Gargoyle was produced in 1998 by Michael Netzer as a sample for DC Comics of his first completely computer generated art. Years later, the art was published as a giveaway promotional poster for Netzart Fedorov Media on 165gr glossy cover stock.

Flaming Sword Productions now offers this dramatic poster for sale in a standard edition as well as 100 limited signed and numbered prints with unique personalized sketch by the artist. Gargoyle Poster is now available for immediate shipping.

Visit our Store or go directly to the Gargoyle Poster page and purchase your copy of this magnificent poster today, while supplies last.

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Flaming Sword Productions now rises to the forefront of our web complex, as the design changes in the Blogpost format give us a little more room for larger visuals. The online store and site links are now added across the entire web site, all streamlined for a pleasurable and easy viewing experience.

In the process, we have new cover designs for our two sketchbooks in production, Portraits of the Creators and Heroes & Villains and Other Celebrities, both now available for advance orders at our online store.

Additionally, The Creators graphic novel, previously announced as a Sci-Fi epic, also has a new cover and takes a turn to tell an autobiographical tale of the comics industry of the 1970's. Look for a preview of preliminary work on this project soon.

We look forward to continued growth in this effort to build a house for the comics creators, which will ultimately stand on the interest it holds to the readers and to comics fandom. We believe that the comics industry is ripe today for a revolution led by its creators and look to you, the readers, to drive this message home by supporting Flaming Sword Productions and the goals we strive to achieve.

Show the creators that you believe in their role as the primary movers of the industry by spreading the word in the comics community about our presence. Help make this dream come true by visiting our online store today and placing an advance order for our unique products.

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Order your standard or deluxe edition prints now while still available and view entire work in progress here.

Lockjaw.

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You don't know who Hank Maggitz is, you say? Why should anyone in comics care for such an item, you ask?

Well, Hank Maggitz can tell a helluva yarn, it would appear. Check out his latest, Wagging the Rebbe, excerpted at Pig of Death and can be seen in its entirety, here.

The uproar was over the installation of the new rabbi. Now that the Shemtov brothers had been forced out of Pennsylvania and Michigan, Moshe Herson's sons had assumed control of those states, too, so the little Chabad Center of Northwest New Jersey needed a loyal spiritual leader. Herson suggested his granddaughter's first born.

"Well, I for one don't like it," said Windsor-Smith. "I think this is an outrage! Giving this-this canine creature a pulpit, for goodness sakes!"

"That's not very nice," said the president.

"He's a dog!" Windsor-Smith shouted.

"He's not a dog," said the president.

"He's not a dog and even if he is a dog, it doesn't matter," said the ex-president. "He's a Jew. The mother is a Jew so the son is a Jew."

"This is preposterous!" said Windsor-Smith. "Don't we have any say in
this?"

"No," said the ex-president. "This is Chabad. Herson owns the building. It's his show."

Go have a look and enjoy the weekend.

And good Shabbos.

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The online store launches the publishing arm of The Comic Book Creators' Guild, offering the A-Z Superhero Poster seen in production here at Rise of the Comics blog. The limited edition signed, numbered and lettered print poster is offered in both standard and deluxe editions and entitles advance purchasers to a 10% discount on future purchases from Flaming Sword Productions.

Other projects in production at Flaming Sword include: Portraits of the Creators Sketchbook;

Heroes & Villains and Other Celebrities Sketchbook;

And... The Creators graphic novel;

Written and illustrated by Michael Netzer.

Flaming Sword Productions will use proceeds from the sales of these prints and publications in order to help fund the formation of The Comic Book Creators' Guild and establish an independent creative and economic base for the comic book artists and writers, many of whom are not working in the industry today.

Stop by, have a look and support this effort by purchasing a deluxe or standard edition of A-Z Superhero Poster today.

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Many of the stories I told on ER and continue to present on SVU are based on my personal experience as a physician. I call the stories of my doctoring "private stories." These are the cases I've seen as a physician that have made an impact. For example, as a pediatrician I've treated adolescents for alcohol poisoning. And alcohol abuse by teens is a major public health crisis with one out of three seniors in high school regularly binge drinking. I took that "private story" about a young man I treated and wrote two episodes of ER, illustrating the problems of alcohol abuse in adolescents and how we can try to treat it. I call these television stories "public stories," because they are inspired by real cases (my "private stories") and made public (on a television drama) to illustrate important social problems.

