Tagged: Canada

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GUEST REVIEW-DOC HERMES REVIEWS THE MAN OF BRONZE!

 

Whew, finally. After years of pleasant labor, I’ve gotten through all 182 original Doc Savage stories (counting THE RED SPIDER) and here we are with the very first novel, from the March 1933 issue. This started the saga of the pulp’s greatest adventure hero, which ran for sixteen years and (beginning in 1964) was eventually completely reprinted by Bantam Books. 

The story itself is well enough known that I think we only need a brief summary. Clark Savage Senior has died of a mysterious ailment called the Red Death and his son Clark Jr (Doc) has returned to New York to summon his five best friends to both investigate the father’s death and to begin their lifelong crusade to travel the world, helping those in need and punishing those who deserve it. The six men end up in the Valley of the Vanished, in the Central American country of Hidalgo. Here a lost city of purebred Mayans still survives, guarding a legacy of an immense treasure of gold which Doc must earn to finance his life mission. During the course of the story, of course, there are plenty of spills and thrills, close calls and pitched battles, which will be Doc’s lifestyle until the last time we see him in 1949. 

Lester Dent does a fine job setting up the series without making it seem crowded or awkward. His style is already distinctive, but it doesn’t have the occasional whacky touches which will give the series some of its screwball charm. At times, Dent gets a wee bit TOO purple, and his writing is choppier than it will become, with many! exclamation! points! and one-sentence paragraphs. Still, a totally enjoyable read and a great start (although I think Dent and Doc both hit their peak in 1934). 

The Doc Savage series was worked out in meetings between Dent, editor John Nanovic and publisher Henry Ralston. It’s amazing how many details are here right in the first few pages that will continue until the end of the series. The appearance, personalties and mannerisms of all five aides are dead on target; Johnny doesn’t have his annoying habit of unreasonably obscure words yet, Monk and Ham are not as slapstick as they will become, yet all five are recognizable from the start. 

Doc’s strange upbringing and wide range of skills, his trilling, the mysterious Fortress of Solitude, the daily two-hour exercises, the Mayan gold with King Chaac and Princess Monja on hand, the headquarters on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building… all are right here. Some important things will be added in the next year or so. Pat Savage, the Crime College, the code against killing and the mercy bullets, the Hidalgo Trading Company, Habeas Corpus. All these will enrich the series immensely, of course, but the first story gets underway fine without them. 

There’s also the first of many masked super-villains, Kukulcan the Feathered Serpent. This is an outsider wearing a snake hood and outfit made from an actual boa constrictor (its tail dragging behind him) who gives the Mayan warrior sect their orders, and who is behind the hideous Red Death. 

Let’s check out a few annotations for the record. Doc is introduced in a wonderful piece of writing. A lurking assassin in another skyscraper sees what looks like a masterful bust of a handsome man carved in hard bronze. Then, “the bronze masterpiece opened its mouth, yawned – for it was no statue but a living man!” We get the familiar mantra that “the big bronze man is so well put together that the impression was not of size, but of power.” 

Doc is described as being six feet tall and weighing two hundred pounds (impressive enough for a guy in 1933). Yet this is immediately contradicted. Renny is said to be four inches over six feet tall, and when Doc stands next to him, he’s clearly taller and heavier. (“It was only then that one realized what a big man Doc was. Alongside Renny, Doc was like dynamite alongside gunpowder.”) 

Ham is mentioned as having “a distinguished shock of prematurely grey hair.” (Will Murray used this and few ambiguous remarks in the series to describe Ham as white-haired.) In nearly every description, though, our fighting lawyer is said to have jet-black hair, “straight as an Indian’s” and I can only conclude that Theodore Marley Brooks is not above liberal use of dye to look younger. The shameless old rogue! It’s also stated that not only did Monk frame his pal for stealing hams back in the war, but he was court-martialed and convicted. I always thought Ham managed an acquittal and it’s odd to think an officer could be convicted of stealing Army property and retain his rank… maybe it was during a tough period in the war where his services were considered so needed that the charges were somehow dismissed? 

