Comics Are Illustration With The Addition Of Time.
Walt Simonson

Another Cover Announcing A New Episode
For The Two Dimension Podcast.

I've Been Doing A Comic Book Podcast With Friends,
Which Is Why This Blog Has Basically Been Ignored. After
Ten Years, It Was Suggested That I Should Do A T-Shirt, So I Did.

Influence

 

As a kid, the first book I checked out of the library was
Everything Has A Shape by Bernice Kohn and Aliki.
It's influence has stayed with me, because I've
only drawn using simple shapes ever since.

If You Want To Fly...

"If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down."

This is a Buddha quote that is actually from Tony Morrison.
It doesn't matter who said it, it's pretty good. As much as
I would like to fly, I like keeping comic books more, so I won't.

Variations On A Theme Part 2

Here are a few fake comic covers made to indicate when
a new episode is up for the Two Dimension podcast.

Misheard

I always liked it when artists took the time to
draw incidental objects into their comics. It is time
consuming, so it doesn't happen often. At work
someone misheard breakfast as hit six. For some
reason it made me think of cereal, so I drew a box.

Variations On A Theme

Here are a few fake comic covers made to indicate when
a new episode is up for the Two Dimension podcast.

They Still Make This Stuff

It was amazing to find this stuff while visiting
another state, since it seemed to disappear
sometime in the seventies. Looking it up, I
learned they put it out in limited test markets.

Moving Pictures

 

Playing around with simple animation for the 

 Two Dimension site. Animation is a form that I
have always loved, but never understood how it's done.

B-Movies

At three years old, my aunt would bring me on a date to the drive-in movie every once in a while. The logic was that I would get bored and go to sleep in the back seat, but that never happened due to the giant screen in front of us that kept showing space creatures, giant monsters and all kinds of fantastic things you never saw in everyday life.

A couple of friends started doing a podcast about these shows that I loved as a kid. My mind is usually blank when they mention the titles, but once the conversation starts and they go over the storyline, all the images I saw from the back seat of my future uncle's car unfolds in my mind.

And then they go over some movies that I'm thankful
I never saw. Give them a listen at Slow Robot A Go Go.

It's All Subjective Anyway

Finally got to see the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 

last week, and even though I thought it would be good,

it surpassed all of my expectations.

It was a very organized and well designed history

that displayed instruments, outfits, hand written lyrics and some of the band's cars and stage props. My favorites were some drawings by Jimi Hendrix and touch screens that featured certain bands and showed their influences, including brief interviews and live performances.

Leaving the first floor, I was surprised that Yes, one of my favorite bands wasn't there. Later that evening, I realized that Grand Funk Railroad didn't seem to be included as well.

These were bands I listened to so many times that each
note and lyric is deeply imbedded in my mind, and defined
the reality that I was living in at the time. So the fact
that they weren't there doesn't really matter.

Besides, rock music was always a fluid underground
thing that seems strange to put into a museum.

But what was in there was awesome!

Extra Day

As the day went on, I realized that it was still

February. Like any other day I went on to work.

But if this is an extra day that only comes around every four

years, why doesn't everyone take advantage of it? Shut the

whole world down on the 29th. Just disconnect everything for

a day, hang out, rest, and get yourself back into balance.

Everyone could have prepared ready made food the day

before, do nothing, then go back to business as usual

the next day. I mean, why not? It's an extra day.

Think about it.

2012

Around 1981, people watched The Man Who Saw Tomorrow and got very uncomfortable with all the things that were to come in 1984. In a lecture, a very dour English professor stated that 1984 was only two years away, giving everyone in the class a sense of foreboding.

When 1984 did come, we started it off telling George Orwell jokes, and ended it listening to Duran Duran and wearing big hair. I look back on that year as a really great party.

Each year has it's own character, but you
never really see it until it is over.

 
Happy 2012 to everyone.

What I Thought

Wanting to post this drawing, but realizing that I didn't have anything to say about it, made me remember a fear I had when I was nine.

At that point in life, everything I heard, read,
watched or just looked at was new (to me anyway),
and I couldn't help but notice that no one my age
was coming up with any of this stuff. I started to
wonder what would happen when the older
generation stepped aside and we took over.

Not wanting to live in a world like that, I
spent four minutes trying to make up a song that
had no melody and didn't rhyme. Four decades
later I still haven't made a new song, but
other people have, so that's okay.

Talking About Comic Books

I read that people used to gather around and listen to anyone on the street who would speak when the Roman empire was around. Listening to certain professional speakers I could understand, but the idea of listening to ordinary people expound information just seemed too much of a stretch.

Then in 2004 people started doing podcasts, and professional or not, I found that I listen to quite a few. Listening to ordinary people seems to be okay, as long as they are talking about subjects that I am interested in.

So, not understanding the concept at the beginning, I find it odd to join three friends and do one myself. You can listen to it here.

Time Squandered

A visiting instructor stated that the worst thing
to happen to mankind were television and computers.
He didn't elaborate on it any further, but I think about
it a lot as I sit here surfing the web instead
of drawing like I used to do.

Stuff

I found this small magnet in a box while rearranging my work space
at home. Moving the furniture isn't much of a problem, but getting all
the books, compact discs and other paraphernalia out of the way while
you do it is. You don't realize how much has been accumulated until
it is off the shelves and piled all over the place.

