LOOKIT MY NEW COMIC!!!

Check it out comicfans !!! I have penciled the cover for my new "coffeebreak comics " project called SUPER GROOVY MAN. I think I am going to do this years comic a little different in that I am going to do all the inking in the studio on the day's when I am not working in the mill. Last year I did the inking on the fly, and even though that comic MONSTER DISCO was a real fun blast to read, nobody ever really bought into it at conventions, because it was so rough looking. ( lesson learned ).

Anyways...another thing about last years comic was that I posted each finished page, and alot of folks said, " Yeah I've already read that on your blog. " ....POOF! no sale. Well this time I am only going to post the pencil pages, and I am going to skip a few here and there so you sneaky little wise guys won't know what your missing untill you fork over some dough and buy a copy. Ha-ha ( another lesson learned )

I am also am thinking about taking my mentor Ron Fortier's advice and really bitting down hard on the bullet to get this one proffesionally printed, and stop jerking around with the copy store print runs. Yeah it's cheap to do my comics that way, but nobody pays much respect to cheap desk top wanna be comics, sure it's got me this far, and thats great, but I am ready for the next step so look out ( third lesson learned )

This concludes our lessons in comicbook self awareness for today...stay tuned for further words of wisdom from me and SUPER GROOVY MAN.

SUPERMAN WEEPS

I went to a comicbook convention not too long ago where I chanced among my many purchases to snag a copy of SUPERMAN # 298 from April of 1976. As many of you know I collect mostly low-grade reading copies of 1970's comics, so this was just another rag on the pile ya might say.

When I finally got around to reading this issue I was utterly amazed to see the panel at the bottom of page 14, by Superman master artist Curt Swan. Superman is crying!!

It turns out the story behind it all is equally striking... Superman, under the influence of an alien power, decides to live his life for awhile entirely as his alter-ego Clark Kent. Living as Clark, Superman is no longer troubled by the responsibilities, and demands once made of him as Superman. If a ship is sinking...oh well, ho-hum, I can't take care of it, Clark has a date with Lois tonight. ( Yaknow...that kind of thing )

Anyways....as you can imagine a good deal of suffering occurs because Superman is not around to help. Eventually Clark begins to realize what he has done, and riddled with guilt, decides his only course of action is to correct the matter by living exclusively as Superman for awhile.

At first Superman is happy to be back, but soon he realizes that the world has a never ending supply of woes, and cares to serve him 24-7. The burden filled Kal-El begins to crack under the strain of living an unbalanced life, and finally in panel 14...he weeps.

I thought the panel was very striking in it's simplicity, yet enormously powerful in it's execution. Curt Swan proves once again why he was the supreme Superman artist. I was reminded when seeing this of the shortest verse in the Bible, which simply reads: " Jesus wept". We ought not ...any of us, take for granted, or place too many expectations on those we think to have seemingly limitless power. We would do well to remember they have a human side to their nature as well. I hope all of you enjoy my feeble attempt at copying one of the great comic masters, Curt Swan.

NEW DIRECTION

Hey gang! Well I have taken a little bit of a breather from drawing since the whirlwind completion of the Proffesor Stone book, and I am ready to start wading into some other areas artistically. As I try to figure out where I want to go next I thought I would post every few days some of the doodles I do during break time at work. I often give these little scribbles away to co-workers who express an interest, and sometimes will make a sketch or two on demand. Every so often however one of these little numbers grabs hold of me for some reason, and I decide to keep it for myself.

Take todays post for example, I did this a few weeks ago. It started out as just practice drawing a pretty girl, ( us artists types do have to do that once in awhile yaknow! ) I would add a little here, a little there, then I got to thinking...this girl has sort of a 70's style hair-do. Next I plopped in a little stylized icon of my favorite year...1976! When I got back to the doodle a few hours later I was thinking about being 10 years old in '76, and how I used to go roller skating all the time and hope a pretty chick like this would ask me to skate, ( hence the word balloon addition ) to spiff it up a little I added the flower power background.

One other note about this piece. This was a free flow of thought type exercise, ( sorta like dreaming through your hand ) and there was no forethought whatsoever going into it. There was no pencil sketch, no pre-sketch, and no outline. I just took a standard ball point pen and had a blast on some paper.

I like that. That is what makes drawing enjoyable to me, when you have no intentions, no design, and something just pop's out of your sub-consious to say hello to the world. Look for many more of these kinda thingys to appear in the weeks ahead.

