Dick Bit

One of my favorite pieces of DICK ephemora, whipped up by Steven when we were stumped on covers ideas:

Disisisisney

So, after a trip to the Magic Kingdom, I started thinking about the genesis of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Pretty amazing stuff, really, and probably the greatest testament to whatever vision Walt Disney possessed.

For me, the real appeal of Disney World is the creative thinking and engineering that went into conceiving and building the thing. I find it pretty fascinating, and find myself studying the mechanics, psychology and methodology of the rides as much as anything. Walking around Disney World is, in a lot of ways, like walking around inside a giant comic book.

One of the terms thrown around a lot by Disney's "Imagineers" is "Heightened Reality," and this definition, provided by Imagineer Alex Wright, is also the perfect way to describe the way I think about my comic book work:

Take the things people "know" from the world around them, select the ones
that suit the story you wish to tell, and combine them into something that is
entirely new but that still feels oddly familiar.

That's a better way to describe something like Hawaiian Dick than anything I've come up with. Of course, I'd substitute "things from history and pop culture" for "things from the world around them" in the case of Dick.

SPEAKING OF....

Nice reviews of the new Hawaiian Dick at Wizard online, Newsarama, Comixtreme, etc.

Be nice to imagine retailers and readers notice.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

What to listen to on the trip? I'm opting for an mp3 collection featuring:

A selection of My Bloody Valentine eps

What Made Milwaukee Famous's Trying to Never Catch Up

Blue Note Plays Bacharach

David Axelrod's The Edge

And maybe some old Roxy Music

Speaking of MBV, I think I might put together a track-by-track mix of the original Loveless, combined with Japancakes' recent cover disc. (Isn't this fascinating?)

I'm just wrapping up Erik Larson's Thunderstruck, so I'll grab something new to read, too. Maybe The Golden Compass.

Much writing to do, though. Hard to read when you know you've got writing to do.

DICK NUGGETS:

Suddenly a lot of plot directions are running through my head for HAWAIIAN DICK. Just finishing up a quiet little stand-alone story that introduces a new character I'd like to keep, and re-opens the door to Byrd's past. Also, Byrd has another brother we have yet to meet.

Annual Days

I loved Marvel's annuals as a kid, especially when they were squarebound (which was probably only in my first year or two of childhood comicbuying).

Here are some of the first annuals I remember reading:

I really had no clue who most of the characters were yet, but that was part of the fun. Beautiful Don Newton artwork that really didn't look like anything I'd seen up to that point. I thought Arsenal was a pretty scary bad guy at the time. As I recall, his origin was tied into Avengers backstory one way or another, but that didn't stop me from digging it.

This one featured George Perez and Terry Austin instead of Byrne and Austin, which I barely noticed at the time. The cheesy melodrama grabbed me when I was young, and the Frank Miller/Terry Austin cover gave me a charge. I always loved depictions of Cyclops in action.

Another one that relied on a lot of backstory. Franklin Richards and Agatha Harkness, and Franklin's latent powers...stuff I knew nothing about, but, as usual, those elements gave it an air of mystery that grabbed me. I remember this one being pretty creepy, but I haven't read it in years. One thing I do recall is Pablo Marcos inking George Perez...always gave Perez's pencils a unique look.

This was a two-part story that introduced me to the modern Dr. Octopus/Spider-Man dynamic (previously my only exposure had been in Silver Age reprints of the classic Lee/Ditko stories). Some cool imagery that I can still recall, like Doc Ock being pulled underwater when his tentacles got stuck in a submarine hatch.

Or something like that.

Old Dick New Dick

Chris Brunner is coloring a short DICK story that Shawn Crystal and I did a couple of years ago for NEGATIVE BURN.

It'll appear in one of the first five new HAWAIIAN DICK issues, I think. Brunner's amazing:

Blues in the Night and Priscilla Lane

I love Turner Classic Movies. This week they've got guest programmers on with Robert Osgood. Last night they had James Ellroy serving up some little seen crime gems. Tonight it's Matt Groening. Right now he's introducing a really fun jazz romp called Blues in the Night that I've been a fan of since I caught it a year or so ago.

For one thing, "Blues in the Night" is one of the greatest songs of all time. For another, the flick stars Priscilla Lane, one of the cutest damn female leads to ever grace the movie screen. For proof, see Arsenic and Old Lace. Hell, just see Arsenic and Old Lace because it's completely awesome.

For more proof, check her out with her sisters:


That gal's got pizzazz, I tell ya! Pizzazz!

iFanboy on the Leading Man

Nice video blog attention from those fine fellows at iFanboy. They also chat up Chantler's Northwest Passage:

http://www.ifanboy.com/archive/weblog/ifanboy_episode_82.html

It...is...BALLLLOOOOOON!

Here's the Word Balloon interview I did with Siuntres:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=135654

Also, you'll find me there engaging in pointless discussion about Hawaiian Dick.

EN-JOY!

Warning: Sports Ahead

Sure, it sucks knowing your boys are playing twenty minutes up the road and you're not there.

But watching them win from your living room is almost as good.

Oh, Comics...why?

Here's what's "wrong with comics."


A guy who can do this:

Is appreciated about 1/100th as much as a guy who's worked his whole life learning to draw superheroes half as well as Jim Lee.

Ed Tadem's art on '76 is light years beyond most comics you'll find in stores. I'm holding out hope that Europe will embrace us when the U.S. wonders why Ed bothers with things like learning how to use a brush, impressive storytelling, and creating real environments.

Such a bitter man, eh?