Tick party!

In case anyone was wondering, the Tick property has had its share of popularity in its day, much of it surrounding the mid-'90s Fox Kids cartoon.  The show was a high-water mark for the character's level of recognition, and in addition to that, there was a lot of Tick merchandise created at the time.

Case in point, there was an entire party set made for the show, and I was able to get my hands on a complete set of party items recently.  Bucking my usual collector's mentality, we decided to have a party and use all of the props that I had bought.  These things were made for a 14-year-old's birthday party, but I saw no reason to let that stop us.

The occasion for the party was the Free Comic Book Day issue of the Tick that I wrote, and my continuing relationship with the Tick and New England Comics (hooray).  My wife had originally planned to throw the party in May, closer to the release of the issue, but it kept getting pushed back and hey, it's July.  But no worries.

At the very top you'll see the Tick party topper, which is at least three times as fun as it looks.  It's interesting (but not surprising) to note that all of this merchandise featured, pretty prominently, the Fox Kids logo.  Let's take a look at some of the other things included in the party pack!

Noise makers!

Plates!  You can see American Maid in the top left corner - she was the only character other than the Tick and Arthur to be featured on any of these items.  I wonder if that's because she was one of the few female characters, if she fit the color scheme, or if it was just a random choice.

Arthur got the napkins.

Tiny cups.

Party hats!

Here's the paper tablecloth.  "Keen" and "Spoon" are obvious phrases to include on some things like this, but the other caption (Arthur is saying it on the cups) is a bit more strange.  "We will protect and defend each other from now on until the end of time!"  As far as I know, that's not a line from the cartoon, and it seems altogether pretty generic.  And we can see another American Maid appearance on this tablecloth.

It wasn't my birthday...but why not?  There are only so many Tick-themed party decorations.

Some of the detail.  You can see the copyright of 1995 here.

There was lots of food to be had at the party, as I made corn on the cob, hot dogs, fried chicken, baked beans, cornbread...and other stuff.  We decided that it would have taken too much effort to cut the hot dogs into little octopi.

It's not a party without a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.  With blue icing!  It kind of looks like the Tick is eating a huge piece here.

I promise that there were other people in attendance than myself and three-year-olds.  My nephew couldn't figure out whose birthday it was, but he ate the cake nonetheless.

There were a couple items that we didn't break into, including the gift bags...

...or the invitation/thank you cards.  But they're there, too.

I felt like this should have been a roller skating party.  It certainly did take me back.  I had a great time, and it certainly feels good to celebrate something like getting to write the Tick.

I love Superman. I hate Superman!!

To be fair, Superman means different things to different people, and it seems that every generation has a new take on the character.  Superman as a concept is strong enough to withstand those revisions while still retaining the essence of what makes him a character for the ages - a strong moral background, a willingness to stand up for what's right, and a longing for equality.

The 1940s and '50s were the heyday of the "father figure" Superman, who at times could be pretty condescending and narcissistic, but nevertheless lived up to the larger ideals that we know him for today.  A great example of this is in the promotional image seen above.  It's a public service announcement that, when taken in the context of the time, is pretty profound, and it represents, to me, what Superman is all about.  Here we are in a time when minorities of all types are, at best, second-class citizens, and Superman steps up to remind us all about our social responsibilities, showcasing the promise and potential of America.  The message still resonates today!  What a powerful message, and what a character to stand up for what's right.  I love patriotic, inclusive Superman!

Superman, along with the rest of the DC universe, underwent a fairly well-covered reboot in 2011.  While there have been some bright spots, the results have been, for the most part, pretty terrible, and Superman can't escape the mess that has become DC Comics in recent months.  This has nothing to do with the character himself, but rather how he's been written in his self-titled "Superman" book.  If ever there has been a ship lost at sea, it's been the Superman title, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better any time soon.

