When I was young the first full comic I drew was called 'The Ratsy Files', a 1920's gangster story, strongly influenced by the discovery of Will Eisners' 'The Spirit'.
Starring a character called Ratsy Malone, who, along with his gang, R.S, B.S and C.S, scratched a 3 page trail of havoc, machine guns blazing and Bakelite radios blaring, before being double crossed and steering his 1925 Cunningham V8 into a telegraph pole, intending to kill his traitorous friends.
Throughout the years my mum regularly lamented not seeing this little fellow back in print, even though I thought I could 'never go back', for some reason, to old ideas, used characters or dated concepts.
Why?, I do not know. Some silly purist attitude that included the idea that copying another drawing, even for reference, was cheating. Redrawing anything was also, well, cheating. In fact there were so many things in my isolated little world (this is the 1970s' remember, no internet tutorials, only a local library with two 'How to draw' books) I considered 'cheating', planning out a page, tracing your own work, using another persons ideas.... it is a wonder I allowed myself to even use a pencil or paper. This INSANE and bizarre behaviour still rears its ugly head today, but I recognise more and more the silly limitations and incredible handicap these 'rules' caused, and probably set back what little drawing skills I had by many years.
Anyway, long story told, this Christmas I thought I would give mum her wish and resurrect dear old Ratsy and the gang, as a Christmas card, for one more peak out into the now fantastic world of 2013. Hope you enjoy.
Couldn't resist making an age appropriate photo. Ha ha
