Art Department Weekly | Issue 108 Vol. 13

MINI BOARD

MAY IS FOR MOMS AND TEACHERS

It’s never too late to say thank you to your mother or the teachers you know! The diagram of how large a cervix needs to stretch to pass a baby (and picture that coming through your abdominal wall if the birth is a C-section) seemed to also act as a chart of the level of stress on adult brains in proximity to children. You want to

talk about how to add 10 to 12. They want to tell you about their pet and ask if you remember that joke someone made five minutes ago. To everyone who helps kids become better people, thank you! —MV

HEALTH ALERT

I hope we can all agree that how much you heard from anyone between January 2020 and now is not a sign of how much anyone cares about you. Acknowledge what’s stressing you out and give yourself permission to not be okay so you can work it out. —MV

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.

Betty’s favorite breakfast

STAR WARS DAY

Jenn Talley’s print celebrating the badass female characters of the Star Wars universe is available on amightygirl.com along with some of her other pieces.

OVERHEARD IN ART

-Betty

“Lo siento” -Madeline

-Luis

“No sé” -Madeline

“Look

“If

-Madeline

-Boom

“Just call me when you’re dying”

“I’m just a fat kid wanting a chalupa wrapped in a quesadilla”

at Animal Man, what, he’s dope” -Luis

I took this to a Mexican restaurant, they would tell me this is not an enchilada”

“Oh, time to get a gas mask”

ARTISTS WE LOVE: MICHAEL TURNER

For one of comic's superstars, Luis stans

One of the most influential comic artists of the 21st century and this month’s artist we love is the late great Michael Turner. Turner was a Tennessee native who, after finishing up college at the University of Tennessee International Performing Arts Academy, found his way to the late '90s haven of comics, San Diego.

In San Diego, he was discovered by Marc Silvestri who quickly hired him to his Image Comics Top Cow imprint. Michael’s style featured clean, dynamic pencils with a thicker outer line. His work was bursting with energy. This helped him render some of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful pencils the comics world has ever seen. He quickly took the comic world by storm, co-creating Witchblade and turning it into one of the top-selling books in the entire industry. With the success of that launch, he was able to launch a creator-owned title of his own, Fathom, at the age of 21.

In March of 2000, at the height of his artistic career, Michael was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma (a form of cancer) in the right pelvis. He was treated for this cancer at the UCLA Medical Center where he lost a hip and 40 percent of his pelvis. He then underwent nine months of radiation therapy. In 2002, with his cancer in remission, Turner broke away from Top Cow and launched his own comics imprint, Aspen.

Aspen would launch with a new Fathom series as well as Soulfire and Ekos. By launching his own imprint, he was available to do work for hire for other companies. In 2004, Turner started working with DC comics by contributing covers to The Flash and the ground-breaking Identity Crisis. Brad Meltzer once said that the inclusion of Turner's art to the covers of Identity Crisis were instrumental to the books' success as Turner was a veritable box office draw, one of the true superstars in comics. Turner would continue both writing and contributing covers for DC. He even reintroduced Supergirl/ Kara Zor-El in his story arc in the Superman/Batman comic.

In 2006, Turner signed a work for hire agreement with Marvel to create covers as well as launching an Ultimate Wolverine title. Unfortunately, during this time, Michael’s cancer returned. In June of 2008, Michael ultimately succumbed to his battle with cancer. Tributes poured in from all over the comics universe.

Turner’s work was highly influential to me. I’ve often tried to mimic his style in my own work. It’s hard to believe he’s been gone for so long, but his legacy lives on in the legions of comic artists who are clearly inspired by his work. He is one of my favorite comic book artists of all-time.

Turner's covers for Identity Crisis and Civil War, a Witchblade print available from Top Cow, and Fathom: The Definitive Edition cover's line art.

IS OKAY TO REDRAW?

J. Scott Campbell received heat and applause for the way he addressed an attempt to "fix" his work

Many artists perfect techniques and learn more about their own styles by emulating famous works of art. To say you are "fixing" the original, though, sounds like fighting words. The original

work in question this month is a cover Campbell himself parodied: Mary Jane trying to comfort herself as Spider-Man swings away. Bleeding Cool ran two stories about it by Rich Johnston. In the first, he calls the amateur's fix part of a critical trend against lazy sexist comic art and admonishes Campbell for burying an amateur. In the second, Johnston updates how Campbell is promoting other amateurs and selling his version of "the fix" on eBay to benefit the Fresh Arts program.

