Once Upon a Geek

Here is an original drawing of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, by his creator Martin Nodell.  Marty created the Green Lantern in 1940 for All-American Comics #16.  I was fortunate enough to meet Marty in 1994 at Cosmic Cat Comics & Games when he came to do a signing.  I was managing the store at the time and we had Marty there in conjunction with Green Lantern #50 (not to be confused with Green Lantern #50 that just came out in 2010 – though both featured Parallax).   He and his wife Carrie were super-sweet people and a real treat to chat with.  Marty would sign any Green Lantern item you’d like. We had him sign some of the Green Lantern #50 posters as well as the neat giveaway rings available at the time.  I saw Marty and his wife at a few conventions around Florida after that, but sadly Carrie passed away in 2004 and Marty in 2006.

Looking closely at this drawing you can see the light hint of pencils underneath the fine black inks.  The coloring on the shirt and pants looks good on the actual drawing, but the camera flash washed them out some on the image above.  It appears the colors were done with something like markers.  Marty had done the drawing prior to the signing.  That way he could sell the original drawings on-site, rather than make people wait for sketches.  He did inscribe the drawing to me in green pen, “To Shag – With best special regards – as signed at the Cosmic Cat – Mart Nodell ‘94″.

He was a neat gentleman and his creation has inspired 70 years of amazing stories.  Thanks Marty!

Check back here tomorrow for more on the creation of the original Green Lantern in 1940 … and the surprising connection to the Red Lanterns.

Bill Watterson gave an interview this week to Plain Dealer reporter John Campanelli.  This was Watterson’s first interview since 1989.  Below is an excerpt:

JC: Because your work touched so many people, fans feel a connection to you, like they know you. They want more of your work, more Calvin, another strip, anything. It really is a sort of rock star/fan relationship. Because of your aversion to attention, how do you deal with that even today? And how do you deal with knowing that it’s going to follow you for the rest of your days?

BW: Ah, the life of a newspaper cartoonist — how I miss the groupies, drugs and trashed hotel rooms!

But since my “rock star” days, the public attention has faded a lot. In Pop Culture Time, the 1990s were eons ago. There are occasional flare-ups of weirdness, but mostly I just go about my quiet life and do my best to ignore the rest. I’m proud of the strip, enormously grateful for its success, and truly flattered that people still read it, but I wrote “Calvin and Hobbes” in my 30s, and I’m many miles from there.

An artwork can stay frozen in time, but I stumble through the years like everyone else. I think the deeper fans understand that, and are willing to give me some room to go on with my life.

To read the entire interview, click here.  My thanks to Joel Schroeder, OnThink, and my wonderful wife for sending me information about this interview.

Believe it or not, the legendary Walt Simonson drew some Doctor Who illustrations back in 1980.  These were published in Marvel Premiere issues #57 and #60.  The feature stories in these issues were colorized reprints of the British Doctor Who Weekly comic strips (eventually retitled Doctor Who Magazine).  Simonson’s drawings were used for covers and interior pin-ups.

Below is the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) being chased by a Zygon.  Probably my favorite Walt Simonson Doctor Who drawing.  Also a very iconic image of the Zygons.

Below is the cover to Marvel Premiere #57 featuring the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and the TARDIS.

Below is a great shot of the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and his companion Romana II (Lalla Ward).  I love the flowing scarves and complementary costumes!  Romana II wore this outfit in her first appearance, Destiny of the Daleks.  I think she should have worn it more often. They looked great together.

Below is a nice U.N.I.T. shot.

Finally, below is a shot of Leela that makes her look infinitely cooler than she did in the TV series itself.

During my research for this post, I came across a similar post by my buddy Siskoid over at his Blog of Geekery.  In that post it states that Walt Simonson had never watched Doctor Who before.  Wow!  You’d never know that from the drawings.  Great job, Walt!

