We might not get laughed out of the room, but the question is: would we want to be stuck in it with some guy who would ask: Since we already have Aristophanes, who needs Kurtzman? Since we have Erasmus of Rotterdam, why would we want Steve Martin? With Wagner still available, who cares about the Firehouse Five? Furthermore, would we let that guy organize the party music?
What appears at first to be taking a more stringent view is in fact applying irrelevant criteria. It dismantles the idea of a comic and leaves the parts hopelessly undone.
Eddie Campbell on fallacies of comics criticism.
posted by rollick
on Feb 7, 2013 -
18 comments
Nimona is the shape-shifting, hell-raising sidekick to Ballister Blackheart, the biggest name in supervilliany.
[more inside]
posted by mokin
on Dec 27, 2012 -
25 comments
Mr. A debuted in 1967, in the third issue of Witzend, a collection of more artistically fulfilling side projects by mainstream comics professionals led by Wally Wood. In his very first panel, the Objectivist hero addresses his readers directly, stating his case that in moral life, there are no shades of gray, only evil or good, black or white. The hero stares at us, blank, emotionless. There’s a montage around him showing that his calm face is actually a metal mask, and that evil is truly disgusting. At the story’s end, Mr. A. beats up a nasty juvenile delinquent, ironically named Angel, and then allows the kid to fall to his death from a city rooftop. -
Pat Barrett [more inside]
posted by Egg Shen
on Sep 22, 2012 -
46 comments
Decompressed is a podcast in which comics writer and former Rock Paper Shotgun journalist Kieron Gillen (X-Men, Thor,
Phonogram) talks to artists and writers about the process involved in writing a single issue of a comic.
Decompressed 6 broke format and is instead a discussion with
Mark Waid and
Matt Fraction about scripting comics using the
"Marvel Method", or "plot first" - in which the artist draws the comic from a story outline and dialogue is added later, rather than the writer supplying a panel by panel script. For a while out of favour even at Marvel, the method is seeing a resurgance. The podcast page contains visual aids, and embedded version of the podcast, the script of DEFENDERS #9 complete with B&W art and additional links, including links to Warren Ellis’ 3-part tutorial on writing comics (
1,
2,
3).
Jamie McKelvie and a vultue put in guest appearances. Further example comicbook scripts are available at the
Comic Book Script Archive (
previously).
posted by Artw
on Aug 26, 2012 -
29 comments
Crisis on Infinite Earths was a 12-issue comic book maxi-series published in 1985 and 1986 in which DC Comics condensed their multiverse into a single universe, thus "simplifying" and "improving" it. Whether they succeeded in that goal is a good question, and one I shan't address. Crisis is, however, incredibly important to understanding DC continuity, as well as being possibly the most significant crossover series of all time.
posted by Egg Shen
on Aug 22, 2012 -
121 comments
In preparation for his then upcoming retrospective Transe Forme, Fondation Cartier recorded Moebius doing a series of digital drawings. Recorded in late 2010, these are some of, if not, the last recordings of Moebius drawing that we are likely to see. -
Moebius Drawing
posted by Artw
on Aug 6, 2012 -
18 comments
Comics artist Frazer Irving adapts Mary Shelly's Frankenstein in hauntingly beautiful black and white:
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18.
posted by Artw
on Aug 2, 2012 -
11 comments
The Passion of Dave Stevens — The work of the late, great Dave Stevens is known to comic book aficionados in the form of his enduring creation, The Rocketeer, and to art collectors and illustration enthusiasts for his reverently retro yet brilliantly modern renditions of vintage pulp characters, science fiction adventurers and iconic superheroes. But as dedicated Stevens fans know, the artist's true passion and inspiration manifests in his seemingly countless and unfailingly exquisite renderings of the female form, most typically in the classic pinup and "good girl art" style at which he became one of the very best. [nsfw comic art]
posted by netbros
on Mar 2, 2012 -
11 comments
After almost 20 years of print publication, six bound collections and two animated series, Tony Millionaire announced today that
MAAKIES -- the surreal pen-and-ink adventures of Drinky Crow & Uncle Gabby -- has been cancelled.
[more inside]
posted by overeducated_alligator
on Feb 23, 2012 -
58 comments
In this time of corrupt politics, police brutality, media dereliction, and increasingly vicious culture wars, there's perhaps no graphic novel more relevant today than the brilliant and blackly funny
Transmetropolitan.
Created by Warren Ellis back in 1997 and inspired by prescient sci fi novel
Bug Jack Barron, the series covers the work of
gonzo journalist, vulgar misanthrope, and all-around magnificent bastard
Spider Jerusalem in a
sprawling futuristic vision of New York so chaotically advanced that humans splice genes with alien refugees, matter decompilers are as common as microwaves, and a new religion is invented every hour.
As a callous Nixonian thug nicknamed
The Beast prepares for his re-election to the presidency, a primary battle heats up between a virulent racist and a charismatic senator whose
rictus grin masks some disturbing realities. When Jerusalem delves into
the machinations of the race, he breaks into a web of conspiracies that threaten the future of the country -- a problem only he, his
"filthy assistants," and the power of
intrepid journalism can defeat.
More: Read the first issue (or
three) -
browse images from
the new artbook -
Tor's read-along blog (
another) - Jerusalem's
touching report on cryogenic "Revivals" -
dozens of original sketches and
sample pages -
timeline -
quotes
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 17, 2011 -
55 comments
Jim Shooter, the
comics writer and former Marvel Editor-in-Chief has weighed in on DC's comic relaunch,
The New 52.
Shooter is no stranger to
controversy regarding his tenure at Marvel and has received his share of
criticism over his handling of female characters. He also claims his analysis is more about the writing and artwork but nevertheless, he has added this comment to the chorus of
complaints about the
handling of DCs
female characters and
female fans:
"But, let it be known, personally, I didn’t like the way the female characters were portrayed. It’s not that I think that there is anything, any situation or any type of character, male or female, that cannot be done if it is done with rare excellence and surpassing skill. The problem is that, too often, comic book writers and artists who belong in creator kindergarten think they’re already Ph.D’s." [more inside]
posted by happyroach
on Oct 7, 2011 -
41 comments
Four friends who collectively call themselves Igloo Tornado wrote a series of fictional tales of the love between Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig, plus some jokes from their Satan worshiping neighbors, Daryl Hall and John Oates. This land of make-believe is contained in
Glenn & Henry Forever. There isn't a preview in one handy location, but various
interviews,
reviews, and
blogs have posted
some of the comics (more:
Henry has no shoes, Hall & Oats play D&D,
a postcard from Henry to Glenn, and
a page from Danzig's diary). Danzig,
often the butt of internet jokes, was not thrilled. His thoughts were made into
a final comic. Oh, and there's
an anti-Christmas animation special/advert. And
a gallery show with more artists joining the fun.
posted by filthy light thief
on Oct 3, 2011 -
18 comments
The
artists of
Draw2D2 are given two "geeky things" based on a monthly theme, and then have two weeks to create mash-up illustrations. Art is posted every other Thursday at 12:00pm EST, with a poll for the public to vote for their favorites. Artists with the most votes can show their process in a
spotlight post.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Sep 12, 2011 -
14 comments
