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Dr. Balls

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Journal Entries posted by Dr. Balls

  1. Dr. Balls

    In 1993, I Wanted To Be The Next Jim Lee

    By Dr. Balls,


    Life as a Collector in the 90s
    Sorting through the boxes of yesteryear, like we all do, I came across my college-era portfolio of work. Looking through the commercial-style art, including a mock up and color call-out for a Comtrex medicine box (how exciting!) I happened across all my comic-book drawings that I made when I wasn't busy doing homework or working.
    1992 was the beginning of an interesting time in my life. I graduated high school in 1991 and got a full-time job. I also managed to spend a little on comic books - I had taken quite a few years off from comics to chase girls, do some underage drinking and work on my car. I had a steady girlfriend, steady job and I didn't drink on work nights - so that left a little extra cash to buy comic books. I was immediately taken by Whilce Portacio's run on X-Men. I'd quit reading the X-Men back around #236, and this new storyline with a dude named 'Bishop' was really intriguing. I got hooked all over again at the ripe old age of 19.
    By 1993, I had saved up enough money and courage to go off to college - in Denver, Colorado. I was accepted into two art schools there, and I had made my pick (the cheapest one). With the help of my mother, I secured a job and an apartment - I loaded up my 1970 Impala with everything I owned, including my short box of comics and off I went.
    My classes were the typical art fare: still life drawing, anatomy, nude drawings, color theory. Impatient as I was, I wasn't getting the fulfillment of what I wanted to do while practicing the foundations of artistic skill. I was also knee-deep in comic shops at the height of the hobby living in Denver, it was only a matter of time before my passion for drawing would meet my interest in the hobby. I believe I even saw the Rob Liefeld Levis commercial on re-runs of Married...with Children back then.
    All these things came together for a wonderful period of inspiration. So many great artists back then, so many styles to explore. My young brain was excited about the prospect of being a comic artist - even though I had barely made the first step in going to school for art.
    Ahh, but that's the joy of being young and inexperienced. I cranked out all sorts of work in addition to my schoolwork. I dabbled in different styles, mimicking my favorite artists at the time - trying to find my own style and method by emulating others.
    In the years since, I never became a comic artist. I owned a comic shop. I worked for an advertising agency for 15 years, I taught graphic design at MSU and I had my own niche as a digital artist for almost 20 years - and finally, I've settled into being a restaurant owner. But not a day goes by that I work towards meeting my goal of giving myself enough time to finally become a comic book artist.
    As the old adage goes - and one I absolutely believe in: "It's never too late to be what you could have been"
    Here's my stash on early 90's comic drawings:
    I used to love Linsner's work, so much I wanted to emulate it:

    I distinctly remember wanting to draw something and utilize the 'Psylocke' style shading on clothing:

    Always loved Rogue, this was a pointilism piece as a traditional 'Southern Belle'

    Sabretooth, I believe:

    Boy, when Jae Lee hit the scene, it was a whole 'nuther world of ink style. I loved his work:

    Wolverine remained my favorite character in my 20s, just like he was when I was a kid. I loved drawing Bloody Wolverine!

    Bishop was also fun to draw, too - lots of energy coming off him and cool face tattoo:

    This was a Steve Scroce-inspired drawing of a stripper I was sweet on:

    I always was fond of how this Wolverine turned out:

    I did manage to sneak in a Betty Page drawing into one of my class assignments:

    Had a great time drawing this Crow piece while at work over the course of a few days.

    This was a Jim Steranko-inspired Marilyn:

    And finally: the only published comic book art I've ever done. A pinup for Vortech: The Wonder Mule in 1995:

    Thanks for reading and looking.
  2. Dr. Balls
    The comic book Razor was the brainchild of Everette Hartsoe and his vision of the independent “Bad Girl” era. Razor was first published under Fathom Press in 1991, but then under Hartsoe's own London Night Studio afterwards, and the dark, Crow-inspired styling seemed to have taken off. (Razor's chronology is quite complicated, as some awesome soul organized it into an excellent read here) By the time 1994 had rolled around, I was just being introduced to these indy titles like Razor, Lady Death, etc - but it wasn’t just about the comics or the dark illustrative art within that fed my collecting fever.

