I’m very busy right now opening up a new aibrush tattoo/caricature location at Mall of Amrica’s “Nick Universe” theme park. However I got this in the mail yesterday which was a fun surprise:

Some time back I was contacted by one of the producers of the TV show “Samantha Who?” about buying some of the original art from MAD‘s parody of the show. He bought the original splash page from me.

Usually when that happens I get an oversized print of the splash and have some of the people I drew sign it to put on my “Wall of Shame“. Unfortunately that wasn’t possible this time around as the show was just finishing taping for the season. However I did send a copy of the magazine to him and he got the show’s star, Christina Applegate, to sign it for me.

Considering my bizarre history of drawing carictures of her in print, this was pretty cool. I will have to carefully remove and mount the pages, frame them and put them on the Wall of Shame.

Tune in and see!

Way back in October last year I sat dutifully by the telephone waiting to get a call from Meredith Vieira just in case my longtime friend and fellow caricaturist/cartoonist Jim Batts needed me as a phone a friend when he was on “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?“. Jim appeared on the movie trivia themed week of the show.

Asking me to answer a movie trivia question that stumps Jim is a little like asking a 5th grader to solve a physics problem that Stephen Hawking couldn’t handle. Basically I was Jim’s “Harry Potter” ringer, since he knew my family and me are big fans of the books and films… plus I did parodies of two of them in MAD.

Alas, no 15 minutes of fame for me. Jim got no Harry Potter questions…. at least none he couldn’t answer without me. Jim’s “Millionaire” show(s) finally air tonight and tomorrow, so tune in and see how he does! Check your local listings for times.

If you happen to be in the St. Louis area, there is going to be a viewing event at St. Louis Union Station in the new Beachwood Bistro resturant starting around 4:00 pm. The show airs at 5:00 locally there. Jim will be on hand and with movie trivia and possible prizes to be had by the attendees… plus they get to see how much dough Jim ended up with. I’d wish Jim good luck but since the actually contest happened about 5 months ago he does not need it.

Oh well… it couldn’t hurt. GOOD LUCK, JIM!!

This week’s sketch is of former Tonight Show host Jay Leno. I figured since I did Letterman last week I’d do Leno this week, then maybe I’ll keep to the theme with other late night talk show hosts. Or not…

Al Feldstein served as the editor of MAD Magazine for almost 30 years, having taken over after Harvey Kurtzman left due to differences with Bill Gaines. Kurtzman took most of MAD‘s artists with him to do a humor magazine called “Trump!” for Hugh Hefner, leaving Feldstein with the unenviable task of rebuilding MAD almost from scratch. The rest, as they say, is history. Feldstein retired from MAD in 1984.

Recently Al’s health has taken a wrong turn. On February 24th he was hospitalized for some tests after blacking out while at home on his ranch. Turns out he has heart problems that require bypass open heart surgery. The tests also labeled him as “high risk” for such surgery, meaning only a few hospitals have the wherewithal to perform the procedure. He is currently resting at home awaiting admittance into the Mayo Clinic to have the operation. Al is 84 years old.

My grandfather had that procedure at age 80 and came through with flying colors, living until over 90 years old. The Mayo Clinic is one of the best facilities in the world, performing delicate surgeries for everyone from kings to pro athletes… and my dad, who had a heart procedure at the Minnesota Mayo Clinic as well some years ago and is doing great today. I am sure Al is in good hands. None-the-less a few prayers from appreciative fans of MAD wouldn’t hurt.

I have yet to meet Al, but I plan on doing so in the near future. Hear that, Al??

Get well!

Disclaimer: Spoilers clearly marked, and there aren’t many…

From “Botchmen” in MAD #499

The “Watchmen” and I go way back.

I can’t credit it as the reason I got interested in comic books again. That distinction belongs to Frank Miller‘s “The Dark Knight Returns“. However I can say that, even more than Miller’s masterwork, “Watchmen” showed me that comics can be as literarily relevant as any novel. I was given my first copy as a gift for being a groomsman in my friend and fellow cartoonist Mark Engblom‘s wedding. Having not read it before, I remember Mark’s general comments about it to me being the same sentiments I impart whenever I loan it out to a friend who hasn’t yet read it: “I envy you for what you are about to experience”. That is perhaps the highest praise you can give any creative work… to be jealous of someone who has yet to discover it and is about to.

