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.

Sorry for the delay in posting. I’ve been shoveling snow for the past couple of weeks and I just now found my computer.

There’s a point in Vatican Hustle when a particularly unpleasant fellow named Dirk is invited to leave Italy and accompany Boss Karate Black Guy Jones back to Baltimore. There are two ways this can happen- the easy way and, well… let’s just call it the Boss Karate Black Guy Jones way. Care to guess how this goes down?

There’s a sequence in my new book, Vatican Hustle, in which the Pope and his pal go to their favorite topless bar and shoot heroin between their fingers. A weird hallucination ensues. Present in their drug induced vision is one Mr Fred MacMurray. Friends have asked me, “why Mr Fred MacMurray? His inclusion appears so incongruous”. And therein lies the answer.

For those of you not in the loop, Mr MacMurray was an actor who may be best remembered as a poor sap done in by a wily dame in the classic noir film “Double Indemnity”, the even keeled bachelor dad on “My Three Sons” and the face that inspired comic book hero, Captain Marvel.  Shazaam! Mr MacMurray was a fine actor and, by all accounts, a kind and gracious gentleman.  Clearly, he has no business appearing in the somewhat questionable world of Vatican Hustle…and so, he does. Why Fred MacMurray? Why not Fred MacMurray?!!

Season’s Greetings.

In Vatican Hustle I tried to make the Pope both horrifying and kind of  surprisingly un-fancy.  I decided that his drinking warm beer and watching “G.L.O.W.” would be the key. While most of you are probably familiar with warm beer, you may be slightly less clued in to  “G.L.O.W.” so, for those not in the know, “G.L.O.W” was a super weird  syndicated TV show from the 1980’s. I don’t know who came up with it but the format was SHEER GENIUS! It basically combined “Hee Haw” and lady wrestling. It was like a whole cast of Lulu Romans and Barbi Bentons. It had strange stand ups where jokes were told, comical advice segments, skits, and, of course, wrestling. With characters like Hollywood and Vine, Mount Fiji, Palestina and the Farmer’s Daughter, it was a show beyond comprehension and yet, totally compelling.

When I attended Pratt Institute and lived in Brooklyn back in the mid 80’s I recall there being a bar in the area called the Recovery Room.  In fact, I actually recall the full name being Dirty Bob’s Recovery Room. Now, that was a long time ago so I might have confused two separate bars or, more likely, infused a name from my own fevered imagination with an actual bar. Either way, when it came time to create a bar sleazy enough for the Pope and his pals to call their hangout in Vatican Hustle, one name leapt to mind. Pictured above is a scene in front of Dirty Bob’s Topless Bar and Grill. enjoy (just don’t order the fish).

We live in a crazy time when pimps are  looked up to by our youth. What happened? When I was a kid, pimps were the bad guys. You couldn’t watch an episode of Starsky and Hutch, Baretta, Mannix, the Mod Squad or even Barnaby Jones without seeing a hard nosed flatfoot taking down some vile pimp. It was a staple of broadcast television! Pimps were mean guys in crazy oufits who lived off the backs of poor young girls who came to the big city seeking fame and fortune only to find drug addiction and sorrow.  Am I the only one who remembers this?

There’s a pimp character in my new book, Vatican Hustle. Like pimps of yore, he’s a bad guy who’s ass is just asking to be kicked. His name is Geech Bradford, the White Pimp, and he’s based on a character I created in the mid ’90’s — Geech Bradford, Teenaged White Pimp. As you can see by the panel above, Geech is still white but he’s not a teenager anymore. Now, he’s a creepy looking older guy with a really bad complexion. Upon drawing the new incarnation of Geech, it ocurred to me that he looked a bit like ’70’s megastar, Mr Paul Williams. While unintentional, I think this is a good thing.

For those too young or too square to know who Paul Williams is, suffice it to say that he is a multi-talented entertainment God! From writing Evergreen (possibly the most saccharine song of all time),  to singing a bunch of hit tunes himself, to acting in such wondrous fare as Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Cheap Detective, Smokey and the Bandit (and sequels) and Phantom of the Paradise, this little guy had the golden touch! I particularly liked his guest starring role in a classic Odd Couple episode…but I digress.  Believe me,  the guy was everywhere.

Anyway, Geech Bradford is an old school pimp and his encounter with an angry Boss Karate Black Guy Jones ends unpleasantly for this ugly deviant. And that’s the way it should be!

Part of the action in my new book, Vatican Hustle,  takes place in the Italian porn industry. Truth be told,  I have absolutely no idea if there actually is an Italian porn industry but, come on, this is a country famous for its large tubular meats! Bologna, salami, various sausages– do the math!

And if there is a large, colorful Italian porn industry, I’m sure it includes talented performers like Fredderico Frombehindioli, star of beloved classics like “Menchanted”, “The Little Spermaid” and “Where the Wild Thing Is”.

Vatican Hustle! Fun for the whole family!

As anyone who’s read my posts already knows, I am ignorant about all things computer AND, I have an obsession with clowns. Whether they are dressed as firemen, cops, babies, cowboys, women or hobos, clowns are both weird and repugnant. And I love them!

In my new book, Vatican Hustle, some of the main characters make a short trip to shoot dice with a group of mean, drunken clowns. As I like to imagine it, clowns are not regular folks who put on make up and do “funny” things. Instead, I like to think of clowns as “chalk skinned freaks born into a life of tomfoolery”. My clowns are violent addicts who, in the circus off season, live in a crappy shanty town in woods outside of Rome. The following page is first glimpse the reader gets of the clowns as they throw a wild party in one of their shacks. The clown in the last panel is inspired by the wild eyed piano player in one of my all time favorite films, “Reefer Madness”. Enjoy!

It’s almost November and, like Boss Karate Black Guy Jones himself, it’s time for you to get your copy of Vatican Hustle and make the scene! In style!! Don’t be the last cat or chick on your block to eyeball this book!

Make your friend jealous and your enemies jealouser! That’s right, Slim! Jealouser! I’m making up words now because Vatican Hustle defies the boundaries of society’s puny vocabulary!!! And look at all these exclamation points!!!! Come on, man, do the Hustle!