The Classic Battle of Mac vs PC

Is there a difference? You betcha.

Superman vs Underdog, Batman Vs The Hulk, King Kong Vs Godzilla— in the age old and endless battles of battles I’m often asked, as an elder statesman of digital art— if there is a difference between MIcrosoft Windows and a Mac. In the olden days I used to say easily that Mac had the advantage, but then as the years went on and Microsoft upped its game (Windows 10 is a lot like Snow Leopard for Mac) I assumed the difference was minor.

Then Veronica bought a PC.

She bought a PC simply to play a series of puzzle video games she’s had for years and because PCs are SO cheap just use it as an external hard drive to hold all of her music and photos and free up space on both her Mac tower and her Mac laptop.

Well, my opinion is back to its original— if you’re planning on working digitally get a Mac. After an entire day of trying to get the new PC out of Windows 10 S which is a secure mode to prevent it from accepting any programs from outside the Windows Store it is abundantly clear here that you get what you pay for. And you pay a lot for a Mac don’t get me wrong, but in the long run it’ll run better, faster and you’ll get better results.
Mac’s are more expensive because they don’t clog the operating systems with tons of third party software, but in the end they are worth the extra 5-6x expense. Buy a PC now if you have to but save for a Mac and you’ll be shocked at how much more productive you’re going to be.

Bond Tuesdays...GOLDFINGER (1964)

Directed by Guy Hamilton starring Sean Connery, Honor Blackman and Gert Frobe. Released Jan 9, 1965 110mins.

This is it folks, this is THE James Bond film. It only took them three times to get the formula down. The fashion, the Aston Martin car, Honor Blackman as one of the best and strongest Bond women in the series, and Auric Goldfinger is the bondest of all Bond Villains;

With Bond strapped to a table and Goldfinger using a laser weapon straight towards him he asks:

“Do You expect me to talk, Goldfinger?”

“No Mr Bond, I expect you to die.”

Connery is finally comfortable in the role and this is the one that all other Bond’s should be measured against. It’s got it all.

This BOND adventure cements in my mind why Bond is a character of the 60s— the fashion, the skinny ties, the Cold War at its hottest, this was the time to be a spy.

Shirley Eaton is the backup Bond girl who ends up on the poster covered in gold. Tania Mallet is her sister who comes to seek revenge and ends up worse.

Shirley Bassey knocks the theme song out of the park and John Barry brings the rest of the score up to the same level.

Sadly, Jack Lord was replaced as Felix Leiter— a role he had originated in DR NO (1962) three years earlier (see trivia below). His replacement seemed ill-matched.

TRIVIA: Originally they were going to use a buzz saw in the laser scene (as was in the book) but the producers decided the threatening buzz saw was too old fashioned.

Orson Welles was the original choice for Goldfinger, but wanted too much money.

Bond creator Ian Fleming visited the set while the movie was filming but passed away before it’s release.

One of the favorite movies of director Federico Fellini who felt this kind of film is what cinema was supposed to be about.

Producers replaced Jack Lord with the uninspiring middle aged looking Cec Linder as Bond’s best friend, CIA Agent Felix Leiter because it was felt that Lord was overshadowing Connery when he played the part in DR NO (1962)

This movie was so popular that theaters took to 24 hour showings to meet demand.

BOND will return in THUNDERBALL.

• BOND: Sean Connery is James Bond

• VILLAIN: Gert Frobe is dubbed as Goldfinger which adds something to his off manner. *****

• THEME SONG: by Shirley Bassey. *****

• HENCHMAN: OddJob kills people with his hat. *****
  OVERALL BOND RATING: 10.0

#8 Meeting Deadlines - FREELANCE GUiDANCE: A 10 Part Series

Nothing is going to sink you faster than earning a reputation of being difficult to work with or missing deadlines.

Deadlines are the best and worst thing about being a freelancer.  Without a deadline we wander aimlessly through clouds of creative endless tweaking, endless revising.  The Mulligan is the enemy of the freelancer.   Perfect stands in the way of the Good.

Deadlines are tricky because you have to do a sort of juggling act like a circus acrobat leaping from trapeze to trapeze all without a net.

Here are the things that work for me:

1. Set a realistic deadline.   When the work comes in calculate how long its going to take and make sure it meets with the clients expectations.  If it doesn't-- turn it down.  Better to pass than be late.

