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September 12 - I'm certainly not the first to say this, but Autumn is clearly, and I would say prematurely, creeping up on us, isn't it? That means fallfire6 is almost upon us! I haven't done a lot of preparation work yet, but I do have some of the basics of funding and locales determined. Soon I'll have to update the fallfire site with this year's specifics. It feels great to be talking about the sixth annual fallfire contest, but, organizationally speaking, I'd hoped to be far less involved in what I'd also hoped to have been a much more autonomous entity by now. Ah, plans. Without my grandiose plans, and their inevitable abandonment, how else would I measure my failure? Still, having a plan - or, to be more accurate in my case, merely the slightest hint of an actual plan - is better than just bumbling along without any self-direction. I think. Take, for example, my "plans" for this year's FallCon comic book convention in St. Paul, Minnesota (which, by the way, has a brand new WEB-SITE). I have plans for all sorts of things, from new business cards, to a sketchbook of some recent drawings, to con-report webcasts at the end of each day.
(uh...this won't be in the sketchbook)
How much of that will actually happen? It's almost at the whim of the wind right now, as something as simple as a single bad day at the dreaded "real" job could rob me of just enough energy or motivation that I will have to forgo any or all of my FallCon plans. Even so, I do get this little buzz of excitement in my chest when I imagine - daydream, really - about my plans. While it may be true that "life is what happens while you're busy making plans," making plans can also be a way to enjoy life. For me, actively envisioning what could be is not only constructive, but fun! So what if only a small fraction of my planning comes to fruition. The dreamer in me can sustain the realist, even when the realist has to clean up the dreamer's messes. So, wish me luck as I begin my downward spiral in to reconciling my plans with sad reality...and the same for you and your plans! Now, some quick notes....
1) SpikeTV is still accepting votes for the 2009 Scream Awards. "Who cares?" you might ask. Well, amongst the categories is "Best Comic Book," for which O.F.O.WOMP Tim Seeley's Hack/Slash has again been nominated! Quick, go vote for him HERE (and every day after that until October 17th)! Beyond the obvious honor of being nominated with Green Lantern, Kick-Ass, Thor, The Walking Dead, and Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Tim's comic has the unbelievable distinction of having been nominated by an expert panel that includes Zack Snyder, Tim Burton, Wes Craven, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller! That's like an award right there!
2) I will be drawing caricatures in fabled Wisconsin Dells in October (17th and 18th)! Fulfilling my father-in-law Steve's prophecy, I am finally stepping up a notch on the caricaturing biz scale, hitting "the big time" after just six (or seven?) years of drawing people in public. The event is the 2009 Autumn Harvest Fest, and you can read more about it by clicking HERE, although I'm not yet listed there.
3) Speaking of my father-in-law, I should probably tell you that he is doing well. He's had some trouble with his recovery now, but, overall, he's clearly on his way back to 100%.
4) I'll say it here, and I don't care what you think of me afterward; I love Glee! Maybe it's the ghosts of my high school chorus experiences come back to haunt me, or my time as director of community theatre clouding my judgement, but I can't help it. I love it. I love the music (although badly dubbed...yeesh), I love the characters, I just...love it. Plus, I've long had crushes on Jane Lynch (brilliant and hilarious), and Jessalyn Gilsig (plays Claire's birth-mother on Heroes), and a pseudo-crush on Broadway's Lea Michele (of Les Miserables fame...and she's 23, not 16 like her character, so I'm technically not a creepy old man for liking her...technically). The only problem is that I can't help singing along with the show (much to The WOMP-Staff's chagrin). Anyone else have that problem? Oh, well...don't stop believin'!
5) I have a theme for this month's "...Of The Day" feature; superpowers! Hopefully, as September progresses, I'll post some thoughts about the nature of superpowers, their origins, their deeper meanings, and so forth. Or, at least that's the plan. Hmm. So, I leave you tonight with your first dozen Comic Book Superpowers of The Day - Flight, Control Over The Elements/Weather/etc., Matter Eating, Wall-Crawling, Ability to Communicate With Animals, Super-Mimicry, Immortality, Extra-Sensory Perception, Super-Strength, Super-Intelligence, Invulnerability, and The Ability to Emit Energy/Lasers/Fire/etc.!
August 28 - Let's talk a little bit about jealousy, shall we? The topic has been on my mind for a few days as my own sense of jealousy - which I'd long assumed to be dead (or at least dormant) - has once again reared its ugly head. When I was a much younger man, I was often overcome with envy, usually after viewing an amazing piece of artwork. I'm not talking about work produced by an established master. That would have been like being jealous of the sky for being blue. No, my greenest envy was reserved for artists whom I knew, or those with whom I believed I "ranked" (and "ranking" was, itself, a version of jealousness, as I imagined where "on a scale of 1 to 100" I compared, in my mind only, with all other artists in my genre). If any of these artists produced something extraordinarily beyond my expectations of their talents, my guts would grind with jealousy pains. In those early days, which included my Kubert School experiences, I truly believed that such envy was not only an important component in my artistic development, but a healthy one as well! I reasoned that it forced me to compete, which, in turn, forced me to improve myself. I can't completely deny the logic of that, but neither could I ignore the actual, physical illness that I'd feel afterward. There are those who will espouse envy (a form of greed, really) as a productive motivator. We comics artists - if I may indulge myself with such an inclusion - are, in theory, competing for essentially the same audiences (and their dwindling dollars). In competition, there is rivalry, and in rivalry there is often jealousy. Still, that attitude was putting my intestines into sour knots, so I finally came to the realization that envy was not only unhealthy (clearly), but not the motivator I'd once believed. When it came right down to it, I was never spurred to greater things upon seeing another's artwork. I was either too involved in making "excuses" for my suddenly apparent inadequacies, or wallowing in self-loathing. No, for me, jealousy was an evil habit that I had to kick. Like many addicts, I couldn't go cold turkey, so I stepped back in manageable increments. First, I let go of thinking "Anyone could have done that," then expunged "I could have done that," and finally settled on a healthier "I should have done that," which is more of a true motivator. With that, I learned that I can happily encourage other artists, that I can genuinely enjoy their work, and that I am in competition with no-one but myself. Or so I believed, and so I acted, until this last couple of weeks. That's when I was struck by a wave of stanky, old-school, fluorescent-green envy. It started with finding an absolutely gorgeous image of Swamp Thing on-line.
Even though it was produced as a three-dimensional computer model by someone named "J. Gary" in 2006, it made me as jealous as a thirteen-year-old watching "grown-ups" drive. Check out this cached page explaining the piece's creation (although the version I saw was much more advanced than the one posted there). OK, OK. I can handle a little spurt of old style jealousy. It makes no sense, but, after living without real envy for so long (twenty years or so?), I can be forgiven for a teeny lapse like that. Then...ugh. Then O.F.O.WOMP jake Stephens and I had a great little conversation about art and inspiration and such, and I mentioned that I was jealous of where he is, artistically, right now. It's been a long time since the Big Lightbulb went off for me, so I envied his current "Just Switched On" status. He's just hit that sweet spot where time, interest, opportunity, talent, life, and desire have converged. Squarely in the middle of that nexus, jake is worthy of envy. Again, not that big of a deal...until I saw what came of our conversation; encouragement to create something cool every day for a year. On his new site, 365 Days of Creation, jake describes it thusly;
While talking to John (Mundt, esq. - artist extraordinaire) today, we touched on a lot of different ideas, but we kept coming back to creativity and what is inspiring and what makes some artists stand so head and shoulders above the rest. Sweat equity? Hand of Dog? Genetics? Who knows.
Regardless, as we wrapped up, I mentioned that I was going to start this blog, imperfect idea or not (another idea we touched on in the two hours we sat in the coffee shop, landing pads for flies - “look one has a flag!”). It is based on an endeavor of another artist friend of John’s, Cary Kann, who has, for quite some time, forced himself to sit down and drawn something every day. After hearing that... I figured it was about time that I had a blog that had a point.
And, true to his word, he has produced some sort of creative artwork every day since then. Poetry, music, photography, and, mostly, virtual works have been spitting out of him like Africanized bees from a hive.
(this is just a little sample of the coolness found on jake's blog)
Each day's product is at least interesting, usually amazing, and too-often jealousy inspiring. Best of all, jake is finally garnering some of the wider recognition and praise that he so richly deserves. Damn him. So, here I sit, stewing in envy, trying to figure out why I fell so hard off the no-jealousy wagon. At least I'm still happy for another artist's successes, but not without a side order of stomach-churning green fries. As best as I can guess, my jealousy has something to do with the computer as medium. In regard to the flood of virtual art of the last two decades, I'm positively antediluvian. I often wonder how my life, and relationship with computers, would differ had I been born just a year or two later. In 1984, just before I graduated high school, there were four computers in our entire school, and those were used exclusively by advanced Math students for basic programming. The following year, when I was a Joe Kubert School student, Joe had just acquired the computer set-up that had been used to create the "cyber" elements of the film Tron, but only third year animation students were allowed to mess with it. Over the next few years, while such computer access restrictions eased, my sorry financial situation, coupled with my inglorious return to my parents' basement, kept me from being exposed to any of the advancements made in computer generated art until after I had become a curmudgeonly "established" artist (and by "established" I certainly don't mean that I was "recognized" or "employed," just that I'd become ensconced in my own peculiar ways by then). Had I been a member of, say, The Class of 1986? Who knows? So, here I sit, envious and bitter, and apparently none-the-wiser for the journey. Hmm. Actually, now that I've talked about it, I feel a little better. In fact, I feel great!
Jealous?
Well, now I must be off to my next exciting adventure, but not before asking once again for your suggestions for September's "...Of The Day" theme. If you've got an itch to see a topic discussed, just let me know before Tuesday, September 1st. Thanks in advance! See ya!
