Scary Terry's World

New Adventure!

2012-01-10T12:37:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'll admit it -- I've not paid as much attention to this blog as I should have lately. But I do have a rather snazzy announcement to make. As of January 29, the art on the Sunday episodes of The Phantom newspaper strip will be by me! Paul Ryan will continue to draw the daily strip (as he has for a good many years now) -- but the Sundays are mine.

As a long-time fan of Lee Falk's "Ghost Who Walks," this is a dream assignment for me and I'm thrilled to join writer Tony DePaul and colorist Tom Smith in continuing this classic feature. I'll post links where you can see the strips once they start appearing.

I can't show you any of the Sunday strips yet -- but I can show you this quickly knocked out sample drawing I did, which caught the attention of King Features. I'm drawing the strip a little "grittier" than this -- and while that's a good looking wolf -- I must admit it doesn't quite look like Devil -- but I'll make sure he looks right when he next shows up in the strip.

My original Batman Adventure samples weren't quite on model, either -- but that didn't keep me from getting it right once I was on the books -- and I stuck with that for eleven years. I wonder how long I will draw The Phantom...?

In other news, I'm illustrating the next book in Max Allan Collins' "Jack and Maggie Starr" series for Hard Case Crime. Glenn Orbik has painted the cover -- but I'll be doing the same comic-style panel chapter headings as the previous series entries. More on that when we get close to publication.

Max and I are also hammering out the details of the Ms. Tree reprint series and new graphic novel slated to come from the new First Comics. This has been a long time coming and we want to make sure we do it right.

In personal news, we are a few weeks away from adding a new member to our family -- and you can be sure I'll announce the details here when baby arrives.

For now -- see you in the funny papers!

New commissions -- Capt. America, Dr. Strange, Ms. Tree and Black Lightning

2011-12-15T16:21:00.000-06:00

Here are several commissions I just finished today. These will be winging their way to their new owners ASAP. It seemed bittersweet to be drawing Captain America today after just learning of Joe Simon's passing. Oddly enough I'm wearing a Capt. America shirt today -- just pulled randomly from the drawer. Jack and Joe are now both gone, but Cap lives on....

RETURN TO PERDITION gets good ink!

2011-11-23T11:49:00.001-06:00

Return to Perdition has been getting great press and reviews since it's release Nov. 15. Here is Lee Bermejo's cover illustration (above) and a promo illo by me (below). Scroll down for links. If you know of any more on-line reviews of the book, please contact me with links. Thanks!

USA Today interviews Max Allan Collins about RTP.

Rave review from AICN (though the reviewer seems to think I'm a "her!")

The LA Times lists RTP in their holiday gift guide!

Publisher's Weekly review of RTP.

Review at the "Somebody Dies" blog.

They like us at the "Bloody Disgusting" site.

IGN is excited about RTP!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T19:49:00.001-05:00

Here's wishing you all a Happy Halloween! I celebrated the season by assembling and painting this gorgeous "Kimba the Witch" model kit from Tweeterhead Productions. I stuck with an orange and black color scheme to evoke the look and feel of vintage Halloween holiday decorations.

Green styrene Lantern

2011-10-30T19:42:00.000-05:00

Now that the Green Lantern model kit that I designed for Moebius Models is on store shelves, I thought I'd share some images here. The first pic is my concept sketch with notes. I wasn't convinced this pose would be possible, but sculptor Joe Laudati made it work!

Here is an early draft of the illustration for the box top.

And the final version of the box, as designed by Bob Plant - some art revisions by me.

Finally, here are a few shots of my build-up of the actual model kit. It was a thrill to be involved in the production of this piece. Reaction from collectors and builders has been very positive.

Come see me -- at KC Fan Con -- Nov. 6th!

2011-10-29T10:42:00.000-05:00

I'll be making a personal appearance at KC Fan Con #32, Sunday, November 6th at the Clarion Hotel (I-435 and Metcalf) in Overland Park, KS. The show runs from 10AM to 4PM and admission is free. I'll have advance copies of Road to Perdition and the Green Lantern model kit at my table, along with the usual batch of comics, original art, sketch cards, etc. More info on the show and the other guests HERE. If you're in the KC area, please stop by!

Sketch cards are go!

2011-10-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

I recently drew a big batch of "sketch cards" in order to have something new and fun at my FallCon table -- thinking (rightly) that I wouldn't be lucky enough to have my copies of the Return to Perdition graphic novel or Green Lantern model kit show up in time to take along (they arrived at my Missouri home the day after I left for the Minnesota convention -- of course!)

A few of these sold (Dracula, Wolfman, Creature and "Brave & Bold" Batman) -- but the rest are still up for grabs. If anyone is interested, please email me for details -- you can find the contact link at the bottom of my webpage. UPDATE: also sold Ms. Tree, Dick Tracy, Doc Savage -- and Comic book Capt. America, Phantom, Superman, Thing, Johnny Dynamite)

I simply drew a bunch of characters I like and enjoyed drawing -- so there are movie monsters mixed in with comic book heroes and Saturday afternoon serial characters -- and a few of my own characters (Ms. Tree, Wild Dog, Johnny Dynamite) as well.

Note: The Urban Legends/Shock Stories artist proof cards in the top row below are repeated in another image further down the page -- but there is only one of each card -- they just got scanned twice...

The following cards are authorized "artist's proof" original art cards from series for which I drew sketch cards that were included in card packs. First off -- the Project SuperPowers cards featuring The Claw, the character once known as Daredevil, the original Blue Beetle, Green Lama, Skyman, and Black Terror.

The creepy creatures below are my artist proofs from the Monsterwax Urban Legends and Shock Stories sets. My sketch cards were black and white, while these were done in full color.

The Bad Companions CD cover in progress

2011-10-11T18:13:00.001-05:00

I was recently hired by Twin Cities-based musician, Al Subola, to create a CD cover for his band The Bad Companions (formerly Al's Rockabilly Trio or Quartet -- depending). I was given several possible scenarios and went with this clueless couple driving their hot rod off a cliff. Below is the first draft black and white line art for the piece. The car is based on a photo I took at a Twin Cities car show -- cartooned up a bit for the illustration. The rockabilly couple is straight out of my head. This was drawn using the inking tools in Manga Studio -- all digital.

Here it is with color and copy. I had initially thought I'd do retro "big dot" comic book color -- but tried it and felt it didn't look as good as this version. I did keep the "tanned newsprint" background from that version -- lending it a bit of a vintage/aged look -- there's no pure white here at all. I was quite pleased with this -- but Al pointed out (rightly) that it could be seen as the car flying, rather than hurtling off the cliff. He also felt the warm colors were bit too cheery. So, some changes were made.

A darker background color, the car pointed down and a revised background made for this approved version. The copy may still change, as the band may be supplying a new logo -- so if there are additional changes, I'll post those here when done -- along with ordering info for the CD -- as it'll be well worth getting -- even if it didn't have my art on the cover!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this project and would love to do more like it.

Commission Trio.

2011-10-11T17:18:00.000-05:00

Several more commissions drawn recently. The Atom, Wild Dog (hey, people still remember!) and Wonder Woman. Gotta love those primary colors!

2011-09-29T16:50:00.002-05:00

My latest commission -- a "fantasy" cover for the first Ms. Tree story! I've really been enjoying the subject matter clients have requested lately -- that's especially true for this piece. Click on the pic for a larger view.

I'm gearing up to attend FallCon in a couple weeks, back in my old stomping grounds of the Twin Cities. If anyone would like to order a commissioned piece to be hand delivered at that show, now would be a good time. I'll give a $10.00 discount for those orders.

Bela's got a brand new head

2011-09-18T12:45:00.011-05:00

Here's a personal project I'd been wanting to do for some time. below you see a promo pic of a remarkably well sculpted Bela Lugosi head on a "nodder" or "bobblehead" produced by Neca. That's a Ray Santoleri sculpt -- and it's just fantastic. But it's always bothered me that this wonderful realistic portrait of Bela was attached to this cartoony nodder figure. I had it in my head that Ray's Bela would look great as a bust -- and that the nodder could use a more appropriately cartoony head.

This is in no way a criticism of Ray's work -- it's amazing -- but I couldn't resist the notion of turning this cool piece into two cool pieces!

The only problem was, that the nodder was out of production and hard to find at an affordable price. I mentioned that I was looking for one on the Universal Monster Army website -- and much to my surprise, my UMA pal, Packy, gave me his as a gift! The nodder has been sitting on a shelf "as is" for some time -- and this weekend I decided it was finally time to get started -- so, off came his head!

Now I should have taken a "before" picture -- as the head on my nodder was not quite as well painted as in the prototype pic here (snagged off the web somewhere).

And here's Ray's Bela head, removed from the nodder and hit with a coat of primer, so it can eventually be repainted.
This is my cartoony replacement -- sculpted in polymer clay (Super Sculpey) -- sorry that the pic is a little blurry.
And here it is, placed on the nodder. You'll note that it's considerably bigger than the original. I felt that was more in keeping with the tradition of the sort of "big head" caricature style I was going for here. I'm quite pleased with the end results, and hope you'll think it's nifty, too. Making the original head into a bust will have to wait, as I have other work on my plate, and I've taken up too much time for now with this personal project. But one of these days there will be a "Part Two" post for this project!

And before we get on with the pics of the end results, a reminder that I am available for commercial sculpting work and private commissions -- I can be reached via the contact links at my website.

Wild Dog Breaks Loose!

2011-09-16T08:02:00.006-05:00

After the four issue Wild Dog mini-series appeared, Max Collins and I did several serialized Wild Dog stories for Action Comics Weekly. Wild Dog appeared on some of the covers -- but none of those covers were drawn by me. Below is the cover of #615, penciled by Barry Crain and inked by Rick Magyar. Recently a client approached me about recreating the cover, to see what it would have looked like had I inked it -- so, with Barry Crain's OK, I did just that.

I scanned and enlarged the printed cover, dropping out the color to get a black and white version of the logo and DC bullet, etc. But the end result needed a lot of cleanup work. I replaced much of the type in Photoshop, and dropped in a cleaner version of the Wild Dog logo from a scan of one of my covers from the original mini-series. When I had all the copy cleaned up, I printed that onto a blank sheet of bristol board.

The next step was to use a lightbox to roughly trace the artwork in pencil. I then tightened up the pencils, using the printed cover as a guide. I did make some minor changes -- but mostly stayed faithful to what had gone before. I then inked the piece -- mostly with brush -- but also some pen work on the guns, crosshatching, etc. Rick's original inks were great -- and I don't think mine are better or worse -- just a little different. Barry certainly went to town with all those different breeds of dogs -- and the extra guns for our masked vigilante! All in all, this was a fun project, and a treat to revisit the character. Despite having had a fairly short run at DC, quite some time ago, Wild Dog's fans just won't let him die.

For further evidence of this -- here's a pic of me with an attendee at the recent Free State Comicon in Lawrence, Kansas.

1001 Riddles by George Carlson

2011-08-24T18:41:00.010-05:00

I wrote about 1001 Riddles for Children in one of my studio tour entries, noting that it was one of my favorite books from childhood -- and in searching through my storage boxes, I discovered I had an extra copy -- so I'll be letting one of them go -- but not before sharing some of the illustrations with you.