2. Once you have that deadline get yourself a good calendar and write down the due date, then count backwards to see how many days you have.  Now divide that number times the number of pages or illustrations in the project and you have your daily goal.  Simply put if accept a job requiring 10 illustrations in 5 days you know with certainty that you must finish 2 pieces a day to meet that deadline.

Simple, but it gets more complex with bigger projects and longer deadlines.  Because it's human nature to fall into the "oh I have plenty of time for that"-- but do you?  Make sure you take into account days off, sickness, family and friends both good events and bad.  Excuses don't earn you points in freelance, delivering quality work does.

If in school you were someone who waited until the last minute to do that project you have a learned behavior that needs to change if you're going to be a successful freelancer.

Let's expand the equation-- you accept a 50 illustration assignment and you have two months to get it done-- that's 50 illustrations in 60 days-- seems simple right?

It depends on if you're planning on working weekends, because if you don't work weekends then a month is 21 days long not 31 so that now means if you're a M-F worker that you have to accomplish 1.5 illustrations each and every workday to make your deadline.  And that is the drop dead number.  To be safe, I would shoot for 2-3 per day which will build in a little bit of a buffer for you.

Realistically working in this method you should re-evaluate your deadline about 20 days in-- so on your calendar write down a big ol' '30' which is the absolute number you need to make this particular deadline-- and again that's the no breathing room drop dead number.  Were I to re-evaluate at this juncture and I found I had hit 30 rather than celebrate I would increase the output by working one of the two designated days off I have-- so now I am working six days a week to meet this deadline.  If you exceed expectations at the end you can always take some time off to make up for missed days off-- better that than missing the deadline.

If on the other hand you check your number at day 20 and instead of the must have '30' it's 20 you need to jump start panic mode and now work seven days a week and increase your workflow by 50%.

Many freelancers have the misconception that time is their enemy-- it is not if used correctly.  Time is on your side if you use it correctly and by doing the 1/3 of the way check-in you control time, because it's better to know sooner rather than later that you aren't going to make a certain date.

You can go back through the other parts for additional advice, but you have to make sure your circle of friends and family understand when you're on deadline.  Nothing worse than that friend that keeps tempting you to go places when you know you should be working.

A healthy balance of work and play keeps down stress, but you need to be realistic in your work schedule and just because you're the boss doesn't mean you can slack off.

Next Up: COMMUNICATION IS KING or GHOSTING AN EDITOR IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA.

Andy Fish is a freelance artist and writer who has been living the lifestyle longer than there has been an iPhone on this planet.  The advice given has worked for him, it might work for you, he hopes it does.  But like all advice, take it with your own situation in mind.  If you want to contact him shoot him an email andy@andytfish.com

KOLCHAK PAPERS: The Night Stalker TV Movie (1972)

THE NIGHT STALKER Jan 11th 1972

Starring Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Carol Lynley, Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins Written by Richard Mathesan.

Here’s the IMDB Summary; Carl Kolchak is a newspaper reporter with an abrasive personality that has gotten him fired ten times from various big-city papers. Now he's reduced to reporting for a relatively small-time paper in Las Vegas. It's here he gets the story of his life. But will the local sheriff, or the D.A., or even his own boss, let him print it? He has an ally in the FBI agent (Ralph Meeker) brought in to investigate this strange case. It seems someone is biting the necks of young girls and draining their blood. Can this killer with supernormal powers really be a 70-year-old Romanian millionaire? Can he really be a vampire? And can an aging reporter do anything to stop him?

The TV Movie was the highest rated of all time, which led to a sequel the following year.
Produced by Dan Curtis, who brought us DARK SHADOWS a few years earlier, it’s equal parts THE FRONT PAGE and DRACULA.

Darren McGavin, who plays Carl, was 50 when he starred in this, which is refreshing. It gives him a seasoned flair and they never would have done this today. McGavin played Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer in a late 50s TV series and Ralph Meeker, who plays the FBI agent, also played Hammer in the outstanding 1955 Robert Altman movie KISS ME DEADLY.

McGavin was approached to play the character after a literary agent had brought Jeff Rice’s unpublished novel, THE KOLCHAK PAPERS to producer Curtis thinking it would make for a good TV Movie. McGavin plays the role nearly the same way he approached the Mike Hammer character. Like Hammer, Carl narrated his adventures to the viewers usually starting with a post climax setting with him reviewing the story for publication.

