Happy Father's Day!

Let's face it, most of us would say the same thing, we have a very cool dad, etc. In my case, I know it's true. God knows, he put up with me all these years!

My wife and I called him to wish him a happy day and many more.

In that same spirit to all our relatives, friends, and acquaintances who happen to be fathers, Happy Father's Day!

Mike

How do we remember?

On June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion took place. You can't encompass the sheer cost of lives in that bloody battle. People have described it as the biggest amphibious assault in military history, as the turning point of the war.

But while this battle took place in World War Two--God help us, we had to start numbering them--perhaps the most fitting words to describe the aftermath were written years before, in May of 1915, the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, which I partially quote here:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

How sad, still that so long after this terrifying day, the words to another song still ring sorrowfully true, the words to "No Man's Land" by Eric Bogle:

Well, I can't help but wonder, now, Willie McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?
Did you really believe that "this war would end wars"?

Well, the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame,
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain.
For Willie McBride...it all happened again....
and again, and again, and again, and again.

To all those who fought on that Day...we remember, and we'll try to do better by you.

Just one more thing...

Peter Falk, who perfected the role of Lt. Columbo, has advanced Alzheimer's. According to his doctor, testifying in open court, the 81 year old actor can no longer can remember playing the part of the great Detective.

A couple of years ago, there'd been talk of a final "Columbo" movie, stalled by network executives who claimed he was "too old to play the part". It struck me as odd, given reports that Falk had approved the script and was ready to start filming. After all, Falk had some powerful friends in the business, like Steven Speilberg. I wondered why they weren't intervening, using their clout to do the "Last Columbo Story".

It's apparent now he must have been showing signs of his illness. It was appropriate to keep private the nature of his difficulties, out of respect for the man.

He had a long and varied life, and an equally varied career, but inevitably, he is remembered for the part he was originally told he was too young to play, Columbo.

Though the man, to whatever extent possible, is still with us, his greatest creation has gone from him. There will be no more portrayals of Columbo by this talented actor.

So finally, the cigar is put out, the chili is finished, the pen placed in a desk drawer, and the raincoat put away in the closet. The Lieutenant is retired and gone home, whistling "This Old Man".

Just one more thing, Sir...

We'll miss you.

Every Picture Tells a Story

Since the last post was A) long, B) devoid of graphics, and C) had nothing to do with work, I thought I'd go to the other extreme, and show you some very cool artwork as a sample of what's available in our online store, located at www.artandcomicsstore.com the companion site to this blog.

For starters, Will Conrad has recently been named the artist for the new Black Panther series from Marvel Comics.






Here's a stunning double page spread from "Kull - The Shadow Kingdom" issue 4, pages 14 and 15 published by Dark Horse Comics. (If you click on this, or any of the images, you'll see a nice large version of the graphics.)




















Here's a page from the Hugo Award nominated series "Serenity: Better Days" issue 2, page 18, also published by Dark Horse. Mal can't seem to stay our of trouble!












But Will is hardly the only artist with fantastic work! Next up we have the fabulous Jinky Coronado, who recently collaborated with Meg Cabot on "Avalon High". Here we have pages from her hit series, "Banzai Girls" published by Arcana! These even include the page layouts, so you can see the evolution from rough idea to finished page!





These two pages are an action sequence from issue 4. Here's page 11...





















followed by page 12!










Our store carries both the latest art and an assortment of art from issues past! For example, here's some excellent art from Cliff Richards!








Cliff has penciled the last couple of issues of the AAFES (Army, Air Force Exchange Service) military giveaway comic that was free to members of the military by Marvel Comics.

Here's his dramatic rendition of Wolverine and Cyclops of the Uncanny X-Men dropping into a war zone!



















This is a sample of his work on "Huntress: Year One" from DC Comics!
























But not all the work is in black and white! Check out this vision of Catwoman, by Thony Silas!






















Then there's this piece by Jon Racimo featuring Wolverine vs. the Incredible HULK! (Hmmm..."Wolverine vs. Hulk", where have I heard that before....?)















Then, there's Jonathan Lau, who has been the penciling "go-to guy" for "Battlestar Galactica" over at Dynamite Entertainment!





Here's a sample from his work on Battlestar Galactica: Ghosts issue 2, page 20.



