August 25 - OK, so first let me quickly say that everything with my father-in-law is great now, but only after some very serious surgery. In fact, far outpacing his doctors' predictions, he actually came home from the hospital today, and he's already back to...well, not "normal," but certainly a few hundred steps above lying motionless in an Intensive Care Unit recovery room. More on that in a moment, but I need to get back to the story of my speaking engagement in Montfort (was that just last week? Oy, it's been a long couple of days). Just as I was wrapping up my spiel, my host, librarian Marcie Harwick, ran from the building to respond to a family emergency, leaving it to an attending mom and me to close the library! It was pretty scary wondering what had happened, but I basically had to leave without knowing. Perhaps I'll let Marcie fill you in on the rest, courtesy of an e-note she sent today;
John,
I wanted to thank you for the wonderful job that you did with the kids here at our library. They are still talking about you. Thank you for your professionalism. I also wanted to apologize for running out on you that day. My 3 year old son had an old heavy 32" TV fall on him at home. He is fine now, but mom was pretty freaked out for awhile. Thanks again and good luck in your future ventures!
Marcie Harwick
Montfort Public Library
I wanted to be sure that everyone was OK before I told you about the unusual way that the event ended. That, I suppose, brings me back to my father-in-law, Steve. His surgery was certainly unique, even to his battle-tested heart surgeon, Dr. Paramesh, who called Steve's heart "definitely one of the top five worst" he'd ever seen. What made it so unusual was that Steve, a non-smoker/non-drinker, had none of the blockage-type problems that plague most cardiac patients. In fact, the vessels that usually need to be bypassed were, on Steve's heart, in excellent condition. Still, after a battery of tests, he was told that he needed dramatic, immediate surgery or he wouldn't live more than another six months (and that was the optimistic prognosis). Apparently, Steve had a congenital defect. One of his valves and a portion of his aorta had always been malformed, causing damage and, essentially, premature aging. In the twelve hour operation that began early the next day, both were replaced. Since then, Steve's recovery has been close to miraculous. He wasn't even expected to come out of sedation for two days, but was awake and speaking - hoarsely - just a few hours after surgery. Instead of "perhaps a month," his hospital stay, from diagnosis (after which he was quickly admitted), through surgery, to release earlier today, was almost exactly one week. A week! So, as frightening and serious as everything was, I think that Steve should consider himself incredibly fortunate to have had things transpire as they did.
Now, I think I need some rest. With the exception of Saturday (when I had to work at the dreaded "real" job), I've spent the last few days with my wife, the lovely WOMP Staff, either sleeping in waiting rooms, waiting in waiting rooms, or driving and/or walking to and/or from waiting rooms, so I am going to try to get some sleep (in a real bed! neat!). As I wrap this up, I've got no "...Of The Day" feature for this month now that I've finally posted all of the Comic Book Father Characters from my list (begun in April), so I'll leave you with a question; what theme would you like to see presented as September's "...Of The Day" feature? Send in your suggestions before the end of the month. The "winning" theme suggester (if there is one) will get a special mention in the ol' WOMP-Blog, a link to whatever they want to promote, and the gratitude of a lapsed blogger whose brain is pretty frazzled right now. Thanks! See ya!
*WOMP-Blog Archives EXCLUSIVE!* - Posted below are some of the many, many drawings I doodled on a little note pad while my father-in-law was in surgery. Some depict other "waiters," patients, or staff, but most are the scribbled ramblings of my own preoccupied imagination. Enjoy?
August 18 - Whew. What a long day. I had a wonderful time in Montfort on Monday, speaking and drawing for kids at their library.
There is more to the story, but I'll have to get a little more information before I tell you about it. Sorry, but after the next WOMP-Blog posting you'll understand why I must be so mysterious. I just have to check on something before I can talk about it. Oh, and speaking of checking on things, my father-in-law, Steve, had a check-up today, at which he learned that he must immediately have heart surgery! He goes in to the hospital tomorrow (Wednesday), after which we will all know more about what will happen next. Right now, it looks like he will need a valve replacement. He is understandably scared, and so are we. Hopefully, everything will work out just fine. I'll keep you posted. In his honor, I'll leave you with the first, and only, Comic Book Father-In-Law Character of The Day - Dr. Franklin Storm!
August...16 already? Yowza! - Yes, I've lapsed a bit again, but merely because of my inherent laziness. I've meant to post several times, but, as you may know, the end of my day seems to be the only time that I can get to any extraneous writing, I always have to decide whether to sit at the WOMPuter, hunting-and-pecking out my groggy thoughts, or to acquiesce to the overpowering lure of sleep. Ten times out of ten (percentage-wise), sleep wins. The number of times when The WOMP-Blog wins is statistically insignificant, but that doesn't mean that I didn't want to post something. I've been practically dying to tell you all about a bazillion things (more or less) that have happened recently. Some of those are even interesting! Still, I can't possibly talk about all of it, so I'll have to give you an old-school "Top Ten" List! As preamble, I'd should probably reiterate that I live in a tiny community where great and weird history permeates every square inch. Even in day to day life, reminders of what happened in the past intersects - and interplays - with every step. Here, then, is...
The Top Ten Things I Wanted to Tell You and/or Stories From This Month in Prairie du Chien History
10) No Balloon Animals, Though - For only the second time, I was hired to draw caricatures for a private party. Shannon, a former co-worker of the lovely WOMP Staff, asked me to come to her daughter's sleepover birthday party so that I could draw the attendees. That was fun, but a bit of a shock. Instead of seeing the little kids I was expecting, the girls were all in the early teen range! I guess a lot of time has gone by since I last saw Shannon's family! In reality, there's no big difference in drawing older kids versus younger ones (they're equally squirmy, if for different reasons), except that - especially with girls - a great deal of emphasis is placed on the hair-styles. So, now I suppose I should advertise that I hire out for birthday parties, wedding receptions, and Bar Mitzvahs. Hmmm...
9) History On A Bun - OK, OK. I'll stop talking about the 100th Anniversary of Pete's Hamburgers...right after this. This month marked the official anniversary of the first Pete's burger, an event commemorated with a special program at the Prairie du Chien Museum. Unfortunately, I had to work at the dreaded "real" job, so I couldn't attend, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't there. Apparently, an oral presentation of the history of Pete's even included mentions of my various artistic contributions to the local institution. That's pretty cool.
8) Fun-Fast - For the fourth (or fifth?) year, I drew caricatures for the Fennimore, Wisconsin, "Fun-Fest." Even though I was there for five hours, I was kept so busy that the time seemed to just fly by. And I had so much fun! All such events have memorable highlights for me. Sometimes those are experiences with difficult customers, but most stem from the unique people I meet while drawing their portraits. Special challenges are also very memorable, such as the super-sweet mom who had a reconstructed face, or the developmentally challenged woman who sat with me for most of the day, watching as I drew, until she finally got the courage to sit for her own caricature. Another challenge has now become something of a tradition (if traditions can be set with only two instances). A young couple had me draw their oldest kid, now two-years-old, whom I'd drawn two years ago when he was an infant in a stroller. Then I drew their new baby, sleeping in that same stroller. Drawing babies is hard enough, but knowing that the two virtually identical pictures will always be compared? That's definitely a challenge. I was so happy with the result, but I have no photos of the event because I was there sans-assistants. Sigh. Maybe next time.
7) The Great Council - On August 5th, 1825, a "Great Council" of Native Americans and white settlers was held at Fort Crawford here in Prairie du Chien. For days prior to the event, canoe-loads of attendees converged from all directions and included members of the Sioux, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Iowa, Sauk, and Fox tribes.
(This painting, by James O. Lewis, depicts the event)
The purpose of this gathering was to promote peace among the tribes and to establish boundaries for their territorial claims. Thousands of native people, who by tradition considered the plain where Prairie du Chien now sits to be sacred neutral ground, met in the spirit of peace. It's pretty cool to think that, right where I live, treaties between tribes, settlers, traders, and the government were signed, and great leaders from all camps professed their admiration and respect for one another. Exactly six years later, though, that all changed dramatically...
6) Edutaining Fun With Uncle John - Remember my assistants from the caricature drawing I did at Pete's Hamburgers 100th...er, I mean That Food-Stand Celebrating a Special Anniversary? My nephew Colton and niece Alanna (who was named after Adam Strange's wife, by the way) were great helpers that day, and we all had lots of fun together, so, when they asked to spend another day with me recently, I gladly capitulated. They're such great kids, how could I not? So, with Colton again taking photos, we first went for a fun nature hike in Pikes Peak Sate Park in McGregor, Iowa.
(...that's when we heard a voice in the woods say "oil can"...)
We then trudged out onto the remnants of the old 1930's bridge in the middle of the Mississippi River between Marquette, Iowa, and Prairie. I blogged about it sometime in the past, but the kids had never even really realized that such a bridge existed before the current, modern one. Colton especially was excited to find actual artifacts - bolts, lengths of support cable, tarmac chunks, etc. - of the bridge that he could take home with him. He is planning to research the old bridge, find a photo of it, then frame everything in a shadow-box with a brief history. Neat idea!
5) A Fight to Remember - Sometime in August of 1910, the world famous Buffalo Bill Wild West Show came to Prairie du Chien for a performance. As the elaborate production - complete with Main Area events, an Indian village, sideshows, and even horse racing - was being set up, several of the show's performers, cowboys, and other roustabouts wandered downtown to check out...well...to check out the local girls. This, as you might imagine, did not sit well with the local boys, who soon banded together to confront the out-of-towners. Voices raised, tempers flared, and, within minutes, a massive all-out brawl broke out, right in the city's main intersection (then called Church and Bluff Streets, now called Beaumont Road and Blackhawk Avenue, respectively). As the dust kicked up, and the flying fists were beginning to transition to knives, something happened. Some heard a single gunshot. Some heard a loud voice shouting "Halt!" Whatever it was, it caused everyone to stop in their tracks. As they looked up, there, astride a glowing white steed, was Buffalo Bill Cody himself.
