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Legendary Comic Book Artist Russ Heath Dies At 91

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https://comicbook.com/comics/2018/08/25/comic-book-artist-russ-heath-dies/

By ADAM BARNHARDT

Thank you Adam and the website Comicbook for allowing me to share your wonderful article.

Legendary comic book artist and illustrator Russ Heath has passed away, as confirmed from by family on social media. He was 91.

Lee Kosa, Heath’s grandson, took to Twitter to share the sad news earlier this week.

Lee Kosa

@leekosa

My grandfather and legendary comic artist Russ Heath passed away last night. His mastery of the craft of illustration encouraged me to pursue the arts and it is a joy to see my son now filling his own sketchbooks. Thank you for passing along the joys of drawing and storytelling.

Heath, one of the industry’s longest-tenured artists, got his first professional gig for Timely Comics — the predecessor to Marvel — in 1947. While at Timely, Heath primarily drew for the company’s Western series under titles like Two-Gun Kid and Wild Western. Some of his work, in fact, was a Two-Gun Kid story released in Wild Western #4 in 1948.

“His mastery of the craft of illustration encouraged me to pursue the arts and it is a joy to see my son now filling his own sketchbooks,” Kosa wrote of his grandfather. “Thank you for passing along the joys of drawing and storytelling.”

Heath’s first superhero gig came as he drew a seven-page story in Captain America Comics #71 (1949), a story titled “Fate Fixed a Fight.”

As Timely then turned into Atlas Comics then Marvel, Heath worked on various horror titles such as Marvel Tales, Strange Tales, and Journey Into Mystery.

After his work at Timely was complete, Heath went on to work for both EC Comics and DC Comics, primarily focusing on horror and war titles.

Heath’s last professional comic book work was a four-page penciling and inking job in The Immortal Iron Fist #20 (2009). “The Mortal Iron Fist, Conclusion,” story Heath drew and inked was a flashback sequence in the fan-favorite Iron Fist run.

Heath received an Inkpot Award in 1997 before being inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009. The legendary artist also received the Comic Art Professional Society’s Sergio Award in 2010 as well as the National Cartoonists Society’s Milton Caniff Award in 2014.

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DC/National comics fans know Mr. Heath’s work in the war comics. Our Army At War, Star Spangled War Stories as well as Sea Devils and stories in DC’s horror anthologies.

Oh, and the Brave & the Bold.

Russ Heath drew a few of the Silent Knight stories and all of the Golden Gladiator tales.

From the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight:

“(His) style was different (from the other features). The lines were darker, the motion less fluid and the colors more muted. The characters were also beefier and more muscular than any other feature.”

His work was always a perfect match to the story.

He was a legendary artist and one of the last of the great ones still around. I am glad he lived to see the honors he so deserved.

As for the compensation he also deserved, that was a different story. See the link below:

http://comicsalliance.com/russ-heaths-comic-about-being-ripped-off-by-roy-lichtenstein-will-give-you-a-new-appreciation-for-the-hero-initiative/

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About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!

 

Back to the Blogging Board …

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Mike, where have you been?

The Doctor Strange movie came and went, no review.

Guardians of the Galaxy came and went, no review.

The season finales of Supergirl, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Flash …

The 50th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band … and the new commemorative CD…

And now the Wonder Woman movie…

Silence.

Oh I posted a little about the death of Rich Buckler and the Beauty & the Beast movie and Sensory-Free movies, but I do admit my blog posts have been very thin of late.

Work is the main reason.

I started my own office in April of 2016 and I concentrated on my work blog more than my writer’s blog.

I hope to remedy that. Wonder Woman so inspired me I may write a late review of the film, and I plan on a series of reviews of my favorite Bronze Age comics.

And anything else that comes to mind. I hope to be back to regular blogging from here on.

So I am coming back. Thanks for sticking with me!

 

About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!

Malfeasance Here! A new short story!

