Harvey Pekar
Comix Talk for Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on July 13, 2010 - 08:48
We haven't linked to the return of Mocktopus yet so be sure to check it out.
MILESTONES: Harvey Pekar passed away yesterday at age 70. I never met Pekar, but he was an important creator who wrote honest portrayals of life in his comics. Many pages of tribute and condolences around the web today.
CONVENTION: Intervention announced that artist and webcomic creator Molly Crabapple, the founder of the Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, will be there both on a panel as well as running a Dr. Sketchy’s event at the con (Currently scheduled to take place Friday Sept.10 from 7-10pm). Excellent!
COLLECTIVES
- It looks like the Blank Label Comics group has entered the phase of rock band stardom where one member of the original group plus newcomers = profit. Okay I tease a bit - if I'm reading the new website right David Willis is the only remaining original member but the newcomers are no slouches: Spike and Kel. I really haven't followed up on BLC for awhile so I guess I missed the rest of the original crew going their own ways.
- The SpiderForest Collective is accepting applications for new members until July 24th. SpiderForest was started in 2004 by Ran Jado and is home to over 30 comics. There are 3 requirements for members: update your comic, help vote in new members, and display the rotating SF banner above the fold on your site.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 A BLOGS
News From Around the World of Webcomics Today
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on October 6, 2009 - 09:13
INTERVIEW
- Daily Cross Hatch has a wonderful interview with Harvey Pekar - 70 years old and in the middle of his first webcomic project.
- An interview with Jeffrey Rowland, comics creator and T-shirt-shippin' mogul.
- An interview with Garry Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury. Given the long presence of Doonesbury on the web, I was surprised the Trudeau is hoping for newspapers to create some sort of news monopoly on the web as the answer to how he will make money is a post paper world.
- Another outstanding update from the subtlely stupid Hulk Vs. Bizarro.
- Another landing strip joke in QC right after last night's Daily Show Rio de Janeiro gag? Coincidence or COINCIDENCE!!!??! More importantly just why is Faye grabbing Martin's butt (in panel 3)?
DEAD TREES
Volumes 3 and 4 of Danielle Corsetto's Girls With Slingshots are now available for pre-orderin'.
SWAG O' THE MONTH
Chris Onstad is selling a picture of himself from 1986. Really!
CRAFT
Cameron Stewart has a couple of videos showing him working in Manga Studio.
Webcomics Updates for Wednesday
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 30, 2009 - 11:32
SPX!
It wasn't just my imagination, SPX was more crowded this year. Chris Mautner has a nice write up of this year's SPX, (although I'm not sure I qualify for inclusion among "respected online personalities"). Also check out this year's Nerdlinger awards. It's too bad they're in Baltimore - Baltimore is a long ways from Bethesda! Maybe next year someone will organize a cool pre-SPX event closer to SPX!
CRAFT
Really nice tutorial over at Webcomics.com today - from script to finished panels.
INTERVIEW
Smith Magazine has an interview (video) with Harvey Pekar.
New Book coming out
Submitted by Steve Troop on September 30, 2009 - 11:09
I found this while surfing today. I thought maybe you guys might want to check it out…
Nevin Martell has a book coming out called Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip. Here’s the abridged version of the summary that I found on The Comics Curmudgeon:
APE! APE! APE!
Submitted by Shaenon Garrity on September 29, 2009 - 12:11
I'll be with the Couscous Collective at this year's Alternative Press Expo, October 17-18 in San Francisco. Check us out at table 347 on the ground floor.
The Couscousians are all over the programming this year. Panels behind the cut...
On Saturday, the lovely Andrew Farago will be on this panel:
It's Ain't Easy Being Green
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 9, 2009 - 08:56
Good morning Internet! Swine flu even at PAX?! (see Mike/Gabe's message) -- nice to see that the Penny Arcade crew is broadcasting useful information via the website and encouraging everyone to take care of themselves. That show seemed huge this year. I am looking forward to my probably futile hopes to attend PAX East (futile because something always comes up to deflect my physical travels much like that damn leprechaun and his stale box of marshmallows and grains).
INTERVIEWS
Rick Marshall scores an interview with Harvey Pekar about his new webcomic project. How cool is that?!
A lovely interview with the talented Kate Beaton (no! you have not yet read enough interviews with Beaton this year!! And... there WILL BE MORE! This Nostradamous predicts...)
REVIEWS
Brigid Alverson gives a very good review to the first print collection of Skin Horse by Shaenon Garrity and some dude (Jeffrey C. Wells: just kidding!!!!!!!).
JUSTIFY MY HYPE
Met up with the Washtington Webcomics crew last night: Rob Balder (still erfing the world); Chris Impink (um gravitating the fragile... hmm ), Chris Flick (caping the babes? okay this nickname scheme isn't working out all that well) and just met Joe Zuniga who does the relatively new comic Made Up.
Strip News 8-28-9
Submitted by Delos on August 28, 2009 - 08:00
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for all of us, so here’s a double sized issue to catch up…
- This Week in Webcomics gives us the ten best Nobody Scores!, Pigs of The Industry reviewed Bow & Arrow Detective Agency, Darrell gives us a glimpse of Melody and Smash and Webcomics Critique looked over Bottoms Up! and Pigs and Such. Tangents reviewed Saijiki Stories and Comixup shared a Gunnerkrigg Court review from i09. Lonely Panel did an anti-review of Reporterz, too. Webcomic Overlook opined on Dreamless and Legend of Bill. MPD57 reviewed Arctic, If You See The Hills, Rogue Royal and Simply Sarah. Peiz covered the multidimensional Fred Peterson: The Mighty Warlord.
