New Portraits of the Creators
Feb 9th
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Two additions to Portraits of the Creators Sketchbook.
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Jack Abel
Legendary inker of Superman, Legion of Superheroes, Iron Man and many more, since the early 1950’s. Portrait based on photo by Greg Theakston, taken at Continuity studios circa 1977. I shared this room with Jack, Terry Austin and Bob Wiacek for a while, as Jack inked many of my Legion of Superheroes stories for DC, along with his other assignments. Portrait appears at the Jack Abel Wikipedia biography.
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Clifford Meth
Prolific dark fiction writer and critic, good friend and colleague. Portrait adapted from an illustration of Dave Cockrum, Bill Messner-Loebs and Clifford for the back cover of The 3 Tenors: Offkey from Aardwolf Publishing. Also appears at the Clifford Meth Wikipedia biography.
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On the First Day of 2010
Jan 1st
Happy New Year!
A New Year greeting I produced for JMB Factor, international patent consulting firm.
Mighty nice words from Frank Lee Delano
At his Idol-Head of Diabolu Martian Manhunter blog accompanying the Despero sketch.
Mike Nasser is probably the second most important artist to draw J’onn J’onzz after his co-creator, Joe Certa. It was Nasser who restored the beetle-brow from the character’s earliest appearances, revived his belt symbol, designed his 1970s logo and offered a dynamic new art style that exposed the character’s potential for greatness to then-modern readers. Sadly, Nasser’s run was much too brief, and saw him illustrate only a couple of new villains, N’or Cott and R’es Eda. In recent years though Nasser, now known as Michael Netzer, has done real solid by Martian Manhunter fandom. He drew the beloved Idol-Head of Diabolu banner in 2007, then followed that up with a campaign to save Martian Manhunter from Final Crisis with his Take Me… but don’t kill J’Onn campaign in 2008. This was supported by pin-ups pairing Manhunter with the Atom (Ryan Choi), Aquaman and the Atom (Ray Palmer).
Happy New Year Frank, and all the gang whom we’ll hope to connect with soon!
The December of Despero
Dec 31st
Frank Lee Delano, keeper of The Idol-Head of Diabolu blog, chronicling the affairs of J’onn J’onzz the Martian Manhunter, has been running a month long article and image fest on the villain Despero. Frank was a big inspiration last year when we ran the campaign to save J’onn J’onzz from the death-grip of DC editorial plans. He’s also run a hefty amount of reviews of my Manhunter series from 1976, along with other mentions.
So, a moment before the end of the year, while still in December, here’s a quick Despero sketch for the Idol-Head, and a Happy New Year shoutout to Frank, and all the friends in his healthy and happy circle of bloggers.
WAVE Preview
Dec 27th
WAVE is a new ongoing comics project. A graphic novel planned for more than 150 pages. The epic weaves historical influences, contemporary events, emerging sciences & science-fiction, social upheaval and heroic fantasy in an end of the world scenario.
WAVE is my first comics project in more than 20 years and the first full graphic novel I’ve started.
Click image for full screen navigation with image scaling and scrolling, courtesy of ISSUU.
Updates will follow as pages are produced.
To download PDF file of WAVE Preview, go here and click download in the menu..
Happy 41st Birthday, Tom Spurgeon!
Dec 16th
If everyone whom Tom wishes a happy birthday to, were to post a birthday wish for him today…
…they might just break the internet.
Comics journalism and commentary at its very best.
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Comic Treadmill on Challengers #82
Dec 16th
Comic Treadmill is a long running blog discussion platform launched in 2003 by Mag and H. It was inspired by a series of email exchanges where H commented on comics from his collection in the process of his long overdue indexing of same. The commentary was engaging to the degree that it gave birth to one of the more well known sources for information and discussion in the comics blogoshpere.
H posted a commentary last weekend on Challengers of the Unknown #82 from 1977, which I penciled in 1976 (still Mike Nasser). It was inked by Josef Rubinstein and written by Gerry Conway. The issue also sports a one panel Swamp Thing appearance that was inked by Berni Wrightson – and a one page bio replacing the letters in that issue, indicating that DC was beginning to take note of my art. It was the second and only Challengers book I drew after issue # 81 that was inked by Bob Wiacek.
Barely 21 years old when I drew it, Challengers #82 was one of several turning points in my early career. The few books I’d previously penciled for DC were early training ground, while this issue took a sharp turn towards looking more like an exciting and professional comic book. It was the first time Neal Adams looked through one of my books and said: “This is a good comic book!”
