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September 7th, 2010

Guest Bloggery!

Submitted by Brandon Carr on September 7, 2010 - 20:15

Ooooh!

Hey there! My name is Brandon J. Carr and I'll be guest blogging a few times this week. I've been doing and studying comics and cartooning since I was young enough to hold a crayon. I've been doing online comics off and on since 2001, such as Between the Panels, Quantum, Crater City, Life's a Bluff, The Kenmore, Weird Adventures in Unemployment and a bunch of guest comics for my buddies in the cartooning world.

Comic Explains Collateral Debt Obligaton

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 7, 2010 - 16:18

CDO Factory

Click to read the whole thing at Pro Publica (h/t Scott McCloud)

Freewriting Re: Writing

Submitted by Ben Gamboa on September 7, 2010 - 14:50

There's a well-known (in certain circles ...) doodle by Bill Watterson wherein he shares his writing process, which pretty much consists of staring blankly into space, waiting for inspiration. I imagine this holds true for a lot of cartoonists – it does for me, at least. Which makes writing about Writing a bit of a challenge, as I can't give a simple set of directions and send you on your merry way. I think the most I can manage is some random observations, which I'll try to tie together as best I can.

Things I'm Reading

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 7, 2010 - 07:04

 The Little Prince Adapted by Joann Sfar

Beyond catching up on The Walking Dead series, I got a few more books in the mail I thought I'd mention.  First I got a review copy of a comic adaptation of The Little Prince by Joann Sfar, which is the classic tale by Antoine De Saint-Exupery (due for release October 18th).  It's not exactly the imagery I had in my head, but it's whimsical and expressive work.  I'm about halfway through my read.  Once I finish the whole book I'll be sure to put it on the pile of books to review (working my way through that!)

A bit more odd I guess (interesting in a different way) is I, Superhero, which is a book by Mike McMullen, published by Citadel Press.  It looks fantastically amateurish -- the cover is a picture of McMullen stuffed into a white long-john suit with a word bubble of "We wear tights so you won't have to" -- it is just... odd. The subtitle is "My journey into the world of real-life superheroes, spandex, and sex (okay no sex, that was just to get your attention)." I decided to flip through it convinced it would be rubbish but now I'm not so sure.  The chapter with the "real life superhero" -- "Geist" was a bit endearing.  I can't say McMullen in interviewing him for the book really painted a full picture of him but for the most part he presented him sympathetically.  Not entirely though -- McMullen throws in snark at Geist's expense from time to time.  Really McMullen seems to have some issues with his own love of superheroes and geek-fu, his sarcasm seems to unintentionally sneak up on himself in his writing sometimes.  I'm much less interested so far in the chapters that focus on McMullen's own purported desire to become a real life superhero himself.  Right now though is another chapter about someone else - the "real life superhero" known as Master Legend.  I'm going to see if I stick with the whole book before mentally committing to giving it a review.

September 6th

Kurtz-Krahulik Webcomic?

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 6, 2010 - 17:40

The Trenches by Kurtz and Krahulik

Scott Kurtz posted a short bit about The Trenches, a new webcomic coming that's a collaboration between him and Mike "Gabe" Krahulik.

Guess What: I'm On A Panel on Saturday at Intervention

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 6, 2010 - 14:47

This Friday-Saturday is Intervention in Bethesda, Maryland, just north of Washington DC.  Lots of fun folks will be there, maybe you too?  Believe it or not I am on a panel on Saturday late afternoon titled "The Outside Perspective: Webcomic review/news sites" -- does that sound exciting?  Perhaps we should rename it "WEBCOMIC MONSTER TRUCK DEMOLITION DERBY: SATURDAY! SATURDAY! SATURDAY*" but I don't think I can produce any actual monster trucks on one week's notice.  Nevertheless it will be at the very least me, talking about writing about webcomics and maybe (knock on the nearest wood-simulated product) a few special guests.  

The other panels going on at the same time include (1) a Q & A with the guy who does Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire who I have not met and so will not again; (2) a panel on Net Neutrality which perhaps is a panel I should have been on myself but now am wondering who is on it!?!?; (3) the Viral Video room where I am assured no one will catch anything (much); (4) Comic Press ADVANCED! workshop which actually will probably be 50% more useful than anything I say and (5) Club 242 Autopilot which is probably too hip for the likes of me.  Oooh plus right afterwards at 6 PM in a different room is the Webcomics.Com Lightning Round with at least Brad Guigar (and maybe another Half-Pixelite?).  Good thing I'm not going on right after that - you can't top genius like that...

By coming to my panel you're also bound to miss the chance to see anything at SPX at that time which includes a spotlight on legendary comic dude Jamie Hernandez; and Johanna Draper Carlson's panel on comics for younger readers with the likes of Raina Telgemeier and Drew Weing.

