HappyGlyphs Comics

The House on the Hill

2009-06-29T23:07:00.015-04:00

As a young lad, I grew up listening to stories about a certain haunted mansion... no, not THE Haunted Mansion, but the Harry Packer mansion in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. It was a spooky old place on the side of a very steep hill overlooking a very beautiful valley not far from where my father grew up.

You have heard of Mauch Chunk, haven't you? What do you mean you can't even pronounce it? How do you think I feel? My Dad grew up in Nesquehoning, so just learning how to spell and pronounce Mauch Chunk and Nesquehoning put me way ahead of the other kids at the spelling bee. :0)

ANYWAYS... Dad used to sneak into that spooky old place long before it became a Bed and Breakfast, and well after it was abandoned to the elements. Upon crawling through a basement window he said that the walls still had huge dusty wall hangings, and crumbling furniture, and apparently the world's first air conditioning unit, composed of an ice house and a big fan that blew cool air up into the house.

So, imagine my excitement when I read in an old Ripley's Believe it or Not cartoon that said that Disney's Haunted Mansion was modeled after the Harry Packer mansion! Coolness!

As I grew older, I realised that the Harry Packer mansion is one of two mansions on that hill in Mauch Chunk, and that The Mansions in Disney World and Disneyland were different, so it took a while for me to piece it all together. Yes, it was the Harry Packer mansion, and not the neighboring Asa Packer mansion The Mansion was modeled after, and it was the Disney World Mansion that was modeled after it. The original Disneyland Mansion was modeled after a place near Baltimore, MD.

Those familiar with Disney World's Mansion can see the resemblance... that fantastic turret on high, and those brick walls with that thick painted trim. Oh, it's not an exact match, but The Mansion in Florida was definitely inspired by the Harry Packer Mansion, and walking by it you can really see why. The Harry Packer mansion sits HIGH on that hill, and as you can see in some of the photos it looms over you. This is the idea the Imagineers wanted to capture when they created the two wings of Florida's Mansion that loom over visitors to Disney World.

I'm not going to go over all the architectural details, but the resemblance is strong not just in appearance but 'feel'. There's a lot of layers and details to the Packer Mansion, and even not in it's current overgrown state, it has a presence. Not seen in the photos is the tall leaning black iron gate that runs up the path to the mansion and all along it's front. Disney doesn't have that black gate, but it sure adds a spooky air to the place.

Today I saw some people talking outside, and lots of large lights around the place, and what appeared to be a van full of Actors. My guess is there is a commercial being filmed here, but who knows? Maybe Disney is revisiting the HP mansion? I did see some shovels leaning against a wall, and a creepy pumpkin standing beside them. Maybe this mansion is getting a Halloween make-over?

The Asa and Harry Packer mansions are neat places to visit, but after all these years of walking around outside, I still haven't been inside the place. My timing has been bad, but so far seeing the outside alone has been inspiring, and has certainly added to the magic of The Mansions at Disney, and to those stories from my childhood. As long as I remain outside, the inside is still quiet and covered with cobwebs, and long tall faded tapestries stil hang from the walls, and the crumbling furniture covered with dustcloths remain as ever ghostly images in the filtered light spilling through that broken basement window.

Cheers, and "hi" to my friends at DoomBuggies! JOHN :0)

Summer Blockbusters

2009-06-26T20:03:00.003-04:00

Since I'm losing my Optimum Account when I move, I've been taking advantage of the free movies, and enjoying the Summer Blockbusters so far. Here are some quick reviews of what I've seen so far, and will add more if I see 'em.

Land of the Lost ***1/2

I've reviewed this earlier, and may hav ebeen a bit harsh. As I mentioned, the potential for greatness was there, but they fell short. A few dumb moments really took away from an otherwise fun movie. Worth seeing for the fun of it.

Star Trek****1/2

Much better than I thought it would be. I mean, the original Star Trek series was so long ago, and seems hokey upon viewing these days. Then again, Next Generation looks a bit hokey by today's standards. Still, once the movie started, it was exciting to see certain events coming together that any Star Trek Fan will know about from the famous first episode all those years ago.

Once the story deviates, however, expectations go out the window as the characters remind us "We're in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.", and things are now very different.

As a stand alone movie it rocks... exciting, and fun, and a fair addition to the Star Trek legacy. I believe that even a non Star Trek fan can appreciate this movie for its self.

Night at The Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian ****1/2

I may be being generous with my 4 and a half stars, but I really enjoyed this movie. As Johanna Carlson mentioned in her review, Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart really stole the show. Her character's spunkiness, and outgoing spirit were great, as was her mix of vocabularly that nicely shows her from another time, but still fiting in. Other critics have said the movie was crowded with all of the old characters appearing in this movie with a whole host of new characters, but I do not see this as a negative. It just added to the zaniness of the movie that I'm sure kids especially, but many movie-goers will love.

Special affects were nice, and even though reality was stretched a bit, and the villian conquered quite suddenly and easily, there is much to appreciate here.

Hank Azaria was a nice surprise, as he played the villian with a bit of an unsuspected twist. I'm glad I came into this film without any foreknowledge of the plot. Other actors all added to the movie, and I even like Ben Stiller in these movies.

I am not a Ben Stiller fan in general, nor am I a Will Ferrel fan, but I can appreciate these actors when they do such good jobs as they do in these movies.

Still to see.... UP, Terminator, Harry Potter, and others.

I've heard mixed reviews for Terminator... none of them good, but I really love the franchise, so have to see this. Who knows? maybe I'll be surprised?

I'm a bit tired of Harry Potter, but I loved reading each book for the first time, and I will probably enjoy this movie when I see it, and the old fun comes back.

UP should be a great movie, if it's anything like Wall-E. I look forward to seeing it.

I'll let you know, and please, let me know if youv've seen any of these.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Imagineering 101: Haunted Mansion SFX II

2009-06-16T17:48:00.004-04:00

I know... I'm a Cartoonist, so should be cartooning, but I had this sudden urge to reproduce the Pepper's ghost effect that makes the Haunted Mansion's Ballroom so very special... and haunting!

As you can see in the photo above, this was a very low budget stunt, cobbled together in my studio very quickly. I promise that one day I will do this much better.. and hopefully wil not be as embarrassed as I am now of the results. :0)

Here 'tis... live and in color;

So the dancing ghosts in The Mansion's ballroom are an illusion... another happy accident in which it is discovered that you can see images reflected off of glass while at the same time seeing objects through the glass. This effect actually goes back decades ago, and was a quite popular effect in the theatre.

So... if there is an award out there for Worst Movie Created by a Cartoonist, please be sur eto nominate me. :0) And if you liked this, you'll love the Haunted Statue demonstration I made last time, here.