Doc himself is much more relaxed and open with his feelings than the poker-faced stoic Mr Spock he will soon become. He grins, chuckles and tells his friends “Dry up, you gorillas!” then assigns Monk to join Ham since “You two love each other so.” The bronze man also has no compunction about taking life when necessary (“He did it – chopped a blow with the edge of his hand that snapped the Mayan’s neck instantly.”) Doc isn’t pulling his punches at this stage, and his fights leave as many enemy stone cold dead as they do stunned. (Ham also skewers a few foes with his sword cane, the anesthetic coating still in the future.) 

And if you had reservations about the way the bronze man killed a polar bear with his bare hands in THE POLAR TREASURE, check this out: 

“His left arm flipped with electric speed around the head of the thing, securing what a wrestler would call a stranglehold. Doc’s legs kicked powerfully. For a fractional moment he was able to lift the shark’s head out of the water. In that interval his free right fist found the one spot where his vast knowledge told him it was possible to stun the man-eater.” 

Yes. Doc Savage punches out a shark. If it wasn’t right there on the page in black and white, I don’t know if I’d believe it either. 

The bronze man has a remarkably fair-minded comment (for 1933) when his friends suggest that he owns the Valley legally and can just take it by force. “It’s a lousy trick for a government to take some poor savage’s land away from him and give it to a white man to exploit. Our own American Indians got that kind of a deal, you know.” (From Missouri, Lester Dent always showed respect and sympathy for Indians and almost always used individuals in his stories who were educated and shrewd.) 

There is also a brief comment that gives support to those who like to think Doc retired after 1949 to go live in the Valley of the Vanished permanently with Princess Monja as his wife. “It was with genuine unwillingness that he had resolved to depart at once. This Valley of the Vanished was an idyllic spot in which to tarry. One could not desire more comforts than it offered.” He tells King Chaac, “I would like to remain here – always.” But his life’s work has just begun and we, who would otherwise have been slaughtered by all the monsters, masterminds and mad scientists Doc defeated, should be grateful he decided so. 

I have always thought that Clark Savage Sr and his brother Alex brought back Mayan brides from their time in the valley, and this explained the distinctive bronze color of both Doc and Pat. (Growing up in Canada, Pat certainly wasn’t exposed to a “thousand tropical suns.”) If Doc was half-Mayan, it would explain why King Chaac would be so agreeable to supplying him with the tribe’s wealth and trusting him to defend the Mayans when needed. 

And it’s a pleasant thought that, nearing fifty and finally wearying of his mission, Doc returned to his spiritual homeland to find Monja still there and still unattached; and that somewhere in the Valley of the Vanished, the bronze man died a natural death at an advanced age and is buried peacefully beside his princess.

Alex Cox promoted to Deputy Director of CBLDF

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fundis pleased to announce that Alex Cox has been named to the position of Deputy Director. In this new capacity, his responsibilities will expand to include full oversight of the CBLDF home office and fundraising program. Cox joined the CBLDF in the fall of 2010 as Development Manager.Since joining the CBLDF last year Cox has improved the organization’s membership program and convention presences. Under Cox’s watch, membership in both the retailer and individual capacities has shown dramatic increases. Cox has also overseen the creation of a more robust volunteer program in the New York home office. Prior to CBLDF, Cox was a 15-year veteran of comics retail, including owning and managing the nationally recognized comic book store Rocketship.Speaking about the promotion, Cox said, “I’m extremely grateful to be in a position to help the comics community fight back against anyone that would threaten free expression in this art form that we all love. As a comic fan and student of the art form for close to 30 years, I never thought that I would see anything like the panic caused by Seduction of the Innocent in my lifetime. But with the current case in Canada, the creeping specter of censorship and persecution is rearing its head again, making the CBLDF even more important. I’m proud to be a part of it and I look forward to working with our members, retailers, and the creative community in the years to come.”

