Art Department Weekly | Issue 105 Vol. 13

ADW ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 105 VOL. 13

SNEAK PEEK

NEW TOYS IN 2021

Virtual Cons!

GOOD ADS GO BAD

SLIPPERY SLOPE INCLUSIVITY

WRITERS EDIT OUT HISTORIC PICKS WHILE SPECIAL PROGRAMS SPOTLIGHT PLAYERS

ASSEMBLING A SQUAD TO GO

Play in the Snow

MINI BOARD

SUPER FROZEN Back in December, I took a picture of the half dozen roses blooming in my neighbor’s backyard. Two months later, one big bloom is still hanging on.

Meanwhile, Streaky doesn’t appear to have changed much, but he was not happy with my idea that he should romp in the snow with super furry munchkin Norwegian Forest cat paws. He used to cry to go outside, but snow is not what he wanted for his 14th birthday.

—MV

Roses in February and December.

Streaky begs to get out in July.

Art Department Weekly is published by Dinosaur Girly Productions, 184 Bay 26th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11214. The entire contents of ADW are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of the publisher. ADW accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. ADW reserves the right to edit, rewrite, refuse or reuse material, is not responsible for errors or omissions, and may feature same in other mediums for any and all purposes.

DYNAMIC STYLE Every time he watches The Circus, Luis drools over John Heilemann’s headphones. He wears a different pair every week. “I don’t think there’s anyone on TV right now with a stronger headphone game than him,” according to Luis.

We could have run a whole page with the variety Heilemann wears in a range of settings. The overthe-ear wireless noise-canceling sets—green camouflage in particular—that Heilemann wears to restaurants speak to Luis more than the buds Master & Dynamic also makes. Most of the Master & Dynamic designs are sleek solid colors, but the collection created by Japanese street style brand BAPE® (A Bathing Ape) incorporate their iconic patterns—even on the ear buds.

When quarantine started, Luis left his ThinkSound headphones at the office, so he’s been stuck with the white Apple set that come with every iPhone.

The downgrade to white plastic from real wood has Luis primed for headphone envy. “I wish I had them.”

Check out the collection at masterdynamic.com.

D R A HE

T R NA

R E V O

I

“She eats.

She has babies” -Betty

“Matched the papayas.

Buh-bye-ah” -Madeline

“I don’t need my eyes open to drink.

I know where my mouth is” -Luis

“It’s gonna take a dead Russian hooker at the bottom of the Hudson River” -Nicolle

“Dead eyes, empty hearts, Ted Cruz” -John

“Kick-ass...?”

-Wanda

“Tell them you just saw this on Zoey” -Madeline

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ARTISTS WE LOVE:

JOE QUESADA

Luis explains how the kid from Queens guided Marvel to new heights

Q

One of the most important names in comics this century is this month’s artist we love: Joe Quesada. Quesada grew up in Jackson Heights, the son of Cuban-born parents. He became a fan of Spider-Man, another boy from Queens, at an early age.

His love of comics would lead him to study illustration at the School of Visual Arts, but he was reintroduced to the medium with Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns when he was 25.

Quesada was hired to do spot work by DC in 1990, but his career really took off two years later when he started working for Valiant Comics. While at Valiant, we would start to see the development of Quesada’s signature style—a mix of the line work of Alex Toth, the thicker line and character design of Mike Mignola, and the break neck action pacing of Frank Miller. With his work on Ninjak and Solar proving to be a hit, he parlayed that into new work for DC creating the one-time Bat replacement Azrael. Quesada used his ever-growing profile to form his own comics company, Event Comics, with his inking partner Jimmy Palmiotti. Together they launched Ash. His experience running Event Comics would get him ready for his next job which would turn him into one of the most powerful men in all of comics.

In 1998, with Marvel in the throes of bankruptcy, Marvel hired Quesada to create his own line of books. With Marvel Knights, Quesada was handed the reigns to some of Marvel’s struggling characters: Punisher, Inhumans, Black Panther, and Daredevil.