While Luis will use actual photos as reference art, he has been emulating his favorite comic artists for ages. This week he wanted to use his Micron brushes to recreate some of Michael Turner's work. He can tell you what he would fix about his own version, but not Turner's. As Campbell tweeted, that would be "tacky."

Fans who didn't see Mary Jane as mid action the way Spider-Man is have complained about the TAS #601 cover forever. Madeline thinks of herself as a feminist but also thinks "the fix" is super boring.

The amateur's name is redacted from bleedingcool.com and they removed their own accounts because it's too fun to make fun of amateur's trying to school professionals.

"A critic does not need to be able to do the job to criticise the execution of it," Johnston wrote, but that's the part that spoke the most to me. I didn't grow up knowing that people repaint famous paintings all the time. Meanwhile, my mom asked me to edit her scripts but I wasn't allowed to say anything critical unless I could do it better (see Page 22). So, I get the amateur's thinking and empathize that this is probably not the way they wanted to go viral, but don't come for people who get it done on deadline. Do your own version for yourself.

"Gotta say, he Matrix dodged criticism with this move," is one of the first comments on the second bleedingcools.com story from longboxof90scomics. Follow Campbell on Twitter to see him promote other people's redraws. MV

STADIUM CREATOR

For the first time, gamers can let their imaginations run wild when building a home turf. Luis talks to Kasabe Kompiles about how he does it so well

One of the biggest additions to MLB The Show 21 has been the oft-asked-for Stadium Creator. In some of the other sports games, stadium creators are very cut and dry. You have a limited number of options to change the color of a limited number of elements (seat, floors, sidelines) as well as limited changeability on other elements such as scoreboards, press boxes, etc. What SDS has released in game is something beyond all of our dreams. Its interface reminds me of the customizability of Disney Infinity with a

touch of Minecraft. With a library of over 1,000 props at launch, it has excited the creative community within The Show. My Twitter timeline is full of new amazing creations by game players.

I recently sat down with one of these star creators, Kasabe Kompiles, to break down the stadium creator and some of the creations he’s most proud of.

What has been your overall impression of stadium creator in MLB The Show 21?

I’m actually very impressed—for the development team to have such a tight deadline with next gen, adding Xbox, dealing with Covid and all that, it’s very

in-depth. A lot of sports gamers would think similar stadium creators would be comparable to those of Madden or 2K, where there’s a set number of choices you can scroll through and pick your favorite, and maybe choose some team colors here and there. While there’s a few menus like that, the brunt of MLB’s stadium creator allows you to take control on a 3D plane and place things around the canvas similar to Sim City or Minecraft. It allows you to set your creativity and mind to work, and see how you can finesse the props together in some instances to create something new. Obviously it could be more fleshed out

CARDS CRISIS

Luis downloaded The Hideout designed by Kasabe_ on PSN for Scuffy's Bronze Bandits. It's a high altitude stadium, so he's been hitting homeruns nonstop. Going a less dramatic route, Kasabe_ also designed this version that's more like a local park.

with additional props, but seeing as they had to introduce it first, the fact they have 1,000+ props is astounding. My opinion has also shifted significantly more positive since the vault added a search tool! That was a huge quality of life addition.

How long does it take you to create an original stadium (on average)?

I’d say anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours, based on the stadium. A lot of that is tweaking the seats and walls more than anything, though. The props are a lot more easy to use once you get the hang of it. With the stadium dimensions and

Not a lot of industries flourished during pandemic. One of the rare winners was the collectible card market. The price of hobby cards (MLB, NBA, NFL, WWE, and Pokémon) exploded. Grading services have an almost year-long wait for cards to be graded. This boom led some brick and mortar stores (Target and Walmart) to first limit the time and days of card sales and then ultimately stop selling cards entirely. The craziness of card flippers has elbowed out the casual card fan. Reports range from shoppers fighting each other to a car running over a line of consumers. I remember being able to run to the corner store and buy a pack or two of cards... Now you can’t even find cards in stores and the second market has pushed out casuals. Thanks, collectors. LV

fans, you have to be a lot more precise for it to look good.

What is your favorite stadium that you have created, why?

As fun as recreating some stadiums from popular media are, ultimately you feel a small bit of unrest with it not being exact. Sure, the stadium creator has its limitations and I’ve come to accept that and create some of those stadiums in more of a “recreation” so to speak—but personally I enjoyed making The Hideout for Scuffy’s Bronze Bandits most. There weren’t any limitations to fill and adhere to, and my creativity was free to go wherever I wanted. I decided to really go over the top with some mountains, train tracks, and a treasure pile in left field. It was the time I felt like I really couldn’t add anything more and the most satisfied I’ve been with the final product.