“Alex has been a great addition to the CBLDF, and we’re excited to be able to develop a space for him to grow even further within the organization,” says Charles Brownstein, CBLDF’s Executive Director. “Alex has made great strides in developing our fundraising program in a very difficult time, and his leadership in the office has helped us bring in even more talented volunteers to help us fulfill our work. He’s an extremely valuable member of our team, and we’re glad to see him take on this new role.”

The Thunderbirds’ Arctic Adventure!

Press Release:

Arctic Adventure! A Thunderbirds novel by Anthony Taylor is now available.

Brains is the genius behind International Rescue’s technology. Besides designing and upgrading all of their equipment, he constantly develops and tests new products and processes, sometimes in partnership with outside interests. Eager to try out a new stealth system of his invention, Brains teams up with Humboldt Aviation to install his system on their new aircraft, the V-17. On the first test flight, the V-17 is shot down over the arctic by agents of the outlaw state of Reznia. With the aircraft shattered and partly buried in the ice, Brains and the V-17’s pilot are injured and unable to free themselves. Although Brains is able to contact International Rescue for recovery, the Reznians are also converging on the crash site in order to claim the wreckage for their research. Can the rest of International Rescue find and retrieve Brains and the V-17 pilot before the Reznians can capture them and the crashed plane?

Ordering information for Thunderdirds Arctic Adventure novel can be found at http://shop.ftlpublications.com/product.sc?productId=21&categoryId=1

Item #: 978-0-9825232-5-4

$10.00
SHIPS TO USA AND CANADA ONLY

Readers outside the USA and Canada can order via http://www.ftlpublications.com/ordering.htm.

Thunderbirds ™ and © ITC Entertainment Group Limited 1964, 1999 and 2011. Licensed by Granada Ventures Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Adventures of Tintin

In a matter of weeks, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson will be bringing Hergé’s Tintin to the screen in sumptuous motion capture. The Belgium hero has been around for nearly a century and is insanely popular throughout Europe, where the film is already playing to big crowds who are happy with the adaptation.

Cashing in on the crazy is Shout! Factory, reissuing the 1991 animated [[[Adventures of Tintin]]] as a two-disc DVD. This was the second time the graphic albums were adapted for animation and I watched the first one as a kid and my children saw this edition.  Produced as a collaboration between France’s Ellipse and Canada’s more familiar Nelvana, they ape Hergé’s style rather well.

When these first ran on American television, they were criticized for the liberties taken and that obviously has not changed with time. We can, though appreciate the attempts to bring these stories to life for an audience unfamiliar with the source material. Without the comparison, they work pretty well and move at a nice clip.

The graphic albums adapted for the first season include The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, Red Rackham’s Treasure, Cigars of the Pharaoh, The Blue Lotus, The Black Island, and The Calculus Affair. Each album is spread over two episodes making for five hours of action, although the violence is markedly toned down by the writers including Toby Mullally, Eric Rondeaux, Martin Brossolet, Amelie Aubert, Dennise Fordham and Alex Boon. You can tell the animators paid close attention to the albums, replicating angles and scenes almost verbatim.

The video transfers well and Shout! does a nice job with the packaging and production even if they are totally devoid of any extra material. This is here only because of the big budget production, but for those who grew up on these, they will be a welcome addition during the holiday season.

The Great Detective Goes Corporate in Holmes Inc.

Cover: Ty Templeton

The Holmes and Watson clans are at it again at http://holmesinccomic.wordpress.com/.

HOLMES INC. is the brainchild of Toronto comic book impresario Ty Templeton, instructor at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop, a training ground for up-and-coming writers and artists. Contributors to the comic are students and alumni of the TCW, many of whom are graduates of Ty’s famous Comic Book Bootcamp. With this project they’ve put to work what they’ve learned at the TCW to show off their skills, and created a great comic in the process.

