First off, I’d like to thank everyone who posted in the comments section or emailed me directly with your support and understanding. It means a lot to me to hear from you about subjects like the one I spoke of yesterday. After re-reading the post once or twice, it really comes off as more than a bit whiney– and for that, I apologize–although it was rather cathartic just to get it out there. I’ve had vague ideas and plans drifting through my brain about what direction to go in to make me feel more fulfilled and happy– and I’m going to begin coalescing those ideas into a concrete plan of action that I can implement once my exclusive contract with Marvel is expired.

But again– thank you.

This past Sunday was a great day– one full of great art and lots of cute animals/pets. I was lucky enough to be invited to Eric and Donna Nolan-Weathington’s house to drool over copies of Bruce Timm artwork that Eric has in his possession right now. Eric is the editor of MODERN MASTERS for TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING. MODERN MASTERS is a series of wonderful books with in depth interviews and examples of the work of some of the greatest comics artists working today. The latest issue (volume 3) is an amazing overview of the work of animation (and comics) master BRUCE TIMM. With all the incredible examples of Timm’s work published in the volume– there was much, much more that Eric didn’t use. So it was a rare treat for me to be able to see some work from one of my absolute favorite artists– much of which I had never seen before. I first dropped by my old studio mate Richard Case’s house to pick him up– and got to see his adorable Cairn terrier GINGER again. She’s a sweet little bundle of energy who loves to gently nibble on fingers. Eric and Donna have a very sweet and shy dog of their own named CASEY who greeted us enthusiastically when Rich and I pulled into their driveway– but then immediately became very skittish. It didn’t take long for he to warm up to us, though. She had wonderfully expressive eyes– and I could read her mind as she looked up at Eric and Donna…. “Who are these strange folks…?”. She was great. They also have 7 cats– but only two came out to see us. The others were just too shy to meet strangers. One was a very beautiful black cat named GRIFFIN (who, like my late kitty BUTCH is rife with health problems– but very inquisitive and nice, nonetheless)– and a monster (in size, not temperment) of a tabby who’s name I can’t remember. He had a very odd and funny meow.

BUTCH ?-2004

I’ve been in an on-and-off funk (mostly ON) since my cat BUTCH died back at the end of April. She was already old when she moved in with me, but we still had 8 years together. But even almost 4 months after I had to have her put to sleep, I still miss her greatly and think about her every day. So, as much fun as it was to get to see Bruce Timm’s artwork– I think that getting to see Richard’s, Eric’s and Donna’s pets was much MORE of a treat. I love animals. They’re so straight forward and unencumbered by hidden agendas. Their needs are so simple: shelter, food and love. Lots of love. They’ll give back so much more than they get. And there’s nothing like having a pet around to bring your mood up when your down. I know I’ll get another cat (or, who knows–maybe even a dog) some day… but right now, the time just doesn’t feel right. I don’t feel as though I should get a new companion while I’m still mourning BUTCH. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy other people’s four legged friends.

See you tomorrow.

Mike

After all of my hand wringing about Hurricane Charley (why did they decide to spell it that way instead of “Charlie”? Maybe they’d already used that name once…) possibly coming through this area, I’m happy to report that all we got here was….. nothing. The storm had moved enough to the east that I didn’t even notice ONE LEAF on any of the trees around here even moving. No rain– no wind. So, big relief there– but my heart really goes out to the people in Florida. Charley really pounded them– and the scenes of devastation I’ve been seeing on the news are heartbreaking. I’m just happy that the next two storm systems are moving in directions that won’t take them anywhere near Florida.

Often, as I watch some of the wonderful comic book projects that get published– often by single creators who write and draw their own material– I can’t help but think about how unfulfilling working in comics has seemed to become for me. I often let my mind wander back to when I was a child, laying on the living room floor of my parent’s house, with nothing more than a piece of paper, a pencil (and of course, an eraser– which I still rely on more than I’d like to this day…) and my imagination to keep me occupied and happy. As far as getting satisfaction from drawing goes– those days are still the brightest and happiest of my life. The world seemed to my young mind an place of vast, almost endless possibilities– and the realm of imagination even moreso. The comic books I read were filled with a sense of wonder and adventure, and I tried to recapture that feeling every time I would put pencil to paper to draw. I travel back in my mind to those days of childhood and still marvel at how completely I could get lost in my imagination– swallowed whole by the desire to create characters and stories that seemed to erupt in my mind so quickly and vividly that they would vie for attention; jostling to be the next one out from my mind’s eye through my hand and pencil and on to the page. Don’t get me wrong, it would often be a frustrating endeavor, as the aforementioned eraser would have to be employed to an almost maddening degree at times…. but still– I was creating my own little adventures from whole cloth just for me. I still have the reams and reams of paper full of those youthful drawings to prove it.

And that made me very happy.

