The Home of the Creative Mind

Welcome to PooBahSpiel, the online voice and home of the creative mind of Mark Monlux, Illustrator Extraordinaire. Prepare yourself for an endless regaling of art directly from the hand of this stellar artist. And brace yourself against his mighty wind of pontification. Updates are kinda weekly and show daily sketches, current projects, and other really nifty stuff.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

The Return of Stickman #1407 & #1408

Fudge! I forgot to post my strip yesterday. So you're getting a double dose today. You can find the new story's that inspired these strips here and here.

Monday, June 25, 2012

The Comic Critic Reviews Little Fugitive

With little dialog, Little Fugitive is a simple story that captures a guilt-ridden child’s view of a world in which he suddenly finds himself completely on his own. It was a coincidence that caught me at nearly the same age as the hero when I saw it. And thinking about running away from home is something that every little kid fantasizes about. Little Fugitive was a good decade ahead of its time in capturing the feel and message of a television after-school special. The movie’s extremely real perspective of how empty the world can be without family or friends threw a wet blanket on my fantasies—and probably helped to make my own “running away” thoughts very short-lived. Still, use of handheld hidden cameras did capture an era in a special location that has more than slightly changed over the ensuing sixty years. I wanted to capture that “way-back-machine” feel in my strip.

Friday, June 22, 2012

The Return of Stickman #1406

I think I might come back to this theme next week. I'm trying to get ahead a few days so that when I get busy I have something in the buffer.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

The Return of Stickman #1405

There were several news story's that inspired this theme. You won't have to search hard to find them.

Monday, June 18, 2012

The Comic Critic Review The Avengers

I had an abundance of material to work with to create this strip. I could have done a review of just the teasers that led up to this movie. I could have done a whole Shwarma explosion themed stip. But I really wanted to see if I was the only one picking up on the fact that Disney purchased Marvel because it’s business model was nearly identical as its own. So, I decided to work off the angle of how this was the largest effort in years by a studio to strengthen an already solid franchise by having it produce the same form of fan loyalty in the theater that it has in the comic book store. The cycle of where young fans become addicted adults who then in turn indoctrinate their children.

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Return of Stickman #1404

Here is the news story that inspired this strip. I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. It will be my first free weekend in a long time and I could use the rest. Last weekend I have a very successful day at the Olympia Comic Festival. I look forward to going back next year.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Comic Critic Reviews Lo

If you’re looking for a ton of CGI graphics to show the depths of hell, Lo isn’t what you want. Cerebral, Lo’s minimalism held both good and awful potential. By keeping true to its minimal form, Lo’s mood remained dark, even during moments of levity, bringing out the best it had to offer. And for once, we have a movie that uses darkness for the completely right reasons. It was challenging to draw this review. My problem was that most of its iconic imagery is so heavily tied to its minimalist structure. I did as much as I could without giving away anything. My posting this comic today instead of earlier this week is a result of forgetfulness. I forgot to get started drawing it earlier. Then I forgot to post it on the blog after posting it on the site. I've been very bummed out this week. My favorite comic book store, Comic Book Ink, will soon be closing its doors. One of the reasons I enjoy the comic book store so much is that it's immediately adjacent to the closest movie theater. I tend to visit both of them a lot.