For Saturday, I spent most of my time get some comics signed by creators in the Marvel booth and the artist alley. Some include Steve McNiven, Scott Hanna, Steve Uy, Andy Lanning, Greg Horn and others.
I didn't have a chance to go to many panels, I did go to Marvel's Cup o'Joe, I was only limited to only 1 question b/c of the line, but I plugged his column on myspace that announced a fan favorite characters is coming back. I also bought some cool stuff like some artist prints, a Skrull latex mask, and some action figures. All in all a good.
Sunday was by far by the best day for me at the Con. I was considering skipping it since I had pretty much done everything i had set out to do, and it was "kids' day" but i went anyway. There was a Marvel Prize or No Prize trivia contest which I attended and was hosted by editor Tom Brevoort and my comics idol Dan Slott. The final round came for this huge stack of prizes, the question-who is Steve Harmon, which I know having read Dan Slott's books, but the guy on stage didn't, so i immediately got up and they had to pick me since I was the first one up, and Dan knew i knew the answer, so i yelled out "Slapstick" raced to the stage, hugged Dan, got my prizes which included- Hulk hands, original sketches, an Iron Man statue, an Iron Man action figure, and others. All in all a most excellent con experience :D
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
NYCC'08 Report
The NYCC'08 was last weekend, and what a blast it was! I spent most of my time around the Marvel booth, their panels, and the artist alley, but I had an awesome time, met some familiar and new creators, talked with some great guys, and essentially had a blast.
Friday
The first day, i got here early (didn't have to) but did. Immediately headed to the Marvel booth. Met some cool Marvel creators like Brian Reed, writer of Ms. Marvel, and EiC Joe Quesada who already knows me as my online username Spidey616. Later went to their panels for their announcments for Mondo Marvel and Secret Invasion. During the audience Q&A sections, Joe Q. immediately recognized me and told everyone in the audience Spidey616 was in the house and gave me a round of applause. It was great. Got some questions answered and reported in some reports.
The next question was directed towards Slott. The fan said his favorite new character was The Gauntlet, and asked if he would be seen "wearing the costume he wore in She-Hulk #3."Maybe," answered Slott. The same fan asked about the possibility of Avengers: The Initiative one-shots, and Slott answered that Chris Gage is writing one about Hardball and Komodo coming out soon.
"Will Namor be making an appearance in Secret Invasion?" "Yes," said Brevoort, typically a man of few words.
Brian Reed was asked about his vision for Secret Invasion: Front Line. The writer said that it's joked around the office that Bendis is writing "Godzilla," and he's writing "Cloverfield." "It's about survival," Reed said.
Will some titles be cancelled after the Skrulls? Brevoort: "I really hope so, because I'm really tired." He said there will be three Avengers books "for some time to come."
tbc....
Friday
The first day, i got here early (didn't have to) but did. Immediately headed to the Marvel booth. Met some cool Marvel creators like Brian Reed, writer of Ms. Marvel, and EiC Joe Quesada who already knows me as my online username Spidey616. Later went to their panels for their announcments for Mondo Marvel and Secret Invasion. During the audience Q&A sections, Joe Q. immediately recognized me and told everyone in the audience Spidey616 was in the house and gave me a round of applause. It was great. Got some questions answered and reported in some reports.
The next question was directed towards Slott. The fan said his favorite new character was The Gauntlet, and asked if he would be seen "wearing the costume he wore in She-Hulk #3."Maybe," answered Slott. The same fan asked about the possibility of Avengers: The Initiative one-shots, and Slott answered that Chris Gage is writing one about Hardball and Komodo coming out soon.
"Will Namor be making an appearance in Secret Invasion?" "Yes," said Brevoort, typically a man of few words.
Brian Reed was asked about his vision for Secret Invasion: Front Line. The writer said that it's joked around the office that Bendis is writing "Godzilla," and he's writing "Cloverfield." "It's about survival," Reed said.
Will some titles be cancelled after the Skrulls? Brevoort: "I really hope so, because I'm really tired." He said there will be three Avengers books "for some time to come."
tbc....
The Spirit movie Trailer
In case you haven't seen it, here's a link to the new Spirit teaser trailer that premiered last weekend at the NYCC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj-avI31YPE
I think it looks pretty good, but apparatently there's been some controversy that it's not "Will Eisner's The Spirit" that it's Frank Miller's version of it. Indeed, it defiantely calls to mind the look of Sin City with the black and white imagery and the Spirit jumping off roof tops, and the title at the end isn't like Will Eisner wouldn't have done it. This might just be a rumor, but supposedly half the audience left after seeing it. But it's still WAY too early to tell, and it's just a teaser so this isn't a total reflection of the movie as a whole.
Reports of Spirit panel
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16119
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj-avI31YPE
I think it looks pretty good, but apparatently there's been some controversy that it's not "Will Eisner's The Spirit" that it's Frank Miller's version of it. Indeed, it defiantely calls to mind the look of Sin City with the black and white imagery and the Spirit jumping off roof tops, and the title at the end isn't like Will Eisner wouldn't have done it. This might just be a rumor, but supposedly half the audience left after seeing it. But it's still WAY too early to tell, and it's just a teaser so this isn't a total reflection of the movie as a whole.
Reports of Spirit panel
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16119
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Comic Book Confidential
I think since Comic Book Confidential was made, there have been a lot of other documentaries and chronicles about the comic book industry, so a lot of the information for me at least was repeat, but still offered quite a lot of new insights particularily into the world of underground comics, which hasn't been as touched on as mainstream superhero comics.