Did you grow up playing other sandbox type games (Minecraft, Disney Infinity, Terraria, etc.), if so which ones, and what was your opinion of them?

Not as much as other people might’ve, really. I’ve dabbled in Minecraft and the Sims and whatnot, but I don’t think I’d consider myself an expert in any of those games. All of my experience I think comes from making logos in Black Ops 2 and MLB over the years. After a while you start to have an eye for looking at something and thinking, okay, how can I recreate this? Or how can I take this specific item and break it down into chunks that I have available at my disposal? It’s helped me out with stadium creator quite a bit.

I would eventually like to see stadium creator maybe take a page from Minecraft and maybe give creators some colored blocks where they could perhaps build something out of it, but I could also see where that could lead to some questionable stuff going on.

What advice would you give other creators making stadiums?

First of all, save often. Stadium creator is offline and you likely won’t get booted off or get a blue screen very often, but there’s been times where the little floppy disk appears in the top right corner with the strike through it, and I don’t entirely know how to fix it every time. That icon means you can’t save your work because something is wrong with the field. And it’s hard to know what, sometimes.

I’d also recommend people mix it up with the props! If you have a building that’s a rectangle shape, and you want to make it an L shape, then you can place two props together to make a L shape. For one of my Backyard Baseball stadiums I wanted to recreate a car in the street, but the only car props are parking lots. I got creative and used houses and hills to disguise the cars I didn’t want to be seen.

Where can people find you?

To find my stadiums, my PSN is Kasabe_ but I’d really like to invite people to check out reddit.com/r/ MLBtheShowStadiums. There’s a whole community of great stadiums by other users and they would be happy to give even more tips and advice if one were to want to learn more about creating stadiums.

Creators are showing off their versions of real life and fantasy stadiums, from an inverted Polo Grounds to the Batcave on reddit.com/r/ MLBtheShowStadiums

SHOW FAVORITES

I grew up playing Strat-O-Matic baseball with my brothers. I became a statobsessed baseball fan. This obsession carried over into collecting baseball cards and playing every baseball simulation video game I could get my hands on. My current baseball obsession is MLB The Show 21.

My favorite baseball player growing up was Don Mattingly. My favorite baseball card series ever is Topps 1987, the faux wood grain border with simple circular logo in the corner and the player name in the bottom right corner set in the team colors. In a convergence of my favorite things, MLB The Show just released their "2nd Inning Bosses" and it’s none other than 1987 Don Mattingly with the Topps wood grain border. As an added bonus, they also released Tom Henke (the Terminator, my favorite reliever of that era) from the same Topps '87 set.

While not the best first baseman available in the game, Mattingly will be in my lineup for most of the game cycle. He’s the best fielding first baseman in the game and offers a ton of contact versus both righties and lefties. The only thing lacking, is Mattingly’s power. Mattingly hit 31 homeruns in 1986 and another 30 in '87, but this card's power levels don't reflect that. So even though this card isn’t entirely reflective of Mattingly in that era, I’m still thrilled to have it and even more thrilled that's its in the '87 Topps style.

YOOOOO JOE!

For a toy line that has evolved so much, Luis explains how we’re seeing the best yet

My G.I. Joe fanaticism started on Christmas morning 1985. As I ripped open gifts, I received three Joes—Footloose, Bazooka, Recondo—and I instantly became a lifelong fan. The Real American Hero line of Joes became my version. Whereas the generations before me had the 12-inch figures, I had the 3.75-inch figures which were in scale with the dominant line of the times, Star Wars.

Each figure was rife with articulation (bendable knees and arms) which made me love them more than my original 5-point Star Wars figures. That, plus the accessories and the built-in back stories due to the animated series and the comics from Marvel really let me world-build with these little plastic masterpieces.

As the years went on and the ideas got wackier (Toxic Waste fighters, Outer Space) I continued to support the brand. In 1995 the brand completely reinvented itself again with the launch of Sgt. Savage. The scale changed to 4.5 inches. As much of a departure as this was, I still supported the brand. These figures were not great, but the packaging featured classic Joe Kubert military art. With Sgt. Savage not taking off, G.I. Joe had an even larger departure and they became EXTREME. G.I. Joe Extreme was a grand misfire and the first version in my lifetime that I did not support. They were roughly in scale with the Sgt. Savage figures but with less articulation. This was legitimately the first series of Joes that I simply did not like.

Luckily in 1997 Toys R Us wanted to play off the nostalgia of the Real American Hero Joes and re-released a bunch of classic characters. This struck a chord with consumers and these re-releases and repaints would last until 2002.

