Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

Also, welcome back ADD and In Sequence.

Did I miss anyone?

 
Doomed to Repeat It...

"But not if you actually investigated our business, you know why, because comics are good and pure at heart. Seriously, when you start to compare us to other aspects of the entertainment industry you'll come to realize that the worse we actually do is kill trees." - Joe Quesada, from an interview with Rich Johnston.



Dan DeCarlo - Created Josie and the Pussycats only to have Archie Comics claim co-creator status on the characters, unilaterally and retroactively change the terms of their contract with him to gain all rights to his creations, and show him the door after over 40 years of defining the look of their characters.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - Sold their creation Superman to DC for $130, but were fired from the publisher after initiating a lawsuit for compensation from the character of Superboy. Both of them lived in near poverty and isolation until the last days of their lives, when pressure from the comics community forced DC, which had made over a billion dollars from the character, to give them a measly yearly stipend of $20,000.

Jack Kirby - Having a hand in developing the foundation of the Marvel Universe, he sought to have his artwork returned to him to supplement the meagre page rate he had received while creating characters that would, and still are, netting hundreds of millions of dollars. Marvel agreed to give him back 2,000 of the 13,000 pages Kirby had pencilled, but only under the condition that he sign away all rights to his characters.
posted by Steven at 6:07 PM

 
Bill Woggon 191(?) - 2003



"She still has devout fans out there who collect old Katy Keene comics, which are not always the easiest thing to find in complete form. You see, most issues also included cut-out paper dolls, and many readers cut them out."

I just found out through the Oddball Comics Forum that Bill Woggon, creator and artist of comic book glamour queen Katy Keen, has passed away. I was going to write something about the man and his work, but Mark Evanier beat me to it with a wonderful little obit, a piece of which you can read above. You can find out more about Katy Keene in her entry in the ever essential Toonopedia as well as a little bit more biographical material in the Sequential Tart message board. Archie comics also has a few paragraphs devoted to her in their history of their publishing line (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the Katy Keene stuff). The following is sample from their site.

"What made Katy Keene so immensely popular with fans was that readers were encouraged to send in fashion designs for Katy and her friends. Not just fashions, but designs for houses, cars, boats, just about anything, with recognition given when their designs were shown in the book. And, when it came to fashions for Katy, Gloria and Lucki, it wasn’t just girls who submitted designs, boys and grown men of all ages submitted fashions as well! Katy would enjoy enormous success, second only to Archie himself until her book was cancelled in 1961."



I actually have an enduring memory of Katy Keene. At my Grandparent's cottage in Temagami there's a boxfull of comics that they bought from a second-hand bookstore near off the highway. Not knowing what the kids were into, these comics varied wildly over genres and time periods. I can still distinctly remember the content of most of those comics, having read them over and over again on rainy afternoons. Ghost comics, Funny Animal comics, Archies and yes, Superheroes. One Archie digest in particular had a Katy Keene story where she went to a dude ranch. I remember thinking how odd it was to see little caption boxes spring up, almost like title cards in silent movies, to tell the audience the name of the person who designed Katy's clothes. And I think my introduction to K.O. Kelly, my favourite Katy supporting character, inspired a love for comic book boxer characters that lives to this day. That box of comics is probably one of the great deciding factors in my acceptance of different genres for the artform.

I'm sorry if it seems that I am devoting so much of the blog to tributes to cartoonists who have passed away. I think it's important. These are the often anonymous people who fueled many childhood (and in some cases, adulthood) dreams. I think it's only fair that someone out there takes a moment out to pay their respects to these creators who toiled away for decades during a time when comics had a wide range of subject matter and were at the height of their popularity. It's interesting that of the people I have written obits for (Al Hirschfeld, Bill Mauldin, Erich Sokol, Pete Millar and now Bill Woggon) none of them are known for superhero comics. They all started their careers at a time in which cartoonists entered the field fresh, without being heavily influenced by nostalgia, and brought with them a wide range of interests which showed in their work.

Like I've said before, many people argue with me when I say that I would like to see more diversity in mainstream comics, assuming that this means I would like to see less superheroes. No joke, this happens at least once a week. To be honest, there could be five times the amount of superhero comics, and I really wouldn't care. The amount of superhero comics available doesn't mean much to me, and wouldn't be at all affected by an increase in comics of other genres. What I would like to see are some current comics available for friends that aren't interested in superheroes so I don't have to scrounge through back issue bins for copies of Katy Keene. And one or two token titles that don't last past six issues just won't cut it.
posted by Steven at 4:13 AM

 
Pete Millar R.I.P.



