Armstrong Comics: My History in Comics, Part 9 – Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham

The second Spider-Ham story, “The Mysterious Island of Dukctor Doom!” was written by Steve Skeates and published in Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1. Peter's darkroom was patterned after my own darkroom, although I did not hang prints out to dry as Peter was called upon to do in the script. I had a stainless steel print dryer.

The splash panel was a clever dodge on Skeates' part. Steve told me, later, that Larry had dictated that all stories had to start with a fight scene featuring Spider-Ham. So Steve wrote the script to call for a photograph of Spider-Ham in a fight scene.

It was this first issue of Peter Porker the Spectacular Spider-Ham that introduced J. Jeremiah Jackal, Bunsen Bunny, and Upton Adam Stray. I don't know whether it was writer Steve Skeates' idea or editor Larry Hama's idea to add the three little interns to the series.

I don’t think I ever did a model sheet for Peter, either as Peter Porker or as Spider-Ham. I was constantly experimenting with the design of the character from issue to issue, trying to evolve the character as rapidly as possible. Although I do not recall ever doing a model sheet for Peter Porker, Spider-Ham, I do recall doing a model sheet for Ducktor Doom. However, I don’t know what I did with it. If I find it, I’ll edit this post and insert it at a later time.

Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 featured another story written by Steve Skeates, “Buzzards and Bullfrogs.” It was the third time I was to draw a Spider-Ham story, and the first time I was given the opportunity to do the cover. The entire time I was at Marvel the interiors were done first, and the covers were done as a final step. (This is in contrast to the golden age of comics, when covers were frequently done first and cover stories then written to match the covers.) I tried to come up with a Carl Barks styled gag for the cover rather than simply do a “heroic” pose.

When called upon to draw a newspaper printing press being operated by sewer rats under the city, I called Larry Hama and asked how on earth could anyone get a newspaper printing press into a sewer. And besides, I didn't know what the sewers under New York City looked like. Larry replied that nobody knows what the sewers under New York City look like. But somehow, in those pre-internet days I found (in an encyclopedia) a picture of the historic sewers of Paris, and used that as a starting point for what was otherwise fantasy.

I think it was while working on that story that Marvel paid my way to New York to visit the Marvel offices, so Larry and the rest could see what I looked like. The travel agency they used booked a flight for me out of a nearby airport. I then caught a connecting flight at St. Louis and Spent a few days in NYC on Marvel's dime.

The fourth Spider-Ham story I illustrated, “The Town that Never Grew Up,” appeared in Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #3.

The “Tomb of the Unknown Pedestrian” that appears on page 2 of the story was a comment on my trip to NYC. Traffic there is crazy—way crazier than the traffic in St. Louis, which is crazier than the traffic in Springfield, which is crazier than the traffic we have here in rural Missouri. I'm not surprised that many New Yorkers have never driven an automobile, much less own an automobile.

Another reference to my trip to NYC is on page 4, where J. Jonah is coming out of a restaurant named the “Fire in the Belly Restaurant.” I had the sign under it penciled as saying “authentic Wackostan cuisine.” In inking, it was changed to “authentic Wacko Stan cuisine.” While in New York I was taken out to eat by Larry Hama, Denny O'Neil, and Tom Defalco to some Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indian, or similar type restaurant. Way too hot and spicy for me, although the rest of them seemed to like it.

As for the motorcycles in the story, they probably should have been Harleys. But in looking for detailed drawings or photos of motorcycles all I could find of a motorcycle back in those pre-internet days was an airbrush painting of an American brand Indian Motorcycle in one of my airbrush magazines. I didn't have time to look further, and went with that for artistic reference.

Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #4 featured a story by Fred Hembeck as a fill-in artist, in an attempt to give me an opportunity to catch up, and to keep the magazine from going from bi-monthy to quarterly or semi-annually.

Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #5 contained the fifth Spider-Ham story I illustrated, “The Old Goats at Home.” This was probably my favorite Spider-Ham story. As an experiment, we did it using the “Marvel Method,” like Stan Lee used with Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. Larry sent me Steve Skeates' plot for the story. I sort of hijacked the story and rewrote it to my own liking. Same plot, mostly, and same characters, mostly, but from more of an Armstrong point of view. One complaint I'd had about every Spider-Ham story I had illustrated up to that point was that I was never given any opportunities to draw Peter smiling. It was very depressing. I had to identify with Peter to be able to draw the stories, and Peter was always in the dumps. So I had Peter smiling a lot in this story. And I threw in a number of plot twists, particularly in the last three pages. I sent in the penciled pages, along with my notes on what was happening in each panel, and then Steve added dialogue.

I was still missing deadlines, so Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #6 became another fill-in issue.

Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #7 became my last issue. “A Blitz in Time!” was scripted in the conventional way. As usual, I thumb-nailed the entire story as an initial step. The thumbnails are small sketches to indicate the layout of each panel. As for the penciling, I was able to make it through penciling the first six pages.

Halfway through page 7, as I drew panel 4, the point where the retro rockets fire, I developed a mental block on drawing Peter Porker, Spider-Ham. I literally could go no further on it. And I mean literally in the literal sense, as in “exactly,” as Merriam-Webster’s dictionary puts it—I wanted to do the art, but my drawing hand would not comply. It was like the switch to my drawing ability had been turned off in regards to Peter Porker. My uncontrollable imagination would no longer permit me to draw the character and his story world. Even with my very own layouts at hand to copy, I could not copy them. Editor Larry Hama told me to send in what I had. I sent him the pages I had penciled, and my thumbnails. Joe Albelo completed the story using my thumbnails as a guide.

The last bit of work I did for Marvel was the cover for that issue. Larry insisted I do the cover. When I drew it, as I drew it, I was feeling a physical resistance as though I were pushing the point of the pencil through a quarter-inch layer of putty. The sensation was more like carving or etching than like drawing. The pencils I did was a stiff, awkward rough, with no refining except for the refining Joe provided with his inking.

Sales of Peter Porker were high, at least while I was drawing it. I recall hearing that at least one issue had sold about 97,000 copies. Marvel had an incentive bonus at the time, and the incentive bonus checks I got were about as big as the checks I got for drawing the stories in the first place. My rate for penciling was $65 a page, which wasn't bad considering that the cover price for a comic at that time was 60 cents, then 65 cents., and 75 cents with that last issue. I've read the base rate for beginning pencilers in that period was $50 a page. I think I was paid the same for covers as for interior pages.

The only photocopy I made of my Spider-Ham pencils was of an in-house ad that featured Spider-Ham pulling a giant comic book cover out of a comic book factory. I think the ad was used, probably with the cover of a Peter Porker comic pasted in, probably published in one or more comics other than Peter Porker. I was on the Marvel comp list back then, receiving complimentary copies of every comic that Marvel published, and seem to remember seeing the ad in a comic.

I have been unable to force myself to draw Peter Porker, Spider-Ham for decades. However, recently, I made an appearance at a comic shop in Lebanon, Missouri for Free Comic Book Day. In keeping with the spirit of free comic books, I did some pencil sketches to give away for free to the fans. Some of the sketches were of characters I own, but some of the sketches were of Spider-Ham. And I find that I am once again able to draw those characters.

Here are scans of the Peter Porker giveaway pencil sketches:

These pencil sketches show how I would draw the character if I were drawing Peter Porker, Spider-Ham today (although I hope my drawings would improve as I got back into practice, back into the swing of things). They also indicate the sort of stories I would script for Peter, if I were scripting.

Next installment of this series of blog posts—Fantagraphics and Critters.

Monday, August 23, 2021

My History in Comics, Part 9 – Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham

No comments:

Post a Comment