In another change, G.I. Joe would rebrand again as Sigma 6 in 2005. These mangainspired 8-inch figures were very stylized. They were definitely aimed at a younger

Luis never owned a 12-inch G.I. Joe before 2001. If the only way to get Wet-Suit was as a windsurfer, then that's how Luis was going to get him. He is a missile launching windsurfer.

consumer. I was intrigued by the look and picked up Series 1, but I did not continue to support this brand. The line was discontinued in 2007.

In 2007 Hasbro celebrated the 25th Anniversary of a Real American Hero with the release of a new series. These figures are some of the best Joes of all-time. More articulation than ever, more accessories, better sculpting. These were the best of times for Joe collectors. This line continued to grow and grow and would rebrand itself over the next few years to include Rise of Cobra, Pursuit of Cobra, 30th Anniversary, and finally Retaliation. Some of the figures in those years are the best Joes in that scale ever released.

In 2020, G.I. Joe went about yet another revamp with the Classified series. This new 6-inch series has been met with ire by fans of the RAH classic line. Complaints have ranged from they aren’t the same scale, to how they’ll never have vehicles, to no o-rings, to they are just too different. I disagree whole-heartedly. I think these are the best Joes ever. The sculpts are top-notch, the accessories and articulation are beyond compare. The overall design of these figures is extraordinary. And, just like the early ’80s when the 12-inch Joes shrunk down to 3.75 inches to meet the industry standard, so have they now enlarged to meet the new industry standard (Marvel Legends, Power Rangers Lightning Collection, Star Wars Black Series, WWE, etc.). To the RAH purists who have been hating on this line, I would tell them to look at the history of the brand. The only constant with G.I. Joe is the evolution and change of the figures. For the first time in a long time, the G.I. Joe brand is healthy and collectors are taking notice. (Try to even find a Classified figure in store, it’s almost impossible.) The team at Hasbro should be proud of this new line. They are spectacular.

Swan.ish is selling a used 1995 EXTREME Freight on mercari.com

There are more than 42,000 results at the moment for 12-inch Joes on eBay

SPRING CLEANING

After catching up on past convention issues, Madeline still didn’t toss all the business cards from vendors and cosplayers. What else can we do with them...?

MASSIVE FANTASY

The purple card

Days before their wedding, Sarah Braly proposed her fiancé write the comic they were always talking about so they could sell it at a table in The Block at New York Comic Con 2013.

Braly talked to Madeline about High Fructose Zombies and her sculptures in 2013

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

On my first trip to New York Comic Con, when I had a press badge and wanted to be a good reporter, I tried to write down everyone’s name and costume. That idea fell apart pretty quickly when I had no idea what the character or game names were that people were saying. Business cards are such a smart idea for helping other people tag you in captions later. Before I toss them all into the recycling bin, I think it could be entertaining to see what happened to some of these creators in a year without conventions—or at least without conventions for ADW. Even though they’re old, the stack of cards leading us to people who are actively creating is big so we’ll stretch the updates out across upcoming issues.

MV

Braly and David Phillips not only wrote, illustrated, and published High Fructose Zombies in time to sell it, but Braly also sculpted Zomtreatz—candybars with sharp teeth and cupcakes with bloodshot eyeballs. The toyline was sold at PIQ Grand Central, but the links on the business card for High Fructose Zombies haven’t been updated since 2015. Lucky for me, I picked up Braly’s card as well as the High Fructose Zombies card in 2013. Braly seems to have been busy as an artistic fabricator, sculptor, and illustrator, though, for companies ranging from the Omaha Zoo to American Greeting Card.

When her portfolio site loaded on my screen, I wondered why I was looking at giant fiber glass and epoxy ants, but then it clicked. This had to be the artist who made zombie candy come alive. You can check out what she has been sculpting and painting for Henry Doorly Zoo by following @zombieswtattoos on Instagram.

MV

sarahbralystudio.com

didn’t ring a bell, but the giant ant sculptures sure did

The original guts are still available with the original puns, but the collection has not expanded to include glands and joints

NOTICEABLE GROWTH

Spreading cheer and scientific knowledge

What stuck out to me in 2015 as more of the “so ugly they’re cute” trend is a source of information for the curious and comfort for patients. From prostates to sweat glands, I Heart Guts has found ways to make all body parts adorable. The descriptions of each part’s job on iheartguts.com are funny and accessible. “Our cute plush organs have helped people laugh in the face of illness since 2005,” according to the site that offers love, style, and geeky puns based on the work of illustrator Wendy Bryan Lazar. The plush organs were named Best of Toy Fair 2014 by Popular Science magazine and Best Educational Plush Toy of 2020 by Creative Child magazine. “The guts make the perfect post-op pillow pal, sparking smiles during tough times. You’ll find our gutsy pillows in top science and health museums, award-winning hospital gift shops and trend-setting toy stores.”

