i've got pages...

(note: i don't know whether it was blogger or me, but i wasn't able to upload a lot of the jpgs i had for this post. sorry...)

okay...

in my career as a writer in comics, i have been blessed to've worked with some truly amazing artists. and i've been lucky enough to've been gifted with a page or two from most of the projects i've worked on. i have a page from a spectacular spider-man story i did that was drawn by the great sal buscema (and inked by bill sienkewicz). i have several pages that humberto ramos gave me from our jla; world without grown-ups mini that introduced young justice (yes, i have the bart's "grandpa?" page...). i have a page from both ethan van sciver and carlo barberi from my run on impulse, and a page--this is true--from walt simonson from the impulse issue he guest-artisted in!
i have pages from rich case from the spider-man story he and i did back in the day and a few pages from karl kesel from our more recent spider-man family/looter story that was our tribute to mike.
i, of course, have a bunch of pages each from mike and from craig--a page from the first sensational spider-man mike and i did, from our x-men 1/2 story, from the first issue of tellos, and a bunch of other pages, my favorites from sensational and tellos. from craig i have a page from our first perhapanauts book, the hostess fruit pies page from the not gigantic color special, the original for choopie's "hey! jerks!" ad.



my originals from nick cardy are in a special place; he drew me a gorgeous black canary several years ago that hangs by my bed, the sherlock holmes poster that he made for me (and the production) when i was in the play a few years back, the "jake steals my sandwich" pitcures...




i have pages from, andy smith, derec aucoin (now donavan), rich faber, mike mckone, howard porter, and many more! most are framed and in rotation here in my (too small) house.
yes, i am really lucky.

so, that's my collection of stuff i've worked on. so very nice of the artists to give them to me--i offered to pay them for them, but no go--and i can't thank them all enough for these great treasures.

my other collection of comic art is considerably smaller, mostly 'cause i just don't have the money. and because what i'm looking for are very rare pieces. these are the nostalgic pieces, the ones from my childhood wish list and, sadly, the guys i'll never have the chance to work with.

when i started reading--and loving--comics as a kid (and remember, i was mostly a dc guy to start out with...), two of the guys who really got me, the guys who really knew how to tell a story and carry you along for the ride, were jim aparo, and dick dillin! jim's stuff on brave and the bold and aquaman (not to mention those moody, spooky spectre and phantom stranger stories...) was just everything to me! yeah, i dug neal adams at the time the most, but neal was all about graphic spectacle and, sorry, not really that great at storytelling. jim would strap you in and you were off with stunning shading and shadows, dynamic action and clean storytelling! you could ALWAYS tell what was going on!
dick dillin, on the justice league, was, in my mind, a hero just for being able to juggle all of those characters and make them work! a lot of people say that dick's characters were sometimes stiff and mechanical looking...well, yeah! when they were under the mind control of starro or dr, destiny!!! i loved his work and you could see how much he loved doing it in every panel--he had such respect for both the story and the characters!

sadly, like so many other great artists of the time, jim and dick have passed on, leaving behind two wonderful legacies and generations of appreciative fans. my little regret is that i never got a chance to meet them. or work with them. and so those are the two names that i throw into the search on ebay from time to time, looking for a page or two that i might be able to pick up, something from that magical time period when i just couldn't get enough of their work, an early to mid-seventies brave and the bold or a justice league. they are few and far between. and often, far out of my price range.
but you can dream, right?



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my pal, terry, sent me this video/link yesterday and i thought it was cute/cool, so check it out and see if you agree...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw


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and here,
once again,
are your
"five for friday"

1. mark twain once said that the worst winter he ever experienced was summer in what american city?

san francisco

2. what is the princess' actual name in disney's "sleeping beauty?"

princess aurora

3. united states currency is printed, not on paper, but on a "fabric" that is 25% linen and 75% what?

cotton

4. powered by the larva of moths, what nervous novelty items are called brincadores in their native country?

mexican jumping beans

5. from the book of revelation, name the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

a. war

b. famine

c. pestilence

d. death


gotta go finish a story!
have a good monday!
smell ya later!
todd