Elisha Lau - Fairy

Elisha Lau - Illustrator - Fairy 2010.12.12 Clifton Comic Book Expo

Elisha has done graphic design and illustration work for Fantage.Com, Fun Box, LLC, NJ.Com, GroundUp Studios, Studio 66 Media, as well as a production intern for $Kids Entertainment on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...

When I viewed her website, I was taken by her style and presentation, everything was bright colorful and happy. I had obtained the dragonfly FDC for the purpose of obtaining a fairy or pixie style drawing. Ms. Lau's style was perfect for this idea, and I am not disappointed.

Ever since I had heard about the Cottingley Fairies photographs, the concept of fairies existence in folk tales and art has fascinated me and millions of people across the world. The series of five photographs were taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England, in 1917. The pictures came to the attention of writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who used them to illustrate an article on fairies he had been commissioned to write for the Christmas 1920 edition of The Strand Magazine. Conan Doyle, as a Spiritualist, was enthusiastic about the photographs, and interpreted them as clear and visible evidence of psychic phenomena. He believed...

Ryan Dunlavey

2011.03.26 Dewey's Comic City, Madison, NJ

Ryan Dunlavey is the artist and co-creator of the American Library Award winning comic book series Action Philosophers, with writer Fred van Lente...

The duo also created Comic Book Comics through their Evil Twin Comics company, based out of Brooklyn, therefore the use of the Brooklyn Bridge FDC for Ryan's sketch...

Comic Book Comics tells the history of the comics industry in a comic book format. This make reading some of the dry stuff like litigation fun to follow...

Dunlavey also draws Tommy Atomic for Royal Flush magazine and Modok for Marvel digital comics. His illustrations have appeared in Wizard, Mad, Princeton Review and many other publications...

J.K. Woodward - Angel

2011.04.03 Wild Pig Comic Con, Somerset, NJ

J.K. Woodward born in an undisclosed locatio somewhere in the Northeast US, J.K. wasted little time in becoming the kid your mother warned you about.....

With a move to Germany, J.K. self-published a comic of his expressionist paintings called Flesh Angels and These Things Happen (a comedic comic).

Relocating back to the US, Woodward collaborated with A. David Lewis on Mortal Coils, and with Michael Colbert on Crazy Mary. His work caught the attention of Marvel Comics editor Mike Marts, who brought Woodward in to illustrate X-Men Origins: The Beast, 2008. Wikipedia

I had my son Matt ask Woodward to draw any one of the X-Men, he chose The Angel, his favorite and fortunately mine...he chose the original "old-school" version....cool!

Fallen Angel, created by Peter David and David Lopez in 2003.

The first 5-issue arc of the second series was painted by J. K. Woodward. - Hand drawn comic cover by J.K. Woodward...

Matt also had J.K. draw an excellent Professor X in his sketch book, see Matt's page...

Dave Cockrum - Angel

I had the pleasure to meet Dave Cockrum around 1975 at a comic show, where I obtained my first comic sketch, Angel (image cropped from the 11x14 size). Angel was always my favorite character, the idea of being able to fly, not just like superman, but with wings! The Wings make the difference! (I know he is not the only character with wings.....)

Since I was a early reader of the X-men I liked the idea of the school uniform, which kept them a team. The original uniform was blue and yellow, and was created by Stan Lee (writer) and Jack Kirby (penciller) in 1963. In 1967 the uniforms changed with issue 39, written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Don Heck. I did not appreciate the change. When Dave Cockrum took over the pencilling duties with writers Chris Clermont and Len Wein, they brought in a whole new team, with the exception of Cyclops. I still read the comic but longed for the original team.

Therefore when I asked Cockrum for a sketch, it had to be Angel, even though he had left the team. I had also asked why all the changes, I was not aware of the need for a revamp to attract new customers. His reply was, often a new artist likes to put his signature on a character and will make changes with the writers so they can take ownership. The fact that Angel, Beast, Marvel Girl and Iceman were leaving the team did not make me happy, but did not turn me away from the comic.

