Monkey feet are harder to draw than they should be.

I had the urge to draw a chimpanzee holding a skull wearing a hat. It was pretty easy, but I redrew the feet 4 or 5 times before inking it.

I like that there's a few different ways to interpret this image. Is it a parody of two things put together? Is it a tragic end to a well-known children's book series? Is it merely a small monkey finding an odd item after a Day of the Dead celebration, wondering what the heck that was all about?

Cross Panel Comics #3

For an explanation of Cross Panel Comics, click here.

This is the last of the original three we created. I think we were getting tired as we did it. I accidentally drew eleven squares across, plus a couple of the jokes seem to duplicate each other, and the space isn't filled very well. Nonetheless, there are things about this one I like. Martin kicked it off with the strip starting with, "One small step for man." Click to enlarge...

I'm attempting to keep Tigra covered.

Just for kicks, I decided to recreate another Tigra cover for Covered Blog. Here's all my covers. This time I picked Marvel Chillers #4. (The bonus is I also got to also draw Kraven!) (And yes, I consider that a bonus.)


Check out my version at the above mentioned coveredblog.blogspot.com, or merely look at it right below!

Something you can't see at Covered Blog, however, is my pre-sliced version...

Cross Panel Comics #2

Cross Panel Comics is a game my son and I play. There's a bit more info about it in my last post. It's more like improv than an actual game.

Martin kicked this one off with the strip starting with, "What's that smell?" Click to enlarge...

Cross Panel Comics

I recently had a dream about a comic strip that was configured like a crossword puzzle. I found it really interesting and told my son, Martin, about it. He said, "Let's make one!"

I drew a grid on an 12" x 18" piece of paper and decided we would play a game like Scrabble. I would draw a strip, and he would draw an intersecting one. Then it would be my turn, and we would continue until the page was somewhat full.

It was actually easier than I thought it would be! We completed three. I've traced off, and cleaned up, one of them. Here is it below. I've indicated the panels I drew with blue. Martin's are in green. The first strip drawn was the middle horizontal one, starting with, "What are you doing?" Click to enlarge...

Like Scrabble, the tough areas were where something had to work when two squares inconveniently touched, such as the "Love is the solution." touching "What about overpopulation?" There's a joke there, but it doesn't jump out at you.

I'm thinking this has the potential to be a fun challenge for cartoonists, much in the same way a "24 hour comic" is!

(Update! See our other Cross Panel Comics here.)

Batgirl Flaunts It

This isn't my normal kind of post. Usually, I rewrite dialog or such, but I found the following coincidence to be interesting...

Last week, I mentioned my old Merciless Destroyer character. Her only "super power'" was her ability to distract men as she fought crime. It seemed like a novel idea when I wrote it in the 80's.

A few days ago, I read Detective Comics #371 (1968). I had recently picked it up at a local comic convention. After seeing the cover, I was curious about the story. (Wow! The cover actually did its job!)


In the story, Batgirl's "feminine traits" kept leading to her crime fighting failure. She would get concerned about her appearance, or she would scream at the wrong time. In the end however, her striking a sexy pose is what helped Batman and Robin defeat the bad guys!



They don't write 'em like that anymore.

1968, Folks.

The Merciless Destroyer!

In last week's The Marvels Project #7, we saw the appearence of an old, Golden Age character called The Destroyer.

Back in the mid-80's, I had no idea this character existed when I created a character called The Merciless Destroyer. Like the Marvel hero, he had his origin set in World War II. His daughter later took up the mantle, as seen below on a page from my Directory to a Nonexistent Universe comic. (Read more about the Directory here.) Click on it to enlarge and read.

When I created this, Buffy the Vampire Slayer didn't exist. I named my character "Buffy" because the name was connected with traits of being very girly and delicate. It's probably why Josh Whedon also picked it for his movie, which later spawned the TV show. The title itself had an ironic hook. Today, I suspect many people connect the name with being tough! (Which kinda makes sense since it has the word "buff" in it.)

Anyway, I read somewhere that The Marvels Project writer Ed Brubaker wanted to bring the Destroyer back as a mainstream Marvel character existing today. I hope he does it exactly like I did.