CLASSIC COMICS REIMAGINED - Crazy Comic Book Revisions - Part 3

CRAZY COMIC BOOK REVISIONS - Part 3

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It says "Part 3" up there, but I have a lot of these.

I love classic comics and when I see something that strikes me the right way, I re-imagine it with different words, or perhaps different art. It is just a way I like to amuse myself, 

and if it amuses you too, then even better!

I utilized the original artwork and rewrote the dialogue and recolored the panels.

I have done a lot of these, but this is just the 3rd one I have posted here.

It is a panel from a Golden Age comic book by Harvey called RACE FOR THE MOON #3. 

Well, technically it's a Silver Age comic, published in 1958. The story is entitled "THE LONG LONG YEARS" and it features artwork by the dream team of Jack Kirby and Al Williamson. 

The story may have been written by Kirby too.

Here are the actual panels as they appeared originally in 1958.

"THE LONG LONG YEARS" by Jack Kirby and Al Williamson

If you love classic comics and want to see the actual entire story, then click here and visit the best Golden Age comics blog on the internet, PAPPY'S GOLDEN AGE BLOGZINE. Nobody shares their comics collection like Pappy! He has lots of comics and scans to enjoy!

If you like the humorous re-imagining of classic comics (and even if you don't) 

I will be posting more of these Crazy Comic Book Revisions here in days to come, 

because I find them amusing and fun to create!

If you haven't seen them, click these links for 

CRAZY COMIC BOOK REVISIONS 

Part 1 

and 

Part 2.

Saint Obama

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I've been putting color to many earlier black and white works. 

One of them is this satirical political portrait of President Barack Obama.

Entitled "SAINT OBAMA", it pictures our current President, a unique individual who apparently never does anything wrong, is smarter than most of us poor yokels, and even though he seems to be surrounded by incompetence, anything that ever goes wrong is never his responsibility. Don't ever criticize him or his policies, or you may be labeled as a racist in the next wave of administration propaganda. 

Our glorious leader floats high above the mediocre populace and as his wondrous head breaks through the top of the clouds, his rapidly tarnishing halo magically appears and a chorus of angels begin to sing, held aloft by baling wire and duct tape. So bow down and shut up, and realize he knows better than you what you need. One day you may understand, but probably not. We're just not as smart as him, and we never will be, but it's okay, he's resigned himself to that fact. Now get in step!

Here's a link to the original black and white version of this political cartoon.

"KREEE-GAAHH!" Revisited

Just slappin' a little color on a panel taken from my story "A Message From The Editor/Publisher Allen Freeman" from SLAM BANG #2. Originally done in black and white, This humorous story shows publisher Allen Freeman transform and reveal himself as Alien Fa-Ree-Mun, as he revels in his plan to take over the world. I'm working on coloring my previous B&W stories to include with new stories in upcoming comics.

original page SLAM BANG #2

A SNEAK PEEK AT MY LATEST FUNNY COMIC STORY

I love humorous comics like the older versions of MAD, so lately that's the kind of stuff I have been drawing. Some of my favorite artists have the ability to draw in a variety of styles, from realistic to abstract to cartoony. Some examples would be Wallace Wood, who excelled at serious comic art as well as hilarious cartoon art. A more modern example is William Wray, who has done serious comic book work, is a magnificent serious painter, and can draw some of the most outlandish and funniest cartoons (you may remember some of his gorgeous and creative work from the Ren and Stimpy cartoons).

I'm not putting myself in that same class, but that is my goal, to be diverse enough to handle any artistic challenge that may come my way.

Anyway, lately I have been changing up my 'serious' style (which I will reveal here in time) in favor of a more fluid, cartoony style. In a serious comic, like BATMAN, for instance, the characters have GOT to be recognizable from panel to panel, and of course a degree of realism is required throughout the story. In animated cartoons, however, characters faces can stretch like rubber, and can change their looks drastically at the whim of the creator.  I am looking to bring that type of cartoony effect to my comic story art, as shown here.

Fan-Atic Press publisher Allen Freeman asked me to draw the story for some real-life experiences he had in various restaurants throughout the last several years, and I said "Sure." True to form, I waited until practically the last day to start putting it all together in earnest. I spent about three days straight digging through my original sketches and layouts, re-drawing every single one, and finally ending up with the 4-page story just in time for the publication deadline. Then I slept for 15 hours straight.

The story will appear in the latest issue of SLAM BANG COMICS (#5), published by Fan-Atic Press. As with all my work for them, I plan on re-using it/re-publishing it later in my own comic publications eventually. I plan to offer these incredible and excellent Michael Wurl comics here soon for everyone who is interested in some of the greatest comics that nobody has ever seen. More on that story as it developes...

Shown here is a sneak peek at the story, an example of my cartoony style. I was fairly happy with the results, but it isn't as good as it should have been if I had spent more time working on it.

SLAM BANG STARVING ARTIST FUND - Fake Ad Parody

I've been involved with FAN-ATIC PRESS and SLAM BANG COMICS here and there since 2006. Publisher/artist Allen Freeman and I have very similar senses of humor, in that we both love the old MAD magazine parodies.

This is an ad he came up with and wanted me to do the art. The first draft had Sally Struthers begging on behalf of the starving artists. I sent Allen a sketch of Sally Struthers clutching two starving artists close to her bosom. One artist was being choked because he was being held too tightly, while the other artist felt quite comfortable being squished into Sally's breast. Allen didn't care for my Sally Struthers image, as he thought I was playing it TOO wacky. He decided he wanted a more low-key sell.

So we changed Sally to that bald headed, white bearded guy, from the commercials that played incessantly a few years ago. He is nameless, just a spokesman I guess. At least, I do not know who he is. So I drew a picture of him from memory, as I couldn't find a reference picture. For the starving artists, I found an actual photo of some poor starving children from one of those ads, and transformed them into sad, pathetic looking artists.

My first version of the white-bearded old guy was way too mean looking. He looked like he was about to kill...

...so I made a slightly happier version.

Actually, I was only supposed to pencil this and Allen was going to ink it, but he ran out of time. He was assembling the comic for publication and he told me he was just going to run it with just my rough pencil art! I said "No way, Jose!" and I spent the next few hours finishing my art! As I was preparing to send him the finished art, I asked him one last question about the picture of the artists.

"Do you want them like this, or with flies all over them?"

"With flies, please!"

So I put flies all over their pathetic faces, making them even more pathetic.

____________________________________

The ad ran in SLAM BANG COMICS #2 (Vol. III) in 2006-7.

The irony of it all is, right now I really am a starving artist, trying to find paying work where ever I can find it!


PLEASE GIVE, WON'T YOU?




I really am hungry... cough cough...and my cardboard box is starting to fall apart from the rain...