(Buffalo Bill as he appeared in 1875)
A distinguished man with long white hair and trademark mustache and goatee, Cody dramatically rode directly into the center of the fray, commanding everyone to cease. Whether because of the force of his presence or his signature on their paychecks, everyone calmly dispersed. Disaster was averted, and no-one was seriously hurt. In fact, even the later presentation of the show itself was OK. In spite of the scrap (or because of it?), it was a sell-out. The event has become legend, and may even seem to you like a tall-tale from long ago. And I might agree with you, if I hadn't known a man who was actually there when it happened! Yep, the same man who would also tell me of his experiences in World War One (as readers of The WOMP-Blog may remember), was there that hot August day. His accounting of the fight has always sparked my imagination. Oh, there are the newspaper reports of the time that corroborate everything, but, for me, hearing it from a participant is so much better...and one of the greatest privileges of my life.
4) More Adventures of Comics - Hey! I'm going to be in Montfort, Wisconsin, on Monday to give my The Adventures of Comics presentation at the Montfort Public Library. I'm scheduled to speak at 2:00PM (until 3:30 or so). Stop in for a visit if you're going to be nearby.
3) A Stearns Warning - I wanted to send a shout-out to freshly anointed Official Fish of WOMP, Brian Stearns. Hi, Brian (and, sorry about the inexplicable "Fish" thing...it's sort of a tradition that...uh...really, it's too silly and confusing to even explain)! Brian, who lives in New Hampshire, is a writer who contacted me about a month ago about using one of my avatar illustrations (Mind's-Eye) for his blog. Since then, we've conversed a few times, striking up a bit of a friendship. We're even planning some collaborations over the next few months. Keep an eye out for those!
2) Happy Landon - An updated, second edition of John Garvin's The Landon School of Illustrating and Cartooning is about to be published. Readers of The WOMP-Blog (both of you) may remember my month-long investigation of the life and influence of cartoonist and educator C.N. Landon. I passed all of that information on to Mr. Garvin, who was able to incorporate most of it into his new edition. In fact, he's kind enough to give me this credit in the preface; "John Mundt, Esquire, provided a wealth of information from his own research on Landon’s early history, and forwarded additional research done by Henry R. Timman of Norwalk, Ohio. Mundt’s informative and entertaining home on the Web can be found here: http://www.johnmundtesquire.com/" Pretty cool, huh? I'm happy that something came of my weird fascination with comics history. Now, if only I can get my own such book off the ground....
1) Bad Axe - On August 1st, 1832 - just six years after the Great Council - as a clumsy, bloody war swept through the area, an armed steamboat (the ironically named Warrior), sent from Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, reached fleeing warriors of the Sauk, Fox and Kickapoo Nations (called the "British Band" for their attempts to ally themselves with Britain) on the banks of the Mississippi, where the native force had hoped to cross the river to escape American troops. After being guided by a Sioux Indian, the boat, with its prominent artillery piece, dropped anchor, making an escape virtually impossible. Black Hawk, leader of the British Band, attempted to surrender to the Warrior by waving a white cloth, but the crew either did not understand or, more likely, chose to ignore the message. The boat and its men opened fire, killing a number of unprepared Indians before they could scramble away into surrounding bluffs.
(Black Hawk as he appeared circa 1835)
The next day, on August 2nd, Black Hawk split his band, leading the American troops away to the North with a small group of men, while the rest of the Indians constructed rafts and canoes to facilitate an escape across the Mississippi. The plan was successful initially, but eventually General Atkinson, commander of the American troops, realized the ruse. The Americans broke their pursuit of Black Hawk, converging instead on the bulk of the band. In the ensuing "battle," women, children and the elderly hid behind rocks and logs, but the American soldiers often could not or did not differentiate between warriors and the obvious noncombatants. Atkinson even sent Wabasha and his Sioux warriors, enemies of the Sauk, in pursuit of the approximately 150 members of the British Band that had made it to the Western bank of the Mississippi. The Sauk, "escaped the best they could, and dispersed", but, of over a thousand souls, only 22 women and children were spared. Black Hawk escaped, but the Battle of Bad Axe marked the end of the war that still bears his name. Days later, he surrendered to the troops of Fort Crawford, and was temporarily held in the fort's dungeon. The bars of his cell are still on display at the Prairie du Chien Museum. As you've guessed, this sad episode still reverberates through P.d.C., not only in the community's many eponymous tributes (Blackhawk Avenue, for example), but also in our general reverence for a great local leader who found himself on the wrong side of history. In fact, his likeness was the first to be erected in Prairie's life-size sculpture park. In fact, just a few days ago now, almost under the radar, a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln (who was one of the pursuing American troops back in 1832, although he never saw action) was held near the grounds of the old fort. Special programs were presented throughout the day by re-enactors and others, including George Thurman, who is currently Principal Chief of the Sac (Sauk) and Fox Nation...
(Principal Chief Thurman, circa 2007)
Moreover, the fact that he could be invited - and would then accept such an invitation - to visit the site of his great-grand-ancestor's defeat and imprisonment, speaks volumes to how far we've come in a short 177 years.
So, there you have it; a little history, a little cartooning, and a little nonsense. That's what has been occupying my mind these last few weeks. If I could expand the parameters of the list a bit, I'd add an eleventh (unranked) bit of odd local info. August 15th marks the seventieth anniversary of the premiere of the film The Wizard of Oz. Sort of. You see, three days before the red-carpet, star-studded opening in Hollywood, The Wizard of Oz was actually first shown in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. No one knows why, but, for some odd reason, that's where it actually premiered. In fact, over the next couple of days, the now classic film was shown on several area movie screens, including - as legend has it - here in Prairie du Chien. I have tried to prove the early P.d.C. screening, but to no avail (our local newspapers were not dailies, so they're not much help), and, without real proof of any sort, I can't really call it "history." Still, it's a cool legend, so I thought I'd pass it along. Hmm. Speaking of "passing along," I'm about to pass out from all of this typing, so I should be getting along. Here, for absolutely no reason other than my obsessive-compulsive need to complete even the most inane tasks once I've started them, I present the last of my list of Comic Book Father Characters of The Day - Stone (as in "Turok, Son of..."), Kong (as in "Son of..."), Magneto, Scott Summers, Richard Rich, Sr., Zeus, Bruce Wayne, Homer J. Simpson, Mildew Monster, Goliath, Fred Flintstone, and Jonathan Kent!
July 24 - Hiya! Boy, have I been busy! I wish that I could say that my time has been occupied with exciting artistic endeavors, but, with a couple of possible exceptions, I have instead been mired in mundane chores. One of the hidden costs of an extended period of illness is that ignored household tasks pile up exponentially. As each uncompleted project begat three others, and so forth, the ability to easily reign it all in began to slip away from me, until, finally, I had to just dedicate pretty much all spare time for the last two weeks to getting "back to normal." So, as of right now, I'm nearly done. The extensive yard work (pruning old trees, planting new trees, gardening, landscaping, etc.) is done, the new shed has been built and filled with rakes and pots and such, the garage has been cleaned, bills have been paid and filed, I've responded to most of my backlogged correspondence, and I've completed any number of other even more menial, yet necessary, jobs. Now...ugh. Now I am waging a war against the continually accumulating crap cluttering the catacombs beneath WOMP Headquarters. And I think I'm losing. Every time I believe I'm winning, I discover another vein of unsorted comic books, or a hidden cache of boxes and packaging material saved for eBay shipping, and, while sorting it all, I end up with a mess as unkempt as before I began. Sure, I'm making some sort of progress, but only The WOMP Staff and I can see it (and even then only if we squint). I have no one to blame but myself, but it's still somewhat aggravating. To counteract the tedium, I've begun to experiment with the WOMPuter's video-making program. Below is my first attempt, as is now found on YouTube. It's weird. It's worthless. It's WOMPtastic. Watch it with someone you love...then immediately apologize.
For now, I'd better get back to work. Someday...someday I may even be finished. Sigh. I guess I'll leave you with a few more of my old, unposted Comic Book Father Characters of The Day - Odin, Doggie Daddy, Peter Griffin, Ben Cartwright, Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, and Gomez Addams!
July 11 - So, let's see...what all have I neglected to blog about recently? Well, I suppose I should tell you that my comic book classes for later today and next Saturday have been canceled. Darn it. Well, at least my last two workshops were well attended. I presented my cartooning spiel a couple of days ago right here in WOMP's hometown of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. It was part of our library's Summer reading program, so it drew (ha ha - a pun!) a fairly large crowd of kids (forty or so?). With the exception of a girl who appeared to be in her tweens, most of the crowd was very young (well, excluding parent-types). That meant a heavy emphasis on drawing silly or gross things (for example, my character, LIF-EL - who resembles "a living booger" - was very popular), and less focus on "how to." Even so, I showed the kids how to break down things into shapes, touched upon facial proportions, showed and explained several cartoon strip/comic book storytelling hints and tips, and even demonstrated my patented "Scribble-Dogs" method of finding inspiration/exercising imagination (OK...I'll describe that further some day, but, in a nutshell, it is similar to looking for figures in cloud formations). Afterward, I was asked to draw the kids' names from a bucket so that they could pick out prizes. The selection was a little thin, but I added the drawings from my lecture with the other prizes so that every kid could win something! So, one by one, I called out names, and was (egotistically) amazed that the first several kids chose my drawings over Beanie Babies, teddy bears (with the Wisconsin "W" on them and everything), T-shirts, and McDonald's gift certificates. OK, OK...so the two inflatable "guitars" were early choices also, but, for the most part, kids wanted my artwork! Unfortunately, when all of the gifts were given, I still had one name left; Emily, a teensy little girl of about five years. Fortunately, my arm hadn't fallen off, so I drew a special piece just for her. Since she had earlier volunteered that she liked to draw princesses, I drew a grown-up version of her, complete with crown, and called it "Princess Emily." Well, although some of the boys could not believe I'd just drawn such a girlie thing ("without no horns or anything," as one pointed out), Emily was thrilled. Seeing her ear-to-ear smile was like a prize that I had won. A month earlier, I had a much different, yet just as rewarding, experience when I presented my lecture at the public library in Cobb, Wisconsin. Only a handful of kids attended, but they were much more interested in the subject. It's a bit elitist, I suppose, but I think that I would much rather speak to ten kids who really want to learn about cartooning than forty who are "just there." At Cobb, I was able to more fully explain stuff to an appreciative few. These were kids who read Manga and Jeff Smith's Bone, had created their own characters, and wanted to know specific things, like how to draw a fist in three-quarter view.