And this is from "BSG: Origins" issue 9, page 22.

















While we're in outer space, let's have a look at the work done by Wilson Tortosa on the classic "Battle of the Planets" from Image/Top Cow!


This is a double page spread from BOTP issue 2, pages 20 and 21, including a photocopy of the original layout of the two pages by the artist!







Then, there's Mike Deodato, here with a splash page from Dark Avengers issue 2, page 19 published by Marvel Comics, where Sentry goes all "Highlander" on Morgana LeFay!


























Mike's been consistent in his action, as shown with this page from the Hulk, v3, issue 63, page 14!















Finally, I had to add this double page spread he did from New Avengers 19, pages 20/21, inked by Joe Pimentel because it's too cool to leave out!

Now, as I mentioned when I started this--all the pages here (as of when I write this) and many more--are on sale at our online store, www.artandcomicsstore.com where you'll have oodles of art to choose from to buy and have in your very own home! Heck, you might even hang them in the office! (You never know when the art buyers for the White House are looking for new acquisitions).

I hope you enjoyed today's visual odyssey, and come back soon for more!

Mike

Do Movies ruin comics?

Recently, in an e-mail exchange with Michael Melious (of Silver Age Comics in Astoria, New York), he suggested as a blog subject: “Why does Hollywood go out of their way to fuck up years of comic book character history in their movies...What do you think?”

I thought about that a bit, but felt there might be more than the side of aggravated fans watching years of printed continuity get flushed as fast as some screenwriter can pop out the pages. Plus with the recently released Wolverine movie it seemed a timely (or Timely?) subject.

So, I decided to look at examples as related to certain specific comics (or comics characters) and see what happened. This will be an occasional series, as I have time to do research and try to answer questions that come up along the way. I also realized that in many cases, other media have been involved—books, radio, tv for example—so I’d have to look at as much of the whole picture as I could without devoting my life to the subject.

I’d also have to limit myself to characters I was at least reasonably familiar with, since I have neither the time nor inclination to look up characters I’m not really interested in to begin with. I'm also not including graphics because this post is going to be really long as it is.

Superman

He was the first. The first superhero as we know them today. The first character to have an entire comic book devoted to his adventures alone, and so many more “firsts” it’s only reasonable he was named Superman.

In 1938, Superman was quite different in appearance, style, personality and powers than he is today. He was stocky, and his uniform design changed often, sometimes from panel to panel. He was a social crusader, often going after people who were beating up on “the average Joe”. Remember, there weren’t any super villains yet.

His powers were also much less than now. I quote from Action Comics #1, which stated that “when maturity was reached, he discovered he could easily leap 1/8^th of a mile, hurdle a twenty-story building…raise tremendous weights…run faster than an express train…and that nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!”

Ok, lets take these statements one at a time and give this some perspective. This is important because over time, his abilities changed tremendously. I was able to get better information for 1939 than 1938, so I’m using those numbers, figuring they should be reasonably close.

1/8^th of a mile = 660 feet = 220 yards. This means in 1938, he could take a single leap and cover a distance greater than twice the length of a football field.

In 1939, a twenty-story building rose to a height of approximately 355 feet, based on approximate measurements of 20-story buildings built before 1939. That equals 118.333 yards. So he could jump straight UP higher than the length of one football field.

In depicting his ability to “raise tremendous weights” they show him lifting up a steel construction girder, while the cover shows him lifting a 4-door sedan. Basically, an I beam of that approximate size, using the current rough specifications of 10 inch depth (the height when the beam is measured between the flat ends, or flanges) and a weight of approximately 22 pounds per linear foot. Assuming Superman is six feet tall, he’s hefting a twelve foot long beam (with one hand) that weighs approximately 264 pounds.

As far as lifting the 4 door sedan, I looked it up and found that a 1939 Dodge D11 Luxury Liner DeLuxe 4 door trunkback sedan weighed 3,035 pounds. A 1939 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe 4-door sedan weighed in at 2,875 pounds. Finally, a 1939 Ford 91 Model A Four Door Convertible sedan weighed 2,935 pounds. Since I don’t know what—if anything—Siegel and Shuster based the car on, I’ve averaged the weights of all three, ending up with 2,948.33 pounds. That is equal to 1.4715 short tons.

That means that on the cover of Action #1, Superman is able to lift over one and a half tons with both hands and run around with it.

