Disney World - part 1

Fear not, I have no plans to bore you with endless vacation slides, but over the next few days I thought I'd post some images taken from Disney World mostly featuring more obscure subjects, or favorites taken from unusual vantage points. I took a lot of pictures while I was there and learned two things. First; I was incredibly lucky in my ability to take a vast amount of pictures of the park's architecture and features without any humans obscuring the shot. Looking through the files of photos I took, you'd almost think I had the park to myself. (Of course I also have numerous shots of beaming family members among the Disney World landscape features. Second; It's almost impossible to take a decent shot inside any of the rides. The Prohibition of flash photography while preserving the illusions of say the Pepper's Ghost feature of the Haunted Mansion banquet/ballroom, also means that everything inside the rides is too dark. Even It's a Small World, while being the most amazingly designed ride, which is not at all hampered by the clearly visible drop ceilings and plywood and papier-mache construction of the sets, was virtually impossible to shoot with a digital camera, due to low light levels and the combined motion of the ride boats as well as the figures on display in the ride itself. What I wouldn't give for a walk through of these rides with proper lighting conditions.



From top to bottom:

The "Walter E. Disney" train pulling into the Frontierland station.














Decorative poles inside Adventureland.














Preliminary Alice and Wonderland artwork including some by Mary Blair.















The Map to Tom Sawyer Island.













A mural on the wall inside the Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant.













Harper's Mill and the "Liberty Belle."











A headhunter as seen from the Jungle Cruise.












The Mad Hatter and Alice go for a tea cup ride. This photo was taken from another spinning tea cup.











One of the monorails.
















A group of fish makes its way up Main Street during the nightly parade.



















Davy Jones projected onto a mist waterfall as one of the new "enhancements" to Pirates of the Caribbean.











The Dumbo statue near the "Partners" statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse.











The Fantasia Brooms at Downtown Disney.



















Gertie the Dinosaur ice cream stand at Disney Studios.













Sign outside the gym in the Wilderness Lodge Villa.

I'm Back

I'm back from a great vacation, but not back up to speed yet. Give me a couple of days to unpack, and unwind, and I'll post some new stuff soon.

On Vacation

I've packed my bags and am heading off with the family for a week at Disney World. While I can't take you with me, I can give you a virtual near equivalent to my vacation.

Here are a slew of Disney Theme Park links to keep you busy while I'm gone.

Start at The Official Disney Theme Parks Website and All Ears.net for everything you need to know to plan your own trip, then for more general Disney Theme park fun, incuding tons of photos, pop in here , here, here, here , here and here for vintage Disney fun; here for maps to the parks; here for Walt Disney World Trivia; Vintage Disneyland Goodies and more Disneyana and still more Disney Memorabilia; Here for a history of Disney World told through postcards; and here for audio and video from the parks.


For specific rides such as the Haunted Mansion try doombuggies.com, grim ghosts.com, the ghost relations department, all about Haunted Mansion collectibles, and Daveland's Haunted Mansion blog. For Pirates of the Caribbean visit Tell No Tales, and Daveland's pirates of the Caribbean blog. For the Jungle Cruise boat ride get on line here and here at Daveland again. For Star Tours visit Endor Express. For the now, sadly, defunct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride climb aboard here. Finally, here's a guide to all of the Hidden Mickeys

For Disney related news check out the Laughing Place. For Disney history there's The E-Ticket, This Day in Disney History
and The Main Street Gazette. Find out what Disney and Pixar professionals think about the parks at Re-Imagineering, and what obsessive fans think about all things Disney here. For more on the Disney parks and lesser tourist theme parks, try visiting outside the berm.

If you're still not satisfied, all of these sites have their own links to even more incredible Disney Theme Park goodness. Enjoy!

In Comic Book Stores Today

On sale in comic book stores today is issue #4 of THE FOUNDATION.

Donkey

Here's a more recent commission I created. This papier-mache donkey was requested as a baby shower gift.

Schroeder

Here's a commission I collaged a few months ago.

Beasts!

A few weeks ago, Fantagraphics found themselves short one entry for their forthcoming book BEASTS! BOOK TWO, the follow-up to their amazing book, BEASTS! a compendium of mythological and cryptozoological creatures of every sort depicted by a very wide range of talented artists. To fill this opening in the second book, they put out an open call for artists to submit an image of a not previously (in either book) depicted beast.