Dear Mr. Watterson is a film project spearheaded by Joel Allen Schroeder.  According to their website,  “Dear Mr. Watterson is a film that will look to the readers and fans of Calvin & Hobbes to tell the story of the strip and its creator. As we follow the life and career of Bill Watterson through this unique perspective, the undying appreciation and love of Calvin & Hobbes and the man behind it will be evident in the anecdotes, stories, and memories shared by readers of the strip and friends and colleagues of Mr. Watterson.”

If you’ve been reading ONCE UPON A GEEK for a while, then you probably know I’m a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes.  I gotta say folks, this film looks great!  Check out the trailer below:

Teaser from DMW on Vimeo.

I’m really excited for this project!  In the spirit of the upcoming film, I wanted to share my own first experience with Calvin and Hobbes here.  I first became aware of the strip in the summer of 1987. I was about 15 years old and visiting my father in Madison, Wisconsin.  Where I lived in Florida, the local newspaper did not carry the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip; in fact, I’d never heard of it. Like any bored teenager in the 1980s, I read the daily comics for amusement.  I quickly discovered that the Madison paper carried a much wider variety of strips than my paper back home.  One such strip was called Calvin and Hobbes.  It was hilarious!  I immediately related to the character of Calvin and began seeking out the strip each morning. As Madison was a recycling town (not a common practice back in ‘87), my father’s garage was full of old newspapers. I spent hours sifting through these old papers reading Calvin and Hobbes strips. Within the matter of a week, I’d read several months worth of the strip.  I was hooked!  At the end of the summer, I returned to my hometown and it’s sadly inadequate newspaper.  This could have resulted in the end of my love affair with Calvin and Hobbes, however, my step-mother intervened to provide my much needed Calvin-fix.  She dutifully cut out the Calvin and Hobbes strips every day and would mail them to me in batches about once every three weeks. I would wait anxiously for this package of joy. I’d then tape the strips down on three-ring paper, essentially making my own books. Eventually, my local paper picked up the strip and the official collections became readily available. However, I’ll never forget my initial discovery and those wonderful packages from my generous step-mother. There you have it… the secret origin of a Calvin and Hobbes junkie!

If the upcoming film looks interesting to you, there are a few avenues for you to stay connected with the project.  First, check out the web site at dearmrwatterson.com for updates on the film.  Next, join the Facebook group dedicated to this movie.  Finally, check out their new Twitter account.

I found out about the film recently when I was interviewed for Racket Magazine.  They stumbled across my praise for Calvin and Hobbes here and contacted me to ask about my fandom of the comic strip.  You can read the interview Racket Magazine did with both Joel Allen Schroeder and myself by clicking here.

And remember each night as you lay down to fall asleep… something under the bed is drooling.

Below you’ll find a drawing of Batman I did back in 1988 that I recently unearthed.  I drew it free hand, but based it upon a Brian Bolland panel in Batman: The Killing Joke (see further below for that original panel).  My drawing measures 13 inches by 17 inches, whereas the original panel measures a mere 2 inches by 3 inches.  I never finished the drawing completely, but got pretty far along.  I’m guessing I did this while I was learning about pointillism in school.  While I don’t claim to be an artist of any sort, I thought this came out pretty good.

Below is that original panel by Brian Bolland from Batman: The Killing Joke.

There is a new contest on the Image Comics forum hosted by Frank Cho and Doug Murray. This purpose of this contest is to find an artist for the upcoming book 50-GIRLS-50.  There are about 150 contestants at this point, with Cho and Murray selecting their favorites at the Baltimore Comic Con this weekend.  To read the rules of the contest, please click here.  One of the contestants is local comic artist Billy Penn (Hot Shot & Mighty Girl, Savage Dragon, and my Father’s Day Present)!

