Japanese Develope Robot For Remote Colonoscopy...

Gerbils everywhere breath a sigh of relief.

Speaking of Allegorical Fecundity

My father, Douglas Akins, was a pioneering cartoonist "of color". In other words; a Negro who drew. I accidentally stumbled across some of his work on a site dedicated to early Black Cartoonists whose works were featured in newspapers with robust circulations. Surprisingly, George Herriman, the creator of Crazy Kat is "outed" as Brother who was "passing". It's rumored that he was told by Hearst to not be photographed with his hat off else the character of his hair (probably wavy) would betray his swarthy good looks and ancestry. Hey, I had brother to my Great, Great maternal Grandfather who COMPLETELY intergrated with White society in the 1920's after immigrating to the U.S.. At a recent family reunion, I met plenty of "blue-eyed" O'Meallys who didn't know they were of African descent.
I grew up in an artists' house, in the shadow of my Father, the Artist. Things became SO competitive by the time I was 19, I dropped out of college at the School of the Art Institute and joined the Air Force; just cause I needed to phuck something up. Several years later I landed my first real job as an illustrator in Advertising along Michigan Ave. I realize now that a lot of the tension between my Dad and I was there because, sadly, in the time he lived Black Folk couldn't do the things we do now professionally.
My father worked his entire career with the press at the lauded Chicago Defender. After his cartooning stint (although he would always contribute the occasional strip or editorial illo) he became the Defenders' Society Editor.
What's here, below, are images from something I had no idea existed. It's a wartime strip my dad created and drew (1942) featuring the Brown Bomber Joe Louis as an action hero. Ironically, fittingly, I came across these files while I was drawing the Bigby "War Stories" for "Fables" year before last.
Racism was so rife in those days, on all fronts, that I can't imagine what I would have done had I had to live in that shitty America. No lie, anyone, ANYONE who pines for the good old days is a fool, a fascist and probably eats children. These are the Great New Days. The Past Kisses Ass. My Aunt Henrietta, who's well into her 80's sets it straight,"The Good Old Days,...nothing good about them; bad refrigeration, bad medicine, unsafe cars and roads, racism, disease...nothing good on television."
Anyway, as far as Sgt. Joe goes, forgive the racist language if it's legible; but I'm pretty darn sure that that Imperial Japanese Officer had it coming (the clobbering, not the slur). Always be polite to the people whose asses you find yourself justifiably kicking (Hello, PETER).


Anywho, I'm just trying to get that Nixon image futher down the loaded page.



Here's some randomness.


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Nixon In China

No, I'm not Gay. But if I were, I'm sure I'd be Fabulous at it. That resounding affirmation of my sexual security aside, Chicago Opera Theater (sort of the Bush League for the Civic) is putting on a production of one of my favorite works by John Adams, "Nixon In China". There's a few performances left; it's in English: it's Awesome. If you go to see this bad fella and your head doesn't explode from trying to hear and SEE all the stuff that is happening on stage, you will find other opera quite enjoyable.
John Adams' most recent work was the controversial "Klinghofer". Check the spelling on that. Anyway, I'm going. E, I'm sure, couldn't get dragged to within a Dutch Mile of this show.
(Don't bother looking that up. It just came to me.) But I'm sure if such a thing existed, the allegorical fecundity would sting the nostrils....
Wow, am I having a stroke?
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This must some kind of goddamned "RED" jpg, because it's not loading right.

Holy GHz! 24/7/365 Apple Store!!!!

(title is a link, remember)

The Dredge Report: Item One-Eleven

Writer Rafael Nieves and I are two bad-ass mofos; he's Puerto Rican and I'm Black...together we form an abbreviated part of a Mondo Honcho Hombre Brain-Trust-with-the-Pelvic-Thrust known as PaperMammoth. Currently, Raf is acting Managing Editor and Wrangler for a project that I can't mention until I clear something pressing from my desk. But Raf wrote the phuck out of it and I get to draw it; 'nuf sed. At any rate, we have come up with our share of stillborn schemes; here's one that is still close to my loins ("heart" would have sounded too fuzzy; but fuzzy nonetheless...). Of course I'm not going to tell you what it is. Or was; or could be.
Simply relax the sphincter and let whatever happens happen; I did and look what happened....

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Lark Trump

So a while back, a few months, E was in Paris< France looking at Underpants with her sister, Laura. They both enjoyed the trip. I had asked E to bring back a little brass L'Arc pour moi. She couldn't find such a thing but, "I was able to get a shot of the Arc for you! I saw it from about a block away..."
So here's the photograph; more like a frame taken from the gun camera of some low-flying barnstormer, but a photograph of the L'Arc, nonetheless.
Mon Dieu!

If He Says "Storm" ONE More Time....