Even though I was bogged down with other projects, I couldn't resist. I was already immersed in just this sort of material for SCOOBY-DOO and a forthcoming other project, so it seemed like something I needed to do. For my submissions, I chose the jackalope, the Australian half-man, half-emu Dhinnabarrada, and the giant bird, the Roc.

I had no expectations that one of my submissions would be selected for inclusion in the book, and none of them were. There were over 200 entries submitted for this slot, all done in a wide range of styles and all with great skill. You can read more about BEASTS! BOOK TWO here which also displays many of the submitted entries, and browse the flickr pool of submitted pieces here.

Congratulations to Jennifer Tong, whose winning entry for "Nymph" can be seen here.

In Stores Today

Learn everything you ever needed to know about the Rokuro-Kubi from Velma in a story I wrote for SCOOBY-DOO #130 which is available in comic book stores today.

In Comic Book Stores Today

"The Foundation" #3 hits stores today.

If you still haven't read the sold out issue #1, you can read it for free here.

My Alter Ego

As anyone coming to this website/blog knows, I write comic books. What isn't as generally well known, is that I also appear in them. Beginning in 1989, Marvel Comics published "Damage Control" a 4-issue series created by Dwayne McDuffie, and drawn by Ernie Colon. This series told the comedic exploits of the company whose function was to clean-up and rebuild the damage caused by superheroes, supervillains and related phenomena. Among the cast was John "Bart" Rozum, the slovenly intern, who while being a bit fannish around superheroes was also pretty nonplussed by them. He was not afraid to demand that supervillain Doctor Doom show him I.D. when paying by check, or telling the Punisher to take a number.

Bart ended up permanently on staff and besides the superhero action, found some action with hot receptionist Anne.

"Damage Control" returned as a second 4-issue series about six months after the first series finished, and then for a third 4-issue run in 1991. Now, nearly twenty-years after it's debut in "Marvel Comics Presents" (and after some guest appearances in recent issues of "She-Hulk") "Damage Control" (the official title is "World War Hulk: Aftersmash - Damage Control" returns as a 3-issue mini-series written by Dwayne McDuffie and drawn by Salva Espin. I'm happy to see I'm still employed there, still apparently involved with Anne, and unlike the real me, haven't aged a bit in all that time.

Here are some of Bart's moments through the years. From top to bottom...

Bart let's new intern Robby Baldwin know he's onto his superhero secret identity (which comes into play in the new series) as drawn by Kyle Baker in "Damage Control" volume 3, issue #1.

Asking Dr. Doom for some I.D. in volume 1, issue #2.

Telling the Silver Surfer to put the pedal to the metal in volume 3, issue #4.

The moment that made a man out of Bart from volume 2, issue #1.

Bart and Anne in action at the premiere of the Damage Control movie in volume 3, issue #3.

Bart and Anne make their new debuts in the new series.

Don't Forget to Vote!

Today is the last day to vote in the Rondo Awards for the best in classic horror. Don't wait until it's too late, vote now!

Random Objects In My office

Before "Star Wars" exploded on the pop culture landscape, "Planet of the Apes" was the science fiction franchise that people went ape over. I was no exception. I have many examples of "Planet of the Apes" merchandising in my posession, including the figurines shown here, which saw heavy play.

I can't tell you much about them, except that I'm pretty certain they were meant as a tie in to the "Return to the Planet of the Apes" cartoon series, or possibly the final Apes movie, "Battle for the Planet of the Apes." These four figures came packaged with a batch of generic green plastic army men, horses for the ape soldiers to ride on, and a jeep with human soldier driver (which I think is still floating around in a big bucket of plastic soldiers I passed on to my son).

In Comic Book Stores Today

Available today is CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #42 which contains a Powerpuff Girls story I wrote.

Ben Chapman 1925-2008

I am devastated to learn that Ben Chapman has passed away. Ben was the actor who is best known for portraying the Creature from the Black Lagoon during all of his out of the water scenes (Ricou Browning played the Creature for the underwater scenes) in Universal Pictures' classic 1954 movie "The Creature From the Black Lagoon."

