I love villains and monsters.  That should be dead obvious to anyone reading this series.  However, in order to avoid falling into a creative rut I’ve challenged myself to try different types of stories and alternate directions for this series to venture into.  With the exception of “Dadaman“, all of the stories this year have not focused on supervillains (other than Scapula himself, naturally) and most of the baddies I created fell into the wayside…until now.

In this story we’ll be seeing the villainous cast at their utmost baddest, with one notable exception.  No Scapula.  That’s right, that skull-headed sissy botched his chance at greatness in “Gangway” and now everyone is going to make do without the little wiener for a while.  That’s all well and good, because an even more important villain is coming over the horizon.

In other news…

I’ll be making my first convention appearance this October at the Alternative Press Expo (or APE, for you hip acronym users).  More details will follow in the weeks to come, but needless to say I’m looking forward to it and hope to see you all there (yes, even you…YOU are awesome).

Call me a pessimist, but it seems like a good number of relationships are built upon misunderstanding.  A lot of us generally assume that others want the same things we want, and it’s often a bit heart-breaking to learn that even the ones closest to you aren’t necessarily on the same wavelength.  There’s really no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ about it; whether you side with Scapula or Jemini is your own call (however, I’d love to hear your opinions on the matter…comment away!).

GANGWAY has been one of my favorite storylines so far, and, from all the wonderful feedback I’ve been getting, it sounds like you super-cool readers have been enjoying it as well.  My initial reluctance to tackle longer stories has all but vanished, so this has been a great experience for me as a writer and artist.  Thank you all for reading and leaving your feedback; it’s always appreciated.

So summer comes to an end, and we close on this chapter.  However, there’s no rest for the wicked, as we jump right into our next storyline.

Next week sees the return of the supervillain cast of SCAPULA, most of whom have been missing in 2010 (I did a recap of the characters in Rogue’s Gallery so no one would forget them).  Expect to see some of your old non-favorites like Throgor and Hypnausea, plus a couple of new villains thrown in for good measure.  This is going to be another really big one.

Also, we’ll see the introduction of the most despicable, frightening menace to appear in SCAPULA.  He’s more powerful than the Dugong, more vicious than Jemini, and he’s more of a terrifying mastermind than Scapula could ever wish to be.

…and he looks like this:

NEXT WEEK:

The SINISTER MONSTER DOOM LEGION

Okay, so maybe ducking the bullet is a bit ludicrous, but c’mon: A GUY WAS JUST SQUASHED TO DEATH BY A DUGONG.  ‘Ludicrous’ doesn’t even begin to describe the scenario.

In any case, the “flood panel” was a blast to draw, and definitely owes a lot to the classic MAD comics (as does the crowd of idiots’ ramblings). No animals were harmed in the drawing of this scene (although a number of fish are rather unhappy right now).

That may be the end of the Dugong, but what of Scapula and Jemini?  Tune in next weeked for the startling conclusion to GANGWAY.

Not one person in the crowd of spectators does a thing to help.  This happens all too often in the real world, where people wont even call the cops to report a person getting mugged or attacked (the only thing worse is when they decide to film it for YouTube…OY!).   If any of you have any good “witness” stories be sure to leave a comment.

How’s that for a cliff-hanger panel, dear readers?  Don’t you DARE miss next week’s installment, where, you guessed it: SOMEONE DIES!

Inspector Farley and the Dugong, like Throgor and Babirus, are part of those breed of wonderfully disgusting characters who are so much fun to draw.  Unlike drawing pretty girls and chiseled faces, grotesques allow much more room for caricature and creativity, resulting in some hilarious expressions.

…and who would have suspected that the blonde countess was actually Jemini?

Scapula’s dapper outfit was originally a modest dark gray.  I decided that Scapula needs to look stupid at ALL times, even when incogntito, and thus recolored him in the cringingly-saturated lime green suit he probably swiped from the local Goodwill.

