If things hold up like this the book (you know that werewolf one) should be out by February.

 This was first posted circa 2000 and last time 2017. Sadly most links were removed as the various sites did not last as long as CBO!

A LOOK AT TWO GREAT GOLDEN & SILVER AGES ARTISTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The following is a re-post from a few years back and the reason to re-post is because someone asked if I had only ever created a German team of heroes?  Nope. Read on!

  There is always a little bit extra when it comes to Black Tower projects here and so why not the odd exclusive peek at "What should have been"?

I went through a box yesterday and found three of the project submission packs that I would have touted around to publishers back in the last century (it is SO weird writing that!). I could not remember the date of the project as a lot of things I burnt a couple years back, however, a flip sheet was attached and reads:

"This series was first produced in 1987 for a European publication in Germany (Bastei). the idea is a simple one; super hero action with a quirky (NOT comical) feel to it. Each story would feature characters from different countries of West, Central and Eastern europe  -an EU of super heroes!

"Stories would move around European cities from the UK to Finland, France amnd so on.

"The first story written (six scripts fully written) and pencilled by Terry Hooper was inked by John Schiltz back in 1990 and can be updated into the 48pp album format either B&W or colour"

From pencilled notes this was something that Gil Page at Fleetway was interested in as it could fit in a lot of the old adventure characters the company had and it could also be sold to other European publishers as per past projects. Sadly, the board room said "No!" very loudly and I think Gil knew the company was going to swerve away from what it used to be.

The submission pack I found mentioned the Big Balloon Bv which was a company based in the Netherlands. I have no idea what happened after the initial fax, phone call and submission.

As far as I recall these were faxed pages that I immediately photocopied on my Canon FC220 (before its demise!).

Here you go -Task Force Europe initial story.

Script/pencils Hooper   Inks John Schiltz

"The lawsuit, which also named Stability AI and Midjourney as defendants, alleged that the companies misused copyrighted works to train generative AI models without consent or compensation"

Still open apparently but when I looked around I found that I had a lot of pushes from DeviantArt to create better or "dream art" by using AI.  My stance has always been that if you do AI art for fun -no problem. But if you produce it to put real artists out of work -no.

I could produce cover after cover using AI and it would save me the time and effort but 😡that!

The problem is that the majority of DC and Marvel as well as Image etc artists all work on computers so produce digital art. There is no pencil, pen/brush or paper involved and even lettering put humans out of business a long time ago -people who were skilled. Yes, I DO use a very basic program to do my lettering because my hands are not in a state to do the work. Moebius once4 told me that the artist must letter their own work as it is part of the process. I showed him my own lettering and he nodded and smiled.  An ant stepping in ink and lettering for me would make it more legible. If I used scripts and had the money I'd pay a letterer.  Big companies can afford to pay skilled letterers. 

Colouring art is also carried out using a digital process -no brush, ink or paint and we can all issue a big "sigh" if we want.

"NO AI!" declares Marvel, DC, etc. Uh, that is very double standard. If you cannot produce art by AI on your computer then you should NOT be having creators use a computer to draw, colour or letter. It's all being a little virtue signalling and hypocritical but then this is comics and companies are as crooked now as they ever were and if they could get away with using AI art to make comics and therefore not pay real artists they would. It just needs the right pushing point and it will happen.

So do I do what many -many- creators have done and walk away from DeviantArt?  I have invested a lot of years, time and energy and endured all of the changes and technical problems to just close down the account which, I ought to add, in 20 years has brought me only one offer of work (my "chance" to draw a 150pp graphic novel for nothing).

 One of the characters I want to bring back to a modern audience is "the old fella" who is a pretty (very) obscure character but with a lot of potential. 

  Just who he is you better hope I live long enough to present him as no one gets a freebie any more and don't try to offer this one a rubber £10 note!

And I sincerely apologise to him for stating he might be a tad smelly. He is a gentleman and takes grooming seriously!  

He may be old but he has one hell of a punch!

Someone said "You always ask people for their "dream team" of British heroes but what about yours?"

Oh, babies: I have a dream team of US Golden Age characters and story ideas (I got rid of scripts years ago) that I submitted to Marvel, DC, Image, ONI, etc etc).  

As for a British team...oh come on. I have a Platinum, Golden and Silver ages British teams -as in Cross Earths Caper and The Society for the Suppression of Criminal Activity with characters from the early 1900s and, yes, I have had loose alliances between characters from the Penny Bloods/Penny Dreadfuls.   

How many will appear in future? Who knows because I already have too many projects that will never be drawn. 

 But oh those obscure and forgotten characters...all bouncing about in my head.

Added to my recent Black Tower and Golden Age (British) characters is....a 3.75 inch figure conversions of Kelvin Nolan and his Helmet of Power (still needs a bit of work.  The Greek style helmet had to be hand made using Milliput.

Oh my camera did a lovely close up!  You may ask how I painted such a good image which is roughly less than a centimetre in size?

I didn't.

A while back I bought a 3.75 inch custom made Arnim Zola and when I got it realised that the face on the chest tree was Toby Jones who played the character in Captain America and Winter Soldier movies. It was a tad dark but I suddenly thought that this was a way to add detail that I could not paint.

I took an image and brightened it up a little then re-sized to 1 cm and printed it out, stuck it on the figures then PVA glue over it to keep the image permanent (you may like to use varnish of some sort.

This would be a lot easier on a 6 inch (15cms) figure and I offer the idea up to any converters out there because you CAN convert 3.75 inch figures -they are not "too small" and if I can do this anyone can.

32pp

Black and white and colour

£12.00 UK -outside the UK the online store will show you cost in your region

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/black-tower-comic-fun/paperback/product-w4ynq4r.html?q=&page=1&pageSize=4

It's FUN! FUN! FUN! All the

way (except for the action). Black Tower Comic Fun reprints some of the strips that are now going on for three decades old. Starring Dr Sterno: Man of Science as he attempts to stop a seemingly out of control cyborg from rampaging into Finland...and is betrayed! Dru gives advice on getting a job. The Thinker offers his thoughts on things in general. The Legendary Wrecking Crew pop up. The Iron Warrior gets to work with his huge chopper. Garza shows why he is the jungle boss. And...Garbage World in which intergalactic demolition decides the Earth is a waste tip of sorts. Just one big bundle of fun in black and white and colour!z