A few years back, I included a thinly disguised version of Ben in a SCOOBY-DOO story I wrote. When the issue came out, I sent a copy to him, not expecting to ever hear from him, mostly it was just a way for me to say thanks for being the persona behind one of my favorite monsters when I was a kid (all right, the Creature is still one of my favorites). I was pleasantly surprised to find an email from Ben, just a short time later, complimenting the issue and thanking me for putting him in the story. He seemed delighted by the inclusion, and also saw the story as a way to bring attention to the Creature to children who might otherwise be ignorant of the monster's existence. This led to a brief back and forth exchange of emails, and a desire to meet Ben in person at one of his numerous convention appearances. I never was able to, and am saddened by this missed opportunity. I'm more saddened by Ben's passing, as he seemed like a genuine, delightful man as evidenced in the emails he sent me, and in the many interviews I've read with him, watched on DVD, or the stories I've heard about him from people who actually did have the pleasure of knowing him.

R.I.P.

Scooby-Doo #129

Almost in time for President's Day, the ghost of John Wilkes Booth, not content with assassinating Abe Lincoln, menaces the Mystery Inc. gang in "History is History." This chilling AND educational story written by me, appears in SCOOBY-DOO #129, available today at a comic book retailer near you.

Read THE FOUNDATION #1 for FREE!

Now, courtesy of Boom! Studios and Newsarama, you can read the sold out first issue of THE FOUNDATION right here for free!

You may direct any comments you have back here when you're done, if you so choose.

In Stores Today

Available in comic book stores today is the second issue of "The Foundation" from Boom! Studios. The series has been receiving a lot of good reviews, plus a push from "Y: The Last Man" scribe, Brian K. Vaughan. The first issue sold out quickly. Don't let issue #2 slip through your fingers.

New Images

I've been pretty busy of late, which is why there haven't been any new posts in a while.

Not too long ago, I created a few new images for the website for the Shaman Drum Bookshop which can be seen by going to to the right of the screen and clicking on "Browse By Category" scrolling down to each category you will be able to see the thumbnail sized images I created.

I've only got five left to do. For the most part they are a fun challenge. Coming up with an image that encompases an entire field of study and having it work visually in a space that's 160 pixels x 200 pixels in size takes some doing. I'm pretty pleased with what's there so far. What image I'm going to choose to represent all of "history" or "philosophy" is beyond me at this moment. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments box.

Your Vote Counts

It's that time of the year again. The nominees have all been announced, now all you have to do is choose the winners. Yes, that's right, the Rondo Awards for achievement in classic horror are once again upon us. What are you waiting for? Vote here.

Mad Scientist #16

One of the best monster magazines out there is now even better. MAD SCIENTIST has gone from digest-sized to full magazine size, with more great content. I contributed an article to the latest issue, as well as a portrait of Vampira which appears on the back cover. You can see a detail taken from this image in the previous post. At $5.00, it's a bargain. To find out more about the contents to issue #16, and order a copy, simply go here. Tell them I sent you.

R.I.P. Vampira 1921-2008

Maila Nurmi, who in her persona as "Vampira," was the first television horror host, now probably best known for her role in Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" died a few days ago in her sleep. She was 86.

In Stores Today

Available in comic book stores today is THE FOUNDATION #1, the first of a five-issue series written by myself with art by Chee. Published by Boom! Studios, you might have some trouble getting your hands on a copy at your smaller comic book emporiums, but your retailer should still be able to order it for you, or you can get it directly through Boom! Studios here.

Fun With Scissors - part 120

I'm not about to embark on bringing back the "Fun With Scissors" feature to this blog, at least not for a little while yet. This piece was actually done last year, but at the time I was without a scanner and could not post it at the seasonally appropriate time. Instead, I'm doing so now, which ended up being more appropriate since the book that introduced this character is 50 years old this year.

Here's the title character of one of my favorite Christmas specials of all time, the Grinch from the terrific Dr. Seuss/Chuck Jones/ Boris Karloff collaboration "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Merry Christmas!

