STEAL IT: Wally Wood's Cannon
The double entendre in the subject line there is only the beginning.
Tally ho, fellas!
Appreciate you hanging onto the coach while I’ve been a little more quiet than usual. I am absolutely heads-down on both Fistful of Yen and the Tower of Death Kickstarter.
But things are going well! Some updates further down.
Writing today to share a recommendation, and that is, Wally Wood’s Cannon.
Fair warning that from here on in, some of the stuff you’ll see will be:
Wally Wood is one of those unique legends in comics.
He’s in the Chaykin, Toth, Wrightson, Steranko school where your average reader has definitely heard their name, but probably could not name a single thing they worked on.
(He worked for MAD Magazine, mostly EC books, and did a couple of issues of Daredevil).
I’m still surprised by how many artists I talk to who don’t really know him, beyond his “22 panels that always work.”
Still, his shadow looms large in the industry, even if he doesn’t have that definitive 30-issue run of X-Men in his oeuvre.
So what’s Cannon?
Cannon was a periodical made for U.S. serviceman mags in the 60s and 70s, so most people wouldn’t have had a chance to run into it until it was later collected.
I’ve read about half of it a couple times over the years, but never could commit to the whole nine. Recently, I resolved to finally check it off the list.
It stars John Cannon, a secret agent who has gone through brainwashing to remove his emotions and become the ultimate badass. Along the way, he has sex with a lot of women and kills at least 3 separate Hitler copycats.
The book itself is pure heroin camp. The violence, the machismo, the sex, it’s all turned up to 12.
“Boy, that seems a little on the nose,” you say.
Okay, well, this is Wally Wood:
Seems pretty on-brand if you ask me.
It slows down a bit in the last third and gets somewhat moody and domestic, but the draw at this stage is the art, which for my money, is some of the best in Wood’s career:
I’m not gonna lie to you. I love this fucking book.
It’s a riot. But you have to go in with no assumptions and embrace it for what it is.
The content won’t be for everyone. Even so, it’s still a worthwhile purchase as a craft study. Especially if you want to see the “22 panels” philosophy in action.
The sexual politics of the book might assail one’s post-2020s sensibilities, but I’d challenge you to give it a chance and look a little deeper.
Sure, the book is wall-to-wall tropes from the 60s and 70s, and the women are cheesecaking most of the time.
But, they’re also extremely competent, a fairly counterintuitive discovery you’ll make as you go.
The world of Cannon might be superficial and oversexed on the surface, but deep down, it’s a world in which the wits of its men and women are pretty evenly matched; they’re playing the same game on the same terms.
I think it’s got a lot more going on than some of its critics will give it credit for.
In any case, grab it for the art, go in cold, and have fun with it.
Above all, learn from it. It’s an encyclopedia written and drawn by one of the best artists of a generation.
What else is going on?
Since I’m doing fewer updates for the time being, I’ll try to cram in a few high points to keep you posted and spark some discussion down below.
Here’s some stuff to get the wheel turning:
I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I did finish The Last of Us recently. Loved it. I’m a big fan of the games, and even though I was a little worried about some atonal character moments, I thought they absolutely stuck the landing. Can’t wait for season 2.
The Last of Us game soundtracks (two volumes for the first, one for the second) have long been in my rotation. The music, by Gustavo Santaolalla, is provocative and moving. The albums are unfortunately incomplete, but luckily, some internet do-gooders have compiled playlists of the unreleased tracks. This one is one of my favorites from the second game.
“Hey, why haven’t you been watching any TV?” Well because I’m drawing, and when I’m not drawing, I’m reading, you silly butt. Right now, I’m reading a bunch of Eastern philosophy so I can try to weave it in here and there for Ronin Digital Express. This one is a good starter pack/omnibus (Art of War, Tao Te Ching, Confucius), and I’m also working through The Life-Giving Sword by Yagyu Munenori and The Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts by Issai Chozanshi.
Project updates
Tower of Death and all of its rewards are finished. Right now, I’m doing the boring budget stuff and trying to schedule some PR. Haven’t been super successful on that front, so if you’re reading this and want to write a review or have me on your show to chat, send me an email (rentonhawkey@gmail.com) and I will shoot you a review copy.
Reminder to follow the Kickstarter launch page here. We’ll launch probably about May.
I’m working on the first pages for Fistful of Yen, my epic fanfic about Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name meeting Toshiro Mifune’s Sanjuro. It’ll be a full-length graphic novel that I’ll publish here (for free) on Substack. I’ll show more about that when Tower of Death wraps up, but keep an eye on rent*space for sneak peeks soon (paying folks will get earlier peeks).
And lastly, a word of encouragement.
Times feeling uncertain?
Twitter feeling more unpleasant than usual?
Did you have some money in one of those banks? You know. Those banks?
You find out that the new AI can draw hands now? Not great, but still, a lot better than before.
Weird, vague laws being passed in your state that seem unconstitutional, probably won’t survive the courts, but are still stressing everyone out for no reason regardless?
Here is your moment of zen, and I hope it helps you:
You’re doing great. Be good.
Big reminder folks that if you like this post, hit the ❤️ up there to let me know, or leave me a 💬 down below, I’d love to hear from you.