"I couldn't wait for success so I decided to go ahead without it."
Described as, The most famous person no one has ever heard of, Mark A. Lester is a writer and illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous alternative and small press books, magazines and newspapers as well as on line.
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This is the final color version of the artwork for PULP #1. I wanted a piece that showed immediately the proper amount of horror, sci-fi, spiritual/supernatural, crazy-insanity-coolness of the story. (IMHO) Did I accomplish that goal? I hope so, but I sure did try.
Boy could I use a break from life for a while. Funerals, weddings, financial meetings, jury duty, deadlines and the high(er) cost of living. Shoot! It's driving me batty. I remember those peaceful days of two months ago when I could just live my quiet little life, doin' "my thing" and bein' happy doing it. Weeelll. Not now and not for a little while yet, but I cannot wait!
I did get lent to me a copy of the first season of my favorite "superhero show". As a kid I loved this character and thought he far surpassed Superman in the super-man category. (Truthfully, I still do.) Surprisingly, so far I haven't seen my childhood memories crushed as is usually the case. Let's be honest and admit that most of our youthful memories just don't age all that well.
Now, it's true that I'm only on episode three (Not including the three TV movies) so I can be pretty sure that by season three or four the show will start getting painfully campy, but so far so good.
I feel as if my train went off track several weeks ago and has been riding along the bumpy ground next to the rails looking for a place to hop back on. (Did that make even the tiniest bit of sense?)
Soon. Soon. Soon. Until then ... "Steve Austin. Astronaut. A man barely alive ..."
It has come to my attention certain legislation, referred to as "Orphan Works", is making it's way through Washington. If you would, please take time to investigate this matter, let others know and provide your thoughts.
It is a sickening concept that goes far beyond effecting simply the works of artists and creators. With this legislation they are picking away at the very fabric of freedom. Were the "Orphan Works" legislation to pass we could easily reach the point where future generations would not even understand what the term "freedom" once meant.
It is not such a stretch to imagine a time when our thoughts, ideas and minds would no longer be our own. A freedom far more basic that any other. Above and beyond simply artists, musicians and other creators, every single person living should be, not only outraged, but terrified at what threats are coming so very, very close.
It is not simply our "creations" at risk, but our very right to "be".
I've been given the opportunity to be a part of a charity comic book anthology. I'll be doing the art chores on someone else's story. A bit of a different road than I usually take but I'm pleased to be able to be a part of sumthin' doin' sumthin' good in this nasty ol' world o' ours.
It also looks like I'll git to do sum spot illos for an upcoming prose book and since I am such a giant fan of reading, I'm pleased. (Notice the pleased look on my face.)
There are a few other opportunities here and there but I resist the urge to talk just to talk. Can't get ahead of things and some things I'm not allowed to talk about. At least not yet.
See, the thing is I usually work for myself and I hate to commit myself to anything unless I'm sure that I can deliver the goods and that the goods will be worth the delivery.
I'm weird like that.
As far as my personal "stuff". It's still coming. Unfortunately, I had some serious "issues" arise that have taken up a ton of my time and put most everything else on the back burner. Still cookin' but cookin' a bit slower than I'd anticipated. I know. I know. I'm taking forever but just hold on. I want to make sure that when I finally "get there", I'm "there" to stay this time.
In the first decade after World War II, Americans were terrified. First there was the Communist threat. Then the UFO menace. And then came the comic-book scare.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, more than 20 states and dozens of cities passed laws regulating "objectionable" comic books. Children were encouraged to turn in their comics, which were burned in public bonfires - a chilling reminder of Nazi Germany. A clerk was arrested for selling a copy of "Crime Does Not Pay" to a teen-ager. And so on.
David Hajdu documents this era in his new book, "The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; $26). He's covering ground familiar to any fan of comics history or postwar American culture. Hajdu simply amasses more facts than any previous attempt at chronicling this sad time. Despite a few errors - Dick Tracy made his debut in 1931, not 1929 - the book is worth reading.