Dave Cockrum (1943-2006) also provided his art for Spiderman, Avengers, Captain Marvel Star Trek at Marvel. For DC he worked on Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, Blackhawk, Superman, Batman and a host of others. According to the Wikipedia biography they noted that Cockrum was a prolific and inventive costume designer, who updated the Legion of Super-Heroes as well as they X-Men...

Rudy Nebres - John Carter of Mars

2011.04.03 Wild Pig Comic Con Somerset, NJ...

Rudy Nebres found work with DC Comics when Carmine Infantino and Joe Orlando were on a scouting trip in the Philippines. Migrating to the US in 1975, Nebres found more work and fame drawing for Marvel Comics on Dr. Strange, The Avengers, King Kull, Savage Sword of Conan, John Carter of Mars, Red Sonja...Nebres also provide art for Vampirella, Warren Publishing...

Nebres' work is very detailed providing great depth to his work, where the backgrounds play an important part of his work, framing the characters and animals in the main body of work...

John Carter of Mars was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, featured in a series of Martian novels, is from Earth and has been transported to Mars, where he serves as a warrior-savior.

The first day cover features the Apollo Lunar Vehicle 1971 (one of a set of stamps) issued by the Marshall Islands, as part of Expo `89, Washington, DC honoring achievements in space exploration.

Mr. Nebres stated he had never draw anything as small as this, and yet he still maintained his exquisite style...a masterpiece.

Terrrrrrrrrific!

2011.03.28 Gene Deitch - Tom Terrific

When I first wrote to Mr. Deitch and I received his drawing of Tom Terrific, see previous post...I was truly excited by receiving the sketch. Mr. Deitch also sent along a color print of Tom and Mighty Manfred, which I did not mention in my post. I do not post everything I receive or purchase. After seeing the post, Mr. Deitch replied......

Hi Ray, I didn't understand that you wanted me to draw something on the first day cover; I didn't want to ruin it, so instead I made you a large color cartoon. Apparently, you didn't like that, as you make no mention of it on your blog. The Tom Terrific head on the mailing envelope was just a very fast sketch I did at the last minute, before mailing it. Do you want to return the FDC? Best Gene...

I did not mention the print as it did not fit in with the overall collection of covers. I appreciate everything I receive, I understand the artist I write to are under no obligation to send anything. The fact that Mr. Deitch took the time to respond is greatly appreciated. At first I was not going to return the FDC as I did not want to take advantage of his kindness. But I really though having the Tom Terrific on a FDC was something I did not want to pass up.

Mr. Deitch has been more than kind, returning the cover with a pencil sketch of Tom and another sketch of Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog... Thank you for your kindness...This was indeed a very special delivery...

I chose the Disney related FDC to honor Gene Deitch's work in animation. The Disney Studios do an excellent job of animating, but there are many others out there, like Mr. Deitch, who provide countless hours of pleasure and entertainment with their animation...

Special Delivery from Patrick McDonnell's Mutts 2011.03.31

Chris Giarrusso - G-Man

2011.03.13 Metuchen Public Library, Graphic Novels Day, Metuchen, NJ...

I had met Giarrusso previously and obtained a Mini-Marvels Silver Surfer sketch. At the time I also picked up the G-Man series of books. This time around I picked up the Mini-Marvels collected works, very funny, and a G-Man sketch on a Libraries FDC...I kinda like to mix things up...

It was great hearing Giarrusso's presentation about his process of writing and working with his editor, very entertaining, including the development of the stories "Hawkeye and the Curse of the Crimson Crown" and "The Couch"...

Giarrusso also spoke of his creation G-Man and his how G-Man's older brother picks on him, not unlike Giarrusso's older brother did to him...as a younger brother I know the feeling and my youngest son Matt who attended the lecture gave me a knowing look of "been there, expect more of the same." The whole program which lasted about 1.5 hours was well worth the time...

