the end of March, here's to a great April!...

Not much to say about today. I worked on some commission caricatures, and will be posting those as I get them along. And there's nothing like milking a joke for all its worth, so I redialogued the con pic of Supergirl and me with more deprecating fatboy humor...


After drawing the "princess" piece for Brian Miller's upcoming book, and finding out it may not be in there, I began wondering if it might be re-worked into a webcomic format. Not sure if the "fantasy" market is saturated, or would be interested. But I've been doodling in that direction. Today, I sketched out a faun chick.


Later!

con talk...

My daughter gives me fits about my blog. Recently, she chewed me out for talking about my dream of the "imaginary children." Said people would think I'm crazy. My rationale is that I may have maybe 10 people out of the 6 billion on the planet that have read this thing, so I'm not that worried about being thought of as "nuts." And if anyone IS actually reading this thing...is there any way to get from Blogspot the numbers of hits on an individual blog, like this one? I'm not that internet savvy.

Planet Comicon brought back some memories. And it made me more resolved to stay in touch with other artists. One is Justin Arrendondo. We keep talking about doing some sort of collaboration, but nothing has materialized. We were at a drawing shindig a few years back, and he drew a fish chick. Being the showoff I am, I drew my version of it, and he liked it. Since it had some obvious "nekkid" parts, those have been covered for the more sensitive...

So whadda' ya' think? Maybe some sort of short feature? On Facebook, some KC guys have been chirping about doing a Kansas City creators' book, so maybe it would have a home?

I also reconnected with a girl I used to draw caricatures with, out at Worlds of Fun. She has a character called "Mainasha," and I always thought it had potential. Any way, here's me with Arie Monroe...


My last post had a drawing I did of a "Supergirl." Here's the girl I based it on...


And since self-deprecation is my forte, I doctored a photo taken of me posing with Jessica, the Supergirl. Who said fumetti was dead?


Gotta go now. It's raining, and sounds very relaxing. I have some commission pieces to work on, and some Dibble strips to tighten up.

Th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!

the art of the con...

To see the full image, just click on it...

It's amazing how some of the stuff you do comes back to "haunt" you. The initial image was done in '92, I think. Anyway, I was commissioned to do this years ago at a convention, and the image, somehow, has made the circuit among Legion fans. I have even had some inquiries as to a few recreations of it, and some "new imaginings" Ah! The joy, quirkiness and fascination of comics fandom!

This past weekend found me at Planet Comicon, put on by organizer, Chris Jackson. I have been in a funk and almost didn't go, but am glad folks around me, most notably my wife and my friend, Grant, goaded me into attending. I ended up have a really good time, inspite of the snow that fell Saturday.

I had been inking some rough sketches for my friend, Monte May, to help promote his online strip, "P.I.G. Tales," and gave them to him at the show. Here's how they turned out. First up is Officer Sanchez. She's the first one I got done...


The strip started years ago as banter between Monte and myself. I had caricatured him as the main character for a "police inspired graphic" tales, (hence, P.I.G. Tales) and we called the character, "Officer P. K. Wood"--as in "a green officer and a white boy working da' hood"--aka "peckerwood." He has revamped the character, and now he is known as "Sketch"...


Possibly the funniest character he has, is his Judge Dredd inspired chauvinist, "Stumpy"...


Other female officers include one I only know as "Bike Girl"...

...and a busty babe known as "Officer Jones"...


A duo in his strip include Linwood and Troost, surprisingly named after an intersection in the city. Like I stated earlier, he did roughs, which allowed me some leaway to interpret. Sometimes it doesn't go right. Monte's comment after telling me it was a great job was, "...he's supposed to be black." Whoops! Guess I'll be redoing this one!...

His partner, "Troost," is quite a womanizer, and like my own "church lothario," is very "rooster" inspired...


And you have to have the old salt of the group. He's "Scooter"...


My favorite of his characters is "Officer Smith," who is actually dead, but is too stubborn to fall over...


I met a lot of great artists and fans this past weekend. One of my highlights was to be situated where I had a great view of a "Mary Ann" from the "Real Gilligan's Island." Quite a beauty! And at the Elite Comics booths was a gorgeous girl in a Supergirl-inspired outfit named Jessica. I drew this "cartoon version" of her, and she liked it. So I promised to do an inked version to send to her. I'll keep the progress posted here. Here's how my initial sketch turned out...


Enjoy!

So say we all...

There's a term used in television since the '70's called "jumping the shark." It's a reference to a Happy Days episode where Fonzie is waterskiing and jumps over a shark. It marks when a series has had its best, and is now either slowly or quickly headed downhill. Nothing really left to say.

