Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. during the week ending 01272013:
"Your archaic view of creatives is part of what keeps jobs of this industry undervalued. Congratulations, you’ve officially locked out a great percentage of talented, friendly, hard working creatives who would originally have had great interest in attending your convention." - Jordie Bellaire.
(Image stolen from... I don't know where actually. Forwarded to me by a friend at work. Hi Keenan.)
THE BEST SINGLE NEW PRINT COMIC I READ THIS WEEK
(Image stolen from Comic Vine.)
...was X-O Manowar #9 by Robert Venditti, Trevor Hairsine, Brian Reber and a bunch of other people. This comic, like the previous eight issues and most of the Valiant books I've seen so far is quality from cover to cover. Great cover art, nice book design, bold logos that jump out from the comic racks, nice production, nice editorial material, nice house ads, high quality art, colors, letters and writing. A very good comic. I love the X-O Manowar series and how Venditti has handled it as a sci-fi and historical mash up rather than a super hero book. I'm a sucker for sci-fi and when you hand your space Visigoth a crazy energy sword thing it is going to be hard to lose me. And while Venditti could probably just tell the artist to draw 20 odd pages of swords and explosions and space smashing and I would probably be okay, the story is really moving and the characters/entities involved are making some unexpected choices along the way to keep it interesting. Is that what good drama is? Maybe? I was just an English minor so they never showed me the full back of tricks. This particular issue may the best yet. (Although those first four were really strong.) After I put this issue down I felt like it had been non-stop action. X-O faces off against some bad alien dudes in some similar armor so the stakes seemed higher. But when I flip back through it I realize that this thing covers a lot of ground. There is a lot of dialog and exposition moving the story from one phase into what will be the next story arc but it did not feel like set up. It just felt, like, um, you know, entertaiment. And nerds, you know what I mean right? You know how comics publishers will set up their big story arcs for months with hype and ads but feed you garbage filler in in the issues leading up to it? No filler her. And that's a big part of what I have liked about all of Venditti's work so far is that almost every panel moves the story. And this artist, Trevor Hairsine, he's pretty good too. I like his work here a lot. He's got some Neal Adams moments in there that are very cool. Right up there with Cary Nord. And that is another great thing about these books. Even though there have been three artists in just 9 issues the art has been consistent. Not saying the guys all draw the same but saying the quality, tone and overall look of the book has been consistent. And when you consider, that DC can't even get one artist to complete one full issue of a lot of their books, I really appreciate that consistency. Editorial at Valiant apparently knows what they are doing.
"Your archaic view of creatives is part of what keeps jobs of this industry undervalued. Congratulations, you’ve officially locked out a great percentage of talented, friendly, hard working creatives who would originally have had great interest in attending your convention." - Jordie Bellaire.
- Jeezziz people. So much bitchin' and moanin' and crying this week. The twitter blew up with "should I quit the comics?" Why don't the comics love me? Why won't the comics buy me a sub sandwich and rub my feet? Why do the comics love other people so much and not return my emails? Boo the ducking who. Here's the thing about making comics. It's just making comics. Get some paper and a pencil and go crazy. Stop when you don't feel like doing it anymore. Then maybe later, start making them again. Or not. There are all kinds of things that people that don't make comics do that seem to be totally rewarding. I mean, some people can watch the crap out of some TV. I hear about people getting famous for watching TV every day. Or maybe you could play video games. That would be super rewarding right? Maybe join a guild or something. And when you walk the street, people will step back and say, "There goes a video game player. That person is contributing to society!" Or maybe movies might be your thing? You could pay your money and be a part of the magic. Become a fan of a franchise. Argue on twitter with lesser movie watchers about how stupid their opinions are. Or maybe sports is where it's at. I hear that if your favorite team wins the Super Bowl you you get to feel good about yourself for a solid 18 hours. I mean why make art at all? Why make anything? Why do anything? Why express yourself in any way? What's the point? Why create a tangible thing that could be enjoyed by tens of peoples? Just sit down, shut up, plug into your cell pad pod phone and die. Or not. It's just comics. You don't kneed anyone to justify it. Do you think the average grandma gives a singe solitary F if someone thinks she should stop working on puzzles or knitting? Do you think my dad gives a single solitary F if someone thinks he's not getting as many turkeys as he used to when he goes hunting? You know when you stop a thing? When you don't feel like doing that thing any more. And then, maybe later, you might feel like doing it again. And that's okay too. Artists don't retire. They just die. There ain't no rules to this thing and the seat belts are just for show. Anyone that thinks there are rules in art is a coward. It's just comics. It doesn't owe you anything. The guy that created Spider-Man lives out of a freaking hotel room. And he still makes comics. It's just comics.
