New Appearance: I just added the Cincinnati Comic Expo  on September 18, 2010, to my appearance list, as you can see in the right-hand column. I’m getting more active with comic shows than I’ve been in years!

Website: As some of you know, I had a website breakdown on Sunday. With the excellent advice of Phil Hofer, I have gotten the site back to about 95% functionality.  I’ve got some more augmentations to work into the design, and those will be happening over the next week.  Thanks, Phil!

Digital Comics: There’s been a short hiccup in my plans to get “Johnny Saturn” onto Graphic.ly, but we’re back on track.  We still sell digital comics through a number of other venues (Wowio, Drivethru Comics, Panelfly), and quite soon I’ll be selling them off this site as well!  Sadly, one of our vendors, Comicsxp, appears to have gone on hiatus–here’s hoping they are back online soon!

Store: I’ve been working on the “Johnny Saturn” store, and we are replacing its cart system, and adding a bunch of new products.  When the new store is up, some of the items will resume their full prices, so if you are interested please buy these comics now when the price is still down.

Comic Collectives: The Webcomic Collective is no more, sadly.  I’m sorry to see it go, because it included a great many friends and people I respected. We’ve been through this before, such as when Graphic Smash went it’s own way.  We are still members of the Indy Webcomic Group, and Palace In The Sky. I’d like to ad a few more such collectives to my list, but there is little movement on that front.  If anyone knows of good collectives who are accepting new members, please contact me.

The comic industry sure is an interesting one. DC is closing Zuda down, Wowio bought Drunkduck, Lex Luthor is the star of Action Comics and he has his own robotic Lois Lane, and Jim Lee redesigned Wonder Woman.

When it comes to the Jim Lee redesign of Wonder Woman, I know he was aiming at a more urban re-imagining of the character. I don’t think its a bad design, but it certainly doesn’t say “Wonder Woman” to me. Still, I say give it a chance, because the non-powered incarnation of Wonder Woman, from when Denny Oneil wrote her and gave her a white jumpsuit, was an interesting interlude in the Amazon’s career.

I’ve been working with Photoshop CS5 all week, adjusting its options to my workflow, bringing over my swatches and actions, etc., and I really have to say that this new version rocks! I’m well into it, yet there is still a huge learning curve and incredible possibilities ahead of me here. Bravo, Adobe!

I plan on doing a whole series of public domain beauties from the Golden Age of comics, and this is the first up.

So, if you have a hankering to own some Scott Story art, please go to eBay and bid often!

Dave’s work can be seen at www.LegendofBill.com, as well as many other fine sites:

www.GenesJournalcomic.com
www.RodandBarrycomic.com
www.StarTrek.com/TrekLife
www.LightSpeedFineArt.com/DavidReddick.html
www.Garfield.com

I haven’t had the opportunity to prattle on with my lop-sided opinions lately, so it’s time I make that right.

When I saw the solicitations for the new graphic novel, “Neil Young’s Greendale,” I was momentarily confused—was I reading about music or comics?  Well, as it turns out, both.  I haven’t seen this comic yet, but chances are I’ll buy it.  On the album “Greendale,” I consider the songs “Sun Green” and “Be The Rain” to be masterpieces, and deserving of their places among Young’s other great songs.

Lately, I’ve been in intensely studying the human head, and how to draw it better.  Here are a few observations: 1) Andrew Loomis’ books (“Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth” and “Drawing the Head and Hands”) are the standard by which every other illustrator should aspire to; and 2) I have a high opinion of Jack Hamm’s books, too, as well as lifelong admiration for “How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way” by Stan Lee and John Buscema.

Most of the rest of my art books in my library fall well short of these classics.  In fact, many of these art books dish out incorrect information!  I was stunned by some of the wildly inaccurate proportions and measurements these books push!

You know what’s wrong with most art books created today?  They are trying to sell you a genre, not drawing skills.  You get all this “How to Draw Zombies” crap, or dragons, or faeries, or superheroes, or vampires, etc. ad infinitum!  These books usually include basic art instruction, but why not just teach artists how to draw!  Once the would-be artist gets a handle on drawing, then he can draw all the zombies and supers and dragons he wants!

Whew…  Settling down now.

This is why I’ve never written an art book.

In other news, you can now purchase “Johnny Saturn” issues 1 thru 9 from Graphic.ly via iTunes.  I just got to play with an iPad the other day, and I was very impressed with it—it makes a great comic reading device!