    Razor was one of the early books to really exploit the “exclusives” and “variants” aspect of the 90s that we loved back then, and despise now. Early issues of Razor included a “zero issue” which was one of the first of this kind of numbering concept at the time, along with “tour editions” that were signed and limited - and of course, with Certificates of Authenticity. The chronology link above (and here) also shows all the crazy short print runs of variations of Razor.
    Jim Balent, Tim Vigil and James O’Barr created covers for the first few issues, and a #2 that had different colored borders with differing print runs (and signed!). Platinum editions, convention specials, print portfolios soon followed - and while London Night Studios wasn’t the only one doing this, they were the ones who were seemingly having a lot of success at promoting it.
    Especially when it came down to the local level where I was. Far and away from conventions, these exclusive indy books that never seemed to be showcased in Wizard were the talk amongst all of us who had X-Men in our regular pull orders, but we kept our eyes peeled to pick up one of these super hot books that usually got missed by comic shops doing their Diamond or Capital orders. A couple friends managed to make the pilgrimage to SDCC a few times back then would return with rarities that one could only pick up in a larger market. A book bought at SDCC for $10 would get $30-$40 without blinking back home in Montana, simply because we couldn’t get it. I was on the paying end of that many times.
    But, let’s swing back - Everette Hartsoe had a unique and interesting marketing talent that I bought into in my younger years, and learned to respect as I got older. Being able to see that promotional angle before it became insanely oversaturated is a respectable talent.
    By the year 2000, I’d been out of comics for a few years and doing my own art thing. I worked at an ad agency during the day, and ran my own art gallery featuring my work (Digital Art, which was popular in 2000 and wasn't met with derision like it was in the mid 2010s) in the evenings and weekends. I also did freelance graphic design work for low budget film producers from all over the place. Then one day, an email showed up from Everette Hartsoe looking for a designer to work with on his movie marketing projects.
    Step 1: Receive a call or email - from someone who is more well-known than yourself - with the prospect of “partnering up” on a “sure-to-be-successful” project.
    Let me tell you a tale of being an artist - this tale is universal. Every artist goes through this, and as the years go by - they start to learn how to identify these “projects” and just how much money you’ll make off of it. The amount being: Zero. But, for myself - having an unfulfilled desire to work in comics - this was an undertaking that would get me into the arena, even if it wasn’t technically comic books. I was intrigued.
    He came at me with several movie projects - all featuring heroines - including one called Ms Tori, Demon Hunter - all of which had fairly ok premises given the sensibilities of the year 2000. He was passionate about them, and one of them featured his current girlfriend. Given that Hartsoe had continued on the filmmaking path for the next 20 years, these things I worked on must have been his first attempt and transitioning from comics to film. If you look at his IMDB today, his earliest credited film work was from 2009 - these projects were nine years previous, and there is no reference to them anywhere on the internet.

    Switchblaze Entertainment logo I created for his "umbrella company" that covered his movie projects.
    Looking back, I was super excited to be working with THE Everette Hartsoe. The guy who is like the Godfather of the Bad Girl era. What kind of insanely cool stuff is he going to do now?!? My mind was reeling at the potential - not monetary, mind you - the potential of creating unique work. This is what really got me going. Money is great, but man - cool projects are valuable to the creative soul.
    Step 2: Fantasize about the accolades, opportunities, money and babes that will rain down on you upon completion of said project - especially because the creator is well-known!
    We worked on several projects simultaneously. Movie posters, logo design, packaging ideas, promotional flyers - the whole gamut of stuff. And it was fun concept stuff on a genre I was interested in.

    I was always surprised that Ms. Tori Demon Hunter never turned into a comic book - seemed right up his alley.

    Promotional movie posters for the first two projects he was working on. The Strange Obsession poster featured his girlfriend and partner Chrissy (Christina) Mountjoy.