Wow I wonder what will happen at this panel from 5 PM to 6 PM to entice you to come despite the many other choices you (yes you!) could make this coming Saturday.  Well... me too!  Is there anything you think would be particularly interesting for me to talk about?  Or do?  I'm not above gimmicks here folks :)

On Art, or Make Bad Comics

Submitted by Ben Gamboa on September 6, 2010 - 08:18

Cartoonists (and artists in general, I suppose) love to argue. Or, at least, we have strong opinions on things; spend all your free time cloistered and toiling, you're bound to ruminate. One favored topic is the ol' “Art vs. Writing” debate, which usually seems to degenerate into “I think I'm good at X, and know that I'm terrible at Y, but that's okay, because isn't X more important, anyway?"

Truth is, if your goal is to make quality comics, Art and Writing are equally important. Intertwined. Yin and Yang. If one falls short, the other suffers. Which can be discouraging, because people tend to think that they're gifted with certain talents and not others, and thus it shall ever be. But Art and Writing are skills, not talents, and like all skills, you can improve your proficiency over time.

Relaunch of In Maps & Legends

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 6, 2010 - 07:27

Another interesting launch this past week!  Michael Jasper and artist Niki Smith relaunched their webcomic In Maps & Legends on September 1st.  They won DC's November 2009 Zuda contest, but their run there was cut short by the abrupt shutdown of Zuda by DC. 

So the creators have cooked up a multi-outlet publication plan with the first issue for sale at 99 cents at a variety of online distributors:

The comic is about a young woman caught up in a plot between our world and another:

Kaitlin Grayson considers herself just an artist until she gets recruited by a strange man named Bartamus, who shows up at her place in the middle of the night and demands she use her skills to save his dying world. Soon Kait gets caught between two worlds, and if Bartamus’ world falls, Earth is next — along with untold other worlds.

Guest Blogger Introduction: Ben Gamboa

Submitted by Ben Gamboa on September 6, 2010 - 07:09

Hello, ComixTalkers. My name is Ben Gamboa and I'm responsible for the comic “Tweep,” which I've been producing since early 2003. I'm not the greatest webcartoonist, nor the most well-known, but I like to think that I've learned some things about cartooning over the past few years. And, since this is Back-to-School season, I thought I'd use my guest stint to write posts aimed at folks who are thinking about starting a webcomic of their own. As there are plenty of talented folks who frequent this site, hopefully some of you will chime in with some tips of your own.

September 5th

Weekend Comix Talk

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 5, 2010 - 07:44

A big thanks again to all of the great guest bloggers this past month.  The site would have been pretty dead without their lively posts and comments. I'm extending the guest blogging one more week because I need a week now to dig out from the avalanche of work that piled up during my travels in August.  This coming week we'll have posts from two comic creators: Brandon Carr and Ben Gamboa.  Both have worked with webcomics for sometime now and I think you'll enjoy their contributions.

While I'm here let me point out a few stories I thought you might find interesting as well as take care of some of the ComixTalk mailbag.

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF WEBCOMICS

Dave McElfatrick, one of the four creators of Cyanide & Happiness and the only one not based in the United States (he's from Ireland) -- recently got a visa to the U.S after initially getting rejected:

McElfatrick turned his Internet celebrity to his advantage: He asked his fans to sign a petition to show the government that “his work and the comic he’s a part of have a huge global audience.” More than 146,000 signatures later, the US Immigration Office has reversed its initial judgment: Today, McElfatrick announced that he’s been approved for the visa.

Also, I just saw this article in the Times of India on webcomics there.  A few links in it to the webcomics mentioned -- a range of quality to be sure but great to see a story on a thriving scene there. 

MILESTONES

I heard from the man himself, but haven't had a chance to post until now: Box Brown wrapped up Bellen! and launched a new comic project with three full stories in the archives for Everything Dies.  Brown got some deserved hype from USA Today here.

BUSINESS

I've never heard of publisher DarkBrain, LLC before but they recently announced that all of their webcomic are now available for free.  Their comics includes original music, and voice-over narration, hmm.... not sure what to make of that.

From the mailbag

  • Nina Paley writes that she has a new webcomic -- Mimi and Eunice.  Paley is the uber-talented artist and creator behind the animated Sita Sings The Blues and her earlier comics: Nina's Adventures, Fluff, and The Hots.
  • Nikole Jones writes about her webcomic Full Armour -- a humorous action adventure all ages comic which has two stories finished and is in the midst of its third one.  It's the saga of thirteen kids that make up a team that takes on special missions.  Jones describes the comic as "one part character study, one part globe trotting treasure hunt, and one part explosive action with blue daemons and angels with no mouths."
  • Jerome Genevray writes that he's made a trailer for Le Greenboy -- a movie project he's working on about a superhero in Paris which will feature two actresses you may have heard of: Alysson Paradis (the sister of the wife of johnny Depp -) and Diane Dassigny plus Aurélien Jégou stars as Greenboy.  It's got to be a comedy -- it's about a guy who dresses up in a green costume and picks up litter, inspiring others to do the same.  I think there's an unintentional cross-border laugh though -- apparently supporters of Le Greenboy put their index finger and thumb on their forehead in the shape on an "L" -- that's slang for "loser" where I grew up.