- Fictions covered Pohadky, Talkin Bout Comics discussed Potential, Down The Tubes reviewed Omnivistascope and The Rainbow Orchid while Madinkbeard analyzed Le Voyage. Forbidden Planet looked at The Path and High-Low peered into The Deformitory – it’s the last review on that page.
- You know you’re big when you’re big in Pheonix, right? We also find out via ComixTalk that Voles Of The Dusk is now printed in a three story volume. Optical Sloth tells us about a bunch of small press comics by Rob Jackson, another batch by Mark Bennett, one by Jerell McFalls and one by Matt Feazell. The Floating Lightbulb highlighted Scrap Paper Comics and Hard Graft while ComicsGirl covered Chiggers and MPD57 reported that Dual is getting another season.
- Tweeterview interviewed Lonnie Easterling of Spud Comics and A Nickel’s Worth gave Dan Piraro twenty questions. I always dig question five… “Many of the best comics are Internet only.” Six Chix interviewed Stephanie Piro – I’m amazed that Stephanie doesn’t have a studio and instead depends on a lap and wheeled assistance. Not what I expected. And I’m not sure what I expected from MPD57’s interview with Sheldon Vella of Supertron but there’s more there than I would have asked for. Bob Scott’s interview (via Drawn!) was nice to read AND we got a look into his process, too.
- There was weighty discussion on Madinkbeard about a comic analysis article from 1986 which you may enjoy but it made me wonder if that’s how non-fans determine what a comic is or isn’t. If the words are small and almost touching the images then it’s probably a comic. If the text is larger and/or offset from the images then it must be an illustrated story. This is, in my opinion, a very arbitrary line in the sand. What if DC started publishing Superman comics composed mainly of larger story text partially overlapping splash page type images? Would that be a coffee table book instead of a comic? Pshaw.
- And Jason Thibault twittered about this interview with Tony DiGerolamo on Newsarama. It’s a pretty scathing take on the overall comic scene but it makes me wonder how things would change if all the big boys published comics online instead of in monthly print booklets… many things would become corporately standardized and general audience expectations would likely be harder to work around, for instance. It also seems likely that the Marvel and DC would truly begin to see the internet as a candy store of new intellectual property to mine. But enough of my paranoid delusions…
- The Last Panel had some thoughts on the loneliness you may feel when working on your comic while Rocket Bomber points us to Project Rooftop’s Wolverine: Look Sharp contest winners. Mindless Ones put some thought into how the Batcave has been treated in the Batcomics and I agree it deserves more.
- We also got to see D Bethel’s artistic process here but then we also saw the new, new methods he uses and the penciling techniques of Charles Yoakum on Ink Destroyed My Brush. Via Hero Spy, we also get Nick Edward’s process and you may want to check out all the good stuff in this Digital Strips Link post – especially Kyle Latino’s constructive visual critique and I agree that Kushner needs to read more graphic novels. Tom Richmond weighed in with speech bubble advice and Scott McCloud talks about the merits of editors.
- Webcomic Overlook is conformingly contrarian, if I read this right. Really, I’m not keen on critics – whose whole gig is about tearing creative works apart as opposed to reviewers who mainly tell you about them. Often, these two groups are lumped together though you are free to disagree with me if you like. (Reminder: El Santo is on another wedding vacation.)
- Have you seen DrawerGeek’s take on Spiderman? Superhero Nation talks about effective superhero costume design – it reminded me of the heroine’s design in Kukuburi. Harvey Pekar launched a webcomic (and Superheroine liked this) and the hubbub over motion comics is over but Comics Worth Reading covered it if you missed it.
- Do you track visitors or readers to your site? The Floating Lightbulb helps us find out how ComicRank can help. And here are eight things to not do if you want more Twitter followers. PW Beat had some very interesting links about comic site design and comic journalism.
- Addanac City crossed the one year line, so congrats to you George.
- Finally, I happened across this SiteAdvisor from McAffee which tests your site for spammy problems and links. ArtPatient is green, baby, green but you may want to check out your site, too.
Harvey Pekar launches webcomic
Submitted by natebramble on August 24, 2009 - 21:53
Famed comic book writer and author of the autobiographical comic series American Splendor, Harvey Pekar, has announced a new online project, his own webcomics. The comic series, titled The Pekar Project, is set to be updated bi-weekly and will be hosted by the online writing and storytelling magazine, Smith.
Warren Ellis: comics can help you perform sabotage, cure Alzheimer’s
Submitted by El Santo on July 15, 2009 - 14:53
Warren Ellis (who created the webcomic FreakAngels, among other things), gave a speech at Dundee University. He claims its was written in chickenscratch … but, as Abraham Lincoln could attest, sometimes the most timeless and memorable speeches come from concise yet powerful ideas that just mentally congeal into perfect nuggets of wisdom. For Ellis, comics are a superior medium. Here’s an excerpt:
Comics And Time
Submitted by Scott Story on July 14, 2009 - 20:19
I pulled this from Warren Ellis’ blog. Ellis is a bit of a hero to me, and this article is particularly well conceived:
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