Michael Netzer's Adventures of Unemployed Man

Michael Netzer has finally returned to comic book art in a big way. Hot on the heels of his stunning Green Hornet cover art comes his latest project: The Adventures Of Unemployed Man.  It's been a while between drinks for Mike, and his return to sequential art is very welcome and long overdue.

The official blurb states:

An 80-page, full-color superhero comic satire from New York Times bestselling authors Origen & Golan (Goodnight Bush), In this hilarious and poignant book, Unemployed Man finds a new sidekick, Plan B, and teams up with other everyday heroes to fight The Human Resource, Outsourcerer, The Invisible Hand and other economic villains ripped straight from today’s headlines.
THE ADVENTURES OF UNEMPLOYED MAN features art by Ramona Fradon, Rick Veitch, Michael Netzer, Josef Rubinstein and Terry Beatty.

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On his blog Mike has this to say about the project. "Origen and Golan deliver a riveting, hilarious and moving satire on the economic malaise of our time. The book is a brilliant comics rendition by Ramona Fradon (two of its four chapters), Rick Veitch (one chapter), and myself drawing the last chapter along with a few additional pages in the others. Joe Rubinstein and Terry Beatty share the inking chores. The art morphs in style from Golden Age in the beginning towards a more Silver Age look leading to the triumphant victory of Unemployed Man and the Just Great Society over the evil economic menace. The story is both sad and funny at once. A brilliant satire in exquisite comics iconography, of how the world economy has become of the greatest oppressors of our time."  Check Mike's blog for a preview of the first seven pages of art.  It's worth it.

Personally I can't wait for this one.  In  this day and age of event driven, multi-issue cross overs drawn by people who, at times, appear to have not the first clue as to the basics of anatomy, a comic drawn by Rick Veitch, Josef Rubinstein, Terry Beatty, Ramon Fradon and Michael Netzer is a, dare I say it, Godsend.  And if you think I'm joking, check out this preview of Michael's art, via the man himself.  Feel free to click and enlarge it, and play spot the superhero.  The order the book and make it a killer!

Mind you I could easily write issues of this book, just going on the people I've encountered in my time working with people who thought that a job should just be handed to them, instead of actually looking for work. But that's another story.

More Movie Posters

I know it was called The Longest Yard when it was released in the USA, but I saw this at the cinema under this title, The Mean Machine.  As we all know there were two remakes, an Adam Sandler copy and one that was pretty much put together by Vinnie Jones.  Personally I like the Vinnie Jones effort more than the Sandler version.  Somewhere I think I have a poster for the Vinnie Jones remake.

The above poster is the original Australian full sized movie poster, which, I'm told, is a hard item to find these days in any decent condition.  I scored that poster, and the one below, at a Sunday market recently for a small fee - I shan't tell you how much as I know people will curse, cry and gnash teeth.  Suffice to say I'd love to get it framed and on the wall, but for some reason, the better half has no desire to look at Burt and his hairy chest.  Oh well.

I can't recall ever seeing Prophecy, so any information on that puppy would be appreciated.  A horror movie directed by John Frankenheimer...a curious object indeed.

Klaus Janson Talks Rich Buckler

I was recently asked in an email about the latest entry in Rich Buckler's life story in relation to Klaus Janson's first job.  Now Klaus is one of those guys who, it would almost seem, has been around forever, so I guess the idea that he started somewhere was a bit alien.  Klaus is most famous for inking Frank Miller on both Daredevil and the first Dark Knight series, The Dark Knight Returns and has become a mainstay of the comic book industry, and rightly so.  Klaus is one of those rare beasts who can pencil as well as he can ink, and he colours as good as anyone else to boot.   But before any of those jobs Klaus did some excellent work over Rich's pencils in both Deathlock and Black Panther. 

