customer remember the last few minutes in your store more than any other portion of the visit. If they waited in line for five minutes it was too long. If there were more than two people in front of them and another register wasn't opened this was unacceptable. Floor people maintained the flow of customer and monitored cashier behavior at all hours. This meant it was critical to have enough manpower that this Floor supervisor was able to do just that-- supervise, and not be constantly running a register. It also meant that said supervisor needed to be a self starter who kept busy, observant and who understood what to do to react to customer needs.

How do we accomplish this?

Find out in the Next Post.

Retailing Advice: Improving Your Market Share in a Bad Economy

2010-11-16T14:02:00.003-05:00

Does your entrance welcome customers?

Running a retail business isn't easy-- add in a bad economy and it's downright difficult. But there are some effective strategies smart business owners can use to ensure that they not only will maintain their market share, but can actually increase it when the economy is challenged.

My philosophy in business was to focus on morale and training, to hold managers and assistant managers responsible for their people and to make certain communication and goals were clearly outlined and transmitted all the way from the top to the bottom of the store.

Using this, I was able to make sure each of my employees (I had 475) were able to do their jobs, wanted to do their jobs and understood what was expected of them. This meant my customers got excellent customer service-- and in a bad economy when people are watching their pennies, choosing who to spend it with can be based merely on being the victim of bad service.

One of the things to remember about your business is it never runs better than when you are there, but that doesn't mean you should have to be there 24/7. You need to be able to count on your employees and management team to deliver the service you expect.

Step 1 of Improving your Market Share: Check the outside of your store.
Is it clean? Does it represent the kind of business model you are attempting to convey?

Here's a simple checklist-- step outside and try to look at your store with fresh eyes.

1. Entry should be BRIGHT and INVITING. If possible, people should be able to see into your store before they walk in.

2. Trash cans placed outside should be emptied when they are 3/4 full-- without fail. Nothing says "shop somewhere else" like overflowing trash.

3. Area should be swept and free of trash or debris not just at opening but throughout the day.

4. There should NEVER be ANY employees loitering around the entrance. This means if you must have a designated smoking area it should be in the back of the store and completely OUT OF SIGHT.

5. Carriages should be collected regularly. Any employees in the lot performing duties should be aware of all customers, greeting them, helping them load bags-- and most importantly it should be CLEAR that they are an employee of the store.

6. Lighting should be bright and directional. Is it clear where your entrance is? Are there handbaskets available? (Note: It's a good idea to place another SET of Handbaskets halfway through the store-- how many times have you wished you took a basket after you had six or seven things in your hand?)

NEXT: The Front End

Worcester Public Library Manga Club Book...

2010-11-15T07:22:00.000-05:00

Artist Jamie Buckmaster and I have been working with a group of about fifteen high schoolers to produce a graphic novel anthology, which is shipping from the printer this week...
Read More

DRACULA BOOK ONE Shipping to Stores

2010-11-13T13:22:00.000-05:00

DRACULA ships from the printer to stores this week. Thanks to everyone worldwide who ordered a copy through their local comic shop-- and ditto to the shop owners who ordered. Sales came in from ALL over the world with a huge concentration in Japan-- may have to rethink having it translated into Kanji.

Blogging Class

2010-11-13T13:12:00.002-05:00

I'm playing with this blog to demonstrate to my Blogging class at WAM on Friday nights-- so anyone else who stumbles on this please ignore the nonsensical stuff.

Marblehead

2010-06-12T23:19:00.000-04:00

Had a nice visit to Marblehead where I was involved in an assembly of middle schoolers who were interested in learning the craft of graphic novels. I was impressed with the interest, the talent and the hospitality.

Marblehead is a great community on the North Shore-- and one that recognizes art's importance in the education of a young person.

On the way back, we swung by Boston's North End where I had the most amazing meal of my life. I mean that. I've always wanted to try Chilean Sea Bass but I'm equally reluctant to get seafood when I'm out because I've had a LOT of bad seafood. Veronica had a baked chicken stuffed with mozzarella and spinach with Apple ravioli's in a gorgonzola cheese sauce.

We topped the meal off with coffee and desert and it was worth every penny of the hundred clams it cost-- every penny.

Veronica even managed to take pictures despite not having a camera.
I shouldn't be surprised.

Old Man at Union Station

2010-02-28T12:01:00.000-05:00

Waiting for Veronica--
Former cop? Former hat salesman (yes-- the Fedora was about a size too small for his head), but he had a great weathered face.

Sketch is done in purples but of course I scanned it with a batch of grayscale drawings so the color dropped out.

Wally Wood's 22 Panels that Always Work

2010-02-15T16:35:00.000-05:00

Wally Wood's 22 Panels that Always Work is a great little resource for cartoonists and graphic novelists-- detailing 22 + ways to show to characters having a conversation (which can be a bit on the boring side). I'm posting this here for my Emerson Students and anybody else who might need it. Print it-save it-use it!

25 Best Movies of ALL TIME! # 11-15

2010-01-14T10:40:00.000-05:00

11. SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Joseph Cotton. Hitchcock's best-- and that's saying something. Perfectly cast and a great slice of life in a small town in the early 1940s. Teresa Wright is so excited that her big time big city Uncle Charlie is coming to visit she can't see straight, and possibly can't see that ol' Charlie just might be a murderer.

12. DUCK SOUP (1933) Directed by Leo McCarey. Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx & Zeppo Marx.
This movie deserves it's amazing reputation-- a laugh out loud comedy which looks at the ludicrousy of governments and war mongering. "If you think things are bad right now, just wait 'til I get through with it."
Groucho's fast ad libs are worth the watch alone, add in a perfect cast and the elimination of those musical numbers that only slowed down the Brothers Marx other pictures and you have THE Marx Brother film.

13. THE THIRD MAN (1949) Directed by Carol Reed (but with some help from Orson Welles).
This is one of those classics that took me a few viewings to get into-- and mostly because of the zithophone soundtrack which continues to grate on my nerves, but it's an amazing film with an outstanding cast-- Orson Welles may have been the greatest actor in history.

14. CASABLANCA (1942) Directed by Michael Curtiz. Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet. Another one with a giant reputation-- my first two or three times with this I gave up too soon-- when I finally sat through the whole thing I realized what an amazing piece of film it is. Possibly the greatest American movie of all time-- it only makes it to 14 here because I've seen it so many times.

15. THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) Directed by Christian Nyby (with assist by Howard Hawks) Margaret Sheridan, Ken Tobey
The 50s were a time of radioactive monsters and monsters from space. There was also the Cold War between Russia and the US that made all of us suspicious of our neighbors and who just might be a dirty commie-- This is a perfect example from the era with a fantastic cast and fast paced dialogue that moves the story along at a brisk pace. The monster isn't all that scary-- but that's okay we don't see much of him. Listed as the favorite sci fi film of directors John Carpenter and Tim Burton and I agree.

25 Best Movies of ALL TIME! #16-20

2010-01-12T02:45:00.002-05:00

Continuing my list of the TOP 25 movies of all time;

16. REAR WINDOW (1953) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. James Stewart & Grace Kelly-- a movie that deserves the title Masterpiece-- set in Stewart's apartment where he watches the comings and goings of his Greenwich Village neighbors, one of which might just be a wife killer.

17. THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995) Directed by Bryan Singer. Stephen Baldwin & Gabriel Byrne.
When you sit down to watch this one you must do one thing; WATCH IT-- no reading the paper, no doodling on a sketchpad-- sit and watch it beginning to end and I bet you'll get to the end and decide you want to watch it again. A fantastic cast and a director who showed he had a lot of talent, I just don't know where it went (Superman Returns).

18. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) Directed by Jonathan Demme. Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster
You've probably seen this one, but you might not remember how good it is. Hopkins is chilling, Foster is solid and the story packs more suspense in two hours than every other film released that year.
19. THE FUGITIVE (1993) Directed by Andrew Davis. Harrison Ford & Tommy Lee Jones
Another one that is action packed, non stop and solidly told. Ford is fantastic-- his best role including the Indiana Jones movies-- a thrill ride and Tommy Lee Jones is outstanding as the Federal Marshall on his trail.

20. GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1954/1956) Directed by Ishiro Honda. Raymond Burr. A guy in a rubber suit attacks Tokyo-- if you thats what you think of when someone says Godzilla then you need to see this one again. A commentary on war and on nuclear war from the only country ever to have suffered through one. Even the english dub version which features recut footage with Raymond Burr is good.

NEXT; 11-15

25 Best Movies of ALL TIME!

2010-01-09T15:49:00.000-05:00

My top 25 film list would probably be different if you asked me again next week, but I get asked about it a lot-- especially at the end of the year when so many "Best of..." lists run.

In teaching a lot of classes, on film noir, comedy, Hitchcock, etc-- I've encountered a LOT of film and had the pleasure of discovering some real gems. A lot of these aren't going to surprise anyone (Citizen Kane is in the top 5, but there is an occasional Huh? included as well).

There are also a lot of movies that should have, could have and ALMOST made the final list but for sake of trimming it down to 25 I had to leave them off. Clint Eastwood's DIRTY HARRY and Richard Roundtree's original SHAFT are two of my absolute favorite films, but I gave the criteria to make the list pretty rock solid; Well acted & directed. Entertaining story. Able to stand up for repeated viewings.

So here, starting from the bottom up;

21. KISS ME DEADLY (1955) Directed by Robert Aldrich. Ralph Meeker & Albert Dekker. Based on the book by Mickey Spillane and featuring the hardest of the hard boiled detectives--this movie is a lot like a punch in the face. It comes at you hard and never lets up. I dare you not to watch this one and not throw some punk down a flight of stairs afterwards.

22. WAGES OF FEAR (1953) Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Yves Montand. This french film came on one night on TCM at about 2am and I stayed up and watched the whole thing because I couldn't stop. It's about truck drivers delivering explosives to a mining site down a treacherous ride, so treacherous in fact that they send three trucks in the hopes that at least one will make it. The night I watched this I overslept and missed the beginning of a class I was teaching the next morning.

23. MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE (1947) Directed by Elliot Nugent. Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour. I love Bob Hope when he's running on all cylinders-- and he's in top form in this mystery/detective/film noir sendup. One of the first films I had on VHS and one that never gets old for me.

24. THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940) Directed by George Marshall. Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard. Prime Hope. He gets mixed up with a haunted house in Cuba as he tries to help Paulette Goddard out of trouble. Never a dull moment in this one.

25. ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) Directed by Charles Barton. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello. My favorite movie as a kid, and it's still got a lot of charm. The monsters are treated with respect and the material is intelligently written so that it fits in with the previous entries in the Frankenstein Canon.

NEXT #'s 16-20

Inside the Studio over at Fish Wrap

2010-01-08T22:40:00.002-05:00

I'm walking folks through the mess that is my studio over on FishWrap.

The Blog-O-Verse

2009-12-30T12:46:00.000-05:00

This has been in an interesting experiment-- trying to maintain three blogs has been difficult, I'm not going to lie to you. With this NEW year I'm going to attempt yet another take on them;

FISHWRAP- will revert to NEWS; News of my latest assignments, books that are available with my work in them, projects I've been assigned or galleries or events I'm participating in.

Andy's RAMBLINGS- will take over the "catch all" test I did last fall-- but there will be an emphasis on art, art making, art products, art techniques, processes and so on. Will I ramble off topic? Of course I will, but this will have a HEAVY emphasis on ART.

DRACULA; CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT will resume the daily strip format as a means of previewing my upcoming graphic novel. It's a different animal as a daily strip, but I feel it's better suited to give you an accurate "read" of what I'm trying to do. In full color this time around and with 90% all new art.

So bookmark this blog, stick around and I promise I'll keep you entertained.

Dinosaur Stop Motion Test Footage

2009-08-05T12:23:00.001-04:00

Demonstration of Stop Motion for class

Tape Man!

2009-07-20T23:02:00.007-04:00

Tapeman is something of a legend which we did last summer. Copying work we saw in JUXTAPOZ magazine, ace student Keenan Cassidy and I (along with Nicole and Melissa) made a tape man last year and brought the local police to visit the display.

A tapeman is simply a tape sculpture of a person which you then cover in clothing and display somewhere. You use so much tape that the figure is strong enough to stand on its own.

The picture is from this year's TAPEMAN, and we had Number 3 son Adam as our model/victim; you can see Emily giving him a sympathetic look while Keenan (in yellow) and I are absorbed with making it impossible for him to move his legs (which it was).

You do the figure in segments, lower body first -- build it up and then cut it off (carefully). Then the top half and you assemble the two parts. The result is a near perfect replica of the original.

The figure is then dressed, and since he has no face you use a sweatshirt with hood or a wig to cover this-- and then you stand them up or sit them in a public place and watch the reaction from the public. Successful displays usually result in a stop by the local police to make sure the victim-- and remember every statue should either be sitting or standing so that there is no concern that this is someone in trouble, it would be bad karma to make the figure lying down and then tie up emergency response personnel.

