Well, a last-minute turn of events enabled me to make it to the San Diego Comic Con after all. Not as an exhibitor of course, but as an old-fashioned fan. Really though, the main thing I wanted to do was catch up with friends. Oh, and attending Blake Bell's Steve Ditko panel was another priority! Here is my report....One week later....
I arrived in San Diego late Saturday, about an hour before the Ditko panel. Actually, as soon as I got off the bus in front of the Con, I ran into three friends I knew! One guy introduced to his friend, and after I introduced myself this person realized I was the guy who created EL MUERTO, which delighted both of us! I have to say, despite not being able to exhibit, and knowing I was only going to be at Con for less than 10 total hours, walking in the front doors always gives me a big rush. I attended Con for about 6 years until I became an exhibitor, so unlike many publishers/cartoonists I have memories of San Diego far beyond trying to sell books (which I love doing, of course).
Once inside, I tracked down some friends at their Small Press tables and then made my way to the Ditko panel. I introduced myself to Blake Bell, telling him that he was a guest on my radio show a few weeks back. (Thanks to Blake for mentioning me on his Comic Con report!). His panel included artist Jim Starlin, Marvel editor Carl Potts, Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth and Kim Deitch. All had good insights and stories about Dikto. After the panel I made my way down to the floor and visited more friends.
One of the other main reasons for attending the Con was to make our annual trip to Old Town after the show. We've been going for years now, a whole group of cartoonists and friends and spouses making our way to a secret location for a feast of Mexican food and pitchers of strawberry margaritas! In an outdoor patio to boot! It's really at this dinner that I get such a sense of euphoria of being involved in the comics biz. Just sharing great moments with some really good friends; some new, some I've known for a longer while.
Ms. Bernyce Talley and I bump into each other...
Two cartoonist pals of mine, CRYING MACHO MAN Jose Cabrera and SQUIDWORKS' Stan Yan (both are former guests of my radio show as well!)
Alex here is a long-time fan and friend I met at Comic Con some years ago.
Jose and his wife Blanca have just moved to San Diego from Chicago. How convenient is that? I originally met Jose a few years ago when I had a Message Board at El Muerto.com. We had never met before in person until earlier at the convention center. He's always been an extremely supportive fan, and I always had a good sense of him as a person just by his posting on my Board. When we met we carried on like we've been friends for years. Which we have, actually!
The next day at the Con I had more time to actually visit more people and check out more of the Exhibit Hall. One side of the hall seemed to be comprised of more-or-less comic book related exhibitors. Small Press, Publishers, comic book retailers, etc. The other side if hall hosted more of the media outfits like movie studios, cable networks, video game makers, toy companies, etc. And this is the side that was choked with 1000s of people blocking the isles and trying to get glimpses of movie props or grab the freebies being handed out! I swear this place was unmanageable when I walked through it!
I did manage to take this pic of the IRON MONGER from IRON MAN. Geez, imagine if this thing started going berserk amongst all the people!
I saw this Boba Fett (or is it Jango??) and tried to take his picture, but then he stormed off! Oh well, if he's reading this: I don't care about Star Wars anyway!!
What I do care about is the old Adam West BATMAN, represented here by the Batcycle. You younger fans can have your Batpod or whatever it's called in the DARK KNIGHT!
My good friend Jason Martin of SUPER REAL fame. Jason's expanding his publishing interests with a line of books created by other cartoonists, but published under his SUPER REAL PRESENTS brand. Me and Jason have bounced around the idea of me publishing one of my new creations under his brand. But that's just one of many, many things we talk about. You never know.....
Long-time friend and cartoonist compadre Michael Aushenker wonders how he got bamboozled covering the CRYING MACHO MAN table!
Taking a well-deserved break with Grasiela(L) and Tammy(R)....
I was very happy to finally meet New Jersey's powerhouse Puerto Rican comics/podcast mogul, Samuel Vera! Sammy and I exchanged visits on one another's podcast earlier this year, and I wrote the intro to his THERE'S AN ALIEN IN MY TOILET traderpaperback....He told me when he received it that it brought a little tear to his wife! Awww, that's sweet!
Ran into the Space Pope in Small Press and went into Good Catholic-mode!