I'd guess that most comics fans first heard of George Carlson from Harlan Ellison's essay about him and his Jingle Jangle Comics in All in Color for a Dime -- but I knew of Carlson from the beat-up crayon-marked copy of this book that was part of my childhood library. That particular copy is long gone -- but it seems I replaced it in my collection twice! This copy does have a dust jacket -- but the art on that is not by Carlson -- so never mind about that.

It seems Carlson's best known work is the spot illustration for the original dust jacket of Gone With the Wind (yes, that Gone With the Wind) -- but for me, he'll always be the guy who drew the dozens of illos for this fun children's book. What's shown here is just a sampling -- there are multiple illos on nearly every page!

As for the riddles -- well, they're not as memorable as the drawings, but I do like this one: What does an artist like to draw most? Answer: His salary!

So on that note, here are a whole bunch of illustrations by the wacky and wonderful George Carlson. I do so love that laughing parrot! Enjoy!

"Everlasting Health and Strength" by Charles Atlas

2011-08-24T16:44:00.006-05:00

Despite divesting myself of pretty much a room full of stuff before making the move from the Twin Cities to our new digs in the Kansas City area, the general consensus here is that I still have too much stuff! My studio shelves are as packed full as they can be -- and the back room in the basement has shelf after shelf of my unbuilt (or half-built!) model kits -- and too many boxes of stuff that is just stored away.

So -- I'm going through all this material and pulling things to sell (most will likely go on eBay), and as I do, I'm finding some things that I think would be fun to share on my blog. One of those items is this 1954 Charles Atlas booklet. If you are of a certain age and grew up reading comic books, you no doubt recall the comic strip "Insult that made a man out of Mac" ad for Atlas' body building course that seemed to run in just about every comic book published. It's seen here as the back cover of this little booklet -- but with an alternate title.

No matter how many times I saw that ad, I never sent away for more info -- but if you did contact Atlas back in '54, I guess this is what you'd have received in return. I suppose plenty of kids reading the adventures of their favorite super-heroes dreamed about being built like those heroes. I just wanted to learn how to draw them.

Anyhow -- enjoy reading this remarkable little booklet (click on the pics for larger versions) -- and if, when you're done, you want to try out Atlas' methods for yourself, the company is still in business! You can order the classic Charles Atlas "Dynamic Tension" bodybuilding course at www.charlesatlas.com. Hey -- it only takes 15 minutes a day!

Assorted original artwork

2011-08-24T11:13:00.004-05:00

I'm sorting through my art files, looking for pieces to include in a "sketchbook" I'm putting together -- and also to sell on eBay. Here's a batch I've just put up for grabs (seller ID: beattylee) -- and I thought I'd share them here on my blog as well.

The first three pieces were done at a Twin Cities Dr. Sketchy's session. The first two drawn rather quickly, as these were short poses -- but I think they turned out nicely -- and the whole roller derby fight thing is amusing. The third in this set is a more finished piece in pencil and ink -- and is one of two drawings from this session done in that method (the other not shown here). The loose ink line here was the inspiration for the "sketchy" drawing style I later used in drawing the Return to Perdition graphic novel (now set for publication in November of this year).

As always, you can click on the pics for a larger view.

Also from Dr. Sketchy's is this series of quick poses of a belly dancer model. I enjoy capturing the gesture/pose quickly in these sessions -- and often am quite pleased with how the multiple images work together on one piece of paper.
Here's a page of preliminary pencil sketches for the Monsterwax Shock Stories trading cards. I drew these prelims at print size and enlarged them for inking. Of these nine cards, three saw considerable changes before print. The others are very close to the final images.

This is the pencil prelim for the miniature sideshow banner print that was included with my boxed sets of resin "Freaks and Oddities" figures. Again, this was done print size, and then enlarged for the final painted version. I'd wanted to do a second (and maybe third) set of these, but have not had enough of a response to justify the hefty investment of time, work and money -- darn it. I do still have a few boxed sets and some individual figures, should anyone want them.

Vampirella was supposed to be a commission -- but the buyer had to back out before finalizing the purchase. I usually take the money up front before beginning the work -- but for some reason, I'd pencilled this before getting payment. I recently inked and colored the piece, as I just couldn't leave it unfinished.

In the early 1980's, I drew several dozen covers for Alan Light's weekly fanzine, The Buyers Guide for Comic Fandom. Most of those originals were sold long ago -- but I'd held on to these three as they were particular favorites. But the time has come to let them go -- and in fact, the Halloween cover is already sold.

The 3D cover was done the old-fashioned way -- just as 3D comics were done in the 1950's. There are four layers of inked art on acetate, with the back of the images whited out with paint. The deepest level, the background, is on standard bristol board. Each of these layers were shifted a bit to the right -- or left -- to create the red and green plates needed for print. The print version turned out quite well -- though it wouldn't have, had I not supervised the printing myself -- as the printers had not trusted my notes, and were set to use a deep blue ink, instead of the blue/green that works much better for 3D.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this little look through my art files. I'll be posting more eventually, so please do come back soon!

Open for commissions!

2011-08-21T10:38:00.004-05:00

Hey folks! I've just had some scheduled work get delayed (and with it, the expected advance) -- so I find myself looking for something to immediately take its place. For one, I'm open for commissions. See examples below -- but also check this previous post -- and the commission samples on my website. Contact me via the email link at the bottom of the website commission page for my rates. Thanks!

Current commissions are all india ink and colored ink on 11x14 bristol. I'm also open to more elaborate pieces (at higher rates, of course), paintings and sculpture. And, of course, I wouldn't object to hearing from anyone with some commercial/print work available....

My most recently completed commissions -- a retro-style Hula Girl pin-up and Wild Dog back to back with his civilian self, Jack Wheeler.

Scary Monsters #80! The Monster Mag that wouldn't DIE!

2011-08-18T19:57:00.002-05:00

Scary Monsters magazine celebrates 20 years of publication with its 80th issue. I've been with the magazine a little shy of that 20 -- but it's still quite a long run! Here's the latest cover. Thanks to Richard Sala for helping with the reference!

The end of the tour!

2011-08-06T21:28:00.009-05:00

Yes, it's the last entry in my studio tour series, and as the sun sets in the west, we bid farewell... Oh, wait! We have to look at the stuff first!

Here's an overview of the corner of the studio we'll be looking at today -- detail pics and descriptions follow.

That's a framed Dick Tracy daily from the Model story -- signed to me by Chet Gould. A souvenir of my visit to his Woodstock, IL home. Caniff fans -- don't get too excited over the Dragon Lady -- that's just a print out of an image I found on the web -- the other Caniff art you'll see later are prints, too. My pin-up collection is represented here by a set of George Petty waterslide decal tumblers, reissue Marx Campus Cuties and an original set of Marx Beauties. Assorted pin-up matchbook covers and figures fill out the shelf. Yes, that's an Ideal Wonder Woman in the middle of it all.

A shelf full of comic strip character toys and assorted "smalls." Skippy is a bisque toothbrush holder. The Pogo figures and cups are premiums from the '60s -- joined by the Yoe Studios/Dark Horse Albert and Pogo. The Barney Google game is a recent find from SpringCon in St. Paul -- wonderful Billy DeBeck art all over the box and board. The photo of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head in their cars was taken on my front porch in the early '60s -- something I begged my dad to photograph -- hey, I was a weird kid....

Here's a better look at all the small items. You can click on this (or any of the pics in my blog) to get a larger, better view. Too many items to list -- though I will note the "see no evil" monkeys were an item rescued from the ashes of my father's boyhood farm home which burned down -- hence the scorch mark!

More vintage comic character items. The Terry board game art is not by Caniff, but rather Henry Vallely, artist of the Huck Finn art shown in an earlier entry of this tour.

A better view of the items lying flat on the shelf. The Tarzan book has a sticker on it from a shoestore in my hometown of Muscatine, IA. The coin-like item is a Johnny Weismuller Tarzan premium -- and quite a good likeness of him. The little "Dad" plaque was a gift from my daughter when she was a youngster -- the #1 item here as far as I'm concerned.

Vintage comic strip books, puzzles and more -- plus a stack of movie star arcade cards. John Garfield, upon whom Pete Morisi based Johnny Dynamite tops the stack for that very reason.

What won't fit on a shelf, hides away in a drawer -- and this drawer is full of pin-up cards, matchbook covers, notepads, etc.

A drawer full of Edgar Rice Burroughs paperbacks. I'd like to find the time to read (or re-read) these someday -- perhaps they'll be bedtime reading for my son when he's a little older...?

I've already shown you this Shelly Moldoff Batman art -- but you haven't seen the True magazine George Petty print that hangs next to it.

A Silent Invasion cover by my friend and fellow Renegade Press cartoonist Mike Cherkas can be seen next to some Caniff prints and a signed print from old pal Mitch O'Connell.

Lone Ranger arcade cards.

Original art for a British western pulp. I'd love to find the print version of this! Has anyone out there ever read any "Zed Montana" books...? I hear "Trailbusters" is a corker....

Just a hint at how much stuff I've packed into the storage closet. You don't want to know how many long boxes filled with back issues of my own books are stuffed into this little space!

And, since I haven't shown the work spaces yet -- here they are. Yes, Mr. Taxman, this really is my work room!
I've had this drawing board since I was a teenager. Several thousand comic book pages have been drawn on it in the decades since I first brought it home.

This '30s vintage pin-up tie rack hangs on the door that leads to the back room that contains... well... something I just might share with you in another post sometime....

And that's it, folks! That's my reference library, my toy collection and various sources of inspiration -- and the scanner and drawing board where a lot of my work gets done. You might get a kick out of seeing what I started with -- here's the room just after we moved in -- bookshelves in place -- but otherwise empty....

And here's all the stuff waiting to go on those shelves, filling our family room to the brim. Unpacking all this was a chore -- but a fun one. Flattening and running all the boxes to the recycling center (multiple trips) was a pain, though!

I hope you enjoyed the tour. I didn't post this to show off my collections -- but rather to share them. I've enjoyed the hunt for all these items -- and there is a story behind almost every one. I love giving the tour in person to friends who are interested -- but only a limited number of folks are ever going to actually get to do that. Here on the web, I can share it with everybody -- and that's a fun thing. I'll never understand those who build collections only to hide them away -- what's the point of hunting for, tracking down and, in some cases, rescuing, all this cool stuff, if you can't share it?

So, I didn't show you everything -- as some stuff is packed away, etc. -- so there may be future posts in which I dig out more cool stuff to share -- so if you did enjoy this, please come back -- and, as always, please leave a comment or two, as that helps make this worthwhile for me. Thanks!

Studio Tour Part Eight: Big Little Books and the Creature from the Black Lagoon

2011-08-04T07:55:00.006-05:00

From left to right, here is a garage kit of Flash Gordon's Aura, sculpted by my friend Chuck Needham -- an amazingly lifelike piece. Her shoulder decorations came loose in the move -- just some of the dozens of model kit pieces that need repair after the long ride in the moving van. In front of her is a vintage plastic Halloween witch, and at her feet, a vintage pin-up ashtray. In the window are carnival chalkware representations of the Lone Ranger, Charlie McCarthy and Superman -- the latter in a yellow suit! A Devil bobble head. my sculpt of a Haddon Sundblom Santa Claus and a framed pic of the Cleaver clan fill up the rest of the window space.

