Legends of the Underwood #13: Arthur J. Burks

"Average daily output of [Arthur J. Burks'] Underwood is four thousand words. In emergencies Burks can do three or four times this amount. Once, for example, Sky Fighters called him at ten in the morning and ordered three stories, a total of twelve thousand words. It got them by six in the evening, and Mr. Burks made two hundred and fifty dollars for his day's work. He never rereads his writings, either in manuscript or after they are published, and doesn't care what editors do to them."

--From "Burks of the Pulps," a Talk of the Town item in the February 15, 1936 issue of the New Yorker.

(Thirteenth in a series. Will we make it to fifteen by year's end?)

Made in Philadelphia: 1918

Image from TavernTrove.com.

A Date with Laurence Campbell

Last week I mentioned that my next novel, Expiration Date, would include a dozen pieces of original black and white art. Today I'm proud to share the name of the artist: Laurence Campbell, of Punisher MAX, Moon Knight and Wolverine fame (as well as 2000AD's Judge Dredd, Synnamon and Breathing Space). Until this project, Laurence and I have never worked together; I've just admired (okay, drooled over) his work from afar. My editor Axel Alonso showed me some of Laurence's work early on and I became an instant fan. When Laurence said he'd be willing to work with me on Expiration, I was like a kid at Christmas. When finished art started rolling in, I felt like I'd hit the lottery.

Above is just a sketch of an illustration from Expiration; for the full dose of Laurence Campbell, however, you need to pick up the Punisher MAX arc he did with Gregg Hurwitz (Girls in White Dresses) or check out his online gallery at getcampbell.com.

And keep checking back, because Laurence has graciously offered one of his original pages from Expiration Date to a lucky reader. Details to follow soon...