He would go on to pencil Daredevil with scripts penned by famed director Kevin Smith. Quesada didn’t stop there. He then recruited A+ talent to the other titles (David Mack, Reginal Hudlin, Mark Texiera, Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Brian Michael Bendis, and Michael Avon Oeming), made sure the printing and coloring were top-notch, and gave Marvel the shot in the arm it needed.

In 2000, Marvel promoted Quesada to editor-in-chief of the entire company. Under his watch multiple successful imprints were launched including the ridiculously successful Ultimate Marvel, which elevated the company to unprecedented heights.

With the launch of the MCU and the multi-billion dollar acquisition by Disney, Marvel has continued to dominate the landscape. Joe Quesada is a huge part of that. He was promoted to chief creative officer in 2011 and then executive vice president and creative director at Marvel Entertainment in 2019.

Quesada will oversee adaptations of Marvel properties to ensure that all portrayals of characters and stories remain true to the essence of Marvel history.

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SOME OF HIS WORK Joe Quesada’s Daredevil (top, Marvel), Azrael (center, DC), Ninjak (right, Valiant Comics), and Ash (left, Event Comics).

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“Launching projectiles with the blaster” potato bodies, 1 sma sounds like the feature my kids would most want to see on their version have of HQ. up to 2 parents creating lots of wack play when mixing and with other Potato February 23, 2021 • Art Department Weekly 5 He Available at most ma

DESK SIDE SNEAK PEEK

Stomp!

s! m o o r y n So ma

HYPOCRITICAL HALL Should sports writers really edit out the parts of baseball that excited fans?

I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER BEING completely heartbroken in the summer of 1994. The Yankees and the Expos had the best records in their respective leagues and were on a seemingly inevitable collision course in the World Series. My all-time favorite Yankee, DON MATTINGLY, would finally make the post season and potentially carry them to a title. That all came crashing down on August 12, 1994, when a strike wiped out the rest of the season and left Major League Baseball without a World Series champion for the first time since 1904. I was devastated.

As the strike spilled into the 1995 season, fan outrage was at an all-time high. On April 2, the strike finally ended.

An abbreviated spring training led to a 144-game season. Opening day arrived with protests and boos across all major league stadiums. It was a season full of strife and raw nerves from the legion of fans who felt let down by the millionaires playing the sport fans loved. September brought baseball back into the national spotlight as CAL RIPKEN JR. eclipsed LOU GEHRIG’s consecutive games streak.

The Braves went on to win the World Series, but MLB was facing an identity crisis. Another interesting thing happened in 1995—ALBERT BELLE led the league with 50 home runs.

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By the time the ’96 season rolled in one thing was clear in Spring Training: Players were bigger than ever. The Yankees won their first World Series in almost 20 years, but the viewers became more obsessed with the long ball. MARK MCGWIRE mashed 52 home runs to lead the league. KEN CAMINITI was larger than life in winning the MVP, hitting 140 RBIs. ANDRES GALARAGGA hit 47 home runs... Something was happening. Home runs were flying out at a record pace, and viewership was up.

We were in a new era of offensive dominance. The era of the power bats had us all on the edge of our seats. In 1998 MARK MCGWIRE and SAMMY SOSA captivated America in their pursuit of ROGER MARIS’ fabled 61 home runs.

Crowds and viewership were at near record highs. Baseball was more popular than ever. On the backs of this home run race, America’s Pastime was back.

Right now 20+ years later, you hear all sorts of angry, finger-wagging rhetoric about how BONDS, CLEMENS, McGwire, Sosa, and AROD ruined a whole era of baseball. When in reality, they saved it.

The game was on the brink of financial disaster. Ratings were down, fewer fans were in the stadium. The summer of ’98 re-invigorated the fan base and the

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ownership and the commissioner’s office turned a blind eye as to how it was happening. There was no testing for PEDs. Zero. In fact Bonds, Clemens, and McGwire never failed an official test. Yet the hypocritical writers whose votes determine who enters the Hall of Fame have left each of these worthy entrants off their ballots. They sit there on their writing high horses after they all benefited from the attention power bats generated. I for one think all of those players should be in. You can’t write the history of baseball without those five players. What they meant to the game in the era they played cannot be measured.

