We came, we saw, we honored!

It's over!  Phoenix's 3rd annual celebration of Jack Kirby's birthday has passed, and this year we honored the King's 100th birthday with a multifaceted three day event I won't soon forget, because I recorded the whole thing!

Firstly, I'd like to thank Drawn to Comics for hosting the 24 Hour Kirby Comic Challenge. Drawn to Comics has come up a lot here lately, not just because I co-host a podcast with shop owner Ken Brown, but because he and his wife Susan are incredible supporters of local artists like myself.  Who else would let five weirdos lock themselves in a comic shop for 24 straight hours?  

One of those weirdos was me -- the rest were four of my favorite people in Phoenix (well, one of them is in Sedona, but that's Phoenix adjacent, so it counts).  Birdie Birdashaw, Derk Harron, the Janimal, and Zoe Sugg agreed to attempt the 24 Hour Comic Challenge to honor Kirby, while I documented the whole thing in an attempt to create a webseries of the day.  Here's a picture of them as the sun rose over Glendale, bushy-eyed but strong-willed -- as you'll see when that webseries drops on YouTube later this year!

That Monday, the 28th, the day of Kirby's actual birthday, 10 of the Valley's funniest people gathered to roast the King's first, and perhaps most important creation -- Captain America! My thanks to Monkey Pants Bar & Grill in Tempe for hosting our event.  If you're ever hankering wings and/or karaoke near ASU, Monkey Pants is the place.

I'll post the roast on Phoenix Tonight's YouTube page soon, but in the meantime, here's a shot of me with the Avengers in attendance.  I guess Stark had an expo, or something.

My appreciation to the comedians that made the night hilarious, and particularly to the Captain himself, who made both the 24 Hour Comic Challenge and this roast some of the most memorable events in this fanboy's life.  Follow him on Instagram @stevenrogersusa.

Keep your eyes glued to this blog for more posts this fall!  Karaoke adventures, zines, and more zany fandom to come!

When Comics Believed In Kids (part 1)

Kids today.  If they aren't tackling referees during their varsity football games, they're shooting slingshots at traffic on the I-10.  Remember the good old days, when kids could be superheroes, too?

When I think of the Texas high school footballers that tackled that ref, or the 18-year-old "I-10 shooter copycats," I remember my teenaged years and find no relation whatsoever.  I'm not saying I wasn't capable of delinquency, but even my petty pranks had self-imposed limits.  I'd t.p. a house without abandon, but I'd never, say, egg a house.  My philosophy was simple: if we get caught in the act, we should be able to fix it immediately.  Call me a lazy delinquent, but I didn't want to deal with the cops or any other consequences, if I could avoid it.

Today's youth seem to have a different standard.  "If it doesn't get on YouTube, it isn't worth doing."  Society's perpetual quest for celebrity is another topic entirely, but in this context it isn't exclusive from the personal sense of responsibility I'm addressing, and apparently mourning.

Surprise, surprise, I'll use Spider-man as an example.  When Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spidey, they sought to establish a character to whom their young readers could relate. So, when puny Peter Parker gets powers, he doesn't take to the streets fighting crime, but he seeks fame and fortune as a wrestler.  That arena could easily be likened to the YouTube or Snapchat of its day, so, in this and so many other ways, Marvel was ahead of its time.

Now, if you know the story, you remember a fame-drunk Peter letting a mugger pass, and this scoundrel soon murders Parker's beloved Uncle Ben.  Spider-man pursues the killer, realizes its the mugger he let escape, and vows to fight crime.  Now, what if -- Marvel fans are familiar with that question, too -- what if Peter had stopped the mugger in the hallway?  Spidey could've pursued his wrestling career and achieved great celebrity with his Uncle Ben alive and well. The responsibility isn't exclusive from the fame.