Comic books were created in the 1930s by young writers and artists who tended to see themselves as outsiders. The field attracted Jews, Italians, blacks, Asians and women - people marginalized in mainstream society. Many of them were children of immigrants; virtually all came from working-class backgrounds.
In the late '40s, superheroes lost popularity. Readers preferred new genres such as crime, horror and romance. Some of these comics went beyond the level of violence and sexual suggestiveness allowed in movies of the time. The only real equivalent was the tough-guy prose of Mickey Spillane - a former comic-book writer. Comics also drew more female readers than before or since. Sales reached an all-time peak in the early '50s.
It didn't take long for institutions like the Catholic Church, the American Legion and PTAs to declare comic books a threat to Our American Way of Life. As artist Al Williamson said, 1953 was "a bad time to be weird." This was before "On the Road." Rock 'n' roll was still called rhythm and blues, and few middle-class white adults knew it existed. Unless you lived in Greenwich Village and hung out in jazz clubs and coffee houses, Bohemia was an alien concept.
Hajdu argues that comics drove an early wedge between the tastes of young people and their parents. The cycle is repeated whenever a new form of expression upsets the older generations: TV, rock music, the New Hollywood films of the late '60s and '70s, hip-hop, video games, MySpace and YouTube.
The years before Elvis and Chuck Berry may have seemed bleak, but for one thin dime - the price of a comic book - you could escape into the "subversive" world of EC Comics. EC exposed racism, police corruption and phony patriotism. Its war comics - influenced by the country's ambivalent attitude toward the Korean War - depicted GIs not as conquering supermen, but as jittery kids. The one surviving EC comic, "Mad," ridiculed every authority figure under the sun.
Unfortunately, EC also produced some of the bloodiest crime and horror comics. This drew the attention of police departments, prosecutors and editorial writers - not to mention a psychiatrist named Fredric Wertham, whose book "Seduction of the Innocent" blamed comic books for juvenile delinquency. At a 1954 Senate hearing, Tennessee's Estes Kefauver eviscerated EC publisher William Gaines.
The panicked industry adopted a repressive Comics Code, and EC was soon out of business - except for "Mad," which bypassed the Code by converting to a black and white magazine.
Although a Tennessee senator was linked to the comics crackdown, Hajdu doesn't mention any city in Tennessee that passed, or even proposed, laws banning or restricting comic-book sales. Kefauver wasn't in charge of the committee on juvenile delinquency, anyway; that "honor" went to Robert Hendrickson, Republican from New Jersey.
It's easy to over-romanticize the pre-Code era and EC in particular. EC had the best art of the '50s, but aside from Harvey Kurtzman's scripts for "Mad" and the war comics, its writing was far from great. Comics critic Douglas Wolk has pointed out that for every brilliant story like "Master Race" (one of the first acknowledgements of the Holocaust in pop culture), EC published "half a dozen dumb gross-outs."
Hajdu's conclusion, backed by an interview with underground cartoonist-crank Robert Crumb, is that creativity in comic books died with EC. I can't go along with that. Stan Lee's Marvel Comics, at least in the '60s and early '70s, matched EC for talent and ambition. There is too much current emphasis on superheroes, but a medium that has produced "Watchmen," "Sandman," "Persepolis," "Maus," "American Splendor" and "Ghost World" can't be dismissed as creatively bankrupt.
If you have the money, you can seek out the "EC Archives." These deluxe hardcover reprints cost $50 per volume - a price that will presumably prevent a new generation of children from reading them and becoming "corrupted."
Here is the inked cover art piece for PULP #1. This was a particularly difficult piece for Ken to ink since I'd pencilled it differently than I usually do. I wanted to work more on the color end than usual and this required a slightly different approach to the pencils and inking. The end result is, I believe, a very clean piece. Which is what I was shooting for.