(photo from the Cobb Library workshop)
That was pretty cool, too. In light of these two events, and another coming up in August, I guess it's not a big deal that my classes were canceled. Well, I guess I'll wrap this up for now. Next time, I'll tell you about some of my recent art projects. Here is your Comic Book Father Character of The Day -
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader!
July 10 - Hey there! How are you doing? As for me, I'm about a half hour away from heading to the dreaded "real" job, but I just had to post a little something for you. I have found a good video from the Pete's Hamburgers 100th Anniversary Event held last weekend. It gives you a pretty good idea of what it was like, even though the vast majority of it was shot just minutes after everything began on Friday. About half-way through, there's even a pretty good sequence of me drawing my first two caricatures. If you'd like to watch it, click HERE to go to the Pete's-specific page on the new pdctoday.com site. As for my own pix and video, well...hmm. On Sunday, my soon-to-be-in-4th-grade niece, Alanna, and soon-to-be-in-6th-grade nephew, Colton, volunteered to help me all day while I drew caricatures.
That was a lot of fun, and they were really very helpful, especially in keeping babies and dogs (yes, dogs...sigh) attentive and smiling while being drawn. Colton, in charge of taking photos, did an especially good job. He documented virtually every detail of the event (as well as any cool muscle car or motorcycle that drove by). He also took almost a half-hour of video in ten and twenty second snippets, but much of it is unusable, and all of it is fighting with my WOMPuter's video editing software. I'm still trying to cull the footage to a handful of interesting clips, after which I will post them to YouTube. Until then, I think I'll post some of his photographs on The WOMP-Blog Archives.
July 7 - Well, that was incredibly sad. Like so many others, I watched Michael Jackson's public memorial service this afternoon. I had intended to view the event with detached, almost scholarly interest, but I was crying like a baby by the first shaky lines of Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There." Look, I grew up with The Jackson 5, was a teenager for Thriller, and have been an active observer of Pop Culture since college. For better or worse, Michael Jackson meant something to me. I don't know exactly what, but it was definitely something. Of course, I've been to way too many funerals recently, so that didn't help. Hmm. So...I was trying to get back to wrapping up my Pete's Hamburgers 100th Anniversary report, but I just couldn't (partly because YouTube was undergoing service, so I couldn't upload my awesome Pete's videos!). Now I've got a cartooning lecture/workshop in a few hours, so I'm going to bail tonight as well, but I will get back to it later, I promise ('cause I know you've been on pins and needles waiting for it). For now I'll leave you with your Comic Book Father Character of The Day - Fred Andrews!
July 4th - Well, I survived Day Two of the Pete's Hamburgers 100th Anniversary Event. The day was rainy and cold while I was there, but the crowds were even larger than yesterday! I forgot my camera (UGH!), so I will have to wait until at least tomorrow to post any pictures for you. There were festivities and special events all day, including live music and more radio broadcasts. Starting at 10:00AM, I drew caricatures for four hours, having only one short break from 1:15 to 1:20. Just as I was wrapping up for the day, Congressman Ron Kind, straight from Washington, D.C., stopped by to present Pete's Hamburgers with a U.S. flag that had been flown over the the Capitol Building. And this was on the Fourth of July!
On top of that, he also read aloud a copy of his remarks entered into the Congressional record on June 26th (presented below as is now found on-line) -
HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF PETE'S HAMBURGERS -- HON. RON KIND (Extensions of Remarks - June 26, 2009)
[Page: E1618] GPO's PDF
---
HON. RON KIND
OF WISCONSIN
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday, June 26, 2009
Mr. KIND;
•Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Pete's Hamburgers of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and to recognize their 100th anniversary.
•It is reassuring to see that despite these tough economic times many American small businesses are still thriving. It was 100 years ago when Pete Gokey opened Pete's Hamburgers as a small, humble stand selling pan-fried hamburgers. Pete Gokey's life embodies the hard work, dedication, and commitment that have made our country great.
•Although we recognize it today for achieving the feat of keeping its doors open for 100 years, the story of Pete's Hamburgers is one founded upon an individual's commitment to public service and hard work. Before opening his stand to sell hamburgers, Pete Gokey was a member of the volunteer fire department in Prairie du Chien. As fate would have it, Pete was selected to be the chef for one of the fire department's community events, at which he was expected to serve fried hamburgers with onions. The hamburgers were a huge success and became the catalyst for Pete Gokey's successful stand.
•Gokey was able to turn his stand into a fixture of the Prairie du Chien community. Whether serving hamburgers or volunteering as a fire fighter, Pete Gokey was a man who lived a life based on hard work and service to his community.
•Pete's Hamburgers and its quality product have stood the test of time and I proudly stand before this chamber to recognize the success of Pete and his family who have dedicated their lives to something they love: hamburgers.
•I applaud the efforts of Pete Gokey and his family members who now run the business and I am proud to see their hard work rewarded by 100 years of business and 100 years of service to the Prairie du Chien community. May their success continue for many more years to come.
Pretty cool, huh? Now that's impressive. Well, I hope you all had a great day. I'm going to leave you for now with a special Independence Day Comic Book Father Character of The Day - George Washington!
July 3 - Day One of the Pete's Hamburgers 100th Anniversary Event is in the books, and, man, what a crowd! At any given time, the throng numbered between fifty and a hundred people...and this is just for hamburgers from a street vendor (a well-established one, but a street vendor nonetheless). Of course, there were many other things to do and/or buy during the day's celebrations. I was kept busy drawing my cartoon-portrait-style caricatures from 11:00AM to 2:00PM. It was crazy! I was interviewed by the local radio station (by O.F.O.WOMP Norb Aschom), during which I learned that I had been the answer to the daily call-in quiz! I was also filmed by two area television station news crews (not exclusively, of course...just as one of the anniversary events), and was part of at least two podcasts. If I find any of that stuff on-line, I'll post it here somewhere so you can point and laugh. In fact, I'll try to take my own little film or photo series tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. If I'm as busy on Saturday as I was today, I definitely won't have the time. In fact, I should probably go get some extra rest right now. Have a happy Fourth of July everyone! Here's another long-overdue Comic Book Father Character of The Day - Trigon!
July 2 - So, as I mentioned last night, this weekend marks the one-hundredth anniversary of one of Prairie du Chien's many oddball institutions, Pete's Hamburgers! Ever since Pete Gokey first made batches of hamburgers for a firefighter fundraiser (utilizing his secret ingredient; water), Pete's has been a Summer-and-Autumn weekend tradition. Over the years, while time has marched forward, very little has changed for the hamburger stand. In fact, I think that this "new" version of the stand (made a mere twenty years ago) is only the fourth to have dispensed burgers "with or without" onions on the hot streets downtown. Beginning tomorrow, three days of Pete's-centric fun will reunite family and friends, celebrate local history, and bring together everyone alive who has been part of the Pete's story...and that includes me! Several years ago (1999?), I drew the artwork for a new Pete's Hamburgers T-shirt. It features people from several different eras, all enjoying Pete's burgers. Below them is the phrase "WORTH WAITING IN LINE - SINCE 1909."
Not too long after that, I was asked to create a postcard for the stand. It features the double-line (people on both sides of the stand, but essentially in one line as the customers are served one at a time from alternating sides) mentioned on the T-shirt.
It's crazy, I know, but whenever I drive by the busy stand, and I see my T-shirt swinging from a hanger in one corner, while my postcard seems to have come to life...well, I feel a weird pride that I can't explain. That's why I said "Yes" when asked to draw caricatures for Pete's customers over the next three days. That should be fun...and it may be even more fun on Saturday when all of the artists who have contributed artwork will be on-hand. That includes my former high school Art teacher, Paul Porvaznik, and, as my Mom put it, "at least one Williams boy." This honor (?) is doubly humbling for me since Pete Gokey himself was an artist and sign maker when he wasn't making burgers. If you're in town over the weekend, treat yourself to a true Prairie du Chien tradition; stand in line, order a burger (in fact, get two), and remember to tell them whether you want yours "with or without." Oh, and bring a little extra cash for a caricature. I will be donating my profits to The Gokey Fund, established by Pete's descendants to raise money for cancer research. Stop by, won't you? The first burgers are ready at 11:00 each morning! See ya there! Oh, and here is another back-logged Comic Book Father Character of The Day - George Jetson!
July 1 - Uh, yeah. It's been a while....like three months. As you have no doubt guessed, things here at WOMP H.Q. have been...interesting? Challenging? Bewildering? Whatever the proper adjective, I'd like to add "...and boring." In a nutshell, I was unable to post, but now I think I can. It may not be daily (in fact, I'm virtually certain that it won't be), but I feel like I am back to as much as 90% of where I was before the "continued fun" happened to me, so I should have the energy to get back in the saddle, even if I fall out every now and then.