And please forgive me for explaining the magic behind The Mansion, but I really don't think anything can take away from it's wonder.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Imagineering 101: Haunted Mansion SFX

2009-06-09T17:56:00.006-04:00

I love my work. I have two very different parts of one company, and each keeps me expanding my creative horizons. However, working for oneself can be nice, but working with other creatives can be very invigorating. For this reason, if I were to work for someone else, it would have to be as an Imagineer with Disney.

With this in mind, I'm going to demonstrate today one of the secrets of that wonderful experience, Disney's Haunted Mansion! Yes, I will reveal the secret of the haunted marble busts that watch visitors as they stroll, or ride, through the Mansion.

Before you ask, I don't think this will in any way spoil the experience for you. The Haunted Mansion is something one can enjoy over and over again, and while you are in there, you're too busy enjoying yourself to think, "oh, so THAT's how they do that!"

Here is a video clip I made, demonstrating the effect. Please enjoy it because it took 9 takes, and much of my patience, to create. :0)

Hope you saw that. So, the marble busts aren't marble busts after all! They are the negative, or reverse impressions of busts, turned around and lit from behind. The very subtle shadowing created by the back-lighting creates the illusion that the busts are three dimensional objects, and the shadows moving as you move create the illusion of movement. (say THAT three times fast!)

To make this work, the 'cast' of the 'bust' must be realistic, as seen in the first photo, and deep enough to capture the details of the face. Keep in mind that in the photo below, you are seeing an optical illusion... the face is actually facing away from you, but the light and shadows make a convincing 3-d appearance. The photos are all taken at different angles, but the face is still, so really does seem to be moving. The video shows this best, though... what appears to be a ghostly skull moving around and turning to face you!

A very convincing optical illusion, eh? By the way, today's model came from a paint it yourself plaque that came with a Pirates of the Caribbean model kit I got as a kid. Nothing like keeping it in the family. :0)

Hope you enjoyed today's lesson. Please check our homepage for my current comic experience, The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake, in which The Inquiring Minds create their own haunted Pirate Ride!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Land of the Lost, the movie: a Review

2009-06-06T21:19:00.010-04:00

The best thing about the new movie Land of the Lost is the fact that they've been showing the original tv series on SciFi channel, and some episodes can be found on Hulu.com. I know... that doesn't say a lot for the movie, does it?

I actually enjoyed the movie, or at least most of it. The video clip above sold me on it: it's brilliant, funny, and well edited... 3 things that the movie itself is a bit short on. The movie had the potential for greatness, and though it does have its moments, somewhere along the line they took what could have been a blockbuster family movie, and decided to dumb it down to a typical potty humour movie we expect from many Saturday Night Live Alumni. Anyone named Jethro who managed to grajiate the 6th grade will love this movie. Will Ferrel fans will probably love this movie. Fans, like me, of the original tv series will like this movie, and go away wishing the creators would have had more consideration for us.

What went wrong? Well, those of us who grew up on this show, and who were heavily influenced by its imagination and creativity, are labeled as Baby Boomers. The Creators of this movie obviously decided to aim this movie at us Boomers, 'adults', and dumbed it down to adult level, and therefore left out the huge potential of the kid market. They also forgot the fact that us 'boomers' love to share our glorious childhoods with our kids, who were deprived of that glory.

On to the review.

The Land of the Lost was a brilliant television show in the 70's that had us kids glued to the tv set every Saturday morning. Although a bit goofy looking back at it, it still stands up as a great show. Hidden within were many messages like 'do your chores' and 'be honest and fair', but that was all subliminal. We loved the dinosaurs, and the lizard people, and even the primitive Pakuni, and all the wonderful weirdness that occured in a pocket universe that can only be accessed through transdimensional portals in time and space. Yeah, that's right... pocket universes, alternate realities and dimensions... advanced physics in a 70's show made for children. And it was great.

The Marshall family... Rick, a Dad who cared for his kids, and taught them the values of self reliance and hard work, and his two kids Will and Holly, who fought all the time, fall into this strange pocket universe and spend several years trying to find their way out. Meanwhile, they explore ancient civilisations, missing links, degenerate lizard people, aliens, alternate and future versions of themselves, and many others passing through the Land of the Lost.

The Movie is loosely based on the show, and pays homage to it. Right off the bat, though, we're dissapointed to learn via the Internet that the original Will and Holly Marshall were in the movie and then cut out at the last minute. Strike one.

Then there's Will Ferrell. Strike Two.

Okay, so I'm not a Will Ferrell fan, and I blame him for whatever faults this movie has. His famous ego, and his 12-year-old-boyish potty humour, dumb this movie down a bit too much. Silliness I can stand, but not stupidity.

I actually watched the Bewitched remake, another tv show turned movie starring Will Ferrel, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It was hard to get past his other stuff and watch Bewitched, but I did and was convinced that Ferrel could actually do grown up stuff like Jack Black or Jim Carey before him. Apparently that didn't last. He is actually a good choice for the job, so I have to blame the writers a bit as well, although the parts I did not enjoy seem tailor made for him.

Any writer worth his weight in salt knows that in fiction you need to keep your audience with you. There is about a ten minute segment of the movie that involves a 'trippy' scene in which the three 'men' ingest a hallucinogenic substance and act uncomfortably weird. There seems to be no point to this scene other than a funny moment when a giant crab falls into a steam pit and gets cooked before their hungry eyes. A nice scene for the movie, but the lead up is enough to make you get up and walk out. It's long, pointless, and stupid, and worst of all takes you out of the action except for a brief scene in which Holly wanders off alone and gets captured. Why this smart sensible girl wanders off, alone, in a strange place, is beyond me, and not the best plot element by today's standards.

The actors who played Will and Holly played their parts well. The actor who played the missing link Chakka could have been better. The special effects were downright brilliant, and very convincing. See the video clip above for some great scenery and fantastic dinosaur animation.

The clip shows that with some decent editing the movie could have been better. Personally, though, I think with a different focus this movie could have been awesome. Why ignore the family element of the movie? I mean, even Terminator:Salvation has a line of kid's toys, and I can't imagine anyone taking their kids to see that! As a family movie, you can sell more tickets, have movie tie-in toys at McDonalds, and action figures and books, and oh so much marketing stuff that any kid, and many a grown up, would enjoy. More importantly, though, you could have had a better movie.

In this movie, Rick Marshall is supposed to be a brilliant 'scientist' with multiple disciplines, but for the most part is portrayed as a loser. Somehow he created this amazing device, and convinced Holly that his theories are sound, but this is all very hard to believe. Sure, there are some humorous moments, but why couldn't he be a brilliant scientist and father, who has created an ingenius device but is ridiculed for the subject matter of time travel and multiple dimensions? Why couldn't it be his kids who convince him to try it out and thus get the family stuck in the Land of the Lost. Better yet, the kids could activate the device, and either take him with them, or he has to rescue them. We would then be in a position to explore this 'dumping ground of multiple universes', instead of it just being in the background.

Well, I can go on and on.... obviously. :0) This review is long enough, so I will say go see the movie if you're looking for some summer fun. Keep your expectations low enough, and you'll enjoy the good parts all the better. You may want to keep the kids at home, though... there's a good bit of language and situations that are just not for them.

JOHN :0)

PS I'd love to hear what YOU think. :0)

And you can see the original shows at this link until November 2009

Walt and Skeezix: 1925 1926, A Review

2009-05-19T17:47:00.006-04:00

I came across this book the other day, and found it full of both biographical tidbits and historical stuff from the early days of Cartooning, so on a whim bought it. I say on a whim, but in actuality I picked it up, flipped through it, and repeated that process several times. In retrospect, that's the way I've picked up most of my favorite books... they pick me.

The cover art has a warmth of color that can only be found in vintage comic strips. Take a well done comic strip, print it in four colors on newsprint, and let it sit for several decades, and magic happens. The soft yellow of the paper enhances the colors in such a way that the appeal to an Artist such as myself. I felt the same way about my favorite biography of George Herriman. The art pulled at me, and without even reading any strips, I eventually purchased the book, and took it home. There it sat for a few days until i found the time to pick it up.

I'm really glad I did.

This is actually the third book in the series. I thought it was the second, and that I'd only have to run out and get one other, but no... now I've got to find enough money for two more books, because after having read this one, I want so much to go back and see how the story developed. And yes, it is a story. Reading a comic strip in the newspapers can be a good bit of fun that lasts a few seconds, maybe a day if it's particularly good, but some strips just rally work well as a book. Walt and Skeezix are the characters from Gasoline Alley. You've probably heard of Gasoline Alley, although honestly I haven't seen the strip outside of professional books and journals, and even then, you usually see the gorgeous color Sunday strips. I had no idea what to expect, and that may have helped, actually.

The book started out with great stuff.... biographical information on Cartoonist Frank King, and then a wonderful look at the strip's merchandise over the years. Nostalgia, history, Americana... good fun for me!

Then the strips... a very slow start as I wrapped my mind around strips written for a generation long ago. This is America before the great Depression, and it is captured really well. The strips at first appear muddy, until one realises that they were probably printed even larger than we see in this book. This was also the Comic's heyday, when Creators had space to play, and were true artists. The strips are also longer, with more words, and not necessarily a strong gag. Sometimes the 'gags' are very subtle, and again, we must realise that these were written in a day before television, before the Moon landing, before iPods and all the gadgetry we have today.

In Frank King's America, even the town mechanic has a servant, and this is one point which makes me wonder: is the portrayal of African American servants considered too much for today's audience? True, the appearance and way of speaking are very innapropriate by today's standards... the maids appear to be in black face, and their mannerisms are often made fun of. To be honest, though, Rachel the Maid was the first character to grow on me in this book. The Author does not portray her as a stereotype, but instead she is a very real character, and the first in this book to be rounded out. She is warm, smart, and funny in her own way, and a darn hard worker. Some may be offended, but in Rachel and Mandy we are seeing a very different life for African Americans... a big step up from slavery to paid servants, but they face their struggles with a quiet dignity, and don't complain about their lot in life. As Walt says often concerning his adopted son, "Skeezix couldn't get along without Rachel", who helped raise him.

What is most interesting in this book, in light of today's troubles, is the land speculation, boom, and bubble burst of Florida in the twenties. It's almost comforting to see that this has all happened before, and that maybe we'll get through this economic nightmare we are currently in. In this book there is much humour in the land speculation of Florida, where buildings go up overnight, and paupers on Tuesday are Millionares by Friday. Land becomes so valuable that swamps are drained and islands are made just so more people could buy more land that they could then sell later. Amongst all this sudden and inflated wealth come rumours that the bubble is about to burst, and even then, the buying and selling continue. I'm curious if all this leads, or helps lead to, the great depression a few years later?

The strips grew on me, as I mentioned, until I got heavily involved in the characters, and couldn't wait to see what happened next. The book became ver hard to put down, actually, which was a big surprise. It really did creap up on me, and suck me in. The story is basically Walt being a confirmed batchelor, raising a child who was left on his doorstep, while falling in love with a lovely young widow. At the same time, his married friends tell him to maintain his batchelorhood, all the time laughing at his naivete. He's convinved that getting married will be the best thing, and that everyone should get married. What's most amusing is the portrayal of the widow Phyliss who seems so conniving and devious! She openly admits to roping Walt in, and throughout the two years of strips 'plays' him like a cheap fiddle. It's almost enough to make one dislike her heavily, but somehow she redeams herself by being down to earth at times, and King convinces us that she truly loves Walt. She just can't help 'moulding' him. Oy...

The early American stuff is great as well. People openly dumping their garbage in the vacant lot in town, and cars that are so simple to repair, and the RFD, a Rural Free Delivery system that aided the post office in providing mail to small rural towns. A really fascinating look at times long gone... a simpler, less harried life.

I could go on, but this post is getting way too long... All I can say is that this book is heartily recommended to comic strip fans, and those interested in the early 1900's, especially the grat Cartoonists of the time.

I cannot wait to read book one... when I can raise the dough, of course. :0)

JOHN :0)

Walt and Skeezix is published by Drawn & Quarterly Publications. This volume contains extra material by Chris Ware, Jeet Heer, and Tom Samuelson.

The Ghost Pirate Skeleton Update!

2009-05-07T14:14:00.007-04:00

Yes, I'm still working on The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake, a The Inquiring Minds adventure. It may not seem like it, but I am in the process of moving, I've got the art for a magazine to finish, including a terrific cover which I shall post here sometime, and I'm still converting the comic strip part of the story into comic book pages. I've discussed this latter part before, at this post, but wanted to give an update with page 2.

First, the originals, here and above...

Nothing wrong with them, but they are too wide to just slide into comic book format, which is one of the ultimate end uses for this project. Since I'm remodeling these to fit the new page size, I may as well go over the writing, and tweek things a bit to remove the 'stops' you get at the end of each strip, and make the story flow better.

Here is the result:

A little better flow, and a bit more artwork. The original storyline will be printed as is in the forthcoming eventually Complete Inquiring Minds, and the comic book version should come out by Fall, if all goes well.