Which brings me to the movie of the “unfilmable” graphic novel.

I tried to watch the movie with two different sets of eyes. One being the set that knows every nuance, panel, plot and subplot of the story intimately, and one that knew nothing about the graphic novel and the story. (more…)

Q: I have a lot of trouble with facial hair AND head hair! I seem to freeze up when someone sits with 5 o’clock shadow beard or shaved head. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A: That question is difficult to answer because, like so many “how do I draw this…” inquiries, the answer is so dependent on the style of drawing. Someone with a more illustrative, involved style of drawing could not use the same techniques as someone who does a very cartoony style, or one that does a more graphic style. Therefore when answering such questions I invariably describe how I would do it, based on my style of drawing. You will have to take what you can from it and figure out your own solution. Many of the principals will apply to any style, though.

Drawing 5 o’clock shadow/beard stubble/beards on men (or on some ladies… now THAT is always fun) is not very difficult. It can be time consuming, especially the “3 day growth” kind of scruffy look, but the basics are constant and there a a few “don’ts” to avoid.

First off, you need to define what is the ‘beard area”. There are differences between men, but in general facial hair grows in the same places on all men:

With that in mind, you can just imagine the slow growth of a man’s beard from the first hints of 5 o’clock shadow to stubble to a multiple day growth to the beginning of a real beard. The trick is to make sure you shape the hair to reinforce the structure of the face underneath. Nothing flattens out a drawing more than facial hair that destroys the forms beneath it:

Let’s do this in stages, starting with 5 o’clock shadow. (more…)

I have seen this video featuring Louis C.K. on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” around for the last two weeks on the web and Facebook and such. It’s so incredibly true that I finally tracked down an embeddable version to post here.

It is amazing how incredibly spoiled people are today, especially young people. Many have a misguided sense of entitlement that boggles my mind… it’s like they are owed whatever it is they want, and don’t think they should be required to earn it or earn money to pay for it. The internet is a prime example. Many people seem to think they are entitled to free content on the internet. They actually get angry if they have to pay for something or have to wait for something. Some time ago I posted a short video on YouTube demonstrating my digital color technique. It was not especially well done, but YouTube was an easy place to host it and share it here on the blog as a part of my color tutorial. I have received several polite inquiries about my doing more videos, and these are quite welcome. I have also received not a few snarky or smart-assed comments or e-mails scolding me for not doing any more and actually demanding me to update my video “channel”. It’s like they are feeling cheated that I am not spending my free time educating or entertaining them for free. Hard to believe, but true.

That said, much of what Louis is saying is just a result of progress. After all, there was a time that there were no telephones at all and instant communication over long distances was impossible… yet I’ll bet he would not hesitate to call his phone company and complain when his service is not working rather than to sit and stare into space just being thankful there is such a thing as a telephone even if it doesn’t work right at the time. I know I get pissed whenever my internet is down, miracle though it is… I am paying for it, after all. It’s all a matter of persepective, I guess… and what you’ve become accustomed to.

Here’s the trailer for the film…

On March 20th the movie I worked on, “Supercapers”, is going to be shown in select theaters. Having gotten a chance to meet writer/director Ray Griggs last weekend at Wondercon and getting to see the entire film, I am really hoping it will do well enough to get national distribution.

It’s silly, fun movie that pays homage to some of the films and directors that shaped Ray’s desires to become a filmmaker like Star Wars, Back to the Future, Etc. It also is a tribute to the superhero genre… and not in the dark, depressed way that so many cape movies are now slaves to. This is more in the line of the goofy fun of the 60′s Batman era. It’s campy, but in a loving sort of way. It doesn’t mock superheroes, but pokes gentle fun at the sillier side of them while making them charming and likable. Ray pulls off this balancing act well. Best of all, it’s totally kid friendly. While some of the references to older movies will go over their heads, 5 to 10 year olds will probably like this movie a lot.