Billy has turned in some gorgeous pages for this 50-GIRLS-50 contest.  Since the contest opened, not only has Billy found the time to draw the pages, he also had a baby!  Well, his wife actually had the baby, but Billy is a great dad so he’s had his hands full.  Here are a few of the pages Billy has done for the 50-GIRLS-50 contest.  These images are copyright of the 50-GIRLS-50 contest.  Feel free to stop by the Image Comics forum and let Billy know (and everyone else) how much you like his artwork. 

Good luck, Billy!

Coverage of Dragon*Con 2009 continues here!  To read about Friday, click here.  If you’d like to see over 600 pictures I took at the event, you can view them on Flickr and THE UNIQUE GEEK photo gallery.

Saturday

After the WAR OF THE SNORE the night before, Choco Taco and I decided to grab some breakfast.  Thankfully we had access to the Executive Level in the Hilton where they supply complimentary breakfast.  Turns out that many of the celebrities also have access to the Executive Level.  So there we were eating, while a couple tables over were Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter), Adam Savage (Mythbusters), Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh on Battlestar Galactica), Neil Innes (best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python), and others.  It was neat being with so many celebrities during their down time.  As I looked around the room trying to identify everyone, I wondered if they were looking at us trying to figure out if we were famous too.  Probably not, but a boy can dream.

We then made our way to the parade.  We got there minutes before the parade started, so we didn’t have a great view.  Last year there were approximately 3,500 spectators for the parade; I’d say we had more this year.  The parade was pretty good this year.  The Colonial Marines lead the parade and the Star Wars characters finished it.  In-between were the usuals like the Cobras, Star Trekkies/Trekkers, superheroes, Middle Earth folk, pirates, Stargate folks, Battlestar Galactica folks, horror folks, Ghostbusters, Doctor Whovians, Anime folks, and many, many more.  I’ve got over 100 pictures of the parade up on Flickr and THE UNIQUE GEEK photo gallery. The most creative parade costume I felt was the two-person AT-AT.  Unfortunately, my pictures of the AT-AT didn’t turn out that great, so here is a pic from the costume creators.  A really clever idea!

After the parade I visited the Walk of Fame.  I considered taking my picture with Eric Roberts since he was in Doctor Who, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  I can’t stand his acting and really hated him in the Doctor Who TV movie.  I did stop by and visit Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Spin City, Star Trek: Generations).  He was super cool!  We shook hands (he offered his hand immediately) and he asked me my name.  I’m not much for autographs, I usually prefer to get my picture taken with famous people.  So we chatted for a few moments and then he came around the table for the photo.  A couple days later, we were both on the same street corner waiting for the light to change.  We started to chat and he remembered meeting me and shook my hand again.  He was probably one of the nicest and most approachable celebrities I’ve ever met.

Then I visited Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica, A-Team).  One of my goals at Dragon*Con this year was to meet him.  To me he represents everything that was fun about television in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  I had a question prepared that I didn’t get to ask during Friday’s A-Team panel, so I figured now was a good time.  I asked if the scene with the Cylon in the A-Team opening credits was originally scripted, or was improvised on-set.  He said the shot was his idea as a joke for the guys who weren’t there on-set that day.  Apparently the Director didn’t want to do the shot, but Dirk convinced him to.  Turns out the shot was so well-received, it ended up in the opening credits!  After that I got my picture taken with him and also purchased one of his books. I’m about a quarter of the way through his first book, Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy: A True Story of Discovery, Acting, Health, Illness, Recovery And Life.  The book covers his early life, his battle with cancer, the benefits of a macrobiotic diet, and taking control of your own health through diet.  There is a lot of controversy surrounding his dietary suggestions, but it’s worth listening to.  I don’t normally go in for autobiographies, and I REALLY don’t go in for health food propaganda.  However, I’m really fascinated by this book and find myself questioning the way I eat.  I’d recommend this book to anyone with an open mind.

I then when hunting for more great costumes to take pictures of.  I was shocked to find out I’d filled my memory card entirely after about 500 pictures!  Wow!  Thankfully I brought my laptop that has a built-in SD reader slot.  So I downloaded all the pictures, cleared the memory card, and started off again.