TAPEMAN lives again-- and you can find him displayed outside the museum somewhere.

Now, stop reading this blog and get on over to my active BLOG.

Where are the Updates?

2009-07-06T08:35:00.000-04:00

If you're starving for Andy Fish news and rambles, you gotta go over HERE. It's my daily blog log for the time being.

Andy's Page on UnderCoverFish

2009-07-02T04:30:00.000-04:00

Well, that's it.

I've been posting blogs about nothing here each and every day to entertain you with your morning coffee dear reader, and it's time I bring the curtains down.

It's been fun, but tough at times-- contrary to appearances I have to actually think about what I'm going to write, and committments to my commercial art career have made this blog harder and harder to maintain.

So FISH WRAP will take over as my main blog-- and I'll hopefully keep that entertaining as well. I'll still post here once in a while, but it will no longer be the primary source of my lame wit.

So thank you to everyone who has been reading and sending me emails-- I sincerely appreciate it.

Aliens - GAME OVER MAN!

2009-07-01T04:30:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while there is a movie which I've heard great things about and yet just never found the time to watch.

ALIENS (1986) is just such a movie; I've seen about 90% of Alien (1979)-- possibly even more, but enough to know it's pretty good. I've heard that ALIENS was even better, so it was with much anticipation that I sat down with Veronica and watched this absolute piece of crap.

Might have given away my opinion on this.

Sigourney Weaver is back as Ripley, this time along comes Paul Reiser who plays a slimy business guy who only thinks about the corporation so you know for sure he's going to do something to sell the rest of the team out and die a horrible death at the end of the movie.

This is set in the future and we know this because all the guys wear their sport jacket collars up. That shows the advancement of fashion.

All right, here's the story (I guess SPOILERS but the the biggest one is if you sit and watch this you won't get the two and a half hours of your life back).

Aliens have invaded a new colony on the planet-- the people on the planet aren't responding to communication so Paul Reiser has to get a team together and go see what's wrong. Ripley has been charged with the loss of her spaceship from the previous movie so she's lost her pilot's license. Reiser convinces her to come along as an advisor telling her she'll get her license back if she helps them.

They aren't going alone, though-- they are going with Space Marines-- so far removed from REAL marines they behave more like a group of boyscouts on spring break than an elite military unit.

Bill Paxton is one of the marines. He delivers great dialogue like this (as they head to the planet's surface);

"We are total bad asses!"

We know this is true because he tells us (and Sigourney) six or seven times. He's not the most obnoxious of the stereotypical marines either, there is a street smart puerto rican woman with a red bandana who is the machine gunner-- the tough as nails drill sergeant who apparently stayed on past boot camp, and a couple of nameless chiseled pretty boys who look like they stepped out of a Calvin Klein ad.

The second they land on the planet they get their asses kicked by the ALIENS and Bill Paxton runs off crying "Game Over Man!" as he retreats for the ship.

Sitting through this, I kept waiting for it to get good. I even went so far as to check it out on IMDB and was shocked to see it got an 8.5 rating and non stop rave reviews-- did I watch the wrong movie?

In the same day we also saw UP! (fantastic movie) and TWISTER-- which is a perfect example of a mindless fun summer movie, but this thing is just a total mess-- but it did deliver a line I'll use over and over;

GAME OVER MAN! -- best if delivered in a high pitched nasal tone. And that's the word on this blog-- at least for now. I made six months plus of NEW posts every day, but I want to streamline stuff so head on over to FISH WRAP starting Friday for your daily fix of Fishisms.

TOMORROW; The End

Opie Retailer

2009-06-30T04:30:00.000-04:00

In addition to being an artist and writer, I used to be a retailer.

I worked my way up from bag boy to upper management, studied under Paul Chila who was himself a disciple of Paco Underhill (More on Paco in a minute), and took stores that were underperforming and made them successful and it wasn't all that hard.

So occasionally here on the ol' blog I'm going to offer some retail insight-- especially valuable in these turbulent economic times, but mostly because there are times I miss retail (which I honestly can't believe I just said).

Paco Underhill wrote the book on retailing and merchandising called WHY WE SHOP. In it, Paco approached consumers the same way an anthropologist studies monkeys out in the wild. This book was my bible after working with Paul Chila who taught me more in the five months we were together than anyone else in my ten plus years in retail.

It's funny, because I see this stuff employed everyday in stores, and I see so many missed opportunities as well;

1. A customer is not an interruption of your work, they are the reason for it.

Read that again. Without the customers in your store you have nothing-- are you treating them like a friend you're glad to see, willing to work to solve whatever their problem is, or are they intruding on your otherwise busy schedule? If the answer is the latter than you should probably be doing something else.

This doesn't mean there aren't a fair amount of crackpot customers, I've seen them firsthand, but I'm talking about the meat and potato customers who are regulars and who aren't asking for anything other than good service.

Veronica was recently in a Forever 21 Store, which as a policy seems to hire only the most unpleasant clerks available, and she wanted the skirt that was on a mannequin because that was the only one in her size. She asked and offered to switch it with a different size skirt and the clerk's response was she couldn't do it, and not only that, if Veronica did it then the clerk would get in trouble with her boss.

Are you kidding me?

Target recently has implemented a program where floor walkers are instructed to greet "guests" as they are in the store and ask them if they need help finding anything. Any readers working at T'get can confirm this if they'd like-- and I have no official knowledge of a policy, but I've seen it in action everytime I'm in the Big T now.

2. Respond to guest questions via email. There are a couple of local business I deal with on a regular basis and my preferred method of communication is email if I'm not in the store. I don't expect a response within minutes, but I do expect a response. One in particular told me they don't ever check the email on their website! Maybe you should install a phone that doesn't actually ring in the store either and let people call that too.

How blind can someone be? In the commercial art world, about 90% of my clients come from email contact-- and I respond to each and every one.

3. The store hours should work for the customers not the employees.

Yikes, this one wasn't popular with my team when I implemented it at my store. But it drove business up. In the Big Woo here we have Shrewsbury Street-- which is sometimes called Restaurant Row-- along said street are several clothing stores and misc retailers that can't seem to make a go of business along this heavily trafficked street-- but it's because they all close at 5pm when the foot traffic is just starting. I guarantee you if you changed your hours to nights along this street you would do a killer business.

4. Employee morale and training.

Price Chopper is a perfect example of this. There are TWO Price Choppers within 2 miles of my house, if you spend $50 at PC they take 10 cents off a gallon of gas which can actually add up to quite a bit-- it's a great promotion-- yet despite all of this I drive past these two markets to Big Y. Why is this?

Professionalism-- Big Y has better customer service. Their cashiers are better trained. They are able to get me out of the store quickly, if you go to PC after 9pm you are LUCKY if there is more than one register open. Countless times I've waited in line and listened to the cashier tell the bagger about their plans for the weekend, or worse, how much they hate their job and other stuff I really don't care about and I'd rather you just ring me up and get me out thank you.

This is all faulted to the management team who are just being lazy about training.

There are people who shouldn't be in retail. Plain and simple. You need to take a good hard look at your staff and re-evaluate your level of service, if you don't do it, your customers will, and if it's bad they will go somewhere else.

In this economy no one can afford to not offer full quality service to every customer in their stores, because this is where survival of the fittest will wean out the weak and the underserving.

And we the consumer will be better off.

TOMORROW; UNDERCOVERFISH PLANS!

SPACE 242; ATOMIC HEARTS & ELECTRICAL BRAIN Follow UP

2009-06-29T04:30:00.000-04:00

So there it is.

Months of hard work, struggles with hanging the show, promoting it to the point that even I was getting sick of hearing about it-- and it was really a blast.

First, thanks to so many people from The Big Woo who made the trip-- it was great to see our Boston friends, but I realize how much of a hassle it is to drive into Boston on a Friday night-- so thank you very much.

A water main break on Route 9 and an accident on the Mass Pike blocking lanes made Veronica and I arrive just a few minutes before the opening ourselves.

The gallery is a terrific space and Ami Bennet and her crew did an amazing job of hanging the show. Kudos to Veronica, Lindsay and Bamcat whose work all looked terrific and I heard compliments all night long.

The crowd stayed consistent through the night and I'd estimate 3-400 people coming through.

There were three people who came up to me during the show and said they've been to a lot of openings but this was the first time they've bought something-- very cool indeed!

We have an artists talk scheduled on the 21st of July at 7pm and the limited edition silk screen posters are supposed to be ready for that.

TOMORROW; Opie Retailer

Glen or Glenda? Ed Wood Knows

2009-06-28T04:30:00.001-04:00

"Glen is not a homosexual. Glen is a transvestite, but he is not a homosexual."

Once we get this information from the narrator of the film we are ready to roll on what is perhaps one of the most bizarre movies I've ever seen.

Infamous movie director Ed Wood is often credited as the worst filmmaker of all time-- and I think this is not the case. The job of anyone in the entertainment field is to entertain, and say what you will about this mish mash of stock footage and a script that appears to have been written in a drunken stupor underneath the rear booth at an all night Denny's, this movie was certainly entertaining.

Bela Lugosi is the star of this little feature, playing the puppet master who apparently something to do with all the other characters in the movie but for the life of me I don't know what. He occasionally intones some words of wisdom such as

"Beware! Beware of the big green dragon that sits on your doorstep. He eats little boys... Puppy dog tails, and BIG FAT SNAILS... Beware... Take care... Beware!"

I think I may just put that on my tombstone.

Lugosi looks better than I remember him from this period and Wood himself is better than some of the actors I've seen in supposed A or B pictures over the years. He's certainly less wooden than Kevin Costner and he's miles above GOG co star Lyle Talbot who I'm pretty sure they were repeatingly hitting over the head during filming which would account for his glassy eyed stare.

There's a Existential dream sequence in this which I think might have inspired Bergman's THE SEVENTH SEAL (HEY IT'S POSSIBLE!!!), which goes on far too long, but then when you make a movie with 20 minutes of real footage and the rest stock, you sometimes have to milk out the bizarre stuff.

As Wood himself tells us "My mind is in a muddle. Like... thick fog. I can't make sense to myself sometimes."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Ed.
Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of bad cinema. I liked it enough to buy a copy after seeing it and adding it to my Plan 9 and Bride of the Monster DVDs.

TOMORROW; Space 242 Follow Up

Pecha Kucha BEHIND THE SCENES

2009-06-27T04:30:00.005-04:00

The pictures of the event are up on FLICKR in case any of you want to see them, or understand the reason I'm now on this crash diet (Lost 9lbs! Woo!).

So instead, for graphics sake I will use this picture Lindsay Small did of what she suspects are my pajamas--and she's not far off.

So Veronica and I were asked to present at Pecha Kucha Night #1 in Worcester a few Sundays ago. Pecha Kucha, pronounced Pachak-A-Cha, is a Japanese invention that will allegedly take boring powerpoint presentations and presenters and make them interesting and fun.

So my friends, I present to you the HOW IT WAS TO BE A PRESENTER at PECHA KUCHA-- for this is a growing phenomenom and eventually everyone will have to be a presenter because there will be no one left-- so I offer this info to you as an insider on the outside;

The event was scheduled to start at 8:20-- there is a 20 theme to Pecha-- 20 slides, 20 seconds and for those of you military types 8:20pm is 20:20 hours. So 20 is thought to be good luck.

Organizers Cindy, Scott and Michelle asked us to be at the event around 6:45-- now at the time I thought it started at 7:20 but that was the "mixer" portion of it.

Okay, so we walk in the back door at about 7 and help ourselves to the wine and assorted snacks that are set out for us, we also spot our good buddy Derek Ring, say hello to a few other fine folks and start talking to Derek about comics and art.

Cindy has a meeting for the volunteers who have arrived, and there are a lot of them-- she wisely over compensated so no one was stuck doing something boring all night--then gave us the order we'd be speaking in-- Veronica and I were speaking as a pair about our partnership and the SPACE 242 show and we were set to be next to last-- Number 7 which would put us on about 9:30 or so.

The first presenter is an improv comic from New Hampshire and he's hilarious-- we don't envy the guy following him and suddenly are glad to be 7th.

The show moves fast, and they've arranged a diverse group of speakers; Derek Ring brought the house down with his "boobie" picture and we were entertained by all of the presentations in the first half.

There was a break and then we were up shortly after that. The setting was intimate but still held a good amount of people, the crowd was receptive and after we were done we had several people come up to us to chat it up.

All in all a great experience and one I'd recommend if you are approached, Pecha Worcester #2 will be sometime at the end of the Summer and I'm planning on sitting in the audience this time.

TOMORROW; GLEN OR GLENDA

SO BIG, I have to BLOG AGAIN! ATOMIC HEARTS OPENS TONIGHT!!!