Chris Wisnia, creator of DORIS DANGER and TABLOAI, has charmed his way to a guest slot on PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO in the near future!
Like I said, I had a great time seeing old friends and new friends. The plan is to apply for a talbe early, early, early...... But for now, the memories I made at this year's Comic Con will hold me over for awhile.
L to R: Editor Vincent S. Moore, penciller Alex Lugo, creator/writer Joseph Gauthier and your humble and happy radio host...ME!!
I had met Alex a few months earlier at the local comic book show I helped organize through the NUVEIN FOUNDATION (backers of my radio show). Alex is a local here in the San Gabriel Valley, and so I extended him and invitation to appear on the show.
He brought along Joseph and Vincent, this way we could have the principal creative team of the comic book. Beforehand, I wondered how this would turn out, because I hadn't had three guests all on at the same time. Plus I had not really met Joe and Vince before, and only met Alex briefly at the festival.
Turns out though that these three folks were tremendously entertaining and informative. They not only joined me in going over my weekend at Comic Con (I promise I will blog about that over this weekend!), but we spent 70 minutes talking about all kinds of issues related to the business and craft of comics! Topics that were discussed included Hollywood's love affair with the Con and comic book properties, spirituality, Jesus Christ, collaborating with others, the dedication needed for self-publishing and on and on. They even got a few words in there about their own comic book!!
Seriously though, I was really happy with this show. I hadn't had an in-studio guest for a few episodes, and to have three really interesting people all at one was wonderful. The three of them are pretty close in terms of friendship as well as philosophically, and the synergy they demonstrated was genuine and inspiring. I think we could have gone on for another half hour, but it's always good to leave 'more for next time'!
So thanks to Joe, Vince and Alex for coming on the show and sharing their passion for comics! (Now my next guest better not be a killjoy!!)
Let me share a little behind-the-scenes of the radio show. Usually, with the in-studio guests, we head over to a local Mexican restaurant for a post-show dinner. Well, the four of us continued the tradition and the energy level actually went up! What happens at these dinners is more shop talk, but really uncensored!! If the guest isn't too familiar with me, they'll usually ask me about my comics and the EL MUERTO movie. We'll also get to know more about one another on a more personal basis, but as I mentioned, we usually discuss more private matters about our work and industry issues! To be professional on the podcast, we save this stuff for outside the studio. (Avoids lawsuits, no doubt!)
Well, with that little tidbit, I guess I'll sign of the blog for now!!!
So here's the trailer I debuted earlier this evening on my radio show. It's for the co-publishing venture I'm doing with my friend Ted Seko, XOMIX COMIX. This will be the imprint I'll be publishing DEMOLITION DOVE under. Ted's new character will be ZOMBIE MAN ZERO.
Look for the debut book from XOMIC COMIX in the Fall! For now, enjoy this great video!
Well, I originally wasn't going to attend Comic Con (which is why I haven't posted about it!) but it turns out through some good fortune I will indeed be attending Comic Con!
I'll be there by Saturday afternoon, just hanging out and checking in with several of my friends in the Small Press Pavilion. I also want to attend the Steve Ditko panel, hosted by Blake Bell. Saturday July 26: 5:30-6:30pm, Room 4 "World of Steve Ditko" panel featuring Jim Starlin, Kim Deitch, Gary Groth, Dean Mullaney, Liana K. and Carl Potts.
As I mentioned, I wasn't planning on attending the Convention this year. The cut-off time to order a table came and went just way to quick for me! 'Early bird gets the worm' nowadays at Comic Con, that's for sure. The show has just grown beyond the capacity of the Convention Center in the last couple of years, and if you don't jump on getting an exhibitor table, or even an attendee badge, you might get shut out.
But I'm sure glad to be going! I actually like attending the show as a 'spectator', believe it or not. I think the first show I attended was about 1992, and went every year up to 1998, when I started exhibiting under LOS COMEX. And doing the Con as an exhibitor is also fun and exciting in it's own way. But being able to walk the vast cavern of the Exhibit Floor and checking out assorted panels ,well, that's fun. I know a lot of my fellow exhibitors wouldn't go out of there way to attend the shows if they're not working it. And that's fine for them. But for me, I still have that love for not only the comics, but the whole crazy culture of comics. To be able to walk a floor and look for inexpensive 1970s back issues, or find bobble heads of characters like Speed Racer of the Banana Splits, or running into old friends, well, how could I not like that!