    He had me rework the Razor logo as well, but I don't think it ever got used.
    Step 3: Utilize the adrenaline to boost your brainpower and time to developing these projects, working hand-in-hand with the well-known individual, spending hours creating, drawing, developing and producing some really great work that you are proud of.
    Looking back at the art and design, it was not as polished as my work had developed into - but I do recall how much fun I had working on it. This project came right before my first filmed-and-completed movie project (it was a low budget German horror movie called 'Demonum' by Andreas Schnaas), so Everette's films were my first foray into designing and marketing movie stuff. That was a very exciting time for me, as this was an area of graphic design I really wanted to break into - and I spent lots of time making sure everything was perfect, refined and well-thought out.
    One evening, I got a phone call from a guy asking if I was doing work for Everette. Thinking this was a potential client, I talked with him a bit, but the conversation quickly turned sour for this guy - as he had claimed he had a professional run-in with Everette, and commenced with running him down, describing scenarios that sound all-too familiar to anyone who has worked on something that isn't going to pan out - and then feeling that dread of failure welling up deep inside you.
    Step 4: Realize that the project you’ve poured your heart and soul into is going to explode all over the launch pad and never take off.
    I can’t remember the details about why they never really got off the ground. This was also pre-social media, so generating “hype” didn’t work back then like it does now, so these projects, as far as I can tell, just went under the radar into Low Budget Movie Development Hell. I'd finished up the website, but for all it's cool Year 2000 design sensibilities, it didn't garner much interest at this point. Check it out here in all it's glory on the Internet Wayback Machine!

    Believe it or not, this was cutting edge web design in 2000 - the only thing missing was a Flash-generated 'loading' icon.

    At least I got my own page on the website for my contributions. Then I wasted it with a hilariously dorky "goth" photo. If I knew I was going to be bald a few years later, I would have shown off my hair better in the picture.
    Despite the cryptic phone call and abandoned projects, I never actually held any ill will to Everette. Even back then, I had admired what he did for comics and was excited to participate in something new he was doing. I mean, the prospect of being part of something he created was enough to get me on board - simply because he was an Idea Machine. I remember being very disappointed once I realized all hope was lost on the project, but I never felt that I wasted my time. If anything, it gave me a few portfolio pieces to promote myself.
    Off and on throughout the next 10 years, I’d drop him a line from time to time. I’d tell him we had worked on a project together to try and jostle his memory, and if he had anything he was working on he needed help with. Most of the time I wouldn’t get a response, but then one day in 2010 - I come home to find an email from Everette Hartsoe sitting in my inbox, waiting for me to open and see what's inside...
    Step 5: Never give up! Never surrender!
    I created a cover for the ‘Scars’ trade-paperback back in 2010. I thought we could work up something with a cosplay girl as Razor, but I think he was looking for something more mature - or less “Bad-Girly”, so we kept the female figure off the cover. He had a very specific idea about cover art, so I went with it. I think it may have gone unused.

    The 'Scars' cover art - adequately executed, but dependent entirely on the viewer being familiar with the 'Razor' brand identity to connect with the book, pick it up and initiate a purchase. I think by 2010, that might have been an uphill battle - which may have been why it went unused.
    And like my previous interactions, when he got the production file - he disappeared into the ether as mysteriously as he’d arrived.
    I think I sent him one more email a year or two ago when I had some free time from the Diner, but never heard anything. Like the fanboy at a convention, the creator you meet probably doesn’t remember you years later, and that’s what stings - not because we’re mad, but because we all crave that connection of being remembered by people you look fondly upon. I’ve done my fair share of Pro Bono projects that went nowhere, but his projects I worked on were always the ones I really wanted to see go somewhere.
    Step 6: Don’t let your expectations ruin your firsthand experiences, and just enjoy the ride.
  3. Dr. Balls
    Circa 1993
    I lived in Denver in the 80's, moved back to Montana for high school and then went back to Denver in the early 90's for college. I'd collected comics as a kid - mostly Daredevil, MoKF, Moon Knight X-Men and GI Joe in my early teens, getting into the independent stuff after that. By the time I was 20 in 1993 and living in Great Falls, Montana - I was the typical collector: way more books I wanted than what my income allowed, especially at the $2.95 cover price. I mean, I think I was around $5 or $6 an hour in wage back then, so I had to budget - especially because I worked at a local comic shop, and had eyes bigger than my wallet.
    I graduated high school in Great Falls in 1991, and by 1993 It was time to make the big move to go to college in Denver. I was comfortable going there since I'd lived there for awhile as a kid. So I packed up my '70 Impala, swept the mullet back and blew outta town.

