Vlad the Impaler Graphic Novel

on November 28, 2019

Hey kids! I just read a fantastic graphic novel written by Sid Jacobson and illustrated by one of my favorite artists, Ernie Colón (1931 – 2019). This 115 page bloodfest was published by Hudson Street Press, and it follows the life story of Prince Vlad Dracula the fifteenth century ruler of Wallachia whose bloody antics were the inspiration years later for Bram Stoker’s blood-sucking ghoul, Dracula.

It’s no secret that Ernie Colón is one of my greatest artistic inspirations. I love his work for Harvey Comics on Richie Rich, and Casper (in a 2007 interview with The Comics Journal,  Colón estimated that he had drawn around 15,000 pages for Harvey), and he was quite an influence on me in my burgeoning interest in comic books with his work for Atlas Comics (Grim Ghost, Tiger-Man). He created the warrior princess, Amethyst, at DC Comics, working with the writers Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin. He also collaborated with Roy Thomas on the native American character Arak, Son of Thunder.

While at Harvey, he met Mr. Jacobson, a Harvey staff editor who would become a collaborator and a lifelong friend. They have created several nonfiction books together, including biographies of Che Guevara and Anne Frank and The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, an illustrated adaptation of the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

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Follow Me on Instagram!

on August 29, 2019

Hey folks, just a note to let you know I’m on Instagram! I’ve got lots of Zombie Boy comic strips on there, and the swipe format is great for reading panels! If you want, you can follow me here. See y’all over there!

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Dan McMahan Draws Me

on July 23, 2019

Mark Stokes by Dan McMahan

My pal, Dan McMahan drew me recently and I wanted to share it with you guys. Dan is a caricature artist’s caricature artist, his work is instantly recognizable and he’s one of the fastest drawers on the planet! You can follow Dan on Twitter. Thanks, Dan!

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Self-Doubt

on May 14, 2019

 

 

Self-doubt and anxiety are common denominators among creative people. Seems these things go hand in hand. In the end I think the only thing that matters is what we accomplish, not what we could or should have done if only those little doubts and fears hadn’t crept up. It’s very heroic of us to smite those fears down not only to do the work, but to share it with others. Creating is a process, and for me, overcoming those feelings is part of that process. Few of us ever look at something creative we really admire and think: “I wonder what the creator had to overcome to put this work together? Did they doubt themselves? Were they paralyzed by their own insecurities?” Did Michelangelo ever have “one of those days”? After all is said and done, none of those things matter much, do they? It’s the work that says it all.

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