Here's more artwork from my book report series, drawn between 1979 and 1980 when I was a child.
I only vaguely remember this book ... or, more specifically, I remember the monsters, but little else. According to Amazon, this story was from the Patrick Troughton years.
I've been a Frankenstein junky since I was 8 years old. After catching a chunk of the original James Whale/Boris Karloff film on television I became borderline obsessed with the story for the better part of a year. I read the Mary Shelley novel in one sitting (I was stuck in a hotel room in England for three months and had lots of time on my hands) and devoured anything with the name "Frankenstein" in the title.
One of my favorites as a child was Frankenstein Moved in on the Fourth Floor by Elizabeth Levy. Looking back, the book captured that constant feeling of panic and mystery that children feel when venturing into the adult world.
More importantly, Frankenstein Moved in on the Fourth Floor is a rare argument against the kind of fear of fear that was peddled to my generation. I grew up in the shadow of Adam Walsh and popular media was fixated on convincing the nation that satanic cults and child molestors lurked around every corner.
If I recall correctly, the message of Levy's book is that the world is not the creepy, dangerous place it sometimes appears to be. I wish there were more books like it. It might be the biggest reason I never bought into the brand of paranoia sold by goons like Geraldo Rivera.
Above is a bit of art I drew back in 1979/80 to accompany a book report. It's done in crayon and marker, the favored media of adolescent artists everywhere.
A lot of folks don't understand the appeal of Boba Fett. In a way, they kind of have a point ... all he really does in the Star Wars films is shoot at Luke Skywalker a few times (and miss) and fall into the mouth of an immobile monster. But I like him, anyway.
These days I'm a little perplexed by the adoration of the Daleks, those clunky old Doctor Who villains. I loved them as a child (and even got to see the two Peter Cushing "Doctor Who" movies in a local theater in England in the early '80s) and still have a certain fondness for them. but I have to admit they aren't the most intimidating villains ever designed. R2-D2 is a lot more agile and functional.
Above is art for a book report I wrote when I was 10 years old (give or take) for Terry Nation's Dalek Special. Not the most literary (or educational) book I could have selected, but there it is.
Another bit of art from my "book report" collection from when I was about 8 years old. I don't remember if I actually read this book or not, or if it was another last-minute attempt to BS my teacher.
I must not have been very confidant in my artistic abilities, otherwise I wouldn't have felt the need to draw arrows and IDs for the two characters. I wouldn't have been shocked had my teacher added a note reading "Ghost? Really? Do you think I'm stupid?"
When I was a lad I had an uncomfortable attachment to The Omen movies. It's not something I can explain, really, but when the rest of the class was reading Beverly Clearly, I was reading David Seltzer's adaptation of his own script for The Omen (followed in short order by Joseph Howard's novel for Damien: Omen II and, later the final three Gordon McGill novels. That's not a typo.)
Here are scans of my book report for The Omen. Click on them for a closer look. Don't say I didn't warn you.
These days my feelings about the Omen movies are mixed. I won't get into the reasons why with too much detail, but will say the mythology behind the stories looks hopelessly quaint to my adult eyes. The Exorcist is a much more sophisticated story but I wouldn't see that until I was 13 (and then it was a version edited for television.)
And, for the record, I liked Beverly Clearly just fine, too.
Below is a video of Iced Earth performing their song Damien.
While rummaging through some old boxes I recently came across a collection of book reports written when I was about 8 years old. Most of the reports were two pages, one written and the other illustrated. These are monstrously embarrassing on every imaginable level, so my first instinct was to post them on the Internet. That's the rule, right?
Looking back on some of these book reports I recognized a few desperate attempts at bullshit. A few were written using only info from the back cover of the book and appear to have been hastily completed at the last minute. It didn't appear to have affected the grades any. Thank god for teachers with drinking problems!
Above is the art for my report on Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Though I was only 8, I was drawing at the level of a really smart 4 year old. And I had a way with hands and feet that was positively Liefeld-esque.
I've got a few others to share in coming weeks, including a book report on The Omen. It ought to disturb and delight. Those were my feelings when I re-read it, anyway.
by Elizabeth Levy. Looking back, the book captured that constant feeling of panic and mystery that children feel when venturing into the adult world. 
When I was a lad I had an uncomfortable attachment to The Omen movies. It's not something I can explain, really, but when the rest of the class was reading Beverly Clearly, I was reading David Seltzer's adaptation of his own script for The Omen (followed in short order by Joseph Howard's novel for Damien: Omen II and, later the final three Gordon McGill novels. That's not a typo.)
While rummaging through some old boxes I recently came across a collection of book reports written when I was about 8 years old. Most of the reports were two pages, one written and the other illustrated. These are monstrously embarrassing on every imaginable level, so my first instinct was to post them on the Internet. That's the rule, right?
