I’ve been called by many names throughout my life. The bus bullies called me “Hulk.” Not only did I look just like Lou Ferrigno from the Hulk TV show, I also scowled a lot. I didn’t know it, but I was nearsighted. I’d squint all the time to sharpen my focus, and I looked “always angry.” Later I was tagged “Bubba” and “Hawkeye” in Savannah during my years at SCAD. My high school and college girlfriend dubbed me “Pookie,” and yes she and her roommates would throw twelve keg parties in their back yard, and every weekend I’d travel to Charleston and when I opened the back gate I’d be welcomed by the party crowd screaming “hey Pookie!” along with a beer funnel with my name on it.
When I left The Weather Channel for the final time they gave me a Superman poster covered in metallic ink of appreciation and affection. It hangs in my studio today always reminding me where my career not only started, but also that we’d built a solid, fourteen-year collaboration years later filled with more team awards and fond memories. My two favorite memories during my time at TWC were sneaking into Industrial Light and Magic’s original Kerner location, and enjoying steak dinners at Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch in Carmel overlooking a picturesque prairie complete with herds of sheep.
When my daughter was nine she started calling me “Batman.” That one stuck, and I’ve stepped into quite a crusading life always looking out for the little guys, and crushing the oppressors. Yes, I do have quite the collection of bat toys. In the summer of 2017 I designed my own Batman logo in about half an hour. As a graphic designer I always wanted to design one that was built out of hidden typography spelling out the letters B-A-T-M-A-N. Here it is below. See if you can figure it out. I included the answer key graphic below it.