And if the Publisher I submitted this to ever gets back to me, maybe you'll be seeing this in a comic book store by you. :0)

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Free Comic Book Day 2009

2009-05-02T15:55:00.006-04:00

It's Free Comic Book day again! Yay!! That time of year we go to the local comic shop and check out what the comic companies are giving away this year, and if it's worth the trip. :0)

Still, remember, that your local comic shop owner is paying for those books, so while you're at the shop, please take some time to look around, and maybe actually buy something while there. Believe me, it's good for the community to support local shops, especially shops that are not giant chain stores.

Huh? You wanna know what HappyGlyphs Comics is offering this year?

Well, right now, nuttin. I'm moving my studio, and everything else right now, so things are on hold. However, HappyGlyphs placed it's offering early this year. In the spirit of Free Comic Book Day, you can download Part 1 of The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake for FREE at the following link: http://www.lulu.com/content/5081890. That is, if you haven't downloaded it already. :0)

The Ghost Pirates will return shortly, as well as some awesome new projects in the works.

And HappyGlyphs Comics is now offering Mini Comics! Just a buck for a nice quality little book with a beautiful color cover. That's The Wolfman of Beckenham, Kent, of course, with more coming soon. Check out all our comics at this link here: http://www.happyglyphs.com/shop.html

See? We may not be proficient, but we are persistent!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

A Bit of History

2009-04-20T10:41:00.007-04:00

I opened a local newspaper the other day, and had a "whoa!" moment when I thought I saw my old house pictured! Rapidly flipping through the paper again, I found the photo and saw the headline "Country Comfort in Lake Hiawatha, 1930's". Well, my last house was in Lake Hiawatha, and it was a Log Cabin as pictured, but I thought the Realtor told me the house went back to the 50's. They weren't sure, though, and to be honest, sometimes Realtors don't always want the buyer to have all the facts. :0)

Anyways... that sure looks like my old home, and if it's not, it's the same model. Compare the two photos. Mine had siding put over the original logs, but I did see them while doing some work on the outside. I also know that the fireplace was added later, so that's no worry. The triangular bits on the roof are similar, but switched, and the steps come down on the opposite side, but those could have been changed later, since I know work was done on both of those.

Chances are it's just a similar house, but it does look like a corner property like mine was, since there appears to be a vehicle in the background to the right. All in all, great fun for a history buff like myself, and exciting to see what my little Lake Cottage looked like once upon a time.

Times have changed though, considering the house was on Lake Shore drive, but there's no longer a lake! Originally, these properties were built as lake homes... cheap little vacation houses for people visiting the lake in the summertime. Later they became permanent homes, and fireplaces, furnaces, and other extras were built on and added. Honestly, considering New Jersey's harsh winters, it's a miracle any of the old log cabins are still standing!

Okay, so the photo is probably not my house, but what a nice surprise it was to see it in the newspaper. And speaking of history, I did find some interesting artifacts while digging in the garden! And old forged wrench and a quarter dating back to 1976! Won't the fine folks at Wyre Archeology be jealous of that! :0)

Addendum: Not only was this a former residence of mine, but the house was also featured in "Take Me Away From All This!!", a Knight and Day comic strip collection, as seen here:

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Injustice!!

2009-04-16T10:13:00.009-04:00

Hello,

I'm kind of upset about this, and want to share. If you're reading this, then chances are you already have our flagship book, Take me Away From All This!! It's a great book, and still our best seller, but the problem is that I'm not the one selling the book, or getting the meager profits!!

Some of you may remember the excitement of the book being published some time back by a company called PageFree Publishing. At the time, I was grateful to the company, but as time went on, I outgrew my need for them, and began self-pubishing my books. And to be honest, I didn't feel like I was getting honest royalty reports from them, and had seen others complaining about the company. I sent them a cease and desist notice some time back, which they acknowledged receiving.

As time passed, though, I kept seeing the book being offered for sale at ebay and at many online bookstores, and I emailed PageFree to stop selling the book. The problem is, they are a Print on Demand company, and so allow online booksellers the opportunity to list books that they do not actually have in inventory, and then print the books and ship them when ordered. Recently, I have seen more and more online sellers offering MY book, and I have actually heard from several people who say they bought the book, and I know for a fact that they didn't buy it from me.

I, and happyGlyphs Comics, are selling a new, improved and updated version, for a similar price as the old one. Cheaper, actually, since I charge less shipping, and the quality is actually better, as I've been told by a comic book shop owner. Lulu.com is the only other authorized seller of the book.

I ask, and urge, you to please let me know if you have bought the version in the last few years that says PageFree Publishing on it. If you are an online books seller, and you are receiving the book from PageFree, then you are an unwilling accomplace to a crime. I am being robbed. Probably not a lot of money, but every sale is important to me, for many reasons, and there is of course the sense of justice. PageFree has no right, and has had no right, to sell my book.

And for those of you looking to self publish, I urge extreme caution in dealing with any print on demand company that charges you to print your book. You cannot trust that you will be treated fairly or get accurate royalty statements. Maybe some are honest, but try to get references before working with anyone you don't know.... a good recommendation for any business transaction, I suppose.

I try to trust people first, and judge later by their actions... and unfortunately I get screwed for that. It's a shame that dishonesty is part of the business world, but what can you do?

I can, and will, pursue legal action if this goes on. I can also give the warning out to those who want to self publish, and I can also ask you all NOT to support thieves.

Take Me Away From All This!! is a great book. I want you to read it, and have a copy of your own to treasure always. But please... help support a starving artist instead of an (alleged) crook.

Thanks! JOHN :0)

PS Wanna know a secret? Besides having a bunch of new cartoons, and better quality, the second Edition of the book has an altered cover. There is a third stripe on the sock falling out of the laundry basket!! Shh... don't tell anyone! :0)

Guest Artist at the NJ Comic Book Show

2009-04-03T08:53:00.010-04:00

So I was the guest Artist at the NJ Comic Book Show a week or so ago. I needed to practice my sales skills, but wish I was more prepared. It's been a long while since I went to a comic book show, as apposed to a convention or other type show, and I was kind of busy that weekend so only put a few hours into prepping.

IF I had more time to plan, I might have done better, but not by much. As it was, though, the economy and the crowd made it a difficult place for me to get the word out about HappyGlyph Comics. For one, the entire crowd at this show were looking for cheap, specific copies of old Marvel and DC superhero books. Those who came with lists to fill were an immediate write-off, and those only interested in superhero comics, and big name titles like X-men, were also hopeless to attract.

I had a tough day ahead of me, being the only apple in a crowd of oranges, but let me add that the host of the show, and many of the Dealers, were really nice, decent people. I made some new friends, and even ran into an old friend from way back. That helped a bit, but the economy was another brick wall I had to face.

