Sunday, May 30, 2021

MATA HARI AND SYDNEY REILLY: SPIES!

People always ask me what my favorite story is I did for Marvel Comics. It certainly wasn't any of the superhero books that I did. While the short run I did on John Carter of Mars, was enjoyable,  in retrospect it certainly wasn't my best work. I was constantly looking for shortcuts and timesavers while I was working on the pencils. Certainly the best stuff I did for Marvel was when I was doing my own creations for my editor and friend Carl Potts: the creator owned Off-Castes, and the short story "Spies".


At the time I was doing a lot of storyboarding work in animation, and seldom had the chance to work in comics. When Carl created the title Amazing Stories as an anthology series, it was the perfect opportunity to do something, and a heartfelt thank you to him for giving me the chance to do something for the book. It also was the first time I worked with the master letterer Kenny Bruzenak; he did  manage to spell my name wrong in the credits, but I'll accept that any day in exchange for the  elegance and graphic design sensibility he brought to the job.


When PBS started running the series "Reilly, Ace of Spies", I was hooked from the beginning. Sam Neill was brilliant as the scheming SIdney Reilly, and Leo McKern (best known as Rumpole of the Bailey) as the unscrupulous arms dealer Basil Zaharov.  Set in pre- World War I Europe, the series follows the life of the Russian born Reilly who winds up as an exile, begins working for the British as an agent (and the British are never really sure he is working for them). When WWI breaks out, and the Russian Revolution begins, Reilly returns to his native land to try and take over the fledgling government, and comes close to succeeding before his eventual mysterious demise.


Ian Fleming, who worked in the British Secret Service with Bruce Lockhart (whose father worked with Reilly), claimed that SIdney Reilly was his major inspiration for the ultimate spy, James Bond.


At the same time I was reading a biography of Mata Hari who was the other legendary spy of the era. It seemed only natural to me that the two of them should eventually meet, and be pitted against each other. And that the instigator of this meeting should be Basil Zaharov, whose business interests had him selling arms to both sides in the unstable political climate of before the War to End All Wars.


So here is a reprise of SIdney and Mata, in "Spies".


















 

Sunday, May 16, 2021

MAD MUMMY - THE KHARDAFF ARTIFACT

Here's the latest MAD MUMMY tale hot off the presses. One of Adam's old nemesises returns: the evil wizard Ragmar. Sit back and enjoy.












A special thanks to all the Mad Mummy fans who have continued to follow this strip. Your support is deeply appreciated. And always feel free to add your comments. See you soon for another Vozcomix next week.  Best, Mike 


Sunday, May 9, 2021

REELART Pt.2

 While I started out my career as a comic book artist with virtually no formal training, one of my ambitions was to learn how to paint and become an illustrator. While there was rarely a shortage of comic book and animation work, when I did get free time I spent it learning how to draw better and some of the basics of painting. Since movies had been a love from the time I was a youngster, it seemed logical that I would start to use them as my inspiration for my pictures. And getting excellent reference photos was never any problem.

Practice, practice,practice I've always found is the real secret. The series of  illustrations I've turned out over the years I've called my Reel Art. Here are some of the examples.  Best, Mike Vosburg

   

Zhang Ziyi as The Dragon Lady

Hedy Lamarr as Tandelayo in White Cargo

Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest

Nicole Kidman from Moulin Rouge

Marilyn Manson

Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison from My Fair Lady

Marlene Dietrich from Shanhhai Express

Gary Cooper (with Lira Kellerman)

Liv Tyler in the desert



Sean Connery and Michael Caine in The Man Who Would Be King

Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant with Alfred Hitchcock on set of Notorious.

Grant and Hitchcock on set of North by Northwest

Orson Welles's entrance in The Third Man (yes, the cat was actually there.)

Gwen Stephani

Greta Cargo as Mata Hari

Greta Garbo from a Hurrell photograph

Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face

Grace Kelly very formal in the desert...pencil sketch below


Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in The Cat and the Canary

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

Merle Oberon and Burgess Meredith in That Uncertain Feeling

Bogart and Bacall from To Have and Have Not

Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard from Nothing But the Truth

Bjork

Mr. Steed and Emma Peel in a Robert Fawcett backdrop. (Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg)

Ava Gardner in "The Dress" from the Killers

See you next week with more fun drawings and stories in another Vozcomix episode.  Best, Mike