THOSE MAGNIFICENT FIRST YEARS AT THE DRAWING BOARD!

As I was preparing some materials for an interview, I came across several items that made me go back in time and recall those very first years when I started my career as a cartoonist.

Back then, during the early 1970s, where there was no internet, there were no scanners, no Photoshop or any other digital means to aid artists in their creations, you had to depend on the more traditional tools of graphic design.

Essential instruments for my work were the Gillott nibs, the wooden handles, the indispensable Pelikan Black India Ink, the erasers, the HB pencils and my paper of choice, the vellum cardboard.

And of course, another very useful item to complete the package, was me at the drawing board!

(That's me, in about 1976 or 1977.)

I really do not miss those days for I actually thrive using every digital assistance available today.

However, I do miss that long-gone comic book era, when BEEP BEEP, THE ROAD RUNNER and THE PINK PANTHER occupied my creative hours!

BACK ISSUE!

This morning's mail brought a very nice and quite unexpected surprise: Number 129 of Back Issue Magazine featuring an article by Mark Arnold on the Pink Panther which included a mention of my Spanish language issues done for Western Publishing Company through their Latin American affiliate, Novaro Publishers.

Thank you, Mark Arnold and TwoMorrows Publishing!

https://www.twomorrows.com

THE DIGITAL MAGIC

In an effort to convert my comic book covers from the 70s and 80s into digital files, I've tried a number of apps and Photoshop has been the one that works better for me. I am not going to attempt digitizing my entire output from those years but a few samples of selected issues will have to do for now!

You will appreciate below the difference between the original source material and the cleaned-up version.

                                             BEFORE                                                  AFTER

            BEFORE                                                     AFTER              

A MOBSTER NICK HALLOWEEN TALE!

 

ROD SERLING, THE MASTER OF TV SUSPENSE AND FANTASY

This is the cover of the first TWILIGHT ZONE comic I ever bought. It was back in 1962 and I had been a fan of the TV show from its premiere in 1959 until it was canceled in 1964. The issue in question was the first published under the Gold Key label after Dell Publishing Co. ended its partnership with Western Publishing.

I bought almost every issue of TZ up until the early 70s and I still keep most of them in my collection. The quality of the stories and artwork varied, with the earlier ones being the best all around. 

These are some of my favorite issues:

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension

as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between

light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit

of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of

imagination. It is an area which we call "The Twilight Zone".-Rod Serling

ROD SERLING

(1924-1975)

On WIKIPEDIA:

Rod Serling

THE MONSTER MONTH OF HALLOWEEN!

            October is one week old already and the Halloween Season is officially full speed ahead. 

                                                 Also, today is my son Ricardo's Birthday!

                                  So, as we greet October, I salute my offspring and wish him all the 

                                                         health, happiness and joy he deserves!

PERSONAL GROWTH DURING COVID PANDEMIC

 

   I have taken advantage of the coronavirus lockdown to improve my cultural, intellectual and professional knowledge by perusing large amounts of high level and stimulating literary works. No sense in wasting valuable time just hanging around with nothing to do!

BEEP BEEP THE ROAD RUNNER

Beep Beep the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote made their debut on September 17, 1949 in "Fast and Furry-ous", a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoon.

In 1973, I was commissioned by Novaro Publishing Co., to write and draw The Road Runner comics for the Spanish language market. The first few years I had to submit my story ideas and pencil sketches to Zetta DeVoe, Del Connell and Chase Craig at Western Publishing Company and upon their approval, I could proceed with the inking and coloring for publication. Later on, as they gained confidence in my work, I was only required to submit the finished artwork for their approval, which, of course, saved me a lot of time.

Those were great days in my cartooning career.  I split my time between The Road Runner and The Pink Panther comics until 1986, when NOVARO closed and I was forced to look for a job somewhere else.

In all, I did 156 issues of Beep Beep The Road Runner.

Remembering those bygone days, here is my last unpublished cover for THE ROAD RUNNER.

STAN LEE - (1922-2018)

Legendary Comic Book producer and cultural icon, STAN LEE died on this day at 95 years of age.
STAN LEE was a comic book writer, editor, and publisher. He was editor-in-chief of MARVEL COMICS, and later its publisher and chairman, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
In collaboration with several artists, particularly Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created many memorable super-heroes including Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Black Panther, the X-Men and in collaboration with writer Larry Lieber, Ant-Man, Iron Man and Thor.

I must admit I've never been a fan of super-hero adventures and my comic book collection holds very few Marvel and Super-Hero oriented titles, but Stan Lee's influence was strong and his contribution to the history of science fiction and fantasy comics is unquestionable.  He will surely be missed by his millions of followers!

Rest In Peace, Mr. STAN LEE!

One of my few super-hero books, Stan Lee's ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS is a priced item of my book collection. This is the 1974 edition!

THE TWILIGHT ZONE!

THE TWILIGHT ZONE was an anthology tv series created by noted writer Rod Serling and dealt with fantastic stories which almost always featured a surprise and horrifying ending. The original series ran from 1959 to 1964 with a total of 156 episodes. The series quickly became a cult classic and still runs in syndication. It has been revived several times and a feature film produced by Steven Spielberg was released in 1983.
The original series remains the better one and some of my favorite episodes still hold up very well. The Twilight Zone has also been adapted into a series of comic books, the best ones being published by Gold Key Comics during the 60s.
Much has been written about the show and details are easily found everywhere on the Internet so I won't delve too much into them.
All I can say is that October and the Halloween season always seem to be the best time to enjoy these timeless episodes.
So here's remembering Rod Serling and the immortal Twilight Zone!

"There is a 5th dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space, and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow - between science and superstition. And it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call...

THE TWILIGHT ZONE!"