In late 1988 Klaus was interviewed by Andy Mangles for the now long defunct Amazing Heroes magazine, issue #155.  Naturally Andy asked Klaus how he started out in comics, and where he got his first real break.  Klaus responded as follows:

AH: Did you get any artistic training or did you just keep practicing?
JANSON: No formal training, which I don’t think is a good idea if anybody thinks that. It’s not. I think schooling is really important, but I had no formal schooling. The only art training I really had was when I met Dick Giordano when I was about I6. I apprenticed with him for a little while, and he kind of gave me tips and taught me things not to do. He kind of took me under his wing for a while. I was doing backgrounds for him for some of his non-comic book work. I did one story for him when I was still living at home. It was a Batman story that Bob Brown had pencilled. After I moved to New York at 2l, I did some more backgrounds for him. I did some Conan stuff and the Dr: Strange he did with Frank Brunner. I did all the backgrounds to those. That’s really it in terms of formal training. I also did backgrounds for Mike Esposito and Frank Giacoia, who were up at the Marvel Bullpen at the time. I was just kind of hanging out really, trying to pick up work where I could.
AH: When did you start being recognized as ‘Klaus Janson the artist’ or ‘Klaus Janson the inker’, as opposed to ‘Dick’s assistant’ or ‘the background inker’?
JANSON: Well, pretty early on. I didn’t establish that' strong a reputation as Dick’s assistant. He was also using, you know, a hundred other people besides me. But the first job l did was the Black Panther over Rich Buckler, and I don’t know to what degree people recognized my work. It was about when I was 21. I broke away and moved to New York and started doing -work on my own. As a matter of fact, I think I had the Black Panther account before I moved to New York, and I think that’s why I moved. It was the promise of steady income. I remember having come up to Marvel and DC for two summers in a row, taking my portfolio around. Both companies had rejected me, and very soundly I might add. Deservedly so, I think. Those were great times though. You know, coming into New York from Connecticut and going to the comic companies and meeting people. I used to sit out in Bryant Park - which is now a drug park on 42nd Street - and I’d look over the Xeroxes of the Gil Kane or Sal Buscema samples they gave me so I could ink them over vellum. I would get home and it would be like eight o'clock at night, and I would eat diner and work for a couple of hours, and then work the next day. Then I’d come in the day after with the finished samples and be rejected! Then I’d go back to Bryant Park looking at the new samples that they gave me. I was full of youthful enthusiasm. I loved the city and that great sense of adventure one has when you’re 20. Rejected by everybody? No problem! This went on for two summers in a now. I was eventually doing production work for Marvel. Sol Brodsky had hired me to do some homework on the old black-and-white stories they had lying around that they were reprinting as some of their monster books. It was awful work, totally awful, but I loved that period. Rich Buckler had seen my portfolio and was looking for an inker. He asked me if I was interested in working on the Black Panther, and of course I said yes! That’s really how I got my first work on my own.
AH: That was in about '73 or 74?
JANSON: Yeah, about that time.
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If you want to read the rest of that interview, then I suggest that you track down a copy of Amazing Heroes #155.  It's a cracking read, as are most of the issues of that magazine.  Certainly it was titles such as Amazing Heroes and Comics Interview that made me want to do what I currently do, so get it and get inspired.

Original Art Stories: Norm Breyfogle's 1990 Robin Redesign

Two years before Norm Breyfogle was tapped to redesign Batman, he was also approached, along with a number of other artists, to redesign Robin.  The main reason behind this was the continuing interest in Batman, and the elimination of the second Robin, Jason Todd, and the introduction of a new Robin, Tim Drake.

"These Robin costume designs constitute the full and complete presentation given by me to DC Comics in 1990 when I was asked - along with a number of other artists - to re-design Robin's costume for the new Tim Drake Robin that Alan Grant and I and others introduced in Batman and Detective Comics," says Norm.  "The winning costume was one designed by Neal Adams, but the new Robin's "R" symbol was influenced by the "R" symbol I designed in this presentation, and the fact that the new Robin carried a staff was also my idea, as evidenced by these pages."