I was impressed with the huge array of creators Ron Mann was able to get to appear in the film, especially the underground creators, and the techniques he utilized that made it livelier and not just another boring narrative educational film. I quite enjoyed how he took some comic stories and shot the panels like storyboards and got the creators to say the lines and essentially adapt the comics for film. I think the best of all was the one Will Eisner did, because Mann got really creative with the camera such as panning, closing into the characters' faces, and transitioning from scenes using dissolves.
It was also a bit strange to see some creators who still work today younger since this was made in the late 80's. Especially Frank Miller, who's now a bit of an old guy himself, with long hair and having less of a gut than he has now.
I think it's also important to remember the context of the time when CBC was made, since the comics industry has changed quite dramatically since then. This was before the comics crash of the 90's, considered one of the worst time for the industry since the Wertham hearings of the 50's, and the current resurgence of comics as art and entertainment and moving successfully into other media such as current comic book films.
Overall, I think it was a highly entertaining and enlightening film on the comics medium, and would love to see Ron Mann do a follow up someday.
I was impressed with the huge array of creators Ron Mann was able to get to appear in the film, especially the underground creators, and the techniques he utilized that made it livelier and not just another boring narrative educational film. I quite enjoyed how he took some comic stories and shot the panels like storyboards and got the creators to say the lines and essentially adapt the comics for film. I think the best of all was the one Will Eisner did, because Mann got really creative with the camera such as panning, closing into the characters' faces, and transitioning from scenes using dissolves.
It was also a bit strange to see some creators who still work today younger since this was made in the late 80's. Especially Frank Miller, who's now a bit of an old guy himself, with long hair and having less of a gut than he has now.
I think it's also important to remember the context of the time when CBC was made, since the comics industry has changed quite dramatically since then. This was before the comics crash of the 90's, considered one of the worst time for the industry since the Wertham hearings of the 50's, and the current resurgence of comics as art and entertainment and moving successfully into other media such as current comic book films.
Overall, I think it was a highly entertaining and enlightening film on the comics medium, and would love to see Ron Mann do a follow up someday.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Peter David@ the Comic Book Club Video
As I mentioned, a few weeks ago I attended the March 4th show of the Comic Book Club at the People's Improv Theater with comic book creator guest writer Peter David and comedian Chris Gethard. I think hands down, this was one of the funniest shows the trio has done so far in the year, and luckily the footage I shot is available at their website through the following link. David was there promoting the release of Marvel's new Dark Tower book, as well as the other stuff he has coming out. I'm a big fan of Peter David, and it was a real treat to see him in person. In fact, you can hear me at some points particularily during his tease on "Secret Invasion" and promoting his Iron Man novelization. Take a look:
http://www.popcultureshock.com/cbclub/?p=38
http://www.popcultureshock.com/cbclub/?p=38
Stray Bullets
Besides my initital reaction after reading "Stray Bullets" and being greatly disturbed, it's a really unique work that utilizes a lot of familiar elements of the "film noir/crime" genre but keeps going in a direction you never see coming.
I think much more than Billi 99, Stray Bullets reminded me of Frank Miller's Sin City books. In fact, the first story with the two guys and the dead body and all the increasing number of dead bodies was a bit reminiscent of "The Big Fat Kill" Sin City story with Dwight, which was the 2nd story in the film adaptation with Clive Owen playing Dwight. But I think one of the key differences is that Frank Miller draws his characters in a more abstract cartoony style, so although the characters are clearly human beings, there's very few people on earth who look as deformed as the Sin City characters. As opposed to Lapham's character designs, which are really photo-realistically draw, which gives more attachment to the action in the book, and thus most likely seemed more unsettling to me than something like Sin City.
Visually, I was impressed with how Lapham was able to make something that seemed simple on the surface actually complex. A majority of the stories are 6 basic panel grids, but there's a lot going on in each and every one. Like on the 5th story with Orson, from p.144-149, there's a lot of dialogue coming from his parents, but no where in the story do we ever seem them. The closest we come is a one panel kiss silhouette from his mother on p.146. It just reminded me a little of the shark from Jaws.
I also liked how Lapham varied the speech bubbles depending on the context and situation. For instance, whenever someone was intoxicated the bubble would be very bumpy and the lettering more spaced between each other and looked like it was scribbled. It reminded me a bit of Jeff Smith's lettering in Bone in that respect, especially for some characters like the Lord of the Locusts or the Rat Creatures. And of course the captions and titles had a type print, almost like a police or criminal record, which of course is very fitting for the mood.
Story-wise, I found it a little jarring at first to be plunged into a world that was basically ours, but the dark underbelly of it. It was kinda like a Quentin Tarantino movie, because a lot of these people are not typically seen in "normal society" but as we get to know 'some' we find they too go through some of the same experiences and even know the same pop culture stuff we do ex) Star Wars. There was a lot I took away from it, that I won't soon forget, which is something Cynthia usually asks us after we finish a work. Things that'll stick with me for some time are the mantis eating Virginia, her Halloween experience, Orson's drug trip, Joey killing all those people in the diner, and so much more.
There's a lot to talk about Stray Bullets. Like Billi 99 it's not something I would've read or heard of if not for this tutorial, and although it was darker than my usual comic taste, I like being exposed to new things and getting a new flavor of something that's not mainstream.
I think much more than Billi 99, Stray Bullets reminded me of Frank Miller's Sin City books. In fact, the first story with the two guys and the dead body and all the increasing number of dead bodies was a bit reminiscent of "The Big Fat Kill" