“Competing with oneself, is conducive to continued learning.” I would like to take a second and salute Major Mariam Al Mansouri, F-16 fighter pilot of the UAE. This week, Major Al Mansouri led airstrikes against ISIS (or ISIL, depending on the news services). To become a pilot is a challenging enough, but to become a fighter pilot, that’s very rare. Major Al Mansouri’s dedication to her education, and her passion for her field sets an example for future generations. We need more people like Major Mariam Al Mansouri. You can read more about Major Al Mansouri here. 
Category: Inspirations
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Real life heroes
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Inspirations: UFO!
I have always loved futurism, especially when it’s retro styled. Gerry Anderson’s UFO was one of my favorite series when I was a kid. I remember when this theme music came on, I would make a beeline straight for the TV. I think the Interceptors were about my favorite of the ships, but the Mobiles came in a very close second. While the story lines were kinda thin, the model ships and sets rocked, and you can’t beat purple hair and silver mini-skirts…
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Inspirations: Bruce Timm
I am not a big autograph hound. I have autographed photos of Jenny Agutter as Jessica 6 from Logans run, a Sid Haig as Lord Drago from Jason of Star Command, and Kitsie Duncan signed my copy of Famous Monsters #252. They all look great in their frames, hanging in the Command Center. But sitting on my desk is my most favorite of all: My autographed copy of Bruce Timm’s 2007 sketchbook. It’s right next to my copy of Modern Masters 3: Bruce Timm.
Bruce Timm style! If you have seen Batman: The animated series, Superman:TAS, Justice League Unlimited or just about anything from the DC Animated Universe, you have seen Bruce Timm and his impact on animated superhero shows.
One of the things I admire most about Bruce is that he is entirely self taught as an artist. He began his career in animation working for Filmation on shows like Flash Gordon, Blackstar and He-Man. He joined Warner Brothers in 1989 and worked on Tiny Toon Adventures. In 1992, he co-created and produced Batman: The Animated Series. Bruce brought a beautiful, stylized world to life. His art influences came together and delivered a fresh new take on animated heroes.
Bruce also co-created the character of Harley Quinn. Harley became so popular (with fan’s and cosplayer’s alike!) that DC included her in the mainstream universe in 2004. The funny thing is, he had tried to get work at Marvel and DC before joining Warner Bros. but had no luck. Their loss.
It’s his love of comic’s from the 50’s and 60’s that I think resonates most with me. Bruce lists Jack Kirby as one of his influences, and man, he really honors that King Kirby style. I really love his lesser known comic works too. Bruce did some great Vampirella and Conan art, and his Frankenstein is amazing. It’s no secret that I am on a quest to get my stories animated, and when I look at what guys like Bruce have done, it just pushes me that much harder to step up my game.
Click on the image to check out more about Bruce Timm in Modern Masters 3. It’s a great read with a lot of interviews and some amazing art, well worth the 10 bucks or so.
image copyright original copyright holders.
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Inspirations: Lynda Carter
Wow, where to begin. Like most teenagers in the 70’s, my first exposure to Lynda Carter was on Wonder Woman. Friday nights were spent glued to the TV.
An iconic smile… One of the key elements of the Wonder Woman TV series was how Carter portrayed the heroine. Strong and independent. This was during a time when concepts like “equality and empowerment for women” were considered taboo by network execs and the media. I sometimes wonder if the media attention her costume generated was simply a smokescreen to try to hide the more controversial social issues the show was presenting.
Lynda played Wonder Woman as both a superhero and a real woman. Strong, yet still feminine, full of grace, but still able to have fun. Her look was stunning. You could spend forever swimming in those eyes. Her smile was as bright and clear as the first day of spring. Yet she was still approachable and genuine. And this was in the decadent days of (more…)
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Inspirations: Jack Kirby
I have a few comic book artists that I really look up too, guys that have the ability to create some fantastic scenes and iconic characters. If I had to make a list of them, at the top would be Jack Kirby.