Lionsgate has agreed to distribute the film in theaters and on DVD. It will appear in 80 theaters in several cities on March 20th, and if they reach a certain number of seats sold it will be released into 2,000 theaters nationwide. This is the kind of movie that comic book fans should support, as it was made by a fan of the medium without the need to play the psychologically flawed, anti-hero card or include brutal violence. It shows super hero movies can still be fun, even on a limited budget.

If you live in or near NYC, Incineration, Cleveland, Des Moines, Omaha, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Dallas, San Antonio, Los Angeles or Las Vegas, click here for a list of the theaters the movie will be showing in. Take your family out for a silly popcorn superhero movie that is quite enjoyable, and support independent filmmaking.

Here’s a few samples from the 13 page comic book Ray, Tom Nguyen and I did to promote the film. I don’t think we’ll be winning any Eisners but we did okay for only having a little over 2 weeks. It’s an interesting story as it actually is a sequel to the film itself, but thanks to the miracle of time travel not really. Weird but true.

Incidentally, I inked all the faces and Tom did most of the rest, but there are two pages I inked myself, one of which is in the above samples. Can you tell which one? Seems obvious to me but…

Some people have expressed an interest in getting one of these printed comics. If you want one I have about 40 copies, and would be happy to mail one to you if you send me a self addressed, stamped envelope. Email me privately and I’ll send you the details.

I finally have a few minutes to write further about my experience at WonderCon in San Francisco last weekend. I don’t “do” a lot of comic conventions because MAD is sort of the red headed stepchild of comics and thus I am more of an odd man out than a typical professional guest.  Even so I do like to get out and see these events occasionally, mainly because they are a lot of fun and full of cool things to see and people to meet.

Sadly, and it seems like AS USUAL, I had a job I needed to work on with a Monday deadline so I had to spend some time in the hotel room finishing it up. Between that and the several scheduled signings I had at the DC Comics and Super Capers booths my time wandering around was limited. However I did get to see a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly of the convention.

The Good

• Sergio! Sergio Aragonés is a staple at most major comic cons, and he is such a great talent and person it never gets old to see him there. Sergio and I had a nice dinner together on Friday night and then went over to the Cartoon Art Museum to see the opening his Groo compadre Stan Sakai‘s gallery show. Great stuff!


Sergio and I at dinner. Bad iPhone pic, sorry…

• Meeting Dave Gibbons- One great thing about being a friend of Sergio’s, he knows everybody and will introduce you to anybody. As it happens, there was also a terrific exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum of “Watchmen”, bith movie props and items as well as a bunch of artist Dave Gibbon‘s original art. Sergio grabbed my arm and dragged me through a crowd of people to introduce me to Dave himself. I was thrilled as I am a huge Watchmen fan. The best part was that Dave had just seen my artwork in the MAD parody the day before and told me how much he loved it. We had a nice chat and I tried not to scream “YOU’RE $%#@# DAVE GIBBONS!!!” in his face. Incidentally the Watchmen show was also awesome. No photography allowed, but I did snap a quick covert picture of one prop that made me laugh out loud. It’s the map that Captain Metropolis uses in his presentation to the “New Minutemen” in the graphic novel… the one The Comedian burns when he disses the idea of a new supergroup.

“Promiscuity?” This map is right out of the comic!

• SuperCapers- Meeting writer/director Ray Griggs and the rest of the crew promoting the film was great. Stars Justin Whalin (Lois and Clark, Child’s Play 3) and Samuel Lloyd (Scrubs) were both really nice guys and spending some time with them was fun. My kids are big “Scrubs” fans and Sam signed some autographs for them and even talked to my youngest daughter Gabrielle on the phone. Big dad points for me there. We had dinner on Saturday night and they has the group in stitches with stories about filming the movie and other Hollywood tales.



There was a panel on Sunday as well, which was also very entertaining. The movie looks likes lot of fun and is great for kids… more on that later.



• Adam West- It isn’t often you get to meet someone who you have been a fan of since you were two years old, but I got to spend a brief amount of time with TV’s Batman himself, Adam West at the SuperCaper’s booth. Adam was very friendly and when he was told I worked for MAD he said the two times he was on the cover were thrills for him. Then it suddenly occurred to me that I had put him in the backgrounds of my “Watchmen” parody not once but twice! I grabbed a copy I had in my bag, showed him and gave him the issue. He got a big kick out of that. Meeting him could have been a big disappointment had he been a jerk but instead it was very cool.


