The Return Of Frenchy: The Evil Clown!

Finally - it's here. Be afraid, be very, very afraid. After the longest wait I can think of, just as long as the wait for DC to finally collect all of Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle's Batman work into trade paperbacks (still hasn't happened), Nick Bakay and Alan Kupperberg's utterly hilarious and completely profane series of Frenchy The Evil Clown, originally published in the pages of National Lampoon is finally coming.

Alan recently emailed to say, "The material is all finished, except for the color. But we've had a Lulu edition, an Ashcan edition published. You can check out parts of the book by going to this link."

Alan and I spoke about his work on Frenchy back in 2007 in a long ranging interview, which will also be featured in the book. Here's the introduction that I wrote back then:

Evil Clown Comics is living proof that everyone has a darker side than we might expect. Or is it the opposite? I'm not sure. What I do know is that it's hard to reconcile the artist of such quaint titles as Spider-Man, Avengers, Thor and the like drawing material the like of what appeared in Evil Clown comics.

Frenchy, The Evil Clown, was the brainchild of Nick Bakay, the man who went on to become better known as the voice of Salem, Sabrina The Teenage Witch's talking black cat (and if that doesn't spin you out then check out the link - yep, ole Salem has his own web-site! And people think I'm odd...). Appearing in the pages of National Lampoon, Evil Clown Comics soon became a cult, yet it was over all too quickly. Gross, offensive, disgusting and confronting, Evil Clown was everything that mainstream comics could never be, and yet it wasn't that far removed from Alan Kupperberg's previous clown comic, Marvel Comics Obnoxio The Clown. The main difference was that what Obnoxio hinted at, Frenchy, the Evil Clown, did, in full glory and in glorious black and white.

For years now Evil Clown has existed only in it's original form, in the original magazines, and only available if you were willing to dig through back issues when they appeared. That's all about to change with a collected volume of Evil Clown comics being planned for the near future. The new volume not only collects the original material, but will have two new, previously unseen stories by Bakay and Kupperberg, new artwork and, best of all, new colouring by the incredibly talented Tom Ziuko. This will be an essential item for the bookshelves and an ideal present for both grandparents and the kids as it'll provide hours of entertainment and enjoyment for all. Then again, perhaps not. One thing is for sure, once you read Evil Clown Comics, you'll never look at clowns in the same way again.

Go and order a copy - or wait for the final version to appear - all going well it should be solicited via Diamond and you'll be able to order it through your local comic book store, but if that doesn't happen, then buy on-line - you'll not regret it and remember, this material has never been collected in the one place before.


Meanwhile Alan hasn't been sitting idle waiting for something to happen - he's been as busy as he can be drawing commissions for people. As you can see here, Alan hasn't lost any of his drawing ability and still provides a lot of bang for your buck, is very affordable and delivers quality art in a very timely fashion. You can find out more about how to order a commission from Alan by visiting his web-site, where you'll find all the details you need to arrange a commission of your own. I've got a few of my own and they're stunning!

Original Art Stories: Mr T And Working For Free!

This one is a doozy! Before we go any further it's probably a good idea to read this post, albeit over ten years old, from Mark Evanier. Once you're done pop back and we'll discuss some parts of it in detail and look at a very disturbing series of claims that are currently floating around the internet.

Back already? Good.

Recently a number of artists and would be artists received this email in their inbox from an on-line publisher named Mohawk Media. Mohawk, whose domain name was registered by one Christopher Bunting, claim to be publishing comics, merchandise and concepts based upon Mr T. Here's the text of the email, which wasn't signed by Bunting:

----------------
Hi everyone!

Hope you don't mind us jumping out at you like this, but it is with the potential offer for work!

We need a bunch of artists to create concept and design work for us. For free.

However - it is only for free initially. As and when any revenue is generated, you will get a nice royalty payment.

Added to that, if, when we pitch this work, it is accepted, you also stand to become creatively involved on a much larger basis.

Any potential revenue that is generated is likely to be beyond what comic books often generate.

Basically we want concept and design work for all manner of merchandising based on our official Mr. T graphic novel series.

This includes:
Action figures;
An animated series;
Front covers for novels & interior illustrations;
Busts;
T-shirts;
Motion picture and movie concepts;
Trading cards;
Toys, games, multi-media, apparel;
and well, pretty much anything else too all based on our official Mr. T graphic novel, its universe, the characters etc.

Which of the above you choose is up to you; or you might want to do concept work for all of them!

If you feel this is of interest, or you have queries, please let us know ASAP.

If you cant do this, but have some talented artist friends who can, please feel free to pass us their details.

As we say, this opportunity has every chance of leading to further work, royalty payments, getting your name in lights, and much more beyond!

Stuart Buckley
EDITOR
Mohawk Media
----------------

Now you might be sitting there wondering what the problem is. The problem is a simple one - the publisher, in this case a web-based publisher, wants people to work for free. Gratis. With the promise that if the work can generate some revenue then perhaps the artist can share in a percentage. I expect that the percentages will be determined at some point, but that's something I'd like to know upfront. But the email does state that the work will be used for merchandising and the like, which means that you'll be signing away the rights. Not good.

Where this got nasty is when Al Bigley warned people about the practice of working for free on line. Al's message in the ComicArt mailing list read, "Never work for later promises. It devalues your work, work ethic, and profession. If any project is the sure thing the promoters think it is, they can take out money on credit to pay you now, then, later, when that sure thing makes the big money they're so sure it will, they'll be covered." Al then followed it up with an email to the publisher, which also read, "No artist should do 'free' work or be asked to do such..You should be wiling to pay up front or not make such an offer. You're preying on young or inexperienced artists with the promise that there MAY be payment down the line. If you're so sure of your sure thing, pay a decent wage NOW, by taking out a loan to do so. When your sure thing hits, as you're so certain it will, you'll be covered, right? Al Bigley."

In this case Al knows what he's talking about. He's worked for DC's licensing department, creating art for toy boxes, style guides and more, for the better part of a decade. For someone to question his knowledge on how the art world works, and indeed how it works for merchandising, is a tad odd to me.

The editor of the publishing company immediately contacted Al, questioned his professionalism and threatened to sue him for slandering his company - all for a mere warning and for offering some words of advice. Here's a copy of the email, "Al, if you have posted your potentially slanderous email - in addition to our original email with a confidential disclaimer - in an online public forum we request that you have it REMOVED IMMEDIATELY. Please confirm when removed." They've since followed it up with a letter from a person claiming to represent the company in a legal capacity threatening further action if Al doesn't remove his comments from the ComicArt mailing list. Anyone with half a brain will know it's near impossible to remove comments from a mailing list, but this doesn't appear to deter them. Incredibly they can't find money to pay any artist up front for the work they want, but seemingly can afford legal representation in order to threaten to sue Al Bigley. Priorities!

It all reeks to me of using a hammer to crack a walnut. Before I get into why people shouldn't work for free I decided to contact a few artists and ask for their opinions. All of the artists I contacted are long standing artists, as you'll see, and all have important lessons to share. Steven Bove, who draws the excellent Rock Opera, commented, "I will tell you what a DC Comics Editor once said to a group of us in The Production Department, 'If you don't have sales of 100,000 copies a month then you don't have an opinion.' It comes down to professionalism and it just doesn't exist in many smaller publishing group, on or off line. In business a publisher (or anyone connected with said publisher) would NEVER openly criticize an outside source of material. What they would do is simply stop issuing work to the source."

Legendary artist Trevor Von Eeden also chipped in, "Unless it's for charity, or as a personal favor to a friend, or fan--no professional artist should EVER work for free! Ever. I'd NEVER work for free for a publisher--and yes, it IS highly unprofessional (i.e unethical) to even ask. Would you ask a plumber, electrician, or architect to do work on your house for free? No--that's their job, and it's what you'd HIRE them to do.

"The very definition of "professional" is: one who gets PAID for doing a job!

"Especially if the artist is doing work for a publisher who intends to profit from said artist's efforts. In which case, the artist would be considered either a sucker--or a slave.

"Or, eventually-- dead from starvation."

On the other hand Big Bang artist, Gerry Acerno, freely admits to working for free, albeit with an ulterior motive in mind. Gerry says, "I have worked for a publisher for free. That would be Image Comics ten years ago. It was to have my creation SHADOW LADY published in Big Bang comics. Nobody made any $ off of this book. I did it to secure copyright of which I am sole owner. The editor also gave me cart blanch as to what I wanted to do. I also demanded lead and cover feature for the three issue story arc. Those were my terms and they were met with no resistance. During the course of my career, I've been asked to work on other peoples' concepts for free with the 'promise' of some residuals down the road. I don't have time for that. I'm not a kid looking for his first break, living in my parents' basement. I have a family to support, mortgage, etc. I do think that it is unprofessional to ask a pro artist to work for free; it's a downright insult. Yeah, we all know that there are enough non-working professionals scraping around for work these days and this is what 'publishers' are preying on. When (would be) publishers go around with 'high profile' concepts and have enough funds to promote it, then they damn well better have enough $ to pay for an artist's time.