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4L0BXS

A new short story just in time for Halloween!

Mealfeasance Here

What stalks this town?

Judge Lamentations Dewe was a Royal Witch Hunter duly appointed by His Majesty. His brief was to judge and, if necessary, execute the laws against witchcraft, cannibalism, sorcery and other unholy mannerisms used as tools of the devil at the turn in 17th century England..
But when he arrives in Bradford-on-Tyne, he finds a town haunted by a force that might mean the village’s doom … as well as his own!

Blogs of things to come!

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I have changed my web-page!

I added a tab for my Financial Wise Guide books. As an attorney I have helped thousands of people (and businesses) with their financial problems and have put that knowledge in a series of books. The books (available only through Kindle – so far) include a guide on how to get out of debt and guides on bankruptcy.

Another tab is for my fiction.  So far it only includes my short story “The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles”, but I will add others as they are published – also through Kindle.

On October 1st I hope to have two short stories ready for reading: a horror tale and a horror/historical fantasy story. Just in time for Halloween!

December should see a Christmas mystery short story.

More about that as the details develop! But browse my newly-edited web page and tall me what you think!

 

The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles – the Story Behind the Short Story

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Announcing my first frenetic foray into fiction

I’ve been writing fiction since I was a kid in grade school. I love writing as much as I love reading but getting my stories published has always been frustrating.

Alas, I am writing in an age where fewer and fewer publishers are … publishing.  Were that this be the early twentieth century when newsstands were lined with magazine after magazine filled with fiction of every genre in all their pulpy goodness!

Those days are gone, but now cyberspace has replaced the old newsstand. You can still read stories of any genre and of any length online.

I have published three books online with some success. Regular readers know the titles by heart as I hype them with the frequency of a carnival barker: Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption, Toddler TV and The Brave & the Bold: from Silent Knight to Dark Knight. All non-fiction.

I have not published any fiction – novels, novelettes or short stories.  Until now!

(trumpet fanfare)

JFK Beatles moptops'

“The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles” is a short story (just over 5000 words) available through Amazon.

Wait, you say, John F Kennedy never met the Beatles. True.

All fiction starts with “What if…?”  What if elves and dragons were real? What if man could sail among the stars? What if vampires and zombies roamed the earth? What if three penniless sisters move to Kent, England during the Regency Period and experience love, romance, sense and …

What if Kennedy had lived? Either by surviving the assassination or by it not having occurred at all? What if he lived to see Beatlemania invade American shores? What if he asked them to perform at the White House?

Why would he ask them? Would the Beatles and their management agree? Would they say, “Stuff it”?

 

As a history buff, my recycling bin is filled with issues of History Channel Magazine (now defunct), Colonial Williamsburg Magazine (name and format now changed), Smithsonian Magazine and Renaissance Magazine.

I wrote “The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles” as if it came from such a magazine. It is very fact-driven – even with faux-footnotes.  Remember the old writing trope “show don’t tell”?  This is filled to the brim with “tells”. Think of it as a piece of fiction that thinks it is a piece of non-fiction.

And I like it! But then I say that about everything I’ve written.

But it’s true – I do like this story! It’s the kind of piece I would enjoy reading. I loved doing the research on the Beatles’ history and melding them with a fictional history of Kennedy’s second term.

I’ve also included quotes from the involved parties. Sometimes it was hard getting the voice correct – but I think I succeeded. I am particularly pleased with the quotes from George Reedy (LBJ’s advisor) and the humor in the press conference (“Did you vote for Kennedy?” Lennon: “I didn’t even vote for the queen.”)

I hope you enjoy it. Look for it on Amazon. It is available for viewing on Kindle and only costs $0.99.  You can enjoy it at lunchtime, before bed, or as one of many stories you can enjoy during a lazy summer.

Kennedy meets the Beatles

Here is the link to the short story available through Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Day-John-Kennedy-Met-Beatles-ebook/dp/B01HQQ7F8K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467304185&sr=8-1&keywords=beatles+kennedy+curry#nav-subnav

More fiction to come!

