ARTISTS, MODELS, & COMICS by Dave Goode

ARTISTS, MODELS, & COMICS by Dave Goode

If you started reading comics at a very young age. Say before the age of six. More likely than not you imagined putting on a costume and going out to fight the forces of evil in the name of "truth, justice, and the American way". Then sometime when you were a little older you imagined being a comic book creator. You probably created your own comics from the very beginning. Self written and drawn pastiches of your favorites. I've got some very fond memories of elementary school and making comics with fellow fan-boys. And there were various episodes of television shows and movies that were cartoonist-themed.

 

I remember the short-lived television series HE AND SHE from the era of Batmania that starred Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss about a cartoonist and his wife. 

 

Also from the Batmania era was The Winged Avenger episode of the cult British television series THE AVENGERS that had Steed and Peel matching wits with a deranged comic book artist.

My favorite comic book creator movie was ARTISTS & MODELS (1955) directed by Frank Tashlin, who also helped to write the screenplay. It starred the comedy team of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis who had been appearing in their own comic book series from DC since 1952. The movie also stars Dorothy Malone and Shirley MacLaine. Both Martin and Malone play comic book artists. MacLaine plays Malone's roommate who also doubles as the model for the comic book character the Bat - Lady. Interestingly enough the movie was released nearly a year before Batwoman made her debut in Detective Comics No. 233 (July 1956). It should also be noted that Dean Martin, the coolest member of the Rat Pack, was a huge comic book fan.

 

I'm also a fan of the comedy HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE (1965) that starred Jack Lemmon , Terry - Thomas , and the stunning Virna Lisi. Lemmon portrays a syndicated comic strip artist who uses models ( just like real life cartoonists Alex Raymond and Milton Caniff ) and researches his comic strip to the last detail. Acting out scenes for his strip. He also lives a swinging bachelor lifestyle that Hugh Hefner would have been envious of. 

Woodrow Wilkins, the comic book artist that Michael Crawford portrays in CONDORMAN (1981) does pretty much the same. I've given my buddy Vance Capley grief over this flick for years now. But the truth is that I find this movie based on Robert Sheckley's book THE GAME OF X very entertaining. 

I also like an episode of the television series SIMON & SIMON titled "Almost Completely Out of Circulation". In this episode from the show's fourth season detectives Rick and A.J. Simon investigate the murder of a comic book artist. Prop comic book art for this episode is provided by Will Meugniot and Bruce Timm. With coloring and color seperations by Jo Meugniot and Murphy Anderson.

When I created the comic book character Mr. Incognito, the American Luchador I used photo references of an old teammate from my high school wrestling days who wrestled semi-professionally as the model for the "poor man's Mil Mascaras". I found it was also a cool way to meet hot models. The ones that posed for the damsels in distress in my various comics.

On my last trip to Columbia, Tennessee my buddy Vance Capley and I posed for photo reference for our Dr. Judo comic.