Lee and Ditko presume that if a youth is capable of realizing his mistake, and willing to spend a lifetime correcting it, he's just that step away from achieving the responsibility in the first place. Peter succeeds a legacy of young superheroes that had it just as hard: Robin, Toro, Bucky, Speedy, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash . . . and that's just off the top of my head. While many of these youngsters were just adolescent echos of their mentors, meant to boost sales, the concept stands: a kid can do just as much good as an adult.

Captain America tested this philosophy every time he broke the fourth wall and encouraged kids to contribute to the war effort by recycling the very comics they just read.  The message was clear: you don't have to punch Hitler in the face.  Help with whatever you have, and, for those kids in the '40s, what they had was comics.  Those kids did recycle their comics, bundling newsprint for the mill like a little newsboy legion (hmm . . .), and while their effort eventually made those old issues scarce and collectible, it also proved them right.  Kids were heroes, too!

If comic books continued this legacy today, perhaps those slingshot wielding copycats, at the legally-adult age of 18-years-old, wouldn't try to deflect and defend themselves as "kids that didn't know better," because we would counter that kids actually do.

To be continued . . .

These Dog Days Have Bite To Their Bark

August may be dubbed the "dog days of summer," but it was a surprisingly busy month for KaraokeFanboy Press and Amazing Arizona Comics.  Last month, I decided to post a new panel every day on Instagram, inspired by the news of that respective day, and I'm very happy with the result.  I missed a day here and there, but in the end I have a 31-panel story that explores "a month in the life" of my homespun superheroes.  If you haven't heard my interview about #Augustagram on our local NPR affiliate, it's archived here.  The tale will be colored and collected in issue #15 of Amazing Arizona Comics, due out later this month.

The end of August hailed Jack Kirby's birthday, and for years I've read of other cities celebrating the day with galleries, socials, and general to-dos.  While I know Phoenix comics shops have hosted events to honor Kirby in the past, I wanted to do something worthy of those nationally promoted celebrations, something to put Phoenix on the map.  The product was an evening that featured local artists and their Kirby-inspired work, an open mic of local poets and performers, and a drawing demonstration by none other than Steve Rude, whose tutelage and friendship with Jack Kirby gave our event the integrity and intimacy it deserved.  I was happy to discuss the evening on Good Morning, Arizona, following the hilarious in-studio of antics of comedian Tom Green, and you can still watch me draw Captain America live right here.  Highlights of the Jack Kirby Birthday Celebration included:

• The gallery of local artists, including Derk Harron (top left), Bryan Bg Graham (top right), Steve Failla (bottom left), and Eric Mengel (bottom right).
• Host Jesse James Criscione's recount of his day with Jack Kirby, which, without exaggeration, completely changed his life.
• Gary Bowers' Jack Kirby birthday card, which he hopes to submit to the Kirby Museum by 2017 for Jack's 100th birthday.
• Bob Leeper's discussion of Kirby's oft-overlooked influence over the romance comics genre.
• Ashley Naftule's discovery of Kirby's storied "cigar box," and the diary entries therein.
• JRC's kinesthetic recreation of the Kirby process, complete with virtual Kirby crackle and boom tubes.
• Ernesto Moncada's sharing of finding Kirby through poorly reprinted, and usually out of order, Mexican comic books.
• Tommy Cannon's charming greeting to Steve Rude, and his awesome Kirby-influenced poem.
• Kevin Patterson's recount of discovering, and fearing, the real Yancy Street from Fantastic Four lore.
• Eric Mengel's personal connection to the date of Kirby's birthday, and how the day celebrates his personal and artistic passions.

Final kudos go to Brick Cave Media, for their kind donation of a sound system, to my brother Kyle for setting up said sound system, and to Cynthia Black, proprietor of C-MOD, the venue that hosted us and sponsors many other great Phoenix events.  Needless to say, I'll always remember that night . . . until next year's event tops it!