The business card I picked up in 2015 has a dozen characters, but iheartguts.com now has almost 60 body parts with explanations of how they work. Not all the characters are available in plush form, like elbow joints, but there are T-shirts, buttons, erasers, magnets, and more in the shop. Visiting the “Free Stuff” link offers games, posters, and Zoom backgrounds. A trip to the site is at the very least inspiring to anyone who needs to see smart and heartfelt ideas successfully merged. MV

Shop patches, keychains, and socks with clever names like “Ova Achiever,” “Hear of Gold,” “You Move Me,” and “I Heart You.”

RECYCLING TIME

Going through the stack of cards, I was curious about the Cane and Able book link but didn’t check up on the Lego contacts. All of these companies still exist, but I’m gonna go ahead and put the cards in the recycling bin. We’re all caught up on past convention issues and I can’t imagine, “You gave me your card ten years ago” is a good opening in the future.

From a cardboard bin to a site full of testimonials about the pride, comfort, and joy the body buddies bring

GATHER ONLINE

Fans don’t need a convention to find special gear

Aisles of T-shirts are a staple of convention floors but fans need new ways to express themselves whether there are conventions or not, so it’s not surprising that TeePublic’s card leads to a site bursting with merchandise. What I’ve forgotten is that TeePublic is a marketplace for independent creators to sell their designs on clothing, pillows, notebooks, wall art, mugs, totes, and more. There are 277 pages of mask designs that support all kinds of opposing views.

Supposing you do have a bunch of followers who would like to buy your merchandise, TeePublic not only offers 75 products in a variety of styles but also a commitment to the environment. According to the site, “Our printing partners are held to sustainable, non-hazardous, and toxin-free production standards. DTG inks are 100% biodegradable, water-based, contain no animal by-products, and are vegan-friendly!” The third party printers are held to ethical manufacturing standards on top of the expectation that “every product you sell is perfect, just like your art!”

We quickly found all kinds of designs we’d be happy to wear. Shopping online will never be the same as getting bumped by a Deadpool in a sombrero or someone in an inflatable T-Rex costume in the aisles of a convention floor, but you still end up with your fan piece.

GATHER IN PERSON

With a move to permanent space, the future is bright

According to their new site, whinova.com, the 6000 sqft venue in Arlington, Virginia, brings a state of the art kitchen, 40-foot bar, art gallery, custom collectible retail space, and 4th space concept all with full immersion murals creating unique sitting environments. “The future of experiencing the arts is here.” For ten years, Art Whino was a cultural leader in the Washington DC area. Showcases, pop up events, and custom collectibles seem to still be part of the unique experiences they plan to create when the space opens June 18, 2021.

ADW quickly found two shirts we’d be happy to buy

HALF WRITING, HALF DRAWING

The writing half seems to be winning out

Kal picked up “Fat Bird” at New Jersey Comic Expo. I don’t think we talked to Scott Ebisch or anyone at his table for long, but I remember liking them. Trying to find his work now, he’s writing about life for medium.com. The blog posts on his art site (ebzartstudios.weebly. com) are dated 2020 and kind of bleak. “Truth be told, I am having a little bit of a hard time creating right now,” Ebisch writes. “I know this quarantine situation isn’t helping in the least.” He writes that he sees “a lot” of his

peers posting work online consistently, but he is not.

The site highlights quotes from creators like Matt Groening who say cartoonists are people who can’t quite draw and can’t quite write, but

ebzartstudios.weebly.com

“combine the two half-talents and come up with a career.”

For now, you can catch Ebisch’s writing on Medium and send him some positive energy as he works on his writing and cartooning.

KICKSTART A FAVORITE

A limited series about a time-traveling teenage cop

Making comics is a labor of love. Image published Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare’s Rocket Girl in October 2013 after 1,585 backers pledged $38,037 on Kickstarter to help create an advance for the creators and gain behind the scenes access for themselves. As Reeder told Comic Book Resources, “A small percentage of money goes to Kickstarter. A lot of it goes toward fulfilling rewards. The rest goes to Brandon and me” and the page rate is good but not what they would net from working on a Marvel or DC title.

