John Byrne: The Machines Of The Fantastic Four

John Byrne was my first introduction to comics. (To this day I can remember buying that issue of The Uncanny X-Men #143 off of a 7-11 comic rack in Florida.) Pictured above is one of the impossible machines of the Fantastic Four that John created. The sense of depth, detail, and possibility that it might somehow work or exist continues to captivate me. To say his art and design have been influential simply does not do justice to his contributions. While my drawings look nothing like his, it was my fascination with his creations that spurred my interest.

The Curta Calculator: Cranking Out The Answer

An amazing piece of machinery and engineering, the Curta calculator was thought of as one of the best portable calculators available until electronic calculators became affordable (and just portable for that mater). Conceived by Curt Herzstark in the thirties, he continually worked on perfecting the design for almost 2 decades (including the time he spent in a concentration camp). Elegant and small, the Curta is a marvel. It is even more amazing once one views the interior workings. Unfortunately for curious owners reassembling the calculator is almost as impressive a feat as its creation. To operate, numbers are entered using the slides and then the calculating is performed by cranking the top a specific number of times. Different math functions are achieved by adjusting the crank and carriage position. The Curta calculator is a part in the origin of the phrase "cranking out the answer" due to the fact it requires one to actually crank the top of the device to produce the answer.

Anything you would want to know about the Curta can be found at the very excellent Curta Calculator Page (http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm#nice) and a great demo video on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYsOi6L_Pw4).

Jack Kirby: The Machines of the Fantastic Four

Jack Kirby set a benchmark in the world of comics that will most likely never be equalled. Words really can not capture the amount of influence and inspiration his drawings have had on me. Even today I still have the same reaction to his work as when I first saw them as a child. His drawings of technology have a bizarre sense of depth that make them both seem possible and impossible. While these drawings exist throughout his work, my favorites are definitely from the Fantastic Four from Marvel Comics. This panel is from Fantastic Four Annual #5 page 19.