It's too darn hot

I don't know what the weather's like in your corner of the planet on this Comic Art Friday, but here in northern California's Wine Country — also known as God's garden spot, courtesy of local legend Luther Burbank — it's hot.

As Matthew Broderick put it in Biloxi Blues, it's like Africa hot.

We've broken into triple digits Fahrenheit each of the last two days, and might well do likewise today. That's just too darn hot.

If I could fly, I'd soar skyward to find an altitude where the air is cooler. That's what Supergirl does, according to this fun scenario by Dennis Crisostomo. (Dennis, a member of the ever-growing cadre of talented young artists from the Philippines, is best known here in the States for his work as an inker, especially over the pencils of Carlo Pagulayan on Marvel's Emma Frost series.)



But since I can't fly, I'll probably just kick back with my boots off and chill as best I can. That's how my girl Mary Marvel rolls after a long, scorching day battling the forces of evil, in this tranquil portrait by up-and-coming artist Charles Hall.



I'm especially fond of Charles's deft use of cross-hatching, a skill that has fallen out of favor in modern comic art. I think Bernie Wrightson, best known for his seminal work on DC's Swamp Thing, was the last of the great cross-hatch specialists in mainstream comics.

Another Charles Hall masterwork below — a reflective moment with Ms. Marvel, who's probably wondering why it's so all-fired hot already when it's only two days into summer.



That's your Comic Art Friday. Time for my date with an electric fan and a tall, frosty mug of sweet iced tea. Y'all be cool.