SKY MASTERS!

Because Max was talking about it on the Twit today, here's the Sky Masters daily I own. Pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Wally Wood. Doesn't get much better than that!

This strip ran on January 28, 1959.

Anj

Kurtzman Flash Gordon Layout

Harvey Kurtzman is responsible for many of my favorite comics. He's also been a huge influence on me, as an artist and a writer. I don't think comics have ever been done much better than Harvey's EC war comics. The over-sized bound editions of Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat are constant sources of inspiration. Harvey writing concise, poignant historical fiction and providing crystal clear layouts, and then handing those layouts to some of the finest draftsmen in the history of American commercial art.

Anyway, while I love all aspects of Harvey's talents, it is his graphic storytelling that really blows me away. I don't think you could do better as an artist than to have Harvey Kurtzman provide you with thumbnails.

The great (and fucking insane, by the way... I could tell some stories!) Dan Barry was one of those blessed souls who got to work over the layouts of Harvey Kurtzman. The two did a celebrated run on the Flash Gordon comics strip. They were a great team, complimenting each other perfectly.

So, here's an example of what Harvey would provide to Dan. This would be accompanied by a written script, I assume. My pal Phil Hester uses this method quite effectively today, providing both written dialogue and drawn thumbnails.

Enjoy!

Anj

Truman's Old Fashioned?

Someone reminded me that Harry Truman was a famous Old Fashioned lover. A little Googling unearthed this alleged Truman recipe.

I think I'll miss the muddling, but I'll give it a shot.

* Tiny amount of sugar
* Generous bitters
* A little water
* A little cherry juicy (1/4 teaspoon or so)
* Mix it up
* Add ice
* Jack Daniels (he used green label)
* Top with cherry and unmuddled slice of orange

The OLD FASHIONED Recipe!

Okay, since the very first episode of Mad Men aired, I've been kind of obsessed with the cocktail Don Draper seems to order most often, the Old Fashioned. There is much written about this drink online. Some call it the first cocktail. There are scores of recipes to be found.

Well, I made a lot of the damn things before I settled on what I consider the perfect Old Fashioned. It's perfect for me, anyway. I'll let you decide (and modify) for yourself.

Before we get to the recipe, a little history on my pursuit of an Old Fashioned that really works for me. Most online recipes either have no muddled fruit or too much. I like the flavor you get from a little smashed fruit, but I don't like big chunks of orange gunk in my teeth. So, I have come up with a recipe that gives me some muddled fruit, all the muddled fruit flavor, but minimizes chunks. Hence the addition of Triple Sec.

You will need:
A good-sized cocktail glass (sometimes called an old-fashioned glass)
A muddler (I got a stainless steel model on eBay, which I love and recommend)
Some good ice (I'm a fan of "factory" ice for cocktails... you just can't make it as clear and as good at home)
Bitters (yes, you really need to go get some... don't skip this)
Sugar (regular granulated)
Bourbon (I just use Jim Beam... I don't think you need expensive booze here)
Seltzer (plain water will do in a pinch, but you should have seltzer)
Maraschino Cherries (sans stems and pits)
Triple Sec (cheap is fine)
An Orange (for garnish)

And, the recipe!

Place two cherries, a scant teaspoon of sugar, and a healthy dash of bitters in the glass. Muddle until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries are pulp. Add a splash (maybe a half ounce) of Triple Sec and a full shot (or... you know, a little more) of Bourbon.

Top the glass off with lots of good ice, add a splash of seltzer and stir with the sugar spoon. Garnish with a whole cherry and a slice of orange. Impaling the garnishes on one of those little plastic swords is a nice touch.

Enjoy, and don't say I never gave you nothin'!

Anj

Reborn!

I finished my "last" inking deadline about six weeks ago. The quotes are because I don't want to completely close the door on my inking career. I'm trying to become a full-time writer in the long term, but... you never know.

Anyway, in the last six weeks, I have spent most of my time as a writer wrestling with the same damn pitch. It is a pitch and an idea that I love... one that I would love to write. It is also one that is wearing me out.

When I first wrote the pitch, it was pretty high concept and minimal. It was character driven, and the lead is a character I'm dying to write. It got complicated, though. The pitch was a little too similar to another book that had just come out, so I started tweaking. For the next few weeks, these tweaks occupied my mind damn near all the time. I would find a solution, sure it was the way to go. The next day, that solution was a load of crap. I woke up a few times with great ideas, only to stare at my excited scribbles the next day with disgust.

So, for the first time in the short lifespan of my new career, I did something really smart. I set it aside. A few days ago, I moved on another project... something that's been on my mind for years. That project was an absolute godsend to me this week.

Problems on the "new" project are falling away with relative ease. I'm excited to be back in this world, and while I can still feel the world of the other pitch lurking over there in the corner, it's not weighing on me anymore. I have no guarantees, but I have a strong feeling that, once this new project is resolved on paper, the one I was fighting so desperately will somehow fall in place.

It's been an interesting process, and one I'm not quite familiar with. I didn't often have the luxury to simply move over to another project as an inker. I have a feeling I'm going to be learning a lot of new tricks over the next several months.

Have a solid weekend. See you back here soon, I hope.

Anj