Category: Art

Atomic Pulp and Other Meltdowns [2006]

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Tonight I want to tell you about a blog run by Chris Mills. It’s called “Atomic Pulp and Other Meltdowns” and it’s definitely worth bookmarking. Chris writes about pop culture as well as occasional glimpses into his life as a struggling writer.

The fact that Chris is “struggling” speaks volumes about how hard it is to make it as a writer. You see, in 2004, Chris wrote a universally well-received one shot, Gravedigger: The Scavengers [which remains my favorite single issue comic of the last 2 years].

Chris was also the editorial director on Mickey Spillane’s Mike Danger [where he worked with Spillane and Max Allan Collins]. Chris was also the editorial director on Neil Gaiman’s Lady Justice. Chris wrote a year-long run on Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals comic series.

Chris was also the creator and editor of Noir, an illustrated crime fiction magazine that featured art and stories from some of the biggest names in both the comic and mystery fields. I could continue to list Chris‘ credits, but you’d probably prefer me to shut up so you can check out his blog.

But one more thing before I close… if you ever get the opportunity to pick up a copy of Gravedigger: The Scavengers [with art by Rick Burchett], please do. I first wrote about the one shot here and then again here.

I love this comic and would love to see more Gravedigger stories by Mills and Burchett. If after reading it, you feel the same way, please let your local comic dealer know… and it wouldn’t hurt to drop Chris a line as well!

Higashi’s Kindness Knows No Bounds

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John “Johnny Star Warz” Higashi is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. In addition he has one of the most unbelieveable art collections you’ll ever see [if you click HERE].

John hits more conventions than many pros and is constantly getting new additions to his collection. The cool thing about John is despite the fact that he’s one of the most active collectors you’d ever meet, he’s a real down to earth guy. And his kindness is legendary. Last weekend he was at Baltimore Con. John took 125 artists, their relatives and friends to the Orioles vs Yankees game. Can you imagine?

So of course when Johnny SW came to Sketch Society today, he treated everyone to donuts. Yeah, it ain’t a trip to a pro baseball game, but then again Sketch Society ain’t the Baltimore Con either! – Snort –

Sketch Society Round 2

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That’s Big John Beatty getting caffined up before he starts sketching away at the second gathering of his Sketch Society. This time we’re meeting at Java Junction in Holly Hill, Florida. As you can see in the shot below there’s already a dozen folks here drawing away. I’ll post more as the session goes on!

Sketch Society II

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That’s Lon Midnight in the pic with me. I’m the mug on the left. I’ll tell you more about Lon sometime…

… but right now I just want to remind you that John Beatty is bringing together the Sketch Society this Saturday at 2pm. If the gathering is anything like last time, it’ll be a blast. For full details click HERE. I plan to do some live blogging during the get-together so even if you can’t be there, you can take part via the internet!

Andrew Robinson Gets Carter [2006]

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I first met Andrew Robinson when he was crashing at my buddy John Beatty‘s joint years ago. Andrew was just breaking into comics with his creation “Dusty Starr.” A blind man could see that this kid had TALENT. Andrew was also cool to hang with because he was so friendly and humble. I wasn’t back in to collecting original art then and so I missed my chance at a Andrew Robinson “Stallone.”

 

I was excited to see that Andrew was going to be a guest at this year’s Heroes Con. I figured that if I was lucky Andrew might agree to a Stallone drawing [if I could get on his sketch list]. I shouldn’t have worried. Beatty stopped by Andrew‘s table and it was as if the years melted away. They were like brothers who hadn’t talked in months. As it turned out, after Heroes, Andrew was coming to Florida to visit his family [who now lived less than an hour from Daytona]. One thing led to another and Andrew decided to ride back with Beatty and John Highasi. The bad news was that I would miss out on the drive back since I had other commitments. The good news was that Andrew was going to do a Stallone drawing for me… and he wanted to wait until he got to Florida to do it!

 

Andrew ended up drawing Sly as Jack Carter during one of his visits to Big Beatty’s. Not only did Andrew do a killer job, but he was having so much fun that he decided to throw some colors on it as well! Here’s the original, the first color piece the second color piece and even the third!

If you like what you’ve seen of Andrew‘s art, then be sure to check out Next Exit Productions which is Andrew‘s home on the web. You’ll also be glad to hear that Dusty Starr #1 is now available. If you can’t get it from your local comic book shop, you can get it straight from Andrew by clicking HERE. Be sure and also check out the first ever Dusty Starr Sketchbook. Like everything else that Andrew works on, it will make a fine addition to your collection!

"Jazzman" Does It All

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Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes is something of a throwback. He’s a talented artist, musician, actor, director… and a heck of a nice guy on top of everything else. Jazz still has that childlike wonder about the world, no, make that the universe. He’s constantly branching out and using his talents on various projects.
Want to see what Jazz has been up to? Then check out his site, you’re sure to find something that appeals to you!