Adam West, Ray Griggs and myself…

• Signings- Like I said, MAD is not really the sort of thing people get excited about at these kinds of events, but it was a little different this time thanks to the “Watchmen” effect. DC had several boxes of issue #499 with the parody in it, and there was a long line the two times I signed them at the DC booth. I chatted with a lot of people who went home with a free copy. There were even a few genuine fans that knew my work and had brought other issues for me to sign. That’s always gratifying.


Signing MAD at the DC Comics booth


At the SuperCapers booth

The Bad-

• Autograph $$$- Several pretty big names were present signing autographs, including Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher of Star Wars, Adam and a few others. It is unbelievable what these people charge for their scrawls. Mark Hamill was charging $100, but cut you a break for a second signature… that was a mere $90. They also sold pictures and stuff to get signed, which you have to buy as they will charge you more to sign your own item. Carrie Fisher charged only $35.00, but refused to sign anything but her provided pictures at about $50 a pop. Adam was charging $50, but would sign anything for that, and if you wanted you could buy one of his pics but it wasn’t mandatory. In their defense I am sure that some of those items are going to end up on eBay, but still… Mark Hamill and Adam at least went out of their way (from what I saw) to make the purchaser feel like they were appreciated and gave a few moments of interaction with each. I heard Fisher, on the other hand, barely said hello to most and no pictures with her. I guess we all have to make a living, but that’s still a lot of money to charge for a barely legible scribble.
• The SuperCapers comic- Sadly the print job on that promo comic we did was not the best. A lot of copies had some slightly misregistered pages so they were fuzzy. They printed a little light also. Overall not too bad, though, but Ray and I were a little disappointed.
• Limited Time- Several friends of mine were there that I never got a chance to see. Mark Evanier came by to say hello when I was signing at the SuperCapers booth, but we never hooked up again after that (his mom was ill and he split time between home and the con). I also never got together with “The Norm” artist Michael Jantze, which I was looking forward to. I did get to chat with animator and old pal Stephen Silver. Many more people and things I missed entirely.

The Ugly-

• Fat, middle aged women dressed in the Princess Leia slave girl costume- ’nuff said.
• Sad and depressed b-list actors- This convention, likely since it was in California, had more “celebrities” in booths selling autographs and memorabilia from their roles than any other I’ve been at outside the San Diego Comic Con. Most of the ones here were the kind that had one or two memorable moments in some comic book/sci-fi/horror movie or TV show, and were there to try and make a buck. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it was in some cases really bizarre and in other cases really sad. Bizarre were the ones that were so small in their significance you kind of wonder if they really sell much of anything. One guy’s claim to fame was being the actor who said “I don’t need to see you’re identification” and “These are not the ‘droids we’re looking for” in response to Obi-Wan’s Jedi mind trick in the original Star Wars movie. That’s it. He had a professionally printed banner with the quotes on them, his name and a picture of his face split with a stormtrooper helmet. It occurred to me that anybody could have said that in the movie… not only was the actor in full stormtrooper gear his voice was disguised through a comlink speaker. I have no doubt he was who he claimed, but… really? That’s an obscure one. A few others were really sad. Minor characters from Star Trek episodes, horror movies, etc. sat about with few if any interested patrons looking thoroughly pissed off about being there. The saddest was Richard Kiel, the giant who played “Jaws” in the Bond movies. His health is obviously very poor. He cannot stand and was hunched over in a motorized scooter-thing and looked as forlorn as one can possibly look trying to peddle his pictures.

All in all a fun time. SuperCapers will likley have a booth at ComicCon as their DVD comes out around that time, and I have made plans to attend ComicCon for the first time in many years this summer with number one son Thomas. Should be a good time.

A quick one of late night talk show veteran David Letterman. I confess while I used to watch Letterman a lot I haven’t seen him in years. I don’t watch any late night TV, actually. However I did enjoy this video list of the top ten bizarre Letterman guest appearances from TIME.com, spawned by the recent Joaquin Phoenix debacle. I remember watching the the Crispin Glover one the night it aired.