September 3, 2010
Went home for lunch and worked on a couple of scenes in my so-so pile. First up, Mickey Free is trapped on a ledge with a brush fire coming right at him. What does he do? Well. . .


What does a one-eyed captivo riding a mammoth jack look like jumping through a black spot in a wall of flames?



Or, what does a White Mountain crew of Apache midnite crown dancers look like? Well. . .



Yeh, kind of like that. Well, everybody else is gone for the long weekend and here I am the last person in the office. Gee, I wonder what the Old Vaqueros have to say about this?


"People who let themselves get too tied up with business should remember that the same thing used to happen to horse thieves."
—Old Vaquero Saying

September 3, 2010
Finally finished the Dyke & The Blazers scratchboard of the real Funky Broadway (a classic R&B song written about Broadway Road in Phoenix, not New York). Wanted to get a funky car in there and settled on a fifties style DeSoto, I think it was, from my stash of Route 66 Fun Run images:



This will run in The Arizona Republic on an upcoming Sunday. As I was looking for reference scrap in my archives, I ran across an article I did on my father's gas station in Route 66 Magazine (Spring 2000). Classic Fritz Studio shot of Al Bell's Flying A, probably taken in the late forties, or, early fifties:



Sweet. That's Radar Hill in the background at right, at the foot of which, my grandmother Guessie lived (and we lived there for several months when we moved from Iowa and didn't have a house yet).


This morning I tweaked another Mickey Free image (which I've posted, in progress, before). Brought out the mule a bit more. Decent effects:



Going into a Graphic Cinema sequence called "Fire Fight."

"Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge."
—William Shakespeare

September 2, 2010
Just got off the phone with a producer from the Spike TV show "Deadliest Warriors." They want to know about the weaponry as it relates to a match up between Pancho Villa and Crazy Horse. I told them my theories and then referred them to the expert, our gun editor, Phil Spangenberger.

Brought in a whole bunch of landscape fillers for the next Mickey Free Graphic Cinema episode, like this image which is of the area between Fort Apache and the Salt River Canyon:



May have to rescan this. It's got an odd smudge in the middle, there.

Found a good line for one of our characters:

"I've found the best way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on it."
—Tom Horn

September 1, 2010
Robert Ray and I worked all afternoon marrying an image of Al Sieber to various landscapes. Finally settled on this union:



Scanned a dozen landscapes to utilize in this way for the next installment of Mickey Free, which will be "No Mercy."


"When shaving, a man rereads his truest memoir."
—David Mitchell, The Thousand Somethings of Jacob de Zoet

September 1, 2010
When I was doing research for the Mickey Free project at Fort Apache, the longtime Lutheran pastor for the White Mountain Apache Tribe, Arthur Alchesay Guenther shared with me a common Apache saying: "You know you're just somehow to me." If you've ever heard Apaches talking, it has an authentic rhythm that is lilting and expressive, even though the meaning seems rather mangled. Posted this on my Facebook page and got this response today:

"I checked with a friend who is a White Mountain Apache, and a school teacher. He explained it thus: "In the Apache language, sometimes there is no word for a particular feeling, and sometimes describing the feeling is difficult as to the... limitation of the vocabulary of the Apache people, so it is much easier to say, "somehow" In Apache (how-shi-un-shteh) that is simpler to say than trying to describe it, sometimes describing it is almost impossible for those who are in the younger generation as their Apache vocabulary is limited.

"As it is used in the above sentence, "you know you're just somehow to me." the best way to describe it is, YOU ARE TREATING ME DIFFERENT FROM HOW YOU NORMALLY TREAT ME, AND I DON'T LIKE IT. I hope that answers your question. Have a great day!! So I guess it's not particularly complimentary!"
—Virgil Alexander

Now THAT is an amazing benefit of social networking.



I grew up with many Hualapais and several Mojaves. This is a Mojave Maiden, above, and I can clearly hear her saying as much.


"I never learned anything while I was talking."
—Larry King

August 31, 2010
Catching up in the office. Lining out the next 10 Graphic Cinemas for 2011 and beyond. Meghan Saar and I had lunch with our Westerns Editor Henry Beck yesterday at the Saguaro Grill in Carefree ($49, includes tip, biz account). We discussed, among other things, the huge success of the Old West video game Red Dead Redemption. Their website claims they have sold 5 million games so far which would make it the biggest news in our arena in a long time. There is a rumor of a movie and Brad Pitt playing a starring role.