I find myself questioning my choices more and more recently in regards to my career path in the comics industry. After more than 12 years working as a freelance penciler– drawing other people’s stories and characters owned by other companies… I feel utterly creatively unfulfilled. That sense of wonder, joy and excitement is all but gone anymore. These days, it only occurs when I’m drawing something for myself, like the sketches I post here or character designs I do on the side for stories I’d like to one day tell. It seems more difficult each passing day to get myself motivated to work on yet another page of art for a story of which I had absolutely no say in the writing/creation. I feel like nothing more than a “hired hand”– a pencil without a soul. An extension of the writer’s imagination with no voice in the matter. Believe me– I could never have imagined the success that I would have in my chosen field when I was a kid dreaming of working in “the big leagues”. I had no notion that I would ever get the chance to draw some of the most famous, iconic characters ever published– characters like the FANTASTIC FOUR, SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN, FLASH, ROBIN, BATMAN, SUPERMAN… hell, the list goes on and on. I’ve been very fortunate in that regard– and in the longevity that I’ve had in the business DESPITE the fact that I’ve never been very good at keeping a monthly deadline (OK… I’m LOUSY at it). I know that. But after all that– I still can’t help but feel somewhat hollow for not having a more active role in the creation of the stories themselves rather than just the artwork that brings them to life. There are some folks who draw comics– and all they want to do is draw. They don’t care about the writing… they just want to draw cool characters. I always saw myself as doing more than that. I think that the biggest irony for me at this point is that now that I have the experience and (well, hopefully…) the ABILITY to draw almost anything that I can imagine– I feel trapped in a life I’ve built for myself– the house payments, the bills, the responsibilties. All seemingly impossible to walk away from to become the “independent cartoonist” telling his own stories. In talking to some of my pals who have carved their own path doing the kinds of comics they WANT to do and making a living at it– I often express my envy at their situation (ask Scott Kurtz– I think he’s getting sick of hearing me talk about it…). I’d love nothing more than to do that for myself.

And at 41, I’ve got to do something about that sometime soon–before it becomes the lament of an old man about the road not taken.

OK– if you’re not sick of hearing my whining by now… I’ll see you tomorrow.

Mike

Posting a little late today. I had a 9 a.m. dentist appointment this morning in order to get a degraded filling replaced. I was amazed at how fast and painless it was. My dentist, Dr. Sam Chang, is a wonderful dentist with a great “chair side manner” and is very thorough in explaining his processes. I had some left over bad childhood memories of pretty rough treatment at the hands of dentists when I first got my fillings– Dr. Chang helped negate all that. And it only took 20 minutes! Fortunately, almost all the anesthetic has just about worn off, so I don’t feel like the left side of my face is sliding off anymore.

I also ran by my local comic shop and picked up a few new books– the most exciting of them being the new FLIGHT anthology helmed by Kazu Kibuishi…

I’ve only had the opportunity to look through it so far– but visually, it’s everything I was thinking/hoping it would be and much, much more. I’ve been looking forward to this book ever since I first heard of it and saw a little preview art. It’s so magical, whimsical and full of wonder– it’s something that would make an incredible introduction to the potential of comics and as a great gift to anyone wanting to “indoctrinate” someone into what beautiful comics can be (and in FLIGHT’s case– ARE). I’m sure reading the stories will be just as great an experience– but even if some of them fall a bit flat, being an artist myself, the artwork alone is worth the price of admission for me.

And so, in honor of the wonderous acheivement that is FLIGHT, I present today’s sketch.

Got to get to it now…

Mike

Today’s sketch is inspired by the ongoing debate permeating the comics internet community over kids comics and whether there ARE actually any comics for kids– or indeed what comics for kids actually are or SHOULD BE. Not too long ago, DARK HORSE COMICS had a (unfortunately) very short-lived imprint called VENTURE that they created to present foreign comic book material. They published some slightly larger-than-digest sized black and white books such as Franco Saudelli’s OTTO PROFIRI (incredible stuff…) and Carlos Trillo’s and Domingo Mandrafina’s THE IGUANA. But for me, the gems of the line were a couple of full color harcover albums by Tillo and Juan Bobillo (who’s drawing SHE-HULK for MARVEL now) called ZACHARY HOLMES. Zachary is a young detective with an odd little mouse-like creature/sidekick named Watson. Together, they solve supernatural mysteries and have gone up against such creatures as FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER and medieval ghosts. It’s a wonderful series keeping in the vein of HARRY POTTER and YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES. And although the art is much cartoonier than Bobillo’s MARVEL work (I actually PREFER his ZACHARY HOLMES work…), the stories are definitely not “dumbed down” by any means. They’re whimsical and intriquing– engaging and funny. You would be doing yourselves a huge favor by trying to track these books down. They’re still readily available through most online comic book sellers.

MY SKETCH

THE COVER TO THE FIRST ZACHARY HOLMES album

Steven Grant’s PERMANENT DAMAGE column has a great examination of the “comics for kids” debate this week. He brings up many points that I hadn’t considered– chief among them the fact that some of the most popular comics for kids in the 50’s were the EC HORROR comics– which weren’t written with children in mind. He points out that kids are much more savvy and intelligent than most folks give them credit for, and will gravititate toward ANY comic if it’s well done. I can’t summarize his arguements well enough to do them justice– so just go read his take on the whole issue. It’s a good one.

Bye now…

Mike

Just a couple of sketches today with very little commmentary to go along with them. The first is the last of the SHE-HULK/THING layouts. If you notice SHE-HULK looking out at you in this layout, that’s because Todd Dezago was keeping the story in the vein of what John Byrne was doing in regards to SHE-HULK breaking the fourth wall and talking to the reader. That was one of the most fun aspects of this story for me– that and the humor. Although the latest SHE-HULK series doesn’t have any of the “wall breaking” aspects, it’s still very funny and well written by Dan Slott– and the artwork by Juan Bobillo is simply AMAZING!

The second sketch is an unused cover idea for the 8th of the first TELLOS series (or mini-series, as the case may be…)– Todd’s and my first issue under teh GORILLA imprint. I originally wanted that cover to be a wrap-around, but time and budget constraints wouldn’t allow for it.

That’s it for today.

Mike