2009-06-26T04:30:00.000-04:00

Don't be surprised if you're out and about tonight at 6pm and there isn't a soul around-- the desertion is because everyone who is ANYBODY will be at SPACE 242 at 6pm over at 242 East Berkeley Street in South Boston for the opening of ATOMIC HEARTS AND THE ELECTRICAL BRAIN!

The show features an amazing amount of work which we produced new for the show starting back in April- and this is the unveiling-- I'll also have some pages from my DRACULA graphic novel up on display and this is the ONLY public showing I'll be doing of them.

In addition to the Limited Edition SILKSCREEN POSTERS for the show at $20/ea-- there will also be an EXTREMELY LIMITED EDITION BLIND BOX Electrical Brain & Atomic Heart TOY for sale exclusively at the gallery-- this is the first toy from MODUS LOTUS and we're psyched to have it as part of the opening.

So if you're reading this at work right now, start coughing and tell your boss you're sure it's SWINE FLU and get yourself over to the GALLERY RIGHT NOW-- you don't want to be the one person who misses it!

TOMORROW; PECHA KUCHA behind the scenes

ATOMIC HEARTS & THE ELECTRICAL BRAIN

2009-06-25T04:30:00.000-04:00

We hung the show last weekend (although thanks to the magic of scheduling I'm actually writing this about a week before that-- confusing isn't it?).

So I'm going to predict that the show hung perfectly and now all there is to do is to sit back and wait for it to open...

TOMORROW!! That's right! ATOMIC HEARTS & THE ELECTRICAL BRAIN featuring close to 150 NEW works of the wackiest, wildest and sickest art of Veronica Hebard and Andy Fish (with special guest stars Lindsay Small and Allison Bamcat) opens FRIDAY JUNE 26th at 6pm at Space 242 in Boston on East Berkeley Street!

Sell the cat-- call in sick-- camp out in a tent outside the gallery -- do whatever you have to do but get yourself over to what will be THE art event of the season (at least until one of our cool friends has a show)-- ORIGINAL ARTWORK starts at $25 and there will be a limited edition SIGNED SilkSCREEN poster featuring the work of all of us for sale-- as well as BEER -- there will be LOTS of BEER!

Space 242 is THE hip gallery in Boston-- recently featured in a great article in the Boston Sunday Globe-- so find your way there but get there! You don't want to miss it!

TOMORROW; Still Talkin' About the Show!!!

FLETCHER HANKS REVISITED

2009-06-24T04:30:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about

the great Fletcher Hanks Book "I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILIZED PLANETS!" that I picked up and was absolutely absorbed by the crude art and bizarre stories.

I got an email from the book's author, Paul Karasik, who thanked me for mentioning it and letting me know that VOLUME TWO is on the way; YOU SHALL DIE BY YOUR OWN EVIL CREATIONS is in stores next month and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

I also realized that I forgot to mention the terrific comic Paul did that runs in the back of the first volume which tells the story of him trying to track down Fletcher Hanks-- it was Paul's story that got me to finally plunk down my Hamilton's and take this home.

Trust me, both these volumes should be in the collections of every comic book artist and appreciator around. Hanks was a crazed genius and his work reflects it.

TOMORROW; ATOMIC HEARTS & THE ELECTRICAL BRAIN!!

Examining Culture in Worcester (Don't Laugh!)

2009-06-23T04:30:00.003-04:00

First and foremost, there's a lot of bad posts about my hometown, The Big Woo. Some of it is deserved, but most of it is posted on these here blogs anonymously.

I really respect the people like Jeff Barnard at Worm Town Taxi because he puts his byline right there-- not that Jeff is all negative, but he doesn't pull any punches.

It's easy for people to hide behind an online identity, even if it's a well known one-- than it is to put your real name there. I myself have never used an identity, and I'm more than happy to stand behind whatever inane comments I make.

There are some people who get upset when you even broach the subject that maybe, just maybe, Good Ol' Worcester, with it's working class roots just may not be the mecca of culture in the Northeast Corridor. Like Lowell, it's a former mill and factory town that is past it's prime, and if the city had any vision at all it would embrace it's artistic community and look to them to revitalize neighborhoods. But the vision of our city government is on a par with Stevie Wonder taking a road test at the RMV.

That's not saying it doesn't have merit, so please hold those rotten tomatoes you're about to throw at me at least until I start bashing the Bijou later on in this blog-- there's the new Hanover Theater, of course we lost the Foothills Theater. Oh, The Worcester Art Museum is world class, sadly we lost the Worcester Center for Crafts (possibly coming back through Worcester State College?).

So why does a city that boasts 10 colleges seem to have trouble getting asses in the seats at various cultural events??

Got those tomatoes ready? I'm going to pull some bandaids off here and it might hurt, but this is the way I see it.

Worcester is able to support 40,000 restaurants on a street that is barely a half a mile long, but live theater? Is it that people don't want to plunk down $35 for tickets to an off off off broadway show when they can see a movie at the Elm Draft House for $7? Maybe.

Maybe they don't like being the only living thing in downtown Worcester after dark. Maybe if restaurant row were within walking distance you'd get people to take in a show--

Which leads me to The Bijou Theater. The legendary and now defunct art house movie theater/restaurant and bar that once sat prominently across from the Centrum (ok, the DCU Center).

I love art house theaters. I am a contributor to the Brattle Theater in Cambridge and I go there at least four times a year. I am a huge fan of the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline and probably take in a dozen shows there every year. So I was first in line when the Bijou opened up. Promising classic movies, art films, foreign films-- and quality food this was like a dream come true (at least for me).

I was there almost every Saturday night. I knew the people who were running it and even came this close to investing in it. The people running it were sweet people but they were in way over their heads.

Here's the way they worked the food service (and I am not making this up);

You could go in and sit and eat at the restaurant before your movie (and more on this later), OR you could order your food, go and take your seat in the movie and the waiters and waitresses would bring you your food.

Sound like a good idea? Must have to somebody. The Elm Draft House in Millbury has been doing this for years-- the difference is the Elm only has one screen, the Bijou had at least two, and maybe three I don't remember. They also had no way of identifying a patron who ordered. NOT even jotting down your name, or handing you a glow stick so the poor guy carting your food on a tray could find you.

Instead, they walked up and down the center aisle hoping telekinisis would bring you and your food together. Invariably-- and this became a part of the evening show for me, they would drop the tray on their way out after frustratingly giving up and (I assume) going into one of the other theaters to see if the hungry viewers were in there.

Well, eat in the restaurant you say? Hey that's a great idea.

Except twice--TWICE mind you-- on two separate occasions after we had ordered and our food had come we would be told, in the same tone that a waiter would tell you that they have run out of an item, that they were out of silverware.

Yes, you read that correctly. They were very sorry, but they were out of silverware. Not a big deal if you got a hamburger and fries, but kind of tough if you got the Caesar Salad. One time when this happened the couple at the table next to us offered us their forks when they were done.

Keep in mind the waitress not only didn't seem to understand our plight-- she seemed to think we should be fine with dipping our hands into our romaine lettuce and eating it like a couple of cavemen.

I am absolutely not making any of this up. I have witnesses, yet whenever I tell this story (even the owners) accuse me of storytelling.

When I approached the manager and explained how maybe not having enough silverware could be detrimental to running a restaurant I got looked at like I just said her kid was ugly. Rather than take it as a personal slight-- examine why the system of fork supply broke down and fix it-- that's what real managers do.

So this is why the Bijou failed. EVERY time I was in there it was a full house. They were doing a solid business and then they did what they could to make you not want to come back.

They opened a dream business (for me a food and classic movie lover) and drove me away.
I was sad to see them close, but I wasn't the least bit surprised.

TOMORROW; FLETCHER HANKS REVISITED

Aquaman

2009-06-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

Aquaman was always a favorite character of mine when I was a kid, but no one's ever really done the character justice. Too many writers have him trying to fight crime or spend his time up on the surface world.

The earth is 2/3 ocean with depths and areas we've never even thought to explore- doesn't that make the possibilities endless?

Someday someone will do Aquaman right.

Maybe someday soon.

TOMORROW; Examining culture in Worcester (Don't Laugh)

Megos

2009-06-21T04:30:00.000-04:00

I used to play with dolls when I was a kid. My mom used to put my long hair into curly braids too, you wanna make something out of it?

Do ya??

The dolls in questions are what today we would call ACTION FIGURES and they were made by Mego Toys in the 70s and 80s.

There were some great figures in the mix, Batman, Superman, Hulk were among the superheroes, you could also get (and I had) Planet of the Apes, Star Trek and even The WALTONS (I didn't have those).

They certainly took a beating-- we used to bury them in the dirt, throw them off buildings-- just about anything you can think of, but they were dressed in cloth outfits with accessories like boots and gloves-- so don't kid yourself they were dolls.

But that's okay-- they were probably my favorite toy as a kid and thanks to my good buddy and contributor to Robot Chicken Paul Clarke (aka Dr Mego) he's bringing that magic back by licensing and reproducing the Star Trek and Planet of the Apes lines-- I also know he's working on other licenses as well through his EMCE Toys Company.

So relive some magic and buy yourself some dolls!

TOMORROW; AQUAMAN!

HARKER AT CASTLE DRACULA

2009-06-20T04:30:00.002-04:00

If you're reading my daily online comic strip HARKER then you're already in the know, but if you aren't-- what are you waiting for?

We're up to Episode 20 and the whole thing is archived there so you can get caught up. Why waste time on Facebook or Myspace while you're at work when you could be reading this whole new take on DRACULA by me!

Thanks to everyone who is following it-- I've been getting some great feedback and while I'm on the mention of feedback, I got quite a bit of mail from people ALL OVER THE WORLD who read this blog-- my favorite line was "although your blog is often about nothing-- it's always entertaining!"

Hey, that's pretty good.

I'm going to strive to do less politics, less ranting, more entertaining and more nothing. The blog is fun and eventually I'll figure out how to combine this one and FISH WRAP.

TOMORROW; Megos

TURTLE BOY MUSIC AWARDS

2009-06-19T04:30:00.003-04:00

I love Worcester Magazine-- I still read it-- but it was my favorite back when they called it WoMag. When I was in Junior High School they used to run BLOOM COUNTY as a comic strip and I would pick it up just for that.

They are a local client I always enjoy working with.

We've been through a lot, me an' ol' WoMag-- three editors, The New England Newspaper Awards Ceremony, The Controversial College Issue and of course THE TURTLE BOY AWARDS.

I designed and illustrated the graphic that they use and it was a pretty simple assignment. Then WoMag Editor Mike Warshaw called me up and said they wanted something which featured Worcester's most infamous statue (Do a Google search for Turtle Boy Worcester) which they could use to promote their music awards.

No problem, I faxed Mike a quick sketch of what I was thinking and then I didn't hear from him. Unusual because Mike was always the kind of editor who called multiple times to see how a project was working out.

Some few weeks went by and I got busy with other things and was surprised to find a check in my mailbox from Worcester Publishing (parent company of WoMag).

I called Mike and asked him what it was for--

"The Turtle Boy Award-- you must be getting old. It's in this week's issue." He said.

I ran to my newstand and sure enough, they had taken my fax as a finished piece of art and I was horrified! I called Mike back and explained what had happened and he laughed it off and said not to worry about it. But evertime I saw this bad sketch I freaked and called him asking him to let me do a finish but they were fine with it.

About nine months later Mike asked if I knew how to sculpt because they were thinking about producing an actual statue to give out as an award. It would require my doing some new drawings and I was instantly on board.

I came up with the new version (shown left in the pic) and even did a 3D model, but while they paid me for the re-design (which I told them wasn't needed) the funding for the statues fell through. But at least the old drawing would go away-- or so I thought.

Mike left and joined the Boston Globe and new editor Noah Bombard took over. Almost instantly he called me and commissioned two new covers for the mag which I was happy to do. Then the Turtle Boy Awards were announced and back came the old drawing-- I called Noah and asked him if he could use the newer one instead in any future promotions which he heartily agreed to do.

Right about this time things went crazy for WoMag-- Noah was replaced, as were my pals Charlene Arsenault, Chet Williamson and Jeff Loughlin-- only Scott Zoback remained from the original crew, oh and of course, the fax Turtle Boy-- he remains the go to image for WoMag's music awards.

I don't know-- hopefully he doesn't last and he's the only one let go after the next turnover.

TOMORROW; HARKER at DRACULA'S CASTLE

FAKE Worcester

2009-06-18T04:30:00.003-04:00

Worcester Magazine should be out now with an article on Making Art In Worcester that Veronica and I were interviewed for-- there should even be a pic of the lovely Hebs accompanying it-- and she did the cover for the article too-- whew!

The essence of the article at first seemed to be can you make a living as an artist in Worcester? To which the answer is yes but only because you can reach the rest of the world via the internet.

If we shut off communication and an artist had to schlep their portfolio around from business to business here you would eventually realize that said portfolio is only effective if you scrawl WILL DRAW FOR FOOD on the side and plunk yourself down on Chandler and Park Avenue.