The past few years have seen me develop an interest in comics that fall outside of the scope of the general comics community despite being more popular by far than most of the offerings by the players in the direct market. Historically popular comics like the Teen Comedy, Romance, Western and Funny Animal genres, commercial properties like Bazooka Joe and propaganda like Jack Chick. One such comic, known to gearheads and grease monkeys the world over, is the Car-toon.

Any hands-on experience I ever had with Car-toons (or Drag-toons, or Cycle-toons, or Ski-toons, or Go Car-toons, or...) was in washrooms at my friends' houses. One friend in particular had stacks so high that they would teeter and loom over you as you went about your business. I don't think I have ever seen a Car-toon magazine outside of a washroom, bless them.

I found out from Journalista that Car-toons co-founder, Pete Millar, has passed away, news which he received from Scott Shaw. I have no intention of repeating the links that Dirk provides, including samples of Millar's own comic work and biographical material. However, I would like to take this opportunity to throw a few Car-toon and Car-toon inspired links your way, in honour of the washrooms of my youth.



Most people I knew that read Car-toons (and coming from a steel town, I knew a hell of a lot of them) wouldn't read anything else comic-wise. It comes as absolutely no surprise to me that not only are these magazines fondly remembered by many, but that websites devoted to them are chockfull of goodies. Case in point, this site has an extensive cover gallery and samples of, no fucking joke, Car-toon Iron-ons. I am so going to have one of these put on a t-shirt. You can try on a piece of Millar's own cartooning with the story It Takes 2 To Tango, and read a wonderful little tribute to his rag at the Lowbrow reader. Oddly, this is the same essay on the subject that can be found in The Comics Journal #238, fast becoming one of my favourite issues.

The Car-toons site I linked to above is part of a larger site devoted to a specific artist, George Trosley. He did the popular and perennial Krass and Bernie strips, of which you can find a few full samples. He also did the feature How To Draw Cars, which comes just in time for helping me in my Design class.

The incomparable Alex Toth also did some work in this genre, most of which has been collected in One For The Road. You can sample some of this fine work with the stories Chicken Shift, Lovelife, and Big Daddy's Word to the Wise (starring Big Daddy Roth and the Beatles).



Memories...

posted by Steven at 3:46 AM

 
Sweet Christmas!



Happy International Read A Comic Book Naked Day!

I have received an overwhelming amount of support for this new type of comics activism. My thanks to all participants. Please remember to keep warm, especially if you have decided to combine International Read A Comic Book In Public Day with International Read A Comic Book Naked Day. It's the coldest day of the winter here in Ottawa, so there is no way I'm going outside.

Now, at least a few people are confused as to what it is that they are supposed to be doing while naked, as if reading comics isn't enough. Though I don't think that you should attempt too many things all at once, if you wish to take the dare, may I personally recommend Betty and Veronica, Lady Death or Iron Man to keep you and your comics warm on these cold, lonely nights?

Not hot enough for you? Over on the intellectually stimulating Comics Journal message board, there is currently a pervy little discussion on comic characters who, while not blatantly sexual, still managed to kick puberty into high gear. Characters like Zatanna, Black Widow and Wonder Girl. Shame no one has fessed up to having being a blue skin fetishist (see Nightcrawler or Mystique) Roar!



Speaking of having the hots for a four couloured fictional character, it's not only Interntional Read A Comic Book Naked Day, but also the 28th birthday of The Felicia Hardy Testosterone Brigade! And, according to Johnny Bacardi just two days ago Arnold Drake, co-creator of the Doom Patrol and one of my favourite superhero writers, celebrated his 79th! I'm still trying to see up Rita Farr's skirt, Mr. Drake! Yay Birthdays!!!

On the topic of birthdays, I too am 28 on this most naked comic reading of days. I had a wonderful weekend and received Catwoman #16, a book which lists every Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoon, and the double disc Mickey Mouse in Black and White dvd! And cake! Lots of cake. Thanks J. for making the journey into old age a fun one. One more photo, just for you!


posted by Steven at 12:07 AM