Ink Stains 196: Ozone 1

Ink Stains 196: Ozone 1, 1981
Editor/Publisher: Doug Hazlewood

Hi everyone, welcome back to another installment of Ink Stains, where we look through the fanzines of the past. This time out, we will be gazing at the decisive and (very) clean work of one Doug Hazlewood. I remember very well Doug's super clean (and, early on, somewhat thick) line work. In fact, I am pretty sure he inked at least one of my sloppy selections. Doug was nice enough to answer a slew of questions, and pretty expansively as well! This fanzine is not so much a regular fanzine as it is a compilation of Doug's spot illustrations. In fact, I can remember seeing a few of these images in the zines in which they were first published.

One image above was penciled by Jessie Flores.

I usually ask those that have the time to participate what first got them into comics (and the age they were at the time), when asked that, Doug gave a long, juicy reply.

 I remember a decent-sized 'wall of comics' at a drugstore we frequented. We lived there for four years (I guess from the age of 5 to 8). That is the only store I remember seeing them sold/displayed like that. I assume they were all 'within reach.' It was near the soda fountain/lunch counter. We all liked comic books back then (I have an older brother and sister). I would buy issues often based on the cover and really liked the JLA because it had all of the main DC heroes. The Flash was my favorite. I really don't remember seeing Marvel Comics or buying any until a trip to my great aunt and uncle's place near Waco. 
I will always recall buying a comic book at that Houston drugstore I really thought was drawn by a kid. Mark Evanier solved the mystery for me many years later (Jacky's Diary-Dell 1960). It left an impression (except for the title). I loved super-heroes!
I was a pretty good artist in school and teachers would praise me for it. Looking back at some doodles and early school things we saved they don't seem as good as I would have liked. I always liked doodling faces.
Once I got my first fanzine (The Marvel Tribune). I was excited. My first submissions were in ballpoint. I finally found out about India ink and started practicing. Some of my early stuff is horrible and crude. I used the pen point that came with this little Sanford set and it did not have a fine tip. I  need to look through my stash to recall the first one. Seems like a simple head shot. But, it was cool to see something I did in print. My first thing in a good fanzine was in Fantastic Fanzine and that was exciting.

Of course, every interview with an artist must press for early influences! I am no different, and on that topic, Doug said, "Kirby for sure, once I found Marvels. He was the first one whose name I knew whose work I loved. I was more of a DC reader early on for sure. Neal Adams was a revelation! My mother loved to read and I would go with her to the library and check out any cartoon related books. I liked Steve Ditko and loved Wally Wood. I got to understand more how an inker affected the finished product. I was a big Flash fan and thought the art was usually elegant. But, later I could see how much Giella, Anderson and Greene polished things up. They had some Infantino pencils in one of the annuals. And inking him later on Power Factor was daunting. Loved Steranko when he hit. And Tom Palmer was way more than just a great inker."

When I asked about his early art training backgound, he mentioned that "​my mother enrolled me in a local painter's art class and I didn't really like doing still life drawings. Maybe I only went that one time. I took art in junior high, but our teacher was on the older side and could not keep discipline. That made me NOT take art in high school. I wish I had. Some relative on my mother's side worked for Disney. Never met him."

Doug told me that he got into fanzines by "getting a letter printed in a Marvel comic, and then I was contacted by someone involved with The Marvel Tribune, a Canadian fanzine. Based on the comic I assume I was 13 or maybe 14. That was my discovery of fanzines."

Doug then went to to expound on his favorite fanzines of that time, both as a reader and contributor.

Fantastic Fanzine. Only had maybe three illoes in there, but it was pretty slick and interesting. Tom Mason's Radion used my work a lot and I appreciated that. Graphic Visions, *Pfsszt, Afta, The Fan's-Zine, Woweekazowie, Sarcophagus, and I am sure I'm forgetting some. Always remember the first pic I inked over Carl Taylor in an issue of Unreal.

Many of us involved in fandom back then formed lifelong friendships, and Doug was no different. He mentions that "I appreciated folks like Tom Mason putting up with my overly long typed letters. I am thankful for Tom. Carl Taylor and Larry Houston became friends. So proud of Larry! And just seeing my fellow fan artists who went on to be pros. Most before I did. Sam de la Rosa was always more busy drawing and working than to write back anything very long. But, I understood that. He had that drive. I am more laid back/wimpy... " On the subject of his own zine, Ozone, Doug says that "For something with so little writing it took longer to put together than I remembered. If I had my way I would have shot all the halftones, but I was no expert at that. It was a little showcase/outlet for me."

Below, Doug goes over some of his early professional work, what he did, and how it progressed.

I inked stories and some covers for Americomics. My friend Mark Heike worked there. That was while I was still working full-time at a print shop. Hamster Vice & Power Factor (one issue inking Infantino!!! and the next inking Tom Lyle) were what I came back from my first SDCC with. [Funny coincidence, Lyle was one of my professors at SCAD when I went back to college! -Ken] And Kurt Busiek had called while I was gone about Liberty Project. [I progressed to] inking for smaller companies and inking some covers for Eternity and Sal Q. At First Comics I finally started to get raises on my page rate and my editor was very positive and inspiring.  Inking actual comics showed me I could really do it for a living. And seeing them in print made me realize I didn't have to obsess over little background details (on newsprint books). It was not fun doing pages at $25 a page! But, each gig was a step forward and I started submitting more samples to DC and Marvel. I learned techniques and tips even from folks doing backgrounds for me when I was in a bind. Being self-taught limits you unless you are 'a natural.' Animal Man was my first DC book and it was a memorable one! I feel blessed to have had the good fortune to have been on a Superman title when we 'killed' him. 

These days, Doug says that, "I mainly try to sell lots of my "stuff" that I have collected. Time zooms by too fast now. Haven't felt much like inking commissions or doing recreations lately. If I could "draw-to-order" I am sure it would be different. I am not as much of an overall natural artist. I doodle it! " I think we can all disagree, at least a bit, with Doug on that last assertion!

That wraps up this installment. Thanks very much to Doug Hazlewood for his time, it made the column so much more interesting than it would have been without him! Say hi to him on Facebook if you see him. Don't forget about the pdf, where you can see many more illustrations by Doug.

This installment is a bit early, obviously...I have two events in a row, with only one day between them, and they extend into January, so I needed to get this sucker done now! Oh, I forgot...here is the TBG pdf, which is issue 9, with a Stephen Fabian cover!

Ken Meyer Jr.
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