In the front row are Barney Google and Snuffy Smith salt and pepper shakers, my sculpt of Bettie Page, a reproduction of the Dracula figure Bela Lugosi used to give out as a gift, the "TerryToys" faux-Marx Dracula and a resin Sam Scare (Scary Monsters magazine mascot) head. In front of them, a little figure of a girl that belonged to my mom -- and a pair of repro Jackie Gleason Marx figures. At far right is a resin copy of the award plaque from the Aurora/Famous Monsters model kit contest of the '60s. I painted this in imitation of James Bama's Frankenstein portrait. Oh -- there's an empty Kayo bottle and an original Mars Attacks card there, too.

I found this bookcase, intended for CDs and DVDs, was just right for BLBs -- that's big little books, for the uninitiated. I've been collecting BLBs since I was a kid, accompanying my folks on antiquing trips. They'd buy furniture and glassware -- and I'd, as often as not, get some comic character item -- or a BLB. Sharing space with the books here are some Forbidden Planet figures, a '60s vintage plastic witch, a cool '50's rocket milk shake shaker, a rare Rockwell Kent book and a photo of the Clyde Beatty Circus Sideshow.

There are several Clyde Beatty BLBs here, too -- as well as BLBs of the fictional Tom Beatty, Ace of the Service. Thomas Beatty was my grandfather's name -- but he was a dairy farmer, not a BLB character! Whether I am related to Clyde or not is something I still have to research -- but looking at pictures of my father as a young man and comparing them to pics of Clyde, they look more alike than my father and his brother did!

A reminder that you can click (and then click again) on this, or any picture in these posts, to see a much larger version, should you want to see the details....

My Japanese editions of Lone Wolf and Cub fill the taller shelves. I bought these at a San Diego Con, years ago. As I was walking down the street to take my haul back to my hotel room, I passed Frank Miller -- I held one of the books up and said, "Hey, Frank -- look what I got!" Seeing what I had just purchased, he said to me, "You're doomed!"

More BLBs. The Lone Ranger Cheerios box is a repro -- but the Roy Rogers Grape Nuts box is the real deal. The Aurora Witch is the recent glow reissue.

A boxed Marx Super Circus set is barely squeezed into the space between the top of this bookcase and the ceiling -- it needs a larger shelf somewhere for better display. Below it we have my carnival sideshow sculpts, Nancy and Sluggo dolls in their original packaging, rare Gasoline Alley soap figures, amazingly holding most of their original paint, bisque Pinocchio figures and some Li'l Abner items that were crowded out of the Abner shelf in another bookcase. A recent Robby the Robot bobble head remains in his box. The little plastic robots were a gift from my dad -- the snowmen from a friend in Minneapolis.

The Universal Monster most represented in my collection is the Creature from the Black Lagoon -- or Gillman as he's sometimes called. This mixture of vintage and recent items fills this shelf, and anything new that I might add will have to find somewhere else to lurk -- I've run out of space here! I love the design of the Gillman -- still effective, despite being more than 50 years old.

Lots and lots of Tintin overload the next couple shelves -- along with the Famous Artists School's Painting and Commercial Art courses.

Mitch O'Connell's pencil prelim for the cover of Johnny Dynamite #1 -- a gift from Mitch. I'd like to own the painting -- but I can't afford it!

A William Campbell Silly Surfer painting and a signed pic of Mickey Spillane.

Signed pics of Denise Nickerson (Dark Shadows and Willy Wonka) and Van Williams (Green Hornet) hang next to my Will Eisner nomination certificate from '92. Max Collins and I were nominated as best writer/artist team. Peter David and Todd McFarlane won the award. But the certificate still looks cool, doesn't it?

And last, but certainly not least, autographs from Ray Harryhausen, Anne Francis and Forry Ackerman -- the later on an Aurora/FM model contest certificate. The first two were gotten in person at Wonderfest in Louisville -- the latter at Forry's "Ackermansion" on a California trip many moons ago.

That's it for Part Eight -- look for Part Nine soon -- it should wrap up the tour! Yes, the end is in sight! Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Studio Tour Part Seven: Caniff, Popeye, Frankenstein and more

2011-08-03T17:07:00.006-05:00

Not content with filling my bookcases, I pile stuff on top of them, too! The barely seen GI Joe from a previous post shows his face as he sits next to a Tintin Moon rocket -- a San Diego Con purchase from sometime in the '80s. A jungle girl Betty Boop nodder takes the corner position and next to her is a line-up of hula girls, vintage and new -- including another Betty Boop.

Betty Page covers herself us next to a third Betty Boop -- a cowgirl this time. Funny -- I didn't realize I had so darn many Bettys here! The Phantom is a resin "garage kit" based on the concept drawings for a never-produced Aurora kit. He and his wolf, Devil are appropriately placed next to a resin copy of the Revell Flash Gordon model kit from the '60s. Behind them all are the recent Polar Lights reissues of the Aurora Odd Job and James Bond kits and an authentic vintage 007 action figure in its box (the box is great -- the figure not such a thrill). A boxed Francis the Foul Weird-oh kit sits waiting to be built some day.

From left to right, we have a trio of Dan Clowes Enid toys from Ghost World and two variations of a Japanese Phantom of the Paradise figure flanking the Moebius reissue of Aurora's Captain Action model (for which I sculpted a new alternate face part that was included in the kit). The original issue Aurora Tonto kit box came with a build up of the kit that I'm planning to restore. In front of the boxes are a pair of Aurora pirate kits, the remarkably well designed Blackbeard -- and Captain Kidd (both announced to be reissued at some point by Atlantis Models). Next to them we have the Toy Biz Hulk and Thing kits, facing off on a scratch-built base.

Yeah -- I like a good Western. All sorts of cowboys are represented here, from a Lone Ranger big little book inscribed by Clayton Moore, to a Bonanza model kit from the '60s (great likenesses!) to Toy Story's Woody and Jessie.

No, Popeye, I don't think you're a cowboy -- your shelf just happens to be in the same bookcase as the Western shelf. I've been a Popeye fanatic as long as I can recall -- growing up watching the Fleischer Studios cartoons on Captain Ernie's Cartoon Showboat every afternoon on WOC TV (Davenport IA) -- and discovering the E.C. Segar comic strip with the publication of the Nostalgia Press volume. New and old items share shelf space. My two favorite pieces here are the vintage sitting carnival chalk Popeye and the recent Jeep figure -- both great representations of the characters.

Another GI Joe keeps watch over books by Peter Arno, Will Eisner and more. A wide format Popeye big little book snuck onto this shelf as I ran out of room above. The bottom shelf is all art instruction books -- many of them leaned on hard when I was teaching in the comics program at MCAD.
Can you tell I'm a Milt Caniff fan? Here are two shelves worth of Steve Canyon and Terry and the Pirates books and collectibles -- with Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs and Capt. Easy sneaking in -- Noel Sickles' Scorchy Smith is there, too. Maybe the oddest item here is a pair of mint condition, never worn childrens' size Steve Canyon pajamas!

Hal Foster's Tarzan, a wonderful book on Rockwell Kent, Lynd Ward's Storyteller Without Words, and a boxed collection of miniature reproductions of early Tintin books are some of my favorites from this next shelf. The bottom portion of this bookcase holds most of the EC Library volumes -- and a bound volume of an early illustration/cartooning correspondence course.
The many faces of Frankenstein! I'm crazy for the Universal Studios monster movies -- and figural model kits -- so here we are! The "Big Frankie" is a Japanese vinyl reissue from some years back -- he stands in front of a more recent boxed glow styrene reissue from Moebius. The Lil' Frankie in front is a customized Munny figure I whipped up for a gallery show in Minneapolis. Various other Karloff-style monsters, new and old, fill the shelf.

Here's another shelf stuffed full of Max Allan Collins novels. He just keeps writing more!

My father loved ventriloquist act, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, having grown up on the radio show. I would pick up whatever items I could find in my antique shop and thrift store excursions, and they became birthday and Christmas gifts for Dad. When he passed away, the collection came back to me. I've added to it since.

Several vintage model kit boxes (some empty --some housing unbuilt kits) sit behind this great Lon Chaney Man of 1000 Faces resin kit. Lon's make-up box was damaged in our move -- it'll have to be repaired. A wax bust of Eddie Cantor (my sculpt) looks on. Too bad we can't see the Superman box better....

More books, a favorite issue of Mad, and a cool Metamorpho action figure finish up this part of the tour. We'll be back with more -- yes, there's more -- soon!

Studio Tour Part Six:Tracy, Abner, Cantor, Kirby and more

2011-08-02T13:18:00.006-05:00

The studio tour continues with several more bookcases full of stuff. The top of this bookcase holds a vintage Li'l Abner candy box, a recent 4-pack reissue of the Aurora monster models and an original Weird-oh's Digger box. I love Bill Campbell's wild artwork for these Weird-oh kits. Digger is built and painted -- but some parts came loose in the move, so it's not on display at the moment.

My Dick Tracy shelf contains a mix of vintage and modern items. A built Tracy Aurora kit is missing in action, as it, like Digger, fell apart during the move. Decades old model kit glue is either like no glue at all -- or so strong you can never get the kit parts separated!

The most meaningful piece on this shelf is a note from Tracy creator, Chet Gould. I'd sent him a drawing of him as Tracy -- he sent back the best advice I ever got: "Never give up."

The Secret Files paperback contains a short story co-written by me.

Li'l Abner is one of my favorite comic strips -- and I've collected a lot of Abner stuff. Not shown here are another set of figurines, greeting cards ghosted by Frazetta, a batch of albums, a movie poster -- and who knows what else.

One of these days I'll score the matching Abner chalk figure to go with the Daisy Mae shown here.

This is a rather deep bookcase, so it's ideal for the wide format strip reprint books you see here. Yes, I love vintage newspaper strips. And Sgt. Bilko, it seems.

I'm a huge fan of the nearly forgotten comic actor and singer, Eddie Cantor. Not too many folks are collecting Cantor, so that means I've gotten some good buys on these items -- but I do wish he were still better appreciated by modern audiences. The photo is a repro -- not a real autograph -- but I do have his signature in a copy of one of his books.

The rarest item here has to be the store display for the boxed jigsaw puzzle. It's tough enough to find vintage jigsaw puzzles in complete and nice condition -- but how many of these store counter standees could possibly still exist? Big little books, arcade cards and a board game round out the collection. Not shown: CDs, LPs and a big stack of sheet music. Wishing for a nice DVD collection of his movies -- not likely to happen -- but I can dream, can't I?

Jack Kirby content dominates this bookcase. Modok, Etrigan and Galactus action figures represent Kirby's creations. Why Galactus is giving the "high sign," I don't know.

The autographed photo of TMBG's John and John is a little out of place here -- but for now, that's where it sits.

Gotta finish the Marvel collection up with the last couple Thor volumes....

More good stuff here -- Jack Cole's Plastic Man and Will Eisner's The Spirit, bound volumes of Metamorpho (Ramona Fradon) and Red Sonja (Frank Thorne) and more. I had more Spirit volumes -- but they, and many other books, were ruined when a former landlord, in the act of watering the lawn, sprayed water into a window above the built-in bookcase in which they were stored. I was not aware that the water dripped down into the back of the case -- and the books were later discovered to be water damaged and riddled with mold. Hundreds of dollars worth of books were ruined. I presented him with a bill which he dismissed and never paid. I should have gone to small claims court over it I suppose -- but I knew he was going broke -- I'd have never collected from him.