 Officially DC credited Neal Adams with the re-design, but, as you can see here, a lot of what Norm proposed was later adapted into the costume, but you'd not know that if you read the official historys of Batman and Robin as issued by DC Comics.  Indeed, in the Batman Vault, Norm and Alan Grant are reduced to two cover images and a minor section of text, while Jim Lee is featured so heavily that one would easily wonder if Lee has been drawing the character since conception.  Sadly, DC are still keeping up their current blacklist, despite the change in regimes.  Hopefully that might change, but I'd not hold my breath if I was you.

Until then, allow me to present to you, Robin, by Norm Breyfogle.

ROBIN CONCEPT STATEMENT BY NORM BREYFOGLE

GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS FOR CHANGING ROBIN’S COSTUME

Robin must be modernized to look tough, darker, resourceful, handsome. lf Batman is to have a kid sidekick, he must convincingly fit into the Dark Knight’s gritty, dangerous world. lt’s impossible to blend the original Robin costume into the film noir of the recent Batman movie.

How can Robin, a kid, battle adults? Some kind of armor and maybe even a compensatory weapon seems inevitable. ln fact, for Robin to work at all, Batman must go out of his way to protect him, keep him out of dangerous situations, use him for messenger work only, etc. In the recent movie. Batman wears body armor. Robin could, too.

I realized early that too great a change in design was unnecessary and confusing. Therefore. I labored to retain as much of the original elements that worked while changing those that did not work.

PROBLEMS WITH EXISTING ROBIN COSTUME
1: Too bright; Robin is living target; yellow cape with yellow collar is main problem.
2: Bare legs are impractical; looks almost effeminate.
3: Robin is a kid! Why does Batman put him in danger? Costume should be more protective.

STRENGTHS WITH EXISTING ROBIN COSTUME [THINGS TO KEEP]
1: Emotive contrast to Dark Knight: Robin “lightens up” Batman; costume needs to be a little lighter than Batman’s.
2: Robin appears more “human" than Batman. Robin is Batman’s messenger and contact to more mundane situations, thus he must be less ‘fantastic".
3: Robin’s inspiration was a cross between “Robin red-breast" and “Robin Hood” (with emphasis on latter). These inspirations should be reinforced. Robin should be instantly recognized even in new costume.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS TO ORIGINAL COSTUME PROBLEMS
1: Change cape (or new jacket) to dark green.
2: Legs wear dark tights.
3: Chain mail or bullet-proof vest (deflects at least low caliber bullets). Staff and slingshot make him more a match for adults.

Norm Breyfogle/Robin costume design.  February, 1990

Al Bigley's Big Glee!

I generally don't bother pimping for other people's blogs unless I actually read their content and enjoy it.  That's a good thing in the case of Al Bigley's blog, Big Glee.

Big Glee is a blog with a bit of a difference, as Al says, "Helmed by comics artist Al Bigley (GEMINAR, AVENGERS WEST COAST, BATMAN ANIMATED, ARCHIE, SONIC), this site will not only re-visit Silver and Bronze Age comics oddities, but also look back at Al's artwork from his childhood, in a humorous, lighthearted way!"  And there lies your difference.  Al is one of the most self-depreciating artists I've ever met, along with being one of the more talented.  Al isn't above showcasing art from when he was a child, and also when he was just breaking into the industry, and letting it run as is.  He'll freely point out what he sees as being sub-standard, but he's also happy to take the praise.

If you've some time on your hands then pop over to Big Glee and have a poke about.  Al has packed the blog with scans of memorabillia, magazine articles and, of course, vintage original art that he's found all over the place, usually alongside the published version.  He also offers his own commentary on the artists and how they've influenced him.  I like Al, and I like his blog, and you could do worse than to peek.

