TRINA ROBBINS, POP CULTURE ICON

Here are  a couple of great books that have  my recommendations for great additions to your library . First there is Dope , Trina Robbins adaptation of a tale by the great Sax Rohmer, best known for his Fu Manchu novels. The story takes place at the time of WWI and centers around a group of young socialites who are caught up in the nefarious world of narcotics. It wouldn’t be Rohmer without a shrewd police inspector abetted by an English Lord whose special area of expertise is Asia.  The setting is Limehouse, the Chinese district of London, and the villains are the evil Mrs. Sin and her more complex husband Wa. A fun read with lots of twists and turns well orchestrated and well drawn by Trina. 

My only caveat with the book is that it is a reprint of work originally done in the l970’s in black and white. While Trina has a wonderful graphic sense of  design, with the current printing technology, I think adding a bit of tone to the artwork might have helped a good bit with mood and character identification. (IHowever, a real plus to this book is the extra features at the end on Sax Rohmer, Sex, Drugs, and the Yellow Peril, and The Devil Doctor in Comics, the latter even featuring a couple of drawings by yours truly.

  
https://www.amazon.com/Sax-Rohmers-Dope-Trina-Robbins/dp/1631409573/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517588284&sr=1-1&keywords=Dope+trina+robbins

The other book is Trina’s autobiography Last Girl Standing. 

Trina wears her wampum beads

She fills her drawing book with line

Sewing lace on widows' weeds

And filigree on leaf and vine

Vine and leaf are filigree

And her coat's a secondhand one

Trimmed with antique luxury

She is a lady of the canyon

- Joni Mitchell- Ladies of the Canyon.

I had listened to that song a thousand times and had no idea that those lines were  about one of my comics and drawing cronies. And this book is filled with so many wonderful stories about Trina’s life that make it one of the more entertaining reads you’ll find in some time. I’ve met a few folks in the pop music industry who were part of that world, and way too many who were involved in the rebirth (and death throes) of the comics world. I don’t think I’ve ever knew anyone who was so involved in an intricate way with both.

Trina’s journey as an aspiring cartoonist is interwoven with her years in  NYC, LA and San Francisco. Not only was she writing, drawing and producing the first feminist comics (It Ain”t Me Babe, Wimmin’s Comix) but at the same time was designing and creating clothes for the likes of Donovan, Mama Cass, David Crosby,etc. . And then there is her relationship with Jim Morrison.  Believe me, there is rarely a dull moment in the narrative.

There is a good bit of acerbity with regards to her effort to  gaining a foothold in the male dominated comics world, but while I wouldn’t diminish her struggle as a woman in this field, I think there is a bigger picture. When I was growing up there were all kinds of comics: westerns, mystery, funny animal, teenage comedy, classics illustrated, and superheroes. But by the time Trina and I started looking for work as a cartoonist, the reality was that if you didn’t draw superheroes in the house (Marvel or DC) style , work was extremely difficult to find. While there were “underground” comics, and “independents” as alternatives, neither of them could  offer economically competitive rates. The real pioneers in the independent field were  Artie Spiegelman, Howard Chaykin, Harvey Pekor, Dave Sim, Moebius, and several others who were doing their own  material that shattered the mold for traditional comics. While they made little money and often got even less respect, they were reshaping the graphic story as we knew it.

Trina was also in this mix. So while a lot of the rejection she faced in the industry might have been gender based, a good deal more was  simply that her work was far too personal and original for corporate comics whose only focus was on sales. Probably the best interview I ever had was at Nickelodeon where after the art director looked at my samples he told me, “Wow. Your work is really good. You couldn’t work for us.” We both laughed out loud because I knew exactly what he meant. Trina probably also experienced this, and thank god she didn’t conform or her book might never have been as provocative and enchanting a read. 

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Girl-Standing-Trina-Robbins/dp/1683960149/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517588166&sr=8-1&keywords=last+girl+standing+trina+robbins

Above a photo of Trina and Steve Leialoha and below a  drawing of Trina done for a Kickstarter promotion.

A G.I. JOE SKETCHBOOK PT. 2

I'm always surprised at just how much this series was an influence on and was enjoyed by so many people. This set of sketches taught me just how much the fans took to it. Enjoy!

And don't forget, most of our stories are available at iVerse/Comics Plus for your enjoyment: (And our financial gain.) To open a new window: CLICK HERE

AND, if that isn't enough... CLICK HERE

 to go to Mike's website and see an index of all the VozComix pages. And don't forget to visit our sister site, Vozwords. CLICK HERE for a listing of the most popular posts.

A G.I. JOE SKETCHBOOK PT. 1

The two jobs that I worked on in my career that still resonate with fans these days are first the one hundred "covers" I created for the HBO Tales From the Crypt series that ran for seven seasons. Second there is my association with Hasbro's GI Joe, where I penciled the comic books series (issues #9-20,22-23) and once I moved to LA, worked on storyboarding episodes of the animated series four a couple of years. 

Working on the comic book in the early eighties was certainly not my favorite assignment. It was not one of the "popular" books at Marvel (though who knew what a monster commercial hit it would be), and while everyone insured me it was a  "spy" adventure, I found it hard to get past the "war" connotation. Lara Hama's writing was brilliant and fun to work on, though Larry was a rather taciturn with his comments. The inker probably fit the series well, but it became increasingly clear that no matter what I was doing to improve the quality of my penciling, the results always remained the same. Since I was working in Battle Creek MI and mailing the work in, it was difficult to plead my case.

When I left the series editor Denny O'Neill called me desperately asking my help to do one more issue because the one they had assigned to Russ Heath looked to never be completed. While he couldn't offer me more than the base pay for "pencil breakdowns", he did promise me that there was a heft royalty payment on the issues. So I did the favor,  penciled issue #24 and sent it in. Lo and behold, when the book came out, Russ had managed to get his work in at the last minute, and it was magnificent. However, not a word from Denny explaining any of this to me...and so much for that royalty payment. (If I can scare up all the xerox's I'll print that in a future Vozcomix blog.)

Working on the animated series, because I had moved to LA, had the distinct advantage of working in house and dealing daily and directly with my directors and producer. Once I managed to convince them that I could actually storyboard (another interesting story), I found that my work was not only respected but admired by the other artists.  And while it didn't pay royalties, the animation salary I thought was phenomenal. There were many friends I made in those days that I still cherish to this day. (And speaking of royalties, IDW has never paid any of the creative talent a dime in royalties for all the work they have continually reprinted.)

Growing up after Korea and watching the Vietnam fiasco unfold, by the time the Gulf Wars rolled around, I really wanted to disassociate myself from any connection with the military. And no matter how much they pushed the "spy" concept, GI Joe to me was the perfect fantasy for convincing youngsters that the army and combat was a fun place to be. Consequently, I've always had misgivings about the series. However, meeting all the wonderful fans over the years has eroded some of those, and fulfilling their requests for sketches gave me a chance to pencil and ink my renditions of their heroes. Here's hoping you enjoy looking at this portfolio as much as I enjoyed drawing it.  

Next week, stay tuned for part 2 of the portfolio. Don't miss it!!