The desk that holds my scanner/printer has this nifty little batch of shelves on the side. The Dark Horse editions of Lone Wolf and Cub take up two of the three. Hulk is a Happy Meal toy left behind by one of my grandkids! That chunk of wood is part of a wheel from a Planet of the Apes wagon -- a gift from a UMA friend. Garage is a pop-up book from the UK that I've had since childhood.
A vintage GI Joe sits atop this bookcase -- mostly out of frame. A pressbook for the Karloff/Lugosi film The Invisible Ray is another UMA gift. My painting for the Johnny Dynamite trade paperback is the only piece of my own art on the wall. Joe Rubinstein's oil portrait of Ms. Tree from the back cover of issue #50 seems to be being ogled by a clown-faced Elvis Costello. A lovely little K.O. Munson pin-up fills a little wall space.

The Aurora Tarzan box top is a repro. Russ Cochran's Edgar Rice Burroughs Library of Illustration boxed book set is a favorite item. I've spent a lot of time admiring the art reproduced in its pages. Flanking it are bookends of Will Rogers and Wiley Post that belonged to my father. The paper Howdy Doody puppet is a Snickers premium from the '50s. A little bust of Eddie Cantor sculpted by me and a gorgeous red and black bakelite box round out this batch of stuff.
A Gil Elvgren pin-up is featured on this cool figural 26 Girl game board. My Jayne Mansfield hot water bottle (or bubble bath container -- whatever it is) is missing its cap. Anybody have a spare one? The great box art on this Japanese Batmobile model kit is far superior to the kit itself! More books, of course, and a couple vintage baseball patches with my name on 'em finish up this segment of the studio tour. More to come!

Commission process pics: Harry, Victor, Namor and Rita

2011-08-02T09:23:00.008-05:00

While waiting on script and the official green light on several projects, I'm taking on commissions to fill my schedule (hint, hint, contact button at the bottom of the page on my website). Rather than just show you the finished pieces, as I usually do, I thought it might be fun to show a bit of the process.

I start by doing a sketch using Manga Studio -- drawing with a tablet and stylus. No more paper wasted on prelims. As you can see in the Dr. Doom and Sub-Mariner roughs, Subby started out in his traditional swimsuit -- but at the client's request, ended up in his more villainous black outfit.

Harry Potter is based on elements from several different promotional photos from the film. I zipped through the movies on our Blu-ray player, looking for just the right shot to base this piece on -- and couldn't find anything that worked for me! So -- off to the web to find other reference. I'm pleased with the end result. I hope the client will be too (especially since he's been waiting on this one for a while).
This drawing of Rita Hayworth is based on four different promotional photos from Gilda. This is such an iconic pose, I had to go with it.

The next step is to print out the roughs at 11x14 or 11x17, depending on the format of the commission -- and transfer them in pencil via lightbox onto bristol board for inking.

Here are the finished inks for Harry Potter and the super villain team-up of Doom and Namor.

And the final color versions of both. The color is done with Dr. Martins colored inks.

Rita needed a little tightening up in the pencil stage -- so here's what I did before starting the inks.
The final version of the Rita art. This was commissioned when the client saw a similar piece I did of Ava Gardner for someone else. The process is a little different here -- no color obviously -- and the gray tones are acrylic paint -- so it's a mixed media piece -- and larger than the others. This particular client keeps having me do pieces that I'm tempted to keep for myself!
I have several more in the works -- some of which I'll share with you as they are finished. I do have room on my schedule to take on more (hint, again!). Please leave a comment and let me know if you're enjoying these posts, will you? Thanks!

Studio Tour Part Five: On the wall

2011-07-31T12:28:00.007-05:00

Here we have some of the pieces hanging on the wall in the studio -- starting with Mitch O'Connell's portrait of Ms. Tree, drawn for the 50th issue of the comic. I really should have this in a better frame -- but there it is. It shares a wall with a George Petty cowgirl pin-up -- a framed print (original Petty art is beyond my budget, sorry to say).

I grew up watching all sorts of Westerns on TV -- and that childhood interest has hung on through adulthood. Here are six arcade cards of cowboy stars, popped into a nifty frame found at a large chain craft/hobby store. Richard Boone as Paladin in Have Gun Will Travel, James Garner and Jack Kelly as the brothers Maverick and Dale Robertson as Jim Hardie in Tales of Wells Fargo are my favorites here.

This Gil Elvgren pin-up calendar is not only lovely -- but is from the year I was born -- my January birthdate on display. The Aurora Captain America Comics Scenes model kit is represented by the cut box art front only -- art by John Romita, Sr. Gil Kane art is featured on the Lone Ranger kit -- which is a complete, sealed boxed version. A boxed Shmoo from Al Capp's Li'l Abner sits in front of a stack of Leave it to Beaver books atop a pair of Batman and Superman boxed book/figure sets. A tin lithographed Comic Book Corral (with unauthorized/look-alike Roy Rogers and Trigger image) holds a bunch of vintage comics. My childhood Barrel of Monkeys sits in front. An early Lone Ranger printing set (in plastic sleeve) is reflecting a little too much light to be seen well -- I'll have to post another shot of that sometime. A few other odds and ends just happened to have landed on the shelf, including a few recent comics, a vintage digest Carnival magazine and an Iron Man mask that I couldn't resist at a clearance price at the nearby Target!

Here are the comics and magazines taking up residence in the Comic Book Corral at the moment. These will get filed away at some point and others will take their place, as it's pretty much the place where I keep whatever comics I've been looking at lately. Fanboy is a xeroxed fanzine spoof by underground artists Jay Lynch, Denis Kitchen and more -- it's the rarity here.

This issue of Green Lantern contains the Gil Kane at the drawing board panel that opened my young eyes to the fact that people drew these things -- I credit it with triggering the youthful decision to be one of those people when I grew up. And apparently I own two copies of Spectacular Spider-Man #2! I didn't even realize that until shooting these pics for the blog! The Rustlers is a beautifully drawn Western by Wm. Overgaard -- the Spider-Man Annual #1 is one of my all-time favorites -- and the only major early Marvel title I still own from a huge childhood find (which I'll discuss here sometime) -- and the Teenie Weenies is a stone cold mint Dell file copy.

Back to the wall with an original pencil drawing of the Thing in cowboy mode by Joe Sinnott. I asked Joe to throw a "to Terry" on there somewhere -- and he ended up signing it twice. I'm amazed at how Joe's pencil line is as sharp and clean as his ink line!

I have no idea who this lovely cowgirl is -- but I love the image. The horse looks a whole lot like Trigger....
A '60s vintage Wyatt Earp print by the great Jack Davis. This is from a set of Cowboy and Indians prints offered for sale by mail order back then -- an antique shop find.

Another antique shop purchase is this set of vintage RoyRogers and Dale Evans paint-by-number portraits -- nicely done and in their original frames. I saw them in an antique shop on the way to St. Louis for a kit collectors' show a few years back -- I resisted them at first -- but stopped again on the drive home and picked them up.

This signed photo of Al Capp was an eBay buy. Listed as a printed signature, I had a feeling about it and bid anyway. Turned out to be an actual inked signature! Sometime you've got to trust those feelings. I figure Al would be happy to share wall space with the lovely Pontani Sisters. This trio has done many tours with surf guitar band Los Straitjackets -- and headlined burlesque tours of their own.

That's all for now -- more studio tour posts to come!!!

Studio Tour Part Four: Figures, books and one baseball card

2011-07-29T23:00:00.008-05:00

More books this time -- though the top of this bookcase is loaded with figure kits and other figural items. From left to right, here's what's what.

The small figure of Julius Caesar is a piece I found in an antique shop as a kid, while accompanying my parents on one of their many weekend antiquing jaunts. Had to have it -- and they were good enough to get it for me.

Behind him is a vinyl figure of Ray Harryhausen's Talos from Jason and the Argonauts. The small ape in the foreground was a gift from my UMA (Universal Monster Army) pal, Packy. The seated devil with sleeping apprentice is a resin "garage kit." The alabaster copy of Venus DeMilo was something that was in the house when I was growing up. At some point it became mine.

My Trick or Treat Devil Girl (a resin kit I sculpted and produced) is flanked by garage kits of Gil Elvgren pin-ups. The girl in the barrel is a Steve Kiwus sculpt, while the Aiming to Please cowgirl is by Tim Bruckner, and is a particular favorite.

In front of the cowgirl is a little glass birdcage Christmas ornament that belonged to my mother -- and was a family piece from her childhood. The little metal sexy private eye is a Phoenix Phollies model kit from the UK. Superman is a Chris Ware-designed piece that was part of a boxed set of figure, book and comic book reprint -- I think it's just superb. The puffy B&W fellow in the hat is a doll of Doug Allen's character Steven. In front of him is a resin casting of my sculpture of '50s kids' TV star Mary Hartline (of Super Circus fame). A copy of my Johnny Eck sculpt, primed but not painted yet, sits in front of her -- leaning against him is the original wax sculpture of Miss Hartline's head.

Here we have the first of several shelves in my studio packed with books by my friend and collaborator, Max Allan Collins. My sculpt of pin-up model Bernie Dexter as "Switchblade Siren" seems quite at home here. One of these days I'm going to produce a limited edition run of this figure -- it just hasn't happened yet. The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics reprints a Ms. Tree story by Max and me.

More books placed on the shelf in no particular order -- though I do have all the Hastings House/Nostalgia Press Prince Valiant books all together. The black book resting on top of the others is a photo album of my dad's -- pictures of him growing up on the farm in the '30s -- and in the service in the '40s. At some point, I may scan and share some of those photos. The gorilla is a Mold-a-Rama figure from Como Zoo in St. Paul.

A pair of books illustrated by the great N.C. Wyeth.

One of several books in my collection illustrated by Frank Godwin -- artist of the Connie and Rusty Riley comic strips. We had a Godwin illustrated version of Robinson Crusoe in the house when I was growing up, and I adored the drawings in it. Somehow, I did not end up with that -- but I've since collected many other books with Godwin illos.

Books, books and more books -- and a resin Dracula "Soaky" -- a fantasy item, as one was never commercially produced ( a gift from another UMA pal).

I loved this goofy Animal Lore book when I was kid, and recall many an hour flipping the pages to make the different combinations of animals. I also recall my father and me making our own versions -- folding paper and each of us drawing a part of the animal. That original copy is long gone -- this is a replacement I bought a few years back.

Somehow or another I seem to have started a collection of Joe Bonomo items! I think it started with this little boxed set of mini-books, which, if I recall correctly was a gift from my friend Barry Luebbert Phillips. All the books in the next picture down are stuffed into this little box!

This copy of stuntman Bonomo's self-published autobiography/photo scrapbook came from an auction of the the estate of Herman Cohn. Herman ran the local newsstand where I bought all my comics, magazines and paperbacks as a kid. Bought my first Playboy there, too! This copy is signed to Herman by Bonomo.

Another Joe Bonomo item!

A wonderful book -- Forty Illustrators and How They Work -- a few selections from the interior shown below.

I was thrilled when I opened this collection of editorial cartoons to discover it was a signed copy. I've since learned that pretty much every copy out there is signed as well! OK -- maybe not a rarity -- but I still like it!

A recent find at a Half Price Books store -- this '30s Mickey Mouse book is pretty darn sweet. I don't actively collect Disney items (except for Pinocchio stuff) -- but when something like this falls into my hands for cheap (ten bucks!), I'm not going to walk away from it.

A pair of the Prince Valiant volumes I collected back in the late '70s. I think I got all these at Readmore Book World in Rock Island. Readmore was (is?) a great bookstore, and I used to drive there several times a month to pick up new books, magazines and comics.

The only baseball card I own -- Bob Uecker! Why? Why the hell not?

More cool stuff coming up in Part Five! Come on back and check it out -- soon!

Studio Tour Part Three: Books and magazines

2011-07-29T09:54:00.009-05:00

Below the Batman collection I shared with you in part one of this studio tour, there's a three shelf bookcase, loaded with books and magazines. These are mostly haphazardly organized -- on these particular shelves simply because they fit there. Sometime down the line, I may attempt to get these in some kind of order. In the meantime, I'll just share with you a few favorites from this bunch.

There are many collectible toys and such in my studio -- but the bulk of my collection is books. I can't tell you how many hours I spent combing through used book stores, going to library sales, yard sales and flea markets -- always with an eye out for desirable titles. These days it's book stores, eBay and amazon that account for most of my book buying -- and it's slowed down a great deal -- but I still can't resist a great book.

1001 Riddles by cartoonist George Carlson was a childhood favorite. The copy I grew up with had no dustjacket and was full of crayon marks. As an adult, I picked up this clean copy in dj (jacket art not by Carlson, I was disappointed to discover) -- and still think it's a nifty little book.
Carlson's art does appear on the front boards of the book -- dig this great drawing of a laughing parrot.
Every page of this is chock full of drawings by Carlson. No crayon at all in this copy, thank goodness!
Anatomy and Drawing by Victor Perard is a wonderful art instruction book -- and has seen many printings. I love the embossed decoration on the front boards of this one.

Stan "the man" Lee signed my copy of Origins of Marvel Comics back in '75. My buddy Dave Askam and I skipped a day of high school to attend a lecture by Stan at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. I was thrilled to get the autograph -- but found Stan's pronunciation of Spider-Man as "Spoyda-Man" a little disturbing! Also met Murray Bishoff, then a columnist for Alan Light's The Buyer's Guide for Comics Fandom for the first time at that event.

Ah -- a great used book find -- I paid a whopping 75 cents for this George Burns book about his life with Gracie -- a fantastic read and a real treasure.

Illustrated books make up a large part of my collection. Here is one of many gorgeous interior illustrations by Fritz Eichenberg for Reynard the Fox -- one of several books on this shelf that are part of the collection that came from my father's cousin Ruth -- there were a few too many to fit them all in "Ruth's bookcase" (see Part Two of this tour).

Another used book find. I was not familiar with S. G. Hulme Beaman's work before finding this volume -- but loved it on first sight.

Another case of discovering an illustrator on pulling this book off the shelf at a used book store (likely the Source in Davenport, Iowa) -- Kimo is richly illustrated and every page is a visual delight. Here's a link to a brief biography of artist Lucille Webster Holling.

The bottom shelf of this case is full of magazines -- mostly my Famous Monsters of Filmland collection -- but a number of other monster magazines and assorted titles -- below are a few highlights from the collection, starting with Marvel's Spectacular Spider-Man mags. That John Romita cover painting for #2 still strikes me as one of the best comic book covers ever.

Frank Frazetta and Mickey Spillane! These mags are practically oozing testosterone.

I spent hours and hours drinking in the pictures in this Super Heroes magazine when I was a kid. Imagining the adventures of these Saturday afternoon serial heroes was (mostly) a better experience than actually seeing the movies years later.

Monster mags! Spacemen! Aurora kit ad on the back of a comic book.

Random issues of Creepy and Eerie -- and the Phantom of the Paradise issue of Cinefantastique -- along with the only issue of Judge I own.

1st issue of Castle of Frankenstein!

More monster and movie mags.

Some early issues of Famous Monsters. I had many of these as a kid -- but they didn't survive -- many of them cut up to make collage posters that were displayed in my room -- and eventually thrown away. I've rebuilt this collection (which is far from complete) as an adult.

Creepy #1 and several issues of the FM doppleganger Monster World.

More books, collectibles and wacky stuff in part four -- coming soon!

Studio Tour Part Two: Ruth's Bookcase

2011-07-26T12:12:00.010-05:00

Opposite my Batman collection sits this little art deco bookcase. This originally belonged to my mother's sister Ruth. A number of the books that reside in it came from my father's cousin -- also named Ruth. And so, this is forever and always "Ruth's bookcase." There's even an illustrated edition (Arthur Szyk) of The Book of Ruth on the bottom shelf....

Taking up increasing amounts of space on the top of the bookcase are the current reprint volumes of Peanuts and Dennis the Menace. The Coney Island beer bottle is a recent addition. Inside the case are a variety of books and collectibles.

This Goldsmith edition of Huck Finn has cover art by Henry Vallely -- the prolific illustrator whose work was often found in original content Big Little Books. The original art for this illustration hangs on the wall. The Sgt. Bilko paperbacks are just a few of the Bilko items scattered throughout my collection.

The new Dennis volumes are kept company by a vintage vinyl figure of Dennis and Ruff -- and a signed edition of More Dennis the Menace. I found the book at a used bookstore on a long-ago trip to California -- priced no higher than the other Dennis hardcovers they had. I suspect they'd never noticed the inscription and drawing from Hank Ketcham inside!

This PeeWee Herman pennant was a gift from Paul Reubens -- from a visit Max Collins and I made to his Los Angeles digs during a San Diego Comic Con trip. We clueless Iowans had no real idea how far LA was from SD! The drive back to San Diego was a long chore -- and we very nearly missed our flight home the next morning due to oversleeping. Thanks to old friend (and TBG publisher) Alan Light pounding on our hotel room door, we managed to get up just in time to rush to the airport!

The witch version of my Trick or Treat "garage kit" lurks in the corner of the top shelf. Sharing that space are a number of items from the Earl Carroll Theatre. This Hollywood hotspot was famous for the celebrity signatures it had on display -- as well as their lovely dancers. That's a program from one of the Earl Carroll Vanities shows, signed by the performers leaning against the back of the bookcase. In front of it, is a set of six glasses covered in faux autographs of the biggest movie stars of the day. An ad for one of these sets claims eight total -- but the shipping box for same (see below) only has room for six -- so perhaps there were multiple versions.

This little -- and fairly flimsy box -- is what the glasses were shipped in -- from Hollywood to Iowa. Not a nick on the glasses. Can you imagine shipping something so fragile like this today? They wouldn't make it past the front desk of the PO before being shattered! Some more Earl Carroll paper below.

Here's a better look at the glasses -- well, five of the six anyhow. And a good look at the Aurora Plastics OZ-kins -- which seems to be missing one figure -- Wooden Sawhorse -- which has since turned up, thank goodness! These are based on the original Denslow illustrations for Wizard of OZ, and are very nicely done. This set was made in '67 and is fairly tough to find complete. Can you guess which figure is almost never found unbroken? I'm rather amazed that long thin piece of plastic on the left hasn't gotten snapped in one of the three or four moves these figures have been though with me. I guess I must pack things well, huh?

The rest of the bookcase is taken up by -- books! The My Book House series is a recent purchase -- and one I hope to share with my son as he gets a little older. The bottom shelf is mostly books that I inherited from the aforementioned cousin Ruth -- with a little Rockwell Kent and Lynd Ward of my own mixed in.
One of the My Book House volumes -- these are chock full of great stories and illustrations.

I love Rockwell Kent's art and writing. N by E is a particular favorite.

Arthur Szyk illustrated edition of the The Book of Job, followed by an interior illustration. Gee -- why didn't I photograph The Book of Ruth, considering...?

A Lynd Ward illustration from Beowulf -- one of cousin Ruth's books.

And finally, from on top of the bookcase -- and hidden by the beer bottle in the pic of that above -- is a Tintin tin! And if there's anything more fun to say than "Tintin tin," I want to know what it is! Much more Tintin in a future installment of this tour.

That's it for Part Two of the studio tour. Part Three coming soon!

Studio Tour Part One: Batman

2011-07-22T16:29:00.005-05:00

Our recent move from the Twin Cities to the Kansas City area gave me the opportunity to reorganize my collections and assemble a new studio room. I thought it might be fun to tour the studio one collection at a time. For today, it's Batman.

I've been a fan of the character since I was a kid, reading the Dick Sprang/Bill Finger material in DC's "80 page Giants" and watching the Adam West TV show first run. My professional association with the character lasted more than a decade, as I inked one after another of DC's animated style Batman comics.

I started with Batman and Robin Adventures and went on to ink Gotham Adventures, Batman Beyond, Batman: the Lost Years, the SubZero adaptation, the Superman/Batman World's Finest graphic novel (Eisner Award winner!) and The Batman Strikes. I ended my run with a few issues of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I'd hoped to get a shot at penciling and inking that particular series, but, alas, it was not to be, and I've gone on to other things.

During my time on the books, I collected quite a few Batman items -- and here's what's on display in my studio. This little bookshelf was in my bedroom when I was a kid, and it's travelled with me everywhere I've lived. It's currently holding a number of Batman figures that reflect the look of the character from the various TV cartoon-based comics that I drew. A '60s vintage "Soaky" shares the top row with a '60s ViewMaster packet.

The gem of this collection is the Aurora Plastics' Penguin model kit on the bottom shelf. It's a particularly rare piece, and I was lucky to find it. I actually found two -- still sealed in their boxes -- at a flea market in Iowa. I purchased both kits and sold the better condition of the two to a Batman collector, recouping most of my investment. I then opened the one in the slightly crushed box -- doing so while on-line with a group of fellow model kit collectors -- describing the process (and the still-present "Aurora smell") as I carefully removed the cellophane from the back of the box and inspected the like-new contents.

I'm sure some collectors will be horrified to hear than I opened this rare, sealed kit -- but I wanted to build it, darn it all! And so I did. You can see the results in the close up below. I love having this little guy on display and have no regrets about building and painting him. You can see the box, as well as a boxed Aurora Robin kit -- which I'll also build sometime -- in the next pic down.

This later edition of the Aurora Batman model is waiting for me to build it. The box art, often credited to Neal Adams is actually by Dick Giordano. I do have a build up of the first issue of the kit, waiting to be restored -- but don't have the box (though I did own it as a kid). One of these days I'll add that '60s box to my collection -- as I love the iconic Murphy Anderson illustration and the bright yellow background on the thing!

This batch of Batman-related books contains a few foreign editions of my own work -- and a number of books in which I've collected autographs of other Batman creators. The bookends are a Warner Brothers Store Two-Face set. Pee-Wee Herman's Billy Baloney and the Famous Monsters paperbacks are a little out of place here -- but that's just where they landed.

An autographed photo of Adam West hangs on the wall above the two Eisner Awards I have, thanks to my work on the Batman books.

I also collected signed pics of some of the other Batman TV show actors -- some in person (Adam West, Frank Gorshin, Yvonne Craig) -- others were gotten for me by friends.

This is a Shelly Moldoff splash page recreation. I purchased this directly from Shelly some years back. One of the treats of working on Batman was getting to know other Batman artists -- as a member of a fairly exclusive club. I had lunch with Shelly at a con and he opened up and told me all sorts of stories about Bob Kane. Interesting stuff....

