Dean Kamen's penchant for the fantastic, it turns out, runs in the family. When the millionaire inventor of the mysterious Ginger/IT scooter wants a drawing of one of his medical or personal transportation concepts, he turns to his father, Jack Kamen. In the 1950s, Jack Kamen worked for EC Comics, the publisher of Weird Science, Tales From the Crypt and Mad, drawing supernatural creatures, flawlessly beautiful (but oh so WASPy) women and Leave It to Beaver-style families gone berserk. Much of Jack Kamen's early comic book work is available in reprint form, both in book and CD-ROM format, from comic-book art dealer Budplant.com. Recommended titles: Jo-Jo, Congo King (Volumes One and Two, CD-ROM, $19.95 each), loaded with late 1940s "good girl" art, and Psychoanalysis Annual #1 (paperback, $10.95) containing 16 Kamen-drawn tales of mental-patient hijinks.