In a way, they saved baseball, and the museum that honors baseball achievement should let these guys in.

The thing that annoys me the most about this is that the Commissioner who served over this era and benefitted from the unrivaled growth while turning a blind eye to how these records were broken, BUD SELIG, is currently enshrined in the Hall of Fame yet so many of the players who contributed to this growth are perceived simply as cheaters and might never be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

That level of hypocrisy simply does not sit well with me.

—LV

SOCIETAL SHIFT

POWER REACH

Can we increase the chance of seeing more cards like these?

Something happened this past season that hasn’t happened since 1977. Two African American players won the Rookie of the Year awards. KYLE LEWIS and DEVIN WILLIAMS replicated the feat of ANDRE DAWSON and EDDIE MURRAY. This led me to think about the ever-changing demographics of baseball.

In 1977, 17.9% of all Major League alumni of the Breakthrough Series to Baseball players identified as African become first-round picks.

American. That number dwindled to 13% As the country sees one of the biggest by the year 2000 and eroded to a modern stars in baseball, MOOKIE BETTS, be very era low of 7.7% in 2019. There were 80 vocal about social injustices while also African American players in 2020 and ten having one of the richest contracts in of them (or 1/8th of the league) currently baseball (and less risk of gruesome play for the SEATTLE MARINERS. You injuries), perhaps we will see young athletes pay attention to baseball again. It probably have to go back to the Negro could finally mark a shift to inclusivity. —LV Leagues to find that many African American players on one team. Andy McKay, the Mariners’ director of player development, recently said, “I don’t have the answer you might be looking for, but we have a core group of Black players because they’re really good baseball players. We’re trying to find the best players we can find.’’

Edwin Thompson, the head coach at EASTERN KENTUCKY recently told USA Today, “It’s just a choice of how you want to recruit,” pointing out the obvious: “You just have to find them.” If recruiters don’t go to places that might make them uncomfortable, they won’t find players from different circumstances.

“We think our roster should look like the United States of America,’’ MICHIGAN coach Erik Bakich said. “The game of baseball is too white.” He named places recruiters are looking. “There are 9-year-old kids paying $3,000 a year for travel ball. That’s ridiculous.

It prices out all of the lower income families, and that’s a mistake.” This past year, Bakich’s Michigan Wolverines played Vanderbilt in the College World Series. Each team had seven African Americans.

Major League baseball has taken steps to help kids in lower income neighborhoods play baseball rather than football or basketball. REVIVING BASEBALL IN INNER CITIES is a youth baseball program operated

by MLB and designed to provide the opportunity to play baseball and softball.

MLB also has a series of showcase events (the Breakthrough Series, Dream Series, Hank Aaron Invitational, MLB youth academies) that try to help expose these talented kids who normally would be overlooked and under-recruited. Over the past five years, 136 players have been drafted from these programs. ED HOWARD of the Chicago Cubs, and JORDAN WALKER of the St. Louis Cardinals are the first

Facebook reminded me the other day that four years ago one of the gym teachers made a Black History Month bulletin board with Michael Jordan.

This was long before The Last Dance and I was pretty sure all the kids (born in 2008 or later) only knew him as the crying Jordan meme if at all. I took a couple pictures and posted that as a joke on my personal page. Then another mom from the school showed up to defend kids who know can’t identify famous athletes. It was quite the debate. The principal even showed up to defend kids not knowing famous athletes. I simply was posting like, Damn, I’m old, so I took it down. Then I got mad and reposted to say sports can be an important springboard to talk about racism, pointing to Cassius Clay changing his name, Simone Biles being bullied, and the Heat wearing hoodies after Trayvon Martin’s murder.