As to how fast he is, he is shown to “easily overtake” the speeding sedan on foot. The top speeds for those cars was somewhere between 85-95 miles an hour, depending on the model.

And what was the top speed of an “express train”? The top speed of the Pioneer Zephyr Diesel train going from Denver to Chicago on May 26, 1934 was 112.4 mph, with an average speed of 77 mph. One of the fastest steam trains of the day was the LNER Class A4 No. 4468 Mallard in the UK that reached a sped of 125.88 mph for a half mile on July 3, 1938 before overheating. Averaging the two top speeds gives us a very rough average top speed of 119.14 mph.

So Superman, in 1938, was able to run over 120 mph, at least for short distances. In comparison, a man running a “four minute mile”, among the fastest of all humans, is just over 15 miles an hour. A cheetah can do over 30 mph.

Now, in the same issue, Superman’s origin only says that his rocket ship landed on earth and “a passing motorist, discovering the sleeping babe within, turned the child over to an orphanage.”

In this story, Clark Kent is already established as a reporter for the Daily Star newspaper, and Superman only recently appeared in public for the first time, and Kent, coincidentally, is given the task of covering reports of the mysterious “Superman”, though the notion of such a person is treated as some kind of fantastic hoax.

Lois Lane is introduced as another reporter, whom Clark has been trying to get to go out with him. She finally agrees, but a crude mobster ruins their date—and cements Clark’s reputation as a “spineless unbearable coward” as Lois calls him. After Superman saves her from the mobster, even her own editor doubts her report of what happened, which makes her treat Clark “colder than ever”.

By the time Superman #1 came out, a year later in the summer of 1939, things had already begun to change for Superman and Clark Kent. His origin now mentioned his adoptive parents, the Kents, described as an elderly couple when they found him “abandoned” in his just-landed ship. Soon afterward, they return to the orphanage where they’d taken him, and adopted the baby boy. They advised him to conceal his “great strength”, yet somehow use it to “assist humanity”. The identity of Superman, this story told us, was the creation of the adult Clark Kent after the death of his parents from natural causes.

At this point, the fact that Superman wasn’t from Earth was not known to anyone, even Superman himself, though he must surely have suspected it when he never encountered another person who could do what he did.

His abilities, strength speed and “toughness”—not exactly invulnerable, but still not worried by bullets or knives or the like—were all as they were a year previously, though he now can also swim across the sea faster than a steamship can cross the same distance.

By Superman #12, he’s moving at super-speed “faster than the eye can follow”.

Now, we come to the first new medium for Superman, radio. The show started in New York on February 12, 1940 on WOR, but by 1942, it was broadcast on Mutual until 1949, usually as a 15 minute show, expanded to 30 minutes in 1949. Later that year the show moved to ABC radio where it was broadcast until it’s conclusion in March of 1951.

This was where the first of the many changes to Superman took place.

First, and most obvious, was the introduction, “Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s SUPERMAN!”

"Yes, it's Superman--strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman--defender of law and order, champion of equal rights, valiant, courageous fighter against the forces of hate and prejudice, who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way."

The radio show was also where we first learned of Kryptonite, and were introduced to characters Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and Inspector Bill Henderson.

But that almost wasn’t so.

In an unpublished story by Jerry Siegel titled “The K-Metal from Krypton”, we learn of the mysterious metal later named Kryptonite which weakens Superman—but, in this story, grants earth people superpowers. There’s a litany of “firsts” in this story. Superman learns his true heritage as an alien, and can “sky-jump” instead of merely leaping. Superman, deprived of his powers for the first time, experiences his first encounter with severe pain. We meet Perry White for the first time, and Lois Lane learns Clark’s secret, ending up as “Superman’s partner”.

So why was it written and drawn and then not published?

In 1941, when this story was written and drawn by Siegel and Shuster, historian Will Murray contends that changes in Jerry Siegel’s personal life—including marriage—since the publication of the first Superman story, had him wanting to let the characters grow and develop in a more realistic fashion. This would have been in keeping with such comic strips as “Gasoline Alley”, where the characters aged in approximately real time.

