Honoring Stan the Man

Over this past Veterans' Day weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a memorable event honoring comic-book legend Stan Lee. The occasion was the annual banquet of CAPS (the Comic Art Professional Society), an association of primarily Southern California cartoonists that meets monthly (I'm a member). As the guest of honor, Lee was receiving the group's annual achievement award, recently re-christened the Sergio, after one of CAPS co-founders, Sergio Aragones. (Sergio designed the award's statuette. As a surprise for him last year, CAPS renamed the annual award in his honor and presented the award to him (along with Jack Davis) in recognition of his contributions as one of the group's founding members and biggest boosters.)

CAPS' annual semi-formal banquet is always one of the group's highlights of the year. Past honorees include Will Eisner, Jonathan Winters, Ray Bradbury, Mell Lazarus, Bill Melendez, and many others.

The evening was fun and full of laughter. MC'd by Mark Evanier (a founding member of CAPS), the evening's speakers also included CAPS members Bill Morrison (the group's current president) and Scott Shaw!, as well as Marv Wolfman. Two professional-quality video presentations featuring personal photos and home movie footage were also shown. All the speakers are personal friends of Stan's, so the evening included some good-natured ribbing as well. In addition to the many regular CAPS members who attended like Stan Sakai and Gary Owens, other guests included many of Lee's friends and families.

The evening culminated, of course, with the presentation of the Sergio Award. Stan expressed heartfelt appreciation for the award, and in a touching moment made a special point of graciously acknowledging by name the outstanding cartoonists he had the fortune to collaborate with over the years, including Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, and Gene Colan.

Stan ended his remarks, of course, with a hearty "Excelsior!"

(This was not the first time I had the opportunity to meet Stan at a CAPS event. Back in 2003, Stan was the featured guest speaker at a CAPS meeting. Due to a last-minute snafu, the group had to move the meeting to a restaurant across the street that kindly opened its doors for us at our request. After we re-located, I sat down, felt a tap on my shoulder, and heard someone ask, "Is this seat taken?" It turned out to be Lee! I said "Sure!", which sure made it easy for me to ask him to autograph my copy of Drawing Comics the Marvel Way, which I had brought along for the occasion. A photo from the evening of me with Stan is posted below (courtesy of David Folkman).

From 2003 CAPS meeting (photo courtesy of David Folkman)

Wired for the Future

Missing Post

WGA Strike

I wasn't planning on weighing in on the WGA strike partly because I try to avoid "political" issues here. Besides, I thought it was a no-brainer. But when I was reading a writer's blog about this, I was surprised at the number of uninformed comments some posters made, like

At work if I create a concept, idea, or program that makes the company millions I don't get any residuals, I am simply paid a salary so why should writer's get residuals?

To be honest the shows coming out of Hollywood this past 10 years have been crap with a few exceptions. Reality TV has ruined television, so why would I support people who have produced a lousy product to start with?

First of all, compensation has nothing to do with quality. Ask anyone who works in an office environment. Quality aside, that work is being produced by contract at the behest of production companies.

In any case, I'm amazed anyone would actually defend the media conglomerates and begrudge the actual talent responsible for creating the content for expecting a share of the enormous profits these corporations make from their work. (I suspect it's related to the general ambivalence people have for Hollywood—despite the fact that it's our society's own obsession with celebrity culture and the need to be entertained that makes Hollywood such a high-profile industry.) Such comments speak volumes about what's wrong with our country right now, when someone actually admits he's more than happy to be screwed over by his employer. If so, and you are willing to take it, you certainly have no right to be bitter.

Writers got the short end of the deal with DVD sales, primarily because there just wasn't a good understanding about the nature of digital media. With myriad new media delivery technologies coming online, like the Internet, writers (and, soon, actors) rightfully expect a piece of this new income resource.

The only reason American workers have even the kind of basic protections they enjoy today is because of what the unions fought for and achieved. If a creative work continues to generate income, the creator of that work should be entitled to a part of that income--period. In many cases, they've given up ownership of the property and, hence, the majority of the profit. But the trade-off is that they should be fairly compensated for the work.

I came across a similar quote by Hollywood mogul Lew Wasserman, who famously opined, "Everytime I flush my toilet, the plumber doesn't get paid." While certainly a nice sound bite, the easy response is, "Well, you don't get a check every time you flush it either."

More informed insider-info about the strike may be found at the website of writers Mark Evanier and Brian K. Vaughn, who both also happen to write for comics.

J.C. Leyendecker Exhibition

Many years ago, the Norman Rockwell Museum in New England put together a traveling exhibition of Rockwell's work. Its California stop was in San Diego, and though I had a good reason for not seeing it (my wife and I had just had a child), I always have regretted missing it.

With this in mind, I made a point to find the time to see an exhibition of one of Rockwell's idols and forerunners, J.C. Leyendecker, at the Fullerton Museum Center in Orange County, Southern California. (It's a tiny but nice little museum with lots of character.)

Leyendecker was one of the premier commercial illustrators and artists of his generation—and he was working in what probably is considered the Golden Age of American illustration. Though not as well known today (at least among lay people) he is greatly admired by other illustrators, and much of his work remains iconic and recognizable. He is perhaps best known for his Arrow Collar shirt ads. But he also was known for many other advertising campaigns, as well as for his covers of the Saturday Evening Post (where Rockwell would eventually follow in his footsteps and gain his own legacy). Leyendecker produced more than 300 covers for the Post alone over a 40 year period. (Leyendecker also is credited with inventing the "baby new year" concept, which he produced variations of on covers throughout his career.)