So, what have I missed? It's like the world has completely changed since I last sat down to write in the ol' WOMP-Blog. For example, as the lovely WOMP-Staff put it, "Everyone you ever thought was cool died last week." That's not exactly true, of course, but for someone my age (118), it felt like it. Coming right during the week of the 25th anniversary of my graduation from high school, the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson seemed to re-enforce the obvious: I'm not young anymore. I'm not even sure whether I count as youngish.
But I used to be young, and if it wasn't exactly yesterday, it doesn't seem like more than two or three years ago. During the last week in June of 1984, as I prepared to accept my diploma, how could I have foreseen the ironic impact that my actions would have a quarter-century later? Virtually everything that happened back then now resonates with unexpected emotion and bittersweet nostalgia. In no particular order, those last seven days in June of 1984 included...
...a "Meet The Artist" reception/performance for/by me! I had the good fortune to be awarded a scholarship from the Bluff Country Arts Council, but it came with a string attached; I had to exhibit my art for the members of the council (and their invited guests). Since I was being rewarded not just for my cartooning, but also for my sculpting, writing, singing, and acting (yes...my singing and acting actually won me a scholarship), I had to showcase several different works, act in a short play (which I co-wrote and performed with Michael Haefer and Joe Shulka), and even sing. Right then and there, as I learned that I was getting not just the expected honorarium, but everything from the Council's bank account because it was folding, I decided to find some way to pay my community back for their generosity. Jump ahead to this last week in 2009, and I am on the Design Committee of Prairie du Chien Downtown Revitalization, helping plan our own "scholarship" of sorts (more on that in the days to come).
...sending my application and portfolio to The Joe Kubert School. Since several of the portfolio pieces were on display at that reception thing, I was shipping them off at the last possible moment. In fact, I nearly skipped it altogether. After all, what were the chances that I'd be accepted anyway? Jump ahead to this last week in 2009, and I have been making plans to teach my own cartooning and comic book classes on July 8th, 11th, and 18th (details to follow soon).
...singing in our last high school chorus performance. Chorus, as a class, was one of the few (only?) places where my friends and I could actually hang-out together while at school. Our final concert, then, was symbolic of the ending of our school days. We (Mike Haefer, Joe Shulka, Joe Becwar, and I) sang as a barbershop quartet, as part of the larger ensemble, and as featured performers in our - and I swear this is true - tribute to Michael Jackson! We sang a medley of Jackson's hits, including a memorable version of Beat It....where I portrayed The King of Pop himself! It all sounds much cooler than it was, especially because my "impersonation" consisted of nothing more than donning a black fedora and a single white glove. I gave it as much attitude as I could (remember, I did get a scholarship for my singing and acting), but I was still an awkward six-foot-four white kid from Wisconsin...with a hat and a glove. Jump ahead to this last week in 2009, and, well, my odd connection to Michael Jackson has forced me to once again face my own mortality.
...at the Class Night before Graduation Day, unexpectedly receiving "Hall of Fame" awards in both Art and English. Seriously, I did not expect that. I egotistically thought that I might be in the running for the Art award, but to be named the top graduating student of all English courses? That really shocked me. These awards, given every year from about 1920 to about 2000 (when they mysteriously ceased), were chosen by the teachers of each subject category. Since our school had only one Art teacher, Mr. Porvaznik, I had a feeling that I was in the running for an Art award based solely on his actions in those last few days of school. The English award, though? The entire English Department had to vote on that one. It still shocks me today...speaking of which, jumping ahead to this last week in 2009, I found myself dealing with many of those former teachers. My dreaded "real" job often puts me in contact with people I haven't seen for years, which, this last week, included two English teachers, a Geometry teacher, and Mr. Porvaznik. In fact, he and I will be together again this coming weekend as Pete's Hamburgers celebrates their 100th anniversary (more on that later)!
...at the Class Night before Graduation Day, unexpectedly receiving "Hall of Fame" awards in both Art and English. Seriously, I did not expect that. I egotistically thought that I might be in the running for the Art award, but to be named the top graduating student of all English courses? That really shocked me. These awards, given every year from about 1920 to about 2000 (when they mysteriously ceased), were chosen by the teachers of each subject category. Since our school had only one Art teacher, Mr. Porvaznik, I had a feeling that I was in the running for an Art award based solely on his actions in those last few days of school. The English award, though? The entire English Department had to vote on that one. It still shocks me today...speaking of which, jumping ahead to this last week in 2009, I found myself dealing with many of those former teachers. My dreaded "real" job often puts me in contact with people I haven't seen for years, which, this last week, included two English teachers, a Geometry teacher, and Mr. Porvaznik. In fact, he and I will be together again this coming weekend as Pete's Hamburgers celebrates their 100th anniversary (more on that later)!
...receiving my diploma. Finally. And, even today, as I almost daily drive past my high school alma mater, I still think to myself "I am so glad that I don't have to go back there." Oh, don't get me wrong. I have many pleasant memories of those days. Some may even have been the cliched "best days of my life," but, over all, I did not enjoy attending high school. Jump ahead to this last week in 2009, where plans may very well be underway for a 25-year class reunion, and I couldn't care less. I know that sounds snarky (or maybe even false, since I am talking about it right now), but it's just how I feel. And why wouldn't I? My closest friends have either kept in touch or died, I've seen most other classmates in the same way I've seen past teachers at my dull "real" job, and there have been no substantive changes in my life recently (that I'd care to share).
That pretty much brings me back to right now. I have had a few interesting things happen while AWOL from the WOMP-Blog, but I'm not going to over-reach tonight by trying to tell you everything all at once. No, for now I am happy to just get back on my horse, even at a trot. So, look for more posts as my recuperation transitions into rehabilitation (or words to that effect). For now, for no particular reason other than satisfying my own dementia, let me leave you with what should have been April 4th's Comic Book Father Character of The Day - Herman Munster!
WOMP-Blog Archives Exclusive - OK, just to reward you for checking in on me (thank you, by the way), I present photographic evidence of my performance as Michael Jackson! It's not the best picture, and it's clearly not an action shot, but - sigh - that is indeed me with the black hat, striped shirt, and single white glove. Ugh. Gotta love the Eighties, I guess. Ok, now....BEAT IT!
April 3 - Well, today was my Dad's last day at work. As of 3:00PM, Kelly Mundt has officially retired. Dad was something of a Doogie Howser, having graduated from medical college at eighteen years old. He was a double-threat, proficient in both the diagnostic medical laboratory and the (then still) new use of X-Ray machinery.
(Believe it or not, that's Dad after college, at his first job, in 1963)
As such, just a few years later, he became the head of both the Laboratory and X-Ray Departments here in my hometown of Prairie du Chien...when he was just 24. And there he stayed, day in, day out, until 3:00 today. Oh, the names of the departments have changed a bit (now jointly called Diagnostic Services), and the equipment has changed immeasurably (CAT, MRI, digital...heck, they don't even use X-Ray film anymore), but my Dad has been in charge of all of it for over forty years. On his way out the door, he stopped at the reception desk and asked to use the hospital's public address system, upon which he announced "Kelly Mundt has left the building. Kelly Mundt has left the building." With that, flanked by the sound of applause coming from every corner of the hospital, he walked out to begin his well-deserved third chapter. In his honor, I've decided to get a jump start on June's traditional celebration of paternity with an entire month dedicated to fathers in comic books! Believe it or not, this has been an actual topic of geeky conversation several times during my years as a fanboy/cartoonist wannabe. Ever since Joseph Campbell told us about the guy with 1,000 faces, the relationship between comic book characters and their fathers has been the subject of great debate and conjecture. Even my own comic, The Adventures of Monkey, isn't immune to discussion of it's (my?) many "daddy issues." So, let's jump right in with one of the most prevalent "daddy issues" in comics, the absentee father. Long before it was a popular topic on Tyra, comic books have been dealing with the subject of "men who leave." It's as if there is some rule that a character, male or female (but especially male) isn't really a "grown-up" until Dad is gone. An incredible array of characters lost their pops to the Grim Reaper before beginning their "adventures." Poor Superman had to lose two. In the past, I've argued that this "absence of a father" element was a reflection on the kind of creators and, ultimately, readers that are drawn to the comic book medium. Now? I'm not so sure. I think that such stories as Superman's are just in keeping with the world's mythology, which has inspired many comics creators for decades. Some of that is because of the sense of "passing of the torch" that a father character's death elicits. As Uther had to die so that Arthur could rule Britain, so we feel that Thomas Wayne had to die so that Batman could rule the night. There is not only torch-passing involved, but a somber empowerment, as in "I'm the man of the house now." In some ways, this is pretty much what happened to my Dad's father, my Grandpa Les Mundt. At the age of twelve, his Dad (Great-Grandpa Henry) died. Grandpa's two older brothers were already off to barber college, so, with his Mom and a handful of sisters to support, little Les took over running the family farm. He "retired" sixty years later when he died at the age of seventy-two. Of course, not every absentee father character actually died. An off-shoot of the theme is the mysterious-disappearance, dramatic-later-reappearance father. This is an especially evil plot device, as it first tortures a character through childhood, then revisits that pain after a couple of decades of healing have passed. Curiously, none of this applies (at least not broadly) to mother characters. Weird. Well, let's pick this up again tomorrow. I've got my Dad's retirement party to set up early in the morning. Until next time, here are your first few Comic Book Father Characters of The Day - Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards, Jor-El, and Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff!
