Comic Book Creator #18 by TwoMorrows Publishing

™

$9.95

Nexus TM & © Steve Rude & Mike Baron, The Moth TM & © Steve Rude

in the USA

STEVE RUDE A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE DUDE Contains mild nudity for figure-drawing demonstration; suggested for Mature Readers Only

82658 00317

Cover art by Steve Rude

also: MARY FLEENER • NEAL ADAMS’ JUNGLE MAN • RICH BUCKLER

Summer 2018 • The Steve Rude Issue • Number 18

Ye Ed’s Rant: A Day in the Life of the Dude and Goodbye, Mr. D.................................... 2 WOODY IN SUMMER CBC mascot by J.D. KING

About Our Cover Art by STEVE RUDE

Nexus TM & © Mike Baron & Steve Rude. The Moth TM & © Steve Rude.

Colors by GLENN WHITMORE

COMICS CHATTER Cubismo Cartoonist: Part one of CBC’s chat with the great alternative cartoonist Mary Fleener, on her development and the rock’n’roll influence on her work............ 3 Incoming: Missives on CBC and Power on the Bob TV show and the King o’ Pop........ 18 Lord of the Jungle Man: Gary Buckingham talks with Neal Adams about his evocative Tarzan cover paintings for the 1970s Ballantine paperback series.......... 22 Ten Questions: Mike “The Badger” Baron is quizzed by Darrick Patrick....................... 30 Rich Buckler’s Deathlok Days: Part two of Michael Aushenker’s interview with the late comics artist, this one all about his renowned “Demolisher” creation...... 32 Comics in the Library: Rich Arndt makes his latest suggestions for kids’ comics....... 40 Hembeck’s Dateline: Our Man Fred recalls Blackhawk’s “Junk Heap Heroes”........... 41 THE MAIN EVENT

Above: Steve Rude renders his greatest co-creation, Nexus, and solo creation The Moth for a cover that also features the artist’s studies and warm-up sketches as background. These routine exercises reveal not only a remarkably disciplined creative mind, but serve as evidence of the great illustrators and art instructors who have invoked a tremendous influence on The Dude, very prominently the author of Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth, Andrew Loomis, the great 20th century illustrator.

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Steve Rude’s Awakening: A Day in the Life of The Dude. The co-creator of Nexus and one of comics’ finest adventure artists suggests Ye Editor visit his Arizona studio, and thus ensues an unconventional and fascinating interview that reveals a typical day in the artist’s life. Whether sitting around the Rude living room, eating lunch at Red Robin, or during a workout at LA Fitness, hours of insightful conversation revolve around the work of his greatest artistic influences and the self-imposed obstacles facing all too many pro artists, along with myriad other subjects, some distinctly personal. The whirlwind day-long trip ends with a one-on-one session of art instruction conducted by the idiosyncratic, intensely contemplative comic book artist to reveal the creative processes behind his drawing and approach to creation. Join us as CBC abides with The Dude ............. 44 BACK MATTER Creators at the Con: Kendall Whitehouse chronicles copious convention chuckles...... 94 Creator’s Creators: Darrick Patrick, CBC’s newest contributor, shares about his life..... 95 Coming Attractions: Next up is our fabulous Frank Frazetta tribute issue!.................... 95 A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Kevin O’Neill’s Metalzoic art!..................... 96 Right: A detail of Steve Rude’s cover painting for The Nexus Omnibus Vol. 3 [2013], featuring his most revered creation, that interstellar executioner of human mass murderers co-created by Mike Baron.

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR is a proud joint production of Jon B. Cooke/TwoMorrows

Comic Book Creator ™ is published quarterly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Dr., Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Jon B. Cooke, editor. John Morrow, publisher. Comic Book Creator editorial offices: P.O. Box 601, West Kingston, RI 02892 USA. E-mail: jonbcooke@aol.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Four-issue subscriptions: $43 US, $66 International, $20 Digital. All characters are © their respective copyright owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter ©2018 Jon B. Cooke/TwoMorrows. Comic Book Creator is a TM of Jon B. Cooke/TwoMorrows. ISSN 2330-2437. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Nexus TM & © Mike Baron & Steve Rude.

