Not too HTML savvy.

Oh boy.

I started doing this page today and got interruped by the stupid "do you want to stay online" message that my computer throws out whenever I get involved doing anything online. Of COURSE I want to stay online! Stupid machine.

What I was trying to say when I was so rudely interrupted, and then lost everything I had typed up to that point was; On Friday I tried very hard to get some new graphics posted herein. That didn't work. Nor did the links that I wanted to lay on you. I'm not good at this technical stuff yet.

Since I doubt that I will be able to do anything near as complex today, I will simply direct anyone who cares to the piece that my agent (much more web-savvy than me) has posted on eBay right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZATANNA-ORIGINAL-PEN-INK-ARTWORK-by-
JAMES-LYLE-SEXY_W0QQitemZ6630817775QQcategoryZ972QQss
PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You'll have to do the semi-technical thing and cut and paste the URL into your browser. No point and click today kids.

The piece (a very nice Zatanna sketch, which I managed to preview here in pencil, before losing all my powers of HTML) is getting me more response than just about anything I've ever done before. Old friends are coming out of the woodwork to tell me that they think it's swell! Thanks Pals! Love you all.

Also of note is the fact that I'm finally up on the Heroes Convention 2006 guest list.

www.heroesonline.com

(same as above)

I had a nice talk with Shelton Drum on Friday and he was very apologetic for not having me listed sooner. Seems that the show has become a monster, so far as people getting in as guests. Everyone wants to be there! Good! We'll be looking for you there.

This past weekend was a whirlwind, as Karin (my wife) was playing with two bands at the same event. She attended the Blue Ridge Celtic Festival at Blowing Rock, NC on Saturday. I got to tag along and work as "roadie" for both Celtic Knot and Bean Sidhes (pronounced "Banshee"). So in actuality Gypsy Bandwagon was there too, in spite of not being on the bill.

Both bands were well received, and the thrill of the day came when Karin got to loan her violin to Brian of "Enter the Haggis", the headline group. Seems that ETH left Asheville without Brian's violin and he asked Karin if he could borrow hers. So even when Karin wasn't on stage her violin remained! "We can't get rid of Karin!" exclaimed emcee Max from Greensboro's Oldies 93.

So I'm proud of my "belle of the ball".

Unfortunately right before the evening main event the main power of the outdoor stage got dumped with water from a sudden downpour. This made it impossible for the headline bands to play with the sound equipment. I understand that both bands were troopers and put on acoustic sets for the assembled crowd. (I missed this, as I was sleeping back at the condo).

The festivities lasted late into the night. I recovered from my overwhelming fatigue long enough to jam with CK and a member of Bean Sidhes. There are plans to get those two groups together for a proper jam sometime.

Anyway, a nice weekend, even though we're both still tired. I can't imagine how those who do music AND party afterwards can manage. All I had in the way of "party" was a couple of pieces of Lance's birthday cake. If you are considering music as a profession, you'll do well to take care of yourself and NOT indulge. Got that? Just showing up is hard enough.

Criminals Beware!

“Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot.” Bruce Wayne sure said a mouthful with that one. He failed to mention that a lot of them don’t seem to be exceedingly bright. I’ve often wondered what, for instance, would drive a man to counterfeit money? If you have the ability to create engravings on that level, you could doubtless find work in almost any artistic industry, at a very good wage. I’m not nearly that level of precision, and my work sells at a pretty good rate (if I could sell more it would be better…A-hem!)

But this morning there was a crime spree here in my own neighborhood. Seems that early this morning the alarm went off at my wife’s studio (located next to my own) around 7am. The criminal(s) had possibly noticed that she’s been away for several days. What they failed to notice were the signs on the doors that indicated that the place actually was alarmed. I thought they were quite noticeable, since I designed them myself. My brother, an electrician, installed the alarm system so we didn’t just post the notices for fun. (As anyone who knows my brother can attest he is extremely detail oriented, and pretty fanatical about making sure an alarm system works and can’t be tampered with).

At any rate, the criminal(s) apparently weren’t expecting an alarm, since they apparently spent the time that they could have been looting trying to disarm the system. Lots of luck, pal! The very idea that a person could in a few seconds randomly discern our combination out of the possible permutations available to our key pad…well!

So the criminal(s) split the scene without taking a thing, so far as we can tell. My brother arrived on the scene, followed by my Dad. They called the Sheriff’s office and a detective came around and dusted for fingerprints, took some tire print casts, and then told my Dad that they pretty much know who the person is.

Seems that this same person has been hitting shops up and down our section of the highway for months. He was in custody until a few days ago, when his girlfriend mortgaged her house to pay his bail. He promptly stole a car and went right back to his crime spree! Of course this is all allegation. But I’m not the police or the DA, so I can say what I want.

I feel for the girl. Her boyfriend is obviously not a good choice. She’s lost her house, since he skipped bail.

The only one who’s come out ahead in this is the bail bondsman, who now has toehold into the real estate market. Oh well, bail bondsmen have to eat too, I’m not putting them down.

What’s any of this got to do with comics? Not much. It just makes you think.

Got to break the news to my wife yet. Nothing was taken! The only real damage seems to be the black dusting powder all over the doors and keypad. I tried to clean it up today, but it’s pernicious stuff. We’ll probably have to repaint.