"This online publisher sounds like a joke. If he wants someone to work for free, the he can solicit the local High Schools and Colleges."

One of the best inkers in the business and all round damn nice guy Dan Panosian comments, "I think it's a bad policy to work for free or to do spec work.

"These things only rarely pan out with any sort of back end money. Personally, I've never seen it happen. I've also, foolishly, participated in a number of these 'opportunities'.

"It's my feeling, that if the artist can find the time to work for free - they may as well create pages of their own creation instead.

"Unfortunately, many artists do work for free. Eventually they learn not to.

"If you knew and acquaintance that was a waiter would you ask him to come to your house at 8PM and serve you and your girlfriend/wife dinner [ for free ]? A waiter serves food to earn a living. An artist draws for a living. Of course he/she should be paid to something they earn a living for. Some compensation is in order. You don't tell the waiter that if you like the meal you just ate you'll give him a back payment for it. But if you don't like it he'll have to tell the restaurant to forgo the cost of the meal..."

Hulk artist Herb Trimpe, "The request you refer to is one I have received--and my response to this particular project is no thanks. However, I think it's okay to do work on speculation--depending on the situation. I have done professional work (once) without getting paid, but that's because I didn't have sense enough to ask in the beginning what the deal was. That was because it was a "reputable" company. It only became clear after finishing the work. The work has not been published yet, even though it was finished a year or so ago, so any return on sales I might get is still a matter of conjecture. On the other hand, freebees are sometimes the most enjoyable kind of work, but the client is usually local, and it was understood from the beginning there would be no money. For instance, I have done quite extensive volunteer artwork for local agencies of which I know personally. But, basically, when asking a professional for free work with the idea that they MAY be paid somewhere down the road, is unethical. Exposure does have a certain value, but the important thing is, SHOW ME THE MONEY!"

Norm Breyfogle, who, ironically, worked on the first Mr T comic published in the 1990s, along with an acclaimed run on Batman and a man who has worked on almost every character DC has to offer and a handful of Marvel guys as well, has this to say, "Both asking to work for free and asking others to work for free are highly unprofessional!

"I'd never work for free. (When I was attempting to break into comics back in the early 80's I was unprofessional enough to tell DC Comics editors that I'd do that, but they very professionally declined my offer.)

"The only conditions close to 'working for free' that I would consider would include a legally binding contract which paid me on the back end, if certain conditions were met (e.g., if sales were over a certain mark, as with the Image Comics contracts). No verbal promises would do, and anyone accepting verbal promises under those circumstances needs to wise up."

Alan Kupperberg has worked everywhere from Marvel to DC to Archie to National Lampoon and beyond. He's been involved with the comic book industry since the early 1970s and has this advice to offer, "Working For Free...Don't do it!

"I think the best iteration of this policy was written by Mark Evanier in his POV columns, "Unfinanced Entrepreneurs," Part 1, 2 and 3, available online.

"Because any person that asks you to work on a commercial enterprise without compensation has no respect for you. And this person either has no understanding or knowledge of how or what the creator does what the creator does. And that is always a prescription for grief.

"You can work on your own speculative projects all you want. I have. But for strangers -- insist on what you're worth!

"If you want more than five tiny paragraphs, you're going to have to pay for it."

Dick Ayers goes back even further than that, with a career reaching back to the Golden Age of comics. Dick says, "Only time I remember doing a freebie cover and a
short story was when I volunteered and did a Haunted Horseman story and cover for Bill Black to see if that would help circulation. Bill reported the distributor didn't circulate the issue as he was supposed to...alas. I always get paid 'up front' these days by small publishers."

Brian Postman, another artist who's done a lot of work, both for Marvel and in the field of storyboarding and animation. "When I was in my 20's," says Brian, "I worked cheaply or close to free to 'get in' to the business. Now I wouldn't even consider it. I just turned down a 2000 frame storyboard job on a Hollywood movie called 'After Life' with Christina Ricci and Liam Neeson because they wanted to pay $1000 for 2000 frames, that's 50 cents a drawing!!! That's the same as wanting it for FREE in my book. I deal with this constantly, and it makes staying in this business really difficult, because its getting to the point where I could make more working at McDonalds. Anyway, that's my view on it. These people are really just taking advantage of young artists."

Current Phantom newspaper artist Paul Ryan has this to say, "When I was trying to break into the industry I produced a story for Charlton Comics Bullseye title. It was stated up front that there would be no payment for the work produced. The artist would receive, in compensation, fifty copies of the printed piece. This work, then, could be used as a display piece when the aspiring comics artist approached the Big Two for work.

"Other than that the only time I created any piece of work without compensation was for a charity. It is insulting for a publisher to asked a professional artist to work for free. Especially when the publisher stands to make a profit from that artist's work."

Tim Townsend has this to say, "Totally outrageous. Instead of writing something, I thought Id let Harlan Ellison do it for me. He echoes my sentiments EXACTLY! Though he's speaking as a writer, the point stands across the board. I highly suggest this "publisher" listen to it and get a clue." Harlan's points are very valid indeed, and even though, as Tim points out, Harlan is coming from a writers POV the concept is very much the same - never work for free. There are exceptions to every rule and everyone has someone that they'll happily do work for and not charge. It comes down to personal choice, but frankly you should be in a position to make that choice, not have it made for you. The major publishing companies, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image and the like will not ask you to work for free, either as a writer or artist. It's just unprofessional. If you decide that a project is worth doing and want to work, for free, then most companies won't consider you, that's how unprofessional the practice is. People often do work for free on small press projects, no-one I know has done it and been happy with it. I can clearly recall the late Dave Simons telling me that, after being ripped off back in the day by a small press publisher, he then ensured that he was paid for every job he did. If the publisher couldn't pay then they'd not get any art from him. If there was a hint of a publisher not paying then he'd not do the work. Dave would always do his homework, which is great advice, if you're not sure look the publisher up, check out the names and see how it looks. If it smells like carp then it's probably carp.

After all, why work for free if the publisher is going to charge for the end product? The comics and merchandise aren't free, so why should your work be free? Think about it in those terms.

As for the practice of legal threats. In the situation that Al has found himself in I doubt he has anything to worry about - he's merely voiced a general opinion, not directed at the publisher. The emails he's received have all come from the same domain name, both from the editor and the 'legal' representation. I can't think of too many small press organisations who retain legal representation 'on site', so to speak, ready to attack at the first sign of dissent. If you attack Marvel or DC you might get an email asking for an explanation, but they won't wade in with legal threats. Defame them in some way, suggest that they're a front for kiddie porn, and you might well get that email, but you won't get one merely for suggesting that it's not a good idea to work for free. A quick search for the 'lawyer' in question, one Scott L. Sammons, brings up a total blank. As the emails all originate from a .co.uk domain, it'd be safe to assume that all correspondence has originated from the UK, where laws relating defamation and slander are different to those in the USA (and, indeed, different again to those in Australia). Oddly enough the emails from the publisher, one Stuart Buckely (that's the spelling in the 'legal' email, different to the one in the previous email - typo? Possibly, but then if I were sending a legal document I'd be checking all spelling very carefully), and the 'lawyer' are very similar in tone. Read into that what you will.

The legal letter reads as such, "Dear Mr Bigley

"I represent media publisher Mohawk Media.

"My client recently approached you, in your capacity as a creative artist, in good faith and with a brief outline of what is part of a legitimate business venture.

"Potentially defamatory and libellous allegations, apparently made subsequently by you, including on an online 'forum' and/or 'public email chain' have been brought to my attention. It appears that my client’s repeated attempts to resolve the situation amicably have failed.

"This is to serve as notification to cease and desist immediately and remove any and all such allegations forthwith, including any of my client’s email correspondence containing a confidentiality disclaimer notice, as published online or in any public domain, online or elsewhere, no later than Friday July 3 2009, providing me with written confirmation by email upon completion.

"This will resolve this matter to the full and complete satisfaction of my
client.

"Sincerely,

"Scott L. Sammons"

In short, Mohawk approached Al, he said no, issued a general warning and now Mohawk want to sue him. Go figure that one out - sued for rejection? Al hasn't said don't work for them, neither have I, what has been said is that it's unprofessional and not a good idea to work for free.

Something else to consider - earlier today Tony Isabella issued this warning: "Beware of Mohawk Media or anything else from that neck of the woods. For more information on this creature, go to: http://unscrewedcomic.com/"

Having said all of that, if you do knowingly and willingly work for free then you can't complain if you get ripped off. There's more than enough outlets to get your art shown, web-sites, on-line galleries and more. There's no need, in this day and age, to work for free. Now the publisher in question can go right ahead and threaten me with legal action instead of Al Bigley. After all I'd love a free trip to the UK. I wonder if Mr T know anything about this...

More as it comes to hand.

Dave Simons Memorial Service

For all of those people in New York who wish to attend Dave's memorial service, here's the details. Dave's memorial service is scheduled for Sunday July 19th at 12:30pm. It will be held at The Church of Scientology 227 W. 46th St. Manhattan, NY 10036. Phone 212-921-1210.