    That's me and my dad's ex-girlfriend Cindy - who lived in Denver and visited me when I moved down there. Not bad, pops!
    I had aspirations of being an illustrator and I had managed to put together a decent portfolio to get me into an art school. I enrolled at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, with a full-time job at Safeway about 30 minutes from where I lived. The job was my first union job, so I was introduced to a higher wage in making $7.75/hour, which left a little extra money for me to establish my pull order at Mile High Comics at Buckingham Square Mall:

    Man, do I miss the mall experience. These younger kids don't know what they missed out on.
    I strolled in and was bloooooooownnnnn away by a *real* comic shop. Not that I have anything against my classic comic shops in Great Falls - but this was a Big City comic shop that had "hot" books on the wall. Piles of non-sports cards and other comic-related trinkets in all it's bright florescent glory. It was magnificent to my 20 year old brain.
    In my move to Denver - much to my mother's chagrin - I invited along my longtime on-again-off-again girlfriend (who was also into comics) to move with me. Which, most people can imagine, pissed off every adult in all families within a 50 mile radius. But, we decided to do this whole adventure together - which ended up being not a super smart choice, but that's a tale for another day. In the meantime, we decorated the house with all of our posters and made our little studio a home.

    My buddy Hovland and my girlfriend Amie sitting on our futon (yep, futon that we slept on) chillin' out while I play with B&W film.
    Once we were settled in, I went back to Mile High and created my pull list, then subsequently popped in every other week on payday and got to know one of the counter guys pretty well. He had several pieces of art published in the Wizard Fan Art section, and introduced me to Prismacolor markers to color comic art. So, being a young, impressionable artist dreaming of my first "published" work, I was a total fanboy of this guy who'd been in Wizard. After a few months of going there, one day he noticed that I was going through a freshly-opened box of comic non-sports card packs - touching every one of the 24 packs in the box, and putting four of them aside:
    Now back in these times, you would have a box of 24 packs of cards, and randomly inserted within those packs were four special cards on holographic/prismatic/chromium card stock. These were the "premium" cards, referred to as "chase cards". When putting together your set of regular cards, you wanted to get these special cards, which were a subset of the collection. Naturally, card collectors would buy a full box or two trying to get the subset completed - thereby spending more money (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) 
    I can't remember if it was WildC.A.T.S. cards or Spawn cards - but I stepped up to the counter with those four packs and he had asked if I would open those and see if I got any of the "special" cards and if I did, he'd give me $5 store credit. My eyes lit up at the prospect.
    I opened up all four packs and produced all four chase cards from the box.
    ...
    Let's flash back to a year or two before when those non-sports cards really started getting hot. When I worked at my local comic shop in my home town, I had lots of time to sit at the counter and thumb through the packs. Now, I have no idea if this talent I developed was rare or unique, but I would obsess about bending the packs of cards to see if I could feel the variance of card thickness of regular cards and the chase card. While I experimented with this, I would scrounge up some money to buy packs and try to pull out the chase cards, then sell them to one of the rival comic shops. After a few weeks, I was pretty much 100% accurate but I stuck to the old adage of "you can shear a sheep many times, but only skin it once" - so I would pull out 3 of the 4 chase cards and leave one pack so I didn't "kill" the box. I did this for probably a year before comic shop owners caught on and wouldn't let me pick the packs myself.
    ...
    So, back to Mile High: the guy couldn't believe it.
    "No way! Can you do that again?" He said, peeling the cello from a box from behind the counter. I went through the box, pulled out four packs, opened them up - and there's the chase cards.
    "Only come in when I'm working and do that, Ill give you store credit - but no one else can see you handling the packs. You buy them, and I'll give you trade."
    I spent the better part of my summer and fall that first year in Denver killing boxes left and right. I probably pulled out 100 chase cards for him, and got some great books to show for it. I wish I could remember his name - I'll have another tale to tell with him in a later entry, one filled with cross-state intrigue, double dealing and a massive comic book collection transported under a tarp in an old 1980's Ford Truck.
    Thanks for reading!