Below is a Brave and Bold Batman/Elongated Man page, signed to me by artist Jim Aparo and writer Mike Barr. Aparo's signature was acquired at a Chicago Con, where I had the pleasure of introducing Jim to Golden Age Batman artist Dick Sprang -- my finest fan moment. I do have a few things from Dick -- letters, prints, etc. I never could afford to get on his commission list -- but am more pleased to have counted him as a friend. Exclusive club, y'know.

So that's it for the Batman segment of my studio tour. I'll share some more of my collections soon. Now that we're fairly well settled in to our new place, I'll be able to post here more regularly again. Packing for the move turned up all sorts of interesting stuff -- some I'd forgotten about -- and I'll be showing it all here eventually. Come on back and see.

URBAN LEGENDS and SHOCK STORIES artist proof cards.

2011-07-20T13:42:00.004-05:00

After drawing my Vampirella artist proof cards, I remembered that I'd never gotten around to drawing my AP cards for the Monsterwax Urban Legends and Shock Stories card sets. So, with little else on my schedule at the moment, I dug out the blanks and drew this creepy batch of full color images. All are up for grabs on eBay -- and the card sets are still available (in boxed form) from Monsterwax. I really enjoy drawing this weird horror and sci-fi stuff and hope to do more things in this vein in the future.

VAMPIRELLA artist proof cards

2011-07-18T11:16:00.008-05:00

I recently drew a batch of twenty-five sketch cards for Breygent's new Vampirella card set. That means I also got to do four "artist proof" cards to sell myself. Here are progressive shots of the cards as I drew them -- from pencils to inks to color. All four are up for grabs on eBay -- under the seller ID "beattylee."

I'm now drawing the artist proof cards for the Urban Legends and Shock Stories card set from Monsterwax -- and will soon be doing the same for Breygent's Project Superpowers.

Green Lantern in styrene

2011-07-16T09:18:00.003-05:00

We're fairly well settled into our new digs in the Kansas City area, and I'm back to work after finally getting my studio re-assembled. I'll eventually post some pics of the new workspace and my various collections on display there -- but for now, here's one of my latest projects.

This soon-to-be-released Green Lantern model kit from Moebius was designed by me, and I did the box illustration as well. The kit prototype was sculpted by Joe Laudati from my drawing. I'm thrilled with the end result -- as I wasn't even sure this pose was possible!

As this was intended to be the Silver Age Green Lantern, I leaned on Gil Kane's original design as much as possible -- the robot on the base is even a Kane-style 'bot. The box art was meant to invoke the Aurora kits of the '60s -- and I hope it'll fit in well on kit collectors' shelves next to Wonder Woman, Superboy and the others.

This is a kit that I've wanted since I was a kid -- so it was a special treat to be involved in ins creation. My thanks to Frank at Moebius for inviting me to contribute to the process.

Now that the craziness of the move has settled down, I hope to be back to posting regularly here. Please check back often to see new posts -- thanks!

Scary Monsters: Big in Kenosha! Plus: MN to MO!

2011-06-23T09:10:00.003-05:00

Scary Monsters makes the news in Kenosha! Thanks to Dave Fuentes for bringing this to my attention.

Followers of this blog will note a lack of activity lately. That's due to life keeping me a little busier than usual. My family and I are leaving Minneapolis and moving to the Kansas City area. The past month has been a flurry of sorting, selling, packing -- and, since we're buying a house -- filling out forms, signing agreements, faxing, scanning, emailing, transferring, hoping, praying, crossing fingers, etc.

We close on the new place today and move early next week. The contents of my studio are now (mostly) packed into boxes -- and my, oh my -- do I own a LOT of books! Once we're moved in and I get Humpty Dumpty put back together again, I'll share some pics of my new work space here.

In the meantime, things are likely to be slow blog-wise. But I promise new and interesting stuff once we get settled. I have some new projects planned and will be sharing info on those as soon as I can.

I will say that I've loved living in Minneapolis, and am going to miss all my amazing friends here. But I already have some pals in KC, and it appears to have a thriving rockabilly scene -- and a big comics community. And the BBQ. Oh, the BBQ! I think I'll fit in just fine.

SCARY MONSTERS #79 -- a whole lot of vampires!

2011-05-17T10:13:00.005-05:00

Here's an advance look at the just-finished cover for Scary Monsters #79. Created with a combo of Manga Studio and Photoshop. Get out your garlic, mirrors and crucifixes, folks -- that's a LOT of vampires!

Facebook Fan Page

2011-04-24T08:23:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone -- my regular Facebook page was getting out of hand -- too many friends I didn't actually know -- but fans of my work, nonetheless. So I've started a fan page there, and will be making my original page more of a private thing for family, friends and fellow artists. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you should join up. Please check it out HERE.

I'm still plugging away at drawing the last section of Return to Perdition -- 20 pages to go -- so probably won't be blogging much until I'm done -- but keep checking back, I might surprise you.....

Is the end of "The Road" ahead?

2011-04-12T09:53:00.006-05:00

If you've been wondering why this blog hasn't been terribly active lately, it's because I'm busy finishing up the art for the last section of Return to Perdition. This is a 180 page graphic novel from Vertigo Crime, written by Max Collins -- chronologically, the last story in the Road to Perdition saga.

As of this writing I still have a hefty chunk of pages to finish -- but the book is now available for pre-order and has an August publication date. Amazon has it listed with the black and white mock-up cover shown below. This is not the actual cover -- but as a promo piece, I think it looks pretty cool -- and does use some of my interior art from the book.

The actual cover is the color piece shown at the bottom of this page -- a wonderful illustration by Lee Bermejo that harkens back to the origins of the Perdition tale. Our story brings the action up to the 1970s, and brings a new generation into play.

I don't want to turn this into a commercial -- but I am rather proud of what Max and I are doing with this project and think it'll be well worth your time if you're at all a fan of our previous work. I'm drawing in a different style than usual -- meant to reflect the edgy nature of the story -- and doing a lot of the drawing digitally. At the pre-order price, it's a heck of a bargain.

And now if you'll excuse me for a while -- I have to finish the thing!

An open letter to comics fans regarding Rob Granito and others like him

2011-03-27T22:37:00.006-05:00

Above: Rob Granito's version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Below: the original Art Adams illustration from which it was swiped.

I posted this as a note on facebook earlier today -- it seemed worthy of reposting here on my blog.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear comics fans,

You've likely noticed the fuss this week over a certain Rob Granito, a plagiarist who has been making the rounds of comic conventions for several years, selling prints that are slightly altered copies of works by other cartoonists or photographers. His resume is full of lies and, at best, half truths. See this:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/forums/showthread.php?38476-More-Fun-With-Rob-Granito-Before-MegaCon

And yet, he's been selling these prints and "paintings" to fans, and seemingly making some real money in the process -- at least enough to hire an armed bodyguard to sit with him at shows (I'm not kidding about this -- it's documented).

Now the real blame for Rob lies with Rob. He's either self-deluded or too stupid to know what he's been doing is wrong -- or he's simply a liar and thief who doesn't care.

A little bit of blame has to go to the conventions who've been letting Rob (and others like him) set up to sell their fraudulent wares -- and that's a serious subject that needs to be dealt with, but I'm not to going to focus on that here. I'll let others fight that fight.

But the Rob Granitos of the world wouldn't be scamming people with their fake art if people weren't lining up to be scammed. Now I'm not blaming the victims here -- but I do have some suggestions that could help you to not be a victim.

If you love comics, take the time to learn more about the artists who create them. It's easier now that ever. A quick search on the web turns up this great comic book artist hall of fame: http://www.pigdogproductions.com/halloffame.html -- if you claim to love comics, you should know all these artists. Anyone who loves comic art will be thrilled by these images.

If you want to discover more current creators, then try the Drawn blog:

http://blog.drawn.ca/ (be sure to check out the work of twin brothers Asaf and Tomer Hanuka -- great drawing!).

If you're more drawn to characters than just comic art in general -- say you're a Batman fan -- then take the time to discover who created the Batman imagery you like best. You could start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Batman_creators (though why Bruce Timm and Frank Robbins aren't on this list, I have no idea). If you discover that Bruce Timm is the "Batman guy" you like best, and you familiarize yourself with his work -- then maybe, when you see rip-off artists copying his drawings and trying to sell them at cons (as Granito has done), you can know enough to say no thanks. That way you won't be taken advantage of, and you won't be supporting the work of a plagiarist.

Guys like Rob depend on the fact that their customers are not educated enough to know their swiped artwork from the real thing. Don't let these goons steal from you and treat you like a "mark." Educate yourself -- delve deeper into the world of comics -- there iswonderful stuff to discover and you'll be all the richer for it. Studying comics history isn't painful. If you really love comics it's a joy. Do you know Hal Foster, Alex Raymond or Roy Crane? If not, I envy you the joy of discovery -- look them up!

And next time you're at a con, how about looking at the work of new up-and-coming artists? I've been teaching in the comics program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design for some time now, and have had some remarkably talented young artists in my classes. Some are still in the Twin Cities area and will be at the upcoming Spring Con: http://midwestcomicbook.com/ Take a look at the work of a few of them, will you?

Evan Palmer: http://www.evanpalmercomics.com/

Maddie Queripel: http://www.madelinequeripel.com/

Bart King: http://www.bartaking.com/

Sean Lynch: http://www.tallsean.blogspot.com/

Anna Bongiovanni: http://www.annabongiovanni.com/

Renny Kissling: http://www.reynoldbot.com/

Tuo Vue: http://twovoo.blogspot.com/

There are so many more I could list -- all them them talented, sincere, original -- and far more worthy of the attention of comics fans than a hundred Rob Granitos. Don't hand your hard earned money over to the rip-off artists -- instead, I beg you to support the honest work of these (and many other) cartoonists who wouldn't dream of stealing from other artists or you -- because they are too busy putting their own dreams on paper.

All the movie promo, costumes, gaming and such that have flooded comic convention in recent years can be fun -- but, please remember this all started with the comics -- and those comics were all created by talented, hard-working, dedicated artists spending long hours putting ink on paper to create all those characters and stories that you love. Batman is just a fictional character -- but the artists who draw his adventures are real people -- many of whom are in the same "artists alleys" at comic cons as the Granitos of the world, and would be happy to draw a legitimate (as opposed to Rob's now notorious "legitomite") Batman sketch for you.

Don't be a mark for con artists, please. Support the real artists -- long-time pros and fresh new faces -- who create their own work with passion, honesty and skill. The world of comics will be much better without scam artists. Do your part to make them go away.

Thanks.

Terry Beatty

www.terrybeatty.com

PS: Please feel free to copy and repost this anywhere you like -- thanks.

Pins and Pinups: Memory Lanes in Minneapolis Sat. March 26

2011-03-25T15:18:00.004-05:00

I'll be one of the artist guests for this event this Saturday night at Minneapolis' Memory Lanes. There will be burlesque performances, rockabilly music, bowling, beer and lots of art and comics from me. Admission is free -- though the bowling, art, comics and beer will cost you.

I put together a collection of prints of pin-up and pulp themed prints of my work to sell at the show -- you can see some previews below. All will be signed and available in limited numbers at the show. I may be offering them elsewhere later, so if you can't attend, you can still have a shot at getting them.

Some of the prints are digitally enhanced pieces based on pencil drawings of live models -- some of them the very burlesque performers you might be seeing at this show. Some of these, I can't show here, as they are a little too revealing.