Murray opines that the story was shelved for editorial reasons, going instead with the “love triangle” between Superman, Lois and Clark that permeated the book for decades to follow before the original (Earth-2) Superman had revealed his identity and married Lois, with his modern-day counterpart following suit in the 1990’s. But this also was the beginning of the end of Siegel and Shuster having any real say in what happened to the character they created, a schism that would culminate a few years later when the publisher summarily removed their credits as creators from the books.

Incidentally, the restored comic can be viewed online at http://superman.nu/k-metal/splash.php

So, while many of the now-famous elements of the Superman mythos were publicly described for the first time on the radio show, such as Perry White, and Superman’s self-knowledge of his true planetary origin (with Kryptonite debuting in 1943), the comics didn’t acknowledge the existence of Kryptonite until 1949, despite laying the groundwork in 1940.

The sole exception seems to be Jimmy Olsen.

Although a nameless copyboy resembling Jimmy appeared in Action Comics #6, the first time a character named Jimmy Olsen appeared was on the radio show, in April of 1940. Jimmy made his comics debut in Action Comics #13 the following year, and eventually led to a comic all his own, “Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen”, which ran from 1954-1974 before being folded into the “Superman Family” title.

The next iteration of Superman would be the movie serials and the famous Fleischer cartoons.

The Superman cartoons were a series of seventeen Technicolor cartoons made from 1941-1943. The Fleischer Studios made the first nine, and the series became known by this name, even though the studio itself was dissolved and renamed Famous Studios in 1942, which made the remaining eight cartoons.

These cartoons were lavish productions, with great care given to all aspects of the production. The first set of cartoons were more science fiction oriented, but by the following year, with the United States fighting in WWII, the stories took on a more propagandist bent.

The only major addition not from the comic was taking familiar taglines from the radio show, “Faster than a speeding bullet…”, though near the end of the series they made slight changes that never stuck with the character or the fans. Bud Collyer continued providing the voices of Superman and Clark Kent as he had on the radio series previously.

In 1948, the first Superman movie serial was released, fifteen chapters of action with Noel Neill as Lois Lane, and an uncredited Kirk Alyn as Superman/Clark Kent. This led to advertisements claiming that no actor they found could play Superman so they got Superman himself to appear.

The budget was so tight that they used the same cheaply produced animation footage of Superman in flight in nearly every episode. This wasn’t so noticeable if you saw one episode a week, but if you watch several in a row, it really sticks out.

But, apart from that, no new ground was broken; either here, or in the only sequel, Atom Man vs. Superman, in 1950. Both serials suffered from poor production values.

The next, and one of the most well-known appearances was the television series “The Adventures of Superman” with George Reeves as the Man of Steel. The series premiered in 1952 and ran until 1958. The first 52 episodes were shot in black and white, and the remainder in color, though audiences would only see a monochromatic broadcast until reruns in 1965.

Phyllis Coates played Lois Lane in the first season before Noel Neill returned in season two, remaining the rest of the series. Jack Larson portrayed Jimmy Olsen and John Hamilton was Perry White.

In early episodes Superman, much as in the earliest issues of the comic, is presented as a sort of urban legend, with many people not recognizing him. The series, compared to the Comics Code Authority that had been created to tame the comics stories, was sometimes quite violent and Superman’s foes often died. Superman himself was somewhat more ruthless, an attitude more associated with what we now call the Earth-2 Superman.

The second season bought a change in writers, and a less noir approach to the series, adding more SF elements and somewhat more character driven stories, like the classic “Panic in the Sky” episode.

By the third season, they were filming in color and following the more whimsical tone of the Superman comics of the mid-1950’s. Jimmy and Lois, formerly resourceful reporters, spent a lot of time being rescued by Superman. The following season was equally campy in tone by comparison to earlier efforts.

The final season, featuring episodes directed by Reeves himself, were more serious in tone, and while there were more SF elements, the tone was a bit less humorous.

The tv series is where Superman first displayed a wide variety of abilities previously unseen in the comics. He could “separate his molecules” to walk through walls, similar to the ability later ascribed to the Flash; he could become invisible, and split in two. He also utilized powers the comics had established by this time: super speed, hearing, super breath, and by this time he was well and truly flying.

The various incarnations of the “Super Friends” cartoons had little impact on the comics, beyond the occasional adaptation for kids to read, though eventually Wendy and Marvin did make their way into the DC Universe.

Throughout the rest of the 1950’s through the Sixties and most of the Seventies the only new Superman stories were in the comics. Various novels written through the years mostly stayed true to the basic concept, as it was known by that time.

