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When I was in DC for SPX some weeks back, I stayed with my friends Ryan and Mark. Ryan is a huge John Waters fan (I like John Waters, but Ryan is maybe 5x the fan I am), and took the opportunity to haul out DVDs and clips that I am guessing Mark doesn't appreciate.Most of the quotes flying and scenes viewed were from Female Trouble, starring Divine as Dawn Davenport: "Nice girls don't wear cha-cha heels!" "Not on Christmas... not on Christmas..." There are so many great lines—what's your favorite?But here are two drawings of Divine as Dawn. The blue lines on the left are a bit light and I should ink it. I like the effect of the inked drawing over the blue lines to the right... makes her look like she has eyeshadow on.
Call me old-fashioned if you will! But with the latest bounties and murder storyline in JUSTICE SOCIETY, I must say it: comic book murder is overdone to the point that it's no longer dramatic or powerful. It used to be a real event when something like this happened. Now, it's body parts, entrails and blood everywhere. And, often, there was purpose beyond "death." Take Mister Terrific's murder; the whole suspense point was that no one was on the satellite but the JLA and JSA... so whoever murdered Mr. T was a good guy. Of course, that's not how the story turned out. Go read JLA 171-172 for that. :-) Before I go on, enjoy this sketch of 3 dead heroes (Golden Age Batman, Silver Age Batwoman, and Golden Age Mister Terrific).Now, I will look at killed-off heroes in the DC Universe from 1935-1985 (up until the CRISIS series). I may need your help, but here we go:
- Ferro Lad (Legion—30th century, died saving galaxy from the Sun-Eater, 1967)
- Doom Patrol (Chief, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl; sacrificed selves; 1968)
- Larry Lance (Golden Age, Earth-2, died saving Black Canary, 1969)
- Wing (Golden Age, Earth-2, announced dead from battle with the Nebula Man, 1972)
- Invisible Kid (Legion—30th century, crushed by Validus, 1974; tho he came back in 1983 I think)
- Chemical King (Legion—30th century, died preventing the outbreak of a world war, 1977)
- Batman (Golden Age, Earth-2, dying of cancer, fights Felix Faust to the death, 1979)
- Mister Terrific (Golden Age, Earth-2, murdered by the Spirit King, 1979)
- Batwoman (Silver Age, Earth-1, murdered by the Bronze Tiger, 1980)
- Air Wave (announced killed by an escaped convict, 1981)
- Crimson Avenger (Golden Age, Earth-2, died saving city, 1981)
- Terra (Earth-1, killed in rock slide using own powers, 1984)
- Karate Kid (Legion—30th century, killed by Nemesis Kid, 1984)
So...15 over the course of DC's first 50 years. Happy to update with your edits. In the meantime visit the Wikipedia article of DC's dead heroes for an EXHAUSTING look at the 200+ DC characters (most "brutally slain") in the past 24 years. Sign of the times, or weak story-telling? Or, I'm old fashioned.
Here's a spread from my book inspired by a day in my office. I manage a marketing group; about 1/3 of the group has been there for 10+ years, 1/3 has been around 5-6 years, and 1/3 is fairly fresh out of college. It's a good balance, and I've made great efforts to build a cohesive team. Sean, to the left, keeps suggesting he's going to write about some our innappropriate moments (such as when I hosted an "unveiling" party for one of our teammates who got a boob job). Anyway, Sean was meeting with me and Katha when suddenly, for no apparent reason he started making this monster face. In the second image, we were discussing the recent death of family friend of one of our teammates. I was asked if he was old or young, and I replied, "60. Young for 'death,' but not for 'life.'"
You may have seen my announcement on my site and Facebook about my latest book being dropped from DCD. This is bad news, as it represents a solid third of my sales. While my business model allows me to print a new book from the profit of the last book, this is not a crisis for me. However, it does call in to question my future as a publisher.DCD has encouraged me to solicit future projects (perhaps when the economy is better). However, without profit from the current book (likely if I can't sell it) to pay for the next, it's not encouraging to toil on a project for 18 months just "for me" (I'm not in this for the money, but I can't be losing thousands of dollars either). So, what does this mean? The future is unclear. If I stay viable, I will proceed with "Baby Makes Three." I was gearing up to finish the OGN I started in 2005—I hate unfinished business! If I don't sell enough copies of "Trust/Truth", I will likely just do a mini here or there, and work on pitch proposals. It seems like so many of the self publishers that were influencial in getting me started (Carla Speed McNeil, Randy Reynaldo, Paige Braddock) have scaled back dramatically or are on the verge of giving up. Feels like the end of self publishing!
The office building I work in has a small cafe in which one can buy coffee, pre-made sandwiches, sodas, chips, and a hot buffet lunch provided by a caterer. It ranges from super-yummy to downright disgusting. I try to bring my own lunch as a general rule, but since the eating area is open to all, regardless of purchase, it's likely that I end up at the cafe at least once a week. My pal Corey (left) is a regular, and he's shown here waiting for his teammates to arrive. To right shuffling in is another building mate.I haven't gone out of my way to show these to anyone in the building, but the few people who have seen them knew who the drawings are of, instantly.On the subject of my day job, I am no longer acting director and am off the "senior management" team. Yay—it feels like things are getting back to normal and I can think about comics more often. It was a long haul as an acting, 15 months (was supposed to be 6-9 months). Now if only my debilitating headaches would go away. But sadly, they are increasing in frequency and intensity. Boooo.
Not too much to say about this one...just a little 3"x6" commission I decided to color for fun. I have so much free time on my hands since I finished my book! Just kidding—between my class, and two short stories with Marvel due by Thanksgiving, I shouldn't be playing with Painter now. Anyway, this was an on-the-spot sketch, and since I'd only ever read one issue of New Mutants (in preparation for my Cannonball story for Marvel a few years back), this is what you get.
Drew this for no particular reason, and ended up inking it. I think I was bored in some staff meeting or something. It's DC's "Dr. Fate" and his wife Inza, and the Salem, Massachusetts tower they reside in. In the mid-late 40s (DC geeks can correct me here) suddenly he started wearing a half-helmet. It's the full helmet that transforms Kent Nelson to the doctor. I don't know if they ever explained the reason why he went to the half-helmet. Kent, in his own right can fly, is stronger than the typical man, and can cast simple spells. So during this period, he was merely posing as the doctor, and was much weaker. Just when the nation needed him most! Bummer!Later, he mysteriously got his helmet back. I remember from all the JLA/JSA team-ups in the 70s and 80s when I first started reading comics, Dr. Fate's powers were visually represented by the Ahnk symbol (he'd shoot them out and they could do anything from trap villains to heal the Huntress' burns).Today is SPX. If you're in the DC/Baltimore area, stop by the hotel bar, where I will be hanging around!
When I was in DC for SPX some weeks back, I stayed with my friends Ryan and Mark. Ryan is a huge John Waters fan (I like John Waters, but Ryan is maybe 5x the fan I am), and took the opportunity to haul out DVDs and clips that I am guessing Mark doesn't appreciate.