Normally on stormy days it blows being this exposed to wind, rain and sometimes hail. Don't start with me about the lightning. In fact, during multiple strikes, I scan the horizon with my Eagle Eye (Elizabeth calls me "Hawkeye") and sometimes will spot a fire started by a strike; there was a large fire just beyond United Stadium after todays' storm.
The UPSIDE to these storms are the great views brought on by the breaking storm. Todays' thunderstorm brought hail and lightning and I could have sworn I heard Howlin' Wolf moaning. But the storm broke to the southeast and let sun pour in from the west and north, revealing Old Town and Lincoln Park in fresh, Springtime relief free of drunken sports bar mooks and frathags (GASP!).
Yes; that's a RAINBOW just to the east of the Hancock Building. Here's a closer look...

It stayed there for a long while.
No art today, kids.
I just came from James Jeans' blog. Go there if you want something awesome to gawk at...you know, that wasn't made by God.
That's right, "frathag". You won't find it in the dictionary because I haven't put it there yet. You read it here first; go spread the Gospel , my chillens.
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stormystormstormmookiestormavich

grubbykid.com

Go here and scroll down to the KillBill video. Also chedck out his amazing views of the warehouse fire in NYC.
I LOVE the web.

Rimshot

LOL, looking at the last two blog entries, I had to add this link!
(yes, click on the title)
hilarity ensues

Chicago is getting a great new building!

That's right, click on the title.
Here is the link to the Chicago Reader article, http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/aqua/
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Hubba-Hubba

I was channel surfing the other day...Is it possible to give your thumb whiplash? Well, I may have come close; skipping through the dregs that Encore was broadcasting, I managed to notice a film with a young Carla Gugina.
So I thought that I'd dedicate a blog entry to "the Girls"; the actresses that make me stop in my tracks and watch whatever load of crap they're featured in. A nod to the few who didn't get into this bunch for one reason or another; Denise Richards, for being too blond; Joan Chen: Halle Barry, still in the penalty box for "Cat Woman".
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Check This Out...

Digging around through the Pile.

You magnificent, Bastards. You deserve this.
With the improving weather and the Previews cover, this isn't a half-bad Spring. I had this girlfriend who said that Spring was her favorite season; I instantly redoubled my contempt for it. There's not a thing robust about it; not like Autumn, my favorite season. But, I guess as one grows older and one steps up the medication to 200 mikes a day...Spring ain't so bad.
I am a little irked at Winters' brevity this year; there are people, PEOPLE, fucking everywhere. Normally these feeble beings would be holed-up for another 7 weeks; out of my way. Sigh.
Here's some stuff...

Below is a companion to an earlier entry; from the same story. Check out the other entry and compare the markings; there's a story "there" (in my head).

This is old, maybe about 10 years ago. Expect to see this colored. I'm fairly happy with the piece. It's rare these days that I get to indulge my quasi-scifi side, which is my heart-of-hearts. Look! A space anteater! Just where the phuck is this guy going to fish, I wonder...

From time to time I get a call from Alex (Ross) while he's in the throes of a project. This is a rejected design for "Kingdom Come".

Yet another cast-off from "Kingdom Come"; this is an "articulated" Batmobile. It didn't get used so this bitch is still mine, yo. I see one of you swipe this...I cut you. Dig?...Whoa, maybe I should go up to 250.

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Melee Anyone?

Behold!
Some THINGS!

These are a couple of candidates for a gaming arsenal. I don't recall if the Photon Axe was modelled for the game... I do have the actual weapon itself. I shave with it.

Snipers; the PUSSIES of the gaming world. The Phantom Weasle was modelled for game play...The muzzle flash and highly visible round cancels out all stealth measures taken by the weapons' operator. Sort of the same issues with the new frontline fighter for the Air Force; why have a trans-sonic stealth capable aircraft when the speed of the plane makes it an infrared beacon!?
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Next to the word "danhead" in the dictionary...

As usual, the title of this entry can be demystified by clicking on it.
Anyone who's a fan of the band in question knows the value of subversion. From Beat to Burroughs; through the Birth of Gibsonian CyperPunk and on through the Steamy Conduits that power the Fever Dream Generators of Deja Vu Futurism...there's no intelligent counterculture to the N'er-Do-Well Decades-to-come without an appropriate soundtrack.
If you don't believe me, then you haven't really listened to their music.
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PREVIEWS for May!!! JACK of FABLES!

Coolness; JoF is featured on the cover of PREVIEWS with a nice sample of Issue ONE art inside. Plus what Bill Willingham says about why Jack got his own series is a hoot. Here're a few files before Todd Kleins' lettering was placed.
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Lap This Up, Gaijin Dogs! ( ...you know you love it.)

Link to some Japanese swag, yo.
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AFK...