Last day to vote in our Best of the West poll. Don't be intimidated by our categories, you are free to add any categories you think we are missing. And, if you fill out the poll you will be in the running for a BBB original of Virgil Earp going down at the O.K. Corral


Although my artwork has never been a stranger to controversy, some scenes have evoked unintended consequences, like this composite scratchboard which I submitted to a show at Sky Harbor Airport about ten years ago:



Several women on the jury thought I was condoning violence against women and wanted it removed. Perhaps they were right. When I heard about their interpretation of the scene I wanted to kick their
collective arses.

Bought about ten art books near Deena's new digs in Los Feliz last weekend. Gee, I wonder what ol' Robertson has to say about that?

"To be a book collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser."
—Robertson Davies

August 30, 2010
In the dog days of August I am often reminded of my days playing drums in a legendary honkytonk in The Old Pueblo. Six nights a week, bug infested neon and straining airpad coolers gave way to off key harmonies and a pedal steel.

A couple years ago I did a scratchboard of my memory of playing in The Hayloft, utilizing my son, Thomas Charles, as the model:



Those were lost years and remind me of an old saying:


"No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, turn back."

—Old Vaquero Saying

August 30, 2010
Back from a long weekend in LA. Kathy and I left on Saturday morning at seven and drove to Blythe, California for breakfast at the Las Palomas Cafe. Then, on into LA proper via I-10. Landed in Los Feliz (the Angelenos inexplicably pronounce it Los Fee-lez. Crazy.)

Met Deena, her boyfriend Aaron, Thomas Bell and his girlfriend Pattara, and unloaded that van in about an hour flat. Here are the six movers in front of the Snakes On A Plain U-Haul:



L to R: BBB, T. Bell, Kath, Pattara, Deen and Aaron


"It's true that I've driven through a number of red lights. But on the other hand, I've stopped at a lot of green ones I've never gotten credit for."
—Glenn Gould

August 26, 2010
Here's a historic photo from September of 2001 (doesn't say the date, so don't know if this is post 9•11, or pre) of four True West Babes.



Left to right: Editor Mare Rosenbaum, Sales Rep Suzanne Gunther, Subscription Maven De Anne Giago and Editorial designer Abby Pearson. All have moved on except Abby (who got married and is now Abby Goodrich) who has been with us for nine years. Amazing. All of these women are quite talented and had a huge influence and impact on not only the survival of the magazine in those turbulent times (read my business timeline at BBB Blog if you don't believe me) but they helped put in place many of the systems we still use today.

I salute you True West Babes!

"Show me a successful man, and I'll show you a surprised woman."
—Old Vaquero Saying

August 26. 2010
Here's a low res scan of the first page of our very first Graphic Cinema:



Goes to press today.

"As you earn the right, you explain less."

—Ridley Scott, on the commentary track of Blade Runner

August 24, 2010
Heavy thunder this afternoon. Big thunderheads over Continental Mountain. Very hot, heat index is predicted to be 120 degrees, that's with humidity factored in, I believe (heard this in yoga class from one of the seven women in the class. I was the only guy.

Went home for lunch and finished a campfire scene:



A little garish, but the flame out between the legs of the soldier and scout is kind of nice. Decided to try another one before I came back into office, so whipped this one out:



This one actually ended up being more of a card game where things are going south, pronto with that Arab guy on the right. Ha. I actually poached it from an Afghanistan photo, so my stolen sources are showing, even when I try and hide them. (especially when I try and hide them!)


"The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues."
—Elizabeth Taylor

August 24, 2010
Robert Ray and I are still wrestling with the Graphic Cinema layout dilemma (goes to press tomorrow). Rather that try to blend my scratchboard art in four-color (very, very difficult to hold those tiny scratches on press in four layers of color), we have opted to put a tone on the scenes, matching the color images. Still leaves the problem of word balloons. (stark white or a subtle tone of the background color?)

Got this in today: Oregon-California Trails Association honored True West Magazine with its Distinguished Service Award, presented to our contributing editor Candy Moulton, on August 11 in Elko, Nevada. If you want to get more details from Candy, her # is 307-327-5465. Her e-mail is candywwa@aol.com

Here are a couple of scratchboards from my files. First up The Sweeper:



Kind of has a sweeping movement to it, no? Also, here's a controversial image of Custer in death, with a bullet hole in his left temple.



Did he commit suicide? Did one of his troopers do it for him? Or, was it a coup de grace (blow of mercy) by a comrade of Crazy Horse?