Jack Kirby Called “The King”, Kirby created (and co-created) some of the most well known characters in comics. The Fantastic Four, Ironman, Thor, The Hulk, The X-Men all grew and thrived from Kirby’s mind.
Jack Kirby ushered in a whole new era at Marvel when he teamed up with Stan Lee in the 60’s. Together they started a wave that is still going to this day. p
Artist Gil Kane, speaking at a forum on July 6, 1985, at the Dallas Fantasy Fair described when Kirby rejoined Marvel:
“Jack was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel’s fortunes from the time he rejoined the company … It wasn’t merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but … Jack’s point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field”
Kirby’s unique style for drawing bold, powerful figures and fantastic vistas help spark the imaginations of the next generation of comic artists. Jack Kirby passed away in 1994, but his legacy lives on to this day. We all owe Jack a huge thanks for giving us some of the greatest comics the world has ever seen.
Space Busters concept art all art copyright original copyright holders
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Inspirations: Lewaine
So I can name all kinds of pop culture references that had a hand in shaping Suzi. But there is really one and only one true inspiration that created this comic, and that would be my lovely wife, Lewaine.
Hottest publisher ever! Lewaine is the one that pushed me to grow and put my work out there for the world to see.
I had a hard drive full of works I had done over the years that had never been seen by anyone other than myself.
I just didn’t really think anyone would care to see my work.
Lewaine kept telling me that I should get my work out there and share it with the world.
She even went so far as to take a couple of her favorite images, print them out, and enter them into a local art show.The prints wound up winning second and third place…and she didn’t even say “I told you so”.
Lewaine began a business helping artists develop online portfolios and webcomic sites, and in the course of building her business, she helped me develop a plan for creating a webcomic of my own.
The problem was, I couldn’t find a story that I wanted to draw. Lewaine suggested that I tell a story that I thought was cool, and she then created a posting schedule that I could fit into my week. I am a full time designer/developer, so the project I started on the side would require a very precise methodology if I was going to be able to deliver on a schedule.
Lewaine Lewaine nailed it! We have been able to refine my creation process so well, I was able to start another project. She did this all while balancing her clients and family life.
Suzi Quazar wouldn’t exist without Lewaine and her vision.
She is the real life inspiration for Suzi. From her grace and strength, to her sweet spirit and beauty, Lewaine provided me the model in which to create this character and tell her stories.
I can’t thank her enough. If you are an artist and have a story to tell, but don’t know how to get your work out there, contact Lewaine or visit her site here.
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Inspirations: Irwin Allen
I have a pretty extensive list of inspirations for Suzi, but right up at the top would have to be Irwin Allen.
The space family Robinson Allen created just about every one of my favorite shows from my childhood. Classics like Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Land of the Giants were all required viewing.
Of course, I look back now and realize that most of his shows eventually morphed into kid shows. By season 3, Lost in Space had pretty much became the Will, Dr Smith and Robot Variety hour. I think if they could have stuck with the same formula they used in the first season, Lost in Space would have been remembered very differently.
Time Tunnel Time Tunnel was another show that had a great premise, but lacked in execution. I think this was more a matter of budget constraints that anything else.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was a fun show with a great cast and concept. Land of the Giants was kinda the odd man out of the Allen stable.
Voyage to the bottom of the sea The writing was really all over the place, but back then, Deanna Lunds mini-skirts could make me overlook a lot of plot holes.
Irwin Allen produced some popular disaster shows like The Towering Inferno and The Posideon Adventure in the 70’s,
but was never able to recapture his success on the small screen.
Land of the Giants Irwin Allen had a good run, and created some iconic characters in science fiction. I hope to capture some of that fun in Suzi’s stories.
What do you remember about Time Tunnel, Lost in Space or the other Allen shows?
all images copyright of their respective copyright holders.
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Inspirations: Matt Mason
Space toys. Growing up, I wanted to be an astronaut.
I remember all the rocket launches from the late 60’s and early 70’s, and watching as man took his first steps on the moon.
