DARK WORLDS ISSUE #5

Just wanted to remind you all that Dark Worlds Issue 5 is still available for purchase. Here is a sampling of the excitement that awaits you between its pages:

Open publication - Free publishing - More noir

You can purchase a print copy or an electronic copy by visiting www.lulu.com/ragemachinebooks.

YOU'RE MY ALTERNATIVE BATGIRL*

*with apologies to the Barenaked Ladies

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

WOMEN IN BOOTS

I love women in boots. To that end I must point you all to an inspiring story about just that topic. It was written by my buddy Cal and you can read it here.

Go ahead. I'll wait.

Did I mention I loved women in boots?


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

BALLET BATGIRL

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

NIGHTHAWKS

"Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper, 1942

I was sitting at the counter of my favourite diner in Greenwhich village. It's right at the corner of Mulry. You remember? The one with the big curved window? It's not there anymore, of course. It's just a vacant lot now, but back in 1942 it was a diner, one of the best in New York in my opinion.

I was sitting in my usual seat finishing a cup of coffee and waiting for Danny to come up with my bowl of chili. Danny made good coffee, and decent sandwiches, but he made a great bowl of chili.

Anyway, there we were, me and Danny, late on a Tuesday night when this couple walked in. I remember the fella was a tall drink of water with deep set eyes under the brim of his fedora and a long, pointed nose. The woman was a looker -- red hair and a red dress -- a nice shape, but pale.

They paused in the doorway, like they were assessing the place. Then theyy they walked in together. Not arm in arm but slowly and in step. They had to pass behind me to get to the seats that they wanted. As they passed I breathed in, trying to get a whiff of the woman's perfume. Nothing. No odour whatsoever.

They walked all the way around the angled counter to the two furthest seats in. They sat quietly and said nothing. The man reached into a pocket and pulled out a single cigarette, then leant forward, his elbows on the counter and he stared ahead, seemingly at nothing. He made no move to light the cigarette. The woman was holding a compact in front of her face. I remember it because it was bright green and shiny. She made no move to open it. She just stared at it.

"Coffee?" Danny asked. The man nodded -- a barely perceptible dip of his head -- and Danny set them up.

Danny is dead now. H was an old man back then, but you wouldn't know that to look at him. He had a full head of hair and his smile was one of the most youthful I'd ever seen. He was quick with a joke and went out of his way to make sure everyone in his place was happy. "Late night or early morning?" he asked the couple. It was something he often asked late-night patrons.

The man regarded Danny with a look of confusion. The woman didn't look up at all.

Danny's expectant smile faded in the face of the man's stare. Danny dropped his eyes and turned away, catching my eye as he did so. I gave an slight shrug, as if to say It takes all kinds.. and Danny topped up my coffee. "Where's that chilli, Dan?" I asked.

"It's comin', Mike. Keep your shirt on." Danny tried to smile, but he seemed a little rattled.

Two minutes later Danny placed a piping hot bowl of chilli in front of me. He handed me utensils and crackers, gave me a smile and a wink, wiped his hands on his apron and then went into the back of the diner, through the swinging door with the little porthole in it.

The steaming bowl smelled incredible as usual and I dug my spoon in eagerly. Before I could get it to my mouth the man in the fedora piped up:

"The towers will fall," he intoned. His voice was deep and seemed to come from deep in his chest and the sound of it sent a chill up my spine.

I looked up to see him staring at me, his deep set eyes seemed to be trying to burn their way out of his skull. "Sorry?" i managed, my voice a little weak sounding in my ears.

"First one tower, then the other. They will fall in fire and smoke." The man just kept staring at me from under the brim of his fedora. I blinked. I wasn't sure what to say or do. "What towers?" I asked.

The man blinked then and turned to the red-headed woman. The woman gave him a look and then went back to consulting her compact. This time the man seemed interested in it as well. The man scowled and the woman pursed her lips. She touched something inside the compact and then both of them vanished into thin air.

I froze, my mouth hanging open and my eyes goggling at the place that the strange couple were a few seconds ago and then suddenly weren't.

Danny came back behind the counter and saw that the couple were gone. He went over and picked up the still full coffee cups, looking for payment on the counter and finding none. He turned to me. "Did they say anything?" he asked, then furrowed his brows at my expression. "What's the matter with you?

I shook my head. "Nothin'" I managed. "They didn't say nothin'"

I don't know why I didn't want to tell Danny what the man had said or how they had vanished. Maybe I was afraid that Danny would call the guys in the white coats. For a moment I was almost afraid that I really would need to be taken away.

I felt a cold chill all over and I just wanted to forget it ever happened.

Danny took the cups and dumped them in the sink. "Lousy chiselers", he muttered. 

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

MY WIFE RE-DISCOVERS THE '80'S

I came home for lunch yesterday and found my wife wearing this outfit. It started out as just something comfortable to wear around the house but I told her it looked like some of the clothes she used to wear back in the '80's. I told her to try on some of the boots that she had and we both thought these just made the outfit.

I wish I could say that she wasn't wearing the outfit for long, but you know we're a respectable middle-aged couple and don't engage in that sort of spontaneous activity the way young people do. ;) ;).

Nevertheless I was inspired to paint it. Had to do it from memory as the outfit is now in the wash. I think it's a good likeness but you'll have to take my word for it as my wife has forbidden me from posting photos of her on the interweb (a wise precaution, I think).  


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

AHOY, MATEYS!

Yes, it really is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. It is an actual holiday.

There are lots of pirates but my love for pirates begins and ends with Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson created the proto pirate -- the Ur Pirate -- with his marvelous creation of Long John Silver. Silver has most famously been depicted by the artist N.C. Wyeth, and has been played in the movies by many actors including Wallace Beery, Ivo Garrani, Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Lance Henriksen, Anthony Quinn, Tim Curry, and Jack Palance.

For me, though, there is no other John Silver than Robert Newton who played the pirate in Disney's Treasure Island (1950) the company's first completely live action film.

I remember seeing it in  my elementary school gymnasium on a special Sunday screening. I was very young, maybe six or seven and couldn't count money. What I gave to the ticket taker wasn`t enough and I cried all the way back home. My parents bundled me into the car and drove me back. It was about half an hour into the movie and my tears were forgotten as I was drawn into the exciting adventure.

From that moment on I was in love with pirates and particularly with Robert Newton`s Silver. He played the pirate in a couple of more Disney films as well as in a short lived Australian TV series, but that original adaptation will always be the best for me.

So, me hearties, I rase a mug of grog to all ye pirates out there, ye scurvy dogs who sail the briny deeps in yer imaginations.

Aaarh!

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

STAR TREK IS EVERYWHERE

It just doesn't get much better than this on the old "Geek-o-meter".





H/T to C J Burch.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

GORILLA THOUGHTS

Yeah, it's just funnier when a gorilla says it.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

GENERIC COVER ART

Two new images in my Generic Cover Art Series.


I think I'm gonna give these a rest for a while as I have commissions that I need to get to.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

BACK TO SCHOOL

Hey, kids! How was your first day back at school? I hope you're studying hard.

H/T to CJ Burch

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

RANDOM PICTURES

Here is some random artwork I found lurking in a folder. They're in my galleries but I don't think I've posted any of them here so...

Cover art for Flashing Swords Issue #12 (The last issue before it folded, unfortunately)

This picture became the cover for something or other... I can't remember.

Did this one for the wife.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio