HEAVY METAL Vol.26 / 6
"TRIPPING OUT"
It's been awhile since I've posted a stand-alone story on this blog, but I'm doing it now.
"TRIPPING OUT"
This is the work of writer Arnold Drake and his friend, artist Luis Dominguez.
It was an interview with Drake in ALTER EGO magazine that really surprised me. While I'd seen his work in some late-60s Marvels, particularly, X-MEN and CAPTAIN MAR-VELL (both with art by Don Heck and some questionable inks), I'd forgotten my first exposure to his writing was in the hilarious NOT BRAND ECHH comic, and was unaware he'd also written the equally-zany JERRY LEWIS comic-book.
I got ahold of Drake's e-mail and wrote him a fan letter. To my surprise, he wrote back. I wrote back. He wrote back again. A real conversation got started. This went on for a couple months, until he finally sent me an e-mail in which he said... "Enough of this shit. We need to have lunch." I don't think he realized it was a 200-mile round-trip for me, but I went!
On re-reading his Marvel work, I came to the conclusion that his writing was actually better than the flashier work they replaced him with. On CAPTAIN MAR-VELL in particular, I felt he was the first writer (out of 3) who had any idea what the hell he was doing on that misbegotten series, and was only hampered by having to deal with a "soap-opera" format. But just as the "big story" was finally starting to get somewhere, he was booted off the book --although the first 2 completely-incoherent episodes after he left were credited to him, I believe, in an effort by his editor to bad-mouth his reputation further, after the guy had already publically accused Drake of being "a Communist" for his earlier efforts to get health benefits for DC free-lancers.
When Arnold invited me back to his apartment, I saw a stunning painting of Vampirella that had been done by his friend, artist Luis Dominguez. I don't know if that painting ever got published or not. Dominguez, I found out, had done MANY paintings and covers for Warren, DC and others. Arnold had written one "final" Deadman story that he hoped would be illustrated by his friends Carmine Infantino, and Dominguez, but after visiting DC's offices, they had NO interest. Those stupid bastards!
When I found out about this story for HEAVY METAL, I made sure I got ahold of the issue, even though I had long since stopped buying the magazine regularly.
I happened across it a few weeks ago while looking through and organizing my magazines, and decided to put it up on the blog as soon as I was done with my Larry Ivie project.
Surprisingly, for this magazine, there's no blatent nudity in it, so I was able to set it up here on my regular blog, instead of the "Adults Only" one.
ENJOY!
HEAVY METAL Vol.26 / 6
cover by ALEX HORLEY (HM Communications Inc. / January 2003)
"TRIPPING OUT"
Story by Arnold Drake / Art by LUIS DOMINGUEZ
Page 18
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Page 22
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Page 29
Page 30
"Tripping Out" Copyright (C) Arnold Drake & Luis Dominguez.
Scans from MY collection!
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa.
