Blue Moon Blog

I recently received my copies of the Fractured Fables anthology published by Jim Valentino at Image/Silverline Books. My contribution with Len Strazewski (script) and my wife, Mary (fellow colorist) is a twist on Washington Irving’s Rip van Winkle called Pippi van Wrinkles. I’m very pleased by the printing and presentation, as well as the company we’re in. It was reviewed very favorably in the Washington Times, as well as at Ain’t It Cool News, so check out those if you need convincing.

Fractured Fables cover by Mike and Laura Allred

The artist skimming through the book

Pippi Van Wrinkles, page 1

The book is currently available in comic shops and on Amazon, and in fine bookstores everywhere in October.

I had a lotta hot fun at the Minneapolis Indie Xpo, doing sketches, chatting with fans, friends and fellow artists, and selling lotsa comics, minis, books, buttons and marbles. I expected the crowd to be 20-something hipsters, of which there were plenty, but a lotta families showed up, too, so it was a good cross section and MIX of people.

A view from near my table of one of the three rooms/areas of the show. This was taken in the morning as the show began. A short time later and most of the rest of the day, these rooms were pretty packed.

It was a hot and humid day, and the small fan I brought along was little comfort, but somehow I did a buncha sketches, even if my sweaty arm occasionally stuck to the paper:

A quick Hellboy drawing I did in a collector’s sketchbook.

I know, I’m weird. Big fan of spatulas. Never took any drugs, ladies and gentleman!

Many kids, parents and grandparents were drawn to my Night of the Bedbugs book, ABC minis, buttons and juggling beanbags, which was nice to see. A lotta new Bedbugs fans were made at this show, who I hope will follow up and LIKE the Bedbugs Facebook page or visit the bedbugsmania.com web site for games, vids and more.

Taking a break from doing a Micronauts’ Baron Karza sketch for a photo by new acquaintance, and MCAD Artist in Residence, Jim Keefe.

Special thanks to MIX organizers Sarah Morean and Andy Krueger for doing a fine job kicking off this event. I’m already looking forward to next year.

I’ve long been a fan of Don Simpson’s Megaton Man, indeed since his debut in 1984. So I was pleased as punch when he and newly appointed President of the CBLDF (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund), Larry Marder asked me to color a four-page story Don had done for the upcoming annual issue of Liberty Comics.

Don considers himself retired from the comic book scene, focusing on teaching and working towards his MA in history of art and architecture and PhD. Still, when called upon to raise funds and defend the First Amendment, Don rose to the challenge and hasn’t missed a beat. Indeed, not only is this piece his first and longest in years, it’s also his best. It’s like he never took the time off. So it was a pleasure for my wife, Mary and I to color away on his array of Bizarre Heroes, and contribute to the cause ourselves.

Here’s a sneak peek panel from one of many great stories by big name creators:

This panel also features fan faves Yarn Man, Rubber Brother and X-Ray Boy.

CBLDF Liberty Annual 2010, edited by Larry Marder with stories from various creators and covers by Jim Lee and Darick Robertson, arrives in stores on October 6, 2010 for $4.99.

Browsing again through pages this week of Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book, I came across this quote from Toth:

“About original comic book/strip/black and white line art - young or old at examining/enjoy sleuthing-out which lines/dots/jiggles/splats/blobs/streaks/smears/nicks/scrapes/ were accidents - and which were intentional bits of genius-business, done so casually, tho, creating such unique effects, touches - of course we read all kinds of significance into every jot and tittle to express deep worshipful “in-tune-ship” with our pet artist-heroes’ art - wrongfully, too, mostly - we fans, of all ages and experience and exposure, are guilty of that sin!”

Well, as I’ve been challenged recently on that very point in regards to Toth’s work, and having to plead guilty per Alex’s charge, I hope I’ll be forgiven if I still indulge in that very pursuit each week at this blog. I just can’t help it. Toth’s work just “does it” for me more than any other and I’ll continue to pour over his jots, lines and dots. That said, I’ll try to be as discerning as possible, and have a post or two planned to poke at some of Toth’s weaknesses (far be it from me, but there you go).

In the meantime, let’s Sleuth-Out!

Starting in 1962, Alex Toth began working in the field of animation with the semi-animated Space Angel. He then began a long stint with Hanna-Barbera Studios, doing character creation and design and storyboards on shows such as Super Friends, The Herculoids, and Birdman. But perhaps he’s best known for the creation and design of the Space Ghost show and characters.