Unsurpsingly, the mom who showed up to say kids shouldn’t have to know anything about professional sports showed up on a different post to say that Colin Kaepernick is not allowed to kneel. I don’t talk to her anymore, so I don’t know if she watched Judas and the Black Messiah or One Night in Miami. Luis and I watched them on back to back nights in that order. It’s easy to see why One Night is being embraced for award season in the way it allows for the idea that liking pop songs and watching movies brings enough change. Judas is still too revolutionary. Both are important for questioning what is going on, who has power, and what should be done to make the world a better place.

—MV

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GO PLAY IN THE SNOW

BY MADELINE STRUM PHOTOGRAPHY

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Snow Job leads a bipartisan team that could be used in the southern United States

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When more than a foot of giant fluffy flakes started to fall, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to assemble toys outfitted for snowy weather

The Cobra Wolf and the 3.75” RAH team were photographed in the snow storm on February 7, but Blizzard was missing that day. He was not in the same zip-top sandwich as the rest of the Arctic adventure figures. “If I was making a Mount Rushmore of my favorite G.I. Joes, Blizzard would be on it,” Luis said when explaining why Blizzard was stored in a separate hard case after Luis replaced his ‘o’ ring. On February 7, we couldn’t find that hard case and the next week we couldn’t find his helmet.

The Classified 6” Storm Shadow inspires Luis to say he needs a Classified version of Blizzard and Snow Job. Check @darthvega12 on Instagram for his action pictures of Iceberg on the clothes line and Frost Bite on the stairs, plus the Ice Viper, Snow Serpent, and Sub-Zero.

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Somehow there weren’t snow-themed Skylanders figures in our collection, but we had plenty of Cars and Hoth-based toys

With so much snow falling, Madeline wrapped her camera in a water resistant case that trapped her right hand, forced her to style the toys with her left hand, and not shoot through the normal view finder.

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DC Super Hero Girls Killer Frost and Paw Patrol Everest were the first toys Madeline thought of when assembling this shoot. She forgot Everest came with a rescue snowmobile and Betty couldn’t locate the blue blasts for Killer Frost’s hands, but the original goal was more about joy.

Cars variations like of Lightning McQueen and Mater saving Christmas and Ice Racers McQueen and Lewis Hamilton still look like they’re having fun, but the scene on Hoth is a bit more serious. A Rebel trooper uses a Lego tauntaun to battle Angry Bird snow troopers and outrun a Micro Machine AT-AT. Meanwhile, Lego Santa seemed as appropriate to stick outside as Arctic Batman who is about to dive into the ice hole to escape Mr. Freeze’s blast.

Back inside, Storm Shadow and Blizzard seem to have the best footwear for this weather.

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STROBE STROBE STROBEEFFECT EFFECT EFFECT Coming up on a year at home, the time seemed right for a new set of kids portraits, but somehow showing we’ve been home for a year. They all sat for a studio session last February to model hats I wanted to donate. I thought it might be pretty to use Christmas lights and a dark set to hint at feeling cooped up. With a really long exposure and setting the flash off multiple times, we played with the idea. Is it disorienting to be inside all the time?

BY BY BYMADELINE MADELINE MADELINESTRUM STRUM STRUMPHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

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“Thinking Cap” in Issue 84 (Feb. 11, 2020) was originally what I wanted to update, but then I wanted another try at the slow shutter speeds like Issue 87 (March 24, 2020). Before rigging a set with white lights, I cut a tiny heart out of a paper lens cap to change the shapes of blurred lights (below). Then I cut one to look like a corona virus, but the lights were already so round and the strings so inconsistent in how bright my kids’ faces showed. So, I tossed the lens cap and added one flash multiple times to a really long exposure.

I made Kal do a reshoot because he was too tall for the first set. Using a tripod shows off the multiple exposures, but Kal missed the light streaks.

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KEEPING US ENTERTAINED WEEKLY INSTALLMENTS

How does Vision have his powers.. .?

Do I want to know?

CARL EVERYWHERE The way we’re watching TV in quarantine, Carl Weathers showed up on our TV on The Mandalorian and then Toy Story of Terror after Arrested Development. It was a joke that Tobias was paying Weathers to teach him his craft, but maybe Tobias was right.

