Sketchbook Superheroes

I never post things from my sketchbook here, and I'm not sure why. I usually like my loose, fast sketches more than my finished pieces. Maybe part of the reason is that I really don't sketch as much as I should (my pal, illustrator Russ Cox posts new sketchbook pages on a weekly basis on Facebook, and he's been making me feel guilty). In fact, my sketchbooks these days are usually more pages of specs for shelves and boxes that I build than drawings of anything. But when I do doodle, it's usually—as it has ever been—drawings of superheroes, often in costume redesigns.

Here are four such drawings from sketchbooks spanning the past seven years or so, of Batgirl, Batman, Supergirl and Wonder Woman. I may put up more. Or maybe not. Hey, who wants to see designs for shelves?

Prince Street News: Implosion Happy Hour

The latest installment of PRINCE STREET NEWS is out in the new BACK ISSUE! available at your local comics shop, Barnes & Noble, or directly through the TwoMorrows website. As I mentioned when I posted the last installment, this episode, entitled "Implosion Happy Hour" requires a ton of exposition for the non-geeky of you. I'll give you panel-by-panel explanations below the strip, but first you need to understand what the whole thing is about.

In the mid-1970s, DC Comics' new publisher Jenette Kahn extended the venerable company's line by adding new titles, expanding page counts and introducing new formats and content. The expansion was advertised in DC's books as "The DC Explosion." In those days, comics were still sold primarily via news outlets (comic stores were just beginning to dot the landscape), so the entire industry's success was based on newsstand sales reports.

The weather was not taken into consideration. A huge blizzard in the winter of 1977/78 kept many of DC's books from ever making it into distribution. Naturally, sales reports on those titles that never made it out of the warehouse were pretty darn low. This, combined with the ever-raising price of paper and the ongoing economic woes of the recession, caused a widescale cancellation of most of the new titles (and some old ones), a downsizing that came to be known as "the DC Implosion."

The characters in the strip below were all affected by the DC Implosion to one extent or another. Some characters had their books canceled; some lost backup slots in existing comics; some never got to appear anywhere at all.

PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE: The Creeper arrives at a bar named after legendary DC editor Julius Schwartz
PANEL TWO: The Creeper is greeted by Firestorm in a roomful of DC Comics characters. The Creeper references a cancelled comic, SHOWCASE, in which he was scheduled to headline an upcoming issue, written and drawn by his creator, Steve Ditko.
PANEL THREE: The Odd Man, another Ditko creation, was slated to be a backup feature in another comic book. The cowboy in the background is The Deserter, who was slated to star in his own comic book in a fading genre.
PANEL FOUR: Shade, the Changing Man was yet another Ditko character whose own comic was canceled.
PANEL FIVE: Black Lightning, another headliner whose book was axed.
PANEL SEVEN: Ragman, another character who saw his book canceled.
PANEL EIGHT: Black Lightning talks with Vixen, scheduled to star in her own comic book. Vixen eventually became a fairly major B-Lister in the DC Universe, to the point of appearing in the JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED cartoon series. So, in the end, she had more visibility than Black Lightning ever did.
PANEL TEN: DC and Marvel both had a tendency to name their African-American characters "Black (something)." In case the reader couldn't figure it out.
PANEL ELEVEN: Jack Kirby's futuristic, post-apocalyptic character Kamandi, subtitled, "the Last Boy on Earth."
PANEL TWELVE: Claw the Unconquered was a Conan-esque DC comic that was canceled. Aquaman remembers that Firestorm is actually a nuclear fusion of two people, a high school professor and one of his teenage students, Ronnie Raymond.

PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE: Canceled headliners Steel and OMAC talk about CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE (details here).
PANEL TWO: Steel mentions two much maligned (but beloved by me) DC series that had been axed prior to the Implosion.
PANEL THREE: Dr. Fate reacts poorly to The Ray's pun. The Ray (whose backup series was killed by the Implosion) was illustrated in the Golden Age by a legendary artist named Lou Fine. Some of those stories had been reprinted by DC in its previous line of 100-page comics.
PANEL FIVE: Star Sapphire of the Secret Society of Super Villains (a cancelled title) orders a round for...
PANEL SIX: Gorilla Grodd, Captain Boomerang (an Aussie baddie), Copperhead, Captain Cold, and Sinestro.
PANEL SEVEN: Sinestro's power derives from a yellow source.
PANEL NINE: Captain Cold passes the buck to some of DC's other weather-controlling super villains.
PANEL TEN: The murdered aerialist turned spectral avenger Deadman was scheduled to be in SHOWCASE as well. Many of Deadman's 1960s stories ended with the angst-ridden spirit wailing in despair.
PANEL ELEVEN: Madame Xanadu (from the canceled comic, DOORWAY TO NIGHTMARE) refers to Deadman's killer, an assassin who had a hook for a left hand.
PANEL TWELVE: The witches from THE WITCHING HOUR order brews. Get it? Get it?
PANELTHIRTEEN: Mister Miracle (canceled) chats with the golden age Flash (the Justice Society's ALL-STAR COMICS was also axed).
PANEL FOURTEEN: That's Batman.
PANEL SIXTEEN: Ragman's tagline was, "The Tatterdemalion of Justice!"
PANEL SEVENTEEN: Power Girl and Robin as they appeared on Earth-2 in ALL-STAR COMICS.

Phew. That's a lot of nerdsposition. Thanks for your patience. Hello? Anyone still there?

Oh, Hell.

Action Comics 195... Redux

Ever since Jim Lee's horrific redesign of Superman's costume last year, I—along with every other marker-wielding fanboy—have been doodling in my sketchbook trying to see if there's maybe a better way to "update" the Man of Steel's costume without completely eliminating the iconic elements that have stood the test of time for over three quarters of a century. A lot of would-be re-designers have incorporated some kind of black or gray paneling (or whatever you call it), because even Lee realized that you can't replace the red and blue color scheme, it's too integral to the character.

I still feel that the whole thing is a colossal waste of time and insult to the character, but here's my stab at it, incorporated into a redrawing of 1954's ACTION COMICS #195. As with the Groovy Golden Age Batman illo I did a few months back, I incorporated elements from different eras into this piece, just to give it a feel not tied to any specific time (I had to find a way there to not call it "timeless"). (Oh and you don't have to point out that the perspective is messed up at the bottom... I know it is! But it was in the original, too, so consider that an... homage. Yeah, that's it, an homage!)

The Old Woman in the Forest

"The Old Woman in the Forest" was published in 1999 in DC Comics / Paradox Press' THE BIG BOOK OF GRIMM, adapting some of the lesser known fairy tales from the prolific storytellers. The book was written by Jonathan Vankin and edited by Jim Higgins. There's a lot about this that I hate, but whattyagonnado.

Anthony Comstock

"Anthony Comstock, Special Agent of the Post Office Department" was published in 1999 in DC Comics / Paradox Press' THE BIG BOOK OF VICE, written by Steve Vance and edited by Andrew Helfer.

A Ghost in the Snow

A Ghost in the Snow was done for DC Comics / Paradox Press' THE BIG BOOK OF THE WEIRD, WILD WEST, written by John Whalen and edited by Andy Helfer. I did work for four of these books (one of which never saw print), and am going to finally post them all here. This version differs from the printed pages in one way: I was asked to redo the computer-lettered captions by hand because at the time (1998), most comics—even graphic novels—didn't use computer lettering. How things have changed!

The Groovy Golden Age Batman

A bit of explanation is necessary. While going through a pile of old childhood artwork, I found this bizarre drawing I did of "The Golden Age Batman." I'm not sure how old I was, probably around 8 or so (just a guess), old enough to know of the concept of The Golden Age of Comics, but not at all aware of what 1940s design looked like. Because this groovy Batman costume is something better suited for a 1970s Blaxploitation film than anything caped crusader-related. Those name-checked bell bottoms!!! Man oh man... I had to re-draw this thing.

I originally just re-drew it in the same pose, but it wasn't enough. So I did a cover re-creation of a real Golden Age BATMAN comic, issue 42 from 1947, pitting the Dynamic Duo against the Catwoman. It was an opportunity to try to match the bizarre amalgam of my incorrectly perceived Golden Age esthetic with the obvious Me-Decade era in which I was living. I put Robin in a macramé sweater, a giant collar and 70s gym clothes from the waist down.

Catwoman, meanwhile, is wearing Farrah Fawcett-Majors' red swimsuit (augmented with her name, in case people got confused) and hair, with denim cutoffs, gloves and tail. She's also clunking around in huge gladiator wedgies.

For the logo, I adapted one that I drew on the back of the original drawing. To augment the 40s/70s amalgamation, I combined elements from comic books of those different eras for the details on the cover such as the DC logo, price and Comics Code stamp. Heck, nothing about this makes sense, so why not.

