Bun Toons FanExpo Re-Runs! What?

You can’t blame me, I’m not even here.

Every year, around this time, I’m a guest at Toronto’s HUGE FanExpo Comic Convention.  It takes up four days this time around, and it’s simply not possible for me to do a timely Bun Toon on Saturday Morning, because I’m already out of the house and at the convention by the time you’ve read this.   Were it not for the con, I’d be doing something about Lance Armstrong, or Mitt Romney, or perhaps making fun of Moonstone Comics.

But even when there’s a will, sometimes there is absolutely no way, and so, dear Bun Tooners, I’m afraid it’s time for the annual PARADE OF CONVENTION RE-RUNS.

At least it’s not the same set of re-runs as last year.  In a way, that’s all-new re-runs.  So yay, for that.

 

At the convention yesterday, I had someone come up to me and say, VERBATIM, what the Kevin Fan said to me in this strip.  The fellow was trying to amuse me by Cosplaying the Kevin Fan, but I have to admit, I didn’t know he was referencing this strip (which is two years old at this point), and I thought it was happening all over again.  When I said “you’re not the first person to compare me to Kevin Maguire, and thanks for punching my ego gonads”.  Then he told me he was re-enacting this strip, and all was well.

For a couple of minutes there, I was going to sob like a school-girl, though.

 

Here’s a convention memory BUN TOON from JUST a few weeks ago.  If you’ve already read it, you may skip down to the BONUS moment and be done with me. If not, it features Jack “KING” Kirby, and is a fun memory for me.

 

If you’re in Toronto, come on down to the FanExpo and say “hi” to me and the missus.  We’d love to see you, and I’ll draw you a Bun Toon fresh right in front of you…but it won’t make it to the internet without a scanner and a computer.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your BONUS Re-Run Convention Moment:

This story took place after a store appearance with Jean (Moebius) Giraud, in Toronto.  That’s like a convention, only with less security guards telling you that you can’t get back to your car that way.

For last week’s Bun Toon, which involves a dinner conversation after a convention, with the Great Joe Kubert, click here.

For Every Bun Toon Ever (making them ALL a re-run), click the icon you’ve all seen before.

 

 

Moebius Bun Toons! YAY!

Darn it! Someone's let all the air out of my garage!

We all lost one of the corners of the comic book sky last week:  The magnificent Jean Giraud (also known as Moebius) has died.  If you know him only as one of those two names, you’re missing half his career.  Giraud, or “GIR” was probably the best illustrator of western comic books ever to pick up the pen, and Moebius was certainly the greatest illustrator of Science Fiction/Fantasy comic books of all time.  Amazingly enough, they were both the same man, and both an incalculable influence on me since I can remember discovering ARZACH in high school, and Blueberry in college.

Besides losing a legendary comic artist, the world lost a lovely and whimsical human being when Jean passed away, and my first thoughts after I heard he was gone, were of a small moment I remembered from a meal we once shared.   I share it now, with you.

It helps if you remember that MARRIED TO THE MOB was a Michelle Pfeiffer movie from the early 90s.  I think it was out in the theatres when Jean made this joke.

Is this moment as important as the Airtight Garage, or The Incal or Metal Hurlant?  I don’t know.  But it was charming and human, and whimsical, and unwilling to be cross or annoyed at the world.   And who doesn’t treasure that?

There are four postcards of Moebius’ doodles that are stuck in the wall near where I draw.  They’ve been there for years.  Here they are:

Those are the wee bits of Moebius that greet me every day in my studio.   Charming, and human, and whimsical, and unwilling to be cross or annoyed at the world.

Ty the Guy OUT!

HERE NOW, BONUS TRIBUTE TIME:

This month has also seen the passing of Sheldon Moldoff and Ralph McQuarrie.

Sheldon Moldoff drew the Batman I first encountered…he was the guy I THOUGHT was Bob Kane when I was a very young kid, because Bob Kane was signing his name to all of Sheldon’s work.

I cannot tell you guys how much I LOVE the 50s and 60s Sheldon Moldoff version of Batman, with ACE, Batwoman, Bat-Mite and the Flying Batcave.  I don’t see that stuff as corny or camp, I see it as the first version of Batman I ever saw, and my nostalgic affection for it is hard to hide.

Before there was ‘JOKER’S FIVE WAY REVENGE” and the dark, sombre Batman of Neal Adams and Denny O’Neil, we had “ROBIN DIES AT DAWN”, a comic that got under my skin and freaked me out when I was about six.  I recall it as one of the first comic books that had an emotional affect on me, and it still holds a special place.

I also remember reading a Golden Age Hawkman story in a reprint book from the 70s and being surprised that Sheldon Moldoff USED to draw like Alex Raymond back in the 40s.   Golden Age Hawkman stories became my Holy Grails.  I looked for them everywhere, and copied the line work and textures.

I saw this stuff before I saw the REAL Alex Raymond…or even Eisner, or Fine. Moldoff was the first Golden Age artist I specifically remember seeking out…the first one to convince me there might have actually been a Golden Age.

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STAR WARS borrowed heavily from many influences:  E.C. Comics, John Carter novels, Flash Gordon serials and Moebius’ work in Metal Hurlant…but the one person most responsible for the look and feel of the movie of my lifetime was Ralph McQuarrie.

It started with his production paintings.  They were leaked to the world in an article in STARLOG magazine a few months before the movie came out, and those paintings were enough to get my little legs scurrying to the movies the day it opened.

Sure, it’s the robot from Metropolis standing on John Carter’s Barsoom…but that’s what makes it GREAT!  Ralph knew where this Star Wars movie was coming from, and where it was going, and he started it all with these paintings.  For making our lives a little more fantastic, I thank you, sir.

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For last week's Bun Toon, that actually MENTIONS Barsoom, click above.

For every Bun Toon ever, click on the Jasoomian rabbit.