I’m really not a fan of the new California Academy of Sciences (Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, for those who don’t know).  A big part of my childhood was removed forever when the museum was torn down and rebuilt into a more modern, “popular” setting (a “living garden” on the roof! Wwwwooow…what hippie wouldn’t love that?).  The majority of my favorite exhibits are either gone or reduced to practically nothing; the African Hall is pathetic compared to its beautiful former counterpart, and the loss of the Gary Larson Hall is enough to make all cartoonists cry.  I guess ANY museum is better than nothing, although I refuse to enter the De Young Art Museum across the way, due to its ugly-ass new construction.  Hey, I’m allowed to be a crotchety old curmudgeon once in a while!

The Dugong’s real name is given as George Malcom Johnson; the name was inspired by Kevin Michael Richardson, a very cool actor mostly known for his voice-acting work (his credits include The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Cleveland Show, Clerks Animated, The PJs, Queer Duck, etc).  I sometimes create characters with a specific voice in mind, and if SCAPULA ever does make it to the screen it would be awesome to hear his voice coming from the big bastard.

The “knowitall” describing the jellyfish is a jab at any number of people I overhear at the Zoo giving out horribly-incorrect “facts” about animals.  As an amateur zoologist, I get anal-retentively upset when I hear folks making up all sorts of crap about how hyenas are dogs or how pterodactyls are dinosaurs or how all herbivores are safe company because “they don’t eat meat”.  Get a copy of ZooBooks, dummies!

Hope you comic fans are having fun at the San Diego Comic-Con; as for me, I’m going someplace with A/C and no gigantic lines of people outside the bathroom!

In all honesty, this week’s installment is the inevitable but necessary dose of plot exposition, meant to move us from Act II into the climactic Act III.  I’ve tried to give the medicine a little sugar by making the artwork look nice (very summery), and, of course, showing a little skin on our lovely lady lead.

“The Daily Requirement” was Phil Frank’s codename for The SF Chronicle in Farley.  G. Gordon Khan was a character who dressed as a Mongol and waged an eternal war with commuters who refused to pay escalating bridge tolls.

A very oddly-drawn Nina Paley (super-cool cartoonist and creator/director/animator of the best animated film ever, Sita Sings the Blues) makes a cameo as the hard-hearted, right-wing, seal-clubbing, gestapo-esque enforcer of law and authority (and anyone familiar with Paley and her work will know that image is 100% accurate).

For those of you in San Francisco, a special screening of Sita Sings the Blues will be playing at the Delancey Street Foundation on Tuesday, July 20th.   If you’re in the area, be sure to swing by and enjoy the show; you’ll be helping out an independent artist and also be hugely entertained by her wonderful film.

If you’ll forgive the immodesty, I think this strip has some of my best artwork (as for the writing, well…”BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM” is probably the most clever thing I’ve ever come up with!).

…what’s there to say?  He’s a gangster named “Seal” and, well, he looks like a seal.  That’s all there is to it, right?  Just sit back and try to think what the hell is wrong with me and why I’ve made a psychotic Japanese assassin who looks like a pinniped, and tune in next week for the exciting outcome to this battle.

(And, for those of you who are dying of curiousity, Seal’s battle cry in Nihongo is, “Gyakushu”, which translates roughly as ‘counter-attack’.  I stole it from a film poster for the second Godzilla film, Gojira no Gyakushu).

Super-cool DJ/artist Lola Pop recently sent me some of the coolest gifts a cartoonist could ask for: creepy cool hand-sculpted pendants of Scapula and Jemini!  I absolutely love these beauties:

For those of you interested in seeing or purchasing Lola’s artwork, check out her website or visit the Hyaena Gallery in Burbank.

First off, a very Happy Independence Day to you all (well, those of you here in America), so play safe with those explosives and have great time.  You may have noticed the new font on the comics; as I announced last week, I’ve abandoned the old Comic Sans in favor of a nice new typeface, courtesy of Blambot.  Let me know what you think (especially if, for some unholy reason, you can’t read the words!).