"Funny how people look for a person to blame for something that's everybody's fault."
—Al Sieber, as imagined by Paul Andrew Hutton

August 21, 2010
This morning I helped my son move into a tiny apartment in downtown Phoenix. My job was to drive his El Camino with a box spring mattress down to the Filmore and Fifth Avenue area while he drove my Ranger with a chair and his personal belongings. His girlfriend Pattara followed in her car.

Memories of the Beast
It was 113 today, so as I motored down into the Beast many hot memories came flooding back. For some reason I flashed on looking at cheesy, gay-nineties, flip cards at the penny arcade on Washington in 1964 when we came down to play Valley teams and stayed at the Palomine Motel on West Van Buren, then walked to the downtown area to take in the sights). Turning onto Filmore I remembered coming up from the U of A to visit Kingman pom pon queen Susan Moore at an old Victorian gingerbread house in 1967. Working at New Times when the offices were on the second floor of the Westward Ho (and also having my first date with Kathy Radina on the first floor of the Westward Ho at a Christmas NT staff party featuring the Southern Tornado, in December of 1978) and, over there, I remember going to a Stay Power revival style meeting at first and Garfield with Steve Burford in 1970. The oil additive franchise offering turned out to be a pyramid scheme, but the motivating film they showed us featured Earl Nightingale and his words changed my life. Behind the Westward Ho, was the building that housed KTAR radio. It was there where I appeared on a talk show along with a spokeswoman from Women Take Back The Night (they had kidnapped 1,000 New Times newspapers and demanded Mike Lacey fire me for a cartoon feature I did on how women who suffer from PMS don't seem to have a sense of humor). When the leader of the group, Chiquita Rollins was asked what she thought of me and my work, she said, and I'm not making this up, "I don't think Bob Boze Bell is funny, period."

All of this sordid personal history happened within a five block area from my son's new apartment.

So, I've got that going for me.

After we got T. Charles moved in we went over to Verde, a new Mexican food joint for a late breakfast and then to a hippie coffee shop for toddies (water soaked for two days in coffee grounds). And then up to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the Cezanne show.

Still wailing on scratchboards, like this one, which I call "One Angry Dude":



Nice and loose. Wish I could get this lubricated on a consistent basis. Also, here's the chief of scouts at San Carlos when Mickey Free chased down the Apache Kid:



Anybody know his name?

"Mickey Free is half Irish, half Mexican and all son of a bitch."
—Al Sieber

August 20, 2010
Spent all day scanning and working on scratchboards for upcoming Graphic Cinema pieces. Some you have seen, like this one of Mickey Free dumping two heads on Captain Pearce's table at San Carlos:



That is Remington's fave Lt. at left. Lots of atmosphere in this one. Here is a cave sequence with the Apache Kid arriving at dusk:



And here is the Kid with his captive maiden sitting at the campfire in the same cave:



A subtle sequence to be sure, but it should play just fine.

And here's a color image I tweaked at lunchtime of Mickey riding across the plains:



Time to call it quits and go eat some mole with my son, his girlfriend and Kathy at The Conky Donk. And, that ain't no lie.

"If a thing is absolutely true, how can it not also be a lie? An absolute must contain its opposite."
—Charlotte Painter

August 20, 2010
I watched the director's cut of Blade Runner for the second time last night (two different commentary tracks, one by the special effects guys and the other by the screenwriters and producer-types). Learned a ton. Going to watch the actual movie tonight.

What I Learned On My Summer Vacation
I haven't gone back to school in the fall since 1970 but I still have that sensation in late August about what I made of my summer. And, every year, without fail, I'm filled with a vague hope for a new beginning on the first day of school (this time I'm going to be confident and the girls are going to really like me!).

Anyway, I traveled quite a bit this summer, met some pretty dynamic people and actually learned a thing or two. The highlights:

• Every day get your heartbeat up to 220, minus your age. All you need is one minute of this. The Cleveland Clinic doctor, who told me this, says all the rest is muscle tone, but for optimum health, this is all you need.

• Studies prove that two daily glasses of red wine are beneficial to your health, but it isn't the red wine, it's the alcohol. Doesn't matter what kind. What is probably the most important part is that you limit yourself to just two. The discipline itself seems to have some impact on health. Makes sense.