In the meantime, here are some more pieces that are in the pipeline. A JSA trio of beauties, and a Zatanna drawing. The JSA girls will probably be on the old eBay auction block this week, and the Zatanna has to be inked yet. That will come up in a week or so, I hope. I’m pretty pleased with them both. I think my artwork has improved markedly in the past 6 months, and that’s saying something. I thought I was doing pretty well before. Not that I’m stuck on myself or anything, but when I start doing drawings that I wish I could keep, that makes me pretty happy.

But if you’re thinking of going on a crime spree, keep in mind that even though these super-heroes don’t exist, there are those that do. They’ve got a lot more on the ball than most criminals think. If criminals are superstitious and cowardly, they’ve got good reason to be…they’re going to get caught.



Hawkgirl, Stars, Powergirl, and Zatanna are © and ™ DC Comics, Inc. Artwork by James E. Lyle

Bacteria, Bachelorhood, and Blogs

I came down with a nasty Bacterial Infection back last week, just as my wife, Karin, was planning to go visit her Dad and Step-Mom in Illinois. This infection really knocked me for a loop.

I kept thinking I was just experiencing some minor problems, related perhaps to my allergies. But by Tuesday evening (April 25) I was in pain! My body ached all over. Every muscle and joint…even my eyelids hurt. So the next day I got up and called my regular physician.

Only I haven’t had a regular physician since 2004, when my regular physician decided to go back into research. The family practice that he used to be at told me that they’d have to refer me to one of their other doctors. Okay, fine, call him and let me know when I can see him. They called back in a while and told me that none of the other physicians could see me and I’d have to wait until around 5pm when I could come to their after hours clinic.

I knew I wouldn’t be in any shape to go to that clinic. I went to the urgent care center that the county hospital runs on this side of the county. Thank the LORD, there were only two people in the waiting room.

They determined that it was a bacterial infection, gave me a prescription and sent me to get it filled. Again, Thank the LORD, the pharmacy was essentially empty when I got there. So I went home took the meds and went to bed.

Unfortunately when I took my second dose of antibiotic that evening I had a reaction. Within ten minutes I had a rash, and that was a little scary. This happens to me pretty often, so I wasn’t that surprised by the reaction, but I always worry if I’m going to have a “major” reaction. You know, the type that they always show on TV, where the patient goes into shock and nearly dies. I haven’t had one of those since I was a kid, and that was a reaction to a virus, not meds. But still, I keep a close watch on ANY allergic reaction.

Next day I called up the clinic and got them to call in a replacement drug. Went to town, picked it up, went home and went to bed. Felt terrible. Had back pain so bad I nearly threw up.

Not a fun infection at all. Ran a fever for several days, finally getting some relief around Saturday.

Meanwhile, there had been a change of plans for Karin. Seems that her Step-Mom’s own Step-Mom had passed away, and the time table for Karin’s visit to Illinois needed to be stepped up. We had been planning a visit to her folks beginning Wednesday (May 3), in time for her Dad’s birthday. But now she wanted to leave on Sunday (April 30). The thing is, Gypsy Bandwagon had a performance in Johnson City, TN on Saturday (April 29), and I knew I wasn’t going to make that one.

Karin was really in a spot. She wanted me to go with her. We haven’t been apart that much since we’ve been married. A couple of nights here and there, usually because I had a meeting early in the morning in Charlotte, or some such. So she had to make a decision, she could come back from Johnson City and get me, if I thought I’d be well enough to travel on Sunday.

I didn’t think I’d be up to travel for days to come. So she went on to the show and after the performance left for Illinois. I stayed home.

This is the first time Karin has ever left me to be a “bachelor” in 18 years of marriage. It sucks. I’m really lonely, and a good bit distracted.

While I have returned to the studio and managed to create some good work, my heart isn’t really in it. I keep thinking about her.

Well, I’m not going to go into many details about this man and his wife. Those feelings aren’t for public consumption.

As for the infection. Today I got a follow up call from the urgent care people. They were wondering how I was feeling and if the infection had cleared up. Seems that the secondary prescription that they called in had a 50/50 chance of actually working on this bacteria.

I told them I felt fine, and thanked them for checking on me. Then my mind went into hypochondriac mode. “Am I fine? I have been having some minor pain still. Hmmm…what if I have a relapse?”

So I called them back. They said if there was any doubt maybe we should do another culture to make sure I wasn’t still breeding bacteria all over the place.

It turns out I was fine. The doctor said I was clean and clear. Good news.

But Karin’s still not home. So rather than sitting at my desk working on art that’s late (relatively speaking, all my clients are being cool at this point) I’m sitting here writing my blog.

Is there a meaning to all this? Some moral that can be gleaned from my experience? Let me think…

Okay, don’t mess around with bacterial infections! Always see your doctor if you suspect that you’ll feel worse if you don’t. If your doctor isn’t available see some other doctor. If you get a reaction to a drug, stop using it and consult your physician. Being apart from the one you love is not fun. Waste not, want not. Allow your wife to do the things she needs to do, and you’ll be glad you did (even if the waiting for her to come home stinks).

Man! Those are lousy morals.

How about this:

At the Biltmore House there is a framed advertisement from a 19th Century magazine. It’s in the staff dining area, and it cracks me up every time I see it. It’s a cartoon of a man sitting at a table and the caption reads, “The wife is away, but there’s Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in the cupboard, Hoorah!”

I haven’t even looked at a Corn Flake since Karin left. No Corn Flake could console me.