I realize that Superman has been through some rough patches before, and his high commercial status often supersedes the desire to tell challenging stories.  Just before the reboot, there was a horrendous "Superman walks across America for no reason" story that was the epitome of boring, for example.  But this current run rivals or surpasses even that.  A great example of what I'm talking about is the character "H'El" (OH, I GET IT!!  HOW CLEVER!!!), as seen above, who looks like he got hot and decided to wear his shirt tied around his waist, and who was brought out like some weird, brooding, Edward Cullen-type character who felt things and stuff.

Nothing could prepare me, though, for a recent issue, which made me want to jump out of my skin.  I took a picture of the panel in question, and I've stared at it incredulously a few times since.  Listen, DC, I can put up with a lot when it comes to comics.  I've read some terrible stories in my time, and for some reason I stick with it when it comes to characters I love.  But this -- THIS! -- drives me nuts.  "You have no idea what it is your carrying around inside your head."  What it is "YOUR" carrying around?  Did I just read the most anger-inducing grammatical error of all time?  No one at DC knows the difference between "your" and "you're"?  Really?  REALLY?

I hate Superman.

Thing sketchbook, part 12

It's been a long time since I've had a new entry into the Thing sketchbook.  This takes us to the end of my current sketches...but don't worry, Thing fans, I'm always on the lookout for a lonely comic book artist to accost into adding more to the collection.  Let's dive right in to this batch!

Benn Robbins - Comic-Con International 2012

Benn is a New England Comics employee and the artist on the Mangalicious Tick miniseries.  I met him at Comic-Con and he was kind enough to  listen to my ramblings about the Tick (I've got more than a few).  He adds this great lumpy Thing to the mix!

Magnolia Porter - Comic-Con International 2012

Even though having a booth at Comic-Con means you spend about 50 hours in the convention hall over a five day period, it's difficult to see everything, including things in your immediate vicinity.  On Sunday, though, I took a quick jaunt around the small press section and found a booth maned by Magnolia Porter and Mary Cagle.  I picked up books by both and continue to be incredible impressed by the work they do.  I managed to harass them into adding sketches to the book.  Here's Magnolia's addition, which is just fantastic.  The "Shield" shirt and the cat are great additions.

Mary Cagle - Comic-Con International 2012

I picked up Mary Cagle's book, "Kiwi Blitz" at Comic-Con and I enjoyed every page.  She's a talented creator with a fun art style.  This Thing is more cartoony than probably any other in the book, and I live the uniqueness.  Lookit those stubby legs!  I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Gabe Crate - Comic-Con International 2012

Gabe Crate wrote and drew several Tick one-shots during the early part of the 2000s.  A Bostonian like many Tick creators, Gabe had lots of great stories to tell, most of which I feel comfortable repeating.  This laid back Thing is pretty super, as is the color added.  And hey!  That shirt is canonical, sir.

Ian Nichols - New England Comics FCBD 2013

I had the good fortune of having a signing at New England Comics in Quincy, Massachusetts for the 2013 Free Comic Book Day event.  I sat at a table with a bunch of comics and artist Ian Nichols, who was sketching and raising funds for the "Boston One" cause.  Ian was sketching for the entire time that I was there, but I managed to twist his arm and walk away with this great Thing sketch.

At several points during the process, Tom, the manager of the store, came over to yell at us, which made the event all the more memorable.


That's it for now, but one of my goals of Comic-Con 2013 is to get a few more sketches!  Wish me luck!

You can't escape it: my students draw even more terrible renditions of the Incredible Hulk

We're aware of how this works by now, right?  It's simple: I give my college freshman class their final at the end of the semester and let them know that I may actually give them bonus points if they draw the Hulk on the cover of their green books.  I don't actually give them extra credit.  It's more of a social experiment.  Anyway, the results are usually terrible, and this past semester, over last month, is no exception.  Check out some of these attempts, with sporadic commentary by me, because if there's anything that demands commentary, it's hastily drawn images of the Incredible Hulk by college students.  Whatever.  Here we go!

Quite the neck on this one.

Bah, Boston?  Come on.  By the way: the Pirates have the second-best record in all of baseball.

Hulk have no feet!

This was probably the best of the bunch.  Nice job, guy.

This entry and the previous one have this in common: they are ADORABLE.

