HALLOWEEN 2023

Sightseeing at the Big Apple!

Christmas Greetings from Inspector Clouseau and me.

Just a reminder of those long gone days when I used to write and draw comic book stories featuring

  The Inspector for Novaro publishers. Thought it'd be a nice touch to include him in my Xmas card. I think Inspector Clouseau was my favorite comic book character, even on top of The Pink Panther during my time working in the comics business.

NOVARO: THE MEXICAN COLOSSUS (2017)

                                  Available for a limited time through Amazon's Prime Video:

"Novaro - The Mexican Colossus traces the unknown story behind one of the biggest comic companies in Latin America, Editorial Novaro, its place in the Mexican comic industry, its relation with its consumers and its role in shaping the Mexican middle class".

 I was one of several people interviewed in connection to the NOVARO Publishing Company, trying to explain the reasons behind its sudden bankruptcy and eventual disappearance.

I spent about 13 years of my adult life writing and drawing the PINK PANTHER & BEEP BEEP, THE ROAD RUNNER comics as well as a short lived comic of my own creation called EL MAFIOSO NICK.

The 2017 documentary, actually filmed in 2013, examines the influence NOVARO had on several generations of readers from Mexico down to Uruguay, Peru and the rest of  Latin America during the nearly four decades it dominated the comic book market, printing mostly material from the U.S. but also generating a few locally produced titles. The documentary offers some theories about NOVARO's sudden demise and explores the collectibles phenomenon it triggered during its peak years.

This is the link to PRIME VIDEO which will be active for a limited time:

https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0GUT26IG56MHV26JAE6UCWRSWM/ref=atv_wl_hom_c_unkc_1_1

It's Time To Go Out Trick-Or-Treating!

It's Halloween and trick-or-treaters may appear in some very unlikely places!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here are a couple of my favorite Halloween-themed Pink Panther covers I did for Novaro/Western Publishing way back in the 1980s:

IS THIS THE EVOLUTION OF MAN?

Any further explanation would be redundant!

THE RULE OF THUMB!

If you are a senior citizen, you have faulty eyesight and you're not very technology-wise,

this has most certainly happened to you at least once. Or maybe, more than once. 

But don't worry. That's okay. You're human.  

JUST DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN, OKAY?

LOVE CONNECTION?

 

PINK PANTHER Olympic Trading Cards

            

Two cards published in 1990 by Editorial VID with an Olympic theme. These two were the ones I did. 

The rest of the collection featured all the other characters from Vid's comic book titles.

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!

You know the Christmas Season has begun when...

Everywhere you go, you find thousands of Xmas related merchandise...with ridiculous price tags!

MY LIFE IN BOXES

Last August, I moved into a new apartment in another town, but I'm still putting off the enormous chore of unpacking some of my boxes! What to do?

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

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY - COVID STYLE!

 

APRIL FOOL'S DAY!

Don't let it fool you!  The pandemic is not over yet!

 

IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING!

And the hope of better things to come!

 

THE COVID-19 VACCINE

 

No need to despair. It's coming in just a few weeks...maybe.

Another one for Murphy's Law

Now the big question is: how did they get up there?

 

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