Today’s sketch doesn’t really come from any ‘deep thoughts’ or a jam thread happening on any art forums or anything like that. I was just thumbing through one of the TELLOS trades this morning and I kind of got fixated on how I drew RIKK back then. It’s odd– even though I had a book on foxes that a studio intern gave me (hi, Tessa….!) to reference– and I DID use it (though it doesn’t really show), the way I drew RIKK at that time was to make him look more like a dog than a fox. I think one of the things I did back when Todd and I were first working on TELLOS was that though I love to draw animals, I was trying to draw my impression of what the animal characters I was drawing were more than what they actually looked like. That’s, I think, a conceit that I’ve since moved beyond. At one point, I felt that an artist should be able to work mostly from his/her memory and…. I guess, heart…. instead of working from an informed place of having reference from which to springboard. At times I set aside the golden rule I heard so many years ago that one should ‘learn the rules before going on to break them’. I think I’ve done much better in that regard in the subsequent years of my career. Life is, after all, a constant learning experience.

Well, tomorrow– the seventh day of the seventh month of the 2007th year– is supposed to be an incredibly lucky day. I hope that each and every one of us has something lucky happen to us. Have a great weekend, all.

This is Entry 397.

Mike

Well, today’s the in which our country celebrates the Declaration of Independence of our new nation from British rule in 1776. It’s a day of fireworks, cookouts, swimming, family and friends. Me… I’m sitting here at home drawing with a LAW AND ORDER TV marathon playing on TNT in the background. I’m trying to wrap up some cover work for a couple of independent (hey… that kind of ties in to the holiday, huh…?) comics I promised to do before plunging headlong into my next project that will keep me chained to the drawing table for most of the rest of the year. I don’t know how many of you will actually be checking in here on the old site today since most folks have the day off…. but I thought for any of you who DO stop by… I’d post another sketch of the ‘girl by the sea’. For those folks who might not be around a computer today, then there’ll be something for them to see tomorrow.

OK… I’m keeping it brief today. For those of you who are taking part in the Independence Day festivities, have a great time.

This is Entry 396 (T-MINUS 3 TO 400).

Mike

It’s been a while since I took part in one of the sketch jam threads over on DRAWINGBOARD.ORG. They’ve started one recently that features characters with the title ‘DOCTOR’ in their names. This prompted me to work up a sketch of a character I’ve wanted to draw for some time… but never had the spark of inspiration to give me that kick in the pants I some times need. As a kid, I was aware of DR. FATE… but I was never that big a fan of the character. Not, that is, until I saw issue of FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL on the stands featuring Walt Simonson’s DR.FATE story. I don’t have to tell anyone familiar with Simonson’s work just how brilliant a creator he is… he’s been breaking ground and thrilling fans for decades in the comics industry. Simonson made FATE just so damned cool in FIS #9… it was eye opening. I’ve never seen the character handled as wonderfully since. Walt’s work on that one comic left an indelible impression on my imagination that carries through to this day. When I think of DR. FATE, I think of Simonson’s version. If you don’t have a copy of this comic, you can find it on eBay pretty easily, I’d bet… it would be well worth adding to your collection. The amazing thing about Walt Simonson’s work is that it’s timeless. You can pick any period of his work– and it’s just as fresh and thrilling today as it was when it was originally published. He’s truly unique in that respect.

Sorry the post’s so late today… I had a chiropractor’s appointment this morning, and that threw me off.

This is Entry 395.

Mike

I have to say I’m very surprised at how widely my thoughts on Bart Allen’s death were carried/linked around the web this past Wednesday. I suppose the event in FLASH #13 had a greater impact than I assumed, since it became such a big topic of discussion the past couple of days. I also posted Wednesday’s sketch on my DeviantArt gallery and made a comment about Bart’s passing, and the sketch got more comments in just two days than any other sketch/comment I’ve posted there since I joined DA. I didn’t know that little Bart made such an impact on folks. Or maybe it’s that death of any kind– fictional or otherwise– stirs up peoples’ emotions. Anyway– I’d like to also say that I don’t think that the entire industry is going down into the morass of death and darkness. There are still tons of wonderful books being created by tons of talented folks. If it were otherwise, I wouldn’t still be spending some 50 bucks or so each week on the things. I don’t want to make this site into a den of negativity. So… just take whatever I say about such things as death and destruction in comics with a grain of salt.