Misako Rocks! - Graphic artist

2011.03.13 Metuchen Public Library, Graphic Novels Day, Metuchen, NJ

The library was visited by Misako Rocks!, Colleen Venable and Chris Giarusso, who each presented a slide show on how they create, develop and became involved in producing graphic novels. This free program was open to the public and presented by the Friends of the Metuchen Public Library.

Misako Rocks! is a graphic artist from Japan, but did not become involved in graphic novels until after she had moved to the US. Her style is Japanese, with an American touch...An American manga written by a Japanese writer/artist. Misako got her start drawing for the newspaper "The Onion"

Her first novel was Biker Girl, the story of a young girl who becomes a super-biker when she rides a magic bicycle. Misako followed this with Rock and Roll Love, and Detective Jermain volume 1...Misako offered a very nice presentation about her work and getting involved in graphic novels.

Author Colleen Venable gave an excellent presentation on how she created her characters for the Guinea Pig Pet Shop Private Eye Series...(no art)..

Tom Batiuk - Funky Winkerbean - "Lisa's Story"

2001.02.28...Lisa (Funky Winkerbean)...Breast Cancer Awareness 1996

When I came across the Breast cancer awareness FDC in my collection I was not sure I would be able to use it for a sketch. Then I was reading Funky Winkerbean and Lisa's ghost made one of her usual comforting visits to her husband Les Moore, and I knew I had to request a sketch from Tom Batiuk of Lisa Moore...

I first received a sketch from Tom Batiuk, Funky Winkerbean in the late 1980's. Back then Funky, which first appeared in 1972, was about a group of high school students going through the usual problems a teenager faces. Yes the comic had the usual best friends, school bully, student living in a locker, but Batiuk also featured stories that brought a teenager's problems out in the open, including teen pregnancy...

Batiuk then did something no other artist did. He took time off and brought the cast back as adults, with established careers and lives. Still Batik touched on subjects that we all face, marriage, divorce, birth, drunk driving, war and death...

Lisa's story was one of the story arcs that touched many readers when it was published and still does in book format...Lisa had married Les Moore and in 1999 Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer. The strip followed Lisa through her discovery, treatment, family relationships through tough times and her untimely death at a young age (2007). This was not a quick get it done story but 8 years of a characters life. While Lisa was undergoing treatment my family was dealt a similar blow. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and is now a 4 year survivor. While I was reading about Lisa's final battle the realization that we were just beginning ours touched me very deeply. When Lisa passed I could not tell my wife, the thought of having to be in Les' place was too difficult to think about...

When I sent my request to Tom Batiuk, I was not sure if he would respond and I was not sure how I would feel if he did. When I opened the envelope with the sketch of Lisa's smiling face I was delighted, not saddened as I might expect. I thank Mr. Batiuk for bringing realistic experiences to the daily comic strips, it did help me to cope as I looked back to Lisa's story. He helped take the loneliness out of the situation many of us have had to face.

Lisa is not the only comic character to die, of course Superman and Batman have died a thousand deaths. There are several characters that have met their end in the comics, including another Tom Batiuk character John Darling (John Darling, Funky Winkerbean spinoff), Farley the dog (Better or Worse), Phylllis Blossom (Gasoline Aley, where the characters age in "real-time"), Grandpa (Family Circus), but Lisa's lost battle to cancer was carried by several newspaper and television news reports. Lisa's Story made an impact on many people and will continue to reach out and touch many lives...

Lisa's Story Reuters

Urbana Daily Citizen

Cancer Health

Tom Batiuk

Patrick McDonnell - Mutts

2003 Patrick McDonnell appeared at Buchmeister Books, Chatham, NJ to sign copies of his books and to support the North Shore Animal League, (McDonnell is involved with The Humane Society of the United States). McDonnell has been awarded the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben for Cartoonist of the Year 1999, Comic Strip of the Year 1996; Germany's Max and Moritz Award for Best international Comic Strip 1998; Harvey Award for Best Comic Strip 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 among others...