And I couldn't help but add a cape to Batman's costume. It just didn't look right without it. Maybe in my original drawing, it was just at the cleaner's or something. The sad thing is, as much as I tried, I just couldn't match the sheer craziness of this old childhood drawing. There's something to be said for the unbridled imagination of youth. But, hey, I gave it a shot.

We Are Your Friends

Here's what you do: You go to the WFMU Pledge Page and donate some money to keep the best freakin' radio station this side of WKRP live and on the air (and the internet, too). Maybe you'll get a copy of dee-jay Therese Mahler's compilation, WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS: A SOUNDTRACK FOR FIRST CONTACT AND INTERPLANETARY DIPLOMACY. I did the artwork. Which is, you know, why it's posted here.

Prince Street News: High Heel Fighting!

Here's the new installment of PRINCE STREET NEWS, as seen in the latest issue of Michael Eury's BACK ISSUE! Magazine, available from the fine folks at TwoMorrows Publishing. You can order the issue here! Following the last installment, it's another look at comic book couture, and while that's certainly a fertile topic for discussion (as the terrific website PROJECT: ROOFTOP regularly demonstrates), it's not going to be the subject of every PSN. The next episode will appear in BI! #57 (which you can pre-order here), spotlighting Jenette Khan's revolutionary reign at DC Comics in the 1970s and 80s, and it's entitled, "Implosion Happy Hour!" When I put that one up here, I'm going to have to do a lot of annotating for the less geeky of you.

Below the finished strip is the detail of the reproduction of the cover of GREEN LANTERN #14, the original by the great Gil Kane.

Copycat

Funny thing about this piece, I've seen a bunch of other artists' interpretation of the photo on which this was based... I guess there are some images that really resonate with cartoonists and a come-hithery 50s babe is up near the top of the list!

PRINCE STREET NEWS: Icon

As promised, here's the full first installment of PRINCE STREET NEWS from BACK ISSUE! MAGAZINE #51. But you should still buy the whole darn thing!! Following the strip are the two recreations of the inserted comic book covers from the strip.

Claudia Chopek

My very talented and very busy musician friend Claudia Chopek hired me to do some cartoon portraits of her.

Kirby Enthusiasm: The Murphy Slap!

My last piece for the KIRBY ENTHUSIASM show at Maxwell's is a "tribute" to Jack Kirby's tenure on SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN, a title he took over when he temporarily migrated from Marvel to DC Comics in 1970. Kirby's wild imagination brought some crazy concepts to the DC Universe (even if his writing skills never quite matched his artistic ones), most of all the so-called "Fourth World" of the New Gods and Darkseid.

According to Mark Evanier's excellent tome on Kirby, DC gave Jack carte blanche, allowing him to create new books (although some of them never saw print) as well as choose whatever assignment he liked from their current roster. Jack picked the tame JIMMY OLSEN not because he saw any potential, but because at the time, it was the only book that was lacking a regular creative team (he didn't want to take work from anyone).

The result was a metaphor for Bronze Age Comics... an exciting, yet frequently bizarre and confusing confluence of experimentation and creativity in a very traditional context. The supporting cast may have included hippies and otherworldly despots and DNAliens, the backgrounds may have featured Kirby's trademark cosmic crackle and collage splashes, but DC drew the line at the delineation of the Man of Steel himself...

Feeling that Kirby's depiction of Superman (and his trademarked "S" shield) didn't fit DC's house style, they had longtime DC artist (and frequent inker on the last son of Krypton's other books) Murphy Anderson redraw Kal-El's face and S-emblem in every issue of JIMMY OLSEN. The jarring juxtaposition was (ironically) softened by the inks of Vince Colletta, whose tame style (considered by many scholars an ill fit for the dynamism of Kirby's style) served as a bridge between the two artists.

Still, "The Murphy Slap" (my term) is considered one of many great indignities suffered upon one of comics' most important creators. In tribute, I drew the piece with the Kirby-style Superman face and S before covering them with actual Murphy Anderson artwork from an issue of JIMMY OLSEN. I made the added elements off-size and placed them off kilter to emphasize the mismatch of the artwork (and to indicate to the lay person that it's supposed to look like that).

Here are both pieces, the final version and the pre-Murphyized artwork.

For more on this topic, check out Mark Evanier's post on his site.