Cover: Leonard Kirk

The stories in Holmes Inc. feature the descendants of the Holmes and Watson families, in the present day. Throughout the many decades since the Master Detective died in 1935, the descendants of Sherlock, Mycroft, and Watson have managed to keep their family together for generations, serving King, Queen, and country for nearly a century, as the agents of HOLMES INC.

Digital Copies of Holmes Incorporated are available for FREE DOWNLOAD at the following sites: Drive Thru Comics, The Illustrated Section, My Digital Comics, and Graphic.ly. You can find links to each at http://holmesinccomic.wordpress.com/buy.

Print copies of the 52-page Holmes Incorporated #1 are currently $5.95 per copy. Print copies of the 80-page Holmes Incorporated #2 are $6.95 per copy and can be ordered through PayPal. For single issue sales please send $5.95 (#1) or $6.95 (#2) plus appropriate postage (see below) to info@cartoonistsworkshop.com. Postal rates are $2.00 within Canada, $3.50 to the U.S. and $7.00 to Europe. Please contact Sean Menard at info@cartoonistsworkshop.com for postage quotes on multiple copies.

Page from issue 1

You can learn more about Holmes Inc. and the characters at http://holmesinccomic.wordpress.com/.

You can learn more about Ty Templeton at http://tytempleton.com/

Meet The Panthans

Cover Art: Mark Wheatley



Cover Art: Matt Wagner
Cover Art: Neil Vokes
The National Capital Panthans, founded in September 1996, are the Washington D.C., Baltimore, Annapolis and Northern Virginia area Chapter of the Burroughs Bibliophiles. Meetings are generally held on the firs…t Sunday of the month and are hosted by various members in their homes.

There are approximately 50 members from around the United States and one each from England, Canada and Germany. The Panthans hosted the 1998 Burroughs Bibliophiles Dum-Dum, the 1999 and 2003 ECOF Gatherings, and will again host the 2006 ECOF in Rockville, MD. Generally so many members go to ERB fan conventions hosted by others that the Panthans can be counted on to assist with registration. The Panthans have published a book, entitled “ERB – The Second Century,” which includes fan-produced fiction, scholarly deductions and many great illustrations!

To become a member and receive a monthly newsletter informing you about Panthans activities send your annual subscription fee of US $15.00 to:

John Tyner, Treasurer
5911 Halpine Road
Rockville, Maryland 20851-2410

For further information check their Web site at: www.taliesan.com/panthans/cover.htm

Captain America (the 1990 version)

In the wake of Batman’s success in 1989, it appeared to renew interest in movies based on comic books. One of the first, and one of the worst, was the 1990 version of Captain America. The film had actually been announced in the early 1980s from Cannon Films but in the intervening years, the studio folded and the right shifted a bit before Menahem Golan mounted it under his 21st Century banner.

The movie languished in development until the rights were about to expire so director Albert Pyun urged Golan to let him take a crack at getting the film made for about $6 million. Marvel actually approved the script that was shot and Pyun loved its take on America’s fascination with heroism. If only some of that love found its way onto the screen.

The movie was shot in 1989 but wasn’t released theatrically and was finally dumped on video in 1992, where it was met with derisive laughter from comic book fans. Now, MGM’s Limited Edition collection has released the film as part of its print on demand operation. The print used is pretty crappy and dark and the film is at best a curiosity for collectors and fans alike.

The horrific script from Stephen Tolkin (from a story by Tolkin and Lawrence J. Block) pays lip service to the source material and leaves you scratching your head at the shoddy story construction and utter lack of characterization. Significant changes were made, none of the better starting with giving Steve Rogers polio as an excuse to keep him from enlisting. Then there’s the Red Skull (Scott Paulin) now an Italian fascist, which never made sense. On the other hand, both this film and the current blockbuster made the unnecessary dramatic change in linking Cap and the Skull by having them both be products of the Super Solider formula.