The Hulk looks like he's getting electrocuted, but it's still a pretty good image.

This reminds me of the Mad Libs character.  Weird.

What the heck.

Hulk eats a beehive.

FINALLY!  The catchphrase.

I enjoy these semester after semester.  Great job, kids.

Teddy and the Yeti featured on the Cornered Blog!

The Cornered Blog is a website that's dedicated to those little character profiles that show up in the left-hand corner of some comics.  These mini-marvels might be a Silver Age relic at this point, but there's something to be said for nostalgia, and the comics industry is full of that.  Much of the corner art featured on the blog is redrawn from original images as loving homages to covers of old.  Just recently, the corner art on an upcoming issue of Teddy and the Yeti was featured on the website!

This cover clip has some art by Pietro, one of my favorite artists going.  This cover, though you can't see the full image, obviously, does harken back to one of my favorite covers of the Silver Age.

Many thank to Jon from the Cornered Blog for the post and the good press.  You should check out the full site here - http://corneredblog.blogspot.com - but be prepared to spend a lot of time digging through all of the images.

Not surprisingly, the Thing is one of the most popular characters on the site, with homages to the Fantastic Four, Marvel Two-in-One and the Thing solo series aplenty.  Here are a few!

The Thing and Man-Thing!  From Marvel Two-in-One #43, by Flynn Nichols.

"Calamity" Jon Morris, owner of the site, must be a big fan of the Two-in-One series, because he's got a number of entries similar to this one above, from issues 52, 53 and 55 ("The Pegasus Project"!) of the series featuring Moon Knight, Quasar and Giant Man/Black Goliath...and the Thing!

Here's one of my favorites...it's a classic Kirby homage from Michael Lynch!  Very cool.

Check out the Cornered Blog and enjoy the nostalgia!

The Journal of Venture Studies

If you're like me, you've been eagerly awaiting the return of the Venture Bros. animated series, which has been off the air for WAY, way too long.  There were the Shallow Gravy and Halloween specials to tide us over in the last few years, but I've been longing for my Venture fix for quite some time.  Luckily, that wait is over as new episodes of the show began airing last Sunday with an extra long helping.  I'm already looking forward to next week's offering!

In anticipation of the new season, Adult Swim sponsored a publication of the Journal of Venture Studies, a semi-academic and semi-self aware electronic journal all about the inner workings of the Venture Bros.  With hours left to spare, I submitted to the journal and had one of only five articles to be accepted!  A few weeks ago, the journal went live and the network promoted it, including on their official Facebook page:

I...have no idea who that "Dan McClelland" is who commented on the post.  Anyway.

My entry to the journal is titled "'Brock...GOOD!': the Edlund Contributions to the Venture-Verse", and it's about how Edlund and the Tick influenced the Venture Bros. program.  It may seem like a cop-out, writing about the Tick when I could have delved into other areas of analysis, but hey, I guess you write what you know.

Accompanying me on this article is FUBAR co-conspirator Jeff McComsey, who added a few spot illustrations to the article and broke up some of those long blocks of text.  Jeff did a great job at capturing the animation style of the show.  The "Venturestein" head study that you see above is a thing of beauty.

By virtue of having my article accepted, I received this incredible, original animated production art cel, which is pretty much cooler than anything I could have expected.  Venture Bros. art is not an easy thing to come by, and to just have this fall into my lap was quite the serendipitous occurrence.  This particular piece features Captain Sunshine (voiced by Batman's Kevin Conroy) and Hank Venture as the erstwhile (in a few ways) sidekick Wonder Boy.  "WONDER BOOOYYY!"  How neat!  This is definitely a keeper.

If you'd like to read my article, or download the full volume, you just have to click on the following link: http://venturestudies.com/volume2.html

This was a great project to be a part of.  Hey, for the heck of it, let's see a picture of myself and Larry as Jet Boy and Jet Girl from last year's Comic-Con:

All right!

Tobacco is Whacko (if you're a teen); NYCC 2013; Franks and Beans and more RANDOM NOTES!