- My dear faithful loyal can't-live-without-it readers will have by now noticed that I frequently post videos featuring Francis and Boogie2998. What you may not know is that both of those guys are one guy named Steven Williams. I grew up with Steven. His mom ran the head start. We were on the drama team together in high school. He graduated the year after me. He's super smart. Super funny. But most of all he's a really good guy. So, I'm super excited that he is featured in Volkswagon's new commercial that will hopefully be shown during the Super Bowl. I think that before this, the closest anyone from my town ever came to fame was the time the Daily Show showed up to make fun of the next town over for selling their Christmas lights. I don't know how these things work but the video below is a "pre-release" video. Whatever that means. But, do me a favor, watch it and hit the "like" button about thirty times. Thanks.
- I'm writing this while listening to this so any thing that does not make sense should be blamed on Robert Newsome.
- Apparently, one day this week was open mouth kiss a colorist day or something.
- Speaking of color, Jim Rugg stumbled upon the amazing discovery that comics colored on a lighted screen and presented on a lighted screen are brighter than those on paper.
- Look. You have probably already don this, but if not, just go read that Rob Liefled script. Trust me. Abbey Coleslaw did a pretty good parody of it, but honestly, the real thing is funnier.
- Here are some freaking staggering photos of early 1900s Paris. Now I get why Paris was such a big deal.
- "Abbey Coleslaw" is cheap and I'm bigger than that. Usually. Just wanted to see if anyone was paying attention.
- RIP Skummie.
- There is going to be another movie about Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange. What? You want a link for that? Google people. Google.
- Shonen Jump relaunched their website and, I guess, the way I understand it, maybe, it is that it now has the comics in English on the same day they come out in Japan? Or something that means a lot to people that read Shonen Jump. Anyway, I can't keep up with it but, I did go through the sampler and it was a lot of fun. That One-Punch Man is genius. Oh, and in Japan, they only have 48 weeks in a year. Which is terrifying. (And probably not true. Joey Weiser totally explained it to me but pretending that there are only 48 weeks in Japan is way funnier. For me. I'm laughing for you. I carry a heavy load.)
- Speaking of manga, the Comics Reporter leads me to believe that this will be something.
- So, you can read most of Kyle Baker's creator owned comics online. Right now.
- Josh Simmons has a tumblr. Not safe for
workanywhere. - Oh, and Patrick Dean has one too. It's just the best.
- People. You can read Howard the Duck newspaper strips online. Until you can't anymore.
- Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag. I'm not dating Danica Patrick. This guy, was probably a sophomore in high school when Danica was posing for FHM. Oh man I bet his friends hate his guts.
- Have I ever talked to you people about Star Wars? I like Star Wars. They are my favorite wars. My pal Paul McDonald likes Star Wars a lot. So much, he wrote a book about it. He recently wrote about the passing of his mother as, literally, only he could.
- Oh, and again with the Star Wars. J.J. Abrams? Well, alright.
- "The only good news is, out of it all, ya beat the hospital. Lets see ‘em collect your bills now!"
- "But, to repeat, I STILL don't know how long the book is. No idea. Conservative guess, it could be another 200 pages -- maybe 300."