In the post at Comic Treadmill, H recalls that Gerry Conway was not one of his favorite writers but that upon re-reading this book now while indexing it, he may have not have given the book its fair due in the past and that it was a good enjoyable story. H also comments on the art:
And I have always liked the art of Mike Nasser, who does the pencils with Joe Rubenstein inking. Sure, Nasser’s style owed more than a little to Neal Adams, but I like Neal Adams art and I like Nasser’s Adams-like style. The art demands the eye’s attention. Here are three good examples.
In a comment on the post, Keith adds:
The Challengers of the Unknown have never thrilled me, either. I DO love Mike Nasser’s artwork, though. Had I known of his involvement with this series, I would have picked it up years ago. Nasser’s an artist I never felt really got his due. I consider him one of the heavy-hitters of the 70’s, but I seem to hold the minority opinion. Thanks for shedding light on this forgotten series. I imagine that if I can find it, it won’t be terribly expensive to pick up. I’m sure you get this a lot, but I love your site. Quite happy I stumbled across it.
Kind gratitude, H and Keith, for the very nice words.
Supergod at Bleeding Cool
Dec 6th
Rich Johnston, reporter extraordinaire and Bleeding Cool proprietary, sent out a memo to his contacts before Thanksgiving, asking for news bits about upcoming projects that haven’t yet received much comics press. He ran the items throughout the holiday, one every hour, transcending East to West U.S. time zones (34 items and not getting any sleep in the process).
Though I don’t have a new comics projects to promote right now, I did send Rich a few images and words that relate to Warren Ellis’ new series SUPERGOD, published by Avatar Press, which Rich advertises and reports on at Bleeding Cool. Suffice it to say that because the item wasn’t quite about an upcoming project, it didn’t make it into the Thanksgiving marathon. And so, that was that.
To my surprise, Rich ran the piece today as an independent Bleeding Cool item.
Supergod: The Other Version by Mike Netzer.
There’s nothing really in common, other than the name, between Warren’s series and my strip from 1978. Warren’s SUPERGOD is an apocalyptic journey into the dark side of fabricated-to-order saviors, while my strip was a more innocent look at superhero godhood trying to cheer up some people in a psychiatric ward who seemed to need a little positive encouragement in their homemade newsletter. But they carry the same name, which perhaps reveals that dark and light motifs, polarized as they appear to be, can share a commonality.
Warren Ellis is producer/writer of some of the more prolific ideas and titles in comics. He reaches deep into readers’ hopes and fears to stimulate and entertain, while clearly having something to say along the way. His cultural sensibilities, telling volumes about the man behind the writer, are elegantly laid out in his perpetually morphing web expanse. From his groundbreaking Transmetropolitan series for DC Helix to his recent surge of titles at Avatar Press that include Black Summer, Doktor Sleepless, FreakAngels and Ignition City, Warren Ellis’ contribution to comics is perhaps of the most expressive of divergent states that readers of the graphic story form thirst for.
The same name for two diverging ideas nearly 30 years apart. Bloody bleeding cool.
Around the Neighborhood
Dec 4th
Legion Movie
New film from Screen Gems, directed by Scott Stewart. January 22nd, 2010. Looks good.
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Patri and Ilan
Two artists I worked with in 2004 at DPSI, 3D animation studio in Israel which began producing the last film that Christopher Reeve directed, before his untimely passing away. Click each image to view their marvelous portfolios.
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Growing Earth Ranks High at Discovery
Growing Earth Theory recently received the number 2 spot for science conspiracy theories at Discovery. A very favorable review, actually, of the type which are snowballing in popular media. Click the image below to see the video.
Happy Birthday Michelle!
Dec 2nd
Since Michelle left Israel nearly 2 years ago, she’s been busy as vocalist for deep funk and soul classicist band, Third Coast Kings. So busy, in fact, that it’s become difficult to keep track of the enormous success the band is having and the prolific opportunities unfolding before Michelle.
It’s now another full circle since that birthday trip to Ein Gedi. A new birthday to the background of a marvelous realization of a life dream to perform and inspire.
May your star shine till the ends of eternity, your wonderful talent continue to enrich and enlighten everyone you touch… and may it be the happiest birthday yet.
— From all the family in Ofra
20th Century Danny Boy
Nov 26th
Thank you, Daniel, for the gracious words.
Michael Netzer Returns!