If you backed just $1, you received weekly updates as well as access to exclusive podcasts and Q&As. They tried to keep the rewards close to what backers would pay in a normal market and then figure the fulfillment process into time they would not be generating income. Royalties from sales on the initial publication help propel the series forward. In the end, there are two tight story arcs available.

“Clever premise, charming scenario, kickass girl hero, snappy script, and luscious, expressive art. I need this. You need this. Everyone needs this,” is the praise from writer Gail Simone.

Catch Reeder on Amethyst from DC Comics and Montclare on Ludwig van Beethoven - The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology from z2comics.com.

—MV

explains in Issue 106 how he became a fan of Reeder back in 2010

We’re such Amy Reeder fans here that I almost didn’t think to look at the Rocket Girl card as its own thing

Luis

NOT SO MUCH

Some creators changed course, others changed businesses

1If you want Princess Leia on her back, then this might be your site. I don’t really want to double check what was there for fear of what virus my computer might catch.

2Bakeries with “8 Bit” in the name are easy to find, but this Bakeshop does not seem to be around anymore.

We featured GoodWoodNYC in our 2013 NYCC issue based on their wood versions of comic book covers, but what used to be a local company doesn’t seem to be producing anything now.

4Tigra’s absence from the market is not really that surprising when they were one of too many companies at 2017 Book Con trying to bring coloring pages to life.

The metallic card is cool, but we couldn’t find Ms. Jaksic all these years later.

6This company name is pronounced “curious.” The only current link seems to be Mr. Caballero on LinkedIn.

Brooklyn hasn’t posted an update in a number of years. Hopefully they’re on a new adventure.

to our 2013 NYCC issue, Forge Studio 3D printing on demand was founded by some guys who wanted to start a bar instead. Maybe they’ve done that now.

good results came up for Little Miss Philippines or Ms. Concepcion’s Hit Girl.

Heroine Magazine does not seem to exist.

Queen Helene does not seem to be cosplaying.

A bunch of these creators can be found in our convention issues

MY MOTIVATION

So I can move the couch from here...

by Madeline

The amount of sunlight that poured through one basement window (the far right in these illos) was so hard to deny that even with the vertical blinds drawn Madeline had to figure out how to protect her garments on the clothing rack. Then one day she opened the vertical blinds on a different window (the far left in these illos). Why were the kids playing in the dark? What if they rearranged everything? What if they got rid of some stuff...?

Both of these illustrations are based on iPhone panorama photos taken during the moving process, so there was tons of stuff everywhere that Madeline took liberties interpreting.

This illustration doesn't really capture how cluttered and chaotic the arrangement was when the north end of the space (this side of the page) was "The Dadda Zone." The previous tenants left behind a sleeper sofa, a dresser, and an armoire that slumped to the left so none of the drawers actually be opened. For April Fool's Day, Madeline turned the IKEA cube wall 90 degrees. It's blocking out the armoire from this angle.

TO WORK OUT

...to all the way over there

Other than opening the blinds on three windows and making the most of the natural light, Madeline wanted to be sure there was a studio space. She had cleared out space in January 2020 that quickly became work from home spaces for Luis and Betty. Back when they moved in, the landlord had suggested what is now referred to as "the stage" could be a man cave, but all of Casa Vega is basically a man cave. Madeline decided "the stage" (one step up from the rest of the basement) should become her space.

After taking these pictures for Issue 87 in March 2020, Madeline thought the sleeper sofa and TVCR should move to the stage to create a TV space, a Lego space, and so on. It did not work to create a better basement where all three kids played together.

SO MANY TOYS

When we moved in and didn't feel like figuring out how to get rid of the baby dresser the previous tenants left behind, Luis filled it with toys. This month, Madeline unloaded the toys, moved the dresser, and then shot all the toys to catalog them before they went back into the dresser. Unloading more boxes later, she found duplicates of figures in the drawers, like Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet. No one here even likes the Jets.

Madeline has carved out spaces before that are supposed to be for shoots, but never had a set up where furniture wasn't waiting to be moved back or someone else might show up and need that space for other work. Now whatever she arranges can stay there as long as she needs without cats or children messing with the set up. She focuses on that when she has to open up the pipe that flows to the city sewage so she can scrape out three apartments worth of poop.

GET EXCITED

Madeline gave everyone a blank floor plan. Betty's idea was to put the treadmill in the very middle and move the couch to the Dadda Zone. It started to seem like a good idea. The Dadda Zone was broken up.