I had a local client here contact me because they wanted a change in brand identity for their business. This wasn't some mom and pop store either-- this was a company with well over a hundred employees; So they call me and I come in for a meeting-- listen to the whole concept and then we start to talk price.

Some artists have a hard time talking prices, I don't. I see it as a commercial enterprise. Normally in dealing with a client for the first time I mention a parameter before we even have a sit down because you'd be amazed at the number of people who think you'll do it for trade or less.

"Give us a ballpark of what this would cost." The VP of Operations says as he leans back in his chair in a classic Ming The Merciless pose.

New logo, several drafts which will work in both print and web advertising, fairly simple job and they seem fairly easy to work with; $500 (and keep in mind if this was a client outside of the Big Woo it would be more like $1500).

The exec looks at me like I've got a melon coming out of my ear.

"We were thinking more along the lines of $40." He says sincerely.

Forty dollars? Just getting me to come to this meeting is going to cost them $75.

There is some negotiation but we can't work it out so I leave, the exec telling me one of the manager's kids is a graphic designer and they'll use them.

Mmmm.

Seven months later I get a call from them asking if my price is still $500 and would I get started right away.

I don't know if it's the SPAGS mentality around here, or too many college students giving stuff away for free (Remind me to tell you the time I head butted one of my students for doing posters for Ralph's Diner for a hamburger). I know my good buddy Derek Ring does quite well for himself with some local clients but I also know he's the exception (PLEASE note Derek if you're reading this I wrote this LONG before we talked about the Spags mentality).

So yes you can make money as an artist here in Worcester, but only because the post office will deliver your checks from everywhere else.

(Note; Blog pic is a painting of me on a chessboard by painter Irena Roman)

TOMORROW; THE TURTLE BOY MUSIC AWARDS!

Who Buys This Stuff?

2009-06-17T04:30:00.000-04:00

There's an old expression;
"Don't pee in another guy's apple juice."

The translation is just because you don't like it doesn't mean someone else should have to explain why they do-- but sometimes I run across stuff that really makes me scratch my head.

Keep in mind this is coming from a guy with a serious book addiction who also buys plenty of useless junk;

But a 14" limited edition cold cast Jason sculpture for $200? Unless you had something to do with the making of this movie I can't see who would ever buy this.

I'm also not sure I want to hang out with them, but that's another post altogether.

TOMORROW; Fake Worcester

Taking a Vacation

2009-06-16T04:30:00.001-04:00

After we hang the show and hopefully before it opens Veronica and I are going to head to the beach for some R&R-- it's been a crazy time around here.

So here's how this whole 242 show happened; We've been fans of Space 242 since almost day one-- this is the kind of gallery we were both huge fans of in New York City, and fits in with the likes of the Art Not Gallery in Seattle and Grasshut in Portland-- showing what is called "low brow art" which is really just a way of saying art that doesn't make your butt cheeks clench up.

The October Show was a Halloween theme last year and man, it was awesome. The only downside was it was SO crowded I really couldn't see much of the art. I immediately introduced myself to Ami Bennet, who is the gallery director and asked if I could get a piece into the Halloween show the following year.

Ami was awesome, she took my info and said she'd check out my work. Figuring my style fit the theme of the show I was pretty confident she'd let me in.

She called a week or so later and said she really dug both my work and Veronica's and asked if we'd like to have a duo show at 242 later the following year.

I don't know why I thought late meant December, but I figured we were looking at having a show in about 13 months so I instantly said yes (plus, did I mention this is my favorite gallery?).

At the opening in March we said hello to Ami and she said we were all set for June.

June?

Wha?

That would mean roughly 90 days to put together ALL NEW work of about 60 pieces each. That may not sound like a lot but if you figure in teaching committments, client work and workshops we already booked all over the state it breaks down to about a new piece of art everyday. That doesn't include framing the pieces or hanging the show.

We decided to forge ahead anyway. My rational was that if the show was set for December we would have to consider Weather, and we probably wouldn't even start working on it until Sept or October anyway, so why the hell not? The worst that would happen is we would fail.

So May rolled around and we re-evaluated where we were-- I had twenty five pieces ready for the show and I think Veronica had about thirty-- a far cry from the total 135 we agreed on. So we threw it into high gear. A lot of music, coffee and just straight around the clock work and we are now at 135+ pieces-- it feels good to hit that goal.

So it's vacation time-- and then the opening and then we get onto the business of client work which has piled up a bit and the final prep for Bat Man 1939.

TOMORROW; Who Buys This Stuff?

Pecha Kucha Follow Up

2009-06-15T04:30:00.003-04:00

Pecha Kucha Worcester was last night and I have to say it was a blast. Not just in being a presenter either, there was a tremendous energy in the room and it was really interesting to watch the other presentations as well.

I also got to meet Dr. Gonzo-- whose condiment shop I have been meaning to get to and will make a point of it-- the few times I've been by they weren't open-- so I'll have to try harder.

And Tina from stArt on the Street introduced herself to Veronica-- and gave her the much deserving props that her comic strip at WoMag ZANZO MOXIE deserves and talked to her about participating at the next stArt event-- regular readers of this blog will know that I am a big supporter of stArt and I think it's one of THE best art events in the Big Woo.

We also got to hang with our good peeps Derek Ring and Scott and Donna Erb, which is always nice.

Kudos to the Pecha organizers including our bro Scott Zoback (who is WoMag) and Cindy Woehrle who has just started teaching at WAM.

TOMORROW; Taking a Vacation

Pecha Kucha

2009-06-14T04:30:00.000-04:00

Tonight Veronica and I are two of the featured speakers at Pecha Kucha night at Bocado-- the event starts at 7:20 and since it's Bocado there is amazing food and drinks. This is the first Pecha night in the Big Woo and this worldwide phenomenon has been attracting huge crowds-- so make sure you get your pebbles there early.

TOMORROW; Space 242 The Hanging

Fletcher Hanks

2009-06-13T04:30:00.001-04:00

Fletcher Hanks has developed a cult following in comic art circles for his work-- 51 stories created from 1939-1941 where he essentially disappeared.

Historians have since learned that Hanks was a possibly abusive man who left his family and was finally found dead frozen to a park bench in New York City in 1976.

There was a great book released devoted to Hanks; I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILIZED PLANETS reproduces some of his earliest work in full color-- in an amazing Eisner Award winning collection from Fantagraphics-- a second volume is slated for release this month.

To say the work is Out There is like saying Winning A Billion Dollars will certainly add to your bank account-- Hanks crude style is evocative of the underground artists of the 60s but with a sensibility that continually makes you go "What the--??" -- stories feature floating heads, floating ghost heads, ice prisons, jungle queens, people being transformed into Cavemen-- if you like your comics off the wall, pull up a chair and your beverage of choice and be prepared to be entertained.

TOMORROW; Pecha Kachu

Happy Birthday Veronica!

2009-06-12T04:30:00.001-04:00

You know her as Hebs, maybe you call her Veronica (pictured left with our pal Heather Lillis), but don't ever call her Ronnie.

Some fun facts about my partner, my best friend, the woman I love and one of the most amazing artists currently producing work;

1. The Boston Hospital she was born in mixed up the spelling of her middle name so rather than Elaine it's Lane-- giving her one of the coolest Middle name's since Tiberius.

2. She's afraid of the dark but not afraid of spiders (which is a perfect fit with me since I love the dark but will burn my car to the ground if I even think there is a spider in it).

3. Can speak three languages.

4. Has a genius level IQ but can't do math in her head.

5. Pretends she knows how to play chess.

6. Is a card and pool shark.

7. Was once an extra on LAW AND ORDER

8. Lived in Manhattan on East 23rd Street.

9. Used to work in a comic book store.

10. Is a great cook but makes the worst eggs you've ever tasted-- maybe this is why her breakfast of choice is cereal?

So Happy Birthday Sweetie!

TOMORROW; Fletcher Hanks

I'm Out Of Ideas!

2009-06-11T04:30:00.000-04:00

For those of you still sticking with this blog since I gave myself the challenge to produce a new one everyday this year-- I say thank you.

As we pass the halfway mark-- or approach it-- my math is bad-- I look back at what I've wrote and I ask why?

Why write a new blog a day--even when it's about nothing?

The answer, of course, is simple. To write.

This has been a crazy busy season; Closing out classes at Mass College of Art and watching my little seniors fly off into the world of success, DRACULA pages, NEW WORK for the Space 242 Show which ends up being about 135 pieces between the two of us, The Anthology, Writing a Screenplay for Bazley Films, A Graphic Novel for Sinistre, Batman 1939, The Vampire, Matt's Graduation, Classes at WAM, Classes at Emerson, Two Trips to New York and One to LA, and that's just the surface.

But it all falls into place as it winds down. After we hang the show on June 20th I told Veronica I will probably spend three days either completely walking in circles in the apartment or more likely sleeping on a beach down on the Cape.

Don't worry loyal reader, thanks to the magic of scheduling I'll still be here in spirit!

TOMORROW; Veronica's Birthday!

Saturday Morning Cartoons

2009-06-10T04:30:00.000-04:00

In the days of old you got up at 7am on Saturday mornings poured yourself a bowl of cereal and plopped yourself down in front of the TV to watch some classic cartoons-- some of which were quite lame-- there were some rules set in the 70s which eliminated violence or any reference to violence so you were left with shows like The Amazing Chan Clan and Josie and the Pussycats.

These were bad, sure, but they were fun. Warner Bros has released a two volume set emphasizing the 60s or 70s and I know I'll be plopping down and watching 'em-- just have to get me some Count Chocula.

TOMORROW; I'm out of ideas!

Batman and Robin, The Comic Book

2009-06-09T04:30:00.000-04:00

I don't read regular comics. In fact, I don't read a lot of comics period. I do pick up graphic novels or TPB collections-- and I keep up with the work of people like Richard Sala, Mike Mignola, Bret Herholz and Dave Gordon.

I pick up a random issue of Batman and his group of titles every once in a while-- depending on my standings with DC I often get a gift pack of titles including black and white preview copies of upcoming titles which are usually interesting.

I've been against the entire Batman RIP storyline. The idea of killing off Bruce Wayne (at least until the next movie comes out) and the drama of finding a replacement for him just doesn't interest me. Write good stories, not gimmicks, and the books will sell themselves.

So even though I liked Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's run on ALL STAR SUPERMAN (and I'm not much of a Superman fan), I have to admit I was looking at the new BATMAN AND ROBIN comic book with mixed thoughts.

The whole thing was kept under secrecy but a phone conversation with an editor a few weeks ago gave a lot away;

1. Bruce Wayne is possibly dead.
2. Dick Grayson, the original Robin, is now wearing the Batman costume. The popular geek term is that Dick has taken the mantle of the Bat-- but I'm not that big of a geek.
3. Bruce Wayne's illegitimate son with the daughter of Ra's Ah Ghul, Damian, will be the new Robin. He's a street type kid raised by a millionaire assassin mother and a meglomaniac grandfather so you know he's got some issues.

Knowing this I can see the cliches; Dick doesn't know if he's up to it.

SCENE; Batcave, Night. Dick Grayson sits by the banks of computers, the Cowl in his hand.

"I don't know if I'm worthy to take up the mantle of the bat."

Groan.

Damian's Robin having a bad attitude will make for some friction with Dick's Batman. So there probably won't be much love lost.

Looking at all this, I reluctantly plunked down my $4 for the first issue.

It didn't suck.

In fact, it was probably one of the best Batman titles I've read in years. Possibly a LOT of years.

Yes, there was a moment of reflection for Dick taking over for Bruce Wayne. Yes, Damian had an attitude, particularly rude to poor ol' Alfred.

But it all worked.

Maybe I've been away from superheroes too long, and I found the art both beautiful but confusing in some places. The villains introduced were outstanding and creepy and the interaction between Dick and Damian wasn't in your face.

Most of all-- it was nice to see a Batman who wasn't angry, brooding and so driven he can't have a personal relationship with anyone.

Between this title and the BRAVE AND THE BOLD series on Cartoon Network, Batman feels classic again.

TOMORROW; Saturday Morning Cartoons

ArtScope Magazine

2009-06-08T04:30:00.002-04:00

Brian Goslow from ArtScope Magazine swung by the studio today to take a look at the work we have lined up for the SPACE 242 show at the end of the month and he was very excited and a lot of fun to talk to.

We discussed how it's nice to have a fun spirited show (like Pop Euphoria last year) and a shame that more couldn't happen here in Worcester instead of Boston.

It's been super hectic around here, finishing off pieces for the show-- FRAMING everything-- uber intern Allison Bamcat came over for a couple of days to get us over the hump-- thanks Bamcat-- and through it all I had meetings at WAM, gave a personal Mom tour through the museum and had a meeting with the Worcester Public Library (along with Jamie Buckmaster) for something really exciting I can't talk about yet.

A busy and mostly productive couple of days.

