As Seen on TV!

In my new book, Elephant Man, the city of Baltimore finally gets a superhero to call its own. And while most of the folks in town are happy with their misshapen protector, there are a few citizens who are less than willing to embrace the strange looking character in spandex. Among this surly crowd is Handsome Dick Denton, local TV reporter and good looking fellow about town. He considers Elephant Man to be an affront to his aesthetic sensibilities and makes it his goal to convince the adoring public that their love would be better spent on someone a little less… ugly.  When he teams up with a maniacal super villain who shares his goals, it can only mean doom for Elephant Man. Right?

And I pity the fool who hasn’t checked out Vatican Hustle yet!

The Cover That Wasn’t

In my new book, Elephant Man, the city of Baltimore is throwing a huge shindig to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Elephant Man’s arrival in town. The celebration is sponsored by Sugar Bloated Snap Crappies cereal and the spokesman, Crappy the Fly, is on the podium to kick off the celebration. My original back cover for the book was the fake advertisement pictured below (and featuring my niece, Alex, and my nephew, Matthew). However NBM has decided to go another way so, in an effort to placate Alex and Matthew, I give you the original back cover in all its glory. Enjoy!

And, hey, don’t forget Vatican Hustle!

Location! Location! Location!

As every superhero knows, danger happens on its own schedule. So keeping a super costume handy is an absolute must! Some keep them squirreled away in a convenient hiding place. Some leave them at home but arrange quick transport to that location. A few keep them in rings (where they somehow stay wrinkle free). But the old school type, like our boy, Elephant Man, know that the best way to be prepared for any and all unseen trouble is to just wear the damn outfit under everyday clothes.  Then you just make up an excuse for a quick exit (“I just remembered that I have a hair appointment”) and find some quiet place where you can dump your civvies and hit the town gussied up in traditional superhero spandex. Usually a telephone booth or supply closet will do. However, as Elephant Man finds out in the page above, not all supply closets are as desirable as others.

And don’t forget Vatican Hustle! Fool!!

This Is Baltimore, Asshole!

When newsman, Handsome Dick Denton, insults Elephant Man, the girls working at Donuts! Donuts! Donuts! are none too pleased. The lesson? Like all of Baltimore, the Big Hair Tough Girls love their Elephant Man!

And don’t forget Vatican Hustle!

Ever Vigilant

A super hero’s job is never done.  A page from my new book Elephant Man.

And don’t forget Vatican Hustle!

Where’d He Go?

A superhero is often called upon to be in the same place at the same time as his other identity. This can be a challenge to even those with the greatest super powers. Elephant Man is no exception. The panel above (from my new book, Elephant Man, – not to be confused with my other book, Vatican Hustle, which also features unbridled chicanery) is a perfect example. Poor Jon Merrick is in a pickle– while expected by colleagues to report on an event, he knows that his alter ego, Elephant Man, will soon be called upon to protect the citizens, including those very colleagues, who are attending the event! What’s a guy to do? Despite all the long winded speeches about virtue and goodness that these spandex clad guardians of decency often spout, the ability to lie, manipulate and generally sneak around are the handiest tools in any superhero’s utility belt.

Heroes, Super, Not So Much

I was Batman for 6 or 7 straight Halloweens. I mean, I loved Batman.  However, as much as I loved my costume, a plastic mask with a plastic smock both featuring poorly reprinted Batman imagery, I was incensed that the mask had the name “Batman” stamped on the forehead. The real Batman didn’t have that! Yet, for all my snobbery regarding store bought costumes, I was far less critical when it came to my own homemade all purpose superhero ensemble- a towel held around my neck with my Dad’s sweatband, underwear worn outside my jeans and socks pulled up over my pant legs (not easy in the early 1970′s) to roughly approximate boots. Somehow, this look made perfect sense and soothed my inner Anna Wintour. PS- when pretending to be Spider-Man my costume was whatever I was already wearing and a pair of socks worn as gloves. Go figure.

From my Mego action figures to my Corgi Batmobile to my near hysteria at the announcement of  the premiere of a new superhero cartoon show (Superfriends), I was totally sold on costumed avengers of all shapes and sizes. And then, one day, not so much. I’m not sure when or how my interest in guys wearing tights began to wane but, wane it did. Sure, I still love the Batman TV show (’66-’68. Brilliant!) and I still have my Mego guys and Corgi cars in a box in the basement but I just wasn’t in the mood to put the old underwear on outside the jeans and jump on the furniture the way I used to. Time has a way of diminishing our former selves I guess.