The planning might have started in March. After I cleaned giant toy sets to pass along to friends, we could consider how to reorganize the rest. April 22 was the first day of flipping the basement, starting with the couch and computers. If I hadn't been doing push ups during the planning phase, I wouldn't have been able to move the loft bed—a floor-to-ceiling 3-foot deep stack of boxes. Moving and paring down bins took days. —MV

The ad for this game stresses me. I have the real life version. The toys below were shot on a plastic lid in April because no studio set up.

Maybe there are just so many tuxedo cats in the neighborhood it's a joke to post that one is missing. None of the three that hang out on our street look like Brando or Howard, though.

A LOT TO WORK THROUGH

Knowing Mother's Day is on the horizon sends me into the throes of existential angst. My mom stopped talking to me in the 2000s because she thought I was hard to talk to. (See Page 22.) I have three and a half kids who don't know my mom. And moms should go back to work! And we had new neighbors on both Floors 2 and 3! So if I can rip apart someone's garbage armoire and rearrange everything, it helps keep my brain off the lurking dread. Not only did I create a giant puzzle but also contracted rashes that had me research scabies and dust mites. —MV

NO ONE LIKES A CRITIC

If you’ve never seen it before, Reddit’s AITA feature is where anyone can ask the community if they were the a-hole in specific situations. Between sorting hundreds of wrestling figures on top of watching Young Rock and several documentaries, Madeline has had a lot of exposure this spring to historic pro wrestling. She wondered how far off base her mom’s screenplay was about a pro wrestler who decides to play Hamlet. Wanting to confirm whether she was the a-hole for criticizing the script, Madeline dug around for a copy.

Almost 20 years ago, her feedback had all focused on the theater side of the story because the director of Hamlet was supposedly the hero. Reading it now, Madeline thinks she should have simply said, “This is bad,” and forgotten about it. To go back to Page 5, this was a situation where the critic had to prove she could do it better. The writers were not receptive.

Lucky for Madeline, though, she has stopped doubting her critique and is enjoying classic lines instead. —MV

NoOne Saturday morning, the Ultimate Warrior was raging in a promo when Madeline’s mother walked by and joked he should do Shakespeare. Being the only person who remembered that moment, Madeline became committed to seeing the 120-page version of a gag become a real story without actually being committed to researching pro wrestling back in 2003. Above, her dramatization of notes on the script.

TALK

LIKE A WRESTLER

Some of the best lines and catchphrases

“To Be The Man, You Gotta Beat The Man. WOOOO!”

—Ric Flair

“I’m the Best There Is, the Best There Was, and the Best There Ever Will Be”—Brett The Hitman Hart

“You do not throw rocks at a man who’s got a machine gun.” —Roddy Rowdy Piper

“What You Gonna Do When Hulkamania Runs Wild on You?” —Hulk Hogan

“Hulkamania is like a single grain of sand in the Sahara desert that is Macho Madness.”

—Randy Macho Man Savage

“Just when they think they got the answers, I change the questions.” —Roddy Rowdy Piper

“They send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue.” -Arn Anderson

“What?!” —Stone Cold Steve Austin

Can you give them full sentences that establish more about who they are?

What are you trying to say about Josh?

These scenes couldbeprobably cut

Are they community theater? He’s young for someone who had to do an apprenticeship and not talking like someone in union

But revisions are totally necessary

Post match interview in front of blue WWF step and repeat

MEAN GENE OKERLUND

...Wrestlemania III at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. It’s a day that I’m certain my guest at this time will not forget, I’m talking about the former Intercontinental Champion of the World, Macho Man Randy Sav—

RANDY SAVAGE

Nothing means nothing!

MEAN GENE OKERLUND Noth...?

RANDY SAVAGE

Nothing means nothing, man.

MEAN GENE OKERLUND

Nothing means nothing? What do you mean by that?

RANDY SAVAGE

I’m talking about all the way to the top, yeah. Unjustifiably in a position that I’d rather not be in. But the cream will rise to the top, ooh yeah. Macho Madness, yeah, has got more to offer than President Jack Tunney thinks that I got, yeah, and let me tell you something right now, cards stacked against the Macho Man Randy Savage in Wrestlemania III, let me say it, yeah, let me say it out loud, and let me point to the President of the World Wrestling Federation, the Macho Man Randy Savage is not happy with your decision, yeah. I am the cream in the World Wrestling Federation and there is no doubt about it, yeah, you Mean Gene Okerlund you know that I’m the cream of the crop!

MEAN GENE OKERLUND

Well, wait-wait a minute though Randy, I’ve got to ask you very seriously, do you blame Mr. Jack Tunney, the distinguished President of The World Wrestling Federation, for Ricky Steamboat being the Intercontinental Champion today?