Others are illustration work, taken directly from the original drawings and paintings -- these include the Johnny Dynamite pencil prelim for the tpb cover painting, the cover illo for the Mickey Spillane anthology, Tomorrow We Kill and the cover of the Ms. Tree novel, Deadly Beloved.

I'm also considering doing a similarly themed sketchbook, which would feature some of the same images -- though in black and white, not the color of these hi-res prints.

I'll have copies of the Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave comic book, Scary Monsters magazine and Batman comics, all featuring my work -- as well as a small selection of original art. If you're in the Twin Cities area, please come by. This should be a wonderfully entertaining evening!

Doors at 9PM, show at 10PM. 21+ For more info: http://www.memorylanesmpls.com/

Commission time!

2011-03-06T15:52:00.003-06:00

About a month ago, I took on a small batch of commissions. I had set aside an entire weekend to work on them, and had planned to stick to the drawing board until they were done -- and then get back to my regular comic book and illustration work when Monday rolled around.

Of course, things do not always go as planned. About an hour into working on these I felt a tickle in my throat -- started to cough a little -- and an hour later was suffering one of the worst colds (or flu bugs -- or allergy attacks -- who knows?) I'd ever had. I spent the rest of the weekend curled up under a blanket on the couch, hoping I'd die soon and get it over with. The cough hung on for weeks.

So -- the commissions lingered, as I had to get back to my regular work. But I'd find a little time here or there to work on them -- and finally finished these today. Now of course, I have to make time to pack them up and send them -- and as busy as I am, that's trickier than it sounds.

And then I need tackle the last one -- which I haven't started yet! I will draw it, Richard -- I will!

But let's have a look at the ones that are finished -- starting with Daredevil and the Black Widow.

Here's a more elaborate piece than usual -- as the client wanted the character running through a swamp at night -- it's Marvel monster Werewolf by Night.

The Golden Age Phantom Lady and her flowing locks! How much time does she spending curling her hair, I wonder?

I've often been commissioned to draw Golden Age DC characters -- particularly members of the Justice Society of America -- so here, one more time, are Dr. Mid-Nite and Hourman.

I do enjoy doing these -- and wish my schedule allowed for more right now -- but I need to spend the rest of this month finishing up (as much as possible) my pages for Return to Perdition. So if seeing these has you wanting to hire me to draw your favorite character(s) -- I'm happy to do so (for my standard fee) -- but it'll be a little while before I can take any orders. So hold that thought and get back to me in 30 days or so, OK? Thanks!

School days and a yard sale tale

2011-03-03T10:53:00.006-06:00

Today's post is for my old classmates who follow my blog. The rest of you are welcome to read on, of course, though it won't mean as much to you as it will to them.

Growing up in a small town means that you go through the whole school experience with the same small bunch of kids. In my case, Muscatine, Iowa had several grade schools, two junior highs, and one high school. So, while you may have started out in different schools, you eventually got to know all the other kids your age by the time high school rolled around. This was my crowd from Jefferson Grade School. I know the teacher is Miss Douglas. I think this is fifth grade, 1969 -- maybe it's fourth grade -- I'm not 100% certain. (Note: I'm told by a fellow Jefferson student that it was fourth grade -- so 1968, not '69) (Note: years later my daughter attended the same grade school.)

The actual photo is in a folder with a key to the students written in my own grade school cursive scrawl. Here's the rundown.

Front row (L to R): Kimberly Ritz, Sheila Cozad, Roxanne Schram, Rachel (no name noted -- and I don't recall it -- or her!), Doreen Knox, Wm. Ravenscraft

2nd row: Miss Douglas, Greg Allison, Mike Woodworth, me, Coleen Rickey, Ricky Bluhm

3rd row: Shawn Carter, Mike Munday, Lorie Cozad, Mike Miller, Deb England

4th row: Katherine Ash, Jeffrey Elder, Stephen Draves, Ross Nelson, Rodney Swailes, Gregg LaRue.

I haven't kept in touch with anyone from this group. It seems most of my closest friends were made in junior high and high school -- my friend, Kerry Grady, was either in the other 5th grade class at Jefferson, or had moved across town by this point -- my memory is shaky on some of these matters. But I remember most of these kids fondly and very well, and have seen a few at class reunions over the years.

When I moved to the Twin Cities, I had a little contact with Mike Munday, who was (is?) also living in the area. Mike was born a few days before me, in the same hospital, and we were in the nursery together, our mothers roommates for a few days, so he's the first one of these kids that I met -- though I really have no recall of that! He also lived just up the street from me -- and back then he and his older brother had a nice collection of built up (all unpainted) Aurora model kits. Are you still out there, Mike?

Oddly, I have almost no memory of the students standing on either side of me, or the girl in front of me. I do recall that this was the first teacher of mine that I didn't like (sorry, Miss Douglas, wherever you are).

Looking at this brings back a lot of fun memories, but it's also bittersweet, as two of these kids didn't live long enough to make it to high school with the rest of us. Greg Allison and Ross Nelson (the later of whom I counted as my best friend at the time of this photo) died way too young.

Greg was a troubled young man - a friend who, for reasons I can't fathom, turned into a nasty bully by junior high -- and then, tragically, bought his own ticket out of this world. I won't speculate on the why of it all -- I just regret things went that way for him.

Ross had moved away before we got to junior high -- to Burlington, Iowa -- not that far a drive by car -- but for a grade school kid, a world away. I lost contact after the move, and a few years later I heard he'd died of a heart attack on the field during track practice. I didn't attend the visitation or funeral, as my parents thought it would be too upsetting for me (and it would have been) -- but I always had trouble wrapping my head around the fact that he was really gone. Moving away is one thing. Dying is another.

On my last day in Muscatine, moving van already packed for the trip to Minneapolis, I spent some time just driving around the town -- wandering from neighborhood to neighborhood. I'd lived there for 45 years and wanted to take one long last look at the place. Much of what I'd loved about the town was gone by then (my newsstand, hobby shop, downtown movie theater, junior high school, the drive in theater, etc.), but the neighborhoods still looked the same as always, and the drive brought back a lot of memories.

I also stopped at a yard sale. Of course, I always stop at yard sales -- one never knows what baby boomer-era (or earlier) treasure might be found. And I've found more than a few.

In this case, the sale was in a neighborhood well off the beaten path -- not a place I'd usually drive by -- but I was giving the town a thorough look, so here I was. Most of the stuff was the usual yard sale fare -- that is to say, clothes and junk -- but I did find one prize. In a stack of books, here was the 1969 Whitman Mission: Impossible hardcover. Cool! Whitman's illustrated juvenile TV series adaptations were something I'd long collected -- the Alex Toth illustrated Maverick volume being my favorite of the batch -- and I was glad to add this to my collection for a quarter. I quickly handed my twenty-five cents to the older fellow taking the money, thanked him, and was on my way, tucking the book away to look at later.

The next day was the big move -- and unpacking the truck on arrival in Minneapolis. It was some time later -- loading up a bookshelf with unpacked books, when I actually got around to cracking open the Mission: Impossible book to take a better look at it. When I did, I saw on the inside front cover, written in a child's hand, the signature of my old friend, Ross Nelson.

You tell me -- was that a coincidence -- or an old classmate saying hello -- or goodbye? Thanks for the book, pal.

SCARY MONSTERS #78

2011-03-02T16:40:00.001-06:00

It's time for another Scary Monsters magazine cover. I just delivered this image for the wraparound cover of #78. This is the first cover I've done that is entirely digital. The drawing was done with the pen tools in Manga Studio and the color added in Photoshop. That's all for now!

Bob Powell's PIT OF THE DAMNED.

2011-02-18T22:40:00.005-06:00

Thanks to the various websites where one can read or download vintage comics, I've come to have a great appreciation for the work of Bob Powell. As a comics addicted kid of the 1960s, I only knew Powell as the guy whose name also appeared on some of those Wally Wood issues of Daredevil (where I could see no sign of any artist's style but Wood) and who drew a few Giant Man stories -- which weren't the most spectacular comics ever. How could I have known about all those great horror comics he drew years before?

Well, thanks to the Grand Comics Database, you can look up all the comics he drew -- and find many of the public domain ones available for download at the Digital Comics Museum. I was thinking about posting some of Powell's fantastic work from Man in Black #1 -- but you can see the whole thing at Pappy's Golden Age Comic Blogzine. Pappy has a lot of Powell on display there, including some shot from the original art! Do yourself a huge favor and check out those posts. But wait until you're done reading this one, as you can get caught up in Pappy's blog for days!

You can also find much classic Bob Powell at The Horrors of It All blog -- be sure to read Colorama while you're there. While you're at it, check out this Emil Gershwin tale, too!

But enough plugs for all those other websites! Your special Scary Terry's World treat for today is Bob Powell's Pit of the Damned -- a tale which shows off the man's remarkable talent for drawing creepy creatures and tormented souls. The story has a carnival background -- and I have to say, having immersed myself in vintage horror and humor comics of late -- I'm amazed at how many stories feature the carnival or the circus. In this story, however, it's the whirlwind tour of the underworld that will stick with you more than the little bits the carnival that we see. I can't imagine any kids of the '50s reading this and not having nightmares for weeks after! Have a look and see why I consider Powell one of the great horror comic artists of all time.

ALL HUMOR COMICS!

2011-02-04T17:59:00.004-06:00

The other day, I posted an Uncle Fuddly story from Quality's All Humor Comics. The Paul Gustavson-drawn feature is one of the highlights of the series -- but there's plenty more worth seeing in the pages of the comic. Ten issues of the 17-issue series are available for viewing at the Fury Comics website -- and for download at the Digital Comic Museum.

Below are a few select pages that I hope will send you to one or the other of those sites to check out this little-known but remarkably fun comic.

Check out this amazing splash page from Klaus Nordling's Odd Jobs Inc. As far as I'm concerned, that's as cool a splash page as anything Eisner or Cole ever drew. I love this sort of cartooning, and think it's a shame that there's pretty much no market in which to do this kind of work these days. We really need to do something about that....

Kelly Poole is the lead feature in most issues of All Humor. Most are signed "Bart Tumey," an artist I'd never heard of before. Very little information about him can be found on the web. The most detailed info I could find was in this Lambiek entry -- just a list of a few features he drew. The splash page below has a funky Wolverton/Elder feel to some of it -- but mostly, Tumey looks to me like someone who might have spent some time working for Al Capp on Li'l Abner. Seriously -- look at that 3/4 rear view face in the foreground of panel four in the story age below the splash. Could that be any more a stock Abner character? At the very least, there's a strong Capp influence here.

Harry Sahle contributes a feature called Hickory (originally Acorn Acres) to All Humor. There's some really great cartooning from Sahle here. The rough and tumble rural-based humor of Hickory proved popular enough that it eventually led to him getting his own comic book.

Even the lesser features in the comic are a lot of fun. Take a gander at the simple, appealing cartooning of Al Stahl on Bozo the Hobo.
And then there's the flat out weirdness that is Atomictot! Some Atomictot stories are drawn by Gill Fox -- others (in a truly odd drawing style) are clearly by another hand (Ernie Hart?).
If you like what you see here, check out the links I posted earlier to see more. In the meantime, I'm just going to wish we had comics of this sort (as well as the horror anthologies I've been posting from) on the market now. I would so much rather read well-drawn wacky, goofball humor stories and over the top horror/suspense tales the likes of which I've been posting here, than the turgid, overly serious super hero books dominating the market today.

