city of champions!...

by Mike Worley

After having a rather psychotic day, personally...(maybe I'll explain later)I thought it prudent to remember that Maryville, MO is now the city of champions, football-wise.

My high school alma mater won the state championship in football for their class! GO SPOOFHOUNDS!!! And my college alma mater won the NCAA Division II championship in football! GO BEARCATS!!!

I found this photo from the summer of '08, and couldn't resist giving it some "fumetti" to doctor it up. Hopefully, none of my classmates read, or will ever read my blog. They might not find it humorous. But then again, we are getting older, so at some point no one will be able to remember it. And yes, you'll have to click on the image to get the full view. I'm the fat guy behind the banner on the right...


Lates!

Findin' some time to draw...

by Mike Worley

The one thing I hate about the "holidays" and getting ready for them is how much they cut into "Mike time." But I have done a little bit of sketching. Nothing monumental, but at least the pencil met paper.

I loved the way John Byrne drew Superman. Dan Jurgens, too. But as most of my generation, it is the "Curt Swan" Superman which will always have my heart. And both Byrne's and Jurgens' versions of the character had a wink of an homage to Swan's take without sacrificing their own styles. But of late, I've been looking at Wayne Boring's Superman and have gained a new appreciation for his style and take on the character. I misjudged his abilities greatly.

With that in mind, I drew a sketch using that barrel-chested anatomy Boring used. It was fun, and haven't done anything "superhero-ish" in a while...


I've disappointed in movies of late that I've gone to. One in particular was Planet 51. Loved the designs and the animation, didn't care for the story. It just didn't gel. But one pet peeve was the underusage of Jessica Biel, who lent her voice to the female lead. Ms Biel is one of the most stunningly beautiful actresses in the world--IMHO. And granted, it is a "cartoon," and her character is an "alien." But still, they could've made her animated character hotter. So I did my own take, as it were...


I wish producers would finally realize that 3D animation won't save a bad story, or weak story.

Gotta go. T'Ohwaii is whining and wanting to go to bed.

Let it snow!...

by Mike Worley

My son tells me I need to post something at least each week, so I'm trying to get back on track. I've been busy going into December. And tomorrow, it's supposed to snow, giving us our first real winter storm of the season. Usually, it's nothing more than "dumb dust," meaning that people forget how to drive in it. So I expect traffic to be nothing more than a mess tomorrow. Not that I have anywhere to go, but it would still be nice to try and get out without worrying about other motorists eaten up with "moron."

I got roped into the church's Christmas play, again. At least this year, it is a "readers' theatre," but it would be nice if we had a rehearsal where everyone involved would show up. I can't complain too much as I missed some in November due to deadlines, family dinners, and the like. But we could definitely use more focus.

Waiting for my scenes, I took my sketch book last night and did some doodling. Mostly some character studies...



Not exactly a budding Alex Toth, but at least I was drawing instead of circling the coffee pot.

One thing I've been doing more of, is working more in Adobe Illustrator. The work I'm doing is forcing me to get back into it, and one thing it has done is to re-exam some stuff I started, but never completed. Here's an idea I think I need to do more with. A detective thing. It's a "work-in-progress," so be patient while I brush it off and try to figure out what it was I was doing with it. If you want to see the whole image, you'll need to click on it. And no, the one guy ISN'T Stan Lee...


Welcome to December!

"Blogathan" 2009--Boris Karloff

by Mike Worley

I guess this weekend has a "blogathan" going on, and the subject is the late, and great, Boris Karloff. One of the things mentioned(I think on Facebook) was to talk about a favorite movie in which Mr. Karloff starred. That would be a toughy as he is my favorite actor, Vincent Price and Johnny Depp coming in right up there, too.

What I liked about Karloff was that he didn't shy away from his "monster movie" image. He never acted like being a "boogeyman" was a bad thing. After all, it DID make him famous.

So what would I pick as my "favorite" movie with Boris Karloff? Certainly the ones with the role that made him a star as the Frankenstein monster. Or as "Im-ho-tep" in "The Mummy." I also liked a lot of his AIP stuff, too. "Die, Monster, Die" scared me greatly when I saw it at the Fox Theatre in Atchison, KS back in the early '60's. But to pick one movie, one role, I'd have to give that one to the movie, which was also his "swan song"--"Targets."


What can you say about a movie, even though dated, still chills with things that have/are happening still around us? Karloff played essentially himself, and even denigrated himself playing an "aged, broken-down 'has-been'" horror movie actor. But the real horror was in the "other" story in the movie...the "monsters" which live around us and have our faces. The young man who goes on a killing spree, randomingly sniping unsuspecting motorists along the highway as they drive by. Dispassionate horror. Indiscriminate killing. Mayhem. Later on, this "monster" shoots people from the back of a drive-in movie screen while one of Karloff's movies is playing. In the "confrontation" between the "monsters," "reel" and "real," Karloff is increduled by the fact that the "real" monster is nothing more than a kid, who, if I remember correctly, got a whack with Karloff's cane.

It's a great commentary on real monsters. The Jeffrey Dahmers, Bob Burdellas, the Phil Gerrados, even the Ken McElroys. We allow them their "power." But in the end, Dahmer was a geek, Burdella a fat twerp hiding behind his lawyer, and McElroy a bloated bully who would've eventually complained about being diabetic. For that matter, Hitler was socially retarded, barely able to carry on a conversation.

