And Now for Something Not Completely Different…

And Now for Something Not Completely Different…

Welcome to something different—and yet the same.

A few weeks ago, I ran a Last Kiss written by Tony Isabella that promoted support for the writers and actors on strike.It was intended as a one-off. But then…I received an e-mail from my pal Andy Mangels.

Andy’s the author of a flabbergasting number of comics, graphic novels and pop culture books. He is an idea factory. And his latest idea was that it’d be fun to see Tony’s dialogue used again—this time coming from a man instead of a woman.

Idea for today’s comic sent to John by Andy Mangels.

Andy even mocked up a carefully cropped romance comic panel with that dialogue. (See at left.)

 

Now the idea of running a Last Kiss with the same dialogue in a short period of time concerned me. How would readers react? 

But I did like the idea of shifting genders as an experiment and novelty. And I loved the idea of supporting writers and actors again. Indeed it inspired me to write a writers strike gag of my own. (See last Friday’s Last Kiss.)

So here here’s Andy’s version of the gag. I know the art used in comic can have a big affect on how readers perceive the comic. Does it make a difference here? I’ll be interested to see how readers react.    —John Lustig

Original Vintage Art & Text

Art by Charles Nicholas & Vince Alascia from the story “Coffee and… a Kiss, Darling!” in First Kiss #8, April 1959. Published by Charlton.

Curious to see more? Click the link above to read the entire vintage comic book for free on ComicBookPlus.com’s presentation of the comic. The story begins on Page 28.

↓ Transcript
SCENE: Man dressed as a soda founder worker or fast food restaurant worker.

MAN: It’s dull here with the writers on strike.


MAN: I miss them hitting on me...


MAN: ...and how they’re so grateful...


MAN: ...when I let them take me out!


WOMAN: And even more grateful afterwards.


WOMAN: Once you’ve been with a writer...


WOMAN: ...no other lover will do!


CAPTION: A public service announcement from Last Kiss.

CAPTION: Support the writers (and actors) on strike!
1959 Art: Charles Nicholas & Vince Alascia Color: Diego Jourdan Pereira
Layout & Muse: Andy Mangels
Writer: Tony Isabella

djp_LK721--Just Guy
FK08.3.3.1

A Writer’s Sci-Fi Fantasy

A Writer’s Sci-Fi Fantasy

Original Vintage Art & Text

Art by Charles Nicholas & Vince Alascia from the story “Coffee and… a Kiss, Darling!” in First Kiss #8, April 1959. Published by Charlton.

Curious to see more? Click the link above to read the entire vintage comic book for free on ComicBookPlus.com’s presentation of the comic. The story begins on Page 28.

↓ Transcript
SCENE: Male restaurant worker is talking to a woman.

MAN: As soon as the writer’s strike ends I’ll quit flipping burgers...and sell my sci-fi script!

WOMAN: And then you’ll be rich?

MAN: No, but maybe I’ll finally be able to afford a date with you!

WOMAN: Say, you really do write Sci-Fi!

CAPTION: A public service announcement from Last Kiss. Support the writers (and actors) on strike!

1959 Art: Charles Nicholas & Vince Alascia Color: Diego Jourdan Pereira
Living a Sci-Fi Life: John Lustig

djp_LK720

Writers Are Sexy! Right?

Writers Are Sexy! Right?

A new Last Kiss by Tony Isabella & Diego Jourdan Pereira!

Original Vintage Art & Text

Art by John Tartaglione from the story “The Sea Green Eyes!” in First Kiss #5, 1958. Published by Charlton.

Click the link above to read the entire vintage comic book for free on ComicBookPlus.com’s presentation of the comic. The story begins on Page 28.

↓ Transcript
SCENE: Woman sitting, looking forward over what appears to be the back of a chair. Background indicates it may be a home office.

WOMAN: It’s dull here with the writers on strike.


WOMAN: I miss them hitting on me...


WOMAN: ...and how they’re so grateful...


WOMAN: ...when I let them take me out!


WOMAN: And even more grateful afterwards.


WOMAN: Once you’ve been with a writer...


WOMAN: ...no other lover will do!


CAPTION: A public service announcement from Last Kiss.

CAPTION: Support the writers (and actors) on strike!
1958 Art: John Tartaglione Color: Diego Jourdan Pereira
Writer: Tony Isabella

DJP.lk366

Luckily for You…

Luckily for You…

Original Vintage Art & Text

Art by Ben Brown & David Gantz from the story “The Faint Heart” in Sorority Secrets #1, 1954. Published by Toby.

Curious to see more? Click this link to read the entire vintage comic book for free. The story begins on Page 23.

↓ Transcript
Scene: Man and woman embracing and about to kiss.

WOMAN: Luckily for you...I need something to blog about!

MAN: Give me 20 minutes and you can make it a two parter!

Art: Ben Brown & David Gantz Re-ink & Color: Diego Jourdan Pereira
Blog Worthy: John Lustig

DJP.lk91B
SororitySecrets1.26.6-7

Welcome to Book World

Welcome to Book World

I’ve gotten a very positive response to today’s image. And some questions. So here’s a little info on how it was created:

Without any idea of how I’d use it, I created the basic image as an experiment using the AI program MidJourney. My prompt was “Photo of a beautiful woman on the edge of the world. In a photo by sherry akrami.”

(The resulting image wasn’t an actual Akrami photo, but was done in the style of Akrami’s black & white, fantasy photos.)

I then created several different versions of the “photo.” Here are just four of them:

Then I picked the one I liked best and started enhancing it. (By that time I had an idea for the text to go with the image.)

Then I ran the black and white image through a second AI program called PixBim Color Surprise (new to me) which colored the image. Then I fired up Luminar Neo (also new to me) which among other things has an AI function which allowed me to swap out the rather dull sky for a much more colorful one—with a single click of a button.

And then I put the image into Photoshop where I significantly enhanced the image’s colors.

Then I placed the image into Illustrator and lettered it.

All in all, it was a lot of steps—some with new tools—but, oh boy, did I have fun!

 

 

Transcript:

SCENE: Woman standing on the edge of a cliff, looking over a colorful, fantasy world.

CAPTION: Reading books opened a new world for her! And now…she was ready…to rule it!

2022 Art: A.I. Magic Book Lover: John Lustig

Lucky_Duck_Photo2_of_a_beautiful_woman_on_the_edge_of_the_world

↓ Transcript
SCENE: Woman standing on the edge of a cliff, looking over a colorful, fantasy world.

CAPTION: Reading books opened a new world for her! And now...she was ready...to rule it!

2022 Art: A.I. Magic Book Lover: John Lustig

Lucky_Duck_Photo2_of_a_beautiful_woman_on_the_edge_of_the_world