Dick Van Dyke meets Plastic Babyheads from Outer Space

It was Dick Van Dyke's 91st birthday on Dec. 13th( also my wonderful nephew Will's birthday too--so it must be a special day!) In honor of his 91st birthday, I present my little tribute to Mr. Van Dyke, aka Rob Petrie; Dick Van Dyke meets Plastic Babyheads from Outer Space; outtakes from my comic strip, Plastic Babyheads from Outer Space ( now Jetpack Jr., of course) at gocomics.
My wife and I have watched "The Dick Van Dyke Show" many times over on Netflix, and thousands of times in the 60's and 70's. No matter how many times I've seen it, it never grows old. There's something timeless in the story of Rob & Laura, Sally and Buddy. Growing up, I saw something of my parents in Rob & Laura. In truth, my folks were nothing like them-- except in that Dick & Mary were so natural together, their arguments so real and so revealing of their love for one another. Rob & Laura were a dream couple; it was natural to want to see my parents in the young, attractive, upwardly mobile suburban couple. Rob & Laura Petrie set an impossible standard, and my parents were never a song-and-dance team. I loved them anyway.
Yet still, Rob and Laura touch a chord in me; their loves and losses and little misunderstandings; lost innocence-theirs and ours. 
A variety of elements came together to make "The Dick Van Dyke Show" a classic of the first generation of television comedies; the writing, the direction, Carl Reiner--but most importantly; the cast--and the show's effervescent leads. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore were perfectly cast, and among the greatest comic actors of their time(only Lucille Ball compares). Watching them at work in TDVDS is to see two stellar comics at the peak of their game, performing great comic writing brilliantly. As the lead of the show, the weight rests on Dick, and episode after episode, he comes through with a dancer's grace in slapstick routines, and a clown's command of pantomime and facial expression. He's truly a wonder of great comic acting.  
So I'm a big fan; even at his hokiest; performing some barbershop quartet routine from long, long ago;  he is one of those entertainers who has that rare gift of making you glad to be alive.  Once years ago, my mother and I walked behind him in a department store in Manhattan. We were so surprised to see him that day. Giving the lie to that cliche of TV stars who are smaller than they appear on television, Dick Van Dyke was so much bigger than I imagined he'd be. We wanted to say "hi"  and thank him for all the laughs he'd given us over the years. But we were too shy. And then he was gone. 
So here's my tribute to you, Mr. Van Dyke. Thank you for all of the joy you've brought to us these many, many years. Happy Birthday! 

A Brief Introduction

Along with several others of my colleagues at Adelphi University, I've been asked by my Dean to do a little presentation of my work--I guess because I'm a bit "under the radar".  Rather than do a Powerpoint with questionable links to my websites,etc., I thought I'd gather together some things here at home for convenience.

For those who aren't familiar, my work over the last 15 years has been in collage, comics and-most recently--animation. For those who want to see a fuller accounting-please see my FB page: facebook.com/geoffgroganetal/ 
 This isn't everything I've done, but the things that stand out to me looking back.
So--without further ado, a career retrospective: 
Collage(2000-2005):

Comics:

Look Out! Monsters(2008)

More Comics:

 Fandancer(2010) 

 KORUMBU! pts.I & II (2011)

( Korumbu Confesses! & Korumbu Attacks!) 

Jetpack Jr. (2011-)

www.gocomics.com/jetpack-jr

and Jetpack this week:  http://www.gocomics.com/jetpack-jr/2016/12/05

 Animation(2016):

 
Bella Dilemma TV Show Trailer from Geoff Grogan on Vimeo.


 And-my current work-in-progress:  
Plastic Babyheads from Outer Space



PBHFOS8-1 from Geoff Grogan on Vimeo.

Jetpack's Back!

What was it Michael Corleone said?  "Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in."
Comics. They have this gravitational pull---and I'm a sucker for 'em. And specifically, the comic strip. There's something about the daily comic strip, as outdated as its format may be in the digital world--there's something about the structure, the one-two-three punch; the narrative limitations of working in short bursts-that I respond to. And, forgive my hubris, over the course of  five years, I think I've gotten good at it. Well--at least, pretty good.
And--freed from pressure, whether deadline pressure or the pressure of self-imposed aspirations, it can be fun--and it is fun. So this return to "Jetpack Jr." is for fun--fun for me, and I hope, fun for you, my reader. My goal is to provide a moment's entertainment, and maybe a little more than that. At the very least I hope to share my love of the comic strip--its form, its history, its tradition. I hope, when you read "Jetpack", some of that comes across. 
For whatever good intentions are worth, my plan is to continue to relay the stories of the Gladlee household as they come to me, but at my own pace, and with a somewhat irregular schedule, to allow for the work I'm doing on the other projects I've told you about in my last few posts.  It's likely the stories will come in bursts of a few weeks at a time--as far as I can tell, anyway. Then it may be a month again before you and I see them again.  I don't get to their neighborhood every day; it's clear on the other side of town-- and I do have a job, and a wife, and dogs and cats, and groceries to buy.  
But I can't stay away for too long, they are oddly compelling in their way, always good for a laugh, and I've grown fond of them.  Forgive me if I assume too much, but I think-- maybe you have too. Just a bit. 
With that in mind, The Gladlees and I will see you soon at GoComics.com!