But then he never really went away. Michael Netzer, the genius behind the Facebook Virtual Comic Con, has proved once more why he’s one of the more interesting people on the planet, has re-invented his web-site again. I think I’ve lost track of how many times, but damn, as always it’s well worth looking at and exploring.
I don’t believe I live up to it, nor do I know how much time I have to sustain it. Sufficient for now, is that we have a little window to try.
The Invincible Gene Colan
Nov 26th
From the Desk of AArdwolf Publishing
Edited by comics historian Clifford Meth, this stunning visual biography pays tribute to one of the most brilliant, sublime and influential comic artists in the genre’s history. Accompanying the eye-popping art is analysis from Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Romita, Walter Simonson, Neil Gaiman, Tom Palmer and Tom Spurgeon.
AARDWOLF PRESENTS
A GENE COLAN LIMITED-EDITION EXCLUSIVE!
This February, Marvel Comics releases the breath-taking The Invincible Gene Colan,
a look-back on the stellar career of the comic-art master.
Aardwolf has worked with Gene Colan for nearly 15 years. We are delighted to be awarded the opportunity to offer the signed, limited editions of this extraordinary book.
Aardwolf will have exclusive signed/numbered copies as well as the extremely limited remarqued, book-plated edition (each containing a unique sketch from the hand of Gene Colan).
- Double-lettered remarqued edition
Contains Colan sketch; only 52 will be created: $150 plus $5 domestic shipping - Numbered remarqued edition
Contains Colan sketch; only 100 will be created: $140 plus $5 domestic shipping - Signed/numbered
Colan signature only — no drawing: $40 +$5 domestic shipping
To reserve your copy via PayPal,
visit http://www.aardwolfpublishing.com
– or –
Send a check payable to Aardwolf Publishing to:
Aardwolf Publishing, 179-9 Rt. 46 West, Box 252, Rockaway, NJ 07866
S P E C I A L O F F E R
With an order of any of the above books, add another $15 and receive
THE UNCANNY DAVE COCKRUM
hardcover numbered edition ($40 retail value).
Belated Farewell to Dave Simons
Nov 25th
When Dave Simons departed from us last June, succumbing to a long battle with esophageal cancer, I was well out of the loop of the web community. I received the news and grieved his untimely departure but had little recourse to even mention it at my website or add to the tributes from across the comics world. I opted to let the silence speak for the loss, instead of trying to force a few words within a situation which wasn’t allowing it.
A profile and portrait of Dave tell of the close and dear friendship we had. Daniel Best compiled an excellent Wikipedia biography of him which ran into an initial snag with editors there and gave birth to “The Inherently Notable Dave Simons” Facebook drive to show Wikipedia editors just how well known and loved Dave Simons is. Dave’s Facebook profile page remains active today as friends and acquaintances continue to express their longing to see him again – as if he hovers over the web expanse reading every word. It’s a mistake to believe that Dave Simons is no longer with us. His warm resolve, tantalizing wit and great talent remain embedded in everyone he’s touched. The countless tributes from all walks of the comics community and coverage at Daniel Best’s blog tell volumes of the impact he had on the hearts of everyone who knows him.
Have peace dear Dave. Our world is made a little less bright in your absence, but memory brightens the heart longing.
Booksteve’s Library Album of ’70s Comics Creators
Nov 25th
Our good friend, Steven Thompson of Booksteve’s Library has posted a fine archive volume of photos in a new Facebook Album of comics creators from the 1970’s. Photos are clipped and scanned from The Comics Buyer’s Guide (TBG, CBG) issues of the ’70s.
"My friend Michael Netzer in his previous life as Mike Nasser, one of the most unheralded comics pencillers of the day"
Amongst them, he found a photo of myself that was likely taken about mid-1978 at a NY convention. The entire Album is rich with memorable personalities such as Al Williamson, Archie Goodwin, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bill Everett, Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, Charles Schulz, Russ Manning, Charles M. “Chuck” Jones, Dave Cockrum, Milton Caniff, Don Newton, Jim Steranko, Frank Frazetta, Gardner Fox, Gene Colan, Harvey Kurtzman, Howard Chaykin, Jack C. Harris, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Joe Kubert, Joe Orlando, Joe Staton, Nick Cuti, John Buscema, Mike Grell, Don Macgregor, Jeneatte Kahn, Stan Lee, Marie Severin, Neal Adams, Nester Redondo, Rich Buckler, Roy Thomas, Russ Heath, Roger Stern, Steve Gerber, Steve Leialoha, T. Casy Brennan, Terry Austin, Trina Robbins, Len Wein, Vaughn Bode, Wally Wood, Walt Simonson, Wendy Pini, Frank Thorne, Will Eisner… and many more.
