It seems an odd image subject for a THANKSGIVING holiday wish and hiatus note, using something that is, ostensibly, my childhood version of SWAMP THING or MAN-THING…. but I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I could have done something schmaltzy or overly sentimental about this particular time of year and holiday… but I guess I wasn’t in the mood. And I’ve been wanting to get back to playing around with doing new interpretations of the characters I created (read: came up with knock-offs of existing characters I really liked as a kid) when I was a child. I’m actually running a little thin on material… I’ve pretty much gone through all the best characters (and you’ve got to take THAT sentence with a grain of salt…) and I’m kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point. At any rate– here’s MURK THING… which is my kiddie version of Marvel’s MAN-THING and DC’S SWAMP THING. I was, back then, totally awed by the amazing work that Mike Ploog did on MAN-THING during those times. Ploog’s work on that title (as well as GHOST RIDER and WEREWOLF BY NIGHT) back then was nothing short of spectacular. His drawings were at the same time both beautiful and yet so very moody and creepy. His stuff has a charm and unique quality that I never tire of looking at. And what can you say about Bernie Wrightson’s work on SWAMP THING that hasn’t been said before? The man was a master– and still is. Wrightson’s powerful and influential– if all too brief– run on SWAMP THING has inspired tons of artists down the years. And his successor, Nestor Redondo, was no slouch either. I was disappointed when Wrightson left ST… but it didn’t take me long to fall in love with Redondo’s work when he started. And so, of course I had to have a similar character… and thus we have this guy.

I’ve got a lot to be thankful for these days. My family and friends, first and foremost; the fact that I’m STILL working in the comics biz… even though I broke in during the time when the ‘big boom’ of the early 90’s was just beginning to fizzle out; my great little buddy and living companion CHARLIE the tabby cat (this is my second THANKSGIVING with him); my health. Despite my LAST post, in which I complained ad infinitum about my back and deteriorating eyes… I’m still very, very healthy. I work out 5 days a week… and I’m still able to do that with no problems. I try to live a healthy lifestyle, and as the old saying goes, “If you ain’t got your health, you ain’t got nothin’…!” So I’m VERY thankful for that.

With all the dark and scary things going on in the world, I hope everyone takes an account of everything they’ve got to be thankful for.. and I hope everyone who celebrates the holiday has a FANTASTIC THANKSGIVING. I’ll see you on the other side.

Have fun.

This is Entry 165.

Mike