P.S. Be sure to like the strip's FB page: www.facebook.com/BellaDilemma00 and for more on my work:www.facebook.com/geoffgroganetal
Thanks!

Never say Never Again

That's right. After everything I said in my last post, and all the other stuff I'm working on and want to work on, I've been drawing a new "Jetpack Jr." strip. And that means another will follow and maybe a few after that and...well, we'll see.
I am deep in the middle of  a "Plastic Babyheads" animated trailer at the moment, and who knows where that's going to go---so I can't promise anything. Certainly I can't go back to the schedule "Jetpack" had before. With everything I'm trying to do (as well as my "full-time +" day-job as Chair of a University Art Department)
that's just not possible.  But I'm thinking something more intermittent--a week here, a week there---is probably very do-able. And probably good for me too. In the time away, I've both had time to re-think those issues that were bothering me about the strip, and then-- time away enough to miss the work, the charge of producing something for an audience every other day, the thrill of seeing where the story goes. 
To be honest, the changeover from "Plastic Babyheads" seems like a mistake to me now; I robbed Jetpack of his character--as simplistic as he was--and replaced it with an ill-defined non-entity. His costume is nice, but that's about it. So--to satisfy that nagging desire to "GET IT RIGHT", I'm trying one last re-boot, changing the emphasis, and bringing back two of my favorite characters. Check out the re-tooled "Jetpack Jr." just after Thanksgiving.  And the next time I say "never" again...

************************************************

Meanwhile, I've been inking pages from my unfinished graphic novel, "Nice Work"-begun all the way back in 2006/7 and which ran on the lost and lamented ModernTales.com back in the day.

I was going to say it was interesting to go back to pages I penciled 8 years ago and am just getting around to inking now, but -at least at first--it was merely annoying. 

Drawing "Jetpack/PBFOS" for 5 years really cleaned up my style, so that I don't waste so much graphite now--but these old pages-phew! so much eraser dust! Necessity is the mother-of-invention--and I went ahead and borrowed my "layer of vellum" approach on these old pages, and now it's working just fine.

**************************************************

Finally, I am working on the "Plastic Babyheads from Outer Space" trailer---and here's the work in progress:
Plastic Babyheads from Outer Space_work in progress-1 from Geoff Grogan on Vimeo.

 I've gotten farther than this--but you get the idea. The kids at Farmingdale High School seemed to get a kick out of it when I visited them in Regina Nicholas' art classes yesterday. I keep plugging away at it--hope I finish it before the decade is over!

That's all for now! See ya on the new GoComics--or on Vimeo!

Cheers--

G

Tomorrow's a New Day

Dear Readers;
After almost 5 years working on "Plastic Babyheads" and its follow-up, "Jetpack Jr.", I've come to something of a cross-roads. If you read my last post, you probably know where this is going. 

via GIPHY
I've got lots of ideas for other projects. There are a lot of other things I'd like to do-and sad to say, I can't do them all. After a lot of deliberating, I've decided the time has come to put "Jetpack Jr." and my comic strip dreams aside- or at least on hold.
It hasn't been an easy decision to make. I've loved every minute of working on PBHFOS and JJ, and I put my heart & soul, as well as blood & sweat, into the strip. I've been proud to be a part of the GoComics line-up for the last three years.  But from day one the strip had problems at GoComics, and it never caught on with an audience. I've grown increasingly frustrated with its inability to attract subscribers( a subscriber base of just under 1800; for months it hovered near that mark,  and then once reached the 1799 mark  only to lose 5 or 6 the next day!)--and more than that, frustrated with the core of the strip itself, the character of "Jetpack".
While the surrounding characters became clear to me as I worked along, Hank and Marsha in particular, after "Babyheads" the character of "Jetpack" seemed to lose focus for me. Increasingly, he seemed to be an alien without motivation.  The concept of the alien in the home has become so well-known, from "My Favorite Martian" to "E.T." to "Home" and so well done--it seemed to leave "Jetpack" little room to move. Who needs another alien at home story?
Coupled with my growing interest in animation, as well as other projects I'd like to return to or begin--it began to feel as though continued devotion to working on "Jetpack" was akin to chaining myself to a hollow log. I'd come to realize my hopes for the strip  were clouded by denial;"Jetpack" wasn't going to develop a bigger audience, it hadn't really connected with the audience it had-- and more than that, I'd begun to doubt my premise and main character. Once you lose belief in the world you're creating, it's very hard to get it back.
And then "Bella Dilemma" came along. And other ideas. I don't know if any of those will have the public platform "Jetpack" has had( small as it has been), but my heart tells me this is the way to go. There comes a moment when remaining steadfast to one set of ideals poses a potential threat to the very spark of life at the center of one's creativity--and I think I'm at that point. My ideas are moving in a different direction now, and deferring them in favor of some misguided hope for the comic strip seems self-defeating, if not delusional. 
So it's time to call it a day. But just as this day ends, another begins. And I'm already at work on my next projects; "Bella Dilemma" being foremost among them. The work on the strip these last 5 years hasn't been in vain. Far from it! It's not only given me valuable experience but "Bella Dilemma", and a host of other great characters--all of whom play a part in my upcoming animation projects.  In fact, PBHFOS has found new life as one of those projects--and here's a clip from a pitch for an animated series  I'm working on!
Plastic Babyheads from Outer Space_test trailer from Geoff Grogan on Vimeo.