A truly healthy comics market would have room for the modern equivalent of All Humor or Web of Evil. We've got to bring back cartooning to comics, folks. There is a market out there that's not being served. Kids still love good comics -- when they are exposed to them. We have to work on that last part.

Paul Gustavson's UNCLE FUDDLY

2011-02-02T14:46:00.002-06:00

From the pages of All Humor Comics #8, it's Paul Gustavson's Uncle Fuddly. Gustavson is better known for his work on such series as The Angel and Human Bomb. I wasn't familiar with Uncle Fuddly until recently, but he's joined Carl Hubbell's Sniffer (I must post a Sniffer story here sometime!) as one of my favorite oddball Golden Age humor characters. Some of the Fuddly stories are signed - this one isn't -- but it still looks like Gustavson to me. If anyone knows otherwise, please chime in.

That's Kelly Poole on the cover (drawn by?) -- he's often seen sharing couch space with a pretty (or not so pretty) girl. If you'd like to see more of Kelly and Uncle Fuddly, not to mention Hickory and Giddy Goose (!), check out the All Humor selection at the Fury Comics website.

Everett Raymond Kinstler's THE THING IN THE MIRROR -- and more!

2011-01-30T21:34:00.007-06:00

Here's a big batch of Everett Raymond Kinstler work for you -- two complete stories, a cover and three of his great inside front covers. I'm too busy working to comment much -- I'll let Kinstler's art speak for itself.

Monster memories 2011

2011-01-28T15:06:00.002-06:00

Just turned in this wraparound cover for the upcoming 2011 edition of Monster Memories. Some of the characters on the back cover are from the vintage horror comics filling the shelves on Sam Scare's newsstand -- originally drawn by Jack Cole, Bob Powell and George Evans. The "cycloptopus" and the snakey green guy came from my own fevered mind.

The newsstand is stocked with this past year's issues of Scary Monsters and other mags from Druktenis Publishing. I filled it out with some comics and books that featured my art --- and then added dozens of vintage comics, pulps, paperbacks and collectibles. The characters and newsstand were painted with acrylics on bristol board. That image was scanned and then touched up with Photoshop. All the magazines, comics and other items on the shelves were added in Photoshop as well. There were a LOT of layers!

Click on the image below for a much larger version. Have fun checking out all the "goodies" on the shelves!

Today's blog is brought to you by....

2011-01-27T14:08:00.003-06:00

I've gone totally commercial today and am filling my blog with advertisements. Of course all these ads are from vintage comics and are presented for their entertainment value only. All offers are outdated, so don't try to send away for this stuff! You'd only be wasting your money. of course, maybe you would have been then, too.

I'm a man in my 50's who wants to look slimmer and feel younger -- but I think I'll pass on the free trial offer for the Chevalier!

Who exactly ever bought "salve" -- and what is the stuff anyway? These comic strip ads sure make selling it sound appealing, though.

Who doesn't want to be "hep" anyhow? Joe Bonomo was an interesting guy. Somewhere I have a signed copy of his self-published bio. Among other things, he was once a Hollywood stunt man -- and claimed to have done stunt work on Lon Chaney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame." And yes, it was his family that made the taffy!

Have a radioactive Christmas, folks!

Comics used to be chock full of offers to turn the readers into muscle-bound "he-men." What did they think we all were, skinny (or chubby) little nerds? Oh -- wait a minute....

Great cartooning here from Capt. Marvel artist C. C. Beck!

OH! I want one!

I'm sure these were the always disappointing little plastic "flats." From a nostalgic point of view, kind of cool, now. As a kid, ordering any of this stuff back then -- a big rip off!

"I'll mow ya down!"

I'm so glad they solved that mystery! Now to sell some salve and win a live pony!

King Ward's Wig!

2011-01-21T21:54:00.003-06:00

Yes, I have other things I should be doing -- but couldn't resist posting another crazy horror comic. From the pages of This Magazine is HAUNTED #14, this is "The Wig." The Grand Comics Database lists no credits for this one -- but I'm pretty darned sure the art is by King Ward, whose wacky and weird work I've posted before -- see "Were-Spider's Doom!" These scans are a little fuzzy, but this tale is just too wild not to share!

Gene Colan and the Murderer's Mask!

2011-01-21T13:54:00.002-06:00

From Weird Thrillers #2, 1951, it's Murderer's Mask, drawn by Gene Colan. If you're enjoying these vintage comic stories, please leave a comment. Thanks!

Commissions! The Spirit, Green Hornet and more.

2011-01-20T10:05:00.004-06:00

Though my schedule is a bit tight -- with 90 pages of Return to Perdition to go (and due too soon for comfort!), I have been working a few commissioned pieces into my schedule. Here we have Will Eisner's Spirit, a retro version of the Green Hornet and his great uncle, the Lone Ranger -- and, as requested by the client, a mash-up of Vampirella, and the classic Matt Baker Phantom Lady "headlights"cover. If you're interested in a commission, contact me for details through the contact link at my website.

George Evans and the Green Hands of Terror!

2011-01-20T09:21:00.005-06:00

EC Comics great George Evans drew the tremendously weird tale, The Green Hands of Terror for Fawcett's This Magazine is HAUNTED. I love how absolutely crazy and creepy the stories in these '50s horror comics are -- and finding examples as well drawn as this one is a thrill.

As usual, I've done some clean up work on scans found on the web. In this case I've lightened the (very) tanned paper, and darkened the blacks -- making for a better presentation of the art.

If you'd like to explore the many public domain comics out there for yourself, check out the Digital Comics Museum. A word of warning, though -- be prepared to sift through a lot of junk to find the gems.

Bob Powell and "The WALL of FLESH!"

2011-01-19T19:48:00.005-06:00

From the pages of This Magazine is HAUNTED comes this astoundingly creepy tale drawn by Bob Powell. Read it if you dare -- but I won't take responsibility for the nightmares it inspires!

The Mark of the Z!

2011-01-08T21:17:00.003-06:00

Here's a long lost article on TV's Zorro, Guy Williams. This comes from the same issue of the digest magazine Calling All Girls that provided the Bob Powell Christmas comic I posted last month. Click on the pics for a larger view, as usual.

Great comic book covers: CRACK No. 51

2011-01-08T21:07:00.003-06:00

Dig this crazy werewolf cover! It's Crack Comics #51 -- featuring Captain Triumph and some wonderful drawing from Reed Crandall. Cap is looking like a cross between Flash Gordon and Doc Savage here, and that werewolf is wild! Guess you probably wouldn't name a comic book "Crack" these days....

Comic strip Christmas cards!

2010-12-24T13:52:00.011-06:00

While looking for some more vintage Christmas photos that I wanted to post -- which I still can't find -- I stumbled across these comic strip character Christmas cards which I'd forgotten about! So, a little time with the scanner, and here's another Christmas post for you. Enjoy!

Most of these cards are from a set originally sold in this box -- I don't seem to have them all, as Flash Gordon, the Katzenjammers and a few others appear on the box, but I don't have corresponding cards. Some of the cards below are a different size and appear to be from a different set.

That's a lovely Rip Kirby illo on the front of this card -- which might be by Alex Raymond -- but I suspect a ghost artist at work --the insides (below) certainly are not Raymond's work.
A pair of wonderful Steve Canyon cards sporting art by Milt Caniff -- followed by a George Wunder Terry and the Pirates card.

Though it has his signature, this Prince Valiant image certainly isn't the work of Hal Foster.

Not a comic strip character card -- but I couldn't resist including it -- this 3D card is a hoot! the front has a slot where there must have originally been a pair of red/green 3D glasses in front of this cute critters' eyes. If you have your own 3D glasses, dig 'em out and enjoy the 3D effect on the card's inside illustration. The final image is a small illo from the back of the card.

I hope YOU have fun-a-plenty this holiday season! All the best from the Beatty's house to yours.

Merry Christmas, 1936 style.

2010-12-24T10:01:00.005-06:00

Wishing a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the readers of my blog -- with these photos of Christmas at the Beatty farmhouse in 1936. My father would have been 16 when these were shot. We still have the rocking chair seen at left in the top pic. Many a Beatty child has been rocked in that chair.

Long-lost interview!

2010-12-22T13:05:00.003-06:00

In 2003, there was supposed to be an entire issue of Comic Book Artist Bullpen devoted to an extensive interview with me. Though the interview was done and the issue mocked-up, it never saw print. But thanks to interviewer/publisher Jon B. Cooke, you can now read the entire thing on my website HERE. It's full of little-seen and unpublished artwork. My personal details are outdated-- but it's an accurate snapshot of my life at the time. Please have a look!

"What is Christmas?" illos by Lee Mero

2010-12-20T14:30:00.003-06:00

This is one of several colorful Christmas booklets illustrated by Minneapolis artist Lee Mero (1885-1977). Enjoy!

Sinclair Life-Size Dinosaurs!

2010-12-19T23:03:00.004-06:00

The Sinclair Oil Company sponsored a display of life-sized dinosaurs at the 1964-5 World's Fair. After the Fair, they sent the dinos on the road. The pics below are of me at the stop they made in Des Moines, Iowa. My father was kind enough to make the drive from our home in Muscatine, so that I could see the display. That's pre-teen me posing in all the pics. I included a blow-up detail of me in the first picture, so you can see the Mold-A-Rama stegosaurus I'm holding. As I recall, it was still cooling from the molding process -- fresh from the machine. I dug out these photos at the request of my fellow dino-obsessed pal, Martin Powell -- whose dad -- at another stop of the cross country tour -- took him to see them, too.

POPEYE's How to Draw Cartoons by Joe Musial

2010-12-19T18:21:00.004-06:00

Today I'm sharing a few highlights from this 1939 volume on drawing cartoons the Popeye way by Joe Musial. Musial does a mighty fine Segar impression, doesn't he? This was a recent used book store find.

In a "Tizzie" over the holidays!

2010-12-18T22:08:00.003-06:00

From December 1958, here's a Christmas themed cover from "Calling All Girls" digest magazine -- and a 4 page "Tizzie" comic story from the same issue. If you can ID the artists, please leave a comment!

Scary Monsters -- Werewolves and Vampires!

2010-11-23T12:17:00.006-06:00

Another Scary Monsters cover done and delivered! This time editor/publisher Dennis Druktenis asked me to ape the cover of the vintage monster mag, Werewolves and Vampires. Instead of a generic pair of monsters, we used television horror movie host Wolfman Mac and Jonathan Frid as Dark Shadows' Barnabas Collins. Our back cover features two vampires -- Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Gloria Holden from Dracula's Daughter.

This cover was all digital -- the front cover images painted digitally, using photo reference -- the back cover is digitally manipulated/reworked photos.

Now back to drawing comics!

Wally Wood: "The Thing from the Sea"

2010-11-21T12:27:00.004-06:00

Another one I found in the files -- from Avon's Eerie #16 -- it's Wally Wood's The Thing from the Sea. If you're reading and enjoying these vintage comic stories I've been posting here from time to time, please leave a comment.

"Club 16" Jimmy Thompson's "Heavens to Betsy"

2010-11-20T17:33:00.004-06:00

I posted a Jimmy Thompson "Heavens to Betsy" story here some time back -- and it seems I'd cleaned up one more for posting, but never got around to it (not that I can find, anyhow) -- so here's a second example. If I've already posted this, chalk it up to me being old, overworked and generally flaky! Enjoy anyhow.