The dealer next to me was offering some great books for only a quarter, even when people were telling him they'd pay a lot more for them, and some people were buying them up to sell elsewhere! Many dealers had dollar books or less, so even discounting my comics to a dollar was just chasing the market. (Please note in the top photo my hastily put together sign for dollar comics... you have to go with the flow!)

I did make some sales, though, even the bigger books, against all odds. Unfortunately, I ended up spending a lot myself on some great deals. :0) Quite a few browsers picked up the freebies I offered.... postcards and stickers, so I did get the word out, which is sometimes the most important thing. I definitely saw an increase in website hits, so the day was a success. :0)

Overall it was a fun day, even though everyone was moping about the economy, and rightly so. Still, for a small show, there was quite a crowd, especially in the early afternoon. It was also good practice for doing a comic-con. A comic-con, especially one like Baltimore or San Diego, will have a much bigger crowd of people looking for something different, and willing to give us independents a chance.

Experience is a great teacher, so I'm looking forward to getting out there again sometime! Cheers, JOHN :0)

You Maniacs!

2009-03-18T16:52:00.008-04:00

So much is going on right now in my life, that I am still in the re-creating phase... recreating my website, my business, and my self. As part of the process, and in order to keep (relatively) sane, I am making time to have some fun. This idea came to me, and I loved it enough to pursue.

Albert, of The Inquiring Minds, pays tribute to one of our favorite movies by re-enacting this classic scene from Planet of the Apes! I really hope that you enjoy it.

This print, of course, is available at Zazzle and Cafe Press for those of you who like the print and would like to support HappyGlyphs Comics. This should also be available soon directly through our new website. If you want to order directly through HappyGlyphs.com, please drop us a line and we will arrange it.

Thanks so much!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

PS Here's another Planet of the Apes tribute from my book, "Take Me Away From All This!!".

Downtime... please stand by...

2009-03-02T13:01:00.011-05:00

As part of my 're-creating', we are updating and upgrading the business, starting with HappyGlyphs.com.

We are migrating to a new and better server, so you may experience a lot of white boxes with red 'x's in them. Please stand by.

It is weird doing this in the middle of The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake, but it had to be done since we were constantly running out of hosting space, having had the archives of two comic strips and a graphic novel in the system.

HappyGlyphs will now have unlimited space and bandwidth, and some nicer features which will give us all a nicer, easier way of doing things.

New strips are coming, a much better website is coming, and since I cannot send out a newsletter at the moment, all updates will be at this page for the meantime.

Hopefully we will be back in business by tomorrow(Tuesday) March 3rd.

Cheers, and wish me luck! JOHN :0)

PS Please enjoy these ancient comic strips I found from when I was first creating Knight and Day. 'Yikes' for the art, but the jokes are still good. :0) And if you like these, Steve and Amy's amusing and wonderful story can be found in my first book, "Take Me Away From All This!!"... an honest look at those first days of marriage. Remember, these were the practice strips... the strips in the book are much better, and tell the first year of Steve and Amy's marriage, with all the ups and downs of sharing space, and chores, and the fights, and making up, and even house hunting, job loss, and yes, a pregnancy. All very good stuff! Just ask anyone who's read the book. :0)

Re-creating

2009-02-22T15:12:00.012-05:00

A great mouse once expounded upon the idea of 'recreation' being a re-creating of one's self... a chance to take a break from the usual and to explore other venues just for fun, and hopefully in the process reinvent oneself or expand one's creativity. Taking a vacation is a good example, or just getting out of a rut by doing something different. That laboratory mouse named Brain knew what he was talking about!

With this in mind, I have taken a break from The Inquiring Minds in The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake. Yes, it is very risky to take a break in the middle of an adventure because readers may not have the patience to wait. On the other hand, since I have not found a publisher yet for the project, taking some recreation time can help me to assure that the story is the best it can be.

Facebook is having a comic con next month, and I am planning on attending a convention in physical space this year, so my thoughts turned to creating some fun promotional pieces. The first is the drawing above, of The Inquiring Minds as my favorite superhero group, the Fantastic Four.

The second is a piece I drew of The Inquiring Minds to celebrate this year being the 40th anniversary of Disney's Haunted Mansion ride... an amazing achievement of creativity and engineering. This piece should be appearing soon at the Fan Gallery page of DoomBuggies.com, a fantastic site created by Jeff Baham in tribute to the Haunted Mansion ride. I'm very happy with it.

If you are on Facebook, you can join our group at the facebook comic con, or check out the special things I have set up for the convention, such as the video in my last post. At Facebook I currently have two videos of me sketching, and plan more. The second video shows how I came up with the idea for the above-mentioned Haunted Mansion illustration, and it's a talkie! Yes, you can hear me laugh nervously and tell bad jokes while I draw in blair witch quality graphics. :0)

There is a lot going on right now, including an entire overhaul of our website, and how we do business. The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake will return soon, though, so stay tooned!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Almost Live!

2009-02-16T17:09:00.006-05:00

For the few of you NOT on Facebook, I am going to share with you something from my Guest Table at the Facebook Comic Con. No, the con hasn't happened yet, but I'm already loading lots of fun stuff at my Table for you to see, including real videos of me sketching to give it that 'appearing live at a convention' feel.

This is my first attempt at videoing while sketching, so there is a bit of the Blair Witch feel to it. And I was so nervous that I let the camera wander, I dropped my pencil, and forgot to draw eyes on a sheep. Good thing this isn't live, cause who knows how I'd embarrass myself.

You can see more at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52936480965, if you are a facebook member. The rest of you may now show your pity by clicking a link at the right there, and checking out more of my stuff, and maybe buying a book to support a starving artist. :0)

Cheers, JOHN :0)

PS I've uploaded a second, bigger, better, longer video at the Facebook Comic con page, and this one is with real sound! Yes, lame jokes to go with the the sketching... and this one is a tribute to The Haunted Mansion, as well!

It's Like Starting Over...

2009-02-03T14:27:00.006-05:00

I began Cartooning quite some time ago: the Earth had long cooled, life thrived in the oceans, looked up, and moved out onto the land to try crawling and walking. Sometime after that I took crayon to paper, floor and wall to search for meaning in line and circle. You would think, in all that time, I'd know what I was doing by now!

Let's look at my recent storyline, The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake, featuring The Inquiring Minds. You know... my Big Summer Adventure? (looks at calendar, and out window where snow is falling, and shrugs what can I say?) Anyways, I feel strongly that my art has improvbed since then, and I have grown as a person. Sure, you say, it HAS been awhile since you started that. Hush, I say. I'm doing my best.