This issue is dedicated to the memories of HARLAN ELLISON and STEVE DITKO ™

JON B. COOKE Editor & Designer

JOHN MORROW Publisher & Consulting Editor

MICHAEL AUSHENKER Associate Editor

STEVE RUDE Cover Artist

GLENN WHITMORE Cover Colorist

RICHARD J. ARNDT Contributing Editor

STEVEN THOMPSON STEVEN TICE BRIAN K. MORRIS Transcribers

TOM ZIUKO CBC Colorist Supreme

RONN SUTTON CBC Illustrator

ROB SMENTEK CBC Proofreader

GREG PRESTON CBC Contributing Photographer

KENDALL WHITEHOUSE CBC Convention Photographer

RICHARD J. ARNDT MICHAEL AUSHENKER FRED HEMBECK DARRICK PATRICK TOM ZIUKO CBC Columnists To contact CBC, please email jonbcooke@aol.com or snail-mail CBC, P.O. Box 601, West Kingston, RI 02892 2

Ye Crusading Editor’s whirlwind trip to the House of Rude

more of the questioner’s life experiences than you’re accustomed to (or might want to ever know!). We hope that you, dear reader, have an open mind about the atypical back-&-forth and, even better, that you might gain insight into one of the finest adventure artists in the realm of comic books. If anything, my intense examination into the creative processes of The Dude has filled me with a much greater appreciation for the man’s incredible talent, which is simply magnificent. Don’t get me wrong: like so many, many others, I’ve always been enamored with Steve Rude’s artwork ever since seeing it in early issues of Nexus and (especially) when he teamed with writer Mark Evanier to produce the delightful and reverent Mister Miracle Special in the latter ’80s. At times his style evokes the stalwart excellence of Russ Manning at his best, and other times the stuff is infused with the bombastic energy of Jack Kirby. And, then, somehow the influence of Alex Toth is evoked! Yet the material is unequivocally the work of a single, living creator as unique as any of those greats. Needless to say, his work is During the summer solstice breathtakingly better than ever. that just passed, yours truly had Steve Rude by Ronn Sutton Special thanks to Steve and the privilege to visit this issue’s especially to his wife, Jaynelle, for hosting my visit, and featured subject in his Arizona environs and, at Steve a grateful tip o’ the CBC hat to Steve Ringgenberg for Rude’s request, share in “A Day in the Life of the Dude.” driving yours truly to the Rude hacienda. It was an immersive experience — to say the least! — (Alas, the epic Frank Borth interview could not fit as interviewer and interviewee spent 12 hours together, into this issue, so please look for it in the near future!) starting with a chat in the Rude living room (attended by comics historian Steve Ringgenberg, who will be my As for the near future, we’ll be taking the rest of co-editor for next issue’s Frank Frazetta extravaganza, the summer to finish up the insanely comprehensive, and is Rude’s closest buddy in the Phoenix area), on decade-plus in the making retrospective on R. Crumb’s to lunch at a local chain restaurant, then an hour-andfabled comics anthology, The Book of Weirdo, which a-half workout at a nearby gym, and finally hours of (the publisher tells us) is the headline release for the dialogue and instruction in The Dude’s roomy studio, Last Gasp Spring 2019 catalog! We couldn’t be more probably the “meat” of this whirlwind journey. excited about the comprehensive overview of this imSo, fair warning to CBC ’s beloved readership: The portant humor magazine, which is as much a history of epic conversation within is a pretty darn unconvention- alternative comics in the 1980s as anything. Legendary al one and it is decidedly not the typical chronological caricaturist Drew Friedman has contributed a dynaforay into a creator’s life. Far be it. Expect to learn the mite cover illustration (see pg.19) and there are new artist’s super-charged opinions on any number of subcontributions by a whole menagerie of creative weirdos jects and for parameters of the dialogue to reach far along with testimonials from 120+ of the mag’s contribubeyond the typical framework and infused with perhaps tors. So, remember: when the going gets Weirdo… Just as yours truly was completing this ish, word comes that Steve Ditko has passed from this mortal plane. With all due respect, I have never quite understood Ditko’s stance on not sharing his life story with a community intensely curious about the man himself. You need to understand that, in comics fandom, scoring an interview with the Spider-Man co-creator was the equivalent of capturing the “Great White Whale”… or finding the Holy Grail, if you will. We had so many, many questions. And, along with a legion of other correspondents, I wrote letter upon letter to the man, asking his consent to be interviewed. True to the end, the artist never wavered. Now, barring any posthumous release of an autobiography or career-spanning Q&A, Ditko will have his wish and it will be through his work where we may find answers about the enigmatic comic book creator. Godspeed, Mr. D.

cbc contributors Neal Adams Richard J. Arndt Michael Aushenker Mike Baron Gregory Biga Gary Buckingham Rich Buckler

Lionel Carrez Andrew Cheverton Shaun Clancy Mike Conran Michael Eury Fantagraphics Mary Fleener

Drew Friedman Matthew Howard Fred Hembeck Heritage Auctions Michael Jones Brian Kane Mike Manley

—Y e Crusading Editor jonbcooke@aol.com

Kelvin Mao Darrick Patrick Greg Preston Steve Ringgenberg Jaynelle Rude Steve Rude Cory Sedlmeier

Ronn Sutton Steven E. Tice The Time Capsule Kendall Whitehouse Glenn Whitmore Rob Yeremian Tom Ziuko

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J.D. KING CBC Cartoonist

A Day in the Life…

cubismo cartoonist

A History of Fleener Part one of CBC ’s chat with the longtime artist and comics’ newest graphic novelist Interview conducted by JON B. COOKE CBC Editor

Portrait photography © Greg Preston. Billie the Bee © Mary Fleener.