From a comment he made on the album, Steven informs that there’s much more to scan where these came from, and we can hope to see the album continue growing.
In the fine tradition of his cultural blog site, Booksteve’s Library, Steven continues to compile and chronicle the entertainment culture of a previous era that’s otherwise been left behind for posterity. He does so with impeccable dedication and foresight. Visit his site regularly, and if possible, make a donation toward its continued presence as an unmatched compilation of nostalgia that both edifies and endears.
Viewing the Album of 1970’s creators is open to everyone. No need for registration at Facebook.
Earth Grows in Japan
Nov 23rd
JAPAN TIMES Features Growing Earth Theory
Neal Adams has scored a landmark triumph in advancing Growing Earth Theory with an unprecedented public relations coup. The Japan Times, one of the more serious and widely read English language newspaper publications in the Far East, has published this week, a 3-article feature on Growing Earth Theory, in its weekend magazine supplement.
"Oceans of data: This map, using radiometric data compiled by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, illustrates the process by which the ocean floors have been created within the last 200 million years. Pink and red indicate the most recent additions; greens followed by blues are the oldest. Detail added by researcher Neal Adams’ Continuity Associates breaks the growth into 10-million-year sections. Humans have existed on Earth only during the time indicated by the pink lines." – NOAA / CONTINUITY ASSOCIATES
Reporter Jeff Ogrisseg, a Tokyo-based journalist with an abiding interest in Earth sciences, has delivered what is perhaps the first, and definably the most in-depth, coverage of Growing Earth yet to see print in mainstream journalism. True to the paper’s motto, “All the News Without Fear or Favor”, Ogrisseg takes on Plate Tectonics and places the pros and cons of a Growing Earth on the proverbial journalistic table, for readers to judge. From the start, the meticulous reporter distinguishes between the scientific history and credibility of Growing Earth and the myriad uncorroborated pseudo-scientific propositions for Earth origins. For the first time, and within a serious and reputable mainstream publication, the reader is engaged in a fair and balanced presentation of Growing Earth – its history and development as a viable scientific model – and left with the vivid impression that it embodies a pivotal role for the future of Earth science studies.
The first article, Our Growing Earth? lays out discrepancies between Growing Earth and the more circumstantial evidence through which Plate Tectonics became embraced.
Could this theory offer one simple explanation for the current distance between Earth’s continents, and the death of the dinosaurs – without involving a Hollywood-size asteroid – and turn the long-held notion of India smashing into Asia on its head?
Is it merely a coincidence that you can reassemble the continents into a single supercontinent that would encase a much smaller Earth?
Growing Earth Theory says yes, yes, yes and no; geology is not big on coincidences.
"On a plate: A map of the world showing the boundaries of the 15 largest tectonic plates on the surface of the planet as delineated by Plate Tectonics Theory. The theory assumes the planet has always been about its present size, and that many of its landforms have been created as a result of enormous pressures caused by movements of these plates." – U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
The second article, Dogmas May Blinker Mainstream Scinetific Thinking, takes the reader on a well articulated and researched journey through the history of Continental Drift and development of Tectonic Plate consensus, all the while weaving in the venerable turn towards an Expanding Earth model led by scientists/geologists Hilgenberg, Carey, Maxlow and others since the 1950’s.
Interestingly, though, it’s not so long since science was leaning in favor of a far simpler explanation that followed in the footsteps of those who had centuries before set their eyes on the first world maps.
Scientists such as Otto Hilgenberg (1896-1976) in Germany and Samuel Warren Carey (1911-2002) in Australia, working in the years before World War II, not only noted how the continents bordering the Atlantic appeared to fit into each other if pushed together. They also observed, and made models to show, that the Pacific, Indian and Southern Ocean continents also fitted together but as one mass entirely covering an Earth half its present size.
Third in the feature, is a profile of Neal Adams, Top Artist Draws Growing Global Conclusions, recapping the artist’s career – focusing on his contribution to the revival of Growing Earth Theory, his proposed model for spontaneous generation of new mass in planet cores, and need to challenge mainstream science towards facing the overwhelming evidence, and ushering a conceptual upheaval across all areas of scientific research.