Peace my brothers and sisters...Mitch!

LOOK...UP IN THE SKY! IT'S PROF. STONE!!!

At last... at long last it is finished. You see before you the final spot illo for the new book, ( sure to make the NY Times best seller list ) Professor Stone, and the Eye of Re.

I am so very glad to have had this opportunity to work on such a cool project. I cannot thank Ron Fortier enough for giving me this incredible opportunity. I also want to thank Wayne ( Judge ) Skiver for his enthusiastic response to my illustrations. Anthony, and Rob...Thanks to you also for "tweaking" my doodles to make them printable. Finally thanks to everyone who encouraged me along the way~

It is going to be so exciting to hold the finished book in my hands just a few short weeks from now! I have great faith the book will be a tribute to the Wildcat line of pulp novels.

Help prove me right everybody..... by ordering your copy soon!

JUST LIKE DOMINOES

Uh-oh...Sombody's gunna have a lot of esplainin' ta do!!! Stone has decided to create a big distraction by toppeling over one of the fifteen statues of the egyptian god, Anibus. As a very meek Professor Baumhaufer looks on in amazement. Why is the distruction of 5000 year old statuary neccesary? I dunno....buy the book and find out fer yourself Dummy! I'm just the guy what draws this kooky stuff. Whew... only one more full page spot, and a widdle icon to go and we can put this book in the bag...HOORAY! Soon hordes of people from Tiwan to Timbucktoo will be standing in line to scoop up Proffesor Stone and the Eye of Re, but not me...nope. I'm waitng for the major motion picture...ha-ha-ha. Sorry Wayne and Ron...I couldn't resist :-)

Back to the drawing board ~ Mitch

AMBUSH BY STONE!

Sure there is still some clean up work to do on this one gang...but check out this new illo for the Novella EYE OF RE....it will keep you suspended....get it? ( I must be sniffing my markers again ) that joke was a real dud! Oh well....come up with your own snappy puns! Ha-ha

MEET DOCTOR PHOBOS KIDDIES

Having trouble sleeping at night? Doctor Phobos can help...You will never, ever get to sleep again once his treatment begins. His friendly assistants are here to help deliver that one of a kind special attention that every new patient deserves. Hopefully your visit will be brief...if your very, very lucky..Mwhaaaa-hahahh

That rotten Wayne Skiver fella is rubbing off on me...scuse me. Gotta go take a shower now...I feel icky all over.

Seriously blog fans...this is just another of the illos for the new Professor Stone Book. This one is'nt quite finished, but I thought you might like to see a work in progress for a change.

HOW I SPENT MY WINTER VACATION

BRRRR... As if the cold was'nt bad enough... now we got to deal with this!!! Just another illo from the Professors files...I think it's the best drawing Yeti !

TERROR TUBES

Look out guy's! Wayne Skiver is up to his old bag of tricks again...scaring the pants off everyone with his pulpish ways. This illo is from the Proffessor Stone book and has an astonished Stone looking on as three victims are tortured endlessly in hermetricly sealed chambers. They are each exposed to their greatest fear. Ooooooo SPOOKY ! It is a total blast to draw this stuff I am going to feel a little guilty cashing all those big fat royalty checks Ha-ha-ha!

LOOK KIDS! SPACE GHOST!

Right about now Ron and the gang at Wildcat books are going to reach through the screen and shoot me. Before they pull the trigger, I got a little somthin to say. Now any artist worth his salt will tell you that in order to stay on your game you gotta excercise. I am supposed to be working my brains out on the illos for the professor Stone book. But....see I reached a stopping point where I was waiting for word on where to proceede with the next batch of illos, and well see I was really on fire artisticly, and I did'nt want to let the blade get dull see, and I had this really cool space Ghost comic in my mits that my bestus buddy and all around imaginary friend sent me in the mail see, and well one thing led to another see, and well.....here is my tribute to Space Ghost.

Yaknow...it is only right considering that two of the main creators of Space Ghost ( Alex Toth, and Joseph Barbara ) passed away recently. Jo Barbara was in his 90's and led a very nice life...Toth went the way I would like to go...simply died at his drawing table. Now don't you get any ideas Ron...I'm in no hurry to go this weekend...ha-ha

Okay...back to work on Professor Stone now....Sheesh! You guys are no fun.