Plus the bugger seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the original Pre-Fab Four, The Monkees.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Al Milgrom’s connection to “Iron Man”

Via the Ann Arbor online newspaper - I felt it was worth repeating as a great example of Marvel doing the right thing by a former employee and without the fanfare that usually surrounds such actions.  Now, perhaps they can do the same for the Kirby estate and either settle or officially award Jack Kirby with co-creator status on the work that he did for them.  As the estate have gone for legal action and are attempting to claim the lot, well, I shan't hold my breath.  Still, combined with seeing the names of a lot of people in the credits or Iron Man II, including the Romitas, Gene Colan, John Byrne and Bob Layton amongst them, along with the credit, "Based on the Marvel Comic by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby", there's hope that Marvel might be finally developing a conscience.
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Allen Milgrom, a freelance artist whose artwork has been featured prominently in the pages of Marvel Comics — particularly the various “Spider-Man” titles, “Incredible Hulk,” “Captain America,” and “Captain Marvel,” to name a few — made a significant contribution to the “Iron Man” mythos but didn’t know it until recently.

The artist received a royalty check and a release form from Marvel several months ago in regard to the character, Iron Monger, the armored villain who appeared in the 2008 blockbuster, “Iron Man.” Oscar winner Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”) played the Iron Monger and his alter ego, Obadiah Stane, while Oscar nominee Robert Downey, Jr. (“Chaplin”) played the titular character (and his alter ego, Tony Stark), a role he reprises in the sequel, “Iron Man 2,” which premieres Friday.

“I thought, ‘The Iron Monger? Who the hell is that?’ I went and looked up the Iron Monger character and recognized it then,” explained Milgrom, 60, of East Hills, NY. A 1972 alumnus of the University of Michigan, Milgrom and fellow Wolverine Cathy Guisewite, creator/cartoonist of the syndicated, award-winning “Cathy” comic strip, were classmates.  It was in the early/mid-1980s that Milgrom was doodling a new suit of Iron Man armor for his own amusement.

“I thought Iron Man’s armor should be modernized. I did it of my own recognizance. I wanted him to look a little more tank-like, something more formidable-looking than skintight armor,” recalled Milgrom. “I did it as a lark and showed it to Jim (Shooter, Marvel’s editor-in-chief at the time), who held on to it.”

According to Milgrom, his design wasn’t used for future armor upgrades for Iron Man, but was instead used for one of the character’s deadliest enemies, the Iron Monger. The Iron Monger debuted in 1985’s “Iron Man” No. 200, where Tony Stark became Iron Man again and battled Obadiah Stane, who bought Stark’s munitions company out from under him, driving Stark to drinking. Stark became an alcoholic and turned the mantle of Iron Man over to his friend Jim Rhodes (played by Terrence Howard of “Crash” fame in the first film and Oscar nominee Don Cheadle of “Hotel Rwanda” fame in “Iron Man 2”).

Stane later hurt Rhodes and captured many of Stark’s closest friends, including Pepper Potts (played in both movies by Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow of “Shakespeare in Love” fame). Stark donned a new suit of armor, reclaiming the mantle as the armored super hero, and battled Stane, who became the Iron Monger. In the end, after Iron Man soundly defeated the Iron Monger, the latter committed suicide rather than being turned over to the authorities.

Ironically, Milgrom had no involvement whatsoever with that landmark issue. He did not participate in any of the art chores. However, he was acknowledged for his creation nearly 25 years later.

“(Marvel) sent me a surprisingly large check and that got me through some bills I had to pay for several months,” Milgrom said, laughing. “I may see more money from that character, which was basically something I did on a lark.”

Milgrom’s experience with “Iron Man” doesn’t stop there. He drew the character in “The Avengers” — a team of super-heroes Iron Man co-founded that consists prominently of Captain America, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and Thor, among other Marvel characters — and “West Coast Avengers,” an “Avengers” spin-off series.

“In the group books, we couldn’t do anything too earth-shattering to Iron Man because we had to leave him untainted for his own book,” he said. However, that’s not to say that what happened in the “Iron Man” title didn’t reverberate in the “Avengers,” such as his problems with alcohol, in an effort on Marvel’s part to keep continuity between its titles.