There’s Matt Salinger as Cap/Rogers who is anything but the American ideal and fairly wooden in performance, perhaps because they give him nothing to work with. His first mission leads to the rocket that sent him to an icy sleep in Alaska. He’s found and inexplicably breaks free and rather than ask his rescuers anything, he runs all the way to Canada. There’s little time spent on his cultural isolation and his interactions with others is laughably minimal. (more…)

Marvel Partners with Williams-Sonoma

In the what won’t thiey think of next department, we just received this release about Kitchen ware. Yes, when you’re ready to get back to baking as the summer heat fades, you can decorate your fall cupcakes for school with Marvel heroes. Interestingly, as seen in the graphic, classic Marvel Age artwork is being used, clearly appealing to an older demographic.

New York, NY, August 3, 2011 – Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a global character-based entertainment licensing company, and Williams-Sonoma, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands, today announced the launch of an exclusive collection of Super Hero kitchen and bakeware merchandise exclusively sold at Williams-Sonoma. Designed exclusively for the retailer, the products include renowned Super Heroes from the Marvel Universe including Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America and Iron Man.  Featuring retro character art and graphics, the Williams-Sonoma collection captures the charm and artistry of the original Marvel Comics.

The program launches with an array of bakeware and kitchen essentials including Cookie Cutters, Pancake Molds, Adult and Child Aprons, Spatulas and Iced Cookies.  Product will be available at all Williams-Sonoma stores in the U.S. and Canada, and also via catalog and online at www.williams-sonoma.com/.

“Building upon our incredibly successful relationship with Williams-Sonoma Inc., we are excited to launch a great new line of merchandise at Williams-Sonoma stores, bringing the Marvel brand to another audience and product segment,” said Paul Gitter, President of Consumer Products for North America, Marvel Entertainment. “We are working with Williams-Sonoma on helping kids and adults spend time together in the kitchen.

INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST MD JACKSON! BY JOSHUA REYNOLDS!