We're back with another installment of "Random Notes!", the regular blog feature that cleans off my desktop of pictures and ideas that I feel like sharing with the Internets.  This is a long-running feature, dating all the way back to 1995, when this blog was hosted by GeoCities.  Fun fact: in 1995, it took seven days to upload a picture, and I passed the time in between typing in the cheat code to the original Sim City!  We've come a long way.

- Our first feature, coincidentally, comes from the '90s as well.  It's one of those comic book ads that I'll always remember...and hate.  At first glance, it seems like a perfectly reasonable and well-meaning advertisement, an anti-tobacco message that pushes back against the significant deleterious influence of big corporations.  The slogan rhymes, so why not, right?  But for some reason, the company that produced this ad decided to add the caveat "if you're a teen".  As if to say, "the minute you turn 20, bam!  Off you go to get your smokes."  So, smoking is okay if you're an adult?

That seems like such a cop-out.  Why would an anti-smoking ad qualify its message in this way?  The fine print reveals that it's produced by Lorillard, a TOBACCO COMPANY.  #$&^&*#%@!!!  A little more research reveals that the Lorillard tobacco company is based out of...McMURRAY, PA!  #&@^$&#%@&!!!!

Ridiculous.  These were terrible comic book advertisements that now seem like backhanded ads for the very thing it was supposedly warning against.  This must be like discovering that the Matrix is real.

- In less infuriating news, I recently got approved for a professional badge to the 2013 New York Comic Con!  That's exciting stuff.  It'll be the first time I've been to the show since 2010, when I went in a different capacity.  I believe that the FUBAR booth will be making an appearance on the floor, so look for me to spend a lot of time there.

- The "Man of Steel" movie is just around the corner, and the promotional push is in full swing.  Wal-Mart seems to be a big sponsor (I wonder if Ma Kent will be shown eating Great Value cereal?) as there's Superman-related merchandise littered throughout the stores.  Among the strangest tie-ins I've seen: Superman pizza!  I guess it's not exactly called "Superman Pizza", but what else would you say when asked to describe this item?  The pepperoni should be dyed red, blue and yellow.

- I've never been drawn to digital comics; I have nothing against them, I just prefer the archaic paper comics that I've always read.  But Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin's "The Private Eye" pulled me in.  I'm a big fan of both creators and this digital comic does not fail to deliver.  It's a fantastic futuristic thriller and I couldn't recommend it more.  If you haven't read this yet, do yourself a favor at go to http://panelsyndicate.com.  I can't wait for the third issue to be released.

- A little while ago, I showed pictures of the Sideshow Tick statue that I bought.  I stumbled upon this image fairly at random recently, and it's obvious that it's a design for the statue.  Really cool!

- Last night, "Weird Al" Yankovic came to Washington, PA, on the newest leg of the Alpocalypse tour. It was a great show!  And it allowed me the chance to debut the newest shirt in the line, as modeled by Larry:

How nice!  The art on this shirt is by Pietro, and I got them printed up at Commonwealth Press in Pittsburgh.  We got a number of compliments on the shirt at the show.  I'm planning on doing a little website renovation over the next few weeks, and part of that will be, I think, opening up an Etsy shop for items that don't necessarily belong in the Teddy and the Yeti camp.

- Speaking of Larry, he's doing a lot of great things with his hobby/obsession, the Dukes of Hazzard.  Last week, I drove out with him past Columbus, Ohio to pick up a door to a '69 Charger General Lee!  If you haven't looked at his blog lately, make sure you check it out before he becomes all famous and people just think you're a bandwagon fan: http://dukescollector.blogspot.com

- I'm a fan of Beast Wars: Transformers.  And if you've ever seen the show, then you are, too.  Here's a great image!  From Twitter!  From Beast Wars Megatron!  You should follow this on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BWMegatron



- Lastly, here's the newest episode of Franks and Beans, in which I grow a beard and Larry and I talk about stuff.  It's episode 60: the Joke!

That's it for this installment of "Random Notes", sure to live on into the 22nd century, passed on from generation to generation like a precious family heirloom.