Todd Klein's Blog, page 381

Tigger and Leo go to the vet

I haven't blogged about our kittens in a while, not because they aren't amusing, but perhaps because they are over seven months old now, and don't seem quite as cute and kittenish. They're more like teenage cats, I guess; they still play a lot, but are settling into a more relaxed life, and are often willing to push the boundaries — getting up on things when they know they shouldn't, for instance. Last week I had bought some fresh asparagus, and stood the bunch in a small dish of water on...

Delaware Bay Shorebirds and Crabs

This picture I found online of Horseshoe Crabs mating represents one side of a symbiotic relationship unique to our area. These ancient creatures, more closely related to spiders than other crabs, come ashore at high tides along the Delaware Bay to mate and spawn, peaking around the full moon in May (yesterday), with the female laying thousands of tiny eggs, and the males all battling to be the one to fertilize them. In digging her own egg-laying hole, she usually uncovers many eggs already l...

Incoming: NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE

Images © Young Family Trust and DC Comics, Inc.

Just arrived here are advance (I think) copies of this new hardcover that I lettered. It was a fun project, well written by Joshua Dysart (based on the Neil Young concept album and film) with great art by Cliff Chiang and unusually cool coloring by Dave Stewart. I don't know whose idea it was, but before I started lettering I got the first few sample pages with Dave's colors, and saw that he'd handled it this way:

All of Chiang's line art is held ...

And Then I Read: MADAME XANADU 20 & 21

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

First of all, I LOVE this cover! What a great pastiche of 1950s romance magazines! My favorite cover on the series, and many of them have been terrific.

Issue 20 continues the backstory of Nimue (who becomes MX) and her magical sister Morgana, their involvement in the legends of King Arthur and Camelot, though that's mostly off-stage. The focus is on the sisters, their clashing values and personalities. And perhaps there's more to come, but in issue 21 we switch back...

And Then I Read: FLASH REBIRTH 6

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

This final issue of the mini-series about the return of Barry Allen to the role of The Flash ends about the way you might expect, though that didn't take away any of my enjoyment in reading it. Of course the villain, The Reverse Flash, gets his come-uppance at the hands of Barry and his speedy pals, despite his ability to go back in time to ruin Barry Allen's life. Reverse Flash is clever, but the teamwork of the Speed Force is too much for him. Sorry if I gave it away ...

And Then I Read: DAYTRIPPER 3 & 4

Image © Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá.

They say no character ever dies permanently in superhero comics, but in Vertigo comics, character revival is no sure thing. Didn't Morpheus, the original Neil Gaiman Sandman die, despite being one of The Endless, after all? In this series, the main character dies at the end of each issue, and when the next one begins, he's alive again. The thing is, each issue takes place in a different year of the life of Brás de Oliva Domingos, not consecutive years, but...

Not Blogging

Yesterday and today I helped lead field trips for the Cape May Bird Observatory's Spring Weekend event. Great weather, lots of fun and good birds. When I wasn't doing that I was finishing up the art for my next print, which is coming along nicely. A few more tweaks and it'll be ready to print and paint. Tomorrow I have to put that aside, though, and get back to my regular work, which I've been neglecting for two days. So, I should be returning to regular blogging on Monday.

And Then I Read: TURF 1

Images © Jonathan Ross & Tommy Lee Edwards.

Like AMERICAN VAMPIRE, this is a new series about vampires. Both feature a spunky young heroine in the 1920s, but they're otherwise quite different. TURF takes place mostly in New York in 1929 so far, and focuses on the prohibition-fueled underworld, where various gangs control liquor and other vices in areas of the city they've carved out. Susie Randall is a society reporter who's trying to better herself by getting into crime reporting, which will ...

And Then I Read: AMERICAN VAMPIRE 1

© Scott Snyder & Stephen King.

Scott Snyder, and DC, must be thrilled to have the support and partnership of Stephen King on this comic. The downside is, King is such a strong writer he's very tough competition. This book is divided into two parts, telling the stories of two main characters, one in Los Angeles of 1925 (Snyder) the other in Colorado in 1880 (King). Both are good, but King's dialogue just grabs you by the throat (no pun intended) and won't let go. While it didn't come through...

F is for Fun

Image © Todd Klein.

I've started working on the lettering for my next signed print this week. Sorry, no details I can release yet, other than to say that the focus is on the letter F, and above is my rough design sketch for the initial capital. That made me think of the ongoing Alphabattle on the Letter Cult website, so I had a look, and sure enough, they've recently posted entries for the letter F. Cool stuff, as always. More on my print soon…