ALL PULP INTERVIEW –MD JACKSON, ARTIST
BY GUEST COLUMNIST JOSHUA REYNOLDS
AP: Let’s start off with an easy one…who IS MD Jackson? Is he man? Mystery? Monster? None of the above?
MDJ: Well, that depends on who you ask. If you ask my wife she would probably agree with ‘monster’, although ‘bear’ would probably fit better — you know — big and furry, sometimes cuddly and sometimes grumpy, particularly when he’s hungry (although I have heard the words ‘sexy man’ come out of her mouth and George Clooney was nowhere to be seen so…). I am a human (well, humanoid at any rate) and I fall quite definitely into the male camp as far as gender goes, so, yes I am a man. Logically I am a mystery to people who do not know me, but perhaps not one that anyone cares about. Not like the real mysteries of life like; where does the time go? or Why does only one sock come out of the dryer when you know you put two in?
AP: Your work has a real pulp-tastic vibe to it…was that intentional? Is it a conscious style choice, or is your style more organic?
MDJ:The pulp influence in my work is very intentional. One of the things I love most in the world are old pulp magazines. I love everything about the pulps but particularly the cover art. Those covers virtually had to scream from the newsstand PICK ME! PICK ME! That is the kind of visceral impact I can get behind. I figure, why be subtle? Hit people where it hurts. Make them notice you. I know a lot of people get turned off by that, but I’m not Thomas Kinkade. You want pretty cottages then you might want to avoid my website.
AP:Is it true you’re Canadian? If so, how exactly is British Columbia ‘British’? Who’s your favorite Prime Minister?
MDJ:Yes, I was fortunate enough to be born within Canada’s borders. There are parts of Britisch Columbia that are very British, more British than British — Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island for one — but then there’s other parts that are very German. Some places are very Swiss or Ukranian and there’s even some parts that are Hungarian. On the whole the province is very Old World-y and European-y, except where it is Native Land, then it’s not European at all.
My favorite Prime Minister was John A. MacDonald. He was a drunken old Scots reprobate and was a lot of fun. This one time we went on a bender together. It lasted so long the Toronto Star actually wrote a story that he’d died. We laughed our asses off about that one, I can tell you.
AP: What about influences? What artists (if any) do you (did you) take inspiration from?
MDJ:I’m easily influenced. I cave to peer pressure like a house of cards. Artistically, though my biggest influence is Frank Frazetta. Mind you, all fantasy artists are influenced by Frazetta whether they admit it or not (and if they deny it then they’re big old liars).  Boris Vallejo, obviously and James Bama. Remember those old Doc Savage Paperback covers? Love that stuff! All of them were influenced (as am I) by pulp artists like Walter Baumhoffer, Rafael DeSoto, Norman Saunders and Alan Anderson to name but a few.
AP:Still on the subject of inspiration, what other wells do you draw creative waters from?
MDJ: Actually we don’t use a well. Our water comes from a tap. Just because I’m a Canadian doesn’t mean I’m not a modern guy!
I am also inspired by the architecture of antiquity, ancient ruins, ancient armour, castles, period clothes — these things inspire me. Photography does as well, particularly for lighting and mood. And, of course, hollywood movies with their ubiquitous CGI and 3d spectacle. I used to take inspiration from comic books as well, but not so much anymore.
Really detailed pen-and-ink work is inspiring. I could stare at the work of such artists as Windsor McCay, Willy Pogany, Franklin Booth, or Joseph Clement Coll for hours.
AP: You’re Canadian so you should know this…is the Wendigo real?
MDJ: You’re darn tootin’ she’s real! She was my sister-in-law! (did I say that out loud?)
AP: Are you a life-studies man, or do you free-style it?
MDJ: I go back and forth. I can’t afford models per-se and it is hard convincing people to pose for you (but it can be fun if it’s the wife and there’s lots of costumes and props involved) but the final product is always better (I think, anyway) if there are some solid references, particularly for period clothing and genre specific items like weapons and such.
AP: That’s a suspicious answer if I’ve ever heard one. Are you a wendigo?
MDJ: I said Sister-in-law… not sister, sister IN-LAW…!
AP: Describe the ‘MD Jackson Process’ for us…how do you approach a given project?
MDJ: Once I’ve accepted a commission the first stage is usually PANIC! “How am I supposed to do this? Am I insane? I’m not talented enough to do this! What was I thinking?” that sort of thing.
Once I calm down I usually sit down in a big comfy chair with a cup of hot tea and my low-tech equipment: A 9″ X 12″ sketchpad and and H or H2 pencil. I will just turn of my brain and let my had do all the work. I start with thumbnails for composition and I will do anywhere up to a dozen or so little sketches until I get two or three that I think will work. If I’m working for someone else I will work these thumbnails up into more detailed sketches and let the client see and decide. If it’s just for me I’ll usually just pick the one I like best and go with it.
After the client chooses one layout then I’ll start collecting references, shoot some photos if I have to, and start narrowing down a colour scheme. After that I start working. I paint digitally using Corel Painter X. I usually work background to foreground and work on each figure individually, blocking in basic shapes and colours and then working each figure with finer and finer detail until it is done. Then I sign it and ship it off.
Easy, right?
AP:  Are you certain you’re not a wendigo? That sounded like a wendigo answer. I’ve heard they’re tricky…
MDJ: Okay, I’m sorry I called my sister-in-law (my EX sister-in-law) a wendigo. She’s not really a Wendigo. A Wendigo eats people. My sister-in-law only ate Snickers bars.
AP:  Black and white or full color? What’s your preference in regards to your own work?
MDJ: I love working in colour. I started with a somewhat limited colour palette but I have recently opened up and begun producing more colourful images. Just right now I’m working in black-and-white which can sometimes be unforgiving. It certainly makes you appreciate the colour when you are forced to work without it.
AP: How’d you get your start? What’s your origin story? Bitten by an artistically inclined spider? Bathed in the fumes of a paint factory? Are you a mutant? Possibly a mutant wendigo?
MDJ: I might be a mutant. I do have freakishly abundant body hair. I’m not a Wendigo. I don’t eat people. I prefer cookies.
I have been drawing for as long as I have been able to hold a pencil. My mother was a landscape painter. I preferred pencils and pen-and-ink for the longest time. I dabbled with oils and water colours but couldn’t find a way to make them medium really sing until I discovered digital painting. My mind was blown and there was no going back. Digitally I could do all the things I wanted to do with brushes but just couldn’t.
Aside from that there is no magic or mutant powers — I just do it as best I can and then try to do it better next time.
AP: Which piece of work of yours has been your favorite? Least favorite?
MDJ: Like most artists my favourite piece is usually “the next one”, but I do have a few pieces that I have a vertain fondness for. IN THE SWAMP is one of my favorites. I like the look in the swamp monster’s eyes. I also love a piece called MARRIED TO THE WIND because I did that for my wife. I have a piece I called GENERIC WESTERN COVER in which I tried to emulate James Bama’s style, which I think I sort of captured. I also have a piece simply called SPACE which encompasses a lot of what I love about classic space opera illustration. Oh yeah, I also did the cover art for a book called DRACULA LIVES! That one turned out alright.
I would prefer not to talk about my least favourite works. If I hadn’t had the temerity to accept money for them and if they weren’t despoiling the covers of some otherwise fine books and magazines, they would have been dumped down the bit-bin never to be seen again.
AP: I understand you also do a bit of writing on the side…give us the lowdown.
MDJ: I don’t write all that much. Jack Mackenzie, on the other hand, he writes a lot of pulpy, fast-paced, action-y stories and he’s been published in Encounters Magazine, Neo-Opsis Magazine, Dark Worlds Magazine and in the anthologies SWORDS OF FIRE and SAILS AND SORCERY among others. Mind you, he’s a fairly unpleasant character. He is boorish and insulting and he smells. He says he is bad tempered because he’s written four novels and none of them have been published yet.
I think it’s just because he’s a bastard.
AP: Where can we find you on the wide, wild interwebs?
MDJ: I have three main online galleries:
Visit them at your peril!
AP: Consider this last bit your designated shilling space. Snake-oil it up and tell us where we can give you money…
MDJ:If you give me money I will make you a nice picture. I’ll do a neato cover for your book or magazine or website, I’ll do a portrait of your favourite child/parent/great aunt/kitty cat — I’ll do anything except for a Velvet Elvis or dogs playing cards. There’s already too many of those in the world.
Contact me at one of my galleries and we can negotiate.
Ecocomics! (Or: where did they get those wonderful toys?)