TOMORROW; Batman and Robin, The Comic Book

Vinyl Toys

2009-06-07T04:30:00.005-04:00

Veronica and I are producing a VERY limited set of resin brain toys for our upcoming show at Space 242.

It's the beginning tests of a future project we've wanted to do for a long time, start producing limited edition vinyl toys.

Look for more info soon.

TOMORROW; ArtScope Magazine swings by our studio.

D-Day

2009-06-06T04:30:00.000-04:00

Today marks the anniversary of the D-Day Invasion by the allies which lead to the end of World War II.

In times when we sit and complain because the drive through window is moving slow, or the waitress forgot the ketchup for your fries think of the struggle these young men faced and overcame on June 6, 1944.

If you've seen Saving Private Ryan you know what it was like. I also recommend the ABC Documentary of a few years ago called TURNING POINT with Peter Jennings-- an amazing account of what this impossible task was like.

There are only a few WWII veterans left-- but we have a lot to thank them for. Take a minute today and give them some thought-- even if it's while you're stuck behind someone at the drive thru.

TOMORROW; The Art Scene in the Big Woo

My Heroes #3 - George Patton

2009-06-05T04:30:00.001-04:00

Jack Kirby would often relate some stories of his experiences in World War II.

I've always been fascinated by this era. In an age when we complain because our latte is taking too long, or we just don't feel so good, or we have allergies-- in this age when we make excuses for why we can't get something done, it's amazing to look back to World War II when the fate of the planet rested on the shoulders of men and women who didn't have the luxury of saying they just were too tired to get it done today.

Kirby served under General George Patton in the Third Army and he spoke glowingly of the man who was regarded as one of the toughest commanding general's in American History-- he was also the most successful-- accomplishing things no other army in the history of man were able to due all with the mantra to constantly be moving forward.

I read Patton's book, WAR AS I KNOW IT-- and found his insights remarkably on point in the business world as well. I also watched the 1970 George C Scott bio pic on Kirby's recommendation and found his portrayal inspiring. The film won a host of awards and was heralded by both pro and anti war factions as being in support of their particular cause-- a remarkable accomplishment.

He believed in the power of prayer-- asked by a reporter if he actually read the bible that was on his night stand he replied "Every god damned day."

Facing a difficult assault with poor weather that prevented his needed air support, he ordered his company chaplain to write a "weather prayer", and reading this prayer aloud himself he got the good weather he wanted.

Patton's attitude was it can be done, it will be done. There is no room for failure, only the ability to move in a continual forward motion.

TOMORROW; Groucho Marx

My Heroes #2 - Will Eisner

2009-06-04T04:30:00.000-04:00

Will Eisner was a pioneer in the comics industry. Arguably the inventor of The Graphic Novel and one of the first of this new generation of artists who recognized that comics could be a serious art form.

He also created THE SPIRIT, which despite the horrific Frank Miller film I haven't even seen but I know it's bad, is one of the best adventure strips published in human history. His stories were loaded with real people, comedy, drama, tragedy and action. He could tell more story in eight pages than most of us can tell in 800.

Eisner was one of my professor's at SVA and he was tough as nails. A quick wit, a great sense of humor, but if you phoned in an assignment you didn't want to be there.

He made all of us work harder and be better artists. But more than anything else he stressed to me the importance of the business side of the commercial art industry. He inspired me to continue my education with business classes and to understand economics and marketing.

Eisner produced an eight page comic every week along with dozens of commercial art assignments all while he ran his own publishing house. Not feeling well? Too tired to get an assignment in?

That's not an excuse. Successful people don't make excuses. They make work.

TOMORROW; George Patton

My Heroes #1 - Jack Kirby

2009-06-03T04:30:00.000-04:00

I often get into conversations with fellow artists about the making of art, the marketing of ones self and attending openings and lectures. Creating the work and then following through.

Recently, my good friend (and no relation) Colleen Fish said to me that she often speaks of the drive and energy both Veronica and I exhibit when she's talking to her students.

This past week for example; I taught classes at the beginning of the week, did a workshop at a library event, attended my son's graduation (Proud of you Matt!), produced six pieces of new art, met client obligations with two projects, worked up the scripts for two more, finished another chapter of Dracula, then turned around and headed into Art All State 22 for 33 hours of continuous art making-- not to mention balancing my checkbook, paying some bills and suffering from an absolutley KILLER headcold.

I did it because I had to. I did it because of the inspiration of my heroes and mentors;

Number one on the list and he's head and shoulders above everyone else is Jack Kirby. Kirby was one of the most prolific writer/artists in the history of the comic book industry. As a kid I couldn't look past his sometimes challenged artistic anatomy and what I considered some of the worst writing (Fourth World Books, Black Panther) I've ever read.

It wasn't until I was at the School of Visual Arts that I started to look at Kirby's work again-- and I saw the lightning and the energy of pages banged out in ridiculously short time. A chance meeting with him at a convention showed me what a fantastic person he was.

While I was in New York there was a huge comic convention which was featuring one of my favorite writers, Mickey Spillane. I went both to show my portfolio around and to get a copy of I THE JURY signed. Spillane was a great guy. Easy to talk to, a tough little guy-- and he said to me most of the people at the convention kept mistaking him for Jack Kirby. I had no idea Kirby was at the show and decided to see if I could chat with him about his craft.

I found him in a corner and we talked for about twenty minutes un-interrupted. This was the guy who essentially co-created the entire Marvel Comics Universe and yet people were walking right past him. Kirby didn't care. He had no ego.

Suddenly, Mary Hart from Entertainment Tonight came out of nowhere with a slew of Camera equipment and basically pushed me out of the way as they started shouting "MISTER KIRBY!"-- figuring he'd want to talk to them I started to walk away when he grabbed my arm and pulled me back in.

He chastised them for their rudeness and said he was in the middle of a conversation with a friend. He introduced me and said I was one of the future superstars of the comics industry.

That wasn't the end of our relationship-- we kept in touch even though he was three thousand miles away. I had lunch with him and his lovely wife Roz during another trip to NYC-- and he even sent me a chewed up #2 pencil that he wrote FISH on and said it was a magic pencil and anytime I couldn't get past artists block to use it.

An amazing humble man, but no pushover. The story of Kirby throwing guys out of the office of Will Eisner who were twice his size but who were out of line are legendary. Kirby also served in Patton's Third Army which links him to two more of my heroes.

TOMORROW; WILL EISNER!

Art All State

2009-06-02T04:30:00.000-04:00

ART ALL STATE 22 just wrapped up. This is my sixth year participating as an artist/mentor and I have to say despite the long hours, the mental and physical fatigue and the occasional chaos there is nothing else like it.

Here's a good blog that describes what it's all about read it but promise to come back here.

Yay! You're back.

So I've done this six times, three times with my good buddy and incredible artist Tom Grady. Tom and I have asked to be paired up a few times due to scheduling conflicts which allow us to get together outside of the regular meetings to discuss our plans and work out the bugs of the upcoming workshop. This event is huge and is planned out and worked on by a talented group of administrators for eleven months-- and it is an ANNUAL event.

This year I was teamed with the fantastic photographer Nancy Grace Horton who was a natural with the kids-- it was Nancy's first year doing the program and she said she really dug it. The kids were cooperative and some of the nicest we've seen over the course of the program. This can be a stressful event-- getting 145 students working with 16 artists to complete 8 art installations in a short period of time in crowded conditions, sometimes a bit hot and uncomfortable for 33 hours straight can bring out the worst in anyone-- but not these kids.

Veronica was also one of the mentors for the first time this year, teamed with Tom Grady she came home Friday night exhausted but fired up and ready to go-- Saturday she and Tom pulled everything together and created a studio that was truly amazing.

The event is spearheaded by Honee Hess and Gillian Bonazoli who do an amazing job of putting this program together.

Happy June

2009-06-01T04:30:00.001-04:00

Scientists discovered a fish at the bottom of the ocean that has a transparent head so that you can look right into it's brain.

Amazing what sits at the bottom of the ocean. Always makes the geek in me wonder why no one is able to write an interesting Aquaman comic book on a regular basis.

It's strange writing these blogs in advance and scheduling them. This will run on June 1st but right now it's actually a cold and rainy day in May and I'm sitting in my favorite java shop straightening out finances for the summer season. The place has good coffee, better food and free wireless in a really interesting and fun environment that makes it better than all of it's competition.

June is going to be a straight out month for Veronica and I-- or at least right up to the 20th when we hang ATOMIC HEARTS & THE ELECTRICAL BRAIN at SPACE 242 in Boston. That final week of waiting for the opening will be a little surreal I'm sure.

Yesterday I hung my work for the Art All State show and it reminded me of how much I HATE hanging a show.

Today I'm struggling with a head cold that has me feeling slow and listless. I feel like my heads in a bucket and somebody is banging on the outside. Not condusive to heavy financial thinking by any means, nor does it bode well for ART ALL STATE 22.

TOMORROW; ART ALL STATE 22 -- How it turned out!

MARKETING FOR ARTISTS VI

2009-05-31T04:30:00.000-04:00

It's tough to keep your head in these troubled times. I'm hearing the same thing over and over from artist friends who are struggling to keep clients, to find clients and to recover from failed clients.

Carl Alviani has Six Tips Why Your Portfolio Is Being Treated Like the Ugly Girl on Prom Night and we've covered five of them, which means we're up to

Reason 6. Did you even look at the application requirements?

I've got a pretty clear idea of the designer I need, and have put some effort into describing him or her. I've also put some effort into explaining what sort of application I'm looking for.

So please do me the favor of responding in kind.

If I asked for a PDF under a certain size, please keep it down. And if I absolutely require that you know Flash and Illustrator, and currently live in Atlanta, don't send me an architecture portfolio from Hawaii. If you've really read the requirements, and think you'd be a good fit despite not matching them, at least offer an explanation of why you need consideration anyway.

If it's a convincing argument, I'll pay attention, but shotguns are for grouse hunting, not job seeking. Conducting a broad job search means tailoring a lot of applications, not adding more addresses to your Bcc list.

Well, that's it, thanks Carl. Carl is the man.

TOMORROW; Seasons in New England

MARKETING FOR ARTISTS V

2009-05-30T04:30:00.000-04:00

Nobody likes to market themselves. Call an art director? Most of us would rather fight Clubber Lang on the night he gets a bad mohawk than face the terrible prospect of trying to sell ourselves to someone in authority.

Keep in mind you are offering them a service they need. You aren't offering vinyl siding or time shares in Kentucky-- this is artwork that very well could benefit them and MAYBE, just MAYBE they need it to.

Carl Alviani continues his thoughts on Six Reasons I vomited on Your Portfolio;

Reason Five; 5. I can't tell yours apart from the seven others that arrived this morning.

Like I said, this position's been generating a lot of interest, and my inbox is just crammed. I make a point of reading every application once through though, because notwithstanding the criteria above, you never really know where the great candidate will come from.

But damn, it's a tedious process.

It's astonishing, really, how so many different applicants, with such a diversity of training, cultural background and style of work can all write nearly identical cover letters, attached to portfolios with nearly identical front pages.

Put yourself in my position for two minutes: if you received a dozen of these a day, and only had time to really scrutinize three or four, would your portfolio be one of them?

Does it stand out, whether because of its artfully worded introduction, its astounding first page, or an embedded portfolio link that impresses me in five seconds flat?

Or is it just another lukewarm three paragraphs and a predictable nine page PDF?

Wow, you're hurting us Carl. You're hurting us because it's true and we're all guilty of this. I'm going to go stand in the corner until tomorrow when we get to the final reason.

TOMORROW; Didn't I just say it? Part Six-- THE CONCLUSION

MARKETING FOR ARTISTS IV

2009-05-29T04:30:00.000-04:00

You gotta make a habit of marketing yourself people. It doesn't happen overnight and it doesn't happen for anyone who gives up either.

Carl Alviani gave us Six Reasons Your Portfolio ain't Gettin' Looked At and we're at Numero Quatro;

4. You sent me a form letter.

I can spot generic copy-and-paste emails a mile off, and I don't like them (if you're not sure why, re-read numbers 1, 2 and 3 above).

I know you're probably making multiple applications, and there's nothing wrong with that; but if you're using exactly the same text for every one of them, I will notice.

At least modify it enough to make it clear that you're aware of your recipient. Show me that you give a damn.

One of my sons, I won't say which one, wrote a huge report for English class and was stacking the papers together and feeling pretty good about getting it done. Skeptical of the speed in which he finished I took the papers from his hand and read the first paragraph, confident I'd be able to spot if he merely cut and paste this whole thing from the web just from the writing style.

I got through the first two pages and dagnabbit I couldn't tell. If he had copied it, then he did a pretty good job of making it sound like his own words. Until I got to page three.

"This is impressive." I said to him.

Smiling a big grin he nodded back to me. "It was hard work."

"No, I mean the fact that you not only finished this report, but you were able to write these last pages in German. I had no idea you were trilingual."

I flipped to the page of text that was completely in German.