I'll share my weekend at the Con, with the all-important photos, when I get back. Look for the post by Wednesday or so next week!
Apparently, Roddy Piper was made into an action figure for the G.I. Joe Real American Hero line!! This was released last year as an exclusive convention special. Only 1000 were made! Piper appeared at the convention to sign the figures. I have no idea how Hasbro came to approach wrestling icon Piper to become an agent of the international terrorist organization, COBRA, but how freakin' cool is that!! I know Sgt. Slaughter was part of the toy line back in the 80s, so I guess it was time to have another wrestler in the line!
Soon as I found out about this the other night, I jumped on eBay but was crushed to discover the figure is selling for over $200!! Man, I would so love to get one of these, but I ain't paying a couple of hundred bucks for one!
Piper, it goes without saying, is my favorite wrestlers. I used to watch him as kid back in the mid-70s, when he'd be wrestling in LA on the Spanish stations, waging war on the entire Guerrero Family! Then of course, in the 80s, when Vince McMahon was able to turn wrestling into a mainstream entertainment business, there was Roddy Piper battling against champ Hulk Hogan (and really, what would Hogan have been like if he didn't have such a superstar to fight against?). Piper brought wrestling right into the mainstream by feuding with Mr. T and kicking Cindy Lauper in the head on MTV!!!
Blake Bell's new biography on Steve Ditko is a long-overdue retrospective on one of comic's most imaginative creators and true iconoclasts. "STRANGE AND STRANGER: THE WORLD OF STEVE DITKO" takes us on a 216 page odyssey covering Ditko's 50+ years in the comics business. And every step of the way we're following the path of an artist whose independent streak remains unfaltering year after year.
A few years ago Fantagraphics co-publisher Gary Groth approached Bell with the idea of producing a monograph on Ditko, immediately after Bell had conducted a successful panel on Ditko at the 2002 San Diego Comic Con. Blake soon began researching a subject who hasn't given any formal interviews, or made any appearances at comic conventions, since the late 1960s.
The end result is this exceptionally written book detailing the professional career of one very private individual. Beginning with Dikto's early life in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the book details young Steve's love of comic books (Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT, The Batman) and his development as the class artist. Comics were all Ditko really wanted to do, and by the early 1950s Ditko is working in New York as a professional comic book artist. Some 10 years later, in 1962, he and Stan Lee co-create create The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.
The chapter dealing with Spider-Man is probably my favorite part of the book. If only because of Bell's analysis of all aspects of the creation of the strip, guided so strongly by Ditko himself, and for best portrait we have on how the partnership began to grow increasingly difficult to maintain. It's Ditko's steadfast belief in fighting for what he believes to be right that made him stand up to Stan Lee and demand he get the plotting credit on the book, in addition to the art credit. The 'Marvel Method' in which the early books were created would often involve no more than a suggestion of a storyline from Stan, at which point Steve would basically create a whole 28 page comic book from scratch. Stan would afterwards write the actual dialog and add the captions, endowing the book with much of it's success. The day came though when Ditko turned in his last pages and walked off the book, the reasons put forward by Bell.
The co-creation status of Ditko on Spider-Man has long been a point of contention between the two legends. Lee often claiming sole 'creator' status for coming up with the initial idea, Ditko maintaining that as the person who came up with all the visual elements (costumes, physical appearances, gimmicks, etc), co-creator credit is an indisputable fact. Regardless of whatever Stan Lee believes, his very own Marvel Method gives validation to Ditko's claims, (and Jack Kirby's, for that matter) of co-creating the characters he worked on with Stan Lee. As young kid in the 70s, when I read Stan Lee's ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS, I immediately realized that the Lee-Kirby-Ditko partnerships were responsible for creating the original Marvel universe. To dispute that is intellectual dishonesty.
