1985 was one hell of a year. I had graduated PCA, and the world was my oyster. During that school year I had met and befriended one of the most talented, energetic and probably the nicest guy I know – Dan Platt. Similar to me, he had majored in illustration, but he was so far beyond mere ink on paper that it wasn’t even funny. In addition to his normal work load in school, he was bringing fantasy to three dimensional life. He illustrated and he sculpted furiously, aimed like a bullet at the fantasy factory that was Hollywood. Before that decade was out, he would be out there working on movies that are probably in your DVD collection. That summer, we were nobodies and we talked, sketched, sculpted, drank gallons of store brand iced tea mix and took in some of the best horror and fantasy movies ever made. It was the Summer of ’85, and there were still movie theaters on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. George Romero capped off his zombie trilogy with Day of the Dead. Reanimator came out which both repelled and delighted. Back to the Future came out showing that films could dazzle and still have a lot of heart. All of these films both low and high budgeted came out to dazzle, thrill and push the limits of what entertainment could do. The juices were percolating and you could really get your geek on without judgment and well before the sniping nerds on the internet.
Everything was possible at the time so I wrote horror movie treatments on a Commodore64. I wrote and submitted a couple of terrible scripts to Tales from the Darkside which was being produced in Pittsburgh – a lot closer to Philly than Hollywood. The show was kind of crappy, so, hey, why not? The scripts were never produced, but I kept plugging away!
I also worked over several ideas that I thought would be great horror movies. I had an idea for a variation on the I was a Teenage Werewolf theme that would take place in the then modern hardcore/punk/skater scene. It would be based on the song Goo-Goo Muck by the Cramps. I modeled my creature after Dan. The story never made it past the notebook stage – it probably would have been the hackneyed story of a misunderstood youth who turns into a monster and slaughters many – but these sketches survive.
I had not heard from Dan in years until recently thanks to the miracle of the internet! He’s still a nice guy. He still in the picture business. His work is still mind boggling! I’m not sure if he still drinks as much store brand iced tea mix.
Terrific Post! I remember those days well… Dig seeing your old work. It brings back a lot of memories.
Thanks for commenting!
Crazy days indeed! I forgot to mention that I answered an ad at Beryl’s desk at the time looking for caricature artists. I think I was the only one that responded to the ad. It was a sweet gig that summer. I went to bars and clubs representing Beefeater’s Gin. I got paid by the hour, chatted up girls and drank on the house. Occasionally, I would draw caricatures. Good deal!
Joe, I don’t know what to say. This has to be the kindest thing anyone has ever said or written about me, I’m really without words. I’m humbled, in shock, really.
Your rampant, frenetically paced drawings coupled with your enthusiastic story ideas and love for horror films were a constant inspiration to all around you. There wasn’t a day that would go by that your positive energy didn’t fuel the “what if”, “how cool would that be” scenarios that made its way from the Philly Pizza Co onto your pages in both written and visual form. What a time it was!
I loved your version of the Goo Goo Muck and so glad to see it here! The world is still your oyster Joe, yes it is.
Oh, one more thing. Now that I have a lemon tree in the front yard, I no longer use the powered Lipton Iced tea for my daily fix. I whip up the 2 liter, freshly brewed over ice, decaff Earl Grey, big Kessel run in 12 parsecs kind. 😉
-dp
Nicest thing anyone’s ever said? What barbarians are you hanging out with?
This is probably going to call for a longer, future post, but the horror movies were more fun back then. They were monster movies rather than the horror of the modern torture films which can scarcely be regarded as entertainment. I think we were always trying to come up with a cool creatures to populate a monster movie.
I always wondered if you don’t like shellfish, does it really matter whether the world is your oyster?
As I’ve discovered, getting a compliment or even usable, sincere, constructive criticism on your work is pretty rare out here. What the hell is up with that? I really don’t understand it.
An “attaboy” every now and then is as important as constructive criticism that pushes the boundaries of your art to higher levels and standards. Most of the time I hear crickets from “peers”… its maddening.
BTW, I hate oysters but I am very interested in the value of the pearl inside it. 😉 -dp
5 comments on a post. This is a record!