March 31 - So, what's left to say about More Fun Comics? I suppose that I haven't really talked about the superheroes that it spawned. Some became minor stars (like The Spectre), others were also-rans (Johnny Quick), and several others became odd footnotes (Dr. Occult). Even though they had some successes back in the day, it was never "Superman-success." Probably the biggest super-star to first see print in MFC was Aquaman. Originally just another back-up feature character, it took him decades to gain "Justice League level" status. That seems to be the general legacy of all super-powered characters from More Fun Comics. None of them took the world by storm, and I think I know why; they never had the advantage of a book-length story. Every appearance was limited to a handful of plot-intensive, action-filled pages. While the more obvious detriment to such a publishing history is that readers never had more than a few panels to get to know these characters, the secret of their non-success may actually have been the lack of memorable auxiliary characters. Name one character from The Spectre's comics mythology other than himself (or his alter ego). If you are a comics historian, you could probably do it, but chances are that you're drawing a blank. Now name Superman's mom(s), girlfriend(s), and boss(es). Even my Mom, wife, and boss could do that. A well-developed supporting cast seems to have a big impact on the success of a lead character, for any number of reasons. In eight-or-so-page stories like those in More Fun, everything had to be more streamlined, so the cast was limited too. It's just a theory. Sigh. I'd still love to see a return of big anthology comics someday. There is just something so satisfying about having so many stories in one publication. Well, let's wrap this month up with your last More Fun Comics Character of The Day - Dr. Fate!
(Dr. Fate's second appearance, and first cover --- image
is again courtesy of the Grand Comic Book Database)
March 30 - It turns out that I'm cool. At least that's what a fourth grader told me recently. I've never really felt like I was cool, but at least someone thinks I am. In fact, I seem to have been a hit with lots of people this last month...as long as those people were between the ages of six and twelve. I apologize for my lax blogging over these last few weeks, but I've been busy entertaining kids all over town. Some we were "babysitting" (or whatever word you'd use when the kids are around ten years old....preteensitting? Hmm...that doesn't sound right), but most were the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Graders of Bluff View Intermediate School. The school is just a few blocks away from WOMP Headquarters, so it was no big deal for me to just drop by to talk about comics and cartooning (and you know that I love talking about myself, as is evidenced by the example of this WOMP-Blog).
Not only was that was a lot of fun, but I really feel that I was able to tell every group (several hundred over the course of two days) some very important, interesting things. I knew it was going well (based purely on the excited shrieks solicited by my drawings of blob monsters and super-ducks), but I was pleasantly surprised at the great, pertinent questions the kids asked. It was pretty obvious that many of these students were truly cartoonists in the making. To me, that made the whole thing worthwhile. Oh, if only some cartoonist had told kid-me even half the stuff I told those kids (all of which, by the way, someone else told me in later years). Sigh. Anyhoo, time has passed, and I had only my impression of the day to gauge whether I'd had any impact. Imagine my surprise, then, when a package from the school was delivered to WOMP Central. Within it, wrapped in three signed "thank you" cards (one from each grade), were literally hundreds of cartoons drawn by the students!
(I tried to take a photo of the "thank you" drawings, but my
"assistant" insisted on "helping," so this is my best pic)
Awesome! Better still, upon review I could see that the vast majority of them had implemented one or more of my tips from my "lectures." And, yes, I looked at every single one. Most were actual comic strips, some of which were quite good or funny (all of which were very interesting). Now, I'm not deluded enough to think that any of these kids will necessarily go on to have cartooning careers someday, but I've always felt that cartooning comics can open up imaginations, can improve communication skills, can comfort in troubled times, and can be a lifelong friend, so I feel like I've really made a difference in their lives. And, you know what? That makes me feel pretty cool.
(This cartoon - by mono-named Elise - features the skinniest depiction of me that I've ever seen, so I had to show it to you. It
also has an ironic spelling mistake. Skinny-me is saying "I am drawing a Money." Hmm. More truth in that than I'd like to admit)
OK, now let me talk about More Fun Comics again. Just a little. One of the things which most interests me about the series is that it was so malleable. Unlike, say, the Batman comic, More Fun could, and did, feature whatever kind of story the editors thought would sell comics. In that way, it was not just a laboratory for the comics medium, it was something like the pulse of the industry. Well, maybe it was more like the pulse of the editorial strength of the industry. I mean, it was canceled due to poor sales, so it wasn't a pure barometer. Still, it fascinates me that More Fun was, using television as a metaphor, more of a TV network than a TV show. In a young, foundling industry, I suppose that made sense. While it may seem strange to put silly cartoony stories in the same comic as serious murder mysteries, the publisher and editors had little choice but to put all of their eggs in the only basket they had. If any of them hatched, then they were moved around to other titles or even into their own. Today, anthology comics (what few there are) are seen as the weaker, less impactful poor cousins of "regular" comics. Even at that, today's anthologies are more thematic. Every story within a title has some element in common. The last successful anthology was probably Dark Horse Presents, which, in many ways, was very similar to it's More Fun Comics ancestor. As More Fun gave us some of the most beloved characters of the Golden Age, DHP introduced new characters (like Paul Chadwick's Concrete) and new stories (like Aliens vs. Predator) which have dominated the industry in more recent years (Frank Miller's Sin City being arguably the most famous). Unlike More Fun, however, DHP focused more on quality rather than quantity. I'm not saying that there weren't great artists at work in the pages of More Fun, but here are the features of a typical table of contents from issue #25;
(Cover pic courtesy of the Grand Comic Database)
- Sandra Of The Secret Service
- Johnnie Law
- Sam the Porter
- Jack Woods
- Dr. Occult
- The Magic Crystal of History
- Spike Spalding
- Ivanhoe
- Hanko The Cowhand
- The Brady Boys
- Pirate Gold
- Just Suppose
- Pep Morgan
- Barry O'Neill
- Bob Merritt
- Brad Hardy
- Wing Brady
- Mark Marson of the Interplanetary Police
- Jest Jokes
- The Three Musketeers
- Woozy Watts
- Marty McCann, Champion of the Navy
- Little Linda
- Radio Squad
(Cover pic courtesy of the Grand Comic Database)
- Sandra Of The Secret Service
- Johnnie Law
- Sam the Porter
- Jack Woods
- Dr. Occult
- The Magic Crystal of History
- Spike Spalding
- Ivanhoe
- Hanko The Cowhand
- The Brady Boys
- Pirate Gold
- Just Suppose
- Pep Morgan
- Barry O'Neill
- Bob Merritt
- Brad Hardy
- Wing Brady
- Mark Marson of the Interplanetary Police
- Jest Jokes
- The Three Musketeers
- Woozy Watts
- Marty McCann, Champion of the Navy
- Little Linda
- Radio Squad
All of this in just sixty-eight pages...and for just 10 cents! Whew! Wow, how times have changed! I don't think that I'm specifically nostalgic for those days (especially since my parents hadn't even been born at the time), but I'd love to see something like More Fun Comics produced today. Heck, we already have Free Comic Book Day (coming up on May 2nd this year), so maybe DC could have a More Fun Comics Day, where they could repurpose the venerable old title as a promotional introduction to the year's upcoming projects, selling it for a dime. Hmm. It's a thought. I'll be back tomorrow (I promise!!!) to wrap this month up, so I guess I'll just leave you with all but the last of your remaining More Fun Comics Characters of The Day - Jimminy Crockett, Sandy Keane of The Radio Squad, Doctor Occult, Biff Bronson, Superboy, The Masked Ranger, Pedro, Green Arrow, Speedy, King Carter, Bulldog Martin, The Spectre, Sgt. O'Malley, Detective Sgt. Carey, Wing Brady, Lieutenant Bob Neal, Lance Larkin, Clip Carson, Larry Trent of The Radio Squad, Dover, and Clover!
March 9 - Whoops! I guess I let the remainder of Will Eisner Week slip by without an update here in the ol' WOMP-Blog. That was mostly an oversight since much of the entry below was completed back on last Wednesday night/Thursday morning. I just never had the time to post it. Oh, well. Let's get back to it...
Man, I love a good police drama. I grew up during what has to be considered the Golden Age of TV cops. The proliferation of detective programs during that period, from about 1970 to around 1980, really hasn't been matched since. It may not be what most kids were into, but my Dad and I were devoted followers of everything from Kojak and Baretta to The Streets of San Francisco and Hawaii Five-O. Oh, and The Mod Squad, Ironside, Quincy M.E., Columbo, Banacek, McCloud, Cannon, and - of course - our favorite, The Rockford Files (just to name a few). As we'd watch each show, we would compete with each other to see which of us could solve the case first. Dad always won, but only because I always wanted there to be some sort of "aliens," "ghost," or other sci-fi angle, whereas he was both smart enough to decipher the actual clues and he understood TV-writing formulas (for example, the Murder She Wrote murderer is always the most famous guest star who is not the accused, or, expressed as an actual formula, M=MFGS-A). Sigh. Those days are gone now, but, thanks to the new cop/science fiction series Life on Mars, which is set in 1973 (or a coma-induced version of 1973 at least), I can not only revisit the era of my youth, but finally can enjoy the weirdo elements that I'd always wished for back then! Even so, I'm sure my Dad solves the cases before I do. That all reminds me of Will Eisner's The Spirit, which, when it comes right down to it, was a police drama. Often overlooked in scholarly examinations of Mr. Eisner's work is his ability to craft a compelling mystery. This may be related to the first countdown feature of the night...
Seven Ways That
WILL EISNER
Changed My Life!
