Things in the works...

Even tho I haven't been very good at getting the Captain Spectre updates out there for you Loyal Legionnaires, it doesn't mean I was working. The kid with the binocs is from the update I am working on. The KiGor page is a rough layout composited in photoshop from sketches. It is page 3 of the eleven page story. So I actually feel the KiGor story is moving pretty good.

I am trying something different in the process. As I mentioned I am sketching each person separately and throwing them together in photoshop to work out the compositions. Then I will print out the roughs full size and use a lightbox to transfer them to the pencil stage. Then on to the inks. I want to get all the pages to at least this stage before moving on. That way Martin can script them. At my request we are kind of working the old Marvel way. With Martin providing the story, then I break it apart and try to tell it visually. Then back to Martin for the script. I hope it is working out. ha.

And jeez this winter has officially become old and tired. With snow again the other day, about four inches. I think it will be sometime in may before all this damned snow melts.

What makes this version of KiGor different...?

When Martin Powell and I decided to go after KiGor as a story, and maybe possibly a series with Joe at Moonstone, one of the questions is what makes this Jungle man different than all the other jungle men in comics.

Me, I can settle for any old well told jungle story - that is just me. I have always been fascinated with jungle stories. I grew up watching Tarzan movies, the Jungle Jim series with Johnny Weissmuller, and just about any other jungle thing there was. What a better setting for the unexpected. The Dark Continent was the last bastion of things lost, mysterious, and strange.

But back to the difference between KiGor and the others. KiGor was always the best of the Tarzan knock-offs. I actually like some of KiGor's adventures better than some of Tarzan's. KiGor's adventures were always stranger, that is for sure. KiGor also had a very long run in the pulps. From the 30's up into the 50's in men's magazines KiGor ruled the jungle.

So again what makes this KiGor different than all the others? Well, KiGor always had a little bit different origin story. After his missionary father was killed, Robert Kilgour was adopted, or cared for, by a tribal shaman. So Martin and I decided that KiGor should have more of a mystical bent to it. Also the relationship between Helena and KiGor was always a bit more sexual than Tarzan and Jane. So we intend to work on that area too.

So to 'modernize' or make KiGor stand out a bit, we came up with the idea that when little Robert was adopted into the shaman's tribe, they gave him a totem animal to protect him. The shaman would surely have seen the Kilgour coat of arms on something of the old mans. So the dragon figure was adopted as KiGor's totem animal. Which led to the scarification on his left arm, the arm closest to his heart. Scarification was a big thing with some tribes.

So here you have the design for KiGor's scars on his left arm.

I think it is a logical update or modernization. Not like alot of them I have seen done to characters.

So join KiGor and Helena in their first jungle tale.

Good-bye Steve Rogers….

Well it has finally happened. Announced in an interview over at Newsarama, Ed Brubaker - the current writer of Captain America, said that Bucky was now the official Captain America.

Well, to tell you the truth I am pleased and saddened by the news. Of course this is all based on nothing ever stays the same for long in the comics, especially when dealing with title characters.

I, as most of you know, am a huge fan of Captain America. Ever since I bought a copy of Avengers #4, maybe even before that with a false Captain appearing in Strange Tales #113 ( I think it was). With the real appearance of Captain America in the Avengers, I was hooked. Even through the really bad years of the comic I hung in there. Through things like CapWolf, and all that silly crap. Bad Art, Bad Writing and all but I hung in there. Because there is something special about the Steve Rogers character.

I must have read those early Avengers, and Tales of Suspense a million times each, well it seems like it. I still go back and re-read them quite often to this day. Especially the Stan and Jack ones, and especially Sgt. Fury # 13, what a book that was.

Over the years, I have found that the idea of Captain America, as I see it has gone from the character. I always felt Cap stood for the ‘American Dream’, freedom, man’s duty to do right, the right to life your own life with out governments being involved in it, and lofty ideals like that. Not the America politics of any one preside

nt or party or anything to do with the government. Sure he fought in the wars, he had too. The war was affecting those ideals he stood for. But writers seem to forget that stuff. They seem to focus on the party, the president, the government, and politics. That isn’t what the story is about.

Think about the Steve Rogers story. To me one of the most heart-breaking of origins. The story of duty beyond all other heroes, held by one small person. His willingness to devote all he has in his heart to a cause….freedom of man.

Writers have lost that feeling, or I sure don’t see it in the comics. W

hen Cap ‘died’ I quit buying the books. That was a big thing for me. I have bought every Cap comic since Avengers #4. It leaves a hole in my life for sure.

Ever since I was a kid, all I ever wanted from life is to grow up and

draw and maybe even write Captain America. That is why I tried to draw. Why I spend thousands of hours as a kid sitting in my room trying to learn to draw comics. I remember hundreds of Friday and Saturday nights when guys I knew would be out on the town, but there I was sitting at drawing table I got from Sears - listening to the Oklahoma City radio station KOMA. We could only get that station at night.

The odd thing about that is that I hardly ever drew Captain America. I always felt I wasn’t good enough. I mean at the time Jack Kirby was drawing it, and in his prime too. I still rarely ever draw C

ap. I still don’t feel good enough to draw him.