These stories have a measurable impact. Instinctively, we know that we get information from television - and not just news. Dramatic shows like ER and SVU educate viewers. Studies I've done with the Kaiser Family Foundation and published in the journal "Health Affairs" have demonstrated a profound increase in the public's knowledge about a variety of health issues - after they have watched an episode of ER. The study proved that viewers retained this health information when retested six moths later. Stories can make us laugh, make us cry, and make us smarter. Our stories are our power.

And you don't have to be a television writer to have an impact. You can write op-ed pieces; work in grassroots organizations; testify before the legislature; run for the Senate; debate your enemies; march for justice; stand for truth; teach. The point is to tell your stories publicly. To speak out. To take your stories and your passions and turn them into potent barbs to fight dogmatism and bigotry.

Tell us your stories.

Thanks, Elayne, for the heads up.

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Howard Chaykin, whose nickname then was "Howie", had heard that the new rookie drawing comics for DC, and sharing Jack's room at Continuity, was Lebanese. He waited for Jack to finish his dissertation, then turned to me and asked:

"Are you a Semite?"

Although it's commonly understood in the world that both the Jews and Arabs are of Semitic origins, my understanding of it was a little different. I knew about Jewish roots in my family, for example, but this wasn't common knowledge at Continuity then. I had my own understanding of the Biblical stories telling about the lineage of Shem, the son of Noah, father of the Semitic people. I also understood why the Moslem world chose to claim Semitic origins at the time of the advent of Mohammad in the year 660 AD. All these thoughts crossed my mind as I thought of an answer to Howard's question.

"That depends on what you mean by Semite." I answered.

"You know, it helps to be a little crazy if you want to draw comic books" Howard said. "But try not to get too crazy about simple things. I only asked if you were a Semite."

A year later I drew a Wonder Woman comic book for DC. On the cover, the villain Osira was inciting a war in the Middle East as war planes and tanks blasted the Egyptian Sphinx and pyramids, destroying them in battle. The signature on the cover read: "Nasser & Rubinstein" giving an impression of an Arab/Jewish collaboration to tell comics stories. Howard Chaykin came into Continuity and saw the published comic book on my desk, picked it up and looked at it for a moment.

"This is a crazy cover." He said. "I like it."

Another year went by and all hell broke loose at Continuity as the comics world was buzzing with stories about how I'd become crazy and was trying to bring peace to the world through the comics. Some of the stories going around then are chronicled at the following links, in that order:

The Summer of 77 on 45th and 9th.

The Martian who Went to Titan.

The San Francisco Treat.

Playing the World Game.

The Peacemaker.

Keeper of the Kingdom.

The Great Storyteller.

My hair and beard had grown then to give the appropriate impression I wanted to make. Howard Chaykin came into Continuity, took one look at me and said:

"You know you look crazy."

"I know everything." I said.

He then saw the issue of Star*Reach #12 on my desk with its first color story which I produced with Steve Leialoha "The Old, New and Final Testaments". After flipping through it, he pulled out some Cody Starbuck pages he'd brought with him.

"This is really crazy. You're doing testaments in space and I'm doing priests and nuns in space." He said. "I like that."

Years later, I emigrated to Israel, settled down and married. When I returned to New York in the early 1990's, I ran into Howard Chaykin at a New York comic book convention.

"Hey, it's the crazy Lebanese." He said, greeting me.

"Aw, c'mon Howie. I've been in Israel for more that 10 years now." I answered.

"I can't remember the last time someone called me Howie" He said.

"Must have been around the last time someone called me a crazy Lebanese." I answered.

"I heard you're married." He said.

"Three kids." I added.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Howard said, "Making more crazy Lebanese Jews?"

"Very dangerous." I answered. "You should get a bullet proof vest."

"You're still crazy." He said. "I like that."

A decade later, I ran into Howard at the 2004 Baltimore comics convention. Seeing my long hair and beard, he said:

"I heard you're still crazy."

"Incurable." I answered.

"How's the family?" He asked.

"Great." I said. "6 children, all crazy as ever."

"Good." Howard said. "I'll start looking for a bullet proof vest."