[With the coming of her very first graphic novel, Billie the Bee (due early next year from Fantagraphics), CBC finally has a timely excuse to feature a two-part interview with the superb “cubismo” cartoonist, Mary Fleener. Though Ye Ed has been pals with the artist/musician since she conducted a Marie Severin interview for Comic Book Artist back in the early ’00s (as well as becoming a major participant in the comprehensive survey by yours truly of R. Crumb’s comics humor anthology, The Book of Weirdo, coming soon from Last Gasp), not enough was known about her background, so we’re delighted to remedy that in this first of a two-part talk! — Y.E.] Comic Book Creator: Hi, Mary! Mary Fleener: Hi, Jon! CBC: So, where are you from? Why don’t we talk about your early years? Mary: I was born in Los Angeles and my mother is an L.A. native, so I’m second generation. We moved to West Covina when I was a child, and then moved to West Vancouver, in British Columbia, then six years later, we moved back to the Los Angeles area. CBC: Are you an only child? Mary: No, I have a brother, Dennis, who’s seven years older than I am. He was born in 1945. CBC: What’s your mom’s name? Mary: My mother’s name is Catherine Virginia. CBC: And she’s from L.A. originally. Was she creative? She was involved with Disney, right? What’s her story? Mary: She was a child dancer in a group called the Meglin Kiddies, and some of the other little girls that were in her dance troupe were the Gumm Sisters, and the youngest of the Gumms was a girl later known as Judy Garland. The troupe would perform in the theaters back in the ’20s, before the movies would start and do a little routine. My mom was the same age as Judy — six years old. My grandmother was very talented, as well. She sewed a lot of the costumes for them. You know, they didn’t have stretchy fabric back then, so it was pretty difficult to make costumes that kids could move in, and of course, all the sequins and spangles had to be hand sewn. As she got older, she didn’t like the way she was being looked at and treated by men, because Hollywood was evil. [laughter] So she got into art and got out of dancing because it creeped her out. She’s told me some stories that were just scary and disgusting. It’s a good thing she did leave… My grandparents were always around and protected her, because they knew what it was like… you know, the stories of Fatty Arbuckle and scandals like that. I grew up hearing all these terrible stories about Hollywood because my grandfather worked for the health department, and where they lived was just a couple of blocks from where they found the Black Dahlia. CBC: Wow! Mary: Yeah! So I really have L.A. roots, you might say. CBC: Do you remember what year your mom was born? Mary: Oh, of course. She was born in 1922, and she will be 97 this January. CBC: Wow again! Mary: Yeah, I know! And after she graduated from high school, she went to Woodbury College and majored in costume design. I have all her drawings that she did from that time, with the ladies who looked like Loretta Young and Bette Davis. She was really very talented, and how she ended up at Disney was this: she married my father when Left: Mary Fleener posing for The Artist Within photographer Greg Preston. For this session, Mary appeared with cartoonists Roberta Gregory and Joyce Farmer in the latter’s studio. Inset above: The cover of Mary’s first graphic novel, Billie the Bee, to be published in February by Fantagraphics. The book is discussed in next issue’s concluding interview installment. COMIC BOOK CREATOR • Summer 2018 • #18

Portrait by Greg Preston 3

neal adams’ ape man

Lord of the Jungle Man Gary Buckingham chats with Neal Adams about his Tarzan-inspired Illustrations by GARY BUCKINGHAM This interview originally appeared in The Burroughs Bulletin #92 [Fall, 2014].

This page: Above is Neal Adams illustration that was used for a Ballantine paperbacks box set. Inset right and bottom are the cover of the Aurora “Comic Scenes” mini-comic included in their Tarzan model kit, art by Neal Adams. Next page: Hand-colored limited edition print of Neal Adams’ Jungle Man and primate companions. Courtesy of Mike Conran.

[Neal Adams has been a professional illustrator since 1959. Many consider him to be the best comic book artist in the modern history of the medium. He has produced thousands of illustrations for comic books and strips, book covers, commercial advertising, and even designs for amusement parks. Unquestionably, his art depicting DC’s Batman, Green Lantern, and Deadman and Marvel’s X-Men and Avengers are some of the most sought-after issues in the decades-long existence of those characters. Still prolific after more than 50 years, his art is available from his website, www. nealadams.com. He continues to work the comic book convention circuit, readily accepting commissions and producing exceptional work, including new sketches of his Jungle Man. Which leads me to explain matters a bit: Of course, the character of Tarzan was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and remains the property of ERB, Inc. While some of Neal’s artwork has been used to professionally depict Tarzan of the Apes (as exemplified by the Ballantine paperback editions of the Tarzan novels [1975–79], which included 12

covers using his art), all of his work presented here are of Neal’s “Jungle Man.” Like the rest of us, the artist is a fan of Burroughs’ work and is influenced to a greater or lesser degree by those stories. If the reader chooses to remember the Jungle Man as representative of Tarzan, that is one interpretation. Neal was interviewed on June 23, 2013, at the Albuquerque Comic Expo. —Gary Buckingham] Gary Buckingham: At what age did you first learn of the stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and in what setting (books, movies, comic books, etc.)? Neal Adams: Well, I watched Tarzan movies from Johnny Weissmuller on; I don’t think that I missed anybody in-between. And I also worked at Coney Island as a young teenager. These penny machines, the two-penny machines in Steeplechase Park, where they played old Elmo Lincoln movies [1918–21]. Flip cards — they were animated, but were on cards — I looked at them through a kind of stereoscopic card. So I saw some of those. I’m trying to think of his name, the guy with curly hair who was an athlete in college, decathlon winner [Glenn Morris, 1936

Aurora Comics Scenes TM & © the respective copyright holder. Tarzan TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

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Art © Neal Adams. Courtesy of Mike Conran.

rich buckler’s astonishing tale

The Days of Deathlok Part two of CBC ’s epic chat with the late Rich Buckler discusses his “Demolisher” Conducted by MICHAEL AUSHENKER CBC Associate Editor

Above: The debut of Deathlok the Demolisher, perhaps the greatest creation of Rich Buckler’s career, was an explosive event during the mid-’70s when the dystopian series first appeared, in Astonishing Tales #25 [Aug. 1974]. Inset right: Rich Buckler commission art featuring Deathlok. Below: Cover detail of the man/ machine, pencils and inks by Rich Buckler, from Astonishing Tales #26 [Oct. ’74].

and “Black Panther” features. That’s because, like Miller, Buckler was a very gifted, cinematic storyteller, and, for sure in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi of Astonishing Tales and social-justice fiction of Jungle Action, he could also be pioneering, foundational and vital. Perhaps it’s time we place “Buckler” in that top tier of surnames.—M.A.] Comic Book Creator: Arguably, you are best known for your work with Doug Moench on “Deathlok the Demolisher”; your dream book, Fantastic Four; and your run with Don McGregor on “Black Panther.” But what do you see as your crowning run? Rich Buckler: At the top of my list would be my run on Astonishing Tales with the character I created called Deathlok. But I say that with one caveat: It was creatively rewarding overall, but I’m saying that while overlooking all the frustrations and silly nonsense that happened on that series. This was, some 40 years ago, but my memories of those times are still fresh. Probably all of my favorites are fan favorites too. So, that would include my penciling on Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and “Black Panther,” definitely. Also my later collaborations with Roy Thomas, at Marvel in the late ’80s, Saga of the Sub-Mariner and Saga of the Original Human Torch. CBC: What about your DC work? Rich: I’m especially proud of the work I did with Roy on All-Star Squadron. Also my run on World’s Finest, the Superman Versus Shazam! tabloid, and the DC Presents appearances of Captain Marvel. All of my work with Roy Thomas, as a matter of fact! CBC: Any other work you would single out?