Then, in the mid ’90′s, I was asked to create some original characters for an animation studio- whatever I wanted. Among the many ugly creatures that resulted from this process was Jon Merrick and his alter ego, Elephant Man.  I never pitched it to the client but I did like the generally stupidity of the idea and settled on making t shirts emblazoned with the images. Then, after doing  Vatican Hustle, I decided to follow it up with a slightly different, less convoluted book. Elephant Man seemed an obvious choice.

Before the critics point out that Elephant Man is a one joke idea let me do the honor. It is! But I think it’s funny so, there you go. A slight meditation on good versus evil, beauty versus ugliness, and society getting the heroes it deserves, there are a few shots at favorite targets- organized religion and local news. But Elephant Man, more than anything else, is a gift to the younger me and to anyone else who’s childhood memories are outfitted in towel capes, sock gloves and underwear worn outside those jeans.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Elephant Man

The good folks at NBM have, for reasons unknown, been gracious enough to let me follow up my first graphic novel, Vatican Hustle, with my new book, Elephant Man (the cover of which hovers above this sentence).

Elephant Man is the story of Jon Merrick, a somewhat deformed reporter by day, a somewhat deformed superhero by night  (and sometimes during the day, too). As Baltimore prepares to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of Elephant Man’s arrival in town, a few other citizens have less than celebratory plans to take down the city’s strangely proportioned hero. This is the book that finally doesn’t answer the age old question- are glasses and a fedora really enough to disguise your identity? Particularly from the city’s best girl reporter? Ok that’s two questions but Elephant firmly doesn’t answer either!!

Vatican Hustle

See You at MoCCA!

Much like the great Alfred Hitchcock (except not at all), I make a cameo in my own work, Vatican Hustle– twice, actually. I’m the seedy looking guy in the bar smoking. I don’t really smoke but I thought I’d seem tougher if I had a cigarette. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because I’m planning on doing some time in the NBM booth at the MoCCA show this weekend and I thought folks might stop by and visit if they knew what I looked like. So check out the guy in the image posted here, memorize it, and look for me Saturday AND Sunday in NY. See you there!

It’s Burn Your Throat Good!

As anyone who knows me is already aware, much of my work is inspired by the great films that I’ve seen over the years.  And while truly great movies like “The Cabinet of Dr Caligari”, “Nosferatu” and  “A Touch of Evil” have inspired me to put pen to paper (or brush to canvas), so too have lesser appreciated, but no less fabulous, films like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Suspiria” and “Mad Max”.  I’m a fan of the great movie genres –blaxploitation (“Shaft”, “Black Gestapo”, “Trouble Man”), the 60′s biker films (“Wild Angels”, “Born Losers”, “Hell’s Belles”), and horror films- both good (“Halloween”, “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, “The Exorcist”) and just plain crazy (“Night of the Lepus”, “Frogs”, “Excorcist II”). But there’s a special place in my heart for the exploitaion film. “Reefer Madness”, “High School Confidential”, “Angel”, “Hollywood Vice”- these are films that grab your lapels and demand you watch them.  And certainly among the brightest stars of the B movie/ exploitation genre is the great Russ Meyer.

Along with superstars like John Waters, Doris Wishman, William Castle, Tom Laughlin, Herschel Gordon Lewis and Arch Hall Sr, Russ Meyer has done as much as anyone to shape my world view (much to my parent’s chagrin). The panel above is from my book, Vatican Hustle.  Any sharp-eyed Russ Meyer fan will recognize the Pope’s line as an homage to the greatest line in one of Meyer’s greatest films, “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”. While attending an ultra chic, swinging 60′s industry party, Z-Man Bartell (AKA Superwoman) is so utterly enthralled with his scene that he feels compelled to blurt out to no one in particular, “This is my happening! And it freaks me out!”. Well, given the opportunity to do a graphic novel I felt I would have been remiss if I didn’t include a nod to the awesome RM!

Another thing I like about this panel is the reference to Moxie Cola. I don’t know if anyone reading this is from New England. I am not and so had never tasted Moxie Cola. That is, until I was visiting my good friend Dave “Slaughterhouse” Gillis and his family in Maine.  Dave, a child of Maine, warned me about the bottle of Moxie that I was about to buy at a little shop in his town.  He said it was an aquired taste and that I might regret buying it. So, gentleman that he is (despite his nickname), he bought it and gave me the first sip. To describe Moxie Cola as being an aquired taste was, at best, an understatement. It’s a bit like drinking tar, fire and hatred. If Hell had a taste, it would be sort of like Moxie Cola…maybe a little fruitier. Anyway, I was glad to be able to incorporate these two cultural touchstones into the pages of my book. If you’re not hip to Russ Meyer, hit the dvd store pronto! And if you’ve managed to avoid the siren’s call of Moxie, consider yourself lucky and don’t look back.

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