Okay, on July 17 I received a pretty nice email from the winner of my ebay auction of the Mego Batman head. He introduced himself as Benjamin Holcomb, and said he might use Batman in his book. I called Benjamin ( I now have added him in my phone as "Mego Ben") and I learned a few things...First, dumping my galleries and selling my work directly to individuals on my own was the BEST decision I've made in my art career. I have met some fantastic people through my auctions and my website art sales. I've sold my work over the years through galleries, but it had a really impersonal feeling in the transaction. I really love connecting with new people who like my work.
Second, Mego Ben met the criteria for being on the Otto-friend-list. He was instantly likeable, and you can reference ANYTHING and he gets it.
And third, technology is my pal! The internet made it possible for me to connect with someone who is really excited about his work and has an encyclopedic knowledge of his "turf" ( in this case, the world of Mego).
Talking to Mego Ben brought back a flood of my best childhood memories and reminded me how important it is to work on things that are a part of you. I got the above picture from my Mom, and she told me that they took away my Action Jackson doll in order to take the picture "they wanted". Apparently I was being a pain in the ass. The MOST vivid memories I have of early childhood revolve around my Mego guys ( I called them my "guys"...). My Dad still gets a rise out of me when he tells me that he would take away "my guys" when I wasn't "being-have" ( that's a long "A"). We discussed collaborating on some fantastic projects and I'm really stoked!
Okay, dig this! We discuss doing some group splash pages for his book using the group of figures as they were released. We talk about using the four foes ( Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Mxyzptlyk) and the four gals ( Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Supergirl). We talked about how we never had those as kids as to not "upset" our fathers.
This is the cool part. I am always suprised at the inherent goodness of people. This guys sends me EIGHT MINT FIGURES that he REMOVED FROM THE BOXES for these paintings! We had never met, and he ships some of his most prized possessions to a complete stranger. Now I must admit, I'm fairly charming in conversation, but damn! That's PASSION! Everyone has been screwed by someone, but Mego Ben risks sending these Mego guys just on one conversation. This implies that Mego Ben is pure. He wants to spread the Mego word, and make his project the best it can possibly be. I wore rubber gloves when I posed these for my paintings...
I had a gallery call me a week ago to ask if I would get some work together for a show. I had to channel Slim Pickens in Blazing Saddles and say "Screw You! I'm workin' for Benjamin Holcomb!". They didn't know what I was talking about, but it doesn't really matter. Getting money out of a gallery after they sell your work is a pain in the ass.
Go to Mego Ben's Blog to find out more... Pin It Now!