Above is the pencil art for PULP #1. The goal here was to, in ONE picture, present quickly and clearly the character and concept of Morgan Stone to the reader - A science fiction, fantasy, horror, adventure story. "Nothing Sacred" is the first part in the "Knightwolf Saga". I'd like to think that I was successful in portraying the character. Whether I accomplished my goal or not, I sure gave it a try.
After the (very, very) rough thumbnail, and dozens of sloppy sketches working hard to get the relaxed, comfortable, slightly insane feel of the piece, I light-tabled the work to get a very clean, precise line drawing which was given to Ken to ink. I wanted to work with the art further in the color stage rather than during the pencils and ink stage as I normally would do. The end result of the pencils is, I think, a comfortable, confident, relaxed piece. No one ever has to know all the labour that went into creating it. Always make it look easy. That's the goal anyway.
"Gutter Punk" is a modern, descriptive term referring to fictional stories of "gutterheroes" and/or pulp-ish characters. "Gutter Punk" stories may be of any genre or combination of genres such as; fantasy, adventure, horror, supernatural, science fiction, mystery, detective, war or even western.
The term "gutterhero" refers to a non-mainstream fictional character created by an independent creator. A character termed a "gutterhero" usually, but not always, will lack the common conventions of the better recognized "superhero" such as; costumes, secret identities, special powers and abilities and/or code-names. The "gutterhero" posses more in common with the old "pulp heroes" of the past than the commonly know main stream "superhero" of modern times. Stories of "gutterheroes" may be of any genre or a mixture of genres; mystery, horror, science fiction, adventure, supernatural, fantasy, crime war or even western.
"Spirit fiction" is a term used to describe a form of story-telling based upon the concept of a dynamic reality governed by supernatural law in much the same way that the term "science fiction" refers to a form of story-telling based upon the assumption of a universe governed by scientific law.
Okay. My computer seems to be fixed although I suspect that there are still some wonky things on it that may have been damaged that will need lookin' at. Not by me. By someone who knows sumthin'. Funny, ain't it, how much you can miss something as silly and nonsensical as a computer? Not me, of course, I'm talking about you. I am far too sensible and rational for that.
Anyway ... life continues and I'm very, very hungry.
The sordid history of me and my computer. Part one.
The first (and only) computer that I ever bought was the Commodore VIC 20. I used all of the money I'd received from my high school graduation and went out and purchased this little miracle machine. Looking back, I highly suspect that I was pushed into buying it by my older and younger brothers. They were/are the computer nerds in the family. Personally, my relationship with computers has been shaky at best.
It took me approximately two minutes to discover that you could actually do nothing with this magical piece of plastic and whatnots. Well, I couldn't. My brothers (and my mom - Egads!) would sit up all night reading program books and typing in tons of code and then going back over the whole thing again and again when nothing worked. What did they get for all their troubles? A little ball that went from one side of the screen to the other and back again. They were thrilled. I just thought about all the money I'd wasted that could have bought me a really cool cassette player for my car. Which I didn't have either. No car, but I had a VIC 20. I was the envy of no one. Still, my investment has paid off big-time. I have not had to purchase one single bit of computer wizardry since. I just sit back and wait for my brothers to get tired of the latest dodad, buy the next version and pass to me whatever out dated bit and/or piece of whatever.
I've never been a gadget-alcoholic like some. (See above.) The only thing that interests me about computers is what they can do. Why they do it is so far beyond my ability to understand that it still feels a bit like magic and, I suspect, the work of the devil. Think about it and how deeply, and reverently, it is worshipped.
Now, I'm on the outlook for a new computer and/or getting mine repaired and I'm thinking that maybe I should have paid a bit more attention all those long years ago. Maybe? But then I've a lot of regrets in my life and this one, if it's one at all, would be far, far down on my list of "stupids".