Number Four - Will Eisner made me think ahead about what I draw! It seems like a no-brainer. If you are going to draw something, you should think about it first, right? Even so, for years I drew as I had since childhood; without any planning other than remembering to assemble pencils and paper, I'd start drawing "something," then slowly fill the remaining page(s) with whatever else I'd think of. I drew my earliest comic books that way. I'd draw a cover, then the first panel, then the second, and so on. That may explain why so many of those comics have no ending. Later, when I saw how carefully designed Mr. Eisner's extremely tight little Spirit stories were, I knew I had to change my established "process." In just a tiny number of pages, he could show - ugh - just so much; satire, mood, the passage of time, character development, humor, drama, philosophy, innuendo, adventure, and an actual story (with not only a beginning, middle, and end, but also a point). It was pretty obvious that he didn't "just draw" such a comic. He crafted it. Wherever I would always just wing it, hoping to find something good when I was done, Mr. Eisner clearly polished his stories, reworking each several times before they went to print. Since discovering this, I have spent a lot of time thinking about my comics work (which has been few and far between...but at least I thought about it) before drawing it. I now have file after file of production designs, story notes, layout ideas, and stories (each with not only a beginning, middle, and end, but also a point). While the quality of these stories is questionable, no-one can deny the amount of thinking ahead that I do to create them. Far from burdening the process, this adds so much more enjoyment and satisfaction to my work (just like his challenge to never do the same thing twice). Thanks, Mr. Eisner!
That brings me to...
Number Three - Will Eisner revealed to me that comic books are all about storytelling! OK, I'll admit it. I used to think of comics as not much more than booklets filled with nifty drawings. Oh, I understood that they were written by someone, but most stories of my youth seemed to be pretty formulaic. Those that weren't? I couldn't figure out what made a comic book better than another. Even more curiously, some of my favorite comics featured artwork that wasn't as "cool" as what was in some of my least favorite comics. In fact, when I really first saw Will Eisner's The Spirit artwork in advertisements, I was less than impressed. I guess that his style was too old-fashioned for a kid more accustomed to Neal Adams and Gil Kane. It was only later, when I actually read three The Spirit stories in A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics, that it all finally clicked. A comic book is a storytelling medium. Everything, from script to layout to character designs to lettering size to inking style to whatever, should contribute to telling a story. If some element doesn't do that, it shouldn't be there. And those comics with "so-so" art that I enjoyed nonetheless? Upon review, they were streamlined to tell the story at hand. No muss, no fuss, just enough for us. This hit me like a revelation...a revolution...a resolution; from then on, for me, comic books are all about storytelling. This has enriched my comics reading, understanding, and creating. Thanks. Mr. Eisner!
Speaking of understanding...
Number Two - Will Eisner legitimized comic books in the eyes of my family! I've been dancing around the subject of the most powerful of Mr. Eisner's works, at least in regards to its impact on my life. I'm talking, of course, of Comics and Sequential Art (subtitled The Understanding and Practice of The World's Most Popular Art Form). Published about the same time I left The Kubert School, this book became my textbook for furthering my comics education on my own (sidenote; at least during my time at the JKS, there were no textbooks, nor even a library). It is the first book to dissect the art of comics in a serious, studious way. It has been indispensable to me over the years, but, honestly, by the time I got my hands on a copy (1987?), it served mostly to clearly and carefully voice concepts which I had already come to understand in some form (at least a little) by schooling, private study, reading, and/or doing. No, the greatest impact the book had on my life was as an introduction to "my world" for my parents. After reading my copy, I loaned it to my Mom and Dad. It's all well and good to have a passion for something, but how do you explain that passion to people who have absolutely no frame of reference? Comics and Sequential Art showed my folks exactly what I'd been trying to tell them for years. While they had always been supportive, they were each very impressed with the book, which not only legitimized comic books in their eyes, but my pursuit of a comics career as well. Strangely, the story doesn't end there. Nearly twenty years later, in 2005, I felt like I was in a creative quandary, and I was looking for some direction. Some of you long-time WOMP-Blog readers may remember this episode. After years of fantasizing about communicating with Mr. Eisner, I finally decided to place my future in his hands. I gathered my crappy comics, began a letter begging for advice, and prepared to accept his judgement. Before I went any further, because of the potential that this act would change the course of our lives, I felt that I had to explain to my lovely wife (The WOMP Staff) just who this Eisner guy was, and why his "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" meant so much. What better way than to show her my dog-eared copy of Comics and Sequential Art? Like my parents before her, she gained a real appreciation for what Will Eisner did, and an understanding of why his opinion would mean so much to me. Unfortunately, Mr. Eisner died three days later. I'd missed my chance for a direct conversation about comic books with one of my heroes, but, upon reflection, I realized that he'd already spoken to my family on the subject, and that was worth all the advice in the world. Thanks, Mr. Eisner!
That brings us to...
Number One - Will Eisner has inspired my entire "career" It's probably pretty obvious by now that I think very highly of Mr. Eisner and his work. He has been a serious influence on me since I was in the seventh grade, and I consider his comics and graphic novels to be among the best ever produced. But, as for inspiring my attempts to have a career in comics? That's more difficult to explain. I suppose that it has a lot to do with Mr. Eisner's impressive talents for "sequential art" as his chosen medium. Most cartoonists are, were, or at least seemed to be frustrated artists who'd rather have been creating "real" art, but were forced to belittle themselves with comics work. And, even though Mr. Eisner himself seems to have felt that way quite often, it's pretty obvious now that he was meant to create comics. Whether innate or learned, his ability as a master comic book artist has become legend, and was/is, no doubt, one of the main reasons why Mr. Eisner's work has inspired me for decades. But...but there is something else there....something that keeps me going, even when everything around me is desperately trying to tell me to stop. What is it? Well, when I read an Eisner work, especially his later graphic novels, I'm always, always swept up in his genius. I have often blathered about his fellow master-storyteller Frank Miller (who had an equally important influence on me), but where Mr. Miller sees the darkness, Mr. Eisner illuminates it. He doesn't dismiss it. Both artistically and thematically, Will Eisner never shied away from the dark areas. In those graphic novels, there was seldom (if ever?) a "happy ending," but the focus was less on the character's specific vignette than it was on his or her humanity. I think that his artistic world-view, which imbued his drawings with a sense of real life - warts and all - may be the biggest reason why Will Eisner has influenced my entire "career," and, of course, my life. I like to think that I'm a better artist because of The Spirit and Comics and Sequential Art, but I know that I'm a better person because of A Contract With God and A Life Force. For that, and for every other way that he changed my life, I am eternally grateful. Thanks, Mr. Eisner!
So, I have no fun little game for you tonight, but I can leave you with a few more (backlogged) More Fun Comics Characters of The Day - Johnny Quick, Captain Desmo, Henri Duval, Superman, Johnny "Genius" Jones, and Aquaman!
March 3 - Will Eisner Week is going strong, but I haven't heard anything about it in the "real" press yet. That's OK, I suppose. He's sort of "our" guy. Trying to explain to "outsiders" just who Mr. Eisner was, or what made him so great that we need an entire week devoted to his legacy, is like trying to explain a symphony to the deaf. I mean, he didn't create Batman or Superman or anything. In fact, other than a tribute piece or two that he produced later in life, I don't think that he had any significant, direct involvement in "mainstream" comics since the 1940's. I once tried to describe him as the "Ben Franklin of comic books;" he was an indispensable figure from the very beginning, guiding it all with his immeasurable strengths and unmatched talents, but he was never the "President." Just like Dr. Franklin, we all owe Mr. Eisner so much for what he did for us (especially we comics folk). That brings us naturally to the next part of my countdown of...
Seven Ways That
WILL EISNER
Changed My Life!
Number Five - Will Eisner challenged me to never do the same thing twice (*)! When I first decided to really pursue a comics career, I began to look at the actual work of creating a comic book. This is back in the days before home computers and long before the Interwebs, so I studied by purchased and library-loaned books, mostly. Many of these were collected volumes of old comics. One of the first, most obvious differences between mainstream comic book collections and those of Mr. Eisner's classic The Spirit was that The Spirit had no actual logo. Everyone knows the iconic Superman logo because the same one was used over and over again (thanks to photostats), but for it's entire ten year run, Will Eisner redrew - re-imagined, really - The Spirit's logo every single time it was used...and this was for a weekly comic!
(Just look at these five issues of The Spirit, each with completely different logos...all from December of 1940!)
Of course, if one looks just a little deeper, this compulsion for constant invention and reinvention permeates not just the logo, but every page of The Spirit, and everything Mr. Eisner did after that. He was literally still drawing comics up until the day he died, and none of what he did - NONE OF NEARLY SEVENTY YEARS' WORTH OF DAILY COMICS WORK - ever repeated (* except, of course, when that repetition was an important element of the story, such as in a "wallpaper gag" or other such replicating pattern that was necessary for storytelling). Now, while I'll cop to reluctantly using photocopies of logos, I otherwise strive to never repeat anything. Taking my cue from Will Eisner, I'm challenged to always, always find new and different ways to...well, to do pretty much anything that I do, now that I think of it. While Mr. Eisner's "never-do-the-same-thing-twice challenge" originally only affected how I wrote and drew comic books, it has now infected nearly every aspect of my life (at least in regards to those things which are creative endeavors). Today, while it sometimes means that I've made my work a little bit more difficult, it also ultimately makes that work so much more meaningful to me. Thanks, Mr. Eisner!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Now some more fun! More Fun Comics was an anthology book, featuring dozens of characters in little eight, four, or even two page stories. Because of this, no one character was ever the "star," but a few dominated the covers. Until issue number 52 (a weird coincidence, in light of DC's series 52, but I digress), the cover illustrations feature fairly generic humor or adventure scenarios. Images of kids getting into preposterous trouble, swashbucklers sword-fighting on castle walls, and holiday themed scenes were forever interrupted by the grim visage of a hooded ghost rising menacingly above a gang of racketeers. Above the logo, a bold announcement ushered in a new era of "more fun." It read...
Starting this issue: the daring exploits of THE SPECTRE!