Dave's family have requested that in lieu of flowers, donations to be made to the organizations that meant the most to Dave. At the top of the list is Hero Initiative. If you wish to donate in Dave's name, follow the link and go right ahead.

You can find out more over at Dave's Facebook entry. the HERO Initiative are also planning a tribute. In this case they'll be running Dave's last unfinished work, details can be found here. Dave was working on the script and was getting ready to pencil the page when he passed away, Hero will be running the script along with a tribute by one of their staff members, so be sure to buy the book when it appears.

I can't help but still miss Dave. I keep expecting to see another email popping up, but time heals everything, albeit slowly. It's a funny ole world, innit?

Original Art Stories: Batman Year One - Frank Miller & Trevor Von Eeden

Everyone who has a passing interest in comic books knows the name Frank Miller. And if they don't know the name David Mazzucchelli then they should, or should be shot. Together Miller and Mazzucchelli created two of the finest story-arcs of the mid 1980s, first with their run on Daredevil and the Born Again storyline and then with the classic Batman: Year One, a story that redefined the mythos of the character and is still referenced and held as a benchmark today, 22 years after it's initial publication. Indeed, much like Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's Watchmen, Batman: Year One will more than likely never be out of print for DC as it still sells in numbers today.

What isn't widely known is that Mazzucchelli wasn't the first choice of artist on the series. Despite working with Mazzucchelli at Marvel and creating one of the best series within a series seen there for decades, Miller approached a different artist to work on Batman: Year One - Trevor Von Eeden. At the time Von Eeden was working off and on at DC and producing some of the most expressionistic Batman stories seen. This was a time where Jim Aparao's style was being adopted almost as a 'house style', yet Von Eeden, frustrated by the constraints of working within both his own limitations and what DC expected of him, began to break loose, resulting in the now famous Batman Annual #8, published in 1982.

Says Trevor today, "About three years into my career, at about the age of 20, I started to feel that I'd only gotten the job because of my skin color--a notion which displeased me greatly," says Trevor now, "So I dedicated myself, wholeheartedly, to developing my Art to a point where it would be so good, that it wouldn't matter what color I was. I sat down and wrote a five-page "mission statement" (now lost)--writing out for myself in detail exactly what I wanted to create--the kind of style I thought would express myself most effectively, while also telling a story in the most dramatic way possible. I wrote everything down that I could think of--the details, form, and purpose of the style of art that I'd wanted to create.

"Out of these two long years of serious effort, I created the art style seen in THE BATMAN ANNUAL."

From there Trevor worked sporadically on the character of Batman, both in the Batman title proper and in other DC comics. Personal circumstances saw his life intertwine with Frank Millers though and it was after Von Eeden turned in yet another sterling job on Batman, this time in issue #401, that Miller approached him with the offer to pencil Year One, which would begin in Batman #404.

"Frank had called me in person to offer me the Batman: Year One job, before giving it to Mazzuchelli. I said, 'No.'," says Trevor, "And I have no regrets - Dave did a beautiful job. His wife [Richmond Lewis] colored it, too."

Sadly we may never know what would have been if Von Eeden had accepted the Batman: Year One job, certainly his art at the time was head and shoulders above other artists, and he's been cited as an influence on artists that have come since. Even Mazzucchelli has sang his praises, recently he had this to say about Von Eeden's 1980s work, "...I’d like to think that something of what excited me on those pages found its way into Batman: Year One, but my own work from back then seems mighty tame next to Mr. Von Eeden’s." Norm Breyfogle, who would soon be drawing his own unique vision of Batman, had this to add recently, "I've been a fan of Trevor's work since his first Batman Annual job. So much so, that I'd say he's one of my influences."

Trevor Von Eeden has returned to Batman more than once since the mid 1980s, each time his art has taken on a new dimension and he's shown that he's not stuck in any one style. But, alas, we will never know how Batman: Year One might have looked if it were penciled by Trevor Von Eeden, but by looking at his art at the time, we have a rough idea.

Original Art Stories: More Hembeck!

Not sure where I've scanned this one from - more likely an issue of The Comic Reader, where a lot of Fred Hembeck's art appears. Nice to see a colour Hembeck!

'Superheroes In Their Underpants!' Classic Hembeck - this print came with the first thousand issues of The Hembeck File (now reprinted in Fred's own excellent Essential Omnibus Archive volume). As with anything by Hembeck, this one is well worth a peek and I'd be curious to know who owns the original art these days.

Looking Back With Dave Simons

These things are best written down while the memory is still fresh in the mind, plus it’s good therapy and helps put things on the record.

This short interview with Dave was done back in February, 2009. Dave’s idea was to do an update to our first ever interview, done in 2004, to update where he was professionally, and because we both knew each other a lot better now. There was a lot that Dave wanted to talk about. What had triggered him was my short, but intense, confrontation with the ‘editors’ at Wikipedia over Dave’s entry on the site. Dave had approached me to write an entry for him on the Wiki with the intention of raising his profile, and possibly increasing his chances of getting more commission work. I had no problem with this, and hey – it was Dave – so I went to work and began to write his entry and posted the first draft on the Wiki site itself. It was promptly removed with the excuse given that Dave wasn’t ‘inherently notable’ as he was merely a comic book artist. This news got to me in the worst heatwave in Adelaide in over a hundred years, so my fuse wasn’t already lit, it’d been burning to exploding point. I began a running battle with the Wiki people, pointed out that there were plenty of people listed who’d maybe lettered one comic book, and that Dave’s credits stretched back to the early 1980s and spanned companies such as Marvel, DC, Topps and more. And that was before I threw in his own creations and his extensive animation work. The main issue the Wiki people had, was that they believed that neither Dave himself or I were qualified to write about Dave as we had no sources. Michael Netzer stepped in, copied my work over and I added the footnotes. The entry is now there for the duration, thanks to Michael. The other offshoot of this was the formation of the Dave Simons Appreciation Society where I handed Dave the title of ‘Inherently Notable’. Publicly Dave showed his usual modesty at this attention, but privately he was egging me along and was highly amused at both my righteous rage and the attention that he was getting.

The format was an interesting one. Instead of doing a standard phone or email interview Dave insisted on using the instant messaging function of Facebook for the conversation. I suspect that Dave didn’t want me hearing his voice, which, at the time, was rough and weak at best and, due to the nature of his illness, speaking exhausted him. It did make for an odd interview as we kept ‘talking’ over each other as we awaited the other’s typed replies. We did the interview over a week in a few sessions, as Dave’s health permitted. There was a lot more discussed, but this is the best of it. Once I’d edited the interview down I sent it over to Dave, only to get an email stating that his doctors had finally diagnosed him as being incurable and given him between six months and two years to live. I was gutted, but Dave took it all in his stride. I knew he was worried, but he felt that life would play itself out and he took faith in both his religion and the fact that he’d known others who lived beyond expectations when faced with the same news. This is when I got the idea to run a series of auctions and a public appeal so that we could wipe Dave’s debts clean and hopefully give him some financial stability. His medical costs were covered as he’d served time in the Coast Guard in the 1970s and was thus eligible for assistance via the Veteran Affairs scheme. Initially Dave was reluctant to accept any such assistance and felt it should be saved as a secret weapon, to be used when he needed it. I pushed the issue and finally Dave responded positively. By this time the wheels were in motion as I’d already contacted Dave’s agent and friend, Bob Shaw and also Bob Almond for assistance. Bob Shaw instantly set up an eBay account and we arranged that Bob would pay the postage and I’d pay the eBay fees, thus every cent raised would be able to go directly to Dave. Dave’s email to me was priceless. “You know,” he said, “every time someone has approached me to help with these things, I’ve done so. I think you’re right, I deserve this.” I couldn’t agree more. At this time Dave was feeling poorly, but was working on finishing up some commissions and the last of his Army Of Darkness pages. Once he’d finished his AoD work he mixed up his medication and found himself in hospital, in a critical condition. As Dave told me later, the doctors believed that he’d not be able to pull through.

We launched the appeal by emailing everyone we knew for donations of art, or anything really. Some, like Gene and Adrienne Colan, Tony Isabella and Norm Breyfogle responded by sending donations directly to Dave. Others questioned the veracity of what we were doing so I then approached Clifford Meth. Cliff gets emails like this all the time but this one was different – we didn’t want Cliff to run the appeal, we just wanted a bit of guidance and, more importantly, the use of his name. Cliff threw himself into the Appeal, emailing people he knows and posting messages at his blog and on Facebook. As I expected once people saw his name they opened their hearts and donated where and what they could. Paul Ryan, Mike Mignola, Fred Hembeck, Brian Postman, Mike Pascale, John Romita Sr, Bob Almond, Scott Ambruson, Kris Carter, Andy Brown, Craig Rousseau, Herb Trimpe, Walter Simonson, Alan Weiss, Simon Bisley, Len Wein, Mark McKenna, Steve Mannion, Jay Fife, Scott Wegener, Kevin West – the list was long and full of talent (and this list is far from complete), professionals and fans alike. Cliff’s assistance can’t be underplayed here – without him on board I doubt we’d have gotten off the ground. Cliff went to pains to tell people that he wasn’t the driving force behind this, but both Bob Shaw and myself didn’t correct anyone when they insisted that he was. It was smoother that way.

