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EVERYTHING, THEREABOUTS: A detail of Howard Hallis' all- encompassing work.

by Nick Norlen

Pop Culture Roll Call
Prepare to push your invisible Buddy Holly Coke-bottle glasses up the bridge of your nose and let your nerd out for the next few hours. Behold: The Picture of Everything (www.thepictureofeverything.com).

After an initial Keanu-whoa, the ultra-inclusive rendering will have you asking one of two questions. First, "Where's Waldo?" Then, "Who has the time for something like this?"

The answer to the latter says he never divulges the answer to the former.

Meet Howard Hallis, a mild-mannered 33-year-old Web designer whose alliterative moniker makes him sound like he's the alter ego of some unknown superhero — it's a fitting coincidence for the artist who started a sketch of Spider-Man and didn't stop drawing until he had illustrated an unlikely assembly of superheroes, cartoon characters, historical figures, famous vehicles and all the mainstream iconography he could think of.

But a picture of everything isn't an overnight job. The piece, which consists of four connecting panels, each measuring 44-inches high by 76-inches wide, took two years to complete. Each subject was drawn "raw," directly penciled onto the surface and finished with pen and colored pencils. Hallis took requests along the way, adding the likenesses of friends and strangers to the ranks of what looks like the cast of our collective childhoods. Of course, nitpickers might accuse him of forgetting their favorite miniseries spin-off sidekick obscurity. No, naysayers, The Picture of Everything doesn't actually include everything. Yet.

"It's an impossible task," says Hallis of including every new and known entity. The original drawing, much like the fantasy realms it depicts, has no real boundaries — its borders connect to form an endless loop. But no superhero story is complete without a blockbuster sequel. Enter The Picture of Everything II, the newly announced project to be started on July 28, Hallis' 34th birthday. The new venture, which will seamlessly segue from the original, will include suggestions from the list he has kept since completing the first picture in 1999, as well as some more personal additions.

"I have to include my fiancée and both of our families," says the engaged artist. He expects the second installment to take another year or two, but that won't delay the sale of both works in an August eBay auction slated to coincide with a spread in FHM.

Hallis isn't worried about whether pop art mavens will ante up for the $85,000 opening bid; he doesn't expect anyone to. But while his financial future doesn't bother him, Hallis is nervous about the possibility that he'll be accused of infringing upon about 10,000 copyrights. Expressing the irony of his concern, he says, "It's a strange thing considering all of these fantasy worlds with their characters don't exist, except as corporate entities." He finds reassurance in the fact that there is "nothing inappropriate" about his depiction of the characters, and adds his "hope that they understand the reason for doing it is not for profit, but expressing what I see in the world." Despite perpetual proposals to "sell them in every mall in America," Hallis stands by his refusal to market his work on myriad products. "I'm hoping no one notices or cares enough to make me stop it."