Hammering Away At It

Some months back, the buildings in our area were damaged by the remnants of a hurricane. Last week, the work began to repair the damage as our turn came up. Since then, it's snowed three times--more than it did the previous three months put together--and we had that deep freeze that had the polar bears looking for electric blankets.

Yet, during all but the very coldest of the cold snap--when it was literally too dangerous to be up on any roof--these guys have been out there, every day, weekends included, and making progress on the repairs. I was out just long enough to put out the trash and I was frozen. These guys are earning every penny of their paycheck.

It's something to keep in mind the next time I think I'm working too hard.

Mike

Thinking about Bill Mantlo and "Cloak and Dagger"

This rendering of Marvel characters Cloak and Dagger by Jon Racimo is how most people think of writer Bill Mantlo, who created the characters.

But that's not all he did.

He was also well known for writing stories for Micronauts and Rom: Spaceknight. Anyone who has ever had to deal with writing stories for various licensed properties will tell you this can be a stressful experience.

Yet he wrote every single one of the 75 monthly issues and four Annuals for Rom.

He also wrote a memorable run on the Incredible Hulk from issue 245 to 313, when he and John Byrne switched books, with Mantlo taking Alpha Flight in new directions.

Then there was "Swords of the Swashbucklers" from Marvel's Epic comics, that was a rip-roaring space pirate story.

He also had a fine run on Spectacular Spider-Man. At one time or another in fifteen years, he wrote a vast array of stories, primarily for Marvel.

But to me, personally, and to several of my friends, Cloak & Dagger was his personal contribution to comics lore, with characters he created.

The old adage that "you never appreciate what you have while you have it" applies to comic companies as much as anyone else, unfortunately, and as work became sparse, he did some stories for DC, notably the Invasion! series, then retired from comics, having passed the Bar exam and becoming a public defender.

A few years later, in 1992, he suffered "traumatic brain injury" in a car accident, and was institutionalized after awaking from a year long coma. He's not expected to ever fully recover, though there's another saying that "miracles do happen", and who knows, someday one might.

I do not know him personally, and I never had the opportunity to meet him. I was just looking at this piece of art and was thinking about him, grateful for what he did while he was able.

Sometimes it helps to know there are people thinking of you, and remembering your accomplishments, or perhaps it helps family or friends, or fans.

In looking again at the page above, I hope that somehow, Cloak protects him from the worst ravages of darkness as Dagger guides him toward the light.

Mike

Obama-Man, Obama-Man! Does whatever Obama can!

I heard the story on CNN. I went to www.Marvel.com to snag the cover picture to Amazing Spider-Man 583.

Now, THIS is the kind of Presidential perk I could enjoy! It's almost a shame I know I'd make a rotten President.

It's really cool that President-Elect Obama likes comics such as Spider-Man and the Batman.

Too often, people in high-profile positions publicly disavow comics faster than the proverbial speeding bullet. Maybe this'll encourage people in other walks of life to loosen up a bit and realize the world (or your career) doesn't necessarily end if people find out you like to read comics.

Back in the 1980's, I was interviewing for a permanent job with a company I'd been doing temporary work for, and my boss, who happened to be conducting the interview, looked at the resume, and asked if one previous job was at a comic store. I had in fact, managed a comic shop for a while, and said so while thinking, "Here we go, will it be a Pow! Zap! Batman joke, or a "I read those when I was a kid?" comment?"

It turns out she was not only a fellow comics fan, but at the time, she got her comics at the same store where I got mine!

Ultimately, I didn't get the job, as a job transfer she'd put in for came through later that week, and her replacement hired someone else. But it was still very cool.

And now, the Man Who Will Be President says he's a fan of Spider-Man. I wonder if he would be amenable to suggesting that Marvel stop "Brand New Day", and renew the storyline that was so brilliantly written by J. Michael Straczynski?

Mike

The anime is upon us!

I have to say upfront, I've never been a big fan of Anime. I never liked the too-cutesy style and the apparently mandatory inclusion of at least one character that looked so badly drawn in comparison to the others, you'd think the animators did it as a joke and nobody noticed.

Aside from all that, there's metric tons of it out there, and I just don't have the time, room, or inclination to start sorting my way through it.

Having said this--and likely incurred the wrath of Anime fans worldwide--I have to say I'm impressed with "Battle of the Planets", the 12 issue series done a few years back by Image and Top Cow. Alex Ross did the covers, which never hurts. The interior pages were drawn by Wilson Tortosa. I've put up a scan of the original art from issue 1, page 08, along with the layout sketch done by Tortosa.