 

Copyright 2016 Michael Curry

Abby’s Road is a 2015 Reader’s Favorite Book Award Finalist!

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The cover of Abby's Road

Abby’s Road is a 2015 Reader’s Favorite Book Award Finalist in the category of Non-Fiction Humor!

You can see a complete list of winners here!

“Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption: And how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped by Michael Curry is much more than just a book with a long and quirky title. The story follows the journey of the author Michael and his wife Esther as they undergo infertility treatments and ultimately adoption in their endearing quest to become parents. Curry is refreshingly honest, descriptive and raw when describing this roller coaster of a time in his family’s life. As you can tell by the book’s title, Curry also has a sense of humor, which he demonstrates throughout the story (so many fun geek and pop culture mentions in this book). The quest to bring Abby home is an endearing and enlightening read to say the least.
Anyone going through infertility, difficulties conceiving or the adoption process will find a kindred spirit in author Michael Curry. And even those who have zero issues adding to their family will find this book informative regarding the real life struggles of other parents. The POV of a male will probably appeal to readers who are expectant or struggling fathers-to-be and I found the light-hearted tone throughout the book enjoyable. I applaud the author for revealing to readers not only the happy times but also the dark and heartbreaking moments that he and his wife endured. The author’s use of quoting his and his wife’s Facebook posts throughout the story was an accurate reflection of the current digital age and added a realistic tone to the book. Highly recommended!”

Charity Tober, Readers’ Favorite

Abby’s Road is available at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Abbys-Road-Long-Winding-Adoption/product-reviews/0692221530/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending


at Barnes and Noble here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abbys-road-the-long-and-winding-road-to-adoption-and-how-facebook-aquaman-and-theodore-roosevelt-helped-michael-curry/1119971924?ean=9780692221532


and at Smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/457270

Copyright 2015 Michael Curry

 

Abby’s Road Wins New York Book Festival Award!!

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first family photo

Abby’s Road received Honorable Mention in the Biography/Autobiography category at the 2015 New York Book Festival! 

What an honor to be mentioned in the same list as these wonderful authors:

http://www.newyorkbookfestival.com/

cover

“Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped” leads a couple through their days of infertility treatments and adoption. It is told with gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) humor from the perspective of a nerdy father and his loving and understanding wife.

Join Mike and Esther as they go through IUIs and IFVs, as they search for an adoption agency, are selected by a birth mother, prepare their house, prepare their family, prepare themselves and wait for their daughter to be born a thousand miles from home.

 

Winner, Honorable Mention, 2015 New York Book Festival  (looks nice, doesn’t it?)


Abby’s Road is available at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Abbys-Road-Long-Winding-Adoption/product-reviews/0692221530/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending


at Barnes and Noble here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abbys-road-the-long-and-winding-road-to-adoption-and-how-facebook-aquaman-and-theodore-roosevelt-helped-michael-curry/1119971924?ean=9780692221532


and at Smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/457270

Copyright 2015 Michael Curry

 

Five years ago today – One last Abby’s Road Anniversary: Abigailegalities!

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Last summer and through early October regular blog readers were entertained (I hope) by the fifth anniversary of the events of my memoir Abby’s Road. There is one last fifth anniversary to celebrate…

 

On June 16, 2010, at 10:00 am, “… the Honorable Judge Karkula signed the following Order from the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois:  IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that from this day the minor (child) shall, to all legal intents and purposes, be the child of (Michael and Esther Curry) … IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the name of the child be, and is hereby changed to ABIGAIL SHELDON MARYJEAN CURRY…

                The findings said I was of sound mind. There, it’s official. A court of competent jurisdiction has so held. Take that, former girlfriends …

                Also on June 16th, 2010 my sister gave birth to a baby girl. As with the call allowing us to go home; if I had made up that coincidence for a story, an editor would slash it out.