Regular KOLCHAK viewers are yelling “yuck” over this rare bit of romance in a Kolchak adventure- McGavin with Lyndley.

Kolchak is confident both in his reporting and with his girlfriend played here by Carol Lynley as Gail Foster. Lynley would play the lounge singer in the big budget POSEIDON ADVENTURE the same year. The TV Series which would follow would push against the idea of Kolchak romances and we all can say thanks for that.

The film established a few elements that would later become part of the Kolchak mythos when it was developed as a series. In Rice’s novel Kolchak wears loud Hawaiian shirts, but McGavin balked at the idea and chose instead Kolchak’s fashion sense which consisted of cheap seersucker suits.

But there’s clearly more of Mike Hammer than Carl Kolchak in this as evidenced by the romance and Carl’s hard drinking habit;

Carl Kolchak drinking beer in a polo shirt?? What madness is this?

The bottom line of this movie in comparison to the show that will follow is that Kolchak is far less likable here than he will be in the series. He’s cantankerous in the show as he is here but he verges on outright arrogance too and that makes him far less interesting.

Oddball Characters

Much of the charm of KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER is the secondary cast that would appear in various episodes, including some well known character actors of the time, and that format is lightly started here with this first movie;

Vincenzo’s appearance in this introduction is odd in that he’s dressed very casually throughout the movie.

Simon Oakland makes his debut as Carl’s overworked boss, Tony Vincenzo, who is always getting Kolchak out of trouble while trying desperately to keep his blood pressure down.

The Vampire stealing from a blood bank— creepy and brilliant!

As the vampire, Barry Atwater is intimidating and menacing, far from the usual charm we usually see with such characters. Atwater made a career out of playing tough characters and he passed away just a few years after this came out.

Producer Dan Curtis had made a name for himself with another vampire, namely Barnabas Collins from DARK SHADOWS, but unlike Collins, this vampire is not played in a sympathetic manner, rather he’s presented as a brute unspeaking monster.

Elisha Cook Jr, who was The Fat Man’s bodyguard in 1941’s THE MALTESE FALCON starring Humphrey Bogart makes an appearance here. Cook would also appear in 1978’s SALEM’S LOT which fits into the Kolchak universe in many ways.

There’s also a doctor informant but he’s way too normal for what will be the established lore.

Kolchak would always be at odds with the authorities in these stories, many of them fighting against his desire to get to the truth at the expense of general panic and here we have several Las Vegas city leaders up against him.

City leaders argue about whether to throw Carl out of town or throw him in jail.

Larry Linville appears as a smug condescending doctor who would be Kolchak’s foil if Atkins wasn’t in it. Linville went on to play the same type of character in an episode of the TV Series which will be known as KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER as well as a regular on MASH as Major Frank Burns.

Claude Akins is the Sheriff who wants to run Carl out of town. Akins was an imposing actor with little range but he’s effective in the roles he takes on. The next year he would be playing a killer gorilla general in BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. Akins would go on to many roles in TV and B Movies over a long career.

As mentioned above Ralph Meeker is an FBI Agent and friend to Carl (a rarity) who works with the city bosses.

HOW’S THE MONSTER: Vampire looks great!

HOW’S THE SEASONED COP (OR AUTHORITY FIGURE) WHO HATES KOLCHAK: Claude Akins is not a fan of Carl.

KOLCHAK RATING 3.5 - It’s very good and it establishes a lot of what we like about the series but it lacks enough oddball characters and Kolchak himself is a bit too irritating, plus the love interest? Yuck.

Next up: The Second TV Movie

CONVENTION REPORT - SOUTH CAROLINA COMIC CON - SCCC Part Two

Andy, our driver, raced us over to our hotel got us checked in and gave us our badges. He also promised to help take care of the luggage mishap. The hotel provided us with a full compliment of toiletries to get us through the day.

Saturday morning we were up early in the same clothes as the night before— I had a quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant and we were driven over to the show— sons #2 and #3 were down for the show as buyers so they had dropped off our banner and some comics for us— we got the tables set up and got a notification that our bag had arrived at the airport— our show driver raced over and got it and all was right in the world.