Collector’s Comics — Full Report

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As I told you in an earlier post, this past weekend John “Johnny Star Warz” Higashi, and I drove down to Fort Pierce with “Big” John Beatty who was making an appearance at Keith and Monica Mallow’s  Collector’s Comics shop. [That’s Keith and Monica pictured below. ]

Beatty and I have known Keith for about 20 years, so we were both looking forward to catching up with him. He’s a pretty funny guy [maybe not as funny as he thinks he is, but he still has a pretty good batting average for humor]. We knew it would be a fun day.

Keith had advertised for weeks that Beatty would be at the shop signing autographs and sketching for fans. You can even see that Keith spared no expense with the sign to welcome John to his store.


A steady stream of fans joined those who had been waiting for Big John‘s arrival. Most wanted to get an autograph or sketch, but a few artists showed up so that John could offer advice on their work. You can see the look of joy on the little guy’s face in the picture above. Of course the pic was snapped right before Keith tried to bogart the kid’s sketch. Luckily the little feller’s dad set Keith straight and he returned the drawing straight away.

Big Beatty sketched throughout the day. Every sketch was a winner from his billionth drawing of the Punisher to his first attempt at Captain Marvel.

 


As the minutes turned into hours, Beatty continued to autograph and sketch for fans. Monica sensed that Big John was starting to fade, so she offered up one of her famous massages. [Personally, I think that Big John was faking it in order to get a backrub!]
Never one to be left out, John Higashi put down the manuscript that he was working on in order to get a massage of his own! As for me, well…

 

When six o’clock rolled around it was time to go. Everyone was having such a blast that Keith offered to take us out to dinner [again] and put us up for another night. Unfortunately, we had planned to get back home [and I really needed to]. Keith attempted to bribe us not only with another meal, another night in the hotel, but even tempted us with a poker game!


Next time, Keith! Next time!

 

If you’re in the area of Fort Pierce, Florida, check out Collector’s Comics. Tell Keith and Monica I sent you. Who knows, you may even luck out and get a massage in addition to some great deals on comics!

 

Collector’s Comics — Update

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It’s about 3:45 and the John Beatty show is still rolling on at Keith Mallow’s Collector’s Comics in Fort Pierce. [How’s that for another plug, Keith?]

Fans have been keeping Big John pretty busy signing autographs and sketching. John‘s done some nice Captain America, Punisher and Batman sketches. He’s currently working on a Captain Marvel [Shazam] sketch.

We’ll be here until about 6pm, so if you’re in the area, swing on it!

Live Blogging from Collector’s Comics

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So here I am “live blogging” from Keith Mallow’s “Collector’s Comics” in Fort Pierce, Florida!

 

Keith invited my good buddy, John Beatty, to come down to his shop to sign and sketch for fans. Beattty asked John Higashi and I to make the trip — and how could we refuse? We’re always up for a trip, and Boy! is Keith Mallow a trip.

Keith is actually a pretty funny guy — and I’m not just talking about his looks. Ok, ok, all kidding aside. Keith has a really nice comic shop that carries action figures, statues, dvds, trade paperbacks and, oh yeah, comics. When I found out that the shop also had a wireless internet connection I decided to give “live blogging” a try. If you’re reading this, I was successful and we’ll have more updates as the day continues.

Sketch Society a Success

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Big John Beatty’s Sketch Society had their first meeting last night and it was lot of fun! John had e-mailed out invites and posted flyers, but wasn’t sure how the turnout would be. He shouldn’t have worried.
Robert Smith [red shirt] drove in from Ocala. Jesse and his crew came down from St. Augustine and arrived at the Daytona Beach Barnes & Noble before John – who was an hour early!

Jeff Whiting and his lady friend dropped in. Although they both had sketch books and Jeff was drawing in his, if you can make out the title of the book she was reading, you can see she seemed to be more interested in drawing to a full house!

Ralph is a local artist who dropped in. It was my first time meeting him. Not only was he having a great time sketching but he also served as the pitch man for Fiji water. He did his job well, and I ended up buying a bottle just to try it out. It was okay, but not as good as the packaging [or Ralph] would suggest.

It was really great catching up with everyone. I’ve known Rob for about 30 years [whew – can we really be that old?] and we ended up talking about novels, movies, comic shows, and so much more. Rob is a great guy and I’m really glad he was able to make it.

It was a blast seeing Jesse “Cadre” Hansen and his crew [Chris and Jason]. Jesse loves comics and his passion is contagious. [Although he appears to be getting a little too friendly in the picture above. Footsies anyone?]

Big John made the rounds making sure to thank everyone for coming. He also snapped up some photos for his blog.

Everyone was having a blast sketching and socializing. At about 10pm Big John started giving off a white light glow. Although it was probably one too many Moca-Carmel-Soy-Lattes with with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, we decided to not take achance and instead call it a night. Still, everyone agreed that they would be back the next time John called another informal meeting of the Sketch Society!