Anyways, with all the forethought of a teenage boy on his first date,I started Ghost PIrates as a comic strip, and like 3 Knights in India before it, it evolved rapidly into a comic book. You know... tall art, not wide like a comic strip. Different format and hard to reconcile. Okay, so The Inquiring Minds started out as a comic strip, and I still dream of being a comic stripper (watch it!) so it was natural to begin that way. However, it seems that a nice long storyline needs a comic book format to tell it right, and besides, you have a lot more room for art and dialogue.

So, what to do? I learned my lesson with 3 Knights in India... you can't just take some comic strips, cut them up, and rearrange them in comic book format. Well, you CAN, but you have to be really careful not to get too cocky, and to pay attention to page order and how the book will come out. One little mistake, and a reviewer like Johanna Draper Carlson will let you have it between the teeth! (Those who read her first review of the 3 Knights comic book will know what I'm talking about). Anyway, thanks to fine reviewers like Johanna (see link at right for comics worth reading), people like me get the feedback we need to become better craftspeople.

The result, I will have to go back to the early pages of the comic that you see in my free download of the first part of the story, and redraw, reformat, and sometimes rewrite to make this a top notch comic book.

After all, it's the end product that counts, right? And besides, as I've blogged earlier, I always leave the end of a story slightly open to account for evolution of the storyline. This way, by going back, I can fit the beginning to match the ending even better, if necessary.

So here is the first strip, remade into the first page. More to come, as well as brand new material.

Cheers, JOHN ":0)

PS The above page isn't finished yet, actually. I am thinking of creating my own font for all my comics, and I might tweak the top Logo a bit when I can.

Public Speaking...

2009-01-27T12:01:00.011-05:00

Or... I believe that children are our future. :0)

Okay, so I was invited to speak at a local school about my career as a Cartoonist. Apparently, one of the third grade classes had read one of my books out loud and loved it. That book was The inquiring Minds #1, a full color comic strip collection.

Excited, and a bit nervous, I put down my full load of work and headed out into the snow completely unprepared to face not one, but two classes of third graders. It was very unusual for me to be unprepared, but I happened to have a deadline on a project, and I had thought school was cancelled because of the snow.

Anyway, I got there with minutes to spare, signed in, and immediately went to the wrong classroom, on the wrong wing of the school. Breaking land speed records, and hoping there were no Hall Monitors about, I made it just in time to the correct classroom, as the teacher was just introducing me. I walked in with my box of books and swag, and saw dozens of little faces staring up at me from the floor where they were sitting. I had a little white marker board to draw on, but the swarm of children were up against it, so I ended up sketching while standing behind the board and looking down it, much to the amusement of the class.

So, I began to speak, and found myself incredibly outnumbered and up against the wall as the barrage of questions never ended. :0)

Still, their enthusiasm was wonderful, and most of the questions were pretty good, although they mostly wanted to hear about and see The Inquiring Minds. I had to draw all the characters for them, which was nice, but remember I had to almost draw upside down since I was standing behind the drawing board, which caused quite a few giggles.

After that, I was asked to draw everything from a hotdog (which made some kids hungry) to the Titanic (including Jack and Rose saying "king of the world"). I also passed out HappyGlyphs stickers, half of which immediately got attached to shirt fronts, providing me with a full day's bit of advertising for sure.

Overall it was an exhausting experience, but I'm sure after some recuperation time I will come to see it as the joyous experience it really was. Seriously, it was really nice to see so many people actually interested in my work, and they really were a great bunch of kids, who can't be faulted for their over enthusiasm. I mean, can you imagine if they just sat there?

If only I was allowed to sell some books. :0) I would have made a mint!

Hopefully they'll all go home to their parents and tell them all about HappyGlyphs.com. :0)

Cheers, JOHN :0)

PS I received a delightful package of cartoons from the kids, as thanks for speaking to them. Since I haven't revealed the school, I think it safe to publish some fan art here with names removed to protect the innocent.

New and Improved, The Inquiring Minds 1.5

2009-01-22T12:38:00.008-05:00

Although we still have a few copies of The Inquiring Minds #1, they threaten to disappear fast after the talk I gave recently at a local school. More on that on our next blog, but meanwhile, we have made The Inquiring Minds available for the first time at our Lulu store.

Now, I'm warning you that prices have gone up there, so if you'd like the book, you might want to check with us first. However, as you can see from the photo, the new and improved The Inquiring Minds #1.5 is slightly larger than the original. It's also perfect bound, like a book, not a comic, and the quality of the paper and colors is really quite good.

Also, since we can't let well enough alone, we added a few new cartoons, including.... now hold on to your seats... for the FIRST time anywhere in print... the complete four part storyline of Lord Fang Attacks, written and illustrated by me and the fabulous Brian Hughes!!!! YAY!!!!!!!

No, not that Brian Hughes.. the Cartoonist. See the second photo for a sneak preview of that fantastic story where Brian wrote part 1, and then I wrote part 2, and so on, without consulting the other. Very good stuff, and quite brilliant if I do say so myself.

It's also available as a very affordable download... cheaper than a half cup of coffee! So there's little excuse for you not checking it out.

And speaking of The Inquiring Minds, here is a look at this week's strip from The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Shop at our Lulu Store
Buy directly from HappyGlyphs Comics

Self Publishing 101: Cost of Goods Sold

2009-01-14T13:06:00.005-05:00

A lot of you are interested in the price of Self Publishing, mainly because you know deep inside that it ain't gonna be cheap, but you still want to weigh the pros and cons of the issue before deciding.

Printing costs are still going up, and it is getting harder and harder to self publish, AND there may be a cost to self publishing that you haven't realised. Worse, if you don't know about this, you could be heading for BIG trouble.

I will break this into two parts, and tell you which part you need.

First, why self publishing? If you want a copy of a book for yourself, or to give to friends, then part one is for you. If you are in business for yourself, or want to be, you had better read both parts, especially part two.

PART ONE: Cost of Self Publishing

I've covered the cost of publishing before here, so read that post as well. That really goes indepth into the why's and how much of printing, and choosing a printer.

The thing is, printing is expensive. Looking at comics, the big comic book companies are considering moving the price of a color comic book up to $4.00. A Print on demand color comic might have a base price of $8.00! Add a little for yourself, and honestly, who's gonna pay more than $8 for a comic book? Now, a graphic novel will be a little cheaper in comparison, but there is a lot more work involved in creating a graphic novel. You can save money with black and white books, or using cheaper paper, but you get what you pay for, and sometimes black and white is not an option.