Ecocomics! (Or: where did they get those wonderful toys?)

If you thought comics weren’t dismal enough nowadays, just wait until they meet up with the Dismal Science. Lo, we shall combine comics and economics and there shall be Ecocomics:

In the Marvel Universe, Canada is responsible for creating some of the
most deadly super-soldiers in history. Wolverine, Sabretooth, Deadpool,
Kane, and Agent Zero were all deadly assassins who were empowered by
Canada’s Weapon X program. This secret division of the Canadian
government went to great expense to create nearly unstoppable weapons
(and in almost all cases, allow them to escape shortly thereafter).
This gives rise to a single question: WHY?

What threat was Canada so afraid of that the government felt the need to constantly produce human death machines?

“Holy Crap, Quebec is getting uppity again, let’s coat another mutant in adamantium!”

Or:

It has occurred to me that building repairs must make up something like
90% of the economy in comic book universes. This must be true to combat
the rampant destruction in the comic book world. Nearly ever major
title from DC comics showcases this constant and overwhelming
destruction. Superman frequently levels Metropolis while “protecting”
its citizens. Riots happen in Gotham City roughly every five minutes. A
FRICKIN DARK GOD POSSESSED EVERY LIVING SOUL ON THE PLANET AND
DESTROYED TONS OF BUILDINGS WHILE BURNING EVERY BOOK EVER WRITTEN!

I can’t wait to see the psych workup on Richie Rich. (Hat tip: Amy Goldschlager.)