After years of being villified for my early Marvel run, it's nice to hear someone say something pleasant about my drawing. Although, in fact there is a great deal of the 'old' Calimee in these drawings. It's very hard to escape one's self and I am no different.

Now, I know more. Thank god. It would be frightening for 15 years to pass without SOME growth. I understand drawing principles better now than I did then. There was no internet. And I hadn't as yet thought of spray painting action figures white. (I didn't have any action figures!) There are days I wish I was as lucky as Steve Rude to have discovered Andrew Loomis and Jack Faragasso at age 9 instead of my 30's. What a different life I'd be living. What is, is. But in the end, these pages are very much an homage to to comics circa 1969. Back then, a wide eyed kid bought hook line and sinker every line uttered from Stan Lee's typewriter, every pencil scratch from the brilliant mind of Jack Kirby, and every stroke of india ink that graced those bare pencils. I love that stuff.

I'd like to think 'you guys' today get the same bang and kick out of the comics of your generation as I did out of mine. It's hard for me to imagine that being possible given I wouldn't trade a deconstructed comic for Stan's early Spider-man if you threw in a kitchen sink. But then, hey, I'm 'old balls'...... I like dialogue covering the upper 3rd of my panels, please.

What can I say? I was there for the first unveiling of MJ. I paid all of twelve cents to see this strange chick with medusa-like red hair signal to the likes of Paste-pot Pete that things were about to beyond AWESOME. -

If I could do the kind of comic "I" wanted, they'd look a bit like these covers. Very much 'in the tradition of.' I may have been a 'pro' (?), may never be a pro again, but I will always be a fan. It's in my blood. I'm just scratching the surface.

Thanks for the likes.

And a big shout out to the Alpha Flight fans in Vancouver!!!!!!! -You might need a time warp to remember, but I remember like it was yesterday.

Mike, don' be lazy and skimp with the dialogue. I want it should take a half hour to READ my Oem-ega.