The first review I read for WandaVision was a writer from the New York Times complaining that this was not the next Mandalorian. The person writing the review had not read years Mandalorian of Marvel comics. They simply wanted a moment at the end of the pilot with the reveal of Baby Yoda to seal the deal on why non-fans should care. I have not read Marvel comics for years, so I also am not going to catch all the Easter eggs but that’s what been so fun about the series—having a week between episodes to learn everyone else’s theories for who some characters might be and where the stories might be going. The Times writer complained the show is too smart, but that’s what I love. Every last number that appears on screen from license plates to room numbers could be references to specific issues.

The people who go through the episodes frame by frame are noticing posters for Bova’s milk and Grim Reaper’s helmet buried in the backyard. “Too smart” is crazy entertaining.

The WandaVision review from the Times had access to only three episodes as the writer lamented. To the writer, all the secrecy meant no one could be sure the show was going anywhere, but I think the fact that supporting characters who fill in some blanks for non-readers created impatience. Monica, Darcy, and Jimmy are operating on a more accessible level.

While Netflix might have taught us to binge a whole season in one night, the way WandaVision viewers have to wait for one episode each week is not so much like old TV as it is like having to wait for the next issue. Everyone’s in danger! How are they going to get out of this? We’ll just have to let our imaginations run wild and create some fan art while we wait.

—MV

MINIMIZING MEMORY LANE We’ve watched and deleted so many old TV episodes

and movies from our DVR’s list, I couldn’t understand why it said I couldn’t record more series. Going through the list of a hundred series included a lot of shows that ended forever ago, like Game of Thrones and Modern Family. Then every time The Circus and Beyblade Burst change their names. I could probably keep going... —MV

CON SEASON After I finished ADW’s con issues, Toy Fair was the only convention on my mind for 2021 because manufacturers still need to showcase upcoming toys. Seeing Kamui Cosplay (left) ask if anyone else is excited for BLIZZCONLINE reminded me other industries still need cons. Blizzard Entertainment usually holds its convention in November in Anaheim, Calif., so there was no BlizzCon in 2020.

If we’d been paying attention, Kal could have witnessed a deep dive into the ongoing development of Overwatch 2 as well as a battle between reigning Overwatch League champions and a dream team of pros and community figures. BlizzConline tried to channel the spirit of the live show with musical guests, cosplayers, and artists to celebrate all the creativity. https://youtu.be/9bJs6AlKfBY Check fancons.com for updates on 2021 cons. —MV

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When Indeed and Guaranteed Rate didn’t secure exclusive rights for a stock video clip in their Super Bowl commercials, Popeyes trolled them with a commercial that also used the clip.

WRONG CHOICE

These design fails inspire a different kind of doom scrolling Listicals of pictures where drawers can’t open or toilets are positioned on stairs always get a click from me. This gathering of bad illustrations was a special kind of horror, wondering, Have I done something like this...? I recently went through old CDs and saw what I used to cobble together back when publications did not secure online rights for images used in print but we still needed art in the online version. So, I feel for these people—and I laugh at what went public.

—MV

I like to create the stories for how the mom ends up decapitating her baby or someone decides it’s better to fade the fish into the people being massaged. It’s easy to imagine someone saying they need a boy at the computer and they need to see his face, but the power key surrounded by delete and backspace keys is kind of diabolical.

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GOOD GONE BAD

Attacks about chicken and pickles over Twitter tell us more about company values What started as a story about agencies doing so many brilliant things for McDonald’s, like Pearlfisher’s minimal packaging designs and Leo Burnett’s delivery and key ingredients ads, took a turn to the “Oh no...” Popeyes hilariously came for ChknDrop.com. Wendy’s is usually brilliant at roasting competitors, so I searched to see if they had interacted with Popeyes. They had when Popeyes told them to take their orange money and stay out of their fight with Chick-fil-A.