Years ago, there was a woman shot at Royals Stadium here in KC. An indiscriminate shooting/sniping from across the highway. She was injured and terrorized to be sure, but still living. Her "monster" slinked back into the dark. And while he/she/it may glory in new found "power," in the end they are just that which they hate being--common.

So for the blogathan, I recommend you check out "Targets," starring Boris Karloff.

To the ten, or so...

by Mike Worley

To the five, maybe ten people on the planet that may actually read these ramblings,...I must apologize that this week is going to be a wash. I will have some drawings to show later. But for this week I must get my super-secret freelance projects done. And before asking, I can't tell you anything about them. One of those "confidentiality" things. But the fact that I HAVE freelance work again brightens my soul, as I feel like I'm "getting back on the horse."

Thanks for checking in, though.

Goodbye, Marilyn Briggs(to be sung to the tune of "Goodbye, Norma Jean")...

by Mike Worley

It started out as a joke, the kind of snickering one does when the inate pre-teen 12 year old takes over...


Let me explain--when my old boss was here, we had the office door painted red. He and I used to joke about it, he said he wanted it to be a reminder of "hell." And we even talked about maybe airbrushing some flames on it, and painting the quote, "Abandon all hope, All ye who enter here!...", or however it goes. But he left, getting promoted this year to a bigger venue(and with bigger headaches). One lesson I re-learned was that if you're put in charge, it is bad policy to operate the place like you're "babysitting" it for someone who isn't going to be returning. For good or bad, right or wrong, I was/am now "the manager."

Some of the kids asked at the end of the full-time season about repainting the place. Couldn't do it, as the budgets were gone by that time for that sort of thing. But I did joke about repainting the office door green, since it was red. Ironically, I was at a Home Depot in late September and found out they had "Ooops!" paint. And they had an almost-full can of bright, Kelly green mixed by mistake, hence the "Ooops!" I bought it for a buck. And eventually painted the door green.

One of the artists jokingly asked, "Why green?" to wit I said, "Because you'll never know what goes on Behind the Green Door." I figured most of them would be too young to get the joke. But one girl did her own search, and with a sly look on her face came into work and told me she knew what the implication was for the green door, and we had a laugh.

Since that time, I've considered doing my own adaptations of classic short stories, O. Henry being one of my favorite authors. And low and behold, one of his short stories is titled, "The Green Door." The story is a great commentary on how life can be viewed. In it, the "hero" gets a card slipped to him with an invitation to the "Green Door." Eventually he meets the love of his life, and comes to view the card coming into his possession as a contrived event by unknown persons. What he discovers is the large black man giving out the advertising cards was doing it for promotion at a theatre for a new play. Yes, titled, "The Green Door."

So why the image of Ms Briggs on the office door? Most because it's my last gesture of defiance for the season. A way of keeping my sanity and putting some distance to my life. And it's a way of doing something "arty." Yes, it is a joke.

I also think it serves as a warning to the "unique" notion that decisions we make in life have consequences. Some short termed, some long termed. Some for good, and some for not-so-good. Our society seems to have forgotten it. Ms Briggs, even though she gave the "party line" to the advantages of working adult films also said that it will break your heart. For all of her fame and infamy, she ended up dying alone. The money she made for being famous and kickstarting the sexual promiscuity of the '70's was gone probably from further poor life choices, alcohol and drug troubles.

I'm emptying out the office of my stuff. Like Woody Hayes, I think it wise to keep things short-leased and with distance. Not get too comfortable there. Hayes said during his coaching time at Ohio State that his contract was on a year to year basis. He wanted it that way. I wonder if the door to his office was green?

Wednesday...

by Mike Worley

Facebook continues to be the bane of my existance because it won't seem to interface with my ancient copy of Safari. Keeps kicking me out. Sucks!

Not much to tell about today. I did some creating, but didn't get a whole lot done. I went to Starbucks to meet up with a couple of artist buddies. We had coffee and basically BS'd. Later on, Becky and I discussed Christmas/Hanukkah/Holiday plans. We both concluded it would be nice to just do some traveling.

I bought a couple of hoodies at the end of the season to airbrush on. Something for my wife's nieces. One niece is getting a hoodie with the "Twilight" designs on it. No reason to show it, as I've already posted what those designs look like in earlier postings. I did this for the other niece. She started a new high school this year, so I hope I got this right...


Every now and again, I get some commissions/requests to draw folks as "Simpsons" characters. This is a bit of a "blast from the past," and was done for some folks in honor of their nuptials in 2005. If you wish to see the whole thing, you will need to click on it...


As I try to clean up around the studio, I find the leavings of ideas that I may dust off if I find the time. One idea I still like involves doing a Jay Ward type take off on Edgar Allen Poe stories. I'm a big fan of the Corman "Poe" adaptations from the early '60's, and some of the movies that tried to do "knockoffs" of those efforts. Vincent Price is one of my favorite actors, and I had the chance to meet him in 1973 when he was touring and did a lecture at Northwest Missouri State University. This image is based on the "Comedy of Terrors," and to view it in its entirety, you will need to click on it...


I don't know what I would do with the "Tell-Tale Heart," but this is the butler I came up with...


And I'd thought of a drunken raven for some kind of feature. Haven't decided whether, or not, to name him "Quoth," or "Nevermore"...


Have a surprise for later this week. It was good for a laugh tonight over coffee, but will probably get me in trouble.