But what really consumes Adams these days is the way he’s drawn to Growing Earth Theory to the point where he’s spent more than half a million dollars of his own money striving to contribute to the scientific debates. He has, through his Continuity Associates studio, produced more than a dozen video clips demonstrating expansion tectonics in action all around our solar system that have been viewed by millions online…
…”I’m upsetting all the apple carts,” he [Adams] said. “This really comes down to a new science. I’d like to sugarcoat it, but I can’t. Most of what we know or assume to know is wrong one way or another. That’s kind of a kick in the ass to everyone, isn’t it?”
"Geology's Dark Knight: Famed graphic artist Neal Adams holds a homemade paleoglobe showing how tightly Earth's continents fit together on a smaller sphere." – HANAKO HORIBE
More than half a million dollars is no small change. It tells of a dedication equaled with a personal and financial investment worthy of the implications of a Growing Earth for the future of science and humanity.
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Indeed, a resounding victory in the arena of public relations and popular opinion. A victory for perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, as Growing Earth Theory continues to capture the hearts and minds of a growing public – growing in steadfast conviction that our Earth and universe are alive, dynamic and beckon a new future across the horizon of human curiosity, self-awareness and achievement.
First we take YouTube… and then we take the world press.
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Follow these links to download a print PDF format of the feature as laid out in the Japan Times magazine supplement: Page One and Page Two.
Few theories are without their flaws, but Growing Earth Theory certainly has a way of growing on you.
Bill Nichols Webbing to Motivate
Nov 23rd
Our good friend Bill Nichols has launched his own new web site, Comics Mentor.
I’ve known Bill on the web for years now. He is a source of support and inspiration in as much as he’s also the marvelous editor of Sketch Magazine, who’s raising a generation of new artists and instilling them with zest and zeal for the craft of creating comics books. I’ve joined Bill and other industry professionals in judging the engaging art contests at Blue Line Pro and Afterburn Media forums, operated by comics creator, Sketch publisher and entrepreneur, Robert W. Hickey. Bill is the consumate inspirational motivator and his new web site reaches out to awaken ambition.
Well, I’ll ask you: What do you want to do?
We all have our list of hopes and dreams, things we want to accomplish in this life. Sometimes, that list goes in the opposite direction of the things we have to do. We have obligations to our families, our jobs, our friends, etc, but we also have some obligations to ourselves.
Don’t forget that: You have an obligation to yourself.
I’m not saying that you should be selfish in that; I mean that you should look for a way to balance those things. Find ways to take steps forward that benefit you as well as your family. Will the classes you take at a community college help you get a better job that helps your family’s financial picture? Things like that. The things you do not only affect you but those around you. Strive to make it work.
You know your own situation, so you can start right now with a list or two. Get those thought processes going!
Bill is also a talented artist and prudent purveyor of the human soul. His choice to kick off his new web site with a nudge into the subconscious tells volumes about wisdom that understands what people need to hear most in these times, and displays the courage needed to deliver it.
Nicely done and best wishes for an exuberant ride ahead, Mr. Nichols.
Welcome
Nov 21st
Welcome to the gateway into Michael Netzer Online site complex.
Because we’ve grown slowly but steadily, even perhaps exponentially, over the years, and in an effort to provide a more intuitively functional directory to the vast amount of accumulated content, this portal was originally intended to only provide indexed links of interest to sites, biographies, articles and galleries accessible through the menu above. It also seems prudent because the main site has been inactive for a while and many readers are familiar with my sometimes volatile tendency to step away from web activity for prolonged periods – which I’ve been feeling is coming on again sometime in the near future. So this portal was originally designed to also serve as a cover directory while I’m away for the next stretch.
But as fate would have it, and though I’d been considering and planning it for some time now, my stepping away from the home environment that allows me to maintain the websites is being delayed somewhat. In the meantime, I’m engaged in a few activities that are compelling and should be announced here and shared with whomever happens to be passing through. What’s more, this portal is my first WordPress format for a web site and I’m finding it very tempting to take advantage of its well engineered platform, beyond the directory listings it was originally intended to be.
Life is what happens when we make other plans, they say. So, I’ve taken the cue and decided to post as much new content as will be possible, for now. If and when the time comes to step away, then at least we’ll have had a few more excursions together in this new abode.
Here’s wishing for an exhilarating ride. It’s not really a new web site yet, but it could very well develop into one. Our last main site, rEvolution, also briefly named Messiah Complexity and later Michael Netzer Online, which has been running on and off since June 2006, can now have its well earned rest among its sister sites in the complex.
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