Once Dave got out of the hospital he decided to donate to his own Appeal and contributed some sketches which we auctioned off. More donations arrived, people sent over art they’d bought, books and other items of value. People who’d never met Dave, nor spoken to him were moved to help, and help it did. Frank Brunner walked up to Dave at a convention and handed him a sketch from his portfolio for the Appeal. Shawn McManus sent over an incredible piece of art and lamented that he wasn’t a bigger name so it could raise more cash. The whole time is full of wonderful stories like that. Dave’s financial situation was improved out of sight. Bob was the driving force behind Dave’s first sketchbook, which he launched at his last convention appearance. I’m proud of the fact that Dave selected a painting that I owned for the cover and even happier when a box arrived full of Dave’s art, preliminaries and a sketchbook, signed and dedicated, complete with three custom sketches done to such detail that, upon first look, I believed that they were prints in the book. That was how good Dave was as an artist.

Lurking in the background was this interview. About four weeks ago Dave mentioned it again and I went back to it. Dave had said that he’d get to it when he had a bit of free time, but he was tied up with his impending move and some more health problems. In a move which I accepted as Dave being Dave, he was more worried about my wife, Lyndal, and her health situation than his own and expressed his relief at hearing that, after a serious scare, she’d been given a clean bill of health. He was also tickled pink to hear my escapades with my cat, Merlin, after Merlin had gone over the fence and disappeared for a few days. Indeed our last email exchange revolved around my Merlin and his own cat, Smokey. Dave was always more concerned about others than himself.

Sadly Dave never got the chance to edit this interview, but I’ve done what I believe he’d have wanted. As I’ve previously mentioned, there was a lot more discussed, but I doubt if Dave would have wanted all of it on display as some of it could be construed as being negative towards his fans, those people he liked the most. Dave always interacted with people, he loved it, but he did tire of people asking him for free art and sketches all the time. If he was in a position to send a sketch he would, but he wasn’t in such a position and declining these requests always seemed to bother him, not that he’d show it. What Dave wanted to get out there with this interview, was his love for the craft of art and his many influences. We had a few projects in the works, and this is the first that I can put out there for everyone to read and hopefully enjoy.

I miss Dave, and reading this interview just makes me miss him even more. I know there’s a lot more Dave in my archives as he’d given me the task of writing about his life as a whole, but that’s another story...

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DANIEL BEST: We might as well start with the most recent stuff - you're working on Army Of Darkness - how did you land that gig?

DAVE SIMONS: Once again, Joe Rubinstein hooked me up. Told me to get in touch with Nicky at Dynamite.

DB: You did the Christmas Special first?

DS: No. Nicky sent me the Red Sonja re-marks to do while I was waiting for the script.

DB: What was the reaction to the Sonja covers?

DS: There was a little problem with them right from the start because the cover stock was just regular cover stock. Everything smeared, so I ended up using crow quill on them. They ended up with kind of a beat-up look because of that.

DB: That's happened before hasn't it? The Green Lantern commission?

DS: That was different. It had to be on this special acid-free green paper. I ruined the first one accidentally and there wasn't a spare sheet. The client then ran out of the paper. Eventually he got more. I told him to send two sheets just in case. You saw the result.

DB: It looked good, and different. It's an interesting concept. That raises a question - are 'concept' commissions harder to do than just someone asking for, say, a Conan illo?

DS: Not sure what you mean by a 'concept' commission.

DB: When someone has a theme going - like Michael Finn and his One Minute Later covers.

DS: Or John Bamber and his Western Super Heroes.

DB: Exactly.

DS: No, sometimes I get into it and get an idea of what it should be right away. Sometimes I don't. Daredevil was hard for me--that DD vs. Fixer that I did. The Conan that I did for Zack Esser came naturally. I was really into it.

DB: I'd hazard a guess and say you're more familiar with Conan though, as opposed to Daredevil.

DS: Sure! I remember discovering the Lancer paperbacks at Edsall's Drugs in Wallkill, NY when I was in high school. I thought it would make a great comic book, A little over a year later it was one! Did I ever tell you what I thought the ultimate Conan comic would be?

DB: No. Do share.

DS: Figures by John Buscema. Backgrounds by Barry Smith. Costumes by Steranko. The whole thing inked by Wallace Wood. Wouldn't that have been great? That's thinking of the division of labor more like in animation, tho.

DB: Jesus!! I'd have bought that in a heartbeat. Written by whom though?

DS: Written by Roy Thomas, of course!

DB: Works for me. I'd expect that it'd never hit the deadline though (laughter) Steranko and Wood would see to that.

DS: That's why Steranko just does costumes. Woody made deadlines when he was sober, I think. You'd have to ask Kupps, he was a Woody assistant. Wood would be doing backgrounds of course by that point so don't judge by some of the Cannon and Sally Forth stuff. There's obvious Ralph Reese and Larry Hama in there. Whole pages.

DB: Did you ever meet Wood?

DS: I was at a con and I was sitting near Joe. Wood was sitting at an angle across the room. Joe said I should go say hi to him. Wood was obviously not doing well at the time and no one was at his table. It was very sad and I couldn't deal with it, so I didn't go over. If it were today, I would have.

I find now that one of the most important things in life is to try to make others feel better about themselves.

DB: Poor guy - the end of his life wasn't a happy story was it?

DS: No. Hopefully his current lifetime is going along better.

DB: Indeed! Back to the comics...how's the current AOD story going?

DS: AoD--well, coming along. I think I'm doing better than I did on the Christmas book. I've gotten more into drawing comics, making interesting stuff out of the script. I find that beginning writers tend to not think of shots so much. For instance, in this story Ash and three other characters are wandering around this cavern system. The writer wrote it so that they're ALL in every panel. No close-ups, no dynamic shots focusing on one character. So I have to find a way to work those in--while accommodating the dialogue, of course.

DB: That can't be easy. I doubt I could write a full script. When I did Simon Saurian with Alan Weiss we worked Marvel style. To me a full script almost implies that you're telling the artist how to draw - that might work for a new artist, but for the likes of you and Weiss...well I ain't gonna be telling you how to pace it, lay it out, design and almost how to draw the thing.

DS: That has its definite advantages. The drawback is that you don't have a firm idea of how much dialogue there's going to be. With someone like Chris Claremont, this can be a problem.

DB: His scripts must be like phone books.

DS: (laughter) Yeah! That's the thing with writers--they love words. That's why they're writers. Words alone aren't enough, tho. Whether writing or drawing, one should be a storyteller first.

DB: Words are secondary to me - when Weiss and I did Simon we spent hours working out the story before we even touched the dialogue.

DS: That's the best thing to do, whether you're working alone or with someone else.

DB: You did some work for my mates at First Salvo. Did they *ahem* pay you?

DS: Yes. I ALWAYS GET PAID.

DB: He says in large, capitol letters...did Joe hook you up there as well?

DS: Yes. People say a lot of crap about Joe, and some of it is true and some of it's hilarious, but he's been a great friend to me. What did you think of the Aman drawing I sent you?

DB: It's good. Did you get paid for it or did he gave it back...(laughter)

DS: I don't know what happened to it. I'm pretty sure I just sent him a scan, not the original, since I did it as a sample. I'll have to see if the original is still kicking around here some place. It's very Wood-influenced.

DB: First Salvo never published your story did he?

DS: No, Joe never finished inking it. Only the backgrounds are inked.

DB: Did you see the Breyfogle & Weiss covers?

DS: Yes, I saw them when they were fresh at last year's Big Apple Con--the one I sent you photos from.

DB: Those covers are hanging on my wall now. I'll get your art, buy the Sal Velutto and Bob Almond story and make my own First Salvo comic - I have the cover and a few pin-ups now...(laughter)

DS: You should! Only come up with better names.

DB: I think a pet monkey could think of better names. Boss Aman sounds like something out of an old prison movie.


DS: Or Cannonball Run.

DB: That's what we need - instead of Dangers Dozen, Dean(Martin)'s Dozen!

DS: Did you know Jackie Chan was in one of those?

DB: Yep - we watched it the other month - we bought it on DVD for about a dollar...(laughter)...I got it for Jackie Chan and Dean Martin.

DS: Cool. I sent you a bunch of my roughs a little while ago. Have you had much of a chance to examine them?

DB: I've poured through them - I'm impressed by the detail in some of them and very impressed by the energy of them.

DS: Thank you!! Did it give you any insight into my creative process?

DB: Yes - there's a lot of variation from your preliminaries to your finished art. You also have a tendency to do more than one approach to a subject. On some you can see where it was all going, and you've fully realised it, on others you can see where you've worked out any potential problems.

DS: Right. The roughs are just my first thot. On the way to getting finished I often come up with what I think is a better idea. You can never do a drawing (or create anything) and be so in love with it that you can't change it for the good of the story. As Will Meugniot told me "You have to be willing to kill your children."

DB: You said something about the Ghost Rider cover that you inked over Bob Budiansky - you were happier doing it now because you could do it better. I found that an interesting comment indeed.