To really save money, you need to print lots of copies of a book. If you go by a traditional printer, you have no choice but to buy at least 100 copies of a book... usually more. Print on demand is nice because you print how many copies that you need, but that can be very expensive on a per book basis. The base price of a book is fixed, so to make a profit, the base price plus your profit and costs must be competively priced to similar books out there. You just cannot do that with print on demand or vanity press publishing.

Actually, some print on demand places offer discounts for bulk orders, so you can save a little bit of money by purchasing a lot of books and then selling them yourself. This leads to the problem I bring up in Part Two.

PART TWO:

Something you in business will have to consider is Cost of Goods Sold, or COGS. What does this mean to a Self Publisher? Pay attention.

You dish out a lot of money to have 100 copies of your book published, and you put it up for sale, and wait for the customers to roll in. Honestly, even if you have a lot of fans clamoring for your work, only a small percentage of real fans are going to buy one of your books. So you sell 10 or 20 books if you're lucky, and have 80 books left over.

Guess what? You cannot deduct the price of those books as a tax deduction. (Speaking for USA residents only, that is.) Please do not make the mistake of thinking that buying books is a business expense, because you cannot deduct the price of printing a book until you actually sell it. This goes for most if not all goods sold, which is why you see so many big sales at the end of the year.

Because I self publish, I cannot offer deep discounts on my books, because I already sell them as low as I can. I want the books out there right now, rather than going for profit. Every time I create a new book I purchase the book in bulk for sale through my site. Because of this, I have close to a thousand dollars worth of inventory in the studio after 6 years of self-publishing. And each year I can only deduct the cost of the books that I have sold that year, not when I bought them.

Figuring out COGS is available on Schedule C of your annual 1040 tax form, and can be quite confusing at first. Simply speaking, a business MUST keep a physical inventory of their items for sale, as well as the cost of producing those items.

To figure your COGS for the year, you need the value of your inventory at the beginning of the year added to the cost of new items for sale, and subtract from that the final value of inventory at the end of the year.

Simply put: Costs of Goods Sold = Goods Available for Sale - Inventory at end of Year.

Conclusion:

The cost of self publishing can be higher than you think. You need to buy lots of books to sell competitively, but if you don't sell those books, that expense can weigh on you for some time.

Keep in mind that I am not a paid tax advisor, but COGS is something that you need to understand if you want to be in business for yourself.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Cartooning 101: Storytelling

2008-12-28T20:16:00.004-05:00

First off, if you haven't seen the previous post, go check it out and come right back. The image above is the final art that you should compare with the original art that I drew and displayed in the previous post. Got that? Excellent.

Now, this new strip from The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake was delayed a bit, and I apologize. The end of the year was full of all sorts of unhappy events, and then the Holidays hit, and well, it's been tough.

Also, I had a wee bit of a dilemma in the story department. I've mentioned this before, probably, but there are different WAYS of telling a story. One way is to plot it all out, and then write/illustrate it. The other, just as admirable, is to plot just a little bit, then write/illustrate, and then plot some more, then write... and so on.

If you are working for an Editor, or doing a monthly comic, then chances are that you are working in the first way. The advantage to this technique is that you know exactly what is going to happen and how everything is going to end, and you can use foreshadowing and other techniques of great literature to their best advantage. The other method, the one I am employing now, allows the story to develop, sometimes in surprising manners!

Bill Watterson of Calvin & Hobbes fame used this technique in some of his storylines, and like me, enjoyed the surprises that occured when his characters took the story and ran with it. Another advantage is that you, and the story, grow over time, and so you can easily add new developments that might not have occured to you earlier. I certainly didn't see the strip with Steven Knight playing with puppets when I first conceived this story, and yet it has led to not only a funny strip but to Steven becoming a part of the story in today's strip, and later, we'll see he is the narrator and author of the story!

A disadvantage is that sometimes the clock runs out and you panic because the story hasn't opened itself up to you! In this particular case, I wasn't sure if it should be Iris in the water, or her father Steven, or a brand new character we haven't met yet. In fact, we might not meet her at all.... I really haven't decided. Adding a new character can be exciting, or it could just complicate things, and make things crowded.

If I was doing this full time, instead of part time, I might have more time to plot, and the strips would be on time more often. :0)

Then again, I have three endings written so far for this story, and even I don't know which one will be THE ONE!

Exciting, isn't it? And that's just one example of how much fun this job could be.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Cartooning 101: Techniques and Art

2008-12-21T16:38:00.004-05:00

It's harder to find quality art supplies, as more and more people move to the computer for illustration. Many still use traditional illustration methods, such as pen and ink, and some use programs like Photoshop and Illustrator exclusively. Somewhere in the middle, though, is where I am, and where I suspect most cartoonists and illustrators are: using traditional drawing and scanning into the computer for finishing, cleaning, coloring, or all of the above. And why not? Coloring especially is much easier on a computer, as is finishing and cleaning. Cleaning on the computer leads to laziness at the drawing table, so that the days of razor blades and white paint are gone, and your original might be quite messy.

Where does this leave the world of original art? I'm not sure, but I don't see much art out there these days, except of course with fellow Cartoonists. There are a lot of prints, however, since big syndicates have deals with online sites so that you can 'buy a print of today's strip', and many of us have art we are proud enough of to share by providing them as prints.

In my case, I work as mentioned above, drawing with ink, then scanning, then cleaning and finishing and coloring on the computer. I am embarassed to admit that my originals are not always complete, and sometimes I draw all of the panels separately, so that one cartoon may not have a piece of art worth displaying.

The upside of this is that sometimes I can concentrate on one panel and do it up nice, showing the whole scene where maybe the words might once have hid much of it. My strips are often verbose, so I struggle with the challenge, sometimes, of showing enough background to be recognizable behind the word balloons. This can be bad in black and white art, where the background may be nothing but a bunch of unrecognizable lines, unless there is a strong establishing panel for the scene. Sure, I know that this line is the top of a fence, and that squiggle is a tree, and that line over there is the side of a house, but how about the reader? Without room for an establishing shot, the background loses meaning.

With The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake, the scene is crucial to the story... at least the Pirate Ride is. To me, the idea of a Pirate Ride is cool, and I want the audience to feel like they can see it clearly. Also, by creating a good panel or two, I can visualize the ride better, and have some nice original art in the bargain. The illustration here is drawn much larger than a normal panel, and without word balloons, you can see the entire scene. Look at the finished product, and you can see how much background disappeared, and how much is covered, and maybe you can imagine how it would have been to draw this around the word balloons.

Extra work, surely, but worth it. I have a nice piece of art to sell or display, a scene I can use later perhaps, as extra art for a book, and a good establishing shot of the first part of the pirate ride.