The Mummy Turns 75

Seventy-five years ago today, "The Mummy" premiered, adding a new monster to Universal's expanding horror franchise. Inspired by the the fascination with ancient Egypt brought on by the discovery of King Tut's tomb, the alleged curse that came with opening the tomb, and the script for the film adaption of the previous year's "Dracula," "The Mummy" is one of Universal's best entries. Boris Karloff does an excellent job portraying Ardath Bey, and his true identity of Imhotep. While taking hours to apply the make-up, Karloff's actual screen time in the bandages was only a few moments long, but it is perhaps the most memorable, and best known sequence in the entire film, punctuated by David Manners' maniacal laughter and "He went for a little walk." line.

Among the rest of the cast, which includes Edward Van Sloan (who also had key roles in both "Dracula" and "Frankenstein"), Bramwell Fletcher, and Arthur Byron, it's exotic beauty, Zita Johann who shines as Ardath Bey's romantic obsession. The film was beautifully directed by Karl Freund, the cinematographer on "Dracula" and numerous films directed by Fritz Lang, including "Metropolis" (1927).

Like most of the other Universal monsters, "The Mummy" did have sequels--of sorts. Excluding "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" (1955) there were four. Not only did Karloff appear only in the original Mummy movie, but his character, Imhotep did not live on past the original film either. The mummy that menaces "The Mummy's Hand (1940), "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942), "The Mummy's Ghost" (1944), and "The Mummy's Curse" (1944) was named Kharis, and was portrayed initially by an effectively creepy Tom Tyler, followed by Lon Chaney, Jr. in the remaining three films. Not only was the mummy different in these four movies, but the tone was vastly different, and the quality was difinitely B-movie as opposed to the high quality of the original production.

"The Mummy" also had one of the most beautiful posters of all time, as seen here. Skip "Rudolph", and watch "The Mummy" tonight.

The Big Red Guy

With a holiday fast approaching in which millions of children look forward to a big red man, I thought it only appropriate to direct you to another big red guy I'm fond of. Here's the teaser trailer for HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY arriving in theaters next Summer.

Winter Display

Here's the winter holiday display I did this year for Shaman Drum Bookshop. I intentionally created something that evoked the winter holidays without being specific to any holiday.





I had the most fun making the birds, choosing ones that could wear winter hats yet still remain recognizable; the blue jay's hat mirroring the crest it would have naturally, and of course the two black capped chickadees.




I filled the interior space with paper chains and hand cut snowflakes connecting the overhead lighting throughout the store, and brought back the penguins from last year.

Brainiac 5 and Supergirl

Here's a piece a little while ago as a birthday present for a friend of mine. I'm not entirely happy with this piece. Most of my problems with it stem from poor planning on my part. I kept changing it as I went. First I started with the idea that I was going to stay true to the classic Legion of Superheroes art of the 1960s, but then began stylizing it my own way partway through, so now Brainiac's body seems to be a weird mishmash of the two styles that doesn't really work. Also, this was originally going to be a simple portrait of Brainiac 5, but I didn't feel it was enough, so I added the idea of his infatuation with Supergirl intruding upon his concentration with his experiment. If I'd thought to include this element in the beginning, the layout would have been different, instead of the cluttered look this piece has now. The third detriment was that i tried using parchment paper to get that layered transparent look of the cloud, but discovered that this type of paper doesn't take glue too well, so it was constantly peeling off the papers attached to it, and bits of chemistry gear kept falling off altogether.

In my experience, if a complication arises when I'm making a collage, the final result usually ends up being less than i hoped for, and I've yet to learn to simply give up on a piece that's not working and to start over. My most succesful pieces, no matter how complicated they seem, tended to be the easiest ones, done the quickest, and without problems cropping up along the way.

Happy Hanukkah!

EVEL KNIEVEL 1938 - 2007

When I was growing up, Evel Knievel was the man. What boy didn't want to be the king of motorcycle stuntman? Thankfully I didn't try emulating him. I did however follow all of his exploits through the attempt to make that mile long jump across Snake River Canyon and beyond. I bought the Scholastic biography. I collected the Topps trading cards. I remember the toy ad that adorned the back cover of seemingly every comic book I read. I owned the stunt cycle toys which exposed me to reality vs the commercial on tv as my stuntcycle never performed the cool stunts the kids in the commercial were able to manage, but I still sent Evel's 8" plastic stand-in on feats of daring with attempts at jumping boulders lining our driveway, and even a couple leaps from the roof. For all its other failings, the stunt cycle toy, and Evel Knievel action figure that rode it were incredibly durable, just like the real man.