• Write three thankyou notes a day. The same Cleveland Clinic doctor told me they don't know why, but it increases well being, more so for the sender than the receiver. Amazing. I've been doing it pretty steady for about two weeks and I do feel better (your card is no doubt still in the mail)

• You can be swimming in alcohol but if you take ten deep breaths before you are administered a breath test you will blow a zero.

Went home for lunch and finished three paintings. This one has been around before but I tweaked it to show Mickey Free riding into Los Muertos in a dust storm and blasting three rats in the shadows, while letting another two-legged rat (middle, right) get away so he can lead Free to the rat hole and take out the entire nest:



I am getting quite good at spotting my homeland in movies. The previews for Piranha 3 show quick scenes of a desert river and the first time I saw it I thought, "Man, that is either Bullhead or Lake Havasu." Turns out it's Lake Havasu. Love this quote from a local who worked on the film which opens today I believe:


"From what I saw everybody loses their tops and loses their toes, and not necessarily in that order."
—Todd Taylor, Jokers Wild Productions

August 20, 2010
We need you to fill out our 2010 Best of the West Survey so we can award the right people. Here's where you go to vote. If you fill it out you will automatically be in a drawing to win a BBB original (please make sure to vote for more than one category to qualify).

This is a black and white ink illustration (pre-scratchboard) from my Doc Holliday book on the O.K. Corral fight:



This portrays the moment when Virgil is hit in the calf of his left leg, drops the cane as he crumples to the ground. That's his brother, Wyatt, in the background taking aim at Frank McLaury. I want this image to go to a deserving home, so fill out the survey today.


I hope you win it, and remember: I always stand behind my work.

"I absolutely guarantee that someday this artwork will be worth the price you paid for it."
—BBB

August 19, 2010
Here's another scratchboard that has excellent potential:

August 19, 2010
Dan The Man sent up his latest ideas and concepts on the Graphic Cinema typefaces and design. Very strong stuff. The darker scratchboards seem to work the best in the format. Went through my archives and pulled a couple scenes that work in that capacity, like this one:



Has a blend to it that enhances the surrounding darkness (of the overall layout). Sometimes the scratchboard gods laugh at me and sometimes they smile on me.

But, once again the blackness gives it a richness that is dynamic. A couple tweaks and then we're off to design the next four layouts. We want the best three to pitch to cable.

The first man in, last man to get paid syndrome is alive and well. For example, I just read that the Gutenberg press never made much money for its founder and he died bankrupt and disappointed. It seems like a law of nature that the first guy in is too early, the second guy goes broke trying to make it pay and the third guy buys it all for a song and makes a fortune off of the previous two "loser's" vision and effort.


"In marriage, if you don't have a sense of humor, you don't have a marriage."
—Ray Bradbury

August 18, 2010
Got a a news flash from the year 2035:

A spokesman for Shady Saguaro Assisted Living, just south of Cave Creek, said Harshberger and Bell died just minutes apart. He described them as in their late 80s, and said they had been buddies since their Kingman childhoods and had worked together for years at True West magazine. Initial reports from paramedics at the scene said both apparently died from natural causes.

Other Shady Saguaro residents said the two had been arguing since lunch about what one close friend later said was their 617th attempt to put the final touches on word balloons and typefaces for a graphic western novel Bell had promised True West readers as far back as 2005.

Harshberger was writhing on the floor when he just stopped moving, said Sally Jones, 90, a resident. "I could have sworn that he was trying to do the Gator," she said, referring to a vulgar dance that was popular on college campuses in the 1960s.

Bell, napping in a wheelchair, awoke to see Harshberger dead, tried to get up and then hollered the words "Mickey Free" before collapsing himself. Jones said she believed that Mickey Free was the name of the graphic novel in question.

University of New Mexico professor emeritus Paul Hutton, the writer on the project, abandoned his role in 2030, telling confidants that "there are obsessions, and then their are obsessions."

—Charlie Waters, Henderson, Nevada

August 18, 2010
Got some rain last night. Not much but it cooled things down this morning. Still supposed to get up to 107 today.

One guy who really messed things up in the Southwest was a West Point grad who thought he could show the Apaches a thing or two about toughness. His tactics were poor (he tried to arrest Cochise for the kidnapping of a child that ended up to be Mickey Free) and he compounded it by hanging several relatives of Cochise. Thousands died in the ensuing Apache Wars, including this soldier who is swearing at 2nd Lt. Bascom, the officer who botched it all:



Working this into a sequence for our new feature Graphic Cinema.

"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."
—Rudyard Kipling