Chapter 3- BONUS MATERIAL

Heroes in the Night is really coming together rapidly now- out of 16 chapters, Chapters 1-7 are now done, so are Chapters 10-11. Chapter 9 is getting wrapped this week.

Each chapter has several sidebars. Some of these are reflective, some informative. I just got the illustration by David Beyer, Jr. for one of these, so I thought I'd share the sidebar here as a bonus.

CH. 3- EARLY PROTOTYPES-SIDEBARS

SUPER- GRANDPARENTS?

All of these early prototypes indicate that the idea of adopting your own superhero persona in real life is an idea that has been floating around since at least the early 1970s. But these are just the documented cases.

It is impossible to say how many more undocumented RLSHs were out there and how far back it might go. Could Golden Age RLSH have existed, inspired by the old superhero serial silent films or old radio programs? Perhaps George Reeve's Superman or Adam West's Batman inspired unknown RLSH? If they did exist, it's even possible there was media on them- think of how many editions of newspapers sit in archives, untouched for decades.

Who knows, maybe someday you’ll be going through your grandparent’s attic and find a dusty, neatly folded RLSH costume inspired by the Golden Age version of Batman or Captain America.

MOTIONARY COMICS 2.0 ANNOUNCED...

flyer art by David Beyer, Jr.

...WALL SIZED COMIC BOOK MURAL WILL STAR MILWAUKEE RLSHS BLACKBIRD AND THE WATCHMAN IN A FICTION STORYLINE

Motionary Comics is a collaborative art project to create a giant wall sized comic mural. The first round was held last year and riffed off of the classic fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin. This year the comic story will be written by Tea Krulos with improvisation by the collaborating artists. The event will be held 5PM until bar close at Moct Friday, April 29.

Chang Beer is sponsoring the event and a percentage of beer sales of Chang (and additional funds raised) will be donated to United Way.

The cast:

Producer: Kurt Hartwig
Creative director/letterer: Tea Krulos
Choreographers: Dan Schuchart and Monica Rodero
Paint crew: Carri Dahl, Andrea Toussaint, and Nathan Stuber
Illustrators: Matt Chic, David Beyer Jr., Christopher Macdonald, Pietro Norante, Dan Hernandez, and Michael Cothroll
Photography: Kelly Crandall
DJ: Dori Zori
Bar coordinator: Chad Edwards

The Watchman and Blackbird both will be making an appearance at the event, and an invite has been extended to other Midwest RLSH.

In addition, there will be a few surprises throughout the evening. The event will be well documented and photos/ video will be shared here in the future, along with media we pick up along the way.

HERO PROFILE #53: The Fox

Illustrations by David Beyer, Jr.

Operated out of: Aurora, Illinois and along the Fox River

Alias: Rey Fox

Died: 2001, age 70

Activities: The Fox staged a battle against industrial polluters of the Fox River, using direct action like capping smokestacks, clogging sewage drains, leaving dead skunks on the front doorstep of company executives, hanging handmade banners and signs, a sticker campaign, and even a mock funeral for the river.

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LegendoftheFox

Author's notes: I wrote a lengthy article on The Fox for the Riverwest Currents, a local monthly community newspaper. You can find it free at businesses throughout Milwaukee. The article is largely based on a blog entry posted previously on this blog that reviewed The Fox's 1999 autobiography. The article is also posted on a Facebook fan page that documentary film maker Matthew Pniewski and I set up for The Fox HERE, which will also be updated with links to other articles on The Fox.

Needless to say I've found The Fox to be an interesting and brave character. He mentions in his autobiography that someone produced a comic book about him in 1971, so I'm keeping my eyes open for leads on that.
Included here are illustrations by David Beyer, Jr. who will be drawing a few graphics for the book.