But in 1978, we believed a man could fly.

Superman: the Movie, with it’s relatively unknown Christopher Reeve playing the lead, and Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando being the “name” stars, was brought to the screen by director Richard Donner. With all the hoopla surrounding everything else, he realized, coming as it did after the blockbuster Star Wars the previous year, that Superman had better be able to look like he was really flying.

The characterizations were actually becoming slightly dated, as by this time, Clark Kent in the comics was no longer quite the nebbish he’d been previously. He was still timid, and perhaps working a bit too had to be the anti-Superman, and this was the portrayal we saw in the movie.

Christopher Reeve delivered the perfect performance as both Superman and Clark Kent. He not only made us believe he could fly, he showed us how Superman could successfully disguise himself as Clark.

The movie, and it’s sequel, Superman II, showed Superman and other Kryptonians using powers they never had in the comics, such as telekinesis and some weird bit with Superman’s “S” emblem that I never understood. These odd powers never made the jump to the comics, although the general portrayal of the Phantom Zone villains was an obvious influence on the 1986 reboot of the comics following the “Crisis on Infinite Earths”.

The less said about the subsequent sequels and the recent “Superman Returns”, the better. Suffice it to say they had no influence on the comics, save as an example of what not to do.

In 1988, there was a Superboy tv series, notable for the fact that by this time, the retconned DC comics continuity held that there was no Superboy. This series departed significantly from previous canon of the character, creating a “Shuster University”. The teenaged Lex Luthor seems content to commit minor crimes and humiliate or embarrass Superboy, until the season finale basically told the story of Superboy rescuing Lex from a lab fire that renders him bald, and from then on, becomes determined to destroy the boy of steel.

The remaining seasons had Clark, Lana Lang, and other characters working for a bureau of extra-normal matters, and the stories took on a much darker tone, possibly in response to the release of the first Tim Burton Batman movie. The series ended in a blaze of legal hoohah, with Warner placing a lien on the Salkind’s production in order to facilitate the new “Lois and Clark” series. Given the time of it’s release amid the recently reconstituted DCU, there was no effect on the mythos, save for an adaptation of the tv series itself, which explicitly was non-canonical.

“Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman” was the next series on tap, running from 1993-1997, and focused largely on the relation between the title characters, rather than a lot of super derring-do.

One aspect that was added was a middle name for Clark—Jerome—which writers Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicenza used in Trinity #44 this year.

The character of Clark followed the post-Crisis conception of the comic character as written by John Byrne, with Clark being a more three dimensional character and people generally assuming that Superman had no need of a “secret identity”, thus allowing Clark to be a proper investigative reporter and a better counterpart to the hard going Lois Lane.

This also started a cycle of “who will marry first” with writers form the comic and the tv series simultaneously deciding to let Clark marry Lois at long last. A series of delays on the part of both companies put off both weddings for over a year, before both events happened in 1996-97.

From 1996-2000 we were treated to “Superman: the Animated Series”, which incorporated events across the Superman mythos, but largely echoing the style of the Fleischer cartoons. The storylines emphasized the Jack Kirby creations of Darkseid and the Fourth World, which were responsible for their resurgence in the DCU, culminating in the recent “Final Crisis”.

In 2001, the tv series “Smallville” premiered, with a completely different take on the teenaged Clark Kent and his friends.

One change that appears here is that of Kara Zor-El, originally known as Supergirl. Originally, she came to Earth from Argo City, after the destruction of Krypton, and was tutored by the older Superman in the use of her powers until her existence was revealed to the world. In this series, she was deliberately sent as basically a babysitter for the infant Kal-El, but was stuck in suspended animation, only released when Clark was older. This concurred with the revamp of Kara’s origins in the comic “Superman and Batman” done in 2004, and since accepted as current continuity.

In a break from current continuity, the series killed off Jonathan Kent several years ago, an action only recently echoed in the comics.

Apart from that, most of the characters and story elements are unrelated to anything currently done in the comics. It’s obvious they are familiar with the comics, but have chosen to largely do their own version of the mythos.

So, having looked at these various shows and movies, it seems that while there was definitely a profound effect on the Superman mythos in the early going, as time progresses, the shows and the comics both go their own way. It’s clear that they are markedly different, and someone exposed only to one or the other would undoubtedly be confused by the other. But their impact on each other, at this point in time, is negligible.