Don’t bend those joints too much! Major Matt Mason was the must have space toy back in those days. Remember, this was waaay before Star Wars made space toys common place.
Made of a flexible rubber, he had a wire skeleton that suffered from metal fatigue once the joints were bent too much.
That meant that if you bent his arms or legs alot, you soon had a Matt Mason that was missing some limbs!
He did have a cool space station and accessories, like jetpacks, space sleds and more cool stuff.I remember having the space crawler and that rascal could rampage over just about any obstacle.
Space Crawler laughs at your obstacles! You can still get these guys on ebay, and for a while, I had a home business that would refurbish the broken ones and sell them.
Back in 2001, I was contacted by a guy who wanted to “lease” a Matt Mason from me to use as a prop in a play.I sent him one and a few months later I got a package from London. Inside was an autographed program from the play This Is Our Youth, starring Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, and Summer Phoenix.
They also included a photo of the cast holding the Matt Mason.
What were some of the toys you remember growing up with? Leave a comment and let me know!
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Inspirations: Warren Publishing
I grew up reading just about everything I could get my hands on. Comics, library books, you name it. But my most favorite reads of my teenage years were all produced by Warren Publishing. With titles like Famous Monsters, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella, I was hooked from the start.
Featuring fantastic art and some really mind bending stories, these books started a flame that still burns in me today.
I loved Famous Monsters, the way they would show you the behind the scenes photos from the set of Planet of the Apes, or showing the flying rig used for Ghidorah in the Godzilla movies. For a kid like me, it was a gateway into a magical world of imagination and storytelling.Creepy and Eerie told some really great, really different stories. Eerie seemed to have more sci-fi related material. They would feature recurring characters in semi-serialized stories (a pattern that I am totally using in my worlds, btw).
Heros like Darklon or my favorite, The Rook, really broke the superhero mold. The art and the stories were very strong, for the most part. I have seen a few of them adapted to TV. I have always wondered why more didn’t make it to Hollywood. It’s funny how after all these years, there are still stories that I remember so well.And its completely easy to see why Vampirella was a hot seller. I think that helps explain my obsession with dark haired beauties! Eckerds Drug Store was the only place in my hometown that carried these magazines, and in junior high, I would save my lunch money to buy them.
I would read them from cover to cover, and the ads were especially cool. They would offer Super 8mm reels of classic horror movies for sale, along with the projector. My biggest dream as a kid was to get the money to get those films, then open my own monster theater at my house and have the Saturday Afternoon Movie of the Week.Check out ebay and if you can find them, they are well worth the reading. I haven’t looked at any of the newer ones that came out in the past few years, so I can’t vouch for them. But I can totally stand by the older runs from the 70’s and 80’s.
Good times, man, good times…
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Inspirations: Cartoons
Growing up in the late 60’s and early 70’s, cartoons were a huge part of my life.
Like most kids, I was glued to the TV on Saturday mornings.Hanna-Barbera shows were a staple of the time, and I watched countless hours of their cartoons.
Galaxy Trio I still have many fond memories of shows like the Galaxy Trio and Space Ghost.
The Herculoids were also required watching, along with Mighty Mightor, Frankenstein Jr., Samson and many more.
The Herculoids Jonny Quest and the beautiful backgrounds easily captured my imagination and is probably the single biggest cartoon influence on Suzi. The walking eye, the jet-packs and that fantastic Hoyt Curtin score.
Battle of the Planets (yes, I know it’s Gatchaman!) As I got older, more and more animation from Japan started appearing.
Shows like Battle of the Planets, Star Blazers and Robotech soon caught my attention.
Star Blazers By the mid-80’s, I was out of high school and into the world, but my love of animation never died. My goal is to get some Suzi animated shorts online this year. I have already created some test footage, and I am always working on refining my process.
I think I have the technical skills down, but I am finding that my hardware is just too outdated for the task.
Once I get my computer upgraded a bit, I will have some pretty cool stuff to show you.
all images are copyright of the original copyright holders.