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[Kirby. Ditko. Eisner. Kubert. Wood. Romita. Buscema. Colan. Adams. Wrightson. Miller. Their names are legend, their art — pioneering, foundational and vital. Growing up in the Bronze Age, we all knew and loved the work that these great pillars of mainstream comic books blessed us with; the meat and potatoes of 20th century American comics. But then there was the candy! Those solid, sometimes underrated or under the radar, unabashedly fun artists who churned out issues for Marvel and DC, and kept those spinner racks spinning. Stalwart guys like Frank Robbins, Ross Andru, Tony DeZuñiga, Gerry Talaoc and, most certainly, Rich Buckler. Even though rumors spread that Buckler had been ill in recent years, it was still a mighty, Kirby-fisted gut punch when I learned on May 19, 2017, that he had passed, age 68. I had long followed Buckler on Facebook, where the penciler, inker, painter, and instructor extraordinaire often shared his most personal moments, from his private paintings to his favorite convention run-ins. I originally interviewed Rich Buckler for the “Men of Steel” issue of our sister publication, Back Issue [Nov. 2007]. My mission: to learn what the F was up with that Deathlok the Demolisher series in the early 1970s — perhaps the funkiest, oddest, bleakest, and most downright prescient series Marvel had ever published. In fact, that was all we discussed in a phone conversation from Buckler’s New York home. It was easily—and I’m not just saying this honorifically — the most electric of my sundry conversations with creators for TwoMorrows Publications because Buckler told excellent anecdotes filled with vivid detail, acerbic wit, and, above all, blunt candor. Buckler may have emerged from the hippie era, but he was truly punk in spirit. So you’re in for a treat because the following interview, conducted by email a few years before his death, is nearly as spellbinding and illuminating as listening to the man talk. It’s no accident that, before he famously embellished Frank Miller on Daredevil and The Dark Knight Returns, Klaus Janson was at his best inking Buckler on those “Deathlok”

Rich: Again, for Marvel during Jim Shooter’s tenure, my collaborations with Peter David on Spectacular Spider-Man. Oh, also include in that list my work at Archie Comics on Mighty Crusaders and the entire Red Circle line of titles in the ’80s that I was instrumental in creating. CBC: Weren’t you Red Circle’s managing editor? Rich: I was managing editor for Red Circle, and I was given carte blanche on my own book as editor, writer, and artist. That was a sheer labor of love. CBC: Getting back to Deathlok, what is Doug Moench’s relationship to the character? Rich: I would like to get into a few areas I haven’t touched upon in interviews before. To start with: who created the character? Let me point out right off for those fans who don’t know this, that Doug Moench did not create Deathlok. (Sorry, Wikipedia: you got it wrong… Well, that wouldn’t be the first time for them.) For the record, Doug worked on that book as a writer for the first three issues, but he did not create the character. I did. I know he is sometimes credited as that by well-meaning fans and on some comics fan websites he is listed as “co-creator.” But that’s a stretch too. In fact I don’t think Doug has ever laid claim to this. Not that I have heard about anyway. One need only to check the credits for Deathlok’s first appearance in Astonishing Tales #25. The credits read, “Rich Buckler, Plot & Concept.” CBC: Yes, I remember that credit. Rich: I shouldn’t have to point out what seems to be obvious, but “concept” means created. The terms are practically synonymous. So where in that entire run in Astonishing Tales is there a credit that reads “Doug Moench, creator” or “co-creator”? Or “concept”? Don’t misunderstand me: I’m not belittling Doug’s contribution. So all you Doug Moench fans, don’t get ready to lynch me! Actually it was very cool working with Doug. He is one of my favorite writers. I’m just trying to be clear on this one point. The character and concept for Deathlok were from my imagination and it was my creation from the start. It was my show from the very beginning, even before I met Doug. CBC: So how does Doug Moench figure into the creation of Deathlok? Rich: I did some brainstorming with Doug at his place when we worked up a formal presentation for Marvel, and Doug then wrote up the final draft of the proposal that I submitted to Roy Thomas for approval. That’s how it was done for something new. You had to work up a character design and an outline for the story. But that’s not how it always was. It used to be very fast and loose. Imagine, if you will, a formal presentation for the creation of the Fantastic Four or Iron Man or X-Men or Thor. You would have to imagine it… because it never happened. So with Deathlok I even revised the concept myself, several times. And then, by the time Doug and I met, things just needed to be fine-tuned and organized a bit. Two sample pages were drawn up for the initial presentation. One splash and one action page. That art was subsequently used as pages one and two of the first story. I designed the character’s look and Deathlok’s asymmetric costume and helmet — even the color scheme. Also, I designed the logo for the book and came up with all of the rest of the characters. And about that formal presentation: in the process of doing that, Doug threw me for a loop at the last moment and he unexpectedly changed the name of the title character. Did you know that? CBC: Yes, I think you discussed it in our conversation for Back Issue! Rich: My original name for the character was Deadlock. But naming a character and creating a character is not the