DS: Really? Why?

DB: Because the original looks amazing. To me, that original, indeed that image, is the pinnacle of you and Bob as an art team. However, having seen a high res scan of the original, and I hope this makes sense, the background on the original has brush strokes, mine is an almost solid black. I can see the improvements.

DS: (laughter) That’s because I used all Black Magic ink on the original. On the re-creation I used FW acrylic ink for the black areas. Joe turned me on to the FW.

I think I know now what made that team click. It's a marriage of opposites. Now Bob is a nice guy and this is not to knock him at all. His actual draftsmanship is better than mine in many cases. But he has a much more conservative nature than I do. What I brought to it was the idea of inking things in a certain way just so they would look cool. Besides my usual influences of Wood and Wrightson, I was also looking at Robert Williams for chrome technique. I had no back-off on changing the line work to bring across a texture or add a sparkle.

DB: I know Bob loved you as an inker on that book and wasn't happy when you left. You guys never did anything outside of Ghost Rider did you?

DS: Nope. I probably should have stayed with it. Oh well.

DB: Why did you leave again?

DS: The sales were poor. Probably topped anything being published today, but in the scale of the times they were poor.

DB: What was the last comic you drew before the recent AOD?

DS: I think that would have to be Wild Stars for Little Rocket. Mike Tierney, publisher, editor, and writer.

DB: How long ago was that?

DS: I guess 7 years now. I was working on it on 9/11.

DB: That's a lot of time between jobs.

DS: I ghosted Mendy and the Golem for Joe in 2003, and I did a lot of storyboards in the intervening years.

DB: What did you do with all the storyboards that you drew? Do the companies keep them?

DS: Yes, that's why I do them digitally if I can. I don't get the art back, so why should they have it?

DB: So they kept them all?

DS: Standard practice in the animation business. They archive them someplace I think. The artist contractually has no rights to them.

DB: Bizarre.

DS: Standard practice in the animation industry.

DB: As it was in the comic industry for decades.

DS: Yeah. But quite often the storyboards are not saleable the way comics pages are. Not always finished works of art. Mine are about as highly finished as any you'll see. You've seen some. I could probably sell the Captain Planet or Jem boards if I still had them, people have fond memories of those shows.

DB: That does factor into it as well - the nostalgia factor.

DS: Big factor from what I've seen.

DB: But that could apply to any comic book art. For me I wanted that Ghost Rider cover - remember, you once offered to do the recreation yourself, but I wanted the whole package - Bob and you - because that's what I liked the most.

Do you collect art or comic books?

DS: Not so much. I have a collection of art books. Many of them are pretty beat-up looking. I use them, they aren't just a collection. Some of the older ones are only held together by a binder clip.

DB: Have you ever had a desire to collect art? I mean, you studied at the feet of John Buscema - did you ever think, "Hmmm, I might sneak a sketch or two out here."?

DS: I used to have a few. He would do demonstration drawings on a big newsprint pad and then pass them out at the end of class.

DB: What happened to them?

DS: That was a long time ago. Lost in a move, I suppose. I learned what I could from them. If I still had them I believe I could learn more, but John's stuff is out there in reproduction.

I used to have a Ka-Zar splash by Brent Anderson and Armando. I also had a couple of Wrightson Swamp Thing pages. I’d like to get a Woody page from one of his Warren stories.

DB: A Woody Warren - that'd not be cheap. Wrightson Swamp Things! Impressive. All gone now?

DS: Yes sorry to say. One Swamp Thing was sold--reluctantly. The Ka-Zar and the other Swamp Thing were lost when I moved back to NY. A Frank Robbins Shadow page would be nice.

I have a question for you.

DB: Ask away.

DS: Now that you know how closely connected some of us artists are--for example, 2 years ago or a little more I had Brian Postman, Gerry Acerno, Joe Rubinstien and Mike Netzer all helping me on storyboards--does it give you any sort of a different viewpoint on the business at all, or any sort of "6 degrees of separation" aspect of it?

DB: Absolutely. For one there isn't really a '6 degree' is there? It’s more like '2 Degrees of Separation".

DS: I suppose!

DB: It's a very incestuous industry - makes me wonder how people cope if they annoy someone.

DS: Well, you've seen that. Kupperberg, Rubinstein, Netzer. I've annoyed people too, I'm sure.

DB: If you have then I've never heard of it. Most everyone likes you. It's the same with Norm Breyfogle; I've yet to hear anyone saying he's no good as a person.

But Joe has his detractors. They all say a similar thing - they like him as an artist but some do think he's a wanker of a person.

DS: I think that's based on the Joe Rubinstein of 20 or 30 years ago. As I said, he's helped me out a lot. I adore Mike too, but I think he has some of the nuttiest ideas I've ever heard. Neal Adams for President?

DB: Hey - he couldn't do a worse job than the guy you had for the past eight years could he? And you've heard Mike laugh - I think his nuttier ideas are just there to get people talking.

What was the attraction towards Frank Robbins?

DS: I loved his stuff. I was in Buscema's class at the time. This is late ‘75; I'm still in the Coast Guard. I especially liked his Shadow stuff. I know a lot of people didn't. He had to follow Kaluta and what they really wanted was more Kaluta.

DB: Had you seen any Caniff at that time?

DS: Oh, sure, I was familiar with Caniff. Robbins' stuff had more energy, which appealed to me.

DB: There's a lot who say Robbins was not cut out for superhero stuff, but I loved him and Springer on The Invaders. How did you see that stuff?

DS: I liked the invaders but would rather have seen Frank ink his own stuff.

DB: And you met him?

DS: I was in the Coast Guard, my last year there, and had been taking Buscema's class. The Coast Guard base was on Governor's Island in the NY harbor. I got the idea that I might like to meet Robbins and, figuring he probably lived in New York, looked him up in the phone book. I called a Frank Robbins on 14th St. and it was him. We arranged for me to come over. I was really excited.

DB: Surely it wasn’t that simple?

DS: It was that simple.
"Are you the Frank Robbins that draws Invaders?"
"Yes."
Some fanboy gushing on my part and he said I could come to his studio. I brought over some of my stuff which was heavily influenced by him. He was really nice, pointed out areas where I needed to improve, which at that time was almost everything.

Personally he was a pretty goofy looking guy. Receding forehead and hairline. big beak of a nose. Receding chin. Prominent Adam’s apple. Thick horn-rimmed glasses. Hair a little on the long side and he smoked cigarettes in a black cigarette holder.

He had these Swedish design sling back type chairs in his studio. You know the kind? From the 60s, canvas stretched over a wire frame. So when I came over he would sit in one and I'd take the other. I think they were red. Frank sat and stood and moved like his characters. Arms and legs at all sorts of odd angles.

So he's sitting in this low-slung chair like that. Invariably he would run out of lighter fluid for his Zippo. For the younger folks reading this, a Zippo has to be filled with naphtha fluid, not butane. In filling his lighter, he would invariably get the lighter fluid all over himself. Then he'd go to light his cigarette (in the cigarette holder) and set himself on fire. Then I'd be treated to the sight of Frank Robbins trying to put himself out, slapping away at his clothes with his arms flapping at all those weird Frank Robbins angles. I had to try not to laugh.

DB: Sounds priceless

DS: It was! Happened almost every time I was over there. He was never hurt, of course.

DB: Why do you think he was unappreciated?

DS: Fans don't necessarily know good art. He wasn't stylistically in tune with the times. The guys that were hot were Wrightson, Adams, and Moebius during his 'Arzach' period. Artists love his stuff. Frank had more energy to his work. I respond to that.

I have to tell you the advice Frank gave me.

This was after about 4 or 5 visits. I would only see him about once a month. I didn't want to be a pest. He told me, “you should quit trying to draw like me." When I asked why, he said "Nobody's hiring the real Frank Robbins, why should they hire a fake Frank Robbins?" Good advice, commercially, but somewhat sad.

I didn't see him much after that. Called to say hi a few times. By this time I was living in the Village on 11th St. and 5th Ave. Then I started working with Ken Landgraf.

DB: The photos of that time look like you all had a lot of fun.

DS: We did! By the way the girl at the keyboard is Jessica Zalkind. Ken had her do some minor assistant work. Some coloring, I think. Could be wrong. Ken was the one who played the keyboard. We kept those oversized editions, like the Superman vs Spider-Man that you wrote about handy. They were a godsend to beginning artists. Ken, Armando and I kept that one around, along with Superman vs. Muhammad Ali and a couple of Russ Cochran EC reprints (the oversize ones in black & white). They were a constant source of reference. If you can find any of the strips that appeared under Ken's name in High Times, the influence of Supes vs. Ali is obvious. For the record, those were laid out by Ken, scripted and lettered by me, tightened up in pencil mostly by Armando, figures mostly inked by Armando with some inking by Ken and background inking by me, and colored by me. The coloring was the worst job, since I had to hand-cut rubylith and zip with an x-acto knife while looking through a magnifying glass. All that for one page with a lame gag at the end.

