You would think after all the pages I've inked I'd have all the answers. But I'm inking yet ANOTHER different penciller on my latest assignment, a very good one at that, who I will reveal in a week or two (not immediately important for the purposes of this story). Everytime I start with a different artist (In this case a seasoned pro that I highly respect), I have to get acquainted with the paper, the pencil lead and the drawing style. The first day's still an excersise in frustration, because I want to finish the page within a day, and I find myself experimenting on different pages to familiarize myself and set a comfort level.

   On one page, a villain is firing power bolts of some kind, and I began inking the effect in a flat rapidograph line. On another panel, which had a different layout, the power bolt sparks had an effect that suggested a better approach. So now I have to go back to the previous panel to match up with the new effect that I found more fitting. It's all trial and error, back and forth with me. Every new penciller is a learning curve, which I should take as a positive that I'm not set in my ways and can adapt. Some darn good inkers have a one-style-fits-all, but if I end up inking this guy regularly I think I'm going in the right direction.

   *As for my Big Announcement a few weeks ago...

   It's been called off for now. In a childish fit of overconfidence I was expecting imminent news of a new publishing venture, but the deal fell through, and shame on me for even telling you before it was a done deal. And no, John Taddeo's name was not involved.
*Okay, I admit it was an act of desperation to take requests for subject matter of future blogs from the message board, but I'm very appreciative of those who contributed! That said, I'm tapped for a cool comics story this week, so on with the requests...

   What about what you'd like to see comic-books movie-wise?

   Iron Man. I know there's an Iron Man movie in the works but the one I envision would be a period piece that takes place in 1962, during the height of the Cold War, just like the original stories in Tales of Suspense! Although Iron Man, The Hulk and The Fantastic Four were born specifically as a result of the Cold War, Shellhead and Hulk were very involved in the deadly gamesmanship of the (then) two superpowers of the world, and that always fascinated me as a child. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were both weapons manufacturers in a 'simpler' time and had to keep up with some of the Soviet accomplishments, such as the first satellite and space flight. Fallout shelters. The world collectively holding it's breath during Kennedy's nuclear standoff with Khrushchev. A tremendous amount of spying on both sides, much of which we'll never know, which set the global stage for Sean Connery's Bond films. Although that era has already been explored in movies, it would add a grand, ominous mood for a superhero movie. I picture a lot of cloudy skies to convey the uncertainty of the times. I'm not saying use the goofy 'commies' archtypes that occasionally populated the early stories when Stan had to write an issue between lunch and Millie the Model, but The Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man would have certainly been a viable answer to America's Iron Man. And cast an unknown. Please no Tom Cruise. And no Ang Lee. Much as I loved Crouching Tiger, I think he missed the mark on the Hulk movie (which didn't stop me from buying the DVD of course!). I think kids today can still handle period pieces. Look at the massive success of Titanic, even though it came out several years ago.

   *Someday, when I get an Ipod, that'll be a new golden age for me-I just haven't devoted anytime to downloading music. Just trying to pay keep the mortgage paid, ya know! I miss the time I misspent as a teen, chillin' on the bed, reading lyrics from records until I had them memorized.

   Time to revisit a well-received blog segment where I share insight to my musical tastes. Here's a quick rundown of some more of the music that's taken permanent residence in my 100-disc CD player, as requested by Mister President (this segment is also known as "filler").

   Velvet Underground - Words & Music of Lou Reed - Soooo ahead of they're time.
   T-Rex - The Slider - The Hernandez brothers raved about this unabashedly silly album in a Comics Journal interview, I just had to find out for myself. The late glam rocker Marc Bolan was hilariously taken with himself, but made some ear-pleasing, crunchy tunes. Just don't delve too deeply into the lyrics: "I drive a Rolls Royce/'cause it's good for my voice" - LOL!
   House of Freaks - Cakewalk - Austrailan beatlesque powerpop
   Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue - A very underrated album sandwiched between the megasellers Some Girls & Tattoo You.
   Talking Heads - Fear of Music - Back when David Byrne & company were masters of edginess. "Mind" is one of the creepiest tunes I've heard! Especially with earphones!
   Julian Cope - Floored Genius - The Best of Julian Cope & The Teardrop Explodes
   The Kinks - Kink Kronicles disc one - Waterloo Sunset has heavenly harmonies. I don't like the second disc as much.
   Beck - Midnight Vultures - cool dance music with wild lyrics that never get old.
   Pixies - Doolittle - Spawned millions of imitators after this record.
   Cheap Trick 4-cd Box Set - Sex, America, Cheap. The first two discs showed they're rockin' chops before they bowed to record label pressures and produced cutesy ballads. There's a blistering set recorded live at LA's Wiskey-a-go-go on disc one!
   Robert Gordon - is Red Hot - An Import by Bear Records with 24 rockabilly tracks, some with Link Wray Guitar work. Sesson player    Chris Spedding was a suitable replacement for Link who left after "creative differences"-don't ya love those?
   Pet Shop Boys -Discography-singles - not a clunker in the bunch!
   The John Faye Power Trip (who, you ask?) - John used to be the lead singer/songwriter for The Caulfields, who had a hit in '95 called    "Devils' Diary". Saw him open for Matthew Sweet in '99, and quickly warmed up to his tunesmithing skills, live performance and enthusiasm, so I bought the CD after the show. You could probably google him. John's band was an ideal warmup for Matthew, and the crowd was enjoying the music without the usual impatience that most openers have to endure.
   Mike Nesmith - Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma
   Travis - The Man Who - Mellow but hypnotic power pop
   Tenatious D - I'd love to see an album with more music, much as I love the comedy interspersed throughout. I suspect Jack Black's been sucked into the mainstream collective, as I haven't heard anything new on the Tenatious D front, which is a shame, as they're "classically trained to rock your &$%#*! Socks off! ", in their words.
   Crowded House - Temple of Low Men - Simply epic! Producer Mitchell Froom creates a claustrophobic environment that suggests singer/songwriter Neil Finn is braying skyward from a dank basement.
   Suzanne Vega - 99.9 Degrees - Michell Froom at the sound board creates a membrane of audio compression between Suzanne and the listener.
   Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music - Street life - some of the torch songs are cheezy, but "Avalon", "Love is the Drug", Dance Away" and "More Than This" more than make up for it!
   The Who - Odds & Sods - 'Put the money down' is one of the most amazing Who songs ever. On it, Daltrey delivers some of his strongest vocals and a crecendo equals that of "Won't Get Fooled Again". It should have been a single, if not a staple in the live set.

   Well, see ya at the message boards! Ooooooh, the crap I'd REALLY love to blog about. But I want to keep my career, such as it is!