Saturday was the busiest day— we saw quite a few old friends and made some new ones.

Daniel showing off an extremely rare MORTAR MAN #1- my first published work!

One of the highlights for me was Daniel coming by with a copy of MORTAR MAN #1— my first published work. His collection focuses on finding the first things pro’s ever worked on and then geting them signed— I LOVE this idea! He was a great guy to boot with some terrific stories.

Commission for Jon— one of our regulars

I was happy to see Jon back at the show— I meant to get a pic with him again this year— we took one last year— he’s a great guy who is very supportive of our work and he’s super nice— even above and beyond the South Carolina norm— which is saying something!

Us with Jon from last year!

South Carolina Comic Con is also a great BUYING show— and I picked up a few great books including one I had my eye on the second I walked in the door…

One of my favorite dealers is Ritchie at Bedrock City Comics— he always brings the goods. Now I’m what’s known as a wall shopper— that means I basically scan the wall you’ve set up rather than flip through the boxes— because most of the books I’d ever be interested in would not go into the boxes. Lucky for me son’s #2 and #3 were there and were not afraid to go through those boxes and they found me some real gems (more in a minute), but when I first walked in there was a book I’d been looking for all year— it’s in the upper left of his wall—can you see it?

Actually TWO books— a BATMAN #2 and a BATMAN #3 - from Summer and Fall of 1940— I poured over both— I love both covers very much. Ritchie had a #2 last year in lesser condition— this time around this new copy, which had just walked into his shop, was looking very pretty. The #3 I have a soft spot for but I got one years ago as an extreme bargain and sold it— so it’s hard to consider paying the going rate this time around. Which one, which one? I would think it over. I’ll show you the decision after I go through a couple of other books I found.

NYOKA THE JUNGLE GIRL was another Bedrock City Comic find— this one WAS in the boxes— and it’s important because its a photo gorilla cover and the gorilla in question is my all time favorite Hollywood Gorilla suit— the Ray Corrigan/Steve Calvert suit. I know, it’s the dopiest thing about me that I can recognize this suit— but it’s the one that was in such great B-Classics as THE GORILLA (1939), STRANGE CASE OF DR RX (1942), the wild serial THE MONSTER AND THE APE (1945) and in countless THREE STOOGES shorts. I’ve never seen him on the cover of a comic book but if I’d known this existed it would have been on my grail list— and it’s in nice condition too!

CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES #110— by this time Captain Marvel was crushing all others in the sales department— because his comics focused on FUN AND ADVENTURE (hey! That’s the slogan we’re using for ME-GRAPHICNOVELS.COM— go check it out).

Covers like this one are why I love the Golden Age— they weren’t afraid to have some fun— here we have Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent going for a walk and discovering a costume shop renting their costumes! I guarantee you nothing inside this issue had anything to do with the cover— and Bruce Wayne likely sent his attorneys after the shop for copyright infringement as soon as they were done suing the tailor that sold him a plaid green suit!

So what about the BATMAN #2 or #3?

It’s a restored copy but I don’t mind, because it’s gorgeous, and Ritchie gave me a good deal. We worked the show and then headed out to dinner at a rooftop restaurant with good friends and sons #2 and #3.

Sunday was here before you knew it and while the show was much slower we still did some good business— they invited us back for next year and we couldn’t say YES fast enough— my favorite show of the year and one of the many reasons is because its when we can meetup with our very good friend Devin Smith and his wonderful family (you can see a link to Devin’s business over there on the right).

Not only are they great peeps, Devin is also the model for our big hero KRATOS over at me-graphicnovels.com — here he is as an upcoming action figure….

Next year we vowed to come in a day earlier so we can all have dinner and catch up— but I’m planning a trip to the Atlanta area so we can spend some time together, and his daughter is becoming quite an artist on her own!

We had an early morning flight out on Monday— at 415am we stepped into the lobby and sure enough, there was our driver ready to get us over there.

The flights back were very easy— and let me tell you folks I can’t sleep on a plane but I can sleep on a plane in First Class because you have a lot more room and PEACE and QUIET! First class is completely worth it fellas and gals, completely worth it.

That was SCCC— can’t wait until next year!