Two months later, I removed the long hair and beard I'd sported, produced The Comic Book Creator's Party web site and went to the Big Apple comics convention in New York. I ran into Howard Chaykin who took one look at me, clean shaven and wearing a suit and tie.

"Hey, you look good." He said.

"So do you." I answered.

"You don't look crazy anymore." He added.

"Don't stop looking for a bullet proof vest." I said.

"That's what I thought." Howard answered.

"You're putting us on."

Howard Chaykin.

Portraits of the Creators Sketchbook.

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Despite areas of growth in the overall marketplaces for comics in the last ten years to include viable performances from top arts books, strip books, and non-adventure manga, the American comic book shop in general is just as narrowly focused as it ever was.

He then asks for additional opinions and offers his email address:

I'd love for someone smarter with more time to come to a different conclusion and share that here.

I don't believe there's a much smarter analysis than what you've given, Tom, and a lot of time doesn't always guarantee a better conclusion. You asked so nice, however, that I can't resist adding a few words.

There seems to be a problem with the comics community not really believing they have the interest of a market outside of the closed community itself. It's a psychological issue of our perception of the medium and it can be changed. The biggest problem, it appears, is dealing with the bulldozer merchandising and marketing arms of the big publishers. In the end, they set the tone for what shapes the industry and their considerations appear to hinge on a continued narrow perception of what comics are, could be or should be. The considerations are strictly economic ones and purport to have an understanding of how to sell comics, yet it's these considerations which continue to paralyze the growth of the industry.

I remember that average sales of Superman and Batman comics in the mid 70's were between 150-200 thousand issues in newsstands and drug stores. These numbers seem nowhere to be found today, yet the big publishers continue to flaunt their sellouts of special projects as if some real expansion in the market was actually happening.

The genuine breakthroughs in sales at the major publishers during the last several decades came on the heals of creators breaking the barriers which the publishers placed on them and producing comics which exuded some relevance to the wider popular market which didn't have a habit of buying comic books. This phenomenon sky rocketed with Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns but the publishers never really nourished it. They only tried to emulate it later and never succeeded in truly repeating it. In considering what it was about these books that generated such a wide appeal, it appears that the relevance they held to the average person's life and world, or rather, the state of the world as perceived by the average person, was the major factor which drove to their increased sales figures. All this, long before the marketing gimmicks which artificially inflated sales figures in the direct market at the turn of the 80's-90s decades.

The publishers just won't get it until the creators take the ball and begin rolling with it again. The publishers have no real idea of how to expand the market. It'll be up to the creators to innovate again. To produce comics and tell stories relevant to the state our world is in. The big socio-economic picture and the political developments must come back into exposition in the comics in order for the medium to become relevant to a wider market which will surely embrace it when it comes.

There's a lot of power brewing under the surface in the creator's community today. Several decades and generations of comics writers and artists with much pent up spirit and a lot to say that the world would like to read about and see films made of. A powder keg waiting for some madman to come and light a match to it.

Permalink Posted: 9:24 PM EST 1 comments  

Several months later Frank Miller returned to Continuity to show Neal new sample pages he'd drawn. Neal flipped through the pages, laid them on his table and told Frank that he was still wasting his time trying to become a comic book artist. He then placed a sheet of tracing paper over one of the pages.

"If you begin to fix things like this, however." Neal said, as he drew over Frank's art on the tracing paper, "You might have a chance at becoming a good artist one day."

Frank took it in stride and put up with Neal's direct manner as he listened to a few things about what makes a composition effective and how the body behaves in motion. Frank Miller had more than good comics art on his mind, however. He wanted to tell great stories and he was willing to put up with anything in order to learn how to do it.

Seeing such talent in the making, Neal was compelled to inspire Frank Miller to write great stories. That's when all hell broke loose at Continuity in the fall of the summer of 77 on 45th and 9th as the Martian went to Titan, found the San Francisco treat, played the world game, took advice from the peacemaker and negotiated with the keeper of the kingdom. Neal was fueling a big vision for the comics industry in order to inspire Frank to tell great stories about it one day. Frank, in turn, had succeeded in becoming a comic book artist and was drawing Daredevil for Marvel, with his eyes ahead to telling great stories. That's when my life and career fell apart in the hub of the comic book industry at the turn of the decade. Frank then went on to write the classic tale of how the life and career of Matt Murdock fell apart in Daredevil: Born Again. The wheels were now churning but Frank had big aspirations and needed new fodder for the great stories he wanted to tell.