same thing. CBC: So Doug Moench created the name “Deathlok” off your original “Deadlock”? Rich: It’s funny, that name sounds kind of clunky now, doesn’t it? Deadlock. So it’s a good thing I wasn’t married to it. But it still would have worked. Luther Manning, Mike Travers, Simon Ryker, and all of the rest of the characters were named by me. And I had nothing to do with the name “Demolisher.” That was pretty much gratuitous and was tacked on to the name as an afterthought by editorial. CBC: That sounds a lot like Stan Lee’s input, or Roy Thomas trying to sound like Stan. Rich: For Marvel, it was always The “Mighty” Thor, the “Amazing” Spider-Man, Conan “the Barbarian,” and so on. I was even given a nickname: “Roarin’ Rich Buckler.” Remember “Joltin’” Joe Sinnott and “Rascally” Roy Thomas? So we got Deathlok “the Demolisher.” That was an entirely useless cognomen, which I worked around and ignored completely. CBC: I like it, actually. Guess I’m used to it. Rich: Just to further elaborate, here is another thing that it might be helpful to know. I had a contract with Marvel for this property. Doug did not. We “co-plotted” the first story, and Doug’s writing consisted of dialogue and some story elements and a few character ideas, like Warwolf. On those first few issues, Doug “scripted” my art pages after I had drawn them, which is actually the “Marvel way” or “Marvel style.” Maybe I should explain that, because the words “script” and “plotted” or “plot” can be a bit ambiguous too. What the term means in this instance is the actual story line in a brief summary. That was what was called the “plot”. So if the story was “co-plotted,” that meant at least two people collaborated on the initial storyline. CBC: What about the writers who followed Moench on “Deathlok”? Rich: When I worked on “Deathlok” with writers, like I did with Bill Mantlo or David Kraft, the writer would follow my “cues” and story notes. On “Deathlok,” I dutifully put those in the margins of all of the art pages, just like Jack Kirby would do. That’s how “Deathlok” was done from the beginning. I would draw the entire story with

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Above: Detail of Buckler’s Astonishing Tales #34 splash. Below: Kendall Whitehouse captured the late comics creator Rich Buckler in this photo taken at the New York Comic Con, in 2013.

art and family photos, for a biography of her father, the great artist John Severin, which I am co-writing with Greg Biga (to come from TwoMorrows sometime in the near future). So, on a Friday in late June, with the welcome help of pal Steve Ringgenberg (with whom I’m collaborating regarding the next issue of CBC, the Frank Frazetta celebration, which Ringgenberg will be co-editing, as well as a few other projects), I found Mr. Rude out in the open and in plain sight, awaiting my arrival as we pulled in, a host ready, despite the 115°F temp and merciless sun, to take his guest through “A Day in the Life of The Dude.” In less than 17 hours, I’d be flying back home to Rhode Island, but the insightful experience was a rich one and just might prove to be a timeless and important look into the life of a true artist.

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By the time this epic interview sees print, it’ll be just over a year after Steve Rude sent yours truly an e-mail suggesting I come out West to his Arizona homestead, some 2,600 or so miles from my East Coast digs. “You can see things as they really are,” the comic book artist wrote in his Aug. 21, 2017, missive, “the environment in which I work, all the material I’ve collected over my lifetime that I use for that work. You’ll be able to see it all for yourself in a way that phone interviews alone can’t really compete with. [Certain] respected peers… hide from the world. That’s not me.” After yet another tumultuous year at Casa Cooke, I was finally able to find the time to travel — albeit on a whirlwind journey! — as I combined the trip with a side jaunt to Michelina Severin’s Colorado home to scan a huge and breathtaking array of original

THE CBC STEVE RUDE INTERVIEW

Above: Young Kelley Jones became a comics fan upon reading Swamp Thing #2. Below & inset: Ray Harryhausen’s dinosaur movies were an influence on the young artist.

Born on New Year’s Eve 1956, in Madison, Wisconsin, Steve Rude early on discovered the TV animated series Jonny Quest and Space Ghost and the dynamic artistry of Jack Kirby, and his path was set. Mix in an affection for the Fleischer Brothers’ Superman cartoons and admiration for great American magazine illustrators of the past, young Rude sought an education in art at the Milwaukee School of Art and from the Madison Area Technical College (MATC), as well as the University of Wisconsin. Of course, the young artist’s first significant break came with the 1981 debut of Nexus, the intergalactic executioner of mass murderers, a co-creation of Rude and Wisconsin-based writer Mike Baron. Visually, the series was heavily influenced by the work of Alex Toth, Doug Wildey, and Kirby, and Rude’s astound-

COMIC BOOK CREATOR • Summer 2018 • #18

ing ability was recognized early on at the 1984 San Diego ComicCon, where he was given the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer trophy at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Since then, the artist has won numerous Eisners and is widely considered to be one of the very finest adventure artists in the field of comics. Rather prolific as of late, with DC Comics assignments that have included work on their Hanna-Barbera line and plans to take on a regular title, Rude lives in the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, in a 4,800 square-foot home with a spacious studio open to the rest of the house, with his wife, Jaynelle, two teenage children, one cat, and a pair of beloved “blowhards.” We join Rude, comics historian Steven Ringgenberg, and yours truly as we chat while reclining on living room couches in late morning. — JBC