Kirby Enthusiasm: The Dingbats of Danger Street

My second piece for the KIRBY ENTHUSIASM show was a version of one of Kirby's wackadoo creations for DC Comics, THE DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET, which appeared in the SHOWCASE-esque FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL #6 in 1975. Unlike the Maximus piece, instead of trying to replicate Kirby's style, I did this as an adaptation in my own style, changing the sex of some of the characters and adding some Kirby tribute details in the form of comics on the ground and in the garbage (horrors!).

Kirby Enthusiasm: Maximus is Pleased!

I just co-curated (with Rand Hoppe of the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center) an art show at Maxwell's in Hoboken NJ called KIRBY ENTHUSIASM: A Tribute to the King of Comics! I did three pieces, this first one being a pretty straight adaptation of one of Kirby's trademark insane splash pages from his peak period of the late 1960s. "Maximus is pleased!" is from FANTASTIC FOUR #82, which continued a story introducing the Inhumans to the Marvel Universe.

Prince Street News debuts in BACK ISSUE #51!

It's plug time, kids! The first installment of Prince Street News, my comic strip about comics has just hit the stands in the new issue of Michael Eury's BACK ISSUE MAGAZINE, #51, an all-interview issue featuring writer Steve Englehart, artist Walt Simonson in conversation with frequent collaborator Erik Larsen, a writers discussion between Doug Moench and Len Wein, letterers Janice Chiang and Todd Klein and the final interview with the late colorist Adrienne Roy.

My strip is the centerspread of the magazine, printed in full color. It's entitled, "Icon" and it's about the evolution of Superman's appearance in light of his new costume in the comics. I'll post the full strip here when BI #52 comes out, so if you want to see it now, head on to your local comics store, Barnes & Noble or order Back Issue from the TwoMorrows website.

The next episode of PSN will be in BACK ISSUE #54, the Liberated Ladies issue, shipping in January, 2012. It's a look at the thin line between acceptably sexy and exploitatively silly in the context of superheroine costumes.

Announcing: Collector's Edition: Confessions of a Pop Culture Obsessive-Compulsive

This is the big project that's been taking up most of my time this year (and will continue to do so for the bulk of 2011). But I thought it was time to let the cat outta the mylar (if you get that reference, you will see yourself in this book).
________________________________

COLLECTOR’S EDITION: Confessions of a Pop Culture Obsessive-Compulsive by Karl Heitmueller Jr. is an examination of the changing nature of popular culture from the early 1970s to today in the form of a memoir. Mixing history, humor and criticism with sometimes embarrassingly personal anecdotes, Heitmueller paints a picture of a life that, at the age of 46, continues to revolve around pop trappings that are usually abandoned upon adulthood. But it’s also about how the evolution of technology has radically altered the consumption of culture, making it easier to acquire and perhaps less meaningful in the process.

COLLECTOR’S EDITION is divided into chapters that deal with the numerous aspects of Karl’s obsessions: comic books, music (both collecting and compiling), Christmas, action figures, recording TV shows, books, self-publishing, archiving and a three-decades-running compendium called, “The Motion Picture Log.” There are also chapters on how sports just doesn’t fit into the equation and why Star Wars lost its luster for the author (while Superman perhaps means more than ever).

Peppered with illuminating sidebars, anecdotal comic strips and illustrations, COLLECTOR’S EDITION tries to explain the collector’s mentality, and posits that loving STUFF may not be such a bad thing after all. Readers who share the malady of nostalgia will find much to which they can relate, while those who’ve never felt the urge to scour eBay for a long-lost relic of their childhood will hopefully gain insight to the mindset of an oft-ridiculed demographic.

E-MAIL FOR PUBLISHING INQUIRIES OR MORE INFORMATION

HOOTENANNY II poster

Another happy job for Secret Country, for this year's HOOTENANNY fest. This poster is based on the one-sheet for the 1963 film HOOTENANNY HOOT (see below) and expands the Al Capp tribute (Hot Dog girl is partially based on Daisy Mae, and partially based on someone else) by including Li'l Abner's younger brother, Tiny Yokum (albeit clad in a non-traditional hot dog shirt and green jeans).

Super Songs 4

Based on the cover of the B-52's first self-titled album, of course.

Secret Country SUNY poster

The figure in this poster is a swipe from Robert McGinnis' cover to the Mike Shayne Mystery Pulp FIT TO KILL.

When I steal, I steal from the best!