- Comics blogging up-and-comer Gary Groth talks about EC Comics.
- Jog talks about Howard Chaykin's Black Kiss 2 as all good comics types should. (I'm ashamed to say that I have not read it yet. Other than some online previews I've never laid eyes on the thing. It's not exactly filling up the racks of rural American comic shops and Wal-Mart was fresh out. My plan was to try and pick up a bunch of them during the coming con season but I'll probably break down and get it off eBay when I get my tax return. I dream big.)
- Ed Kramer. DragonCon. And really bad lousy journalism. Sigh. I just can't. I just can't even get into this story or the pathetic "journalism" exhibited by the many comics websites that have covered it, but, let me just say this- you can totally hit up wikipedia and check the bare minimum facts of your story before you hit the "publish" button. Hell, maybe even read some of the articles from your own website or newspaper first. Seriously people... THE MAN STILL OWNS 34 #[](%ING PERCENT OF DRAGONCON! HE IS PROFITING OFF TEENAGERS DRESSING UP AS FIONA AND CAKE AND WALKING IN THEIR PARADE! Gah.
- Last weekend the HeroesCon folks threw a minicon in Charlotte. And from the look of these photos, it was great.
- The Dollar Bin wants you to vote for things.
- I like Microcosm Publishing. Let's take a look at their catalog.
- Ya know, those Barbie comics were pretty good. For, ya know, comics about a doll. I see them in the dollar bins from time to time and get them for my girls. The like 'em and wish there were more of 'em.
- Chris Sims says that The Batman ain't down with the guns. But don't take Chris Sims word for it, let Chris Sims tell you about it.
(Image stolen from... I don't know where actually. Forwarded to me by a friend at work. Hi Keenan.)
THE BEST SINGLE NEW PRINT COMIC I READ THIS WEEK
...was X-O Manowar #9 by Robert Venditti, Trevor Hairsine, Brian Reber and a bunch of other people. This comic, like the previous eight issues and most of the Valiant books I've seen so far is quality from cover to cover. Great cover art, nice book design, bold logos that jump out from the comic racks, nice production, nice editorial material, nice house ads, high quality art, colors, letters and writing. A very good comic. I love the X-O Manowar series and how Venditti has handled it as a sci-fi and historical mash up rather than a super hero book. I'm a sucker for sci-fi and when you hand your space Visigoth a crazy energy sword thing it is going to be hard to lose me. And while Venditti could probably just tell the artist to draw 20 odd pages of swords and explosions and space smashing and I would probably be okay, the story is really moving and the characters/entities involved are making some unexpected choices along the way to keep it interesting. Is that what good drama is? Maybe? I was just an English minor so they never showed me the full back of tricks. This particular issue may the best yet. (Although those first four were really strong.) After I put this issue down I felt like it had been non-stop action. X-O faces off against some bad alien dudes in some similar armor so the stakes seemed higher. But when I flip back through it I realize that this thing covers a lot of ground. There is a lot of dialog and exposition moving the story from one phase into what will be the next story arc but it did not feel like set up. It just felt, like, um, you know, entertaiment. And nerds, you know what I mean right? You know how comics publishers will set up their big story arcs for months with hype and ads but feed you garbage filler in in the issues leading up to it? No filler her. And that's a big part of what I have liked about all of Venditti's work so far is that almost every panel moves the story. And this artist, Trevor Hairsine, he's pretty good too. I like his work here a lot. He's got some Neal Adams moments in there that are very cool. Right up there with Cary Nord. And that is another great thing about these books. Even though there have been three artists in just 9 issues the art has been consistent. Not saying the guys all draw the same but saying the quality, tone and overall look of the book has been consistent. And when you consider, that DC can't even get one artist to complete one full issue of a lot of their books, I really appreciate that consistency. Editorial at Valiant apparently knows what they are doing.
- And finally... a good crowd has gathered to wish our superhero well.
And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!
Your best pal ever,
Shannon Smith
p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.
p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.
p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.
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