[The transcript begins with mention of the annual Burning Man Festival held each late summer in the Nevada desert.] Steve Rude: I’ve been with some other parties for the Burners [festival participants], and they’re definitely a fringe group. They’re kind of out there. Steven C. Ringgenberg: Well, so am I, at times. Steve: Well, I’m the weirdest one of all. I mean, look how eccentric I am, if I’m frank about it. There’s nothing normal about me. SCR: “Mad genius” is not overstating the fact. Comic Book Creator: [To Steve] What makes you eccentric? Steve: Well, besides everyone telling me that, I just don’t pursue life in normal ways. This whole thing where they always say, “You think outside the box”…? Well, I’ve never known what the hell that box even is. But normal people have to invent phrases to justify thinking that’s a little eccentric. To me it’s just normal to be like that. I mean, [points to the Rudes’ two pet dogs on the carpet] I don’t call them dogs. They’re “blowhards.” My mom and dad, I never called them “Mom and Dad.” CBC: No? Steve: Never. From the time I was, had a memory, I called them weird names. I don’t know where the names came from. So that’s really weird behavior to me, and to anyone. CBC: Who is “Mr. Silly”? Steve: Oh, Mr. Silly is my boy, Brandon. But I don’t call him

#18 • Summer 2018 • COMIC BOOK CREATOR

Above: Your humble editor’s first encounter with Steve Rude was with Comic Book Artist #8 [May 2000], when The Dude contributed this awesome cover painting depicting the issue’s theme, “Comics’ Streak of Independence: 1980–85,” featuring his amazing ’81 co-creation, Nexus, juxtaposed with the most assuredly corporate X-Men characters. Inset right: The artist also contributed this cover (illustrating a young Jack Kirby) for John Morrow and Ye Ed’s comics anthology, Streetwise: Autobiographical Stories by Comic Book Professionals.

Brandon. I call him “Drandon.” Or “Mr. Silly” or “Mr. Z.” SCR: Yeah, you have nicknames for everything. Steve: I do, yeah. Some of the models that come over here, there was a guy doing [chuckles] a documentary on me, and there was this gorgeous, big-chested model who never made it on the tape for whatever ridiculous reason, but he was asking her about me, and the model said, “Well, he has a bunch of different names for things. He has more names for things than anyone I’ve ever met.” To call them dogs actually is painful to me. Or cats. I can’t call them that. It’s just so non-Steve Rude-like. CBC: Because it doesn’t individualize them? Is that it? Steve: I don’t know. I don’t know where these names come from. CBC: What’s wrong with “dog” and “cat”? Steve: It’s too normal. I can’t do normal. SCR: Bo-ring. [The conversation later shifts to discussing the relatively new home the Rudes moved into four years prior] Steve: About four years ago, when we first moved in, we had to go on this European tour right away. Instead of getting set up here, we had about a month to get sort of set up, and I remember when we moved down here. We were used to living way north of here, so when we moved down here, it was, like, in the middle of virtual nowhere. We didn’t even know if we were in Arizona anymore, it was so bizarre. It changed directions so drastically… and no one lives out here. This is an area that’s still being developed some far end of things. CBC: What’s the difference between “up north”? What’s up north, then? SCR: It’s really built up. Steve: Yeah, it’s more built up. There’s more houses. CBC: More developed. Steve: Yeah. And down here there was nothing but a bunch of farmers’ fields and stuff like that. CBC: Right. Melons and stuff like that? SCR: Yeah. Steve’s neighbors are, like, melon fields and Leatherface. [laughter] Steve: And then we had to leave on that trip, and it was very disorienting because we had to find all the places that you have to normally find — gas stations, supermarkets, things like that, movie theaters, restaurants — and I didn’t know where anything was because Gino [Steve’s wife, Jaynelle] did all that stuff. I was up there working, trying to get stuff done in my little room up there, (which you’ll see in a moment). But I always knew that would happen when I got married. [To Jon] Tell me if this happened to you. You’re married, right? CBC: I am. Thirty-one years. Steve: Okay, so I knew that when I got married, I would dump half of my responsibilities off on Yayniss [Jaynelle], because these were things I just didn’t want to do anymore. But I had to learn how to do them. Otherwise I wasn’t going to be a worthy mate. I keep telling Mr. Silly that. You need to do more than just play video-games your whole life. CBC: You don’t want to be needy. Steve: Yeah. Well, there’s a couple things a guy has to learn how to do before he gets settled down: he has to learn how to clean. I had restaurant work for many, many years. I washed the same dish over, and over, and over. And you have to learn how to cook for yourself. You have to learn how to balance your checkbook on your own. SCR: Change a tire. Steve: It’s probably good if you know how to change a tire. I think that’s it. What else is there? SCR: Learning how to tell time on an analog clock.

