LOGOS, WE GOT LOGOS!

About half a lifetime ago, in addition to being a freelance illustrator, I "daylighted" as an art director for a couple of ad agencies and one TV station (Assistant A/D there, to be precise. I was right out of college.). As such, I often wore many hats. Among other things, I did layouts ("marker comps" in those days), art directed photo-shoots, sometimes did the photography myself, did type specs and paste-up (in the pre-digital days of galleys, Xacto-knives and rubber cement), was a sound engineer and occasional voice actor for radio spots and audio-visual productions, provided in-house illustrations, and once in a while designed logos for a host of clients. All that lasted about 10 years, and then I went strictly freelance and have remained as such ever since. The bulk of my work has consisted of illustrations in the ensuing decades, but there has occasionally been some graphic design to be done. See here for some examples of characters, cover design and logos for Nestle Corporation. I've also created several logos for my own projects such as The Nowhere-Men™, and these comic covers for Joe Comet™, and Hour Father™.

So, when nearly a decade ago, Comicopia, the local comic book store where I had shopped since it opened up (now over 30 years ago!), sponsored a contest for a new logo design for their store, I decided I was uniquely qualified to give it a go. My entry is posted above. I took a very ad agency approach to the project. The design is deceptively complex. The letter forms are all reminiscent of various comic book logos, some, like the two "C's," have roots in Artie Simek's Marvel Comics logos such as "Thor" and "The Fantastic Four." The "I" recalls horror comics of the 1950's. Others are more in the style of funny animal comics. The panels behind the lettering separate each syllable as each depicts a specific genre of comics, to wit: Humor, Superhero, Mystery, Science Fiction, and Manga. Comicopia specializes in Manga, so that was essential to the mix. I did my research and synthesized a couple of characters in a typical Manga style. You can see echoes (but not strict copies) of Disney, Archie, and even R Crumb in Panel 1. I downplayed the superheroes a bit, only showing a fist, a cape and a boot in Panel 2. The others are pretty much all from my imagination, though that fedora-sporting fellow might be related to The Phantom Stranger, The Spirit, The Shadow, or even Steve Ditko's The Mysterious Traveler!  And for the record, the lettering (and the rest of the line art) was all done the old-fashioned way, by hand with pens on paper.

Well, long story short, I was the front runner until the last day of the contest when a quirky little treatment caught the eyes of the staff, and I became the runner-up. Their current logo is far less specific and literal, and they've done well with it. Nevertheless, I am very proud of my design, and thought it was about time the general public had a chance to see it. And there you go!  Click on the image for the big picture.

STAN LEE - THE PASSING OF A HERO

There is a hole in the universe where a man once stood, or more accurately sat, behind a typewriter, tirelessly creating that very universe that he and countless millions of avid devotees inhabited for many decades. I, myself, inhabited that universe for more than fifty years before finally meeting my hero, Stan Lee, for a few brief but indelibly memorable and indubitably magical moments only three years ago. Our quick exchange (the line for the photo shoot snaked far out of sight) allowed me to thank him for that 50 years that so immeasurably influenced my life and career, and Stan (Mr. Lee, I called him) thanked me! Legends live forever in our hearts and memories, and no one could ever leave a greater and more lasting legacy than The Man without whom, the comics industry itself may have withered and died. Unfortunately, all men must depart our world, even the long-lived and and in-all-ways-but-one immortal Stan Lee. The news hit me like a blow from Thor's hammer when I heard of his passing, and I've been slow to adjust to a world without Stan Lee in it.

As for the above image, it's my guess that when the also recently and sadly departed Steve Ditko fashioned the hand gestures that were used by both Spider-Man to shoot his webs and Doctor Strange to conjure spells, he probably didn't know that it was also sign language for "I love you." In my illustration, some of Stan's most famous characters pay tribute to their creator. I included a certain shield-slinger because, though he was created by two other guys, Stan Lee's first published story at Timely Comics (seen here and here) was in Captain America #3, and also because Stan's 1960's revival of the character really brought him to life, in more ways than one.

One of the challenges in executing an illustration is knowing when to stop. I thought about including an image of Stan in the night sky above his creations, or perhaps his signature in the stars, but ultimately I decided he would be more conspicuous by his absence, which after all, is the sad point of this tribute.

To paraphrase one of Stan's most enduring proclamations, "With great responsibility comes great power!" Throughout his career, Stan gained the power to touch and influence the lives of countless millions of people world-wide. He did so with grace, humor, integrity, and vision. Never has there has been, nor ever again will there be another like him. Thank you Mr. Lee, and of course, "EXCELSIOR!"