The busyness continues into September, with a few more amazing events just under my belt and still on the horizon.  On Saturday, September 5, I was honored to join the pre-show carnival as the caricature artist at Okilly Dokilly's historic first concert.  You may have heard of Okilly Dokilly: they're the Phoenix-based metal band inspired by the words, and fashion-sense, of The Simpsons' Ned Flanders.  My favorite song on their setlist is "They Warned Me," a haunted refrain that turns a throwaway punchline into a haunting spiritual regret.  I Simpsonized many fans (some of whom are pictured above), sold many comics, and enjoyed the festivities immensely, as it was a true example of how diverse and fun Phoenix culture is.

Finally, I'm extremely excited to join Steve Benson next Saturday, September 12, at the opening of the Arizona Capital Museum's "Show Me Arizona: Illustrations of History" opening gala.  Benson is a Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist, whose work appears in The Arizona Republic.  I'm the creator of Amazing Arizona Comics, which hasn't won any awards.  Still, he and I are speaking on the topics of politics, cartooning, and Arizona, starting that morning at 11 a.m., and if you're in the area please come watch me hold back tears of joy at the opportunity.

While making Amazing Arizona Comics has given me an outlet to tell the stories buzzing about my head, it's also opened these doors of connectivity to my fellow creative types, from local artists and peers, to artistic heroes like Steve Rude and Steve Benson.  I would call this, more than any sales of my books, a tremendous success, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Happy Birthday, Speed Cameron!

On Facebook, today marks Speed Cameron's birthday, because, back in 1988, November 1st was the day my family first moved to Arizona.  I remember this because trick-or-treating was skimpy that year, lest we heave a Hefty bag of candy onto the plane.  If only we knew then that in a post-9/11 world such a feat would be impossible -- anyway, to celebrate, here's an exclusive comic strip.  This two-page spread originally appeared in the local zine Pholx back in 2011 and is now colored, thanks to my "bro-ducer" Kyle Kaz.  Enjoy!

Remember to visit the Amazing Arizona Comics webcomic tomorrow for a new strip, starring June Monsoon and Sam Brero at the Arizona State Fair!

The Sun Devil Fan Fair, The Winter Solider, and More!

What a great month for comics!  First . . .

Upcoming: Sun Devil Fan Fair & Amazing Arizona Comics Quarterly #1!

This weekend, some ASU fan clubs are hosting the first ever Sun Devil Fan Fair, a mini comic con on the Tempe Arizona State University Campus.  They're been gracious enough to squeeze me in, so if you're in town, come on by for a free sketch, or to pick up an issue of Amazing Arizona Comics! 

 

Unfortunately, I won't have any issues of Amazing Arizona Comics Quarterly #1 available yet, but pre-order is still available here at the discounted price of $2.50!  Remember, this is the first full-sized issue of Amazing Arizona Comics!  Buy it now!

Coming Soon . . .

Here's a panel from this year's Amazing Arizona Comics: Free Comic Book Day Special, starring the Arizonauts suffering the dog days of summer.  (And colored by my brother, Kyle.)  You gotta read it to believe it!  I hope to send issues to shops in Tucson, Flagstaff, and of course right here in Phoenix, so visit your local comic book store on Saturday, May 3, for this and more free comics!

Amazing Arizona Research

Last month, my wife and I cruised Route 66, and I've been posting pics from the trip -- here's my favorite billboard of all time!

Cool Cosplay

I can't post this without mentioning the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier last weekend!  The concessions workers at the Westgate AMC Theater in Glendale were just as excited as I was -- and they dressed the part!  The "Winter Soldier's" garb is especially impressive in its effective simplicity!

This Week's Intake

Yes, I was thrilled to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier on its opening night.  I was also thrilled that the plot's driving force was (spoilers?) the current issue of national security versus personal privacy -- making Cap the vehicle for exploring a legitimate issue with the overtones of adventurous escapism.  Replace "S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarriers" with "unmanned drones" and Cap's plight in The Winter Soldier is practically ripped from the headlines, which, in my opinion, is always when superheroes are at their best.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier may be the best superhero movie to date.