Cut and paste is good for scrapbookers.

TOMORROW; Part Five!!!

MARKETING FOR ARTISTS III

2009-05-28T04:30:00.000-04:00

It's not easy out here, kids. 163,000 automotive related jobs were lost last week. All 163,000 of those people will now be looking for work, and cutting back-- which will create a ripple effect felt through coffee shops, retail stores, and more...

And being an artist is hard to begin with-- because most of us can't market to save our lives. Don't fear, Carl Alviani has Six Reasons Why Your Portfolio ended up in the Trash and we're lookin' at all of 'em.

Here's Number 3 - It doesn't sound like you really want this job.

Just because you're a good designer doesn't mean you'll be good here. The creative professions are more idiosyncratic than most, and the trick of making the right hire is as much about how you'll fit into our team as it is about your mad skills. Our team works because everyone on it wants to be there.

It's a labor of love. We get excited about our projects, and if you're not excited about them too, you're going to crush the delicate, beautiful structure we've worked so hard to create.

So you need to convince me that the kind of work we do is the kind you want to do. If you can't, I'll move on to someone who can.

Thanks Carl. Write these down folks this stuff is gold. Oh yeah, and don't forget to read my DRACULA comic strip too.

TOMORROW; REASON 4!

MARKETING HELP FOR ARTISTS II

2009-05-27T04:30:00.000-04:00

Looking for a signal to pull you through this economy? Carl Alviani has some great thoughts on SIX REASONS I DIDN'T LOOK AT YOUR PORTFOLIO.

Reason 2.
You have no idea who I am.

I'm not all that big a deal, but if I'm in a position to be hiring a designer, chances are pretty good there's information out there for you to find.

Look up my name or my company, find me on Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn.

Find out what I've been working on, what I've written, what my studio's been up to. Then let me know that you know. Flattery, you say? Not really -- you're showing me that you a) understand what you're getting yourself into, b) have the smarts and resourcefulness to research your target market, and c) aren't lazy.

If I don't get all three of those from you I'm not going to sink 20 minutes of my day into reviewing your work, because no matter how good it is, you're probably not going to make a good employee.

WOW! Carl is the balls. He's right! This is why I get all the good clients! How much common sense is this?? C'mon people, if you're an artist and you aren't good at marketing yourself then take a FRIGGIN' COURSE! Hell, take MY Marketing class at WAM when it runs throughout the year.

So many of us just sit back and expect things to happen, and then when they don't we give up. You're better than that. You can do this.

TOMORROW; Reason 3

MARKETING HELP FOR ARTISTS

2009-05-26T04:30:00.001-04:00

In this Doomsday Economy we are all struggling. Things are bad, my friends, I'm not going to lie to you.

But there are still things you can do to make sure you stay at the top of the heap, at least portfolio review-wise;

From my good buddy Carl Alviani comes this great article SIX REASONS I DIDN'T LOOK AT YOUR PORTFOLO.

I'll run one a day because that makes almost a week's worth of blogs!

1. I have no idea who you are. Initially, that might sound a little rough: how could I know you if this is the first time you've sent me your information?

Actually, there are plenty of ways.

The creative professions are surprisingly tight communities, and you'd be surprised how many of the applications that roll in are attached to vaguely familiar names. Some are people that I chatted with briefly at an event, or who freelanced for an old college friend, or wrote a smart, thoughtful comment on a design article last year, and that's enough to strike a tone of familiarity.

I'm going to look at their portfolios first, because I've got a ready-built process for looking up references on them, and finding out what they'd be like to work with. You? You're an unknown entity.

I looked you up online too, of course. And I didn't find much. Don't you ever Google yourself? SEO isn't just for mega corporations, you know.

Good advice here. I'm convinced FACEBOOK and MYSPACE have done more to re-connect and stay connect friends and destroy potential careers more than ANY other invention of mankind.

Google yourself. If the first thing that comes up is drunken pictures of you and your frat friends on your Facebook page you better do something about it. If you think a prospective client doesn't GOOGLE you almost instantly then you aren't paying attention.

TOMORROW; Reason #2

YOU SHOULD BE READING DRACULA!

2009-05-25T04:30:00.001-04:00

What are you doing here? You should be reading my all new daily comic strip featuring a fresh take on Bram Stoker's DRACULA. It's FREE and updated each and every weekday-- so get your peepers over there and start to readin'!

And after you read the strip, head on over to THREADLESS and vote for DAVE DiAngelis's FANTASTIC SHIRT design! It's awesome!

TOMORROW; MARKETING TIPS for Artists!

Doomsday

2009-05-24T04:30:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure when Doomsday is coming, but I have a pretty good idea when it shows up Donald Sutherland will be involved.

I know the economy is a disaster-- sorry Obamaniacs-- this is not a slight on our Commander in Chief-- in fact I admire his ability to keep his head, but said head is clearly under some serious water when it comes to figuring out how to steer us through this mess.

I remember reading about an ancient text that said one sign of the Apocolypse was acid rain and another was Steve Martin taking on the role of Inspector Clouseau-- I can't remember what the third one was but I'm keeping my eyes open.

So get your affairs in order and grab your ankles-- I think this ride has only just begun.

TOMORROW; YOU SHOULD BE READING DRACULA!

The Saga of Alex's Jeep...

2009-05-23T04:32:00.003-04:00

All right bear with me on this one.

I've got some good pals who are reporters for several area newspapers-- this might not be a bad story;

Alex Dunn works as the Outreach Co-Ordinator at the Worcester Art Museum. His job basically is to arrange art programs at venues outside of the museum-- usually for inner city kids with a wanting art program at their school.

So Alex sets up a workshop at the Belmont Street School in the Big Woo. He assigns ace instructor Jamie Buckmaster the duties and lets Jamie borrow his Jeep so that he can make it to the school which sits atop one of the seven mountains in Worcester.

Jamie goes in, does his workshop and comes out to find Alex's Jeep is gone.

It's a Chrysler product, so I imagine there was an oil stain where the car once sat-- but other than that it's gone.

Jamie is pretty distraught as you can imagine, and let's Alex know what happens. Alex keeps his cool and reports it to the Worcester PD who basically tell him he will probably never see the car again.

Jamie becomes a suspect in the crime-- Jamie who not only is a CORI checked youth instructor-- is also as honest as you can get. So the cops release a massive search looking for this stolen vehicle, or at least that's how it would have played on an episode of DRAGNET.

Instead, the stolen vehicle report gets filed away.

TWO BLOCKS from where the car was stolen the police respond to a report of an abandoned vehicle, still with it's plates on-- and yes it also happens to be a Jeep-- it also happens to have Alex's plates on it. So what do they do? They write a ticket and stick it on the windshield.

Now somewhere along the lines the plate got run because they knew it was Alex's car since they were able to mail him a ticket FIVE MONTHS after the first ticket was written to let him know they were charging an additional penalty since he hadn't paid the first ticket which he was somehow supposed to know about even though his car is abandoned and (keep in mind) on the stolen vehicle list.

Alex calls City Hall to inquire about the ticket that he just got that he knew nothing about. He discovers the car was towed to Boulevard Garage where it sat for several weeks and then sent to Standard for a short vacation there before it was demolished last month.

Yes, I said it was demolished.

So let's sum this all up, shall we?

Alex, who is a tax paying resident of the city of Worcester legally loans his car out to a co-worker who has no criminal record and the car is stolen at a Worcester Public School parking lot. Alex reports his car's theft to the Worcester Police who add it to their stolen vehicle list.

A Worcester Police Officer writes Alex a ticket when he discovers the car abandoned TWO blocks from where it was reported stolen. The Worcester Police have it impounded, still don't notify or even make an effort to contact Alex, and then his car acquires probably massive storage charges and then is turned into a crumpled block of metal.

Did I mention Alex is a taxpayer? Essentially that means that everyone from the Mayor on down works for Alex-- if I were Alex I would fire all of them. This is one of the most ridiculous pieces of nonsense I've ever heard.

Before you start with the "But the police have real crimes to deal with..." BS keep in mind that all they had to do was run the plate and have it come up as stolen, give Alex a call and this whole thing ends back in November. Instead, Alex not only didn't get ANY kind of justice from this, he lost a car.

Here's the bottom line folks, and it's reflected in the total lack of compassion exhibited by Mayor Konnie Lukes when I was on her (NO) Coffee With Konnie Show last year;

When I mentioned to her that current gas prices (then $4 a gallon) were hurting city residents, her response was "Huh. Well, Gas is $8 a gallon in Greece. They should be glad they don't live there."

There is no compassion in the Government. No common sense either. If you think turning over healthcare (and I am NO fan of the Big Insurance Companies) to the Government makes sense think of this whole debacle and how complete incompetance was the order of the day.

We have met the enemy, and it is them.

TOMORROW; Doomsday

MassArt Graduation

2009-05-22T04:30:00.000-04:00

The Students I worked with this year are graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design-- and even though this economy possibly the worst in US history (more soon) I think they are going to be okay.

This was a hard working, level headed group of seniors and it was my pleasure to work with them.

Congratulations Graduates! Welcome to the real world!

TOMORROW; The Saga of Alex's Jeep

DRACULA THE DAILY STRIP!

2009-05-21T04:30:00.001-04:00

Well, I've gone and done it.

Starting Monday May 25th I'm launching the HARKER DAILY STRIP featuring his adventure at Castle Dracula which will run NEW each and every weekday.

The strip is re-worked from my HARKER graphic novel and I'm releasing it this way to generate interest in the book. Originally I planned to release this in comic book form in April but have since decided to hold off until October, a much more appropriate month as well as offering me the time to work on my upcoming Gallery Show at Space 242 in Boston.

For those of you who read the DRACULA PREVIEW a few months back, this will be a bit different because I'm re-writing it as I go and cutting down the wordiness of my original take. This will be lean and mean.

So look for it each and every weekday.

TOMORROW; MassArt Graduation

Neil Gaiman WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER?

2009-05-20T04:30:00.000-04:00

From time to time I write posts here that don't win me a lot of points with clients. This is one of them.

Neil Gaiman is one of today's most popular writers. I've read some of what he's written and most of it was great. I was excited to get a voicemail from Neil once saying he wanted to talk to me about an upcoming assignment only to learn later that he had mixed me up with Andy Kubert.

Nice.

That's okay-- this might very well have been the project and I have to say while it's getting a LOT of critical acclaim I thought it outright sucked. As a matter of fact, I didn't like Grant Morrison's entire BATMAN RIP run in which Batman/Bruce Wayne ends up dying or sort of dying and now DC unleashes this summers BATTLE FOR THE COWL where Batman's supporting cast all vye for a chance to wear the big costume.

These thoughts could be unfair because I don't read the regular comics, and only pick up an occasional issue here and there to see what's going on-- but I think I have a pretty good sense.

I REALLY hate comic company events. I can't think of a single time they've worked. The gimmick is the thing and it's just that-- a gimmick with no story.

The Death of Superman, SpiderMan the Clone Saga, Batman Knightfall the list goes on and on and it seems to me that what happens (and I know this for a fact) is that a character gets stale or sales drop off-- or both-- and the editors cook up some scheme to generate publicity and sales and it all means nothing. The better (and harder) plan is to get a writer who respects the basis of the character and write stories that fit into the established canon.

For Batman, he's had some highlights but none better than a short five or six issue run of DETECTIVE COMICS in 1978 by Steve Englehart and Marshal Rogers-- the stories have been collected in a TPB called STRANGE APPARATIONS and it is the definitive version of the character.

If your sales on Sherlock Holmes are weak on your latest novelized versions of Conan Doyle's Master Detective do you hire a better writer or do you decide to put his adventures in Outer Space? Well, if you're a comic book editor the chances are he ends up looking for Moriarty on Mars.

There have been some real doozies in the comic book world when it comes to revamps-- both Dracula and The Shadow were given the superhero costume treatment during the 1966 superhero craze and Wonder Woman was once turned into Emma Peel of the Avengers (see yesterday's post), and that's only a slight tip of a HUGE iceberg of ideas that make you wonder just what are they thinking.

So this latest Batman epic follows the same tired path. Anyone who thinks Bruce Wayne is permanently dead or will never be Batman again hasn't seen the box office of the Warner Bros film series. I'll bet he's back in the tights by the time Christopher Nolan's latest Bat epic is ready for theaters.

TOMORROW; DRACULA THE DAILY STRIP!

THE AVENGERS!

2009-05-19T04:30:00.000-04:00

THE AVENGERS was a british action adventure series that aired here in the states during the 70s and I have to confess that as a kid, I liked James Bond but I didn't get the excitement over the adventures of Steed and Mrs Peel. I found the show to be confusing, bizarre and even a bit frightening at times.

Years later A&E started re-running them and I caught a few and I thought it was a blast-- great because it was confusing, bizarre and even a bit frightening at times-- I guess tastes change.