OK.. that’s it for another week. Today’s sketch really has no connection to anything… it’s just something I decided to play with … and it came out OK, I think.

Have a great weekend, folks.

This is Entry 394.

Mike

A couple of weeks back, I wrote a post about the upcoming ‘Dark Cheerleader Mary Marvel’ that was coming in the DCU. Several people took me to task for singling out DC and not writing about how many of the same dark, cynical and death-filled story lines were/are happening in the Marvel Universe as well. These folks are right, of course. It’s happening at both companies. I suppose the difference for me is that– my own personal point of view– the contrast between Marvel and DC has been for years that Marvel’s books were always darker in tone– more supposedly based in the ‘real world’… and that DC’s offerings were brighter… more colorful and came from more of a place of hope and light. The heroes of the DCU stood for optimism and the promise of a brighter future in the face of forces that would bring darkness and destruction to the world. In essence– the DCU was, to me, the place for a more stark contrast between the forces of light/good and the forces of darkness/evil. Perhaps that’s a naive and myopic viewpoint (and also maybe entirely off the mark… but it’s my perception nonetheless)– but DC comics were always more colorful and fun for me.

Now Bart Allen joins the ever growing list of characters who are dying in the DCU.

This one hits a bit closer to home since I was in on his very beginnings, having been asked to design his IMPULSE persona when Mark Waid created the character in FLASH (which granted me the title of ‘co-creator’… but make no mistake, this was all Mark’s baby. I was happy to accept the royalties and residuals that came from that status, but I didn’t have any illusions). Let me be clear– I haven’t read FLASH #13. I don’t really read that many superhero books anymore because the dark and depressing nature they’ve adopted just doesn’t interest me. I got my fill of that in the mid 80’s with DARK KNIGHT and WATCHMEN. I’ve read many reviews of the ‘event’, though… and I think the reaction overall has been that the story was 1) very badly done… and 2) in the end, a real yawner and not something that’s had the ‘stunning event impact’ that DC was hoping for. I think this is symptomatic of the idea that fans are simply getting a bit weary of all this kind of thing. I think that the event-comic-that-heralds-the-death-of-lots-of-characters has become the new gold-foil/Lenticular/Acetate/holographic cover of the 2000’s. They’re stunts… gimmicks meant to sell comics. The writing seems to have taken a back seat to earth-shattering events that are having less and less impact as they are overdone.

I’ve had many conversations with creator friends of mine about the pendulum swing that happened in the wake of the IMAGE explosion back in the early 1990’s. The sort of ‘we don’t need no stinking writers’ attitude of the IMAGE founders resulted in what were nicely drawn comics with little story, for the most part. They became commodities and not comic books with good stories to go with the flashy drawings. The other major companies, in response, tried to emulate the initial massive success IMAGE had by doing similar types of books with crazy cover gimmicks thrown in for good measure… and the quality of the entire industry, for the most part, suffered. It drove many long-time fans away. In the aftermath of that sales bloodbath, the creative pendulum swung in the writers direction and away from the emphasis only on artwork as the selling point. It’s been that way for some 15 years or so now…. and I think that pendulum swing may have reached its apex. My feeling is that in recent years, the quality of writing in comics has diminished. Maybe it’s not the writers’ fault… maybe it’s editorial edict that has replaced good story, plot and character development with the stunt… the event… to sell comics. Maybe I’m just a middle-aged fuddy-duddy who has lost touch with what makes for interesting comics.

I hope the latter is true, for the industry’s sake. I’d hate to think of another big downturn in sales due to a drop in quality. That wouldn’t help anyone– especially those of us who make our livings in this business. What do the rest of you think? Am I that far off base….? Anyone read FLASH #13…? Did you find it to be a good story? Feel free to leave your thoughts on any of this.

OK… that’s it for today. Back to work for me.

This is Entry 393.

Mike