The exhibition includes about 50 pieces, which obviously is just a tiny fraction of his full output. (Pictured above is a piece that was included in the exhibition.) And while the exhibition is fairly representative of the breadth of his work, it nevertheless would be challenging in such a small exhibition to fully capture the magnitude of his artistry and achievements. An original work of art obviously can take look very different than its printed reproduction, and its amazing to see what Leyendecker could convey with the boldest and simplest of brush strokes. (I'm fortunate to own a rare, out-of-print hardcover book of his work.)

Rockwell gained popularity for perfectly capturing and dramatizing the everyday lives and ideals of the average American. While Leyendecker did so to a degree as well, his work was much bolder and idealized—his figures, particularly his males—were angular and heroically proportioned. And his strong and powerful compositions and design sense underscored this aesthetic. (Please keep in mind I'm not saying that made either artist better or worse—this obviously was just a reflection of their styles and personal artistic philosophies.)

Anyway, the show ends November 18. I highly recommend this opportunity to see this rare opportunity to see the original work of one of the field's finest commercial illustrators.

(For more samples of Leyendecker's work go here and here.)

Trying Something New

In follow up to my earlier post to my recent inking difficulties, I decided to mix things up by trying new inking approaches and tools. Given how much of a creature of habit I am, this probably shows how desperate I am to shake things up!

I purchased a bunch of different inking tools at my local art store, which included the Faber-Castell brush pen, pictured here in one of the color versions. It uses a permanent India ink (which is very important).

So far I've been fairly happy with it. Since it feels like a pen, you have to be careful not to instinctively press down on it like a regular marker, but if you're patient and careful, you can get a varied line akin to a brush. At the same time, I want to avoid making any "mushy" line that looks like it was made by a marker. For some reason, I love this look on sketches, but not so much in my original final art!

Anyway, I'm hoping this may work out. If so, it sure will be nice to finally give up brushes, which are a bit high maintenance!

Inking Problems

I'm at a weird place right now artistically. While I don't think it qualifies as "artist's block" (which I have experienced), I've been unhappy and tentative about my inking the past several pages.

I've never considered myself a particularly proficient inker, but even by my standards I haven't been very satisfied with the past few pages I've done. I suspect that the problem may lie in the penciling--which, after all, is the foundation of the drawing--but strangely enough I've been pleased enough with the pencils to move on to the inking stage. But I've found the finished pages disappointing!

I use a combination of a standard Uniball pen and a Windsor & Newton 3 brush for my finishes (brush is a fairly traditional and common inking tool in cartooning), but I've been dissatisfied enough recently that I've been experimenting with other inking tools. Right now I'm trying out a disposable brush pen.

Strangely enough, as challenging as a brush can be for me, making a change isn't so easy. Like many cartoonists, the brush is a familiar tool, and I find other tools off-putting. For example, even though I love the look of my sketches using standard felt-tip pens (usually done at conventions for fans), I tend to freeze up when using it for finished work.

This is a great time to be an artist, as there are numerous inking choices. But one has to be careful about being sure to use a device that uses permanent ink. Some inks fade over time, while others are not waterproof and may easily smear.

Anyway, I thought I'd just post this to show what kind of issues often come up for artists. I usually simply work through such problems, but this is a little bit more serious in that I'm actually considering alternative inking approaches, which would be a big change for me!

Update from the House of WCG

Here's the latest news from WCG Comics and Rob Hanes Adventures....

First off, I've posted a few new preview pages from the next issue of Rob Hanes Adventures (11)! (Page 2 pictured at right.) Exhibiting at the Comic-Con International in San Diego pulled me away from working on the story for a bit, but I'm back on track. I'm very excited about this adventure, and look forward to completing it.

For some reason, ever since the release of issue 10, I have experienced a big spike in sales! Though the year is just a little more than half over, this already is shaping up as one of my strongest sales years in awhile, which is obviously very heartening--not just because of the money but because there's been a big influx of new people placing orders. And not just sample issues, but my entire catalog (I guess the special price I'm offering has been enticing.)

Not sure yet the reasons for this increase. Many occurred before the recent CBG review, so I'm wondering whether I may have missed some other coverage? Or perhaps my efforts to raise awareness through online methods have begun paying off. Regardless, I'm not complaining! My thanks to everyone who has placed an order for this record-setting year.

As I have mentioned, I'm also presently exploring new models for distributing the series to retailers. The response to this also has been good, and I'm grateful to those retailers who have taken the effort to order RH Adventures for their stores. As a reminder, I've begun posting a list of stores that support the series (which is far from complete), but it's my way of thanking these retailers for supporting the title. Be sure to frequent these stores--and to let me know if you know of a retailer who carries the series and should be included on the list!!

Finally, in addition to several messages and letters of comment I have received from fans, two messages--one from R.C. Harvey, author of the new Milton Caniff biography, Meanwhile..., and another passed along to me from Caniff's nephew--were particularly appreciated. In the first, Harvey responded to an e-mail I sent him complimenting his book; in his response, he said it was "especially gratifying coming from you, a dedicated Caniff follower. I've been, as always, enjoying Rob Hanes' adventures, admiring your deft visuals." In the second, a comment left on my review below of Harvey's book mentioned that Guyton liked my tribute illustration to his uncle.