DB: All that work sounds too damn hard. I'd like to think you were paid well, but then again you probably paid to do the strip.

DS: It was one of our more well-paying jobs from the period. Prior to my getting Howard the Duck, we did most everything that way. Strips for SCREW and SMUT were done this way, too, with the exception of being in black & white and Armando seldom touching them. Mind you, I wouldn't work for any of those clients today.

DB: I wonder where all those art pieces are now? I've always been amused by people asking Norm Breyfogle about the porno comics that he drew. Makes me chuckle when he points out that it was his brother, Kevin, who drew them and not he.

It's an interesting question really - is there anything you'd refuse to draw?

DS: If anyone has them it'd be Ken. He may have sold them off long ago, though. I would never do pro-drug material again. At the time I justified it by thinking that Ken's name was going on it, not mine, that and it was a good payday. I'd never do hardcore porn again, either. Among other things, I still have a career in "children's television" and I am a minister, even though I've only worn the vestments once. Nudity is another story. That would depend on the situation. I have a few nudes in my sketchbooks and of course I've worked from a live model. I wouldn't have any problem with some sexually oriented humor on the level of "Hey fellers! Look! It's a titty!" Y'know, kinda the fifties pin-up mentality. Basically, if I wouldn't sign my legal name to them, I wouldn't do them.

DB: How good was your band?

DS: (laughter) We didn't have a band! Ken wanted it, wanted me to do lead vocals, but I have very little musical talent and no sense of rhythm. Of course, that didn't stop the Sex Pistols.

DB: What was the name of the band?

DS: I don't think we ever settled on one. It was pretty much blues thru a punk sensibility. Ken wanted to be the next Ray Manzarek. (laughter) Armando played guitar. But no matter what he played, it came out sounding like Spanish guitar.

DB: Naturally...(laughter)

DS: You've spoken to Mr. McGillicuddy on the phone, right? We should mention that he doesn't speak with an accent or anything. To hear him you'd never know he was Hispanic. His roots come out in other ways, tho--like the guitar. He's not Sergio Aragones.

DB: He does speak fluent English - I was surprised actually, after doing an interview with Danny Budilandi that I can't transcribe.

DS: Well, Danny's Filipino.

DB: And a damned nice guy and a damned fine artist too, I might point out.

DS: Yeah. Y'know, the Filipinos were all over the animation business in the 80s.

DB: They spawned a genre.

DS: They saw a racket that paid better! More money to send back home to Manila. Their families could live like royalty on that money. Bill DuBay brought a lot of them to L.A. to work at Marvel Productions. When I started they were already there.

DB: Did you know many of them?

DS: Oh, gosh, if I list them all I'm sure I'll leave some out. Just off the top of my head, Nestor Redondo, Rudy Nebres, Romeo Tanghal--more that I can't think of now. Alcala came out too, but didn't work at Marvel Prods. I already worked with him in New York. I like the Filipino people a lot. Very warm.

DB: I've always wondered why they were all so talented.

DS: Competition! Plus their heritage from the war. G.I.s left great stuff behind--magazines with illos by guys like Frank Brangwyn (one of Alfredo's faves) Rockwell, Leyendecker, etc. They have more of an illustrative tradition in their comics because of that.

DB: I have Aussie reprints here full of stuff by Spanish and Filipino artists - all are amazing.

DS: Yeah, well, all of them don't make it to the states or to collections. I've seen some Filipino comics--in Tagalog and everything--that sucked. You know I like manga, but some of it sucks. If you're not in the country, you don't see that much of the crap. Why would anyone take the trouble of translating and reprinting it?

DB: It's a shame because a lot of that art was what I was exposed to growing up. Nebres, Garcia-Lopez...I can't help but wonder how much of it reached there.

DS: Oh sure! Thats the great stuff! That's why we see it. Estaban Maroto's another Spanish artist from the 70s.

DB: We got stuff here that you guys didn't - unpublished stuff from Warren, Skywald, Atlas (Seaboard)…

DS: Oh, really?

DB: Yep - I have an unpublished Starling Bog Beast here - it's on my blog - and a Simonson story

DS: Ha! Before your blog, I had no idea what Aussie comics might be like.

DB: Did they ever find that AoD Christmas cover?

DS: You won't believe it. As you may recall it had some lettering on it as part of the art--some signage. I had sent it to Gerry Acerno to do the lettering. He sent me a scan of the finished piece, I thought he had sent it on to Dynamite as I'd asked. Well, he was cleaning his studio last week and--you guessed it.

DB: No! He didn't!?

DS: Ya gotta say that like the Spanish girls from the Bronx--Oh, no, he DI-int!

DB: Dat he did?

DS: Damn white of him to fess up, tho. HE thought he sent it. I thought he sent it. It was at the bottom of a stack of paper, I guess.

DB: So, now what happens to it?

DS: Well, I'll see if the Dynamite guys want it or have any use for it. If not, I guess it's mine to do with as I please.

DB: You did some samples for DC last year - any feedback or follow-up from that?

DS: No. Looking back at it, they weren't that good. I went up to DC to see Harvey Richards. He liked the samples okay but it's hard to tell Harvey's reaction to things sometimes because he's so low-key. We also stopped in to meet his boss, Michael Siglain. The consensus was that I needed to work out a few things and that some of my linework was too heavy. i suppose that's a holdover from my inking for shit repro back in the day. I'm just pleased that they could take the time out to meet with me. That's more than I'd get anyplace else. That may not sound that good, but it really was a happy occasion in that I've made some progress on getting back into the business. Now that I have a better idea of what's needed and wanted, I can produce it. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way they can just tell you what they want. It has to be seen.

Maybe some other guys my age should actually try to do the kind of work people want to see nowadays. The 80s were fun, but they weren't the Renaissance. There's no reason someone couldn't change his style to suit today's tastes. After all, when I was a kid, once I'd seen Kirby I found Al Plastino boring and stodgy. Nothing wrong with Al Plastino, but he wasn't in step with the 60s. It's funny to me now that Kirby, a WW II vet and thus the same generation as my dad, was hip in the 60s. His art was in head shops. Gene Colan and Wally Wood (Di$neyland), too. I thought my dad was so square when I was 16 (who doesn't) but to me the 60s, especially the late 60s, were defined by Kirby and the Beatles. It was a great pairing, like a burger and a beer, hot dog and a Yoo-Hoo.

DB: Is it harder to break into the comic book industry now than it was back when you did?

DS: Beats me. Totally different game now. I told you how I broke in. You can't approach editors like that any more.

DB: But they still go to conventions...or is it more who you know than how good you are?

DS: Right. But they're not free to wander the floor. They're at the booth with a LONG line of fans. I'm not standing there like a kid with a backpack full of X-Men. I don't know what the answer to that is.

DB: Fair point. How is the reaction to you at conventions now?

DS: Good. I've stopped trying so hard. I go and see people and have a good time. That seems to be good promotion in itself. We'll see what happens at this con when I have a table to sit at (courtesy of Bob Shaw).

DB: Do you think your profile has been lifted now you're more active on-line?

DS: Yes, I do think people are more aware of me because of my online presence. I have you to thank for that.

DB: No need to thank me. I remember when I first interviewed you and people would email looking for you - it was near impossible...(laughter)

DS: Really? How so?

DB: You changed your email address I think. I think I had to wait until Alan Weiss told me your new one.

DS: Oh right! I wasn't that hip to the internet yet. Did I ever tell you about when Ken and I worked with Alfredo? Ken's idea was to hire Alfredo to ink one panel of a page and sacrifice most of the money on the job to him. This being with the proviso that we could watch him work on it. Alfredo inked some panels in Ken's Rock Comics.

DB: What did you get from watching him work?

DS: Alfredo was another character. We met him while we were briefly part of the 'American Tribe'. Ken and I did some work on The Prince and the Pauper adaptation. I remember working a suit of armor to death. Alfredo made stuff. He made his own fountain-pen brushes decades before such a thing was commercially available. He made a device for cleaning his lp records as they played, too. He always had a big bag of rice in his apartment. Once he made Ken go buy some for him. I'm sure Ken thought he was going to nip out and buy a box of Uncle Ben's or something.

Ken nearly had a hernia lugging the damn bag of rice back. It was huge.

Anyway, you asked what I learned. Mostly what I got was the speed at which Alfredo moved the brush and how that affected the line.

DB: Other than John Buscema and Alfredo, how many other formal or 'informal' art lessons like that did you have?

DS: Well, let's see--I learned a lot from Will Meugniot by working for him. He'd have me change something I did and I'd see that his way was better. This often involved storytelling, but he helped me improve my basic drawing, too. His animation credits far outstrip his comic book credits. I worked for him on Jem and the Holograms, Exo-Squad, Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, lots of stuff. If you don't know Exo-Squad, you should check it out. It's like an American version of Macross. Just watch them in order if possible. It's episodic.

DB: Is there more money in animation? A lot of artists move into that field - even Starlin did for a few years.

DS: There was. That business has its own pitfalls.

DB: Such as?