A few friends of mine have been taking piles of books and most of their
cd collection to a few stores to get rid of them. My wife gets upset
about the stack of vinyl records that I can't part with.

Never the less, I found this really cool magnet I thought was lost.

Previously Unaware...

A friend follows this fighter with great enthusiasm,
and asked me to make a poster to give when she competes
in our area. Since he cannot read Japanese, all he really
knew about her (besides martial arts), was that she likes
 cats. So here are the two main elements of the poster. She posted it to her blog when she returned to Japan. Cool.

And his enthusiasm rubbed off and now I like her too.
Funny how that works.

Pockets Of Memory

When passing by a gumball machine, I always check to see what is offered, and every once in a while find something that captures my interest. it doesn't matter if it's tiny plastic creatures, flicker rings or small rubber balls, it's always more fun when it comes out of one of these things.

Even though my friends find it odd at first, they always end up getting
some to keep by their computer or desk at work. Finding one in
a drawer always brightens up the most mundane environment.

 

I've always loved the shapes, and how light formed on them when moved around a lamp. But during my adult life I've learned that they serve as memory triggers for a lot of people. Seeing one they had as a kid, immediately brings them back to that point in their life. I never thought about that, but I do remember what I was doing and where I got every random piece of small plastic I have.

DRM

I was going to write about DRM, but this
 guy says  it better. This fellow does as well.

Cereal Toys

It made a friend laugh when I said cereal was a big part of my life, but it's true.

As a kid, not only did I love the cereal, but the packaging with a cartoon character on the front and the beautifully animated commercials. They even sponsored all the Saturday Morning Cartoons. The only thing that made it better was the prize that came free in each box. What seemed like plastic junk to my parents were endless entertainment to my brother and me.

I was surprised to learn that most of the cereal toys I loved were made by one manufacturer, R & L Company, in Melbourne Australia.

You can read more online here, and there is a fantastic book on the subject here.

2 Stupid Dogs

I don't know why 2 Stupid Dogs has yet to be

released on DVD, but here is an online petition for it.

David Lance Goines

In 1983, while in Oklahoma, I bought a post card with a drawing of a red head with the letters Chez-Panisse at the bottom. The image was very pleasing, so I brought it with me when I was assigned aboard ship, and taped it on the bulkhead by my rack.

Two years later in San Diego I found a poster for a hand made clothing store that I couldn't stop looking at. I loved the design and the colors, and after leaving the gallery, went back in and bought it. The problem at the time was trying to figure out how to store it while living onboard, but I went out of my way for this one.

Later in 1987 a friend lent me a graphics magazine thinking I would be interested in one of the articles. I was, but not for the one she intended.

The piece I liked was about an artist who printed his own work, and showed each step from conception to the finished poster. I found the work pleasing the minute I saw it, but the signature block at the bottom of the poster looked very familiar. Not realizing it, both the post card and the poster I bought years ago were created by the same person.

So of course I had to make an effort to meet this guy, and in 1991 I did. He was quite nice, and very interesting. His work can be seen here, and an interview can be read here.

Mister X

Without a doubt, 1984 has been my favorite year (so far).
I saw the world, met my wife, compact discs came out,
and so did a really great comic book called Mister X.

Not only did the cover catch my eye, but the stories were
written and drawn by the Hernandez Brothers, along with
strong graphic design throughout the entire series.

But as much as I loved it, some people around referred to it as "the
biggest disappointment in comics." It seems there was a lot of production work these people saw before the book was actually published, and didn't feel it lived up to what was shown earlier. Most of it was created by Paul Rivoche, and thanks to the internet you can see it here.

The plan was to use a different set of cartoonists for every six issues
then another story line would be introduced. Unfortunately, the
Hernandez Brothers never got paid and left after four fantastic issues,
which was disappointing. The series went on, and the creator
Dean Motter did another great series along the same line called
Terminal City and it's follow up Terminal City: Aerial Graffiti 
with artist Michael Lark, which is worth reading as well.
•

Digital Media

Years ago a friend got an iPod, ripped all of his songs to mp3,

then wanted to get rid of his large collection of compact discs he had amassed over the years, because they were just taking up space.

I understand what he means, but not having the actual cover
with the images and liner notes just isn't the same. I hear people
talk about book reading devices like the Kindle, and how they have
piles of books they don't need any longer. The same has been said
about keeping photographs and movies on their computer.

The idea of keeping such a spartan home would be nice when
you are cleaning, or if you move a lot, but I like to hold these
things in my hands. Besides, old books smell nice.

Information Age

In the book Jurassic Park Michael Crichton wrote "...We live in a world
of frightful givens. It is given that you will behave like this, given that
you will care about that. No one thinks about the givens. Isn't it
amazing? In the information society, nobody thinks. We expected
to banish paper, but we actually banished thought."

That line seemed to sum up everything we
were experiencing in the early nineties.

The Visitor

 

My regular blog is on livejournal...

Reasons For Existence

Geedunk

For some reason, the Navy calls any kind of
snack Geedunk, I don't know why. Even so, it seemed
like a good idea give a candy bar the same name.

Talking Rings

In The Time Machine, H. G. Wells describes shiny discs that
spoke while they spun around. There was a movie version in
1960 that showed shiny bracelets being twirled sideways on a
table top. When compact discs came out in the eighties, I wondered
if this was closer to what the writer described so long ago.