Steve: Well, we could always do that because that’s what we grew up with… SCR: And tie your shoes. Steve: Yeah, you know how to tie your shoes, obviously, from an early, early age. SCR: But there’s schools in England now where they took out all of the analog clocks because the kids can’t read them. Everything’s digital. Steve: Right. That’s England for you. SCR: Well, I mean, that’s the States, too. You know, when I was a kid, I remember you got like little worksheets where you had to learn how to tell time, in elementary school. They don’t do that anymore. Steve: Well, do you remember the little things they gave us to learn how to tie our shoes? The little flat things with the laces on them? Do you remember? They had a little shoe outline on it? Is that how you learned? SCR: No. Steve: That’s how we learned in kindergarten or before that. SCR: Yeah, I just learned from my parents, I think. CBC: Being instructed over and over again. Steve: Yeah, so the time we grew up was obviously much superior to the dummies who grew up in recent years. CBC: Well, they have Velcro now. SCR: They have different skills. Steve: I’ll say. Well, their skill is holding a box about this far away and pressing buttons on it. Would you ever want to grow up during a time like that? No, thanks. SCR: Now, I think the comics, the animation we had, were far superior to what’s on now. You look at something like the Cartoon Network and the animation is sh*tty. Steve: Well, Mr. Silly watches Pikachu all day. I like Pikachu because he’s funny yellow guy. But every day I try to influence the kids as to the great stuff we grew up with. Sometimes it works. Sometimes… not so much. [laughs] CBC: “It’s black-&-white, Dad! Who wants to see it?” SCR: Well, I managed to turn my daughter on to Hunter Thompson. Steve: The books? SCR: Yeah, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell’s Angels. CBC: How old is she? SCR: Twenty-three, but I was reading to her from infancy,

you know. I’d started out reading her the classics and, as she got older, I’d read her Harry Potter, and then she wanted to read Harry Potter on her own. Steve: Does she have any writing ability at all, based on everything you have told her over the years, growing up? SCR: Not really. She’s never expressed an interest in it. She was an artist for a little while. Pretty good, too. I remember a Father’s Day card she gave me that on the front of it there was, like, a ray gun. She said, “Dad, there’s a whole lot of things I could have gotten you for your birthday, but this is what I know you really want.” And it was like a really cool-looking ray gun. Steve: About how old was she when she did that? SCR: Teenage. Fifteen, sixteen. Steve: I’ve also got a little girl [Jessica]. I call her “Super.” CBC: “Super”? Steve: Yeah, but it’s not for the reason that every dummy thinks I’m calling her Super. It has nothing to do with comic books. Nothing. And people always make that assumption. “Oh, you named him Brandon because of Bruce Lee’s kid.” No, no. It had nothing to do with that. So most of the assumptions about me are completely wrong. [laughs] To no one’s surprise. CBC: How old is she? Steve: Super is 15 and Mr. Silly is 17, about to turn 18. CBC: Two teenagers, huh? SCR: Brandon’s a nice kid, though. He’s very quiet. Steve: You ought to see him when he’s playing his video games. He’s loud. SCR: Well, you know, the last time I was over here I think I had, like, the longest conversation I’ve ever had with him. Steve: Yeah. Well, you know, that thing is always about someone’s perceived interest in how much you care about what they have to say, and that’s the trick with people, too. SCR: Yeah, I was asking him about his trip to Europe. Steve: Remember when adults would ask you questions and you didn’t know if they really cared or not, so you wouldn’t give them the time even if they were asking you stuff? That was the trick

COMIC BOOK CREATOR • Summer 2018 • #18

Above: Stock images representing the two destinations outside of the Rude abode the artist had planned for Ye Ed’s Arizona visit to participate in “A Day in the Life of the Dude.” First it was sandwiches at Red Robin during a noontime lunch and then an hour-plus workout at Steve’s local LA Fitness, where the pair worked the upper body, swam in the pool, and sweated it out in the sauna. Inset left: Keeping with the exercise theme, Steve’s cover art for Nexus #15 [Dec. 1985]. Below: Ever observing the world around him with his artistic eye, The Dude took note of an LA Fitness member’s pose which he later drew from memory.