So, I left America and emigrated into comics retirement in Israel for more than a decade until the creature began to writhe within me again, trying to burst loose to save a world that was giving up on itself as Frank told the classic tale of Batman's return from retirement in The Dark Knight Returns. Neal and I duked it out in Federal Court while Batman and Superman went at it in Crime Alley. Frank Miller criticized the litigation action and the Huntress drawing style but we all took it in stride and put up with his direct manner because he told such great comic book stories from all the inspiration that Neal gave him.

After another short retirement from comics, we returned again to inspire more great stories with The New Comic Book of Life, which called to raise The Comic Book Creator's Party in America in order to topple the corrupt leadership enslaving our civilization. Frank Miller went on to write about it in yet another classic tale about a world corrupted by corrupt leaders and how the Superheroes rise to save it in DK2.

At the Big Apple comic book convention in November, 2004, Frank Miller interviewed Neal Adams and told of his first encounter with him where Neal told him he was wasting his time in comics. Frank said that Neal, more than anyone else in his life, inspired him to tell great stories. They went on to talk about the need to form The Comic Book Creator's Guild and the great future which awaits the comic book industry.

Neal closed the interview saying that not everyone can appreciate his direct manner and that Frank's greatness lies in that he took his criticism in stride and was able to put up with him.

After the interview, I approached Frank Miller and complimented him on the interview and the great stories he told.

"You and me both", he said. "We have a great teacher."

Frank Miller. Portraits of the Creators Sketchbook.

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As rumors abound regarding a major shake-up of the DC operations, coming this summer, including a complete editorial re-structuring, the comics community is left wondering where it is that the mother ship of the industry is sailing off to. Paul Levitz, who began his career as a fanzine publisher and comics writer, stands before a challenging time for the industry. His intuitive love for the comics themselves now perhaps stands as the final and lone upholder of the DC Comics legacy, pulled adrift into corporate assimilation of the Time-Warners merchant marketeers.

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Go there and take a look!

6 days left on a bargain of a lifetime for rare art offered for sale with the artist's stamp of approval!

Permalink Posted: 11:33 PM EST 3 comments  

I'm continually amused by the scientific community having to wriggle out of uncomfortable situations when confronted with compelling evidence which negates its previously postulated theories. The question I ask is why must scientists present their theories with such resolute assuredness so as to make it difficult for them to accept compelling evidence to the contrary when it arises? Such is the case with the most basic scientific theorems coming into question today, including The Big Bang, Relativity, Pangea, Subduction, Gravity and many more.

The disservice this brings to our collective discovery process lies in that the scientific community is trusted with the role of the discoverers in civilization. It appears, however, that it has transformed this role into a sacrilege of science worship where those who attempt to point out the problematics arising from their theorems are relegated to ridicule and ex-communication, much with the same zeal which the Vatican relates to those whom it considers to be non-believers. This unfortunate situation is making the road to discovery and advancement very difficult for discoverers who have touched on basic sound principles and observations that the scientific community continues to reject, in light of the overwhelming evidence for it.

The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan is unfolding to be a good example of this characteristic of the scientific community, which previously postulated, with intense vigor, that there could be little or no chance for life on Titan. Below is a photographic review of some of the issues in question today as to why the mission center has removed all of the photographs which indicate a rich topography from their web site and why it must now become incumbent upon renegade amateurs to challenge the obstinate indifference of the scientific world to the marvelous discovery which the photos of Titan prove it to be.

The first three images are what the mission center has available to view on its website today from the Huygens probe. They indicate a vague gaseous entity with little reason for any special interest.

So what is it that the mission center for the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan is not showing us on their web site anymore? Below are a few images from IRC Channel, an organization of amateur space lovers moved by the first images published by the mission center. Note the apologetic tone the good people there employ in their humble approach to these breathtaking photos and incredible discovery they represent:

Since the images of the Cassini-Huygens probe -- descending to Titan (moon of Saturn) -- have been published on the net, the people in IRC channel #space on irc.freenode.net have processed these raw images into amateur compositions and mosaics, rendering an image of Titan. Note that, since we are enthusiasts and not professionals, we are not responsible for the correctness of these images.

