Happy Father's Day

Take a load off, Pop.

Happy Birthday Stan Laurel

Today, June 16 is the 120th birthday of the great movie comedian Stan Laurel. He of course is one half of the the great comedy team with Oliver Hardy and if you didn't know was the creative force behind their classic films.
Stan wrote and directed many of their great comedies and with Ollie made movie history.

In honor of this milestone, I drew a new sketch of Stan and Ollie just for the occasion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STAN!

Al Williamson R.I.P.

Sad news today as it has been reported that master illustrator Al Williamson has passed away at age 79.
Williamson was a brilliant artist who had a photo-realistic style that brought aliens and their worlds to life. Williamson started in the 1950's and quickly made a mark on the comic book industry. He was hired by Bill Gaines of EC Comics to work on their science fiction titles (mostly) and made a reputation for himself working in this genre. Williamson has been compared to artist Alex Raymond (creator of "Flash Gordon") one of his heroes and in the 60's he worked the Gordon comic book for King Comics.
He went on to work for other comic book publishers and in the 1960's started working on newspaper strips. He took over Secret Agent X-9 and Secret Agent Corrigan, two strips started by Raymond, once again following his heroes work.
In the 1970's Williamson adapted the first "Star Wars" sequel "The Empire Strikes Back" for Marvel Comics and because of this took over the "Star Wars" newspaper strip shortly afterward. It has been reported that "Star Wars" creator George Lucas was a big fan of Williamson's sci-fi work and wanted him to begin the strip but couldn't due to prior commitments.
It was through his work on "Star Wars" that I first encountered the art of Al Williamson. I love his illustrated style and his commitment to detail. Hearing of his death deeply saddens me. It's a dirty shame that we will never see him draw another action shot of Flash or a ship or creature that belongs in the Star Wars universe.

We lost a great one today. May he Rest in Peace.


Below are the original strips that Williamson drew as an audition for the "Star Wars" strip. As you can see it adapts the original film.

Flag Day

Fly Old Glory tall and proud today - Like Plas!

Two Ages of Popeye

The above sketch was done for a story I wrote for The Popeye Fan Club. Popeye is lost in time and encounters his younger self.
The Popeye on the left is modeled after his first appearance and the one on the right is modeled after Segar's version toward the end of his run on the strip. Two ages of Popeye based on the art of E.C. Segar.

Some Thimble Theatre Sketches

Here are some sketches of Popeye's friends and enemies that I have done over the years.
Above Wimpy chases down Big Boy to get his burger prize. This is probably the most exercise the moocher has ever gotten.


The Sea Hag stirs up some trouble for Popeye.


Wimpy is buried in "Hamburger Heaven" as Popeye and Olive look on in disgust.

I'll never forget what my friend Wayne and fellow artist said when I showed him this sketch, "You're insane for drawing that many burgers!"

Hey, we have to suffer for our art!

Huckleberry Hero Hump-Day Special

He is known as "The Ghost who walks", and as "The man who can not die". For over 400 years he has fought against piracy and those who would do evil and injustice in the jungles of Bangalla.


In reality he is comics first masked crime fighter. The Phantom made his first appearance in the comic pages of American newspapers in 1936. The brainchild of Lee Falk, The Phantom is actually the 22nd descendant of the Walker family line to take up the fight against the Singh Dynasty and it's reign of piracy.
Before Superman and Batman, Kit Walker was the first to put on a suit of "tights", a black domino mask and the sign of the skull on his ring and belt to fight evil-doers.


This week in honor the great comic strip hero, Huck enters The Phantom's secret Skull Cave and takes the mantle upon the Skull Throne and strikes a familiar pose of the crime fighter.

I'm posting the original pencils of this sketch because I'm really happy the way this drawing turned out. I thought I captured the mood very well. I'll eventually post this in color.

Cinco De Mayo

Happy Cinco De Mayo to all!

What time is it?

IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!

Popeye and Superman

The above sketch of The Man of Steel and The Spinach Powered Sailor is one of those pieces that took many drawings to get it just right.
I had Superman's pose pretty much set from the start, only a few minor changes were needed from the initial drawing. But Popeye, that's a different matter. I did five different poses of Popeye with his arms crossed to be able to stand back to back with Superman. It was only when I realized that I had to arch his back that the pose was right.
This is the main promotional piece I did for my "Popeye vs Superman" story,
it had to be "special"!