Patrick MacNee is Steed, and he has one of the greatest voices in TV history-- although to be honest I keep hearing the voice of the Cylon Commander whenever he talks, but he's good. He's not action hero type-- in fact, he sort of looks like your dandy-ish british uncle if you happen to have one.

Mrs. Peel, however-- she's got it all-- she's smart, pretty and has a wardrobe that screams 60s brit fashion-- she's also a master at Kung Fu and I like the switch that she protects Steed much the way Kato does the fighting for the Green Hornet (co-incidently a show which aired around the same time).

The best thing about this show is it doesn't take itself too seriously-- it's not out right camp like BATMAN, but it keeps it's tongue firmly in it's cheek.

The episodes are available on DVD and Netflix even has some of the best ones available for instant viewing-- not a bad way to kill 45 minutes.

TOMORROW; Neil Gaiman on Batman

Keenan Cassiday Revisited!

2009-05-18T04:30:00.002-04:00

I profiled my good buddy Keenan Cassidy right here on this blog last fall when he had his solo show at HBML. I re-read some of the posts I wrote and one of the things I said was that I often forget Keen is only 14 years old-- even though he is many times my student at WAM I think and talk to him like he's in his twenties, only a lot shorter than he should be.

Well, six months later and Keenan is still knocking 'em out of the park-- his Obama mixed media piece shown here is getting a lot of attention, and he's once again in one of my classes where I'm putting him through some rings-- he's progressed and he's also a lot taller.

He's also started a blog where he will be updating art from time to time and keeping us posted on what he's doing now-- it's worth checking out and it's on my list of blogs to the right.

TOMORROW; THE AVENGERS!

Star Trek!

2009-05-17T04:30:00.000-04:00

I don't have tape on my glasses or a pocket protector but it seems everyone assumes I'm a geek.

I spent the last two months saying I hadn't seen Watchmen and probably wouldn't, and now it appears I've got the same problem with the new Star Trek movie.

I really like the old Star Trek. I even own probably half the series on DVD, I can even go so far as to be able to name a couple of episodes, but as far as anything past the original series I'm just not interested.

I like Patrick Stewart, but I thought his Star Trek was BORING! With the old Star Trek you had the bright vibrant colors due to the newness of Color TV, incredibly bad acting by my favorite thespian William Shatner, and some of the cheesiest villains like THE GORN!

I like the hokiness of the old show. I like the actors. It's like the Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith, Batman, and Hogan's Heroes-- great old shows I like and remember but they just aren't the same if you try to update them.

So, I wish the new Trek success, and if it's your bag then enjoy it.

For me, It ain't Trek if there's no Shat.

TOMORROW; Keenan Cassidy REVISTED

MLA Visit

2009-05-16T04:30:00.000-04:00

Veronica and I attended the Mass Library Association convention in Springfield last week, where the focus for Friday was graphic novels.

We met well over one hundred librarians from all around the state and discussed both the graphic novel art form and our comic art and graphic novel workshops which we perform to groups all over the place.

We also had the chance to hang out with Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai who is an amazingly talented cartoonist who even explained to me how the word cartoonist was first created.

TOMORROW; Star Trek!

SpongeBob Tragedy

2009-05-15T04:30:00.000-04:00

I was saddened to hear of the death of SpongeBob Squarepants.

Sadly, he was taken advantage of by his manager Mr Crabbes and ended up penniless the last few years, one of the biggest secrets in Bikini Bottom.

His hopes for a comeback were dashed when it was announced David Hasslehoff would play Sponge in the sequel to the animated movie from Universal.

Patrick Star, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from Yale University this month, said in an interview that he had tried in vain to get his former co-star to seek professional help and felt the star had suffered from depression.

"The happy go lucky guy you saw in the show wasn't him at all." Star said at the Yale ceremony. Where he also announced the news of his friends death to those in attendance. Bringing a cloud of sadness to an otherwise joyous event.

SpongeBob had a powerful effect on a generation of fans, and he will live forever in re-runs, although watching them now seem somewhat tainted now that we know of his treatment.

TOMORROW; MLA Visit

SPACE 242 SHOW Special Guests

2009-05-14T04:30:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to announce that for our upcoming show at Space 242, ATOMIC HEARTS & THE ELECTRICAL BRAIN, we've invited Lindsay Small and Allison Bamcat to be Special Guests in the show.

One, because their work fits the theme were going after perfectly.

Two, because it means we'll have some help filling this space.

and Three they had talked about doing a show at 242 but logistics might not make it able to happen.

So Veronica and I were both excited to ask them to jump in-- this will be a great show!

TOMORROW; SPONGEBOB TRAGEDY!

Bob Malony & Sean Thomas GRIDWORK at COPLEY

2009-05-13T04:30:00.001-04:00

I'm a big fan of Bob Maloney's work, and his experimental painting class at MassArt produces some really amazing works, so I want to mention his showing coming up at the Copley Society of Art on Newbury Street tomorrow May 14th at 5:30.

Some really amazing work in the show so check it out if you're able.

TOMORROW; Special Guests at our SPACE 242 Show!

Mass College of Art Open House

2009-05-12T04:30:00.001-04:00

It has been an amazing year at MassArt working with the senior class.

Tonight represents the Open House event and luckily I have a governor's meeting just prior so I'll be in town to swing by for this big event.

It's open to the public, so if you're in the area swing by and check out (and hire) some amazing artists.

These seniors have been working themselves silly finishing up degree project, finalizing their portfolios and readying themselves for a career in the world of art. I wish them all good luck, but especially to those who I've worked with or gotten to know (in no order); Bamcat, Silvia, Sarah, Tania, Lindsay, Alycia, Ross, Will, Mike, Kevin, Doc, Dave, Jules, Jill, Michelle, Mike, Greg, Abe, Stephen, Sinnia, Lennie, Alex, Kerstin, Katia, Dena, Adam, Jamie, and anyone who I forgot to mention-- CONGRATULATIONS-- you have earned this.

TOMORROW; Bob Maloney ART OPENING in BOSTON

Now You Can Smell Like Shat!!

2009-05-11T04:30:00.002-04:00

I don't wear cologne.
I was once a teenage boy though, so there was a time when I was bathing in the stuff-- thankfully it lasted a very short time.

But running across this stuff, I just might have to reconsider.

TIBERIUS, which every good Trek Geek knows, is the Middle Name of Captain James T Kirk, played of course by the man, the myth, the legend, William Shatner.

So apparently you can now smell like the Priceline Negotiator himself and you only have to drop $30 on a bottle of this junk.

If Captain Kirk's not your bag, you can also get the RED SHIRT version. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it smells like a dead guy because that's how every RED SHIRT ended up in the episodes I've seen.

I don't know what actually makes me laugh harder, the very fact that they even made this or the idea of who would actually use it.

TOMORROW; MassArt Open House

Happy Mother's Day MOM!

2009-05-10T04:30:00.001-04:00

I happen to believe that Valentine's day, Grandparents day, Mother In Law day and all the other made up for the greeting card companies holidays should be banned.

But if there's one person on the planet who deserves an extra day of notice it's mom.

Everyone's mom is special, I'll give you that-- but I doubt you can top mine. My mom is one of the most proper women I know. She taught me to be polite, she showed me that you say hello to everyone you run into throughout the day-- I remember being impressed as she would talk to bus drivers like they were old friends when I was a kid, and I was always amazed at how it seemed like everyone knew her.

She's also tough as nails. Of all the people I know, Marine Drill Sergeants, Navy Seals, State Police, City Detectives, Championship Boxers and some pretty hard core cafeteria workers, she's the only one I won't mess with, and trust me, you don't want to either.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love ya!

TOMORROW; YOU CAN SMELL LIKE WILLIAM SHATNER!

Space 242 KARLOFF

2009-05-09T04:30:00.000-04:00

Part of a series, KARLOFF is a work in progress as I figure out what exactly I want to do here.

My thought is a series of KARLOFF, CHANEY & LUGOSI. Each actor played the Frankenstein Monster and Karloff and Chaney both played THE MUMMY as well.

I'm going to ponder where this can go.

SUPERMAN

2009-05-08T04:30:00.002-04:00

Superman piece for the American Cancer Association Charity Superhero Day Event program book.

Superman is actually tough to draw because he has a face that has to look "right".

I've always liked George Reeves as Superman, so that's who I based the face on-- with a touch of classic Superman artist Curt Swan thrown in.

TOMORROW; SPACE 242 KARLOFF

THE VAMPIRE

2009-05-07T04:30:00.000-04:00

While working on Batman 1939 Mike, Veronica and I realized we had a pretty good idea for a similar era but even more hard lined story.

The Vampire is what came from it-- it's more pulpish than BM39 and its got no limits or editorial constraints because we're doing this ourselves.

Batman is still on the way, but this will be a lot of fun and loaded with shock and surprise.

Look for it this summer.

TOMORROW; SUPERMAN!

Kentucky Fried Chicken

2009-05-06T04:30:00.003-04:00

Kentucky Fried Chicken and I go way back. As a kid I would often buy some of their chicken to use as a weapon because it stuck like glue to anything you threw it at.

The Mashed Potatoes work too.

I've eaten there probably a half dozen times in my entire life-- and almost every time is an adventure in itself.

There are only TWO in the entire Central Mass area that I'm aware of-- and the one actually in the Big Woo is like going to a circus sideshow.

I was there about four years ago waiting inside the tiny restaurant for an order of Extra Crispy White with a biscuit and potatoes. As you order you shuffle to the left and stand face to sprout with the drink machine with the other eleven hundred people waiting for their orders. I assume from the wait time that after you order, the chicken is slaughtered, de-feathered and deep fried to order.

The corner I was jammed into smelled like vomit-- and I'm not kidding here, like someone had upchucked into either the drink machine or the corner and hadn't yet cleaned it. After about twenty minutes they called my order and said they were out of breasts and would I like two thighs instead?

There are three problems here (not counting the smell)
1. As far as I know, and I'm no chicken farmer, the Breast is where the white meat is.
2. I ordered white meat twenty minutes ago, don't you think they would have said something about it then?
3. HOW do you run out of Chicken breasts at a place that sells essentially just chicken?

So I left with two thighs convinced that my memories of bad chicken from here were imaginary. Interestingly enough, I also remembered the visit before this one where it also smelled like vomit AND they waited twenty minutes to tell me they didn't have any breasts.

I get in the car, and the chicken smells so bad that I snap and call the 800 number on the box-- I leave a voicemail saying I'm disgusted with the place and that I won't be coming back.

A few days later I get a real call from the District Manager who told me he appreciated my call, and that he would check it out and call me back the following week.

Expecting to never hear from him again I was shocked when he did indeed call back and he also admitted that the corner of the restaurant smelled like vomit and that he had it cleaned thoroughly, he sent me a coupon for a bucket of chicken and asked me to give them another chance.

I never went for the bucket, because a bucket of KFC is sort of like buying a gigantic can of rat poison and then leaving it open on the stove while you make dinner-- just not a good idea.

All these years later I see these commercials for KFCs new KGC strategy. In it, the CEO (who strangely has an australian accent) talks about thier new healthier GRILLED chicken.

Now when I think of the word health, Kentucky is not the first place to come to mind. It's not Alabama or Missisippi, but it's imagery is good ol' boys frying up skitlins or whatever else bizarre southern food they eat.

But I decide to give it a try.

Veronica and I saunter in-- the drive through line goes around the block-- as it almost always does-- this place does incredible business and I could never understand why--

We are crammed into the corner waiting for our order when twenty minutes later they tell me they ran out of breasts and would I like two thighs instead. I give 'em the go ahead because I'm having a good time waiting;

First, I'm with Veronica, and as corny as it sounds I think we could have fun in a prison camp. As the madness descends around us we give each other glances which break us up.

Second, they did clean the corner, it's now a pleasure for me to be pressed up against the diet coke sprigit-- although at one point the lever got stuck on and started to fill up the reserve tray and I feared drowing in it before I was able to wiggle it to the off position.

Third, the crowd and the workers do not disappoint-- I've been fascinated with freak shows ever since I saw the Ringling Bros one in a dirt lot that would eventually become the Centrum. That particular one advertised a still frozen in ice actual Bigfoot corpse that my friends and I paid a dollar each to be shuffled by just quick enough that you couldn't tell for sure that it was a dummie, but slow enough to realize that Bigfoot was modest enough to cover his junk with his hand just prior to freezing-- thanks Bigfoot!

Since the world became PC, Freakshows have been eliminated, but KFC came to the rescue. The manager looks a lot like Danny Devito as The Penguin in BATMAN RETURNS and he's in a constant state of frenzy as he whips keys into registers, carries a clipboard and does just about everything except make sure they don't run out of chicken breasts and actually figure out a way to get orders out within ten minutes.

A nice old gentlemen comes in and orders a 10pc hotwing. There must be something special about him because they tell him right away they don't have any. The old man has moxie though, and he tells them to make some.

The girl behind the counter sighs and calls for Danny the Manager who shuffles up to the register and tells the man that it will take at least an hour and a half to make them (I'm not making this up).