                Esther and I always celebrated June 17th as “I Love You Day”. It was halfway to Esther’s birthday and the anniversary of her first marriage. And with our anniversary, both birthdays (now three birthdays) and Christmas all in the last part of the year; we wanted something to celebrate in the summer.

                Now we call June 16th and 17th “Abby Day” or “Adoption Day”.  Some adoption advocates like to call it “Gotcha Day”, but that sounds like something that would trigger an Amber Alert.

                “Gotcha Day” is the day the parents receive the child into their custody. It can also be a substitute when the real birthday is unknown. We know her birth date. And her “Gotcha Day” was two days later, so there is no point for us to have a ”Gotcha Day”. We like our two-day “Abby Day” holiday. …”

The cover of Abby's Road

The cover of Abby’s Road

“Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped” leads a couple through their days of infertility treatments and adoption. It is told with gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) humor from the perspective of a nerdy father and his loving and understanding wife.

Join Mike and Esther as they go through IUIs and IFVs, as they search for an adoption agency, are selected by a birth mother, prepare their house, prepare their family, prepare themselves and wait for their daughter to be born a thousand miles from home.


Abby’s Road is available at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Abbys-Road-Long-Winding-Adoption/product-reviews/0692221530/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending


at Barnes and Noble here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abbys-road-the-long-and-winding-road-to-adoption-and-how-facebook-aquaman-and-theodore-roosevelt-helped-michael-curry/1119971924?ean=9780692221532


and at Smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/457270

 

Copyright 2015 Michael Curry

 

 

Pretty good for a Monday! A wonderful review of Abby’s Road!!

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frontcover

What a great way to start the week!

Abby’s Road got a wonderful review: you can read it here

or here:

Book Review

Reviewed by Charity Tober for Readers’ Favorite

Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption: And how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped by Michael Curry is much more than just a book with a long and quirky title. The story follows the journey of the author Michael and his wife Esther as they undergo infertility treatments and ultimately adoption in their endearing quest to become parents. Curry is refreshingly honest, descriptive and raw when describing this roller coaster of a time in his family’s life. As you can tell by the book’s title, Curry also has a sense of humor, which he demonstrates throughout the story (so many fun geek and pop culture mentions in this book). The quest to bring Abby home is an endearing and enlightening read to say the least.

Anyone going through infertility, difficulties conceiving or the adoption process will find a kindred spirit in author Michael Curry. And even those who have zero issues adding to their family will find this book informative regarding the real life struggles of other parents. The POV of a male will probably appeal to readers who are expectant or struggling fathers-to-be and I found the light-hearted tone throughout the book enjoyable. I applaud the author for revealing to readers not only the happy times but also the dark and heartbreaking moments that he and his wife endured. The author’s use of quoting his and his wife’s Facebook posts throughout the story was an accurate reflection of the current digital age and added a realistic tone to the book. Highly recommended!

***
Charity is very charitable!  Thank you for the great review from Reader’s Favorite!
***

“Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped” leads a couple through their days of infertility treatments and adoption. It is told with gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) humor from the perspective of a nerdy father and his loving and understanding wife.

Join Mike and Esther as they go through IUIs and IFVs, as they search for an adoption agency, are selected by a birth mother, prepare their house, prepare their family, prepare themselves and wait for their daughter to be born a thousand miles from home.

 

Winner, Honorable Mention, 2014, Great Midwest Book Festival


Abby’s Road is available at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Abbys-Road-Long-Winding-Adoption/product-reviews/0692221530/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending


at Barnes and Noble here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abbys-road-the-long-and-winding-road-to-adoption-and-how-facebook-aquaman-and-theodore-roosevelt-helped-michael-curry/1119971924?ean=9780692221532


and at Smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/457270

 

Original Material Copyright 2015 Michael Curry; the review copyright its holder or holders.