There were two panels I was planning to attend but was disappointed to find out they were canceled.  Both the Eureka creator panel and the Leonard Nimoy panel were canceled for Saturday. Bummer.  So instead I got in line for the Stargate Atlantis panel.  I’ve seen some Stargate panels before at Dragon*Con. They’re very well organized and the guests are great, so I figured it was worth a shot.  The line was insanely long.  It went outside and wrapped around the building.  I waited for about an hour with some very nice people and we had a great chat.  Once we got inside we were lucky enough to find seats on the fifth row!  That was awesome! While I’m not an expert on Stargate Atlantis, I have watched my fair share of episodes.  The cast were funny, kind to the fans, and genuinely seemed to be having fun.  One of the stars, Rachel Luttrell (Teyla), was late.  So Joe Flanigan (Colonel Sheppard) called her on his cell phone.  He held his phone to the microphone so we could all hear the conversation.  He lied and told her the panel hadn’t started yet and the hilarity ensued!  Throughout the panel they all had some really good banter and teased each other mercilessly.  This panel was a blast. I’m going to be sure to attend more Stargate panels at future Dragon*Cons.

After that I hit the Art Show.  There I picked up my third Tom Fleming print. This time out it was Doctor Fate!  I’ve already got an Aquaman and Firestorm from him.  They look great framed in my office!  He’s slowly working his way through the JSA, so I might pick up some more from him in the future.  You can see more of Tom Fleming’s work by clicking here and clicking here.

Later Ravenface and I came across someone in an Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld costume!  We couldn’t believe it!  You may recall a few months back Ravenface and I interviewed the creators of Amethyst for this blog (click here for more on that interview).  This was the first time either of us had ever seen someone dressed as Amethyst.  We chatted with this lady for about ten minutes.  She was super sweet and really was a big Amethyst fan.

After that we witnessed the astonishing Alpha Flight photo shoot being organized.  Allen (a.k.a. The Evil Twin) had dressed up as Firestorm last year for Dragon*Con.  This year he created an impressive Sasquatch costume.  Seriously, this costume was eight feet tall!  You can read more about it on his blog. We were only there while they were preparing the photo shoot.  So I’m using some pictures here from other photographers.

During the convention, some of our friends were handing out THE UNIQUE GEEK bingo cards.  You can see the cards below.  In order to qualify to win, you had to have very specific pictures.  My old friend Shockwave took this challenge as a personal crusade.  Through determination and cleverness, he managed to get a bingo!  Way to go Shockwave.  Below you’ll see one of his required photos, a JSA member in Saturday Night Fever pose.  In this case, Doctor Fate discoing.

Finally, from 10pm until 4am we were at the Nuts on the Road: Gonzo Sound & Vision film fest (presented by NeedCoffee.com and Quickstop Entertainment)!  This thing is amazing!  They play hilarious video clips all night long, taking breaks every hour to hand out thousands of dollars in prizes.  Seriously!  If you show up, you’re going to go home with something.  More than likely you’ll go home with multiple prizes. This year I went home with Sideshow Collectibles gift cards, Batman The Brave & the Bold The Atom action figure, and a DC Universe Infinite Heroes action figure set with Bizarro, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl.  There were also numerous packages of caffeinated mints, caffeinated chocolate chews, and Bacon-flavored chewing gum given out (or to be exact, thrown out to the audience).  They offered a lot more prizes, but I declined as my suitcase was already beyond full.  Also featured was an opening musical act, Neil Innes (best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python – yes, the same guy we saw at breakfast).  There were other celebrities on-hand, such as Adam Savage (Mythbusters), Dr. Forrester & TV’s Frank (Mystery Science Theater 3000), Doc Hammer (Venture Bros), and more.  As always, we had a phenomenal time.  This year’s crop of comedy videos was possibly the best yet.  If you attend Dragon*Con next year, this event is a MUST!  Below is a photo of THE UNIQUE GEEK gang around 4:00am after the event was over.