After Spider-Man, Ditko continued to work in comics, creating characters such as The Creeper, Hawk & Dove and Shade the Changing Man for DC and working on Captain Atom, The Blue Beetle and The Question for Charlton (these three would later inspire Alan Moore's creation of the Watchman). For Ditko though, he would never work on as high-profile an assignment as Spider-Man. Bell's book chronicles Ditko's adherence to the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand and how the decisions he made regarding work, and even the way in which he would tell his stories, have had a hand in taking Dikto further away from the comic book spotlight.
An unexpected and welcome account in the book chronicles Frank Miller's contacts with Ditko to collaborate on a project. My friend Mort Todd, who in his capacity as Editor-in-Chief of CRACKED Magazine hired Ditko as an artist, and again at Marvel on a line of Marvel horror reprint books in the early 90s, also shows up in a chapter.
The majority of Ditko's career is formed by his Objectivist views, and Bell covers this in detail, providing the reader with an understanding, and critique, of Ditko's career choices. But also, the book spotlights the virtuosity of Steve Ditko the artist. With a rich variety of artwork covering everything from many rare pieces (Ditko's 1970s contributions to the San Diego Comic Con program) to the landmark iconic imagery of Spider-Man and Mr. A, this book also functions as an exquisite coffee table book. With virtually every page containing artwork from Ditko's entire career, the visual power of his inventive cartooning and design skills are really why Ditko is in the upper pantheon of comic book artists.
If you're interested in comic books, you owe it to yourself to read about this iconic practitioner of the art form. And if you consider yourself an independent artist, or thinker, then I would suggest to read about this man who steadfastly stood by his core values, regardless of the cost to him socially or professionally. A man who co-created on of the top three comic book characters of all time. And a man whose artwork is teaming with innovation and imagination.
FYI: I had the good fortune to interview Blake Bell on my radio show, PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO, a few weeks ago. You can listen to it here.
Last night's opening night for the month-long CARTOONISTAS art show was a rollickin' good time! The show is hosted by GEEKS comic shop, located in the historic Uptown Whittier section of my fair city.
GEEKS hosted the Q&A for the Uptown Whittier Film Festival screening of EL MUERTO earlier this year. Saturday evening's festivities brought it's own type of fun. All but one of the exhibiting CARTOONISTA's attended (Jose Cabrera was out of town). As usual with these type of events, my picture-taking moments were sporadic at best. But here are some shots:
WILL CAULFIELD with a digital print of his one and only BAT-BAT!
Me an' JIM LUJAN, fun-lovin' and multi-tasking animator/cartoonist.
Jim had several pieces in the show, all from his classic 'Security Man' toon. Jim's other claim to fame is that he came to me with the dream of uniting area artists into a league that would rival, well, the Mafia, in terms of impact on American culture! I was honored to co-found the Cartoonistas with him. ( Check out the Cartoonistas blog Jimmy maintains for more pix and a cool little video he made...)
Me and Steve Romo, another Whittier artist. Steve actually colored Jim's 'Security Man' pieces, using a real nice application of watercolor. You can see a couple of the pieces above us.
I created three new paintings for the show. One being the first-ever Demolition Dove painting. Appropriate to create it for an Independence Day weekend opening. And in an egg-shaped (well, okay...oval) canvas!
And in honor of their new movies, or perhaps in homage to their classic tv shows I grew up on, Speed Racer and The Incredible Hulk!
A few years ago I had the good fortune to have been contacted by an old friend of mine from my High School days. Raul teaches at a local elementary school in the area, and I've been visiting his class every June for the last three years. Last week he and his wife hosted a little get together at their home. Among the attendees was myself and a mutual friend of ours I had not seen since 1984! My best friend from Jr. High School and into High School, Elias Hernandez! Well, both Raul and Elias came to the opening. The Whittier High School Class of 1984!
Elias, (on the right) and I seemed to have seamlessly picked up where we left off 24 years ago! He still has a box of comic books he collected when I got him into comics. THE HUMAN FLY, Jack Kirby's ETERNALS, SHE-HULk, etc. Wow, the memories are crystal clear and they come flooding back. Very nice to be able to have the three of us long-time Whittier residents finally hook up at the same time again! See guys, all them comics and drawing led me to something cool!