My wife and I also went to the Phoenix Film Festival and caught The Joe Show, a documentary about Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- who, as you may know, has inspired many stories in Amazing Arizona Comics.  Considering Arpaio's track record for controversy and unabashed media hounding, as documented persuasively in The Joe Show, is it any wonder he managed to recruit a secret posse of super deputies?  That's perhaps the most believable of Joe's exploits yet!

See you at the Sun Devil Fan Fair!

Creature Features!

This week's post focuses on creatures big and small -- from the ankle-biters that plague suburban Phoenix streets to the dinosaurs of Route 66 and beyond!

Coming Soon: Amazing Arizona Comics Quarterly #1 & America's Super Secret Service #1

Amazing Arizona Comics Quarterly is still scheduled to drop this month, but in the meantime here's a detail from the first page of Amazing Arizona Comics #10/America's Super Secret Service #1.  How does a routine chihuahua attack in Phoenix lead to the biggest threat our country has ever faced?  Coming soon!

Amazing Arizona Research

Earlier this month, my wife and I toured the Arizona section of Route 66, and the last leg of our trip unearthed a lot of dinosaurs.  Stewart's Petrified Wood, a trading post just outside of Holbrook, is one of the most famous spots starring Arizona's prehistoric pests, specifically the homemade variety.  While I'm leaning toward not posting all of the pics I took on Route 66, because you really should see it all yourself, consider this comprehensive collage a gift so you won't have to experience the creepy shopkeepers of Stewart's.  Sometimes the beasts of a region are more evolved than the humans in their midst.

Cool Cosplay

I get to see a lot of cool cosplay at the cons I attend, and rather than post endless slideshows of fat Batmen, I like to feature one great costume at a time, ideally revealing the wearer's creativity, originality, and most importantly to me practicality.  Keeping with the creature theme, here's Sharknado, the Sci-Fi Network's most successful passing fad yet.  Thankfully, Sharknado will always live on in cosplay form.

This Week's Intake

This week's intake didn't vary much from previous weeks' intake.  In fact, I read another issue of Kirby's Captain America, which introduced a new bad guy called the Baron (I think), whose core villainy seems centered on recruiting slaves for manual labor, confirming that overarching theme in the King's comics: that the greatest evil is making someone work.  I also picked up Dean Haspiel's The Fox #5, which concluded his excellent Freak Magnet miniseries with a team-up with the Shield.  The tone wasn't as scatterbrained as previous issues, thanks in large part to J.M DeMatteis' script, but I still loved it and am excited for more.

I think the most mind-consuming intake I'm still processing is Eric Stephenson's speech to comic book retailers at a recent industry convention about the importance of brick and mortar stores.  Comic Book Resources posted a transcript of the speech, and I'm still mulling over the subtexts about the importance of superheroes in today's culture.  As I prepare of SPX in September, I accept I might be in the minority of self-publishers still doling out superhero stuff.  I'm definitely comfortable with that -- it's just an interesting phenomenon to experience superheroes become less counter-culture as they become more mainstream . . . at least in perception.  I believe superheroes are still the epitome of counter-culture, despite their new place in pop culture as box office blockbusters.  I won't explore too much further, because I think the subject is worthy of a post all by itself, only to leave it with what would undoubtedly be that post's first sentence:

At its best, the superhero is an all-ages escape fantasy for reality's troubles, shameless in its ethical simplicity, yet daring in the complexity that presents a graphic narrative with such a blurred fourth wall.

The Mother Road

My wife and I treated ourselves to an amazing three day weekend along Route 66, starting in Kingman, ending in the Petrified Forest, and taking us down through Snowflake, Show Low, and Globe/Miami/Superior back to Phoenix.  I've often heard it explained that artists need to replenish their real world experiences to keep telling stories, and I've spent too much time at the drawing table recently, so doing something was inspirational.  Plenty more stories to come, from the open roads of the Grand Canyon State!

