In the previous installment to this, wherein I revealed Mike Carlin moonlighting as Ka-Zar, I had to look over my Black & White negatives like never before. All these years later, what I thought to be a blotchy mess in a ruined negative was, in fact, me!
This frame of film was among the stretch of images shot around Mike posing for Ka-Zar portraits. So I regarded it as a “lost frame.” I had done some pretty dumb things such as opening up the film back of the camera and quickly (very) closing it after seeing a roll of film already in progress… Subsequently, I would cowboy it and pop the lens off, hold open the shutter and look into the camera body to see if there was film there… Only slightly less dumb than the previous actions. Since that would expose the negative to room light, there would be a lost frame.
But not this time! What was there was one of my famous under-exposed frames with an over-exposed hot spot somewhere. Better known as a sloppy exposure. To the right, there’s a couple of can lights in the ceiling—this allowed Luke the Security Guard to dash around the corner. Otherwise, the rest of the Bullpen is in stygian darkness. Except me, with Joe Albelo’s 160W elbow lamp blazing away. Here’s the shot:
This is me on the week of April 14, 1983. I can say that with authority because it is within the same week as that infamous New York Post headline mentioned in that last blog. The 14th was a Saturday and all manner of timing scenarios are possible (Mike bringing Spankie in on that Saturday, or possibly Sunday—we really did things at all times [–What am I talking about, total stranger? Why, the previous blog titled: When Za-Bu Attacks! – Spankie the gigantic, good-natured cat, played Za-Bu! Get-it-straight Brown]).
But this “feels” like a Wednesday night. I only wish I’d angled the camera just a bit in order to see the clock reflected in the windows beyond. At this point in the Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe’s forward march, I probably knew whether I was spending the night or not.
A personal plea to all my nearest and dearest—please crack out the mocking, tiny violin and cryin’ towel. After all my good chums toiled alongside me, ribald jokes, witticisms as well as somewhat spicy fried chicken from Smilers’ a’flyin’—they bade me good night and went home. I stayed on, like Jason (but without the Argonauts), lashed to the mast (drawing table) to resist the siren song (NYPD at midnight) or be lured to death (explain my lateness to Virginia).
I would do whatever it took to draw my little heart out. No matter how crazy the subject. Straight through the night!
If your level of astonishment is not lethal yet—get this: just before my series of revelations about Mike and that cat, I did a blog about some of my drafting methods and tools. In a fabulous coincidence, I saw that I was gripping a pen set with the self-same type of “stencil adaptor” that I was going on and on about. And also templates. Now what on earth I was working on that used all these templates—I leave that to the devoted student of OHOTMU. There’s an ellipse set and a ship’s curve just above the art board.
Of note—Large circles, which looks a lot like the one I still use, except cleaner. And a crappy Timex digital watch. Then, I am wearing a “Big Mike” heavy duty shirt that was a cherished Christmas gift from Jack Morelli (sniffle, my old buddy… who knew I was working night and day in the sleet and rain…)!
Lastly, this is another one of those shots where I am clearly much younger and nimble! Enough to set the mechanical timer on my camera and run like a crazy squirrel, seat myself and pick up that pen before the camera trips.
Oh yeah, and work up that sultry, “Hey there… “ face.
I was alone, burning the midnight oil as usual, working on anyone of a dozen overdue projects when I heard the familiar if I’ll timed creak of the door hinge. And then …SHE walked in.