Milgrom also drew “Secret Wars II,” a mini-series in which he drew both Stark and Rhodes as Iron Man. He also served as inker on the “Iron Man” monthly series for a three-issue stint in 1989, where fellow U-M alumnus Dwayne McDuffie served as writer.

“I was just the inker, so I wasn’t really involved in the plot,” he said. “I was never heavily involved with Iron Man, which is ironic, considering that they used a character I designed for the movie.”

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does Whatever A Comic Book Store Owner Can

He says he only did it so he could get mentioned on this blog, but, frankly, I don't believe him.  The one day I miss Free Comic Book Day at the Adelaide Comic Centre and it all kicks off.  First thing in the morning a fairly well known thief around town (indeed I have reason to believe that he knocked a few books off from me at a record fair here a while back) skulked into the store, shoved people aside and promptly knocked a fairly expensive book off (for those who keep track, it was the Astonishing X-Men Omnibus, a $130 volume here, thanks to the exchange rate and postage costs).  My good pal, and store co-owner, Michael Baulderstone (that's him on the right - he looks like a hippy but he's a tough nut), went into action and caught the silly old fart, but even Michael didn't expect it to go as viral as it has.  From newspapers and on-line sites as far away as the BBC, through to Pearl Jam forums, through to being parodied in the Advertiser, through to the utterly hilarious scenes of Mikey bouncing about like a dickhead on the local news networks, it's all there.

Here's how The Advertiser wrote it up, on page three of the fish wrapper no less!

Spiderman traps thief - for real
IT sounds like a comic book plot - Spiderman foils a would-be thief as Star Wars Jedi Knights block the escape route and superhero The Flash looks on.

But this was the scene played out in a city shop on Saturday, when a business owner dressed as Spiderman stopped a man shoplifting an X-Men book worth $160.

Adelaide Comics Centre owner Michael Baulderstone, 45, spotted a man "behaving suspiciously" at the back of his Rundle Mall store, before discovering he had put the valuable book in his backpack.

"We had about 40 people dressed up as their favourite superheroes to celebrate International Free Comic Day, so he didn't have much of a choice but to hand the X-Men Omnibus back after a little bit of a scuffle," he said.

"I've had a look at the security footage and it shows Spiderman running down the corridor of the shop, grabbing this guy, hauling him off.

"Everyone in the store thought it was a play, that it was street theatre of some sort. It wasn't until I said `call the police' that people started to realise."

Police confirmed they attended the comic book shop just before 10am and are continuing their investigation into the incident.

"One of the funniest things about the incident was that I called for people to stand near the door and it just so happened we had people dressed as Jedi Knights there blocking the exit, the Flash was there at some point too," Mr Baulderstone said.

"It was a bit serious at the time, but now we're looking back laughing at what greeted police."
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Right now Mike is fielding calls from all over the world.  The BBC World Service, the New York Times, The Pakistani Newspaper, the Kyvi Post - they all want a bit of the lads. Last I heard Joe Quesada was in contact with Mike, and notorious public thumbsucker Peter, with the view of the guys writing a series about the REAL exploits of Spider-Man.

But seriously, I had to chuckle, really I did, and it's good that the dirtbag in question has finally been nabbed once and for all, and I hope that he gets a lovely fine and banned from shops around the state.  But I'm more annoyed that I missed out on it all.  After dressing up like a fool for the past three years, the one time I miss it, it all kicks off.

Now, if you want an autographed photo of Mike as Spider-Man, then feel free to drop me a line and I'll arrange it for you.

Take a bow, Michael Baulderstone, the real life hero in a baggy Spider-Man costume!!  Welcome to your own personal Warhol Time!