Aside from the rich topography, resolute with an ocean, rivers, clouds and multi-layered terrain, the last 3 colored images are computer generated simulations based on the information in the topography photos which the Huygens module relayed to the mission center soon after it landed.

The question now is why is such a discovery not being discussed by the scientific community and the space associations? Why is the extent of its wonder relegated to apologetic amateurs who stand in awe at this new information available to us about Titan, long held to be a holder of many mysteries by cultures spanning many millennia?

Are we witness to a mystery here? A discovery? Or perhaps even the beginning of a cover up?

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Along with other outstanding interviews he conducts at Silver Bullet Comic Books, Rik has been published both online and in print. His work has appeared in The Comics Buyers Guide, Comic Retailer, Borderline Magazine, and more.

My gratitude and admiration to Rik for the concise and direct effort he exerted into this successful meeting between us and for the effective interview which resulted from it. Click on the image below to see it in its entirety.

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To view entire work in progress, click here.

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The high school years for me in Detroit were a Superhero adventure in and of themselves. I was highly active in the art department and became known as the Superhero artist of Redford high. I had also enrolled in the ROTC program, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps military academy course, offered by the army in the public schools, and was advancing quickly and gaining one promotion after another. Then, in the senior year and in a fit of trying to convince a friend that the school elections were a matter of a good campaign and not necessarily a popularity contest, I jumped into the fray and ran for Vice-President of the senior class against one of the most popular young jocks in the school. He was captain of the football team and vice president of the student council. A staunch opponent to say the least.

The question was whether this popular jock could stand up to a fight with Superman and Batman? I was the artist and strategist, after all, and knew how the sign making and promotional mechanism worked in the high school because that's what the art department was responsible for. My opponent had none of these skills but knew how to smile very pretty for the cheerleaders at the games. So, the campaign reached a peak as the school became flooded with posters and signs of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman beseeching the 600 member senior class to vote for "Funky Nasser" for vice president. Well, cute as those cheerleaders were, they didn't have a chance against Bruce, Clark and Diana as I went on to win an upset victory and defeated my opponent by 8 votes. Redford High had broken a liberal taboo of its time and elected an ROTC cadet as Vice President of the Senior Class. My appearance in a military uniform at the subsequent class officers' meetings didn't always go over well in the Nixon era anti-war sentiment which characterized the spirit of the youth movements then – but we had some fun with it nonetheless.

Becoming Vice President of the Senior Class did however contribute to more promotions in the ROTC Program. I was soon decorated with a commendation award by the Army commander who headed the Detroit program in what was Redford's most prestigious ceremonial event of that time. The award was for bringing popularity to the program in its difficult hour and I eventually graduated with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, intelligence officer and second in command of the entire 4,000 cadet Detroit City ROTC program.

I believe that the same dynamics which opened the doors to such a political upset at Redfrod High, apply today in our present political system which operates under the same principles of inspiring and moving the people to exercise more flexibility in their voting habits and choice of leadership.

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FLAMING SWORD SITES

The Comic Book Creator's Guild

The Comic Book Creator's Party

The New Comic Book of Life

Steven Bové's
COMIC CARTOONIST'S
WORKBOOK

AARDWORLF

AMRITAS

CREATORS

Comics Professionals on the Web

Neal Adams' Continuity Studios

Clifford Meth's Past Masters

Clifford Meth's One Small Voice

Mark Millar's Millarworld

Rich Johnston's Lying in the Gutters

Steven Grant's Permanent Damage

Bryan Talbot

Norm Breyfogle

Beau Smith's Busted Knuckles

Mike Pascale's Schism Comics

James Hundall

Amritas

Neil Gaiman's Journal

Mark Evanier's News from ME

Colleen Doran

Warren Ellis' The Engine

Brian Bendis

Donna Barr's Submission Engine

Peter David's Journal

Tony Isabella's Online Tips

Marv Wolfman's Today's Views

Joe Quesada Forums

John Byrne Robotics

ORGANIZATIONS

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

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NEWS & COMMENTARY

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Comicon

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Newsarama

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Graeme McMillan's Fanboy Rampage

Scream If You Want It

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Sequential Tart

Tom Spurgeon's Comics Reporter

The Comics Journal

Comic Book Conventions

Adelaide Comics and Books

Comixpedia

Captain Comics Roundtable

The Great Curve

Alan David Doane's Comic Book Galaxy