It is good the character is moving on….Steve is finally really a man out of time and place. This new world of comics doesn’t seem to need Steve Rogers. They just don’t know what to do with him. So I am glad they are pushing him into the background. Now Bucky with all his modern iconography can shine. Steve wasn’t good enough anymore so now Cap can have a bionic arm, a killer instinct, and more guns. Sure Steve used guns, just not to assassinate people. He hardly ever carried one. Sure maybe he would pick one up on the battlefield…but he never felt he needed to carry one into battle. So let the modern readers have their Captain America….. I have mine and he lives in a little boys heart that is still trying to draw. But will never get to draw Captain America now.

Some of the the things I do for a living....

Thought maybe some of you might want to see what I get to do at work sometimes. If I am lucky someone will want some concept art of a film we are working on. In this case a new 'Standing Bear' project. Something we have done once, but I guess there is cause to do a new one. I just work here as the saying goes. So here is some concept things I did for the production. Seems none of it ever makes it into the actual films, but I have fun for a little while.

Dead Air!!!

It is a miracle update! With all I have going on it took me two weeks to get this thing done. Whew. The cliffhangers are piling up in this chapter finale! One more to go....hopefully I can get the next one done in a week or two.

I hate to think of not trying to update the Captain Spectre online strip. But again, I am amazed that everyone voted to have a Captain Spectre comic in their hands. So with the final cliffhanger of this chapter that is one of the many projects I have to work on and look forward too.

As before, KiGor for Moonstone, the cover to the new edition of ERB's the Mucker, and the Captain Spectre stand alone book are my projects as the online strip takes a bit of a break.

Enjoy Legionnaires. More surprizes are coming.

New Snow and working from home....

Well here are a couple of shots of some new fallen snow this morning. Before Chopper and I tracked it up playing and him making yellow snow....ha. It is amazingly beautiful and at the same time a pain in the ass. But I am home working, where I certainly get more done than at the office. No people walking in wanting something, or the drive, or meetings or anything. So thought I would take a quick break and post an update. It snowed last night and I started on some more prelims for KiGor. So posting a little jungle love.....ha.....enjoy Legionnaires and Jungle Tale fans.

It is ruff in the beginning....

Sorry no Captain Spectre update this week. I tried to pump one out, but it just didn't happen. Sometimes as we all know things just don't work out. I do however want to invite you to the process of doing a story. I am posting the thumbnails of the KiGor story that I am drawing for Moonstone. The story is by Martin Powell, my friend and most excellent author. I hope posting the thumbnails doesn't give it away. Ha. I don't imagine anyone can decode these thumbnails. I am sure you have all seen this stage of story development on other blogs from much better artists. But I felt an update was needed, so this was all I had....unless you want to see layouts from a science comic about the flu virus!

I just wanted to post these, to start the process off. I will be starting work on these pages, penciling and inking, shortly. The cliffhanger for Captain Spectre is coming fast, and since after that cliffhanger you readers voted to have me work on a stand alone Captain Spectre book - that is what I am going to do. Of course I will be thinking of the writing of that story as I draw the pages for KiGor. Believe me it all dovetails together.

New update...

Well Loyal Legionnaires, and loyal readers...yet another update. As I mentioned before I am trying a larger working size. Boy does it ever help. I was never much for drawing small. And now that my eyesight is working through 57 year old eyes, it isn't easy working small. These panels were drawn in the old size of Caniff dailies. Maybe even just a tad bigger. These panels are 8 inches high. I think the old dailies were drawn at 7 inches. I may drop back to the 7 inch mark next time. As always doing this strip is a huge experiment for me. Writing, and drawing and inking can always be improved. So I try to each time. I hope the effort shows a bit. It sure helps with the backgrounds and staging to have more room to work with, and then I can still use my brush.

My truck is still in the shop, so I will be working from home on Monday also. I sure hope they don't just decide to fire me. Hell I get much more work done at home. None of that drive into work and home, I get up and get right to work. I think I proved myself working on the animated mammoths I did for NOVA. I will keep you informed.

A bad guy you can believe in....

Well, I think I will continue to post updates here at the blog too. That way Loyal Legionnaires can get everything in one click, instead of all that tiresome clicking around on the Internet Hiway.

So today finally after around 100 updates/strips/pages/whatever....we finally get to meet the bad guy. The head bad guy. I tried to make this guy different from all other bad guys. At least his motives and problems. We shall see what you think as it is all revealed in the time to come. Anyway (drum roll, please) .....meet the WarMaster!!!

Late Update!!!

Hey Loyal Legionnaires, I am posting this weeks strip a bit late. I didn't have internet access thru the weekend so I couldn't post until this evening. I do apologize. But now I am back up and running...so posting the strip here, and at the regular site too. I almost got to post from work today but just got so busy I couldn't break away to post it here. But here it is Loyal Legionnaires. This week I am returning to the 'daily' format for a bit. The pages will be full size as the strip calls for it.

I am also experimenting with drawing at a larger size. More along the lines of the large Prince Valiant original sizes by Hal Foster. But a bit more on that as I figure out the sizes and the best format for doing that.