Wow, where to begin. Like most teenagers in the 70’s, my first exposure to Lynda Carter was on Wonder Woman. Friday nights were spent glued to the TV.
An iconic smile…
One of the key elements of the Wonder Woman TV series was how Carter portrayed the heroine. Strong and independent. This was during a time when concepts like “equality and empowerment for women” were considered taboo by network execs and the media. I sometimes wonder if the media attention her costume generated was simply a smokescreen to try to hide the more controversial social issues the show was presenting.
Lynda played Wonder Woman as both a superhero and a real woman. Strong, yet still feminine, full of grace, but still able to have fun. Her look was stunning. You could spend forever swimming in those eyes. Her smile was as bright and clear as the first day of spring. Yet she was still approachable and genuine. And this was in the decadent days of (more…)
I hope you guys are having a great Memorial Day weekend. I got so into creating Suzi’s new pages that I totally spaced it and forgot about Sunday Science!
But never fear, science will always find a way.
Today, let’s talk about the Holy Grail of science (yeah, wrap your head around that statement!): The Grand Unified Theory. This theory seeks to explain all the physical phenomenons in the Universe. This sounds easy, but we use two different systems to observe the Universe.
Subatomic neutrino tracks
In the biggest scale, the “classic mechanics” theory covers how the planets orbit around suns and things like that. The problem begins when we get down to the atomic level. The rules change, and we use Quantum mechanics to explain how particles behave.
The question that perplexes science is why doesn’t classic mechanics work at the sub-atomic levels?
Will Suzi ever find a way home? Will she find out what caused the overload that carried her 13 billion lightyears from home?
Will she find some trousers?
It’s a cold galaxy out there for our cheeky heroine.
I have a few comic book artists that I really look up too, guys that have the ability to create some fantastic scenes and iconic characters. If I had to make a list of them, at the top would be Jack Kirby.
Jack Kirby
Called “The King”, Kirby created (and co-created) some of the most well known characters in comics. The Fantastic Four, Ironman, Thor, The Hulk, The X-Men all grew and thrived from Kirby’s mind.
Jack Kirby ushered in a whole new era at Marvel when he teamed up with Stan Lee in the 60’s. Together they started a wave that is still going to this day. p
Artist Gil Kane, speaking at a forum on July 6, 1985, at the Dallas Fantasy Fair described when Kirby rejoined Marvel:
“Jack was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel’s fortunes from the time he rejoined the company … It wasn’t merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but … Jack’s point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field”
Kirby’s unique style for drawing bold, powerful figures and fantastic vistas help spark the imaginations of the next generation of comic artists. Jack Kirby passed away in 1994, but his legacy lives on to this day. We all owe Jack a huge thanks for giving us some of the greatest comics the world has ever seen.
Warp speed! The ability to travel faster than light has long been a staple of science fiction. But recent developments have some NASA scientists thinking that move great distances in a short amount of time could be a reality.
Physicist Miguel Alcubierre created a paper which suggested that space-time could be warped behind and in front of a vehicle, creating a bubble that a ship could ride upon, like a surfer rides a wave. This idea captured a lot of attention, and in fact, NASA is working on this concept now.
A mere 100 years ago, we couldn’t fly from the US to Europe. So, it’s not unrealistic to imagine that the science behind this can be proved within one to two generations.
I am working on a couple of other projects besides Suzi.
I had an earlier post about how Lewaine was able to help me refine my workflow to increase my creative output.
This could be trouble…
I thought I would share an image from one of those projects. I always wondered what would happen if you took some classic monsters, added equal parts Lovecraft and attitude, and let it bake for a while.
So I can name all kinds of pop culture references that had a hand in shaping Suzi. But there is really one and only one true inspiration that created this comic, and that would be my lovely wife, Lewaine.
Hottest publisher ever!
Lewaine is the one that pushed me to grow and put my work out there for the world to see.
I had a hard drive full of works I had done over the years that had never been seen by anyone other than myself.
I just didn’t really think anyone would care to see my work.
Lewaine kept telling me that I should get my work out there and share it with the world.
She even went so far as to take a couple of her favorite images, print them out, and enter them into a local art show.
The prints wound up winning second and third place…and she didn’t even say “I told you so”.
Lewaine began a business helping artists develop online portfolios and webcomic sites, and in the course of building her business, she helped me develop a plan for creating a webcomic of my own.
The problem was, I couldn’t find a story that I wanted to draw. Lewaine suggested that I tell a story that I thought was cool, and she then created a posting schedule that I could fit into my week. I am a full time designer/developer, so the project I started on the side would require a very precise methodology if I was going to be able to deliver on a schedule.
Lewaine
Lewaine nailed it! We have been able to refine my creation process so well, I was able to start another project. She did this all while balancing her clients and family life.
Suzi Quazar wouldn’t exist without Lewaine and her vision.
She is the real life inspiration for Suzi. From her grace and strength, to her sweet spirit and beauty, Lewaine provided me the model in which to create this character and tell her stories.
I can’t thank her enough. If you are an artist and have a story to tell, but don’t know how to get your work out there, contact Lewaine or visit her site here.