Twitter is full of jokes about who has the best chicken sandwich. Buying up all the misspelled URLs to give away Popeyes sandwiches was next level. Calling out Wendy’s for supporting Trump had Madeline’s jaw on the floor. Everyone knows Chick-fil-A wants to re-educate the LGBTQ+ community, but Wendy’s CEO held a fundraiser at his house for Trump?

LESS IS MORE This minimalist outdoor ad isn’t only for people who know the Kit Kat slogan— clearly it’s time for a break even if you don’t know to me break off a piece of that Kit Kat bar. Sam Hennig submitted the concept on spec for One Minute Briefs, a U.K. creative project. The Master Card series by McCann Colombia cuts right to the point: Exploring is priceless, living is priceless, music is priceless. And McDonald’s, again, is lovin’ it.

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COLD COMFORT Two styles for feeling better in this world When I saw a Now This video last year recapping how Abbie Richards first went viral for saying the world would be better without golf courses and then for her conspiracy theory chart, I wanted to include her but not promote the ideas that are giving millions of people comfort. Now I see a lot of polls showing “everyone” thinks artists are useless. This page combines those ideas. At the bottom of the hierarchy of needs, we all need security.

—MV

Boom - George Soros bought stock in Antifa to keep the lizard overlords happy.

Kal - Tom Hanks faceswapped with Mike Pence for the ghost of Hugo Chavez.

Betty - The Deep State can shapeshift into a food stamp to keep the whites down.

Madeline - “The Blacks” drank the blood of a Bald Eagle while forcibly vaccinating a flag.

Luis - The MSM created COVID for the ghost of Hugo Chavez.

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This is Madeline’s favorite version of “Cate Blanchett towers over Taika Waititi on the set of Thor Ragnarok” because that’s how she shares so much of what makes her laugh on the internet. Anyone can make a meme, hence maybe McCarthy had it right in the 1950s.

Everyone needs to work out what’s going on in the world and work through their feelings. But, no, I won’t be going to any showings of the My Pillow guy’s film.

“Nice shelves.

He’s clearly trolling and that’s okay.

3/10” —@ratemyskyperoom Even Kal laughed when he saw New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt’s background. Throughout the pandemic, Zoom backgrounds have been used to showcase collections and books for sale.

This set up was quite a statement.

IN THE DETAILS As insightful as Dr. Jason Johnson’s contributions are on a variety of MSNBC shows, I have fun keeping an eye on how he rearranges his shelves.

The blue corner is usually used for his time on Deadline: White House, but Green Lantern appears everywhere.

Books, Pop! figures, and framed art changes. Follow @DrJasonJohnson for specs.

SET IN THE PANDEMIC My favorite Zoom set up in Yamiche Alcinder’s dramatically lit blue wall with gold planters and white accents, but when I went to look for a good still I found the story of how we got here, starting with no masks in the Rose Garden. Follow @Yamiche. —MV

SOLID BACKGROUNDS

ImMproostved

When correspondents began calling in from home, there was a lot to be desired in the angles and lighting. Anne Thompson (center right) in particular has come a long way from needing to stack books under her laptop. —MV Bad with faces, Madeline wants to clarify these are different women.

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FIVE*THINGS ARTISTS HAVE ACHIEVED WITH BALLPOINT PENS

Around the world on all kinds of paper, artists are using smooth, long lasting (and sometimes free) ballpoint pens to showcase their abilities. Both scribbles and hyper realistic shading caught our imagination.

MOSTAFA. KHODEIR The art

VINCE LOW (left)

shows the world dyslexia is a blessing, not a curse.

groups I joined seem to be outdated. When I clicked his hyper realistic sketch of a marble statue (2016) to see more, I saw he had a show... in 2017.

FRANK CHO collected his unique drawings in Ballpoint Beauties (2019). The book includes processes and methods to help fans.

ILO KÜNST (above center)

Watch him scribble https:// youtu.be/n_FCEwdY9fA @DAVIDE_DRAWING (above

right) also sketches hands OSCAR UKONU, (left) “Blue Boy,” 2019, Lagos, Nigeria

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