The old man is the balls though, he's not letting this go.

"Okay, just make 'em, put ten aside and I'll be back in about an hour and a half."

Now, an hour and a half would seem excessive for making wings-- I've ordered wings from real restaurants and had them within 10-15 mintutes. But this is KFC and I've been waiting twenty five minutes for something they don't even have available but took my money for.

The manager looks at him and tells him they can't do that. "We sell so many of these things, there's no way we can just hold some for you."

The old man won't let it go. The manager's bizarre logic isn't fazing him in the least. He pays and says he'll be back for them.

I half hope I'll be there to see the return, which by the way doesn't seem out of possibility, but sadly my order is up and I leave with my two non-white meat pieces of new KFC grilled chicken.

We toss a blanket in the park and have ourselves a little picnic-- the chicken still has its skin on it, so I don't know how much healthier this is, maybe in Kentucky this is like eating Tofu, and the chicken itself is the same slimy sticky chicken they've always had.

It sticks really good to the park wastebasket.

So KFC is able to have a thriving business with bad customer service, bad products and bad management--- maybe we should turn the whole Federal Bailout plan to them.

TOMORROW; THE VAMPIRE!

Batman's Birthday

2009-05-05T04:30:00.002-04:00

May 5th, 1939 Detective Comics #27 hit newstands featuring a new character in it's opening story;

The Bat Man!

He was dark, scary and mysterious. He was also a lethal avenging force killing both a burglar and the guy who was behind all the murders he was investigating.

Heavy stuff. Imagine parent's reaction today to something like this? There would be Ban-Batman organizations all over the country with the PC police screaming for the end of his publishing career.

The bottom line was Batman was cool. He looked like a villain, he acted like one sometimes too, but this wasn't the darkly obsessed and moody Batman DC comics publishes today (although he is less moody now that he's dead). Instead, this is a Batman who is just matter of fact, friendly with his good buddy Commissioner Gordon and smoking his pipe while he pulls his Batman suit out of a trunk in his apartment in New York City.

There's no other supporting cast, no Alfred, no Robin, no girlfriend and no supervillains yet-- just Batman in his black and grey costume with the wrist length purple (purple?) gloves.

But that was enough. Happy Birthday to the creation of Bill Finger and Bob Kane.

TOMORROW; KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN!

Batman Influence

2009-05-04T04:31:00.001-04:00

My last gallery show in Seattle featured a series of Jazz Paintings I did over the course of three or four months-- I think there were fifteen in total, although many of them were LARGE.

With our upcoming SPACE 242 show, Veronica and I both agreed to do all new pieces and since the theme is essentially cardboard rocketships and plastic rayguns i.e. crazy pop hero culture its allowed me to loosen up and have some fun with the pieces I'm working on.

I have noticed I keep slipping in Batman stuff-- I have two Batman portraits (1939 and 1966) and then this one which is for a Columbia Pictures movie that SHOULD have been made-- imagine Batman Vs Dracula directed by James "Bride of Frankenstein" Whale!?

It's this classic monster fanboy's dream!

I do also have three Frankenstein themed pieces too, so I'm making a effort to steer away from any further Batman or Frankenstein pieces.

TOMORROW; Happy Birthday Batman!

Japanese Spider Man - Supaidaman!!

2009-05-03T04:30:00.001-04:00

In 1978 SpiderMan starred in a live action TV series that aired sporadically on CBS and starred Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker.

It was lame. It featured bad acting and weak special effects. Spidey didn't go after any of the villains he had to deal with in the comics, opting instead to deal with generic gangsters, fraudulent psychics and other mundane challenges.

His supporting cast took a beating too, J. Jonah Jameson was there, as was Aunt May-- but everyone else got replaced by some generic stereotypes typical of the 70s.

But what is really interesting is at the same time, there was ANOTHER SpiderMan TV series on at the same time-- this one in Japan and it featured a SpiderMan unlike anything we knew here in America-- he had a giant robot, fought bizarre Power Ranger type villains and basically jumped around in a pretty cool looking suit (I dig the eyes).

Truthfully, I like Sam Raimi's Spiderman and Spiderman 2--despite the fact that the Green Goblin looked like he was left over from an Ultraman Episode and Mary Jane is played by a fraggletoothed actress with a giant mardi gras sized head. Please note that I did not mention Spiderman 3-- it's best left unmentioned.

Despite the accolades I'd give Raimi-- I don't like the hi tech Spiderman costume in the movies. It doesn't make sense that this kid who can't afford the rent can manage to come up with such a costume, and the Japanese Spiderman costume is much more believable.

The show is also a lot of fun-- and Marvel Comics has posted episodes for your viewing pleasure over on their website, check it out.

TOMORROW; Batman Vs Dracula!

Bad Comic Book Cover Saturday

2009-05-02T04:30:00.003-04:00

CELBRATING FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (visit your local comic shop today) with one of the dumbest comic covers I've ever seen;

Not much to say with this one other than somebody was obviously asleep at the proof-reading switch.

TOMORROW; JAPANESE SPIDERMAN!

The Lonely Ranger

2009-05-01T04:30:00.002-04:00

SPACE 242 Work In Progress.
Not sure where I'm going with this one, but I know I find old cowboys visually interesting.
He's been riding the plains for over eighty years.

I like the idea of old heroes. It bugged me when I was working on an assignment for DC Comics a few years ago and an editor got into it with me saying Superman is 25 years old.

What? No he's not.

Superman should be worldly and mature, he shouldn't be two years out of doing beer bongs at some frat house-- he should be somebody still in his prime but who has lived enough to know just what the heck he's doing. He should be late 30s early 40s, and I've felt that way since I was a kid. Ditto Batman.

Amazing how some people fear old age.

Hi Yo Silver!

TOMORROW; Bad Comic Book Covers

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

2009-04-30T04:35:00.002-04:00

Free Comic Book Day was inspired by free ice cream day at Baskin Robbins, and it's tomorrow.

Comic book stores all across the country are participating with special events, guests, giveaways and yes, free comics.

This doesn't mean you run into the store and grab anything you want-- there is a select bunch of freebies that you can have, and as a nice gesture you might even think about buying something.

The fine folks at Thats Entertainment are whooping it up and my good buddies Bret Herholz and Scott Hamilton will be there for the duration. Thats E is located at 244 Park Avenue in the Big Woo and it's 10,000 square feet of comic wonderness.

I'd also recommend Ernie Pelletier's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD COMICS in Bellingham if you are in that area, Ernie is a great guy and the shop is beautiful!

Other GREAT comic shops I've been to and HIGHLY Recommend;

Jim Hanley's Universe on 33rd Street in New York City-- Right next to the Empire State Building.

Mid Town Comics at Times Square in Manhattan.

Harrion's Comics in Salem Ma at 252 Essex Street.

Captain Blue Hen Comics at 280 E Main Street in Newark DE

Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles (whose guest for the event is William Shatner!)

TOMORROW; The Lonely Ranger

Creature from the Black Fishing Tank

2009-04-29T04:30:00.001-04:00

When I was a kid there were a bunch of stores which lined Main Street-- despite the new mall that had opened up a few years earlier these stores hung on.

One was a pet store and I used to admire this Creature from the Black Lagoon Fish Tank ornament, I never had a fish tank but I'm certain I conned my mom into buying this for me at least once-- but I'm not sure.

In Mint condition this goes for about $1500 but I sure wish I could still get one for $1.49.

TOMORROW; FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

SPACE 242; DESTROY BOSTON

2009-04-28T04:30:00.001-04:00

SPACE 242's latest opening DESTROY BOSTON was on Friday April 24th;

DESTROY YOU, BOSTON! is a two-man artshow featuring new works by MCA (Evil Design) & Magmo the Destroyer. The event launched Friday April 24th @ Space242 (6-8pm) - in where else but Boston, MA - and exhibits thru May 22nd

There was some very impressive stone carving and a LOT of huge drawings of bizarre creatures. It was an exciting show and well worth checking out.

The next opening will be May 29th and I won't be able to make that because of ART ALL STATE that weekend, and the one after that is OURS! Yikes!

Tomorrow; The Creature from the Fishing Tank!

Mister ROOSH!

2009-04-27T04:30:00.001-04:00

I'm almost certain Mark Reusch and I were born twins in a dark creepy hospital somewhere in the dark recesses of a Maine bog and our natural mother ran off in terror-- only to be adopted by two different women and raised only a few towns apart.

I've been a fan of Mister Reusch's work for a number of years before I ever met him, and later, taught together at the Mass College of Art in Boston.

Mark's horrific posters caught my eye all around Boston-- and his endearment to the "classic" monsters like Karloff's Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Chaney's Phantom made us kindred spirits.

As a kid I had this really cool and spooky Skeleton Candle with a bright orange cloak. I never burned the candle, instead I used to sit and look at it's bizarre coloring and casual style and draw it. A few years later I did an internet search for this candle and found it as the icon on Reusch's MySpace account--

In addition to being an amazingly talented 2D artist Mark is also responsible for making some of the coolest 3D masks I've ever seen. He's come in to MassArt during Wednesday open drawing in full costume to pose for the students and faculty in attendance and I've had the chance to marvel at the craftsmanship first hand.

Even more importanly, Mark has made a tremendous impact on the young artists at MassArt and he continues to be someone who encourages creativity, experimentation and pushing the boundries of your chosen medium.

Mark is a Boston legend.

TOMORROW; Space 242 DESTROY BOSTON follow up

Mass College of Art Degree Project Show

2009-04-26T04:30:00.000-04:00

Mass College of Art Seniors display their Degree Project Thesis for the public opening Monday Night April 27th-- visit MassArt.edu for details.

This is a chance to see the work of some amazingly talented young artists in a group show setting-- take in some amazing work that has taken some of them 2 years to produce!

TOMORROW; Mister Roosh!

Bad Art Saturday

2009-04-25T04:30:00.001-04:00

Every artist produces their fair share of dogs, and I'm no exception. But sometimes something is SO bad I just have to look at it for a long time and wonder.

This isn't bad like Jack Kirby trying to do African American dialogue bad-- this isn't bad like ROBOT MONSTER running out of a story halfway through the movie and just kind of making it up on their own.

THIS is just BAD.

Art by Rob Lifield, who I understand is a very nice guy. I wonder if maybe he drew this at an angle sitting down, sometimes that can make the anatomy a little wonky.

Or in this case, a LOT wonky.

TOMORROW; MassArt Opening for Degree Project

More WeirdO Junk I MUST have!

2009-04-24T04:30:00.001-04:00

I've had a monster obsession since I was old enough to be afraid of them. Frankenstein's Monster was my biggest enemy-- scaring the daylights out of me with his grunts and groans, his black lips (I don't know why that scared me) and the fact that he was a dead guy walking around.

Looking at it now, there's not much logic to that fright-- I think ALL of the Universal Monsters were dead weren't they? But logic doesn't play a lot of fast and hard rules when you're eight years old.

One Frankenstein Monster that didn't scare me was this one-- straight from Hanna Barbara's cartoon series FRANKENSTEIN JR!

In 1966 when the Adam West Batman TV series hit the airwaves the country went superhero crazy-- and HB fell right in with Atom Ant, Birdman (before he became Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law on Adult Swim), Space Ghost and countless others. These adventure/comedy cartoons aired afternoons in re-runs in the late 70s when I was a kid and I was hooked on 'em.

I recently picked up a DVD of this particular show and it's quite awful. These were never designed to watch them one episode after another because of the repeated use of storylines.

But this bank, available from Entertainment Earth for just $25 is pretty sweet!

TOMORROW; Bad Art Saturday!

Spider SPUD

2009-04-23T04:30:00.000-04:00

I've been browsing through EntertainmentEarth lately and they've got some pretty cool stuff. It's all stuff you must have but don't need like the aforementioned Twilight Zone bobble head or a nearly full size replica of the Space 1999 spaceship.

Spider Spud caught my attention not only because it was only $3, incredibly stupid (the whole idea of Mister Potato Head is you can arrange his face in SO many ways-- with this one it looks like you can put the eyes on and say "Yeah, that looks right"), but it's also disturbing in that his costume appears to reveal a bare mid section (or worse).

It actually looks like most comic fans do when they dress up as Spider-Man and hit a comic convention.

Note to anyone considering jumping into some tights in public, spend three months in a gym beforehand for the sake of your dignity.

Nope, I won't be ordering it anytime soon, even at $3, but it'll be a long time before I've forgotten about it.

TOMORROW; More WeirdO Junk

SPACE 242; DESTROY BOSTON!

2009-04-22T04:30:00.001-04:00

There's not much up at the SPACE 242 website about their upcoming DESTROY BOSTON! show-- but judging by the shows they've had in the past this should be a good one.

The Show opens this Friday Apr 24 so make sure you RSVP on the website.

And of course, if you see my mom today wish her a Happy Birthday!

TOMORROW; Spider Spud!