This was a very special night for me personally, no doubt. Sure, I'm always glad to have a chance to exhibit my artwork. And to share the space with so many great artists, especially in our first Cartoonistas group show, that was really gratifying. And having friends dating back to 1980, well, it makes one glad to be alive.
By 10:30pm, everyone had finally cleared out! Here are the final five, starting from the left: Tony Saxon (a friend I met back in college, which would be about....sheesh, 1989/90!), Jennifer and Sal (Sal is another friend from High School that I ran into about 2 years ago. He and I, and a few other artists, formed an art/discussion group called Cesos!), and on the far right, Bernyce Talley (an artist herself, and a best friend to me for several years now....)
Thanks to all the artists and friends for coming out that night. And thanks to GEEKS for hosting the show. The exhibit will be up until August 3rd, so please visit the store if you can!
This is the first-ever group art show for the Cartoonistas!
The Cartoonistas is a group of San Gabriel Valley artists/cartoonists/animators that I helped co-found with my friend Jim Lujan, web-toonist extraordinaire. Jimmy had a dream to unite his fellow creative individuals from our area. Well, who am I to not help another artist with his dream of cartoon glory? We're still slowly putting the group together, but we had a chance to partner with Geeks during their 2nd Year Anniversay Sale this Independence Day Weekend so here we are! We know a great opportunity when we see one!
I'll post more about this event in a few days (I'll even include a pic of one of the new paintings I'm creating for this show!).
Blake is expertly versed in the work of Steve Ditko, of course. Not just for the last several years worth of research for his book, but he's maintained the internet's premier Steve Ditko website for 10 years. Blake talks about his first exposure to Ditko's work in the form of this 1977 pocket book reprinting the first six issues of Amazing Spider-Man.
I tell folks that the interview works so well because the guest is knowledgeable, passionate and articulate. I did indeed prepare for the show with more extensive notes than usual. Mostly to keep us both on track. There is so much to talk about in Ditko's 50-plus year career, as well as the path his choices have taken him. And to be honest, the third thing I credit for such a successful podcast is that Blake and myself are diehard fans of Steve Ditko.
One thing I wanted to make sure came across in the interview was the fact that no matter how many times Stan Lee considers himself the sole creator of Spider-Man, the fact of the matter is that two people created that character, the writer and the artist. Regardless of my admiration for Stan's work in comics, the truth about Ditko's contributions cannot be dismissed by Stan with any fanciful word play. Comic book fans would do good to get a better perspective on the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko collaboration. (And the Stan Lee/Jack KIrby collaboration, for that matter.)
Another thing I loved about doing this episode was that I had my nephew Christian hanging out with me in the studio, listening in to my interview with Blake. Well, after talking to Blake, I decided to do an impromptu interview with Christian! While he's not a comic book artist, he has picked up the art bug (From where, I don't know....). Anyway, we talked about his drawings and paintings, and even a little bit about when his Uncle J used to by him McFarlane Spawn action figures!
I'm really glad I took Christian in the studio with me. I've been hoping he'd one day accompany me, and this was a perfect episode to have him on. He's probably heard me talking about Steve Ditko for most of his 17 years!
That's the great thing about doing this radio show with the fine folks at Perspective Radio. I have carte blanche to produce the show the way I see fit. Of course my objective is to create a popular show that brings us a loyal audience, and a good amount of sponsors. But I get to have a weekly show were I talk to such a wide-variety of people creating comics in print, the web and even syndicated newspapers. And I also talk to people who create websites and books and products drawing from many aspects of the comic book culture.
Blake, thanks for providing my show with an amazing hour of interesting dialoge on one of my creative heroes.
And Christian, thanks for hanging out with Uncle J. Love ya.
My friend and occasional collaborator MORT TODD just sent me this pic:
He took a sketch of mine and finished it with his mighty brush and nuclear-powered color palette! Thanks, Mort.
Mort and I worked on the mini-comic book that's included in the EL MUERTO DVD. He finished the art and colored it in grayscale. I like working with him on projects because we have a similar enough sensibility about comics but also we have enough differences in our approaches that it always leads to a good hybrid.