How did motion comics get popular?  They seem pretty much the same format as those terrible 1960’s cartoons featuring Captain America, or the Sub-Mariner, or the like.  In those cartoons, they cut up the original comic pages and then moved the two-dimensional characters around.  Well, modern motion comics aren’t that crude, but are more like movie animatics.  They are neither fish nor fowl, comic nor cartoon.  Marvel’s motion comics have looked pretty impressive, really, for all my complaining.  I’m speaking of the “Spider-Woman” webcomics, and the “Iron Man: Extremis” material I’ve seen.

Honestly, if I had the manpower, I’d produce a “Johnny Saturn” motion comic.  I have the source material, and the software, after all.  I just can’t make motion comics and keep up with the weekly comic work.

OK, enough blathering from me.  You may now return to your scheduled broadcast.

___________________________________________________________

* This fan fiction is dedicated to your Johnny Saturn character!

The groan came from deep inside. Inhaling was worse than exhaling. But at least he survived. If you can call this living

Even his pain had pain atop it!

Being a masked vigilante comes with one hell of alot of wear and tear. If it wasn’t for his medical plan;  pension and SSI he wouldn’t be able to get the pain killers that keep him ( barely ) going.

Johnny Saturn, Mystery Man! Johnny Saturn , walking basket case is more like it. Out of the spotlight, away from the cameras is a man whose every breathe is misery.

Despite it all, he doesn’t envy the super powered Metas who fly; teleport;  speed; stretch and otherwise arrive on the scene.

Like the rest of the old school, he accepts them. Not that mystery men had any choice. Must’ve lost that memo about the upgrade. He’d laugh if it wasn’t so painful.

While they’re saving the world or some parallel universe, somebody’s gotta handle back alleys and bad sides of town. He smiled ( ouch! ) as he eased himself into a tub of hot water.

Tonight’s workout wasn’t too bad: a mugger who’ll need serious rehab; and a would-be world beater and assorted hangers on who got their butts kicked BUT GOOD!

The water felt good after the usual half hour of howling injuries finally died down.

Old and new pain blurred as the latest meds kicked in, dulling even his high tolerance down to gently throbbing background buzz.

Tonight’s score: Low Lives: 0; Johnny Saturn: 9. It felt good but it cost: Sore fists from punching face plates; forearms almost fractured from blocking blows; dizziness courtesy of head butting  the super villain while pinned.

In order words just another day at the office- ouch! Hurts getting in the tub, hurts getting out.

” I don’t know how long I can keep this up….” he groggily thought while gingerly lowering himself on to his bed, having gulped even more pain meds to guarantee a night without tossing and turning.

All in all, just another day at the office.

___________________________________________________________

NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT. BLACK promotes crime prevention and self-development. http://www.captblack.info

This is pretty odd looking, isn’t it?  I’m studying ideal proportions right now, and this is a chart I threw together .  What do all these overlapping lines mean?  It’s the human face portrayed with its fundamental ratios, that’s what.

Well, I’m not going to dive into a lengthy explanation of what I’ve laid out here.  To be honest, I posted this just to show how wild this looks.

On May 22, 10 am to 6 pm, I’m going to be appearing at the Summit City Comic con.  Drop by my table, introduce yourselves, and complete your “Johnny Saturn” collection.  Also appearing at the same con is my very good friend and ace artist, Paul McCall, artist on “League of Analogues.”

I’ve got twelve pages in the “IWG Presents: Welcome to Indiana, a Comic Anthology,” and I’m great company with some very talented local cartoonists.

If you are going to buy something at Amazon.com, please use our Amazon advertisement to connect with the books and products you want.  It doesn’t cost you anything, but we get a commission on all goods purchased that originated in this link.

I would like to draw your attention to a new link under “Friends of Johnny Saturn,” Brat-halla, written by my old friend Jeffery Stevenson.  Once, many a moon ago, Jeff and I collaborated on a story that appeared in “Digital Webbing Presents” no. 6, and we’ve kept up with each other through the years.  I can state, without reservation, that “Brat-halla” is an outstanding comic.  Please check it out and add it to your reading list.

I’d also like to share some truly special news with you—this Tuesday is my and Benita’s 25th wedding anniversary!  A quarter of a century… Wow.  Time flies when you are having fun!