Speaking of prints, I am making a large map of The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake ride, with much of the artwork from the story and website, and it will be available as a print when complete. It's a lot of work, but I think it will make a fine companion to the story.

And so, Happy Holidays to you, and Merry Christmas to those to whom that applies, and yes, I have finally finished illustrating the HappyGlyphs Holiday Card for 2008!

Better late than never, eh?

Have a Happy! JOHN :0)

Another Free Download!

2008-11-26T13:58:00.006-05:00

HappyGlyphs Comics is happy to announce a FREE sneak preview of our current The Inquiring Minds storyline, The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake!

Sure, you can see the strips for free online right now, but due to the fact that my website is almost full, I may have to delete some strips soon. Also, the Free Download has better quality artwork, some of it remastered, and a new, really snazzy full color cover, as seen above.

The cover is also available as a high quality art print as well, which you can hang on your wall to show the world that you've got a little pirate in you. :0)

Meanwhile, the adventure continues at www.HappyGlyphs.com , where we're rapidly approaching the dramatic climax to this exciting summer adventure!

Free Download available at this link here.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Fun With Crayons

2008-11-18T21:44:00.007-05:00

Choosing a career that you love is great. Choosing a career like Cartooning can be as much fun as a barrel of monkeys!

As an artist, it's important to keep learning and growing. Developing your own style is vital, but doing so requires a lot of play... er, um, work. Seriously, it's important, and a lot of work and time, but there's no reason you shouldn't enjoy it. For The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake, featuring The Inquiring Minds, I wanted to have my character Bobby develop their Pirate Ride with Crayon sketches. That meant that I had to break out my crayons and learn how to put them to good use.

As an artist I've studied and trained with a variety of media, but it's been a while since I've done a pure crayon illustration, and I've wanted to since visiting the Crayola Factory in Pennsylvania. While there I noticed they had some crayon art hanging on the wall, so of course I wanted to create my own.

So, this was my chance. While at the Crayola Factory, I had bought a tin full of crayons that came in some snazzy colors like Wild Strawberry, Hot Magenta, and Laser Lemon. ( I know, they sound like some girls you might meet in New York City) For some reason, those colors didn't work well for Pirates, but luckily I had also picked up some Gold, Antique Brass, and Wild Blue Yonder, which all worked perfectly.

So here are the results, as featured on the next two cartoons for The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake. (These two work best as a two page spread, but you can still get the gist of things.) Please let me know how I did, and if anyone knows anybody at Crayola, please find out if they need any cool illustrations for their gallery!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Truths Revealed and Surprising Insights!

2008-11-12T10:49:00.008-05:00

First off, the not so big surprise is that The Inquiring Minds' Big Summer Adventure... which seems to be running through this Fall and Winter as well... was secretly in actuality The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake!

Also, not so big a secret... the entire story was inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean! No, not the movies, but the ride, and the pioneering spirit of Walt and his amazing Imagineers that created a truly virtual experience. And what better way to pay tribute than having my characters go through the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of creating their own pirate ride, from scratch?

Those of you who have studied the history of the ride will see quite a few parallels to the creation of Disney's ride, as well as some hopefuly new innovations that I've lovingly brought to the concept.

And now for the surprising insight that has revealed some hidden truths, and some help to those of you Cartoonists who want to create new comic strips. The above strip was a bugger! For some reason, beyond some personal issues I've been dealing with, I just couldn't get this strip together! I rewrote it several times, and redrew it several times, and kept second guessing myself, wondering why I was having such a hard time with what should be a fairly straight-forward cartoon. Okay, sure, the punchline had to be just right... you had to see that Albert's suffering a blow to the ego here, or it just doesn't work. Also, I had Iris origonally drawing with Bobby, and her drawing being equally as good as Bobby's.

First, this didn't work because it removed emphasis from Bobby's drawing, and second, it created a bigger wedge between Bobby and Albert than I wanted to create. Sure, this sense of isolation is what kept Albert from admitting Iris to The Inquiring Minds all along, right? This strip would just enforce that issue, but also pull the story in a different direction than I wanted to go. The kids are facing the Eleventh Hour, and teamwork is needed right now.

Then it occurred to me: Maybe it wasn't Albert's fault entirely that Iris wasn't in The Inquiring Minds, and maybe the answer lie in my difficulties creating this week's overdue cartoon?

Thnk about it. Calvin and Hobbes, Charlie Brown and Linus, Charlie Brown and Lucy, Pogo and Albert, Bobby and Albert.... Hold on. The best comic strips come from great dialogue and character interaction, which usually occurs between two characters. Given the space limitations in a comic strip, that is'nt so surprising.
Picture the famous Lucy pulls the football away from Charie Brown moments... would that work as well if other people were involved? First off, it would be a crowded scene, and second, emphasis would be taken away from the main event. Think of any great conversation between Calvin & Hobbes. Would that scene work as well with a third person adding their insight? Probably not.

And so, the real reason Iris hasn't been a full fledged member of The Inquiring Minds is all my fault. Subconciously I knew it would make better comedy to write for two characters... two different yet compatible characters who could bounce ideas and ideologies off of each other.

Of course, there are times when a third character works, but in many cases it is one character too many. The Ghost Skeleton Pirates of Three Craters Lake has turned into a comic book adventure, much as my Three Knights in India did, so Iris is welcome to stick around. The strip is changing, but there will be times when it will just have to be Bobby abd Albert. In this particular strip, I needed to bring Iris in, so I had a lot of trouble creating a scene which in my head should have only involved two people.

Which brings us full circle... The Pirates of the Caribbean ride had a terrific woman named Alice Davis creating the memorable costumes for the characters. In her spirit, I wanted Iris to be the one creating costumes for The Ghost Pirates. Alice Davis was the wife of Marc Davis, a Cartoonist and Imagineer who brought us much of the visual humour of the ride. Bobby's vivid illustrations are a tribute to the work of Marc Davis and the other artists and Imagineers responsible for the ride.

Hopefully my passion for the creativity of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride comes through in my own story, unique and challenging, and hopefully an engaging tribute to the Imagineers who have given me so much joy and inspiration.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T09:50:00.007-04:00

I had a great new The Inquiring Minds cartoon for today, but I'm suffering through a few personal crises, so it is not finished on time. Not to let the spooky Holiday go by without tribute, though, so here are two haunting toons from days gone past!

Boo! JOHN

PS Okay, to avoid being called lazy, I will share with you the pumpkin I carved today. As an added bonus, I will show you a Halloween horror!! It's scary what those darned evil squirrels have done to my other pumpkins, as seen in the photo below! Darn them!!