I recently watched season 2 of "The Invaders," and it is fairly evident that the show took its turn at the episode, "The Believers." CSI jumped the shark for me when it was finally revealed that Grissom and Sarah were "bumping uglies," and William Peterson was dressed in a silk robe trying to look like a mack daddy. I lost interest, and my wife and I have been arguing over 8pm on Thursdays since. I now wish to watch Supernatural while she still wants to watch CSI. I'm wondering if Supernatural hasn't jumped the shark with this season, with the addition of "angel" and the war between good and evil reduced to a rather silly "gang fight." NCIS has started to lose my interest, too, beginning with the "Frog" storyline of the last 2 seasons. Ghost Whisperer jumped the shark for my wife when they killed of the husband and have been trying to "reincarnate" him. All shows eventually hit that point. Maybe they become too comfortable, or the writers choose an incorrect direction. Or write themselves into a corner. Which brings me to Battlestar Galactica.

Last night was the series finale. And I was disappointed somewhat. I re-watched the 2003 miniseries, the one that hooked me, and viewing it reaffirmed a lot of my disappointment. There was a lot they abandoned from it. It jumped the shark for me when it was "revealed" Tigh, Torrie, Sam and Tyrol to be cylons. The final episodes seemed to be boring, and milking the run. After setting up the show to be based more on a grounded reality, they ended by going all metaphysical. I wondered if Glen Larsen was in a room screaming his original Mormon-esque vision and version to the current producers, and they finally gave in. Starbuck was some kind of celestial being, disappearing for no apparent reason from Lee Adama on the new "Earth." And the show gave no explanation as to exactly "what" she was supposed to be, since she found her own "corpse" on the cylonized "Earth" she'd guided them to. All this time, the "imaginary Six" and "imaginary Baltar" were guiding angels. And some "guiding force" described as "God," "gods" or whatever had the remnant humans and now-loving cylons together on some virgin planet...that Starbuck, again, happened to know where to go.

There were some things from the miniseries hinted at, or revealed, that were left behind. Firstly, that the humanoid Cylons had "silica relays" of some kind. Maybe even being a silicon based life form. Adama had some kind of inclination, or intelligence, as he was with the Leobhan character on the Ragnar Anchorage station. Obviously the military hadn't abandoned trying to keep tabs on their old foes, as Adama seemed to know the storm around the station would mess up Cylon technology. And Adama had a note from "someone" in his quarters letting him know there were 12 models. Where that note came from wasn't ever answered. In an episode from season 2, Starbuck had some of her eggs harvested by the Cylons. That, too, was never addressed. And I never quite knew if there really was, or wasn't an "Earth," as Adama played his cards close to his vest. After all, there was no safe way to ever get to a safe haven if the 12 models weren't identified.

The intent of the Cylon were to destroy humanity completely, which was why they never gave up going after the Galactica. None were to be spared. Yet the writers had "sympathetic Cylons." The half human/half cylon baby should've been my first clue. I remember that trick used on "V" years ago with their version of the "star child."

There's a lot, I guess, that I could rail about concerning Galactica. In the end, I feel like the six years, four "season" and all that waiting for the new stuff was more of a letdown. I still think the original miniseries is the best thing I've ever seen on tv.

Can I say "frak"here?

"By your command..."

doodles...

I'm most disappointed in myself. My friend, Monte May, has been at his webstrip for over a year now and has been diligent in encouraging me to get off my duff and get one done, myself. I should. And I have no excuse. I have about 3 more strips lying around needing finished on the pencils. The ideas are there.

I based this character on a guy I used to work with. Human resources used to tell us that "a handshake is the only acceptable form of human contact." No hugging, no patting, nada! But this guy could make a simple handshake a form of sexual harassment. And I've observed those at various churches I've attended who are the "huggers." That's fine. In reality, the world needs more hugs. More comfort. But there are always those who seem a bit too friendly, or it could be my own psychosis. I don't hug generally. And if I do, it is with someone who I know won't get any "other" ideas. So I thought of this guy in the vein of those who come off too huggy...

I went back to some basics. Made him more "rooster" like. And I like how he turned out. Now to use him in some strips!

This one was from watching a "Harry Potter" movie. I like the character actors they use, and this one flowed easily from out of the pencil while observing Mark Williams as "Arthur Weasley."

Simple lines. It seems to be the direction a lot of my art is going. But I might need to do some "serious" stuff just to show I still can.

Be good.

Watchin' the wheels go round 'n' round...

Call me sarcastic, but the latest heralding of good times by the Kansas City Chiefs is the trade for New England backup QB, Matt Cassel, and I find myself shaking my head again. He's the new "savior," and if you listen closely to the music spinning up that it's the same old record played ad nauseum. "New blood comin' in, Gonna be fun again..." complete with BOW-chika-BOW BOW '70's kitsch was what we heard pre disco.