Now I'm back! The Easter holidays were very nice, thank you for asking. Kosher Passovers ROCK (Sharon, your brisket was out of this world!). So on to more secular pursuits; This will be a quick, ad hoc posting just because it's been a few days since my last and I have so SO much work on my table...This table:

Actually, I'm a big fat liar. This is my desk from about two years ago. Still, not much has changed. I still look into the wise stare of Chief Arca (my, I should get that back to Tom Veitch!), and stoke my smoldering concurrence with Bender's "KILL ALL HUMANS" apron. If you look closely, you can just make out the "Fables" story I was drawing. It's an inventory script that will never EVER see the light of day in the "Fables" storyline, now that Jack is in exile. Hmmm...Wonder how this story will ever see print.
Here's something; I was 16 years old when "Star Wars" hit. It warped my little, hormone addled mind. Obviously, since there was a rebellion against a vast evil empire there must be a world where there are great frontiers that need defending! Guys who ride "horses" of some sort and are sorta like cavalry-guys but with some sci-fi stuff happening. I bet they'd be a pain in the ass or a thorn in the side of the local Imperial Forces because they are such excellent fighters! I'd bet they'd look something like this:

LOL! Note that these guys are "BOARDER RAIDERS"! No Imperial tenant would be safe, I'm sure. What's with the pose? Well, there was going to be some sort of "mount" that the facing rider was going to be getting down from. But I probably had to go mow the lawn or some shit and lost my interest in the piece. The positioning of the cigarette hand is unfortunate (snort).

Let's jump ahead 10 years...still fostering my obsession with the Civil War; the influence of which is clear even in the Boarder Raiders drawing. The dash of the Southern Armies caught my fancy early on, despite the Confederate States clearly amoral and illegal grounds for starting the conflict. That's right, I went there. At any rate, there are several more pages to this sequence, but the horses are so badly drawn! They look like Jeff Goldblum teleported a dog and a moose! At any rate, these Rebs marshall against some Feds across there that field, but they get mowed down. Yay!
Speaking of "mowing down"...One of the GREATEST influences of my career in comics was working with my first publisher, Tony Caputo. Bless this man, Lord. I can't tell you what a guiding light he was to me and other creators at NOW Comics. I know that he shaped many careers and fostered much admiration throughout the industry; and STILL does to this DAY!! Whenever I get the news that there is a respected comic contributor in the hospital and possibly on his last legs, as I've just heard with the news of the incredible Alex Toth, I know that I'm not the only person in this industry who thinks to himself, "Man, I wish that was Tony Caputo."
This is from a title called "E'BNN". I never got to actually draw an issue but I did do some sketches for a possible Viet Nam Flashback Issue, which were the vogue back then.

Here's some reconcepting of the 'bots from "Valor Thunderstar", another NOW title. Again, I never got a chance to draw an issue of this book. Be thankful.
Ok, I have to go do some "real work", so I'll end with this; first is a sketch for an intro page to a gaming manual; you're on the thresholds of a town/level (reflected in the pool of water) you're about to enter; the second sketch is for my friend Officer Garrian Manning of the Chicago Police Department; his class at the Academy wore tees with this sketch on it. I hope that he still uses this on tees that he leaves on the crumpled forms of perps like Vic on "The Shield". That would be awesome.
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Fred, you have no idea...

There's a famous Suffragette, her name escapes me, who penned something eloquent and moving which I can only butcher at present...Basically it's about the nature of the human heart and it's secrets and longings, and how there are things so deep within a hearts' longing not even the angels could ever gain knowlege of it. Well, this isn't quite one of those things. I wish it were. It's close, though. I used to live for this show when I was young(er); many phuct up adults who grew up in Chicago in the 60's and 70's may make the same confession . This TV show may have scarred me (why wasn't ZOOM created earlier!). In fact, my devotion to this show is what may have been staying God's Hand in striking me with some other horrible affliction; His Pity is indeed Infinite. I think about this show more often and involuntarily than I'd like to confess. Thanks, Fred...first the Woodstock Underoos, now this dark brainworm.
Click the post title and recoil.
"Would you use your Powers for Good, or for Awesomeness?"
StrongBad

Awesomeness...hands down.
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Crab Rangoon

I'm posting this in the spirit of the latest post on Tony M's "lonely rice chronicles" (see blog listing at right). I research the shit out of things. This often leads to a diminished view of the world and the things in it that I may have once enjoyed and/or thought was cool. In the furry animal comic (nothing against furry animal comics, I draw more than my share of talking furries in "Fables") Yojimbo, the Samurai rabbit carries the great sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the legendary "Grass-Mower" or "Cloud Cluster Sword". I love the origin mythology of Japan (not that lame-assed version Tom Cruise panted at the start of "The Last Samurai"). Much better than the origin mythology of Kenosha ("magic elf feces. indeed). Anyway, in researching a story I came across the origins of swords in Japan; cultural influences, smithing, etc...Plus the epic story of where the "Grass-Mower" was lost at the Battle of Dan-no-Nura. At any rate, Yojimbo's sword, if it is indeed Kusanagi, should not resemble the standard idea of a samurai sword. It should like this:
The sheath for the sword is covered in what is actually tiger's fur, hunted in Korea. The influence for swords in the Japan of that era was from the mainland; China and Korea. There's supposed to be the reclaimed "Cloud Cluster" in a temple in Japan, proof of the Emperor's Divine Rite to the Throne of Japan. Most likely it's a "replica". Your lesson for the day. If Ninja get me avenge my ass, Tony.
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