There's more to come here--and who knows where that might lead?

So--while it's always sad to come to the end of one phase of life and it's never easy to say "goodbye", it's exciting to come to a new fork in the road-and wonder what lies ahead. Like most of my projects, it may not attract the big audience I've always dreamed of--but it's sure to be interesting. And who knows? "Jetpack" may yet find his way into my animation. So, wish me well. Until we meet again....

Geoff 

Bella Dilemma or What I did with my Summer Vacation

Ladies and Gentlemen, here she is--in her first -ever film appearance: Bella Dilemma starring in the "Bella Dilemma TV Show Trailer" with music by the Duffy Jackson Big Band from Nashville, TN! 




  Bella Dilemma TV Show Trailer from Geoff Grogan on Vimeo.


The time off from my strip, "Jetpack Jr." has not all been spent lounging by the pool. Nope, 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week for six months or so has been eating, drinking , sleeping this one minute trailer.  Talk about compressing time! But that's what happens when you get older; 15 years goes by like a Summer afternoon.
So why Bella Dilemma, and why a trailer rather than a proper film?
To answer the first; there's a story to tell with that character, and readers of my strip seem to react positively whenever she appears.  I don't know, it must be the Bee-hive. 
The second: I had a relatively brief amount of time in which to make a film, and a lot to learn, designing and animating the entire project myself. Doing a trailer allowed me to create a broad narrative while spanning a variety of scenarios, all in just over a minute. 
And I wanted to try my hand at creating a TV series. "Bella Dilemma" is the kind of series I'd like to see, and I thought there may be others who would find it entertaining as well.
So there's not only the trailer, but a Pitch Bible (with lots of pretty pictures!) and  a fully-worked out premise. In coming weeks, "Jetpack Jr." will feature an introduction to the series in an "imaginary" Jetpack story( just like those old 'imaginary" stories in "Superman's Pal"Jimmy Olsen". It didn't really happen--but it did.). 
Every pitch starts with a logline, a 1-2 sentence summation of the premise that might get viewers to give it a shot on Amazon or Netflix--and here's mine: 

A Hollywood Movie Queen and a diminutive stunt-man in a monster costume, lost in an alternate dimension where every movie is its own reality.    

And the premise:
You say you’ve never heard of Bella Dilemma; “World’s Greatest Movie Star”? It’s no surprise really.
Bella Dilemma WAS the “World’s Greatest Movie Star” until one evening, while she slept soundly in the comfort of her Beverly Hills home, a shadowy figure broke in and absconded with her Oscar, after which she woke to find herself on the sound-stage of a world gone mad, where no one had ever heard of “Bella Dilemma” and she was just another stand-in on a Hollywood movie-set. This alternate dimension is the “Cine-Verse”, where all the movies ever made are their own reality and the Oscar is a mysterious Genie-like figure rumored to have the power to make dreams come true. Together with her unlikely companion, Al Z., a diminutive stunt-man in a monster suit and a grizzled vet of many a back-lot, she travels from one movie scenario to another in search of the elusive Oscar, and the life she once had.  

That only scratches the surface--and a blog post isn't the place to go into more detail, but suffice to say there are plots written for a bunch of episodes already, a variety of other characters with backstories and the whole bit.  So tune in to "Jetpack Jr." in September to see how Bella Dilemma unfolds. 

And now that most of the work on the trailer is done, I should have time to post a bit more than I have. There's a lot of stuff left over that didn't make it into the trailer- and lots of drawings-that I'd like to share, and I've kept up with my reading too, so there are books to talk about too!

Meanwhile, I hope you've enjoyed the Bella Dilemma Trailer--and I hope it makes you want to see more! If so, please share it as often as you can  and maybe together we can make that happen!  
Cheers!

Geoff