That Ron Dude

There are some very interesting points made. Thanks for putting up the Russ Heath page. It was interesting to read about how he is doing these days. Also thanks for the reference to the Brian Bolland situation. I have always taken it that Lichtenstein was doing drawings of 2-dimensional objects. I have gone from pole to pole thinking that he ripped people off and that he was just doing interpretive paintings of someone else's design work, sort of like Warhol's soup cans. I don't even know who designed the soup cans; you probably don't know either. Whoever it may be probably feels a little funny about their part in Warhol's career. Reading the very articulate arguments here, I confess that I now have mixed feelings about it. I recently read a book called, "Baby Let me Follow you Down" by a folk singer named Paul Clayton. Bob Dylan has often been accused of ripping off his version of the song that the book was named for. Clayton says that if it wasn't for Dylan mentioning him in the talking at the start of the song, he would be completely forgotten. He got no money from Dylan, though. There is also a story about Dave Von Ronk being ripped off by Dylan for "House of the Rising Sun". Von Ronk has said that the story is now better known than any of his songs. It would be nice it we could all look at people messing with our creations the way Von Ronk and Paul Clayton have. Me, I would want to cut Dylan's sweetbreads off, and you can bet there was a time that those two men wanted to, too. But time, frustration, and going public can make people humble. I think Russ Heath's strip, ultimately, is taking the high road.

I pay thee homage, for I am amazed. Mike does really have an incredible comic going,bet if you ask nice he'll sell you the entire run.It's a fun read,take it from someone who has the run and can't wait for each issue. i have 'em. (thumbs u Thx guys. Y'know, I was thinking, if I can just ink one page a day...... .... I'd be done in 27 days real life takes such a tole on time. Is why my own project is coming along so slowly. It's true !! Projects like this take up all your time !! If my computer wasn't in my drawing room I wouldn't even have the forums to keep me company Holy Cow! I better get off the computer, go upstairs and start drawing. What an inspiration!

Thanks for the kind words. Also thanks to all the talented people who let me see their work. The Chaplin image was one of over 300 works of art I did portraying famous comics. They are now in the possession of the Humber School of Comedy.

My Chaplin. Cut paper on marbled paper.

I am not supporting him but I am sure most of us remember Dan Adkins. Adkins would project the works of others onto illustration board, interpret the lines in his own ink style, sometimes colour them with a coloured pencil and sell them, very successfully, as his own. We were always astounded at the low, low, deep discount prices, often five or ten bucks. I still own a Dan Adkins image of a spaceman on a cross. Boy, he could ink. It was a decade or more before I discovered that the image I bought for $10 was snatched right off the cover of an SF magazine (maybe Galaxy) created originally by (I believe) John Schoenherr. He did these before things had gone into reprint a hundred times over. A comic from three years before was in the distant past. I loved the work of Dan Adkins. Many people just couldn't accept his swipes-- the people who sued him for instance.

Would have spotted it as Dali even without the moustache. It seems Steranko used the upside-down moustache as a motif on one of his covers.

Strong image. I have never seen a picture up here that is so bright.

I like Everett but not enough to put him on a very short list of all time greats. I do think though, that he had the greatest SIGNATURE in the history of comics.

The mathematician in me would like to create a sensible equation to decide on the best artist in the history of comics. Some of the factors would have to be-- 1. Longevity in the field 2. Awards 3. # of Comics Sold 4. # of single issues sold 5. Innovations 6. Popularity among editors 7. Influence on other professional artists There are other factors of course. But a factor would never be, "I really like this guy and I grew up with him".

Wow. Some of this work is very ambitious. I love to look at it.

ALL FANS ARE JERKS. Rule of thumb. No debate about it. I have only met two people who have felt otherwise and they are both delusional. The only difference between fans and pros is that the pros can write or draw. They are jerks too. Don't expect anything different. I have met Barry Smith only once and he was showing good behaviour. Really, though, until now, I have never heard anything bad about him. All joking aside, there was once a thread here about the strangest men in the history of comics, which isn't necessarily the same as being a jerk, but it is a good approximation. A few of the nominees were Ditko, T.Casey Brennan and Mike Netzer. For sheer quantity of anecdotes, James Warren might be the all time winner.

Beautiful image. Great sentiment.

I hear ya Ron. I too am a relic. This page was done in 1981 for Warren's Eerie a year before Dark Crystal's striders. Nice work. Thought these were giant extracted teeth at first glance! Agreed, nice work! Those are striking images. Did you do work for Warren. I visited the offices and met Bill Dubay, delivering a friend's work about that time. I remember going to a panel which was kind of dull and one of the panel members said, "Let's forget the topic and tell Jim Warren stories". T.Casey Brennan told me that he was the greatest comic publisher of them all. I never met the man. I am reading the Vampirella compilations now; I am on the third and all the Spanish and Filipino artists have come in. If I discount all the stories about his eccentricities I think it would have been nice to work for him. He allowed experimentation and while the story was introduced by a stock character it was often about any horror topic that interested the writer. Do you continue to draw? The work you posted is exquisite.

Very cool! What media is that? Paint? Marker? Pencil? Really unique! Acrylics and Inks on heavy duty art paper. Just about to get it mounted and framed. If Wood inked it, it would look just like Wood. As is, it's a nice copy.

Aaron-- great coloured pencil drawing! If I ever end up teaching high school again I will be sure to give out a similar assignment!. I wonder if any would turn out half as good.

The Fencon cover is nothing less than stunning! The comic companies should be knocking down your door!!!

Well, comicwhiz it looks like the Torontonians have taken over the thread. I do all my drawing while waiting in traffic. For Boba-- Most people don't know that I draw. I actually lettered for DC, Image and Eclipse during the 1980s (or maybe it was the 1990s. It was a long time ago). I have seen print in comics more than 85 times. Nobody wants to publish me anymore. Times have changed.

A lot of talented people on here.

Thanks for the kind words, Wally. I actually use water soluble oil. The drying times are the same but the clean up and mixing are easier. I haven't used real oil in a long time myself and when I did I found it frustrating as well.

Jocelyn, same media, same size.

Gillian, also in oil on 24" by 30" canvas.

This is Anna. It is in oil on 24" by 30" canvas.

I had no idea. I won't even use the George Harrison defence. I just thought up the dumbest name that still sounded like the name of a comic book and used it. I assume that Spike Mulligan's creator did the same thing.

This is the one that is going to MAKE me!

Draw from life sometime, photos sometime, copy comics sometime, go to anatomy books too. Eventually they will all synthesize into knowledge and style.