Mort's got about a quarter century experience as a comics pro. His work has ranged from comics, strips, film, television and the web. I had the chance to interview him on my radio show, PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO where we talked about everything and everyone from Dan Clowes to Steve Ditko to Speed Racer!
He and I will certainly be working together again!
This past Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for the 4th Grade students at Daneil Phelan Elementary here in Whittier. I visited the class and talked to the kids about El Muerto, art, comics and film.
A few years ago, an old High School friend of mine, Raul Almada, attended one of my gallery shows in the area. I had seen him a couple of shortly after our High School days, but it had been some time since we had seen each other. I brought him up to speed on my comic book and film project, and we talked about the 'good ol' days' at Whittier High. I used to draw these little one page gags about several of our teachers, particularly coach Kelly and our geometry teacher Mr. Vickers. Well, in the years following High School, Raul had become a teacher himself. About three years ago he started to invite me to speak to his class, usually around the last week or so of school. So this past Friday's event was my third in a row.
There was Raul, or Mr. Almada, as refer to him in front of his students, decked out in his El Muerto T-shirt, awaiting my arrival. I usually arrive during the lunch hour when the kids are out on there break. Raul's wife will bring us some great lunch (Los Sanchez!) and we'll talk and catch up. It's funny, but everytime we're eating, there will be a steady stream of kids popping into the class to check out the guest. They have all kinds of excuses for entering: "I came to get some water", "I need a paper towel for my wet shoes", "I came to help Edgar get another ball"!! Of course, Raul has to firmly remind the kids to stay outside the class during the break (I mean, there are plenty of water fountains outside!). I tell Raul I'm flattered by the attention, but he brings me back to Earth by saying that they do that to anyone visiting the class!!
Well, once the bell rings and the kids come back to class, they march in and there are about 30 pairs of eyeballs staring at me! Okay, I guess I'm on! I keep my 'routine' very spontaneous, trying to tie my love of art with my early school days. This way the kids see me as someone who just like them, enjoyed drawing as a kid. Who knows, we may have a future artist in the group. They all seem pretty hip to the idea of El Muerto, as Raul has a very well worn copy of El Muerto that the kids have read beforehand. He also tells them about the funny drawings I did of our High School teachers, and the kids ask me about those too!
My favorite part is when I ask them to draw El Muerto, based on two examples I draw on the board. Every kid dives right into it, and I love seeing their final drawings. They're so eager to share it, and I can't help but be encouraging to every kid. It's always interested me that pretty much all of us at that age will draw. But as we get older, some of us will 'realize' we're not all artists and will stop drawing. Then we're left with a small group of us who are artists. I've always felt that the art skills are something we're born with, but on the other hand, too bad so many people stop pursuing any artist impulses. Of course, most people will be creative in other ways....
Near the end of the visit, Raul had the kids work on Father's Day Card to take home over the weekend. I was amazed by some of the kids who would glue their Muerto drawings in the cards! Some asked me to sign them as well. It's funny to me that there were some Dads today in Whittier that received hand-made El Muerto cards from their kids! Pretty awesome.
At one point as the kids were drawing, Raul joked to me: "Hey, you have to get a 25¢ commission everytime one of these kids draws your character". Well, I guess one little girl heard what he said, because the next thing I know, she comes up to me with a blank sheet of paper and a quarter! I felt terrible! I immediately told her that the drawings are free and gave her a quick drawing.
At the end of the visit, I gave each student a signed copy of one of the comics. One kid asked if I could sign one for his father, which I was happy to oblige. I have a great time with these visits. Sure, it allows me to talk about my work, but really, it gives a kid a chance to meet someone that is doing something creative and may spark an interest in them to do something similar. When I first arrived on the campus, one kid called out to me "Do you remember me from last year?". Of course I told him yes! But that really shows that these type of visits can leave a good impact on someone. That to me is what makes most of what I do worthwhile.
Tomorrow's guest will be talking about a book he's written on the history of James Bond's appearances in comic book and newspaper strips!
And remember, you can now subscribe to my radio show via iTunes. Just go to the iTunes store, search for PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO and hit the Subscribe button! Each new episode will be delivered directly to your iTunes library once it's posted on the show's website.
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