Toth’s design for the character are strong, sleek and simple. It looks like he drew these straight with a  marker, fully formed, like they were traced directly from his brain. This first crack isn’t the Ghost we all came to know, but most of the elements are there already:

Wisely, he simplified the design further, adding the black hood which gives his face/head a dark, mysterious look, while he drops the gloves, boots and tights, leaving the rest of his costume largely white which conveys ghost. I love the triangle chest logo, and that Toth moved the power ray buttons from the belt to metal sleeves - it looks better and is more functional for the character when in action.

And these various head shots show how Toth thought through how the hero would look from any angle, still keeping things as simple as possible for animation. Unfortunately, even though it was one of the best animated TV shows at the time, animators usually didn’t follow Toth model sheets closely enough, placing his eyes too high on his head.

The rest of the team is rounded out by teen sidekicks Jan and Jace, as the always fun Blip - loved that little monkey when I was a kid!

Though the show was among the best of its time, the cartoons and villains are kinda silly viewing them now years later, but it was a show designed for kids, after all! Here’s the weekly intro:

Many of the full cartoon episodes can be found at YouTube, so give ‘em a look-see.

I was pleased to discover a few years ago that Toth had drawn at least one Space Ghost comic book story, all five pages of which I present below. I cleaned up and tweaked the images as best I could.

Mark Evanier’s title is a play on Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, which doesn’t have anything to do with the story, really. Funny that while the character is named “Pilgreem” throughout the story, letter by Toth, presumably, whoever lettered the title misspelled it as “Pilgreen.” LOL!

I love the design and set-up of the splash panel. Jan never looked curvier than in the 1st panel on page 3. There’s a gorgeous sweep and flow to the last three panels of page 3, and the first three of page 4. And it’d be great to see the black and white art of the final panel of that same page to better check out the sexy lady alien feeding Buzzard grapes.

All in all a light and fun little trifle, and great to see Toth handle these characters in print.

Next week: The Many Moods of Toth, a gallery of faces and expressions.

Update - 8/27/10: I enlarged the 5-page Space Ghost story better viewing and reading.

As I mentioned in my first post of this series on the art of Alex Toth, he worked in a variety of styles and genre. He handled adventure, romance, war, superhero, horror and humorous material, among other types. And whether he was drawing something more realistic or exaggerated, rough or cartoony, he handled it all following the same premise of keeping things simple; using only the lines that are essential. All else is superfluous.

Towards that end, he doodled in sketchbooks and on scads of letter-sized sheets, with no penciling, directly with a marker, just so he would edit himself and force himself to think while he drew, before and as he lay down lines.

The cartoon strip below is an excellent example. The drawing in this strip couldn’t be more simple and stripped-down. And with the easy give-and-take between this bird and “egg” and choice of three punchlines, it’d be easy to dismiss as inconsequential and a trifle. But it takes a lifetime of drawing and the instincts of a master to design the bird as he has, and to convey so much with so little in the body language.

It’s astounding, really, how he chooses and puts down these lines, obviously having seen them in his head before he put marker to paper. Notice as well where he does not connect lines to convey movement and depth, how he creates a rhythm within this short piece ans the egg/ball bounces and sticks to and fro, and as the bird observes it go here and there.

I scanned this cartoon from the now fairly rare 1995 book published by Kitchen Sink Press. More Toth doodles can be found in the superb book from 2006, Dear John, The Alex Toth Doodle Book, published by Octopus Press.

Next week: More cartoony Toth, from a slightly different angle.

I’m working on some new material for an old project with cartoonist and Megaton Man creator, Don Simpson. More news about that sooner than later.

This morn he surprised me by sending some drawings I did of Megs for him as a gift now over twenty years ago…

They’re not bad, and kinda fun to see after all these years, even if they don’t do justice to Don’s take on his own character. Though he’s not drawing comics on a regular basis, he has a couple things in the works, so keep an eye out. I’ll update here.

1980, Alex Toth did a series of pin-up/poster illustrations for the interior pages of presumably The Savage Sword of Conan magazine. For all of these he used a black & white tonal wash technique which served the material and Toth well, and suited the magazine. All are strong pieces, though I’ve a favorite.

This first, above, shows Conan coolly walking the gauntlet of a complex slash of angled swords in the foreground. In the background, throws the two other characters and drapery in semi-shadow, adorned by interesting dress and decoration. The secondary figures are prominent and backlit, but de-emphasized by the mid-tone wash and cropping. The curves of the stone and drapery lead the viewer’s eye into the picture and towards Conan, as does the criss-cross of swords. Despite the complexity of the composition, the eye is drawn to Conan’s face, by high contrast, the sword behind his head, and the dark strap across his upper body. Beautiful piece.

This second is the weakest of the five, but I still like it for the use of negative space and shapes, and weird, large-toothed egghead creatures.