The story is based partly on the animated series of the same name aired in the United States, which in turn is based on the original series from Japan, titled "Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman" which loosely translated to "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman", and is apparently known by the shorthand title, "Gatchaman".

I had to learn all this as I was presented with the aforementioned Wilson Tortosa pages to put up for sale on our companion site, www.artandcomicsstore.com

I hate to just throw something up there with no information whatsoever, so I try to research enough to give a reasonable description of what people are looking at. I was given access to the series by a friend so I could read it and accurately describe the various characters on each page.

I got to know who they were well enough to no longer need the cheat sheet I'd written to keep track. I had enough of an idea of what was going on so I could follow the story. In doing the research, I also learned it was slated to be an open-ended series, but low sales forced it's cancellation after issue 12.

Despite that it ended on a cliffhanger--of which I think longtime fans know the ultimate resolution--I find I liked it. So if you get a chance, take a look at it. I also found that the artwork style was pleasing to me, which, given my normal opinion of such works, is saying a lot.

The artwork displayed above in this post is available for sale (as of this writing) at the
Art and Comics online store.

Mike

Deodato covers it

Just recently, I heard that the monthly She-Hulk comic from Marvel was to be canceled. Too bad, because I think it was finally hitting it's stride. Plus there were these cool covers by Mike Deodato that were very nice to look at.

I personally liked this one shown here, from issue 28, a tip of the artistic hat to the late Will Eisner, creator of the Spirit -- the comic book, not the recent movie of the same name.

Generally, I like covers with a lot of detail, and this one has it. Given that they were often done some time before the story for the issue was finalized, I think Deodato did a great job conveying a "look" for She-Hulk.

One of the amazing things about Deodato's recent work is that this is all done in pencil. Yep, there's no inking here. I'm amazed how good his pages look this way, even though I also loved his run on Amazing Spider-Man, and later on New Avengers with inker Joe Pimentel. Issue 20, page 9 shown here, as well.

It amazes me how Quickly Deodato can alter his drawing style to give the editors whatever they need.

I know some people decry the lack of an inker, others are thrilled to see just the pencils. What do you think?

Incidentally, both pages are (as of this writing) for sale at www.artandcomicsstore.com


Mike

This afternoon, I discovered if you click on any of the accompanying pictures in my posts, you get a much bigger version of it, so as to see details the small version here doesn't show as clearly. A day is never wasted in which you learn something and now I'm ahead for the day!

I suppose this is a dead giveaway that I've got a LOT to learn!

Mike

Really worth a Thousand Words?

Just commenting on the picture that now adorns the top of the page. That's me at Daytona Beach, Florida, and the photo was taken by my mom when I drove her out there in my van. She didn't know you could drive on the beach, so that was a shock.

It was a nice day, though too late in the year for swimming, sometime in November or December, I think, and I decided to get my feet wet. She took this as I was standing for a moment before walking back to the car.

I really like this picture, so I'm using it instead of a montage of original art like the sensible part of me says I should have. Well, why start being sensible NOW?

Mike

Me and My Blog

Hi there! I have no idea who you are reading this, but Greetings; and Felicitations! And now, a few words about me and my blog.

My name is Mike Buckley, and I'm a freelance comics writer at Glass House Graphics, along with a varied career doing other nifty things for food and shelter. I love to talk and even to listen, when I stop to take a breath. If any editors or publishers are reading this, I am available and financially cheap. I've written everything from superhero stories to horror with all kinds of stories in between and beyond.

I'm also currently the Manager of online art sales for Glass House Graphics' artwork over at the Art and Comics Store. I want more people to see the art, and hopefully buy it. But I did NOT want to just say, "here's the page and price". I want to discuss the artwork, the artist, the characters, and all kinds of cool stuff. So some posts will perhaps have a nice page that might pique your interest and encourage you to take a closer look, whilst other posts will be me sounding off on a wide range of topics.

On that last bit, I'm the only one writing this, and the only Editor as well...except for the Powers That Be here who keep the Bloggers in line...and these are MY opinions, and MY responsibility. Not Glass House Graphics, and not anyone else.

I welcome comments, even ones that might disagree with me, but let's keep it reasonable. While I enjoy a good argument from time to time, I have zero interest in a flame war.

With that in mind, Let There Be BLOG!

Mike