DS: Well, let's say you're doing a segment of storyboard for a 22 minute show. One would probably board 1/3 the episode, especially if it's an action-adventure show. Turn-around time 2-3 weeks. Bottom rate on that is about $3,000.00. It depends on what the show's budget is. No one artist gets a better rate than another, at least on the storyboards. Development is a different story.

Okay, so you make 3 grand in about 2 weeks. Sounds great, right? And that's for a cheap show. But on a show like that they hand out scripts once a week, so at most you're doing 6 episodes. So 3,000 times 6. That's $18,000. Still sounds good, right?

But then the show is finished for the season and you're laid off. Hopefully you can get on another show, but that might just be all the money you're making for that year.

DB: You directed shows though right?

DS: I was directing Spy Dogs and picking up other shows as well. At one time I had Spy Dogs in the day and two other shows I worked on at home at night and on the weekends. Armando worked on some of that.

DB: How did Armando cope with the deadline pressure of animation?

DS: Fine when he worked with me. I know him very well, of course, so I knew when he was running into trouble and could put out the fire before it started.

I used to have him and Don Manuel at my place in North Hollywood jamming out storyboards for Nascar Racers.

DB: What artists are there who you never inked but wanted to?

DS: Gee, that's a good one. I inked a lot of my heroes. Steranko. I would have liked to ink a Kirby comic. I only inked a couple of his presentation pieces for Ruby-Spears. Robbins. I wonder what I'd look like over another Wood-influenced artist such as Wayne Howard. I got to ink so many--both Buscemas, Gene Colan, Budiansky, even Frank Springer!

Springer was a terrific artist. Only inked him once, a Disco Dazzler cover. did you ever see Phoebe Zeitgeist?

DB: I only ever saw Phoebe on-line. Springer was a damned good guy - great to talk to

DS: Used to be able to get it at most tables at any con. Great for swipes because the Lampoon guys made him draw the most insane shit.

DB: I noticed that - I thought he was great inking Robbins - that's where I first noticed him

DS: Same here. I always liked my Robbins undiluted, tho. See some of the Batman comics he did?

DB: Yep – great stuff. The Lampoon stuff used to confuse me though. I couldn't associate a comic book artist with that stuff - same as Kupperberg with the Evil Clown

DS: You're younger than me, right? You kind of had to be there at the time. Bunch of guys at Harvard smoking anything they can get their hands on who are geniuses and grew up reading comics.

DB: Yah, I'm younger...heh....did you ever work for the Lampoon?

DS: It's hard to describe--just something that tapped into reflected and sometimes directed the views and opinions of the early 70s while puncturing their pretensions. No, I never worked for Lampoon.

DB: Did they ever approach you, or you them? I have to say, I loved the Lampoon in the early 1980s, when I reached my mid teens

DS: That’s the right time to discover it. No, I don't think there was ever a reach either way, unless I just cold-called them once.

DB: That's a shame - I could easily see you doing a Red Sonya parody
Like their Conman series

DS: Frank Thorne did something for them, didn't he? Sexy girl feature?

DB: I believe he did. Loads of people did - Kupps did a pile of work for them. Neal Adams - that Son Of God thing he did cracked me up.

DS: Son O' God was a benchmark.

DB: A definite highpoint. Bizarre story, but the art was incredible. Now, back to where we were, Wayne Howard. He was a mysterious character.

DS: I don't know anything about him except that he was a Woody assistant and the style stuck. He was a firearms enthusiast. That's all stuff that's public knowledge. I never met the guy.

DB: Not many did know him. Apparently he never spoke to anyone about his comic book career.

DS: Well, Nick Cuti knew him. I've lost touch with Nick, tho.

DB: How well did you know Nick?

DS: I met him after his comics career, when we were both working in animation. He worked as a background designer. Any time they had him do an alien landscape everyone loved it because it was really his version of a Woody alien landscape, of course. I'd do the same thing if it were me--not copying, just heavily influenced.

DB: And you worked with Kirby at Ruby-Spears?

DS: I wouldn't say I worked with him but I met him there and Gil Kane too. Jack turned out tons of presentation art for shows that never got made. I inked a couple of these things, giant pieces on illustration board. A suitably heroic scale for his art.

DB: What was Kirby like at that stage?

DS: Great! Full of life. This is about 1985.

DB: Was his work hard to ink?

DS: No. You absolutely COULD NOT SCREW IT UP. It was inker-proof. I could have done a better job on it, I think, but I was a bit overwhelmed by having Kirby pencils in my house, on my drawing board.

DB: Were you ever tempted to light box it and keep the pencils intact?

DS: No, it wouldn't have been possible anyway. He used 4 ply illustration boards which are too opaque.

DB: I know artists who have had trouble inking Kirby. Norm, for example, did two versions of the same commission, one true to the pencils and the other he 'fixed' the many errors he found in anatomy and design - that wasn't an issue for you?

DS: Nope. For one thing, the stuff I did was all monsters. Really crazy stuff, I remember there was one creature that had a pointed head and could use it to bore thru rock. So there were no concerns about anatomy. I don't think it would be advisable to 'fix' Kirby. You'd just be opening up a Pandora's Box of drawing issues. By the time you were done, it wouldn't be Kirby any more.

DB: 1985 - that was when Kirby was having the problems with Marvel over the art returns wasn't it? Did you get involved in that?

DS: I think so. Pre-internet, I wasn't aware of it to a great extent.

DB: Did you sign the petition?

DS: Sign it? I don't think I ever even saw it!

DB: Would you have signed it?

DS: Sure! Now watch, some smartass is going to find the damn thing and my signature's going to be on it.

DB: I can always have a look - I have a copy nearby. There's a few who didn't sign it as they felt Kirby knew what he was doing back in the '60s.

DS: Things changed is more to the point. I think Stan and Jack were just thinking "well, this outfit's going down the tubes anyway, let's have a little fun with it."

DB: You DID sign it!

DS: What the fu--I DID??!!!

DB: Yep - there you are, right after Dave Sim and just before Don Simpson.

DS: Well I'll be goddamned.

DB: You were in good company on that petition.

DS: I guess so!

DB: A few didn't sign it for fear of recriminations from Marvel - clearly you weren’t scared or intimidated.

DS: What did I have to be scared of? I wasn't working for them at the time. They had no leverage on me. I was working in animation then and making more than I'd ever made in comics.

DB: Byrne didn't sign it - and he was one of the most high profile artists Marvel had at the time. But then he was earning around six figures per year writing and drawing the Fantastic Four.

DS: I guess he had something to lose then. Wasn't this around the time that he described himself as a company man?

DB: Yep. Destroyer Duck lampooned him perfectly. Now he rallies against Marvel at every opportunity...(laughter)

DS: I remember once at a con in Atlanta I went to dinner with him, Tom De Falco, Mark Gruenwald, and Mike Carlin. All Byrne could talk about was superheroes. I purposely started up a loud conversation with Mark about cars.

DB: How well did that go down?

DS: Byrne was trying to ignore us, I think. Mark and I were having fun with it. I just have a little trouble wrapping my head around the notion of a grown man whose entire life is centered around comics. It's fun, it's a nice way to make a living, but one should have other interests as well--cooking, motorcycles, history, astronomy, something.

You're going to have to open a Dave Simons museum.

DB: I'll have a Simons museum next door to my Breyfogle one. You've signed on with Renne Witterstaeder - what do you think she'll be able to do for you?

DS: Renee has connections. I can get work, as demonstrated by my two recent AoD jobs, but she can (I expect) get me better paying work.

DB: Any closing thoughts?

DS: Just want to say how thankful I am to you, Bob Shaw, the Colans, Alan Weiss, everyone who's helped and all the fans--yes, even the ones on Facebook!

Dave Simons: 1954 - 2009

I hate this. Seriously I do. It's been no secret that Dave Simons has been seriously ill for a number of years now and it's with the heaviest heart of them all that I sadly have to report that Dave passed away tonight. He was 54 years old.

In his career Dave worked with some of the giants of animation and comic books. He was one of the best inkers to work with Gene Colan since Tom Palmer, a fact that Dave was damned happy to hear, especially when that praise came from Gene. He worked with Bob Budiansky on one of the best runs seen on Ghost Rider in the books life, and beyond. He worked with almost anyone you care to mention. His attention to detail and apparent inability to turn in a bad job held him in excellent stead and made him one of the go-to inkers of his generation. His generosity to others was known amongst his peers and there's several inkers and artists who'll happily tell you that Dave helped them along their way and gave them a start in their comic book careers.

Dave was a true visionary who never really got his due amongst the comic book buying public at large. Dave moved from comic books into animation and move through the ranks at a surprising speed into direction and production, along the way he was able to hire people he knew to be out of work and as such was able to provide an income for them. When the animation wound down Dave moved back to New York.

Dave was diagnosed with cancer a few years back and, Dave being Dave, told everyone who'd listen how he'd beaten it stone cold. Sadly that wasn't the truth and he emailed me earlier in the year to tell me some crushing news - the cancer was back, with a vengeance and the doctors had given him anywhere from six months to two years to live. Dave thought this was incorrect and decided to beat them at their own game, but, again Dave being Dave, he never once let on to anyone as to exactly how ill he really was.