This is not a slap at Mr. Cassel or his abilities, but for almost 40 years the Chiefs have been in some kind of "rebuilding" mode. Usually it starts with a quarterback controversy followed by the firing of the coach, to acquiring/drafting the new "savior" QB, to " we're rebuilding" with a new coach only to have the "new" QB not quite work out...and the cycle starts all over again. Under "jolly" Jack Steadman's watch, the glass was always half empty. As long as the stadium was full, Chiefs' gear was being bought, sky boxes were sold and season tickets were at a premium, the carrot of "next year" would be continually dangled. But when there was a fan outcry, or outrage, with plenty of empty seats, too many leftover season tickets, and the "same old/same old" not working too well, did Lamar Hunt step in and want some "changes." So Carl Peterson came in. Under "king" Carl Peterson's tenure, the glass was always half full. We were always one, maybe two players away from making it over the top. After Lin Elliot, it was "if only we had a decent kicker..." If the Defense was good, the Offense sucked. If the Offense was good, then the Defense would suck. But like Jolly Jack, with King Carl, as long as the stadium was full, Chiefs' gear was being bought, sky boxes were sold and season tickets were at a premium, the carrot of "next year" was continually dangled. And, under King Carl, we won more playoff games then we had in previous decades. So far the Chiefs average about 1 playoff win per decade. The Chiefs were usually "one, and done." So much for the second attempt at the "glory years."

How much "rebuilding" does any team need? After a while, should it be done? Other teams seemed to find ways to get it done in a few years. In the 39 years since the Chiefs won the Superbowl, Pittsburgh made it 7 times, won 6. Dallas made it 8 times, won 5, the 49ers made 5 for 5...see a pattern? Even the hated Broncos and Raiders made it multiple times to the "big dance," and won some to boot! The teams that WANT championships generally win them.

So Chiefs' fans! How about a QB litany! Mike Livingston, Tony Adams, Tom Clements, Todd Blackledge, Steve Fuller, Bill Kenney, Ron Jaworski, Steve Deberg, Dave Kreig, Steve Bono, Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac, Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard...kind of stings, doesn't it? As for Joe Montana, he really wasn't a Chief. Face it, he was always a 49er. But I did love watching him play the 2 years he wore the "other" red jersey. And Bill Kenney DID become a part of the community, and it has been appreciated. And Trent Green came the closest to trying to fit in, like Lenny did. I really hated the way the organization and "Sperman" Herman treated him.

And there is a part of me that hopes Matt Cassel is the next "Len Dawson." But I keep having visions of Steve Bono instead. I hope Mr. Cassel tries to be a part of the community. We need a new "Mr. Cool," like Dawson was, and to his credit, how Len Dawson became an important part of the Kansas City landscape.

But let's face it...it ain't Todd Haley or Scott Pioli. It all sits squarely with Clark Hunt. He's the boss, and everyone else is an employee. In the end, if he wants to win, so will the Chiefs. If not...BOW-chika-BOW BOW "New blood comin' in, Gonna be fun again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)... again(clik)..."

All that we see or seem...

March is here. I hear a cardinal outside singing his heart out. Another rough February is behind me, although this one was mild by comparison.

Fighting through this funk to draw more has been daunting, but I keep telling myself I've been drawing more than in the past. It seems that with the arm and hand surgeries, the knee surgeries, etc., that I just lost my "umpf!" It's hard to get it back.

I've been having really weird dreams of late. Surrealistic, for the most part. Crazy things. But every now and then, I have a dream that feels differently, like it has a grounding in reality.

A few years ago, I had one like that. Very real. Too real. I was going to take my daughters to their first day of the school year. Why that would be strange is that I only have one daughter, and she would've been 20/21 at the time. These were 2 "extra" children. My wife and I talked about having 4 when we were engaged and first married. We ended up with 3--2 boys and a girl. In the "dream," we not only had the real 3, but had spawned 2 more. Their names are "Megan" and "Emily."

We were also living in Maryville, MO in the house my folks used to own, an older house with lots of old oak decorations on the inside and stained glass windows. I'd always thought a wedding at that house would've been beautiful with the bride descending the great oak staircase with the huge stained glass window behind her.

I've always teased my kids. Given them a certain amount of crap. Even the kids I've worked with through the years have gotten a lot of ribbing. They all seemed to know it was in good fun, and some even learned how to "give it back," which I always found refreshing. My daughter, Rachel, has a deadpan "Why are you giving me crap?" expression coupled with a gleam in her eye of "I'll be deciding which rest home you'll be going to." In my dream, "Emily" was giving me the same look as I was teasing her about going to her first days at junior high school. I remember reaching out and lightly pinching her on the face, tweaking her cheek and saying "Don't you look cute today!" That really got me a deathray stare from her. I've never had the sensation of touch in a dream, except for this one. Oh, I've seen and heard things. Have had the sensation of falling. But this one was all 1st person point of view. I told both my wife and daughter about this particular dream, which, sadly, I've never had again. They both looked at each other, then laughed, and said I was going off the deep end. My wife was intrigued that we had more kids. I'm not sure Rachel would've enjoyed more siblings. At times, I have a sense of sadness. Loss. Maybe it's just part of the melancholy I need to get out of. But it was all so real.

Lately, when my wife is talking to the new puppies, she's given them middle names. She's been calling Daisy, "Daisy Megan," and Sally, "Sally Emily." Says they are our "2 other kids," but that doesn't seem right to me.