One Hell of a Comic!

on February 4, 2020

Jack Kirby made me believe in magic. He immersed me into the cosmic depths of his imagination and infused raw power into every panel he created. I was affected from my first glance at his work and I instantly became a lifelong fan. 

I felt that magic again this past Christmas when my good friend Jeff Smith gave me his copy of The Demon #1 as a gift. This issue has been the Holy Grail of my collection for years, and although I did manage to get my hands on all fifteen of the subsequent issues of the original series, that first issue was always out of my reach.

Jack Kirby’s The Demon is my all-time favorite comic book series, and it earned a coveted place in my collection of long boxes. This series had it all – arcane sorcery, witchcraft, history, legend, mystery, the occult, weird happenings and a infernal anti-hero unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. And nobody made magic like the King!

Cracking open this issue took me back to the magic of late 70s summers. Riding my bike to the local used book store, I’d frisk their spinner rack in search of Bronze Age comic books, and anything interesting I could get my hands on. I discovered The Demon around that time and it became my quest to collect the entire run. Each issue I found just got me more and more hooked. I was finally able to collect most of the run except for this elusive first issue. And now after all these years, my favorite comic book run is complete.  

Thanks so much, brother! This is just what Merlin ordered!

 

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My 10th Anniversary on Twitter!

on January 29, 2020

January 24, 2020 marked my 10th year on Twitter! I can’t say enough great things about Twitter and how much it has affected me over the last ten years. I resisted Twitter at first and as usual was one of the last people to hop on the Twitter bandwagon. It was like falling into Wonderland when I finally became immersed in it. It has provided me with a super opportunity to introduce myself and my work to the world and it became somewhat of a artistic refuge for me to explore and stretch my wings.

I want to thank all the great friends and followers who have stuck with me this past decade. I’ve met so many wonderful people and creators who have engaged me, inspired me, made me laugh, challenged me, supported me, kept me motivated, and helped me create some of the best work I’ve created in my life.

I’d love to hear from some of you Twitter folks here in the comments section. It would be nice to archive some of y’alls thoughts about Twitter, as well.

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Peanizles’ 10th Anniversary Animation

on January 15, 2020

 

I had the great pleasure in creating an animated strip for my pal, Don Mathias’ 10th Anniversary of his magnificent comic opus, Peanizles! It’s a strip close to Don’s heart and anyone who knows Don will see so much of his boyish charm and unfettered sense of fun in each panel. Ten years is a major milestone in this webcomic biz and I had to do my part in helping Don celebrate this glorious occasion. Don, here’s to your next ten years! Keep on creating, keep on inspiring, my friend!

See the full strip here.

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Candy Pains

on December 18, 2019

 

I’m happy to announce that Zombie Boy recently made a guest appearance in Don Mathias’ excellent comic strip, Peanizles. You’ll notice ZB is in great company, along with Chuck B and Wallace the Brave! You can see the strip here. Don is the creator par excellence of this on-going weekly strip which recently celebrated it’s 10th year online! Thanks, Don!

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Vlad the Impaler Graphic Novel

on November 28, 2019

Hey kids! I just read a fantastic graphic novel written by Sid Jacobson and illustrated by one of my favorite artists, Ernie Colón (1931 – 2019). This 115 page bloodfest was published by Hudson Street Press, and it follows the life story of Prince Vlad Dracula the fifteenth century ruler of Wallachia whose bloody antics were the inspiration years later for Bram Stoker’s blood-sucking ghoul, Dracula.

It’s no secret that Ernie Colón is one of my greatest artistic inspirations. I love his work for Harvey Comics on Richie Rich, and Casper (in a 2007 interview with The Comics Journal,  Colón estimated that he had drawn around 15,000 pages for Harvey), and he was quite an influence on me in my burgeoning interest in comic books with his work for Atlas Comics (Grim Ghost, Tiger-Man). He created the warrior princess, Amethyst, at DC Comics, working with the writers Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin. He also collaborated with Roy Thomas on the native American character Arak, Son of Thunder.

While at Harvey, he met Mr. Jacobson, a Harvey staff editor who would become a collaborator and a lifelong friend. They have created several nonfiction books together, including biographies of Che Guevara and Anne Frank and The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, an illustrated adaptation of the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

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