RANDY SAVAGE

Yeah, I do, yeah. Outside interference, yeah. In my moment of glory! Yeah, and now I’m living in a nightmare. And I am the cream. And now, not only the Intercontinental Heavyweight belt must fall but, the World Heavyweight Championship belt! Because Hulk Hogan, yeah, I am the cream, yeah, the cream of the crop. And there is no-one that does it better than the Macho Man Randy Savage! On balance, off balance, doesn’t matter. I’m better than you are, yeah, and I’m talking everyone in the World Wrestling Federation, and I’m even talking to President Jack Tunney, yeah. I’m on my way, and nothing is gonna stop me. Nothing’s gonna stop me.

MEAN GENE OKERLUND

You know, just out of curiosity, Randy, and I certainly don’t want to diminish your tremendous God given talents, but I’m very curious. I haven’t seen Elizabeth lately.

RANDY SAVAGE

Yeah. She’s on the outside of the ring, does she interfere in matches? Yeah? Nothing, zero, pure athlete yeah and I’ve been, uh yeah, maligned from the top to the bottom and because they can’t handle the Macho Man Randy Savage: the Cream of the Crop! Nobody does it better!

Check out TeePublic’s Cream of the Crop shirt on Page 15

“HARD TIMES” FOREVER

Dusty Rhodes gave possibly the greatest wrestling promo ever on October 29, 1985, in the run up to his main event match against Ric Flair at WCW’s Starrcade

First of all, I would to thank the many, many fans throughout this country that wrote cards and letters to Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream, while I was down. Secondly, I want to thank Jim Crockett promotions for waitin’ and takin’ the time ‘cause I know how important it was, Starrcade ’85 it is to the wrestling fans, it is to Jim Crockett promotions, and Dusty Rhodes The American Dream. With that wait, I got what I wanted, Ric Flair the World’s Heavyweight Champion. I don’t have to say a whole lot more about the way I feel about Ric Flair; no respect, no honor. There is no honor amongst thieves in the first place.

He put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family. You don’t know what hard times are daddy. Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work, they got four or five kids and can’t pay their wages, can’t buy their food. Hard times are when the auto workers are out of work and they tell ‘em go home. And hard times are when a man has worked at a job for thirty years, thirty years, and they give him a watch, kick him in the butt and say “hey a computer took your place, daddy”, that’s hard times! That’s hard times! And Ric Flair you put hard times on this country by takin’ Dusty Rhodes out, that’s hard times. And we all had hard times together, and I admit, I don’t look like the athlete of the day supposed to look. My belly’s just a lil’ big, my heiny’s a lil’ big, but brother, I am bad. And they know I’m bad.

There were two bad people… One was John Wayne and he’s dead brother, and the other’s right here: Nature Boy Ric Flair. The World’s Heavyweight title belongs to these people. I’mma reach out right now, I want you at home to know my hand is touchin’ your hand for the gathering of the biggest body of people in this country, in this universe, all over the world now, reachin’ out because the love that was given me and this time I will repay you now. Because I will be the next World’s Heavyweight Champion on this hard time blues. Dusty Rhodes tour ’85.

And Ric Flair, Nature Boy… Let me leave you with this. One way to hurt Ric Flair, is to take what he cherishes more than anything in the world and that’s the World’s Heavyweight title. I’m gon’ take it, I been there twice. This time when I take it daddy, I’m gon’ take it for you. Let’s gather for it. Don’t let me down now, ‘cause I came back for you, for that man upstairs that died 10-12 years ago and never got the opportunity to see a real World’s Champion. And I’m proud of you, thank god I have you, and I love you. I

love you!

Pulls out another creamer, sticks it in Gene’s breast pocket

One more creamer revealed, raises it to balance on his own head, It falls, Randy takes creamer from Gene’s pocket

Gene keeps eyes on creamer as it hits floor

Bursts onto screen

Holds up hands and slowly reveals individual creamer

FIVE THINGS

5-YEAR-OLD BETTY OFFERED UP BEFORE GETTING DISTRACTED BY A PHONE

DRAWING ON A CHROMEBOOK ON A BED Specifically her Chromebook on her parents' bed.

HAVING KITTENS because we know there are feral kittens across the street.

PIZZA ON... EVERY DAY! It's at least once a week here.

HAVING NO CORONA VIRUS because that's all the TV talks about.

GETTING A NEW PS3 CONTROLLER. "Not a PS5 'cuz Boom said another 5 on his 'Five Things.'"