Who's Running This Show
Ayuh, the "About Me" notes are sparse. Who The Frell is running this show? A damn Number?
And yet, for the past 20 years and more, that has been my name. There was a time when I heard "Three" more often than my birth name when someone was talking to me, even family.* -3- is how i've been credited professionally in video games and comics since '97 or earlier. I'm an artist, and society allows us certain ... insanities. Up to a point. But it's not hiding behind a number as some have speculated. It was inspired by Charles Schulz, actually, and the character Five in Peanuts. (The one with the hip hop dance moves in the ancient Charlie Brown Christmas special) He and his sisters are number named. Some thought their father was protesting the system and the overwhelming amount of numbers that accumulated with identity in the 20th century. He explained that it was quite the opposite. It was his surrender to the new order of things.
Me, i'm jumping to the front and grabbing the best number before they start assigning. The hyphens surround the -3- in my signatures for another reason. With the little tail on the 3 in my signature, all the shapes are there to build my initials, too.
Okay, that still tells you precisely dick about who is me. Hmm....
Let's jump to the origin strip from an old web comic:
And there you can see all three ways i sign my work in that first panel.
These days you won't see my work often; special projects on occasion that my peripatetic mind is willing. Most of my work is simply for myself these days, or gifts. While i may be able to focus in short bursts for things like blog posts, sustained reliable concentration is beyond me these days. That's why i've gone full hermit for quite a while, with this blog being shouts from the cave. But when i did work:
Quite incomplete, but sufficient. And more to the point, all the covers that were sitting on the external drive i searched. It's funny - i've been published on 5 continents and at one point was bringing in a six figure income from the artwork. And now that i'm disabled and hidden from view, my artwork is vastly superior to that for which i was paid so well. I'm pretty sure that's another of the Universe's little jokes, i'm just not quite sure who the joke is on.
Meanwhile...
On the movie/media front, my tastes are wide-ranging with a step to the side in general. Odd films, by the very definition, bring something different with them. And, as mentioned previously, movies & shows from other countries can hold great appeal for much the same reason. For a lot of other reasons, too - like actual suspense (Heroes Die!) or genres that simply don't exist in Hollywood. (Spooky Comedies (The Jitters not withstanding. Besides, that was James Hong, not Hollywood)). Back in pre-WWWeb days (the internet was vastly different, though IRC & Usenet helped) we had to trade tapes with people living in other countries to find these things. Having access to gear that could translate between NTSC & PAL formats could make one a god.
When i inevitably start talking about "Foreign Cinema" - fight that reaction to let your eyes glaze over and mind wander through your playlist. I'm not usually going to talk about art films. I'm going to talk about demented Spanish versions of Monty Python. About Thai superheroes. About Russian superheroes that seemed influenced by Marvel's old Soviet Super Soldiers. About Eastern Westerns. About Moon Nazis. Hopping Vampires. El Santo (teaming up with Captain America to take down Spider-Man). Spanish Sci-Fi madness that looks like Richard Corben had a hand in it. (No, don't worry. Better than Corben's actual films (unless he's done newer ones i've yet to see))
Umm... anyway. Generally fun stuff. No panic, no worries.
Next Question
What is the source of the artwork for the title image of "The Voice Of ODD!"?
That would be one of my paintings, How To Start A Religion:
Well, that's plenty of 'revelations' for one day, eh?
But one more important thing...
THIS is my Superman:
Okay, literally in this case. (Superman: Protector Of Earth by -3- (ca. 2014))
But I'll accept Tyler Hoechlin just fine, too.
*(Now they mostly just say "RUN!!!")
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