Now then, on to another story I have to tell: this one is actually kind of serious, so hug a pillow (or, if necessary, a loved one) and read on.

My contacts with industry professionals has always been rather sparse, but I have had the honor of knowing a few very talented pro artists in my time.  One such artist was a man named Phil Frank.

Phil was the creator, writer and artist of the comic strip Travels with Farley (known later as simply Farley).  After many years of publishing his strip nationwide, Phil pulled Farley out of syndication in favor of publishing it exclusively in San Francisco’s newspaper The Chronicle (reducing the lag-time between creating comics and seeing them in print from several months to just a few days) simply because he loved the Bay Area, its happenings and especially its people.  In this regard, Phil is something of a precursor to webcartoonists, having had the blessing of nearly automatic reader reaction and being able to comment on current events while they were still fresh in mind.

I met Phil through a college professor and had the honor of visiting him a few times a year at his studio in Sausalito for several years.  Phil was always kind and soft-spoken, a complete contrast to his big, bizarre-looking guest (who, at the time, was still going through something of a punk rock phase, weird hair and all); we would go to lunch and talk about comics and the industry and whatever else came to mind.  Phil was generous with giving information and advice (and a couple of pieces of original art!); I’ve met several older artists who feel threatened when talking to “up-and-comers”, but this was never the case with Phil.  He simply helped out because he was a genuinely good person.

The most important lesson Phil ever taught me was to be aware of my readers (he called it “finding your demographic”, but I think he meant it in a more personable way).  And he more than practiced what he preached:  after all, Phil gave up national syndication in favor of creating something special for his closest readers (which is no small thing, as any struggling cartoonist seeking the approval of syndicates will tell you).  He truly cared about his readers, working every single day to give them something special.

I had hoped that, upon graduating college, I could work as his assistant on his comics and be introduced into the industry.  Instead, that same summer I graduated, Phil died of a brain tumor.

The loss of Phil Frank affected many people; his family (including his two children and his loving wife), his friends and readers (there were a great many), and, of course, myself.  A public memorial service was held in Washington Square Park, in North Beach, SF, populated by a huge number of fans (many dressed as Farley characters), park rangers and horses, Phil’s friendly ‘nemesis’ and former SF mayor Willie Brown, and others who had enjoyed his work in the Chronicle.  It was a strangely sad and wonderful end to an artist who had given so much.

In the comic above I’ve portrayed Sausalito as I remember it (Ferry and all), and have included a number of my versions of the Farley characters (Phil himself is in the second-to-last panel).  Farley may not seem to have anything to do with the disturbing world of SCAPULA, but the bond is there, beyond the drawing style.

I don’t think Phil influenced me so much as an artist as he did a person; it’s all too easy to get caught up with that grand title of ‘professional artiste‘ (indeed, I’ve known several former schoolmates who let success swell their heads to sickening dimensions).  Phil never needed that.  He was a good person, with or without the fanfare and artistic success, and that’s something I’ve tried to understand.

For those of you interested in giving his comics a try, either mosey on over to his website or check Amazon for his books (aside from Farley, Phil was also co-creator and artist of another syndicated strip, The Elderberries).  I highly recommend his books I’m Ink, Therefore I Am and Going Local with Farley; if these can’t be found, the more readily available (and still in print) Fur and Loafing in Yosemite and Eat, Drink & Be Hairy will do fine.  These book collections contain helpful notes explaining some of the Bay Area events lampooned for those who weren’t around (or simply forgot), and are a great addition to any comic strip lover’s collection.

I’m sorry if this all feels like an inside-story; Farley was more of a local phenomenon, so readers outside of Northern California’s Bay Area may feel out of the loop, but it’s something that means a lot to me.  I’ve tried not to use this comic as a soapbox, but seeing how my growth as an artist (and person) has everything to do with the makings of SCAPULA, I thought it was necessary to share this story.

I wish you all a very happy holiday and I’ll be back next week with more comic madness.