Early this year Dave mixed his medication up and fell into a coma that he very nearly didn't recover from. This woke him up to an extent and he began to make moves as to what he was going to do next. He wanted to move out of where he was living and provide a better environment for both himself and his cat, Smokey. Again, Dave was thinking more of Smokey than himself, but Dave's heart was always strong and bigger than most. Ironically it wasn't the cancer that claimed Dave, he'd been fighting an infection that developed into pneumonia. Dave's immune system, already weakened by his constant battles, simply couldn't cope.

My own memories of Dave are varied. I won't post all of them here, as they're very personal at the moment. I contacted Dave in 2004 and interviewed him because I wanted to speak to the guy who made me happy as a lad reading Ghost Rider. Dave warned me that he wrote better than he spoke, but then said he wasn't all that interesting. Sure he wasn't. I later reconnected with him and began to assist him by buying his art and establishing his web-site, which he once said brought him a lot more money than he ever expected. Typical of Dave he never once accepted my offer to do his site out of love and insisted on sending me as many rejected commissions and preliminaries as he could stuff in a package. Working with Bob Shaw, we established the Dave Simons Appeal and it was through the generosity of the comic book community that Dave's last few months were as good as they were. Dave wasn't one to take all of this lying down and kept working on commissions right up to the end. That was Dave. He'd have hated to think that someone had ordered a commission from him and never gotten it. That was typical of Dave and his respect for being such a hard worker carried him through. Says Walter Simonson, "Dave was a good guy, a hard worker, a fine inker, and more than that, he was Inherently Notable! I’m delighted we had a chance to hang out a little at the last NYCC. We swapped sketchbooks, and I very much regret that we won’t be able to hang out and do the same thing the next time around. He’ll be missed."

I was honoured that Dave not only wanted me to write about him on his site, but also on other sites. Indeed we had just begun working on the story of his life and his last email to me was to pass on a lot of names and suggestions. His energy was infectious and we'd also started working on a project that we'd both developed called Donna Thyme - Dave had done the illos and we'd bashed out the concept together. He wanted a script before the end of June so he could start pencilling.

Our last great battle was with the Wikipedia people. Dave asked me to get him onto that site, being the self-promoter that he was. I did so only to see the entry removed as they deemed Dave not to be 'inherently notable'. That fired me up and, fueled by Dave who watched on with a large sense of amusing, although he exhibited public outrage, we got both the Wiki entry up, with assistance from Michael Netzer, and began the Dave Simons Appreciation Society on Facebook. Dave was so tickled that he began to use the term 'Inherently Notable' in everything that he did, although he'd not admit it.


In my last interview with Dave I asked him what his perfect comic book would have looked like. His reply, "Conan The Barbarian. Figures by John Buscema, backgrounds by Barry Smith, costumes by Steranko and the whole thing inked by Wally Wood. Written by Roy Thomas, of course. Wouldn't that have been great?" Like anything that Dave did the answer was yes...

I'll miss Dave...I'll miss his laughter, his joy, his light and his sheer energy. Nothing got Dave down, even at his lowest moments he never showed it. And I know, I spoke to him at his lowest moments.

As time passes and arrangements are made, details will be posted on this blog. In the meantime, if you have a message that you'd like passed on to Dave's family, or a memory, or a tribute that you'd like to make public then feel free to email me and I'll be sure to get it into the right hands.

For now I'll leave the last words to a person who knew and worked with Dave since the 1970s. Says Gene Colan, "Dave was a young man full of life. I was on the phone with him the night before last. His voice was very weak and he mentioned he might go down to Tennessee and be with his Sister. I strongly encouraged him.

"In all the decades I've known Dave and worked with him, he never complained once. Never...about anything. Even with last year's diagnosis, he remained spirited and helpful to his fellow artists, me among them! Adrienne and I loved Dave's art. He had a thorough understanding of pen and ink. There was a joy in his art that beautifully transferred to the board.

"We're very very sad and will miss Dave deeply. I need to believe in Heaven. Perhaps we get all the art assignments we want, with no deadlines and anything we decide to draw is received with joy and celebration. A 'bullpen' where all we do is clown around and draw what we want. I think Dave would love that!"

25th August, 1967, 4:28pm

This post will be absolutely no interest to anyone unless they've got even a remote interest in me and when I was born, which narrows the audience down to a handful. In fact I expect I could count that audience on one hand with several fingers left over.

Over the past few years I've been buying a pile of these TV Guides, mainly because they can fetch handsome sums on the collectors market. The past few hundred that I've bought all come from the same collection and span the years from 1961 through to around 1991. Great collection, and, to be totally honest, I've made quite a few dollars from them. Still I've been seeking the one issue that we all look for - the magazine that comes from the date of your birth.

This weekend I hit pay dirt. In the collection that I recently bought I found an issue that has the date of my birth - 25th of August, 1967. Finally I can see what was on TV at the moment of my birth, and what was on that day in general. A quick phone call to my mother gave me the essential information - I was born at 4:28pm, which means the TV was on, but, as I was born in a hospital in a fairly poor suburb, I expect that televisions were more of a luxury for the rich than a bonus for the poor in 1967. In fact I can't recall us having a television until the early 1970s - my own personal memory bank (which, as I've demonstrated to my own family, is bloody impressive) tells me that we watched the moon landings in 1969 at a neighbours house, in glorious black and white - and yes, my memories go back that far, and further.

The front of the TV Guide has none other than the Monkees! Gawd, why couldn't it have been the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. But when you consider that other issues of the same era have people like Anne Wills or Roger Cardwell on the covers, well it could be far, far worse.

So what was on? My mother insists that she wasn't watching any television that evening and that's her loss. I doubt I was up for watching anything either, but at the exact moment of my birth the following choices were available in Adelaide:

CHANNEL 2 - The Forest Rangers - 'Survival'. Dating from 1963 (progressive TV back then) this show had already been cancelled in it's native Canada for around two years. This episode was the 34th in series one. Never seen this show at all.

CHANNEL 7 - Mickey Mouse Club. I have no idea what was showing, or what era of the Mouse Club was represented. I can recall the Mouse Club and I remember I wasn't overly impressed. I always preferred Warner Brothers over Mickey Mouse, and I always thought that Heckle & Jeckle, when they were at their most violent, would be able to wipe out Duckburg on their own.

CHANNEL 9 - The Channel Niners with The Three Stooges. Now we're making sense. The Stooges!! I remember watching the Stooges in the early mornings. My mother would sit me in front of the radiation emitting tube and let it babysit me with the Stooges and I Love Lucy. It never affected me, surely. Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk...

CHANNEL 10 - Cartoon Club. Again, I have no idea what would have been shown here. Bugs Bunny was on Channel 9, which means that they had all the good cartoons. Channel 10 would have had the crap that was left over, although they did have the broadcast rights to Top Cat, a show which I later identifed with crime, drug use, bullying and a general disregard for authority. Oh, and it being a template for Hogan's Heroes.

Looking at the book I just missed out on watching Kimba The White Lion - a show I used to watch religiously as Kimba The White Lion was the one and Father Knows Best. I could live with that, but look! I popped out in time to watch a classic Dr Who - 'The Highlanders, Part I'. The first part of a four part story starring the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. This was a fairly fresh episode and is now lost to time. Just imagine, if only my wee brain was able to digest, I could say I saw it. In a way I can still say I did - after all I was born just in time...

Trevor Von Eeden.com Is Now LIVE

It's now official. After months of hard work and preparation the official web-site for artist/writer Trevor Von Eeden is now LIVE!! On the site you'll find previously unseen art, a massive section devoted to the genesis of Black Lightning, scripts, pencil art and much, much more. Trevor has also supplied a lot of behind the scenes material in the form of memories and more, so visit and keep going back - more will be going up all the time.

Horwitz Strange Tales #6: Bramley vs Kirby

I was very, very happy to get this one in the mail this morning. This is issue #6 of the Horwitz series, Strange Tales and the book is virtually a straight reprint of Journey Into Mystery #88.

The best part about this comic is the cover - but then I believe that the Maurice Bramley covers are always the best things about the Horwitz books and this is no exception. The cover itself is not so much a Bramley swipe, but an adaption of the original splash page as drawn by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. The key, as it is with virtually all of Bramley's covers, is in the detail. You could argue, and probably quite successfully, that Kirby's original art is very dynamic, but it does lack the sheer detail that Bramley managed to insert into his cover - and if you think I'm joking then check out the detail, even down to the boots.

The one aspect that does let Bramley down is the static pose that he's placed Thor in. His Loki works far better but this is still a splendid cover from an artist who is largely overlooked in this day and age. Check out the planets in the background. Bramley having a bit of a fun with the readers here.

STRANGE TALES #6
Horwitz
Published circa 1963

Contents: The Vengeance Of Loki by Stan Lee; Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers (Journey Into Mystery #88)
Behind Locked Doors by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko (Journey Into Mystery #88)
Long Live The Queen by Stan Lee & Don Heck (Journey Into Mystery #88)
Pirates by Maurice Bramley (1page, Australian original)