The movies and tv series haven’t ruined Superman, they’ve enhanced his mythos and in a number of cases recently, take their cues from the comics, while going a different route in the storytelling.

The bare facts of the Superman mythos are fairly simple: the last survivor of a dead planet comes to earth in a spacecraft built by his Kryptonian father, is raised as one of us, and grows up to become one of our greatest heroes. The various incarnations of movies and television shows may differ in the details great or small, but in the end, he’s still Superman.

Mike

"It almost seems like yesterday, twenty years ago."

I'm not normally a big fan of country and western songs, but the title above, taken from a line in a Kenny Rogers song, seemed appropriate.

Twenty years ago today, I married my chocolate-chomping bride.

Nerd and geeks the world over are envious of me. I married a woman who collects comics, likes science fiction and fantasy, and is a chocoholic. She's also smarter than I am, and a lot cuter, too.

On top of it all, she'd put up with me for over two decades on a daily basis. Even *I* don't like me THAT much!

She likes country and western songs, so I had to root around a bit for a good title to use for this post.

She is, of course, perfect. As always.

In closing, I'll use a quote from another song, by Harry Chapin, which we played at our wedding reception. "With you is how I hope to end, and with you now I start."

I'd say we're off to a good start. Here's to another twenty or more!

Mike

One of Those Days

The sky is grey today, with a cold, steady drizzle.

It's the kind of day where kids look longingly out the window during math class.

Fishermen regret having to work at the office because they know the fish are biting today.

People who have errands outside will be perpetually soggy when they're done.

Buildings seem duller even as the trees and grass seem more vibrantly alive.

It's a perfect day to bring home that pile of comic books, and lose yourself in the magic again.


Mike

He's the Boss!

No, not Bruce Springsteen, though I applaud him and anyone else who opposes the evil Ticketmaster. (And those guys ARE evil, deal with it.)

No, I speak of my boss, David Campiti, who was the driving creative force behind the late, lamented Innovation Comics; and for the last 15 years has been the Grand Poobah of Glass House Graphics.

Lately, he's started a blog of his own, titled, "Nibbled to Death by Ducks" (or, as I call it, "Duckdeath").

His most recent post deals with his travails at IHOP, the International House of Pancakes. Go leave a comment and prod him to describe what happened when the corporate offices were made aware of the incident.

Yes, I'm plugging my boss' blog. But it's a nice blog, so I don't mind. In fact, he doesn't know I'm doing this. I'm not even sure he reads this, assuming he has time left in the day--which is unlikely.

So when you go there, tell him "the funny-looking kid with the big nose and fuzzy face" sent you.

Mike

Oh, What A Site

Recently, we've been working to spruce up our online store, www.artandcomicsstore.com so it would better serve those of you who shop there for original art by various artists such as Mike Deodato, Will Conrad, Jonathan Lau, Lui Antonio, Wilson Tortosa and many more!

With that, some of the announcements of additions to that store were wiped away, so I'm taking a moment to urge you to wander over and take a look, and giving you a peek at what you'll find there!








Will Conrad penciled the miniseries "Serenity: Better Days" for Dark Horse which was recently nominated for a Hugo award!





















Meanwhile, Mike Deodato has brought his pencils to bear on the new "Dark Avengers" series from Marvel!























Jonathan Lau has done outstanding work on two different "Battlestar:Galactica" series -- "Origins" and "Ghosts"!

















For those of you not living in the immediate moment, we have (and will soon be listing more) penciled pages from "Battle of the Planets" series drawn by Wilson Tortosa!


This is just a small sample of the wide range of original art available from never-before-seen art samples to pages from your favorite books! So come take a look and see if you can find something that'll look especially cool on your wall at home!

Mike

eBay on Probation

Last November, eBay had begun enforcing new policies that essentially gave nearly unlimited power to buyers while discriminating against sellers.

Their most ridiculous example is in their "Seller Ratings". These ratings are done on a scale of 1-5, with 1 the lowest, and 5 the highest. Now, to anyone who wasn't comatose in math classes throughout their education, this means the 3 is average. Previously, you had to be around a 2 to face any restrictions from eBay.

Not anymore.