The third (above) is bathed more in shadow, a strong action shot, made all the moreso by Toth use of cropping and angles. Conan’s enemy has the upper hand and leverage in the struggle, leaning in on the barbarian, and ready to strike, as we can see from his sword in hand on the upper right. Both faces of the primary characters are obscured, so we focus more on their violent battle. Conan has dropped his sword, creating a strong parallel angle with figures, and though he’s at a disadvantage, we feel his evident strength will see him through.

Like the second piece, we don’t see the attackers, but rather their weapons. The dry-brushed slashes above indicate a fire below, creating a dramatic underlighting with which Toth emphasizes the weight of the stone and Conan’s strength, which also throws a shadow across Conan’s face, making him once again the center of interest. He’s peppered from below by pesky arrows, which zing through the foreground, mid- and background, even over the title Toth has place atop, creating graphic depth throughout the piece. Toth uses some well-placed negative areas: on the lower left, to show the debris and where the stone is headed; and just below his hand, so we see clearly how Conan is lifting the large rock.

This last is perhaps my favorite, as Toth has created a clever quilt of black and white shapes with the weird giant jury and their dark hoods. Their faces are left a stark white with a minimal use of unvarying line for their features, while Conan is set apart, modeled and toned with a grey wash.

With each piece, Toth set himself a graphic and compositional challenge, approaching the material in a way no one else would. These are fine examples to show what made him such a unique comic book artist and illustrator.

Next week: Cartoony Toth.

For the entry this week, I’ve chosen two panels from Mask of the Red Fox (House of Mystery #187, DC Comics, 1970).

I love especially the first of the two, the composition asymmetrical and off balance, showing us those black & white birches in the foreground from where the fox emerged. This panel is colored well, with just a tiny bit of warm an cool colors on the trees so the contrast isn’t too extreme and they don’t draw too much attention. The simple outline of the leaning fox gives the frame motion, and the spot of orange surrounded by yellow and green pops the fox, the center of interest.

In panel two, the red fox is in the foreground this time, and in silhouette, coming out of the tall grass. I darkened the castle slightly with a violet to help it pop (it was colored a blue not dissimilar from the sky). These are just a couple nice panels from a boldly rendered story, which you can read with Toth’s annotations at the link above, as usual at the wonderful Toth Fans site. Unfortunately, it looks like the image links for pages 4 & 5 are broken, which contain the panels featured here.

Just for grins, I tried my best to blow out the color from these two frames, just to get an idea of Toth’s black & white original art.

Bonus:

A link to an insightful analysis of a Toth drawing by David Apatoff at his superb Illustration Art blog.

More Toth next Tuesday!

This week’s focus on Toth features a story as far as I know has never seen print. Apparently done for the American Forces Press Service, as stated in the editor’s note atop page one. I’m posting the entire eight-page story in sequence, which features a smokin’ Jimi Hendrix-type character acting as troubadour narrator. I’ll highlight and comment on favorite panels below following the story.

Now, that’s not a story that breaks new ground, or is a complete original, but it rings true, does the job for the intended audience, and within it, Toth displays typical moments of brilliance. It’s drawn with bold line and spotted blacks, and thought it may seem too simple to some, the drawing is all there, and Toth conveys everything he needs to.

For all his penchant to crop and focus on certain actions and items, he never forgets to establish the characters and place. In this shot, he brings a lot of humor and individuality to this character. With a few comics devices like the “Mail Call” box, sound effect, icons and thought balloon, he tells us a lot about this guy.

Ah, remember the days when we used to look forward to and receive letters via “snail mail?” I’m all for new technology and modes of communication, nearly addicted to blogs, email and social sites, but gosh, I miss the days of sending and receiving an old-fashioned postcard or letter.

In the panel below, I love the natural pose and body language of this superior. It tells us though he’s taking care of his business, he’s fairly casual about this situation, even as it may seem or be of dire consequence to the main character.

And then in these two panels, once characters and conflicts are made evident, Toth pulls his neat trick of cropping out those very characters to focus instead, sometimes in extreme close-up the objects most at hand. Superlative storytelling.

You can see what I mean here in the next four panel sequence, where he gives us two panels that are essentially “talking heads,” but without them, in the next two following panels we’d be pretty lost. In those frames, he again crops in tight to give us great detail on the process of accessing the worth of the stones/diamonds.

And in a near-final frame, Al salvages a little something for himself, while getting a little satisfaction in taking his crude chum, again Toth having no problem cropping both character to go close up on the ring. Nice stuff.

The editor’s note makes mention that this story was to appear in print sometime in a Toth collection, but I’ve never seen it anywhere but online. Fortunately, the scans are great. I’m not sure when this story was drawn, but I’d guess the late ’70s-early ’80s, given the style and content. Anyone know more, comment and clue me in, thanks.

More Toth next week!