I have not been having the best of days. Not the worst I've had mind you but not so neato-cool-great. One of the many adventures I've had today is finding my computer gone. Passed. No more. Every-freakin' person I know is on vacation and since I don't know anything about computers, I have to wait until Monday to even know if it can be fixed. It's really sorta' sucky because I used that computer for work, for art and checking my email. (One of life's necessities, huh?) Right now I am using an old laptop and the three keys it still has working on its keyboard.
Whatever. Like I said, I've had worse days. Lots worse. I mean, like blow your brains out worse. Still, today could have been better. But it wasn't. Such is life.
Until I git the computer-thingie worked out, I won't be able to post much or upload any more artwork. And here I was, all geared up and ready to be visible and productive and all that stuff. Now ... Well, now I won't. I suppose.
I need a good book and some coffee.
I need a vacation myself. Yes. That would be nice. Very, very nice.
I think I'm going insane. Not totally sure but pretty much sure. It might be outside forces working to drive me nuts or it might be some unexplained chemical imbalance. Who knows? It might just be a slow computer clogged with too much "stuff". Whatever it is, it sure feels like insanity.
Whatever.
Jim Mooney died a short while ago. Sad. Lived a long, productive life. So much so that people no one had ever heard of are mentioning his passing. That's not such a bad life. Everyone dies. I'll die and when I do I seriously doubt that anyone anywhere will be mentioning it in any blog. They should because I'm sorta' cool, but they probably won't. I'm an undiscovered cool. What can I say?
I've been kinda' invisible on the web lately. Let's just say that I was flying along, doing my thing when from outta' nowhere life rears its rather ugly head and bites me in the bum. (I've a feeling that's a mixed something or other but don't really care. Just try to keep up.) As a result I've been running around putting out fires, or cutting the heads off hydras or something. Buuut... this doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Ish. Lotsa art, covers, logos and the like, just nothin' visible. Which is sorta' that thing of mine that I was talking about. Still, since I don't want you to think that I've gone over the edge and disappeared again like as in gone disappeared and all ... Here I am! Go on us.
I've got too many things going on right now, and far too many things going on right now that I don't want to discuss with anyone, let alone anyone on the web that I don't know. (People have a bad habit of having opinions. Opinions I'm not really interested in hearing.) In an effort to do something, I'm considering trying to post some art here on the blog as it appears in the gallery and see how that goes. Fingers crossed or whatever. You got two of something, cross 'em.
Okaaaay ...
Well that only took like a million years. There has gotta' be a better way. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. Which is a possibility. This is one of many pieces that I've done. One of a tona rejected/future cover pieces or whatever. Creating a workable cover is more than just pretty artwork and it's more than design. It's one of the few (instant) things that people have in which to base all your work on. You get maybe a second or two before their eyes pass on to the next thing in line. The "trick" is to catch their eye and make em want more. Not so easy. Not for me. Some artists are really good at creating covers that grab you by the short hairs and drag you in. There are quite a few artists who couldn't create a book to save their butts but can knock a cover outta the park every time. Sadly, I don't think I'm one of em, so I gotta really work at it.
Again. Whatever right? We're just experimenting here. Trying anyway. Not sure what I'm trying but I'm trying and that should count for something. Probably doesn't, but it should.
I'm feeling bugged and a bit grumpy. Can you tell? I'm told that I apparently have zero ability to hide whatever emotion I'm feeling at the moment I'm feeling it. I hope that's not the case since, for example, I'm wanting to punch someone in the face right at this moment and am being polite instead. Some people are sure nosey. They deserve to be punched in the neck. But that's something different altogether.
I've just finished two Lee Child Jack Reacher books. "Bad Luck and Trouble" and The Hard Way" and am currently reading "Tripwire". He's got eleven of em and, of course, I'm not reading them in any order. That would make too much sense. I've also just finished the first three "Maximum Ride" books. Maybe I'll discuss them later. If I remember. We'll see. I'd also love discussing movies since I love movies. B&W are the best so my discussing them might be painful for some. You will deal I'm sure.