Gene Colan Update: Gene Colan Exclusive Interview - Gene Speaks

As anyone in the comic book industry now knows, Gene Colan had a fall a few weeks back and suffered a serious injury. The injury was enough to place him in hospital, where he’s been for the past month and a bit. At the same time as Gene was taken into hospital, art was reported as having gone missing from his home studio and Gene assigned his children as his representatives and Clifford Meth as his official spokesperson. During the same time people went silent and answers weren’t forthcoming. Now all of that added up to people speculating as to what happened, with the result being a lot of false information, rumours, innuendo and outright lies being bandied about the internet. Just so everyone is clear, Gene injured himself at home and his injuries were not related to any art that went missing – in short Gene was not mugged, nor was he attacked and robbed.

In order to get some information out to the general public Clifford Meth and Gene asked me if I could conduct short interviews with both men, with the view of dispelling a lot of the wrong information that’s currently in the public domain (you can read Cliff's interview here). To that end I phoned Gene who graciously gave me some of his time from his hospital bed. There will be a follow up interview once Gene is at home and settled in.

Until that time, this interview should answer most people’s questions; for the people who wish to know how Gene is, how his recovery is going and what his overall outlook is for the future, you’ll find the answers here. The rest, well, gossip is always just gossip. You can believe what you want, written by people who have no direct contact with Gene or Cliff, or you can believe the words coming from their own mouths.
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DANIEL BEST: How are you currently feeling?
GENE COLAN: I’m pretty good. I may go home in about a week or so. I’m getting the use of my left hand back, which was slow in coming. It’s been quite a few weeks for that to happen and I’ve been here for a good six weeks or better. I’m in a rehabilitation centre.
DB: How serious are those injuries?
GC: I would say medium serious. I just broke my shoulder, but it could have been worse, but it was a hairline fracture. I lost my balance and down I went, on my back. It could have been worse, but the doctor told me that it was fortunate that they don’t have to operate and put in a ball joint. It turns out that the hairline fracture will heal, I just have to be patient. That was all they had to say, and he was right because I can do a lot more with that hand now, I can even draw a little bit, just a little, and I’m getting my handwriting back which I couldn’t do before. So I’m doing a few things that I never did before I came here. It’s coming back, slow but sure.
DB: Has the doctor said that you’ll make a full recovery?
GC: Oh yeah. I’m fairly confident that I will. I can’t wait to get back to earning money and getting to work. I just want to start making a living again. I should be thinking more of retirement, I suppose, but I don’t even think about retiring. I need to draw, I love it, so why should I give it up.

DB: What has your reaction been to the many donations and the general outpouring of concern and affection during all of this?
GC: It makes me feel loved. Really. People don’t have to do that. I had idols too in my time and people have their idols too, and I’m talking about comic books now, and I guess I’m one of them. I’m here and I think they have a right to know that I love the attention. What can I say? It’s great attention, and it’s good to know that people care that much about you. There should be more of it in the world today and maybe we wouldn’t be in such a jam.
DB: Have you spoken to Joe Sinnott to get tips on how to recover from a shoulder injury with the view of drawing again?
GC: I know that Joe fell visiting a friend. He fell on the deck of the house and broke his shoulder. I talked to him a long time ago when he had the fall and he told me that it just takes time.
DB: Do you plan to attend any conventions in the future?
GC: I could, but it becomes more and more difficult for me and my wife to do so. She’s much younger than me, and it’s hard for her to get me to the airport, and unfortunately a lot of these places are not non-stop flights. You have to stop off somewhere and get to another gate, and walk through the terminal. Sometimes those walks are up to a mile long. But they do have carts that’ll carry you. But also when you go to these conventions you’re exposed to illness. For me, that’s where I think I caught pneumonia, at a convention, and I was in the hospital for weeks and weeks. I think I’ve spent more time in hospital than at home (laughter) and I want to get rid of that.

The last convention was going to be in Pittsburgh, an all expenses paid thing, hotels, airfares, but I couldn’t make it. I just didn’t have the energy, because I work really hard, even not, and it takes a lot of energy to do, go to conventions.