That was Saturday!  Come back tomorrow for a recap of Sunday and Monday…

Assuming all is well with air travel, I should be in Atlanta this morning!!! Me and 30,000 of my closest friends all weekend long! Dragon*Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the US.  It’s the 6th largest convention in the city of Atlanta, has over 500 guests (actors, authors, artists, bands, etc),  and offers over 2,750 hours of panels, seminars, demonstrations, and workshops. Check out the DragonCon website for details on the event!

Below are a few snapshots from Dragon*Con 2008.  I typically take about 400 pictures each event.  While these aren’t really the best quality shots, they do give you an idea of some the diverse things going on.

Click here to view all my Dragon*Con photos on Flickr.  Also, for some of my favorite Dragon*Con shots click here and click here.  Finally, you can read about my 2008 Dragon*Con exploits by clicking here, here, here and here.

Shag and Captain America.  Check out my t-shirt.  Eat that, Steve Rogers!

Shag and Iron Man.  Again with the t-shirt backing up Tony Stark’s Civil War position.

Gareth David Lloyd & James Marsters from the Torchwood panel

Comic writer Peter David

Comic writer Mike Baron

The Convention Vixens

You never know who you’ll run into at Dragon*Con.  Race and Serv with Axl Rose.  … yeah, right.

The Unique Geek Board of Directors dinner

Iron Man!

Adam West and the Batmobile in the parade

Speed Racer’s Mach 5 in the parade

This Marvel vs. DC shot shows you just a tiny fraction of comic book costumes to be found at Dragon*Con

Talk with you sometime next week.  Assuming I recover.  

There is a book coming out in October that I’m anxious for … Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip by Nevin Martell.

If you’ve been reading ONCE UPON A GEEK for a while, then you probably know I’m a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes.  This comic strip found me at just the right time in life and I’ve felt a strong connection ever since (yes, it found me rather than the other way around).  Beyond reading the daily strips, I purchased the collections, and even put the unauthorized decals on my vehicles.  No… not Calvin peeing or praying.  These were actual images from the strips featuring Spaceman Spiff and a fierce-looking Hobbes.

This new book studies the life of reclusive writer/artist Bill Watterson.  While it appears that Watterson wasn’t actually interviewed for the book, the amount of research done is impressive.

Here is the description from the publisher, Continuum:

The fascinating life, work, and legacy of the reclusive creator behind the beloved Calvin and Hobbes comic strip

For ten years, between 1985 and 1995, Calvin and Hobbes was one the world’s most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life. There is no merchandising associated with Calvin and Hobbes: no movie franchise; no plush toys; no coffee mugs; no t-shirts (except a handful of illegal ones). There is only the strip itself, and the books in which it has been compiled – including The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: the heaviest book ever to hit the New York Times bestseller list.

In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip, writer Nevin Martell traces the life and career of the extraordinary, influential, and intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. With input from a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Lethem, and Brad Bird) as well as some of Watterson’s closest friends and professional colleagues, this is as close as we’re ever likely to get to one of America’s most ingenious and intriguing figures – and a fascinating detective story, at the same time.

Only 3,160 Calvin & Hobbes strips were ever produced, but Watterson has left behind an impressive legacy. Calvin & Hobbes references litter the pop culture landscape and his fans are as varied as they are numerable. Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is an affectionate and revealing book about uncovering the story behind this most uncommon trio – a man, a boy, and his tiger.

Comics Worth Reading received an advance copy and did a fairly in-depth review.  While they were critical about much, they ended by saying, “… this really is a wonderful, warm, and informative book that manages to capture just the right amount of magic about the creator and his creation.“

I’m looking forward to reading this book and getting a better understanding of Bill Watterson, the creator of such beloved characters.

One Week Until Dragon*Con 2009!!!

‘Nuff Said.