Batman! Put Your Pants Back On!

The mid-1980's was a time of change for comics. Watchmen came out, Dark Knight Returns was published... well, it's been talked and written about a lot.

Perhaps most shocking however, is the scene from Batman Special #1. Batman knocks a woman unconscious, then is suddenly not wearing pants. His thoughts makes it even more disturbing.

(Yes, I know comics were color separated by hand back then, and his legs probably just got overlooked on the cyan plate, but you just love a good controversy?)

Did George Lucas name the Blog?

Okay, I know he probably didn't. But, have you ever noticed how the names in the first Star Wars movie sound a lot like the characters' traits themselves? Kind of how blog sounds like web log?

Let's run through some of them...

First, we have some type of dark invader.

The main character, Luke, wants to get off his planet. If only he could walk into the sky.


Then we have a guy who likes to work alone... solo, if you will. Did I mention he's good with his hands?

However, he's not truly alone. He has a dog-like sidekick. We never see it, but I suspect he might chew and bark.

The lady in the film also has a meaningful name, but I won't lay it out for you.


Luke's master in the film will eventually be one with the universe.

Luke's master's master, who we don't see until the next movie, is spiritual and... Aw screw it! Yoda sounds like Yoga, okay?


I like Star Wars. I razz with love.

"TURSDAY" is a dangerous word

On a recent Monday, I got an urgent email stating that a rush piece of work "absolutely had to be completed by Tursday!"

My first assumption was that "Tursday" was "Thursday" mistyped. But then I realized that the "r" is right next the the "e" on a keyboard. "Tursday" might actually be "Tuesday" mistyped! I almost didn't check with the sender, feeling pretty confident that Thursday was the only reasonable deadline. (I also didn't want to look a like a petty jerk by pointing out spelling errors.) I did check however. It was due Tuesday!

I made the deadline. Just wanted to present this as a cautionary tale if anyone's ever in a similar boat...

Btw, I'm away from home (and my computer) most of this week, or else I'd have made some kind of pretty picture to go with this post...

Glinda's a jerk

I've always thought the following Wizard of Oz scene was odd, so I'm reproducing it here with my own bit of dialog at the end...

A cliche I find funny

Yes, the punchline to this may be obvious, but for some reason , it cracks me up. I hate cliches and do my upmost to avoid them, but I couldn't stop myself in this instance.

A few years ago I took a rough from my sketchbook and created this one page strip for the Comiculture Anthology. Comiculture was a great magazine idea that never quite got off the ground. It was started by Steve Buccellato. (Steve, if you happen to read this... How you doing, Buddy?)

I did the strip in color, but unfortunately the finished product ended up in black and white. I've always liked it in color so I'm presenting it here.

(On a side note, Steve did a nice Halo and Sprocket pin-up for me years ago. I received it just as I was putting H&S on hiatus for a while, so I didn't use it in a printed book. I always felt bad about that. It was a nice piece. You can take a look at it here.)

Hack Job

Whenever I draw a pinup for someone, I always feel compelled to incorporate a tiny bit of storytelling into it. As a kid, I starting drawing only because it's a great way to share ideas.

This art was a pinup for Season of the Witch, an Image mini-series created/written by my friend Jai Nitz. (Sorry, I don't remember who drew it. This was published a couple of years ago and I've moved since then. My comics are very disorganized.) The story in his book was that of a teenage girl who was thrown into a fantasy world and had to deal with the consequences.

The story in my art is supposed to be one of a teenage girl who is mercilessly and brutally hacking a creature to death when suddenly... "Oooo something pretty..!"

Tough Twinkies?

I'm a big Hellboy fan. I have very little patience for "decompressed" storytelling and have stopped reading many comics because of it. One of the great things about Hellboy is that Mike Mignola gives us his cool ideas quickly and then gets out of the story. (It's one of the things that inspired me to do Halo and Sprocket stories.) Combine that with his wonderfully stylized art, and you've got a true winner.

I've often wondered if anyone else has ever noticed a similarity between Hellboy and the early Doom Patrol's Robotman. Flip their eye and head colors, keep the protruding jaw and head thingies, and there are similarities. Hmmm, there are some similar never-back-down personality traits too. Mignola is the age that he might have read some old Doom Patrols as a kid. Maybe they left an (subconscious) impression on him?

Maybe not. But don't blogs exist to throw out oddball thoughts?