Now you have to average between 4 and 5 to be considered minimally acceptable. Drop below 4.3 in ANY category, and eBay buries your auctions at the bottom of searches. Go below 4.1 and you can't list any new items until the old bad rating drops off--which can be over 30 days.

This means you, as a Seller, have to not only be nearly perfect, but you are at the mercy of Buyers who give you an "average" rating.

Not great, not terrible, just "average", meaning you did what was expected of you as a Seller, at which time, you lose the ability to list new stuff.


That's not the worst part.

There's no oversight, nobody with ANY authority to make changes or exceptions to this idiotic turn of events. You can be in PERFECT compliance with all their rules and just because a Buyer isn't dazzled by this, your ability to do anything is gone.

This happened to us in November. I entered chats, wrote e-mails, and made phone calls. The only reply I got was a woman on the phone at eBay who called me names. They said, "Write to Security". I did, and haven't gotten a reply to this day. I never did get to speak to a Manager or Supervisor, despite repeated requests.

Essentially, they refused to even speak to anyone who had been discriminated against by their corporate stupidity. I made it clear to them if this was going to be how they behaved, we'd take the bulk of our business elsewhere.

I guess they thought I was kidding. A week later, I pulled over 90% of our eBay listings out, and put them in our store only. All the art from Mike Deodato, Will Conrad, Jonathan Lau and many more besides. All gone. Along with the income eBay used to get from listings and sales.

Recently, I was asked by Dave Campiti to put some items back up there, so I did. Right now, we have listings for Mike Deodato's Dark Avengers and Will Conrad's Kull. I'm leading with our best.

The auctions were buried because of eBay's continued asinine behavior. I've sold more Dark Avengers art off eBay than on it.

I've put eBay on probation and so far, it's not looking good, but I'll give it a full month and see if things improve.

I still encourage our customers to come to our store instead, as anything NOT sold at auction on eBay will be listed soon afterward in our store located at www.artandcomicsstore.com

If anyone from eBay should see this, you might still be able to salvage your chance to do business with us if you e-mail me and apologize...and remove the discriminatory anti-seller practices.

Mike

Weathercat Warning

This is my cat, Minerva, who is six years old now. She was a pound kitty, acquired when she was just a kitten a few weeks old.

Besides being an escape artist that would make Mister Miracle drool with envy (hence her reputation as the World's Sneakiest Cat), she has an uncanny knack for knowing when bad weather, such as an especially heavy rain or a thunderstorm, is approaching. Depending on the expected severity of the possible bad weather, she might hide in the bathroom behind the toilet, or creep under the bed.

Today, she suddenly started running around our home, her tail poofed out, yowling. I turned on the TV, and sure enough, there was a tornado watch for our area. I was really glad when a short time later, coinciding almost exactly with the arrival of a break in the weather, she calmed down and went to sleep.

Beats the heck out of the National Weather Service and all we have to do is feed her. So always pay attention to your local "Weathercat Warning". You'll be glad you did!

Mike

A Heart in New York (Comic-Con, that is...)

This weekend will be chock full of comics people, fans and pros alike, descending on New York City to attend this year's Comic Con from February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center. Glass House Graphics will be no exception.

As you can see from the photograph here (from a previous convention), Jinky (Banzai Girls) Coronado will be joined by Will (Serenity: Better Days) Conrad and Mike (Dark Avengers) Deodato.

They will be held in check---er, chaperoned by GHG Guru David (Hero Alliance) Campiti. They will be at the Glass House Graphics table in Artists Alley (table F9, next to Bob McLeod, past the DC comics booth(1541), near the entrance to the Alley).

While I won't be there to join in the fun, I did send a couple hundred pages of original art for everyone to look through and buy.

"What's in it?" you ask. For Will Conrad fans, some incredible pages from Serenity: Better Days, and some of his work from the Outsiders featuring the Batman to name a couple. For Jinky Coronado fans, some gorgeous pages from the hit series Banzai Girls, as well as a couple of pinups. Mike Deodato fans get a look at original art from Dark Avengers #1 along with oodles of other things you'll have to see to believe. I mean that. You'll have to go see it.

So go forth to the convention, meet the comics creators, and buy all the artwork at Glass House Graphics!

Please buy it--that box weighed over 20 pounds and I really don't want it sent back to me that heavy! :)

Mike

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