Coming Soon: Amazing Arizona Comics Quarterly #1

It's still coming . . . as is the next issue of Amazing Arizona Comics proper, the mini series that started it all.  In Amazing Arizona Comics #10/America's Super Secret Service #1 (working title), Speed Cameron's adventures outside of Arizona finally hit close to home.  Suddenly, everything makes sense! Preview art available next week!

Amazing Arizona Research

While living in Phoenix is research enough for my superhero-driven political satire Amazing Arizona Comics, I often take pictures or collect memorabilia in, about, or outside of the city to keep the inspiration coming.  Here's some signage from the Arizona Water Company building in Miami, Arizona.  Don't surprised if that droplet dude makes an appearance in a future issue!

Cool Cosplay

I get to see a lot of cool cosplay at the cons I attend, and rather than post endless slideshows of fat Batmen, I like to feature one great costume at a time, ideally revealing the wearer's creativity, originality, and most importantly to me practicality.  The Shadow is perhaps one of the most practical, as his outfit is basically just a classy suit and a cape.  Add a Raven-esque galpal, and you have a gruesome twosome in the best way possible.  I saw this dynamic duo at the Tucson Comic Con back in 2010.  Why I haven't posted the pic until now, only the Shadow knows . . .!  (C'mon, I had to say it.)

This Week's Intake

Much of this week's intake was experiential, thanks to our Route 66 road trip, and I'll be reaping the fruits of those inspirations for months to come, from the abandoned Americana that litters Arizona's northern highways, or the kooky karaoke characters my wife and I encountered in Williams.

As far as media goes, this week I caught an interesting episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, starring a young Robert Redford as a burglar that fights (and, spoiler, fails) to change his thieving ways, despite the toil it takes on his new wife.  It doesn't help that their friend Karl, played by Barry Morse, gives Redford fresh leads, secretly hoping Redford will get caught so Karl can have the hot young wife all to himself.

I know Morse best as Lt. Philip Gerard from TV's The Fugitive, which I watch every Sunday night on MeTV.  When you watch old television, primary from the '50s and early '60s, you realize that there weren't a lot of actors back then, and you see a lot of the same faces in multiple roles.  Interestingly, as Karl in this Hitchcock episode, Morse says a line about the law that comes right out of Gerard's rule book.  The connection was palpable.

I also read an issue of Kirby's Captain America run this week, in which a terrorist group deforms SHIELD agents into monsters to work a labor camp.  The theme of "forced labor" in Kirby's work suddenly struck me with that issue, from these SHIELD slaves to Darkseid's minions on Apokolips . . . The theme is clear.  The ultimate evil is making people work.  Thusly, conversely, Kirby tells us that to fight such evil, being a superhero, is simply to do what you love.

Sign me up!

Thank You, Amazing Arizona Comic Con!

A special thanks to the crew from Amazing Arizona Comic Con for a great weekend!  If you visited my table, thanks for stopping by -- and if you didn't, hope to see you next year!  If you missed your chance to score a free sketch, I'm still happy to oblige -- just drop a note in the comments section.

Josh A. Cutler as Captain America 

Every comic con is full of stories, and I posted a few I had the pleasure of hearing over at the blog Nerdvana -- just click here to read them.

Finally, since I create a comic about superheroes in Arizona, this picture I snapped of Robin in downtown Phoenix has become one of my favorites.  Dig that shadow!  The teen wonder lives!

Don't forget, Phoenix Comicon is in May.  More stories await!

Countdown Day 2: Speed Cameron Vs. Cap

Pholx is a zine distributed in downtown Phoenix and Tempe and occasionally features exclusive Amazing Arizona Comics strips. In this adventure published a few months ago, Speed Cameron decides to confront out-of-towners come to protest Arizona, but he's stopped just in time -- by a mysterious patriot (Chris Evan on a publicity tour, perhaps) that teaches him how everyone has the right to voice their opinion . . . even if they've travelled to the very state they're protesting to do so. Besides, while in Arizona, they have to spend money on hotel rooms, food, and gas, right? So, doesn't everybody win?

Tomorrow: Say cheese!