DB: What is the real story behind the missing art?
GC: I kept that artwork somewhere in my room and things got a little chaotic at home; I don’t know exactly what happened. But someone came over to the house, my wife wasn’t at home, and they wanted to clean the house for us. They started to clean the house and looked in my studio and had a look around and although things looked OK they couldn’t find the artwork. One of them was a piece for George Lucas, which he bought some time ago, it was Star Wars. The other three were equally as important to me, one was a Dracula with some of the characters in the book, another one was Blade, he’s running through a cemetery with a big knife in his hand and the last one was Luke Cage. Those were the four and I know where I kept them, so when I get out of here I’m going to look for them because I don’t think anyone really knows where I kept them, so they still might be there.

They are listed as perhaps stolen, so if anybody did steal them, because there were lots of people in my studio when I wasn’t there, they couldn’t sell them. Not with a notice like that.

DB: Who is helping you with business and so forth?
GC: Cliff. He’s excellent, he’s a wizard. Because I’ve been absent from my work he’s been trying to help me get established again. A lot of people are asking where I am and what happened to me, where my wife is and what happened to her, and all kinds of stuff. Cliff is a wonder. I’ve known him for about twenty years.
DB: How are you passing the time during the days?
GC: I didn’t have a cell phone when I came over here and I can’t make calls other than local calls. My daughter gave me a cell phone as a gift and now I can call anybody. But I watch a lot of TV. I can’t sleep at night, it’s very difficult for me to fall asleep, so I watch TV until maybe two in the morning. When I get sick of that I walk the halls and go to the nurses’ station. There’s something intriguing to me about the nurses station. When I was in the service I was sick, I got pneumonia. It was the first time I ever got pneumonia and I was put in to the hospital. The hospital was like a great big barracks loaded with other sick soldiers, lined up in beds and the only light I could see at night was in the nurses’ station. A little bulb was shining, and I’d look at that bulb and the light it would cast and I felt that all was well with the world. I felt alive, I felt watched over.

To this day I go to the nurses station here in the hospital and I sometimes talk to them if they’re on duty there and it makes me feel good.

DB: Any closing thoughts?
GC: I never thought my career would take on the proportions that it has. To me it was a job, in the beginning. I didn’t know much about art in the beginning but I was fortunate enough to get the position from Stan Lee, I knew him pretty well, and he gave me my first break, with Marvel, at that time it was called Timely. I was just proud of the fact that I could actually draw something and do a story. I didn’t really know that much about technique, but with the help of the art department, and a very fine artist by the name of Syd Shores who taught me a lot of stuff, I was being paid on the job. So it took off and the proportion that it reached just boggles the mind. I’m very fortunate in that respect. The fans have been so wonderful to me, I can’t begin to thank them enough, and it’s never enough. Such loyalty, oh my goodness, that’s hard to come by.

I appreciate it. I feel like Gary Cooper. (laughter) He was my favourite actor, which is why I brought him up. He was my idol and had I ever met him in person I think I’d have died and gone to heaven. (laughter)
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So now that you’ve read the interview, and have read Cliff’s interview as well, scoot on over to Gene’s auctions and buy some stuff. As you can see it’s no so much the medical bills that’ll need paying for, it’s the costs associated with being in hospital. As anyone knows, while you’re incapacitated you’re not able to earn any money and the bills don’t stop coming in. So any assistance is good assistance. If you have art that you have spare then feel free to donate it. Otherwise, get in there and buy some art. All of the profits go directly to Gene to assist him with his return home, and with donations coming in from the likes of Walter Simonson, Michael Moorcock and Bill Sienkiewicz, to name but three, well you know there’s going to be something there that you want.

Plus there’s plenty of art from Gene’s own files on offer, so buy directly from the man himself. Until then do spread the word about Gene and his condition, and when you see something that doesn’t look right, then feel free to point them towards this blog and this entry