Mutts first appeared in 1994 and is based on the every day antics of Earl, the dog, and Mooch, the cat, and their human owners. Their friendship shows the differences between the animals as pets and their relationships with their owners.

One of my favorite parts of the Sunday strip is the title panel. Each Sunday the panel features a tribute to some of the most influential artists and designers of the past century, such as Mike Mignola, Donald Baechler, Shuster and Siegel, Katsushika Hokusai, Dali, Toulose-Latrec and many more....

Mutts has seen publication in several books...

Signing his book - Mutts - What Now...for my sons Mike and Matt, McDonnell noticed they were wearing soccer shirts. He said he had never drawn Earl or Mooch playing soccer and this would be the first time. Since I read the comic strip everyday, I have seen Earl play baseball, but have yet to see them play soccer outside of this drawing.

Neil Vokes - Batman

Neil Vokes - 2008.12.07 Comic Fest, East Hanover, NJ

Another gem from Neil. He talks about his passion in interviews, it comes through in his art. Neil provided me with 2 drawings during this show, I couldn't get him to stop, I am sure he would have done more. Thanks.

Brian Crane - Pickles

2011.02.02 Brian Crane - Pickles...Earl and Nelson...

Brian Crane has received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award in 2001 for his strip Pickles, which runs as a daily and a Sunday comic strip. Pickles was first published in 1990.

Pickles, follows a retired couple in their seventies, Earl and Opal Pickles, and their dog Roscoe, cat Muffin, grandson Nelson, their daughter Sylvia and her husband Dan. the strip shows the funny side of family and friendship.

On his web site at the Cartoonist Studio, Crane states, "I've always wanted to become a cartoonist when I grow up, and I still hope to do so if and when that day ever comes."

I still enjoy reading the comics in my newspaper, I am slowly working toward a few web comics. I don't remember when I started reading Pickles, but it has quickly become a part of my life. The newspapers have a way of revamping their lineup every so often, and one day Pickles appeared, and fortunately it has stayed. I will say, although not retired and no grand children yet, I am often scared by Earl Pickles. It seems he and I are a lot alike, and it is not a good way, according to my wife. I can see a lot of similarities in their relationship to my own.

Earl often finds ways to relax instead of working or saying the wrong things to Opal at the wrong time, like there is ever a right time. I post this cartoon not because my wife doesn't like technology, I am the one who refuses to read e-books, rather because this is often her reaction to the things I say.

I chose to have Mr. Crane sketch on a combination first day cover, with both stamps dealing with life from youth to aging, as reflected by Crane's sketch of Earl and Nelson...

Hy Eisman - Popeye

Hy Eisman... Popeye 2010.10.09

Eisman started drawing comic strips in 1950 working on several strips including Kerry Drake, Little Iodine, the Katzenjammer Kids (the second oldest comic strip created in 1897 by Rudolph Dirks).

Popeye first appeared in 1929 as part of the comic strip Thimble Theatre, which debuted in 1919, was the creation of E.C. Segar. Eisman started drawing the Sunday panel in 1994, joining several well known artists who have drawn the pugilistic sailor including Doc Winner, Bela Zaboly, Ralph Stein, Bud Sagendorf and Bobby London.

Popeye has become one of the most well-known comic characters having been featured in comic books, cartoons (first appearing with Betty Boop in 1933) a live action movie starring Robin Williams, games and advertising.

Popeye the sailor's character has a unique method of speech, overly muscular arms on a thin body, smokes a corn-cob pipe and eats spinach to provide his super-human strength. He is often at odds with his nemesis Bluto over the affection of Olive Oyl.

Eisman is also known for the many comic books he has drawn, featuring the characters Nancy, Little Lulu, Tom and Jerry and the Munsters, and several Charlton Comics.