For the following five years, as World War Two raged, superheroes dominated the covers, even as all sorts of stories were still being printed inside. In honor of these oddball spirits of vengeance, masters of mystic arts, scarlet speedsters, and heroic marksmen, I have another game for you tonight! Below, I will post the names of a handful of strange, completely new superheroes (or supervillains?). Pick one (or a couple, even), then reply to this entry (via the WOMP-Blog Archives on LiveJournal) with your ideas of what their powers are, their origin stories, or whatever else you'd like. Be serious if it strikes you to be so, or be silly. Either way, just have fun with it! So, here are your candidates...
A) The Harvester
B) Gateway
C) Yaro The Invincible
D) The Clubber
E) Acropolis
F) The Tork
G) Phantom of The World Cup
H) The Fearless Cutlass
I) Gandhiman
J) The Tinsmith
K) Motion Master
L) Farmer's Daughter
M) Captain Bronto
N) Axcess
O) Mason Dixon
P) Flowerchild
Q) Skyboxer
R) Ronald Raygun
S) Sigfriedenstein
T) Mister Child
U) The Blue Ribbon
V) Originman
W) W3-X7
X) The Bounder
Y) Doctor Pentagram
Z) Baby Boomer
There has to be at least one of those that strikes your creative eye. Go on, pick one out, and write up a little something. Who knows, maybe it will be the next big character! Here, then, is your More Fun Comics Character of The Day - Congo Bill!
March 2 - Hey there! Back for more? Let's start, then, with the next "thrilling" installment of my countdown of...
Seven Ways That
WILL EISNER
Changed My Life!
WILL EISNER
Changed My Life!
Number Six - Will Eisner ruined my handwriting! Well, "ruined" may be too strong a word. You see, before I'd ever seen any of Mr. Eisner's work, I was dutifully keeping notes, writing letters, and submitting reports in a decent cursive handwriting. By the fourth grade, my overly-curly "John Mundt" was more like "John Hancock." By the time I'd added "Esquire?" Forgetaboutit. Then I had a seventh grade Biology teacher who required that every student carefully print everything produced for his class. That was quite a challenge. I did my best, I really did, but my printing was so illegible that it actually angered my teacher. If any of you have seen my current signature - which is directly descended from one I developed during those days - then you have a rough idea of how awful my printing was. Even so, I have never gone back to "longhand" handwriting. I struggled through the next few years as I looked for my "print-voice," but then I saw Will Eisner's larger-than-life signature on the cover of one of the earliest Spirit collections.
It was composed of a tweaked traditional comics font, brush strokes, and a handful of specific quirks. I was especially fond of the way that some lowercase letters stood in for their uppercase counterparts. As a Freshman in high school, I created my alter ego/nom de plume John Woe, and, in homage, developed a separate Woe signature that closely resembled Mr. Eisner's. Little by little, John Woe's hand-printing became my handwriting. By the time I was in college, I was angering a whole new set of teachers with it (sorry, Hy). Again, I really tried to clean up my act, but I just could not shake my Eisner influences (again; sorry, Hy). After college, I had taken to heart many of my Lettering Class lessons, but I decided to stop denying my Eisner-Woe handwriting...especially the little circles used to dot any lowercase "i" in the middle of an otherwise all-capitalized word. Ruined forever by Mr. Eisner's iconic autograph, I'm now left with my own quirky, printed, weirdo handwriting. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks, Mr. Eisner!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Now some more fun! Tonight, I begin what I hope will be an on-going....game? I don't know what to call it, other than nerdy, wordy, weirdy, comic booky fun. Here's how it will work. Below, I'll post the name of a comic book character. Reply to this entry (via the WOMP-Blog Archives on LiveJournal) with the name of another, always different character's name that begins with the last letter of the previous character's name, and we'll see how long we can go before either accidentally repeating or everyone just gets bored with it. Got it? OK, let's start with a few, just to get the ball rolling;
1) Mister Mxyzptlk
2) Krypto
3) Omega The Unknown
So, hop to it! Number your entry so that people can follow along. Here is your More Fun Comics Character of The Day - Percival Popp!
March 1 - OK, so I had a little break there, didn't I? Essentially, I posted nothing in the ol' WOMP-Blog for the entire month of February (other than a days-late entry for "January 31st"). Why? Well, it started with health problems. Yes, I was sick again...SURPRISE! Then, as I got better, I got busy (both of which are good things, of course). I've had many art commissions, many art-related meetings, two days spent at Bluff View Intermediate School talking about cartooning, a heavy "real" work schedule, and many days spent helping O.F.O.WOMP William Waite move back to Prairie du Chien. Around February 26th I did find myself with the time and energy to post something, but I decided that February was a total loss, blogging-wise, so I held off until now. So, let's get to it!
First, let me welcome you to Day One of Will Eisner Week!
(photo borrowed directly from the Will Eisner web-site)
Yep, this first week of March marks the 92nd anniversary of Eisner's birth, and, to celebrate this pioneering comic book artist, several comics-related organizations and schools have created this event (read more about it HERE and HERE). In that spirit, over the next few days I want to count-down for you...
Seven Ways That
WILL EISNER
Changed My Life!
Number Seven - Will Eisner helped me get into the Joe Kubert School! Of course, I never actually met Mr. Eisner, and he didn't literally facilitate my acceptance into Big Joe's House of Kubert, but my appreciation of the artist/creator of The Spirit did! Before a final decision about enrolling me in his school, Mr. Kubert called my home to interview me. That was a thrill (one which I actually recorded...for posterity?). For about two hours, I had a personal conversation with one of the greatest comics artists of all time...and the main topic was me. We discussed my career goals, my horrible portfolio, and my influences. I talked about Jack Kirby, Don Newton, Steve Ditko, Frank Miller, and, mostly, Will Eisner. At the time, I had no idea that Mr. Eisner was more-or-less Mr. Kubert's collegiate competition, having taught cartooning at New York's School of Visual Arts. Oops. I went on and on about how much I admired and hoped to emulate Mr. Eisner's innovative layouts and storytelling. Yes, I enthusiastically - naively - proceeded to tell Joe Kubert how awesome Will Eisner was...and I never, not even once, talked about how much Mr. Kubert had influenced me (which he had, just not as much). When I finally came up for air, there was a brief pause on the other end of the line, then Mr. Kubert said something like "You're right, John. And you said the magic word; storytelling." Joe proceeded to briefly tell me about how much Will Eisner had helped and influenced him in his career, pretty much from the start. Far from holding against me my adoration of Mr. Eisner, Joe said that my interests and influences were the reasons why he stamped my application "ACCEPTED." So, in a very real way, not only did Will Eisner help me get into the Joe Kubert School, but he was instrumental in inspiring the school itself! Thanks, Mr. Eisner!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Now, it's time to get back on track with my "...Of The Day" feature, and I think it's time for more fun. In fact, I think it's time for More Fun Comics, perhaps the quintessential Golden Age comic book title. Published first as just New Fun in 1935, then, after the name change, from 1936 to 1947, this groundbreaking book was DC's first and longest running series, due in part to the continual metamorphoses it went through, mirroring the changes in comics during those years. Starting out as a collection of humor comics, MFC eventually encompassed every type of story, including historical fiction, detective mysteries, illustrated classics, rollicking adventure, imaginative fables, patriotic pabulum, and superheroes....lots of superheroes. More Fun Comics was also a laboratory for the comics medium. It's where Siegel and Shuster tried out their first superheroic character, Doctor Occult (who, in the pages of MFC, morphed from a fedora-and-trenchcoat paranormal investigator to a be-caped adventurer who was very similar to his decades-later descendent, Marvel's Doctor Strange). Even the very format of what a comic book "is" was changed and solidified over the course of its run. To commemorate this pioneering comic, I'll post a different seminal More Fun Comics character's name each night as part of my "...Of The Day" feature. I am also planning to honor the spirit of the title by devoting the entire month to FUN! And just how do I propose to do that? Well, knowing a bit about who reads this ol' WOMP-Blog, it will be nerdy, wordy fun. Here's the basic premise; I want to hear from you, starting tonight with your thoughts on...
Pitch It To Me #1; The International Association of Investigating Adventurers - As I compiled the list of More Fun Comics characters, I was struck by the large number of investigators and private detectives among their ranks. In fact, even superheroes are generally detectives of some sort. "Wouldn't it be cool," I thought, "if they all belonged to a fraternal order or club of some sort, wherein especially difficult open cases and unsolved mysteries were secretly investigated?" That's when I had the idea for a the I.A.I.A.. So, how to proceed? Let me get the ball rolling. The year is 1953. The United States is gripped with the perceived threat of The Red Menace. "Something Big and Dangerous" happens behind the public facade of the government, but it can't be resolved through normal channels because of the overbearing climate of fear and suspicion. It somehow falls to the members of I.A.I.A. to quickly and quietly solve the mystery/resolve the crisis without exposing their group to public exposure, McCarthyist inquisition, and/or the very real threat of whatever is revealed as the truth behind "Something Big and Dangerous." The various I.A.I.A. members, whether extraordinary agents of various government agencies (like Pete "T-Man" Trask, Navy Lieutenant Bob Neal), members of police departments (Slam Bradley, "Radio Squad" cops Sandy Keane and Larry Trent), private investigators (Dover and Clover), adventurers (Congo Bill, Captain Desmo), or oddball personalities (TV detective Roy Raymond, "Genius" Jones), must pool their collective skills to save the day. Sound interesting? Then Pitch It To Me! Reply to this entry (via the WOMP-Blog Archives on LiveJournal) with what you think the "Something Big and Dangerous" might be, who would be involved, how the story would progress, etc., and we'll see what we can come up with! Take your time, but try to post your ideas by March 28th. At the end of the month, I'll use the best suggestions to post a short story and, hopefully, an original illustration to go with it! For now, I leave you with your first More Fun Comics Character of The Day - Ginger Snap!
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