Convention Report - SOUTH CAROLINA COMIC CON - SCCC Part I

South Carolina Comic Con— or SCCC for you hepcats— is held each year in Greenville South Carolina, and if you want to visit a medium city that is absolutely beautiful and free of all the nonsense that places like Portland Oregon are over-run with then check out Greenville. We’re actually looking at houses down there we liked it so much.

Mother Nature played a funny trick on us and buried us with a small but painful snowstorm on the Wednesday/Thursday before the show, which meant we flew down Friday afternoon and ended up landing in Greenville at Midnight. Rob and Michele the promoters are possibly the greatest people on the Earth— I love them both. They worked very hard to make our travel as easy as possible. Flying out of Worcester (which we had just done twice to Orlando) was out of the question because we’d have to have TWO connecting flights to do it— so we opted for Boston/Logan which is actually an easy 40 minute ride for us— but its when you get there that things go South— they have intensive security and bomb sniffing dogs and since my trunk often has recently transported large firearms there is more often than not gun powder residue that them there dogs go crazy for— so it makes for an extended check in.

Instead we opted to leave the car at Logan Express and take the bus in from Framingham— normally a really easy experience, this time around the bus was PACKED and there were several people yapping away on their phones which just adds to the fun.

Bus arrived at Logan and we made it through security (TSA Precheck) in no time— Veronica got pulled out of line— and I laughed at her, but it turned out it was my dop-kit that had an old timey razor in it that caused her to get flagged— so I stepped in and explained the situation and soon we were on our way.

We flew American Airlines First Class to Reagan in Washington, which is a very short flight but they still managed to make us some coffee and take good care of us.

We had a pretty long layover at Reagan so we grabbed a bite to eat and enjoyed ourselves while we waited— but the flight which was set to take off at 10:15pm kept getting delayed and then moved from gate to gate. I should have been more concerned but I fly a fair amount and seldom have a problem. That was about to change.

After a while they finally settled on a plane and a gate and we landed in Greenville at Midnight— which was about on time. We got down to baggage claim and while Veronica waited I ran a quick errand— she texted me and said “We aren’t getting our bag.” To which I replied “ha.”

As I walked back to baggage claim I noticed a person in an American Airlines vest standing in the middle of a circle of my fellow passengers— this didn’t look good.

Turns out— when they switched planes they forgot to get the bags off. So NOBODY had their luggage. THIS is why people travel with everything they own as they get on a plane. I’m a carry a single briefcase on kind of guy— but if this happens to you enough I can see why you become one of THEM.

That meant that we had no clothes, but just as bad we had no art to sell at the show, and no art supplies to do commissions— so we’d essentially be sitting there looking blank.

The AA Worker was no help— not only did they not apologize, they didn’t seem to care. The bags would be there “tomorrow” around 4pm they said, we can just come back for them. There was one guy there that was 75 miles away— I don’t think I would have been too happy.

Since I misssed the initial conversation I pretty much stood there in disbelief and then decided we’d just figure it out. The con would certainly help us out however they could and we needed to find our ride outside— the show sets up car service for us to and from the airport and to and from the hotel to the show— this is all the guests so it’s a lot of work for them, and we certainly appreciate it.

Part Two Tomorrow.

Bond Tuesdays...FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)

DR NO was a hit so a sequel was ordered and the budget was doubled and it shows. This one further cements the groundwork that will be a James Bond film and introduces Q, the head of British Intelligence Gadgetry and the Bond series is off and running.

He’s up against SPECTRE again who is seeking revenge for his murder of their agent Doctor No— the lead villain is Blofeld who will be the only truly recurring villain in the series, although his face is not seen, he is the man behind the treachery.

Robert Shaw is Red Grant, the assassin assigned to take out 007 and he’s truly a threat. We also get tiny little german woman Rosa Klebb who has knives in her shoes and she’s a kicker so it’s a dangerous combination.

Connery is getting comfortable in his role but he’s still giving it his all, he’s on the verge of being the best Bond he can be. This one is more serious and less gadget laden than the series will become making it a favorite among fans of the original books by ian Fleming.

• BOND: Connery is figuring out James Bond. ****1/2

• VILLAIN: Blofeld is the Bond Villain. *****

• THEME SONG: A little too flowery for my liking. ***

• HENCHMAN: Red Grant is a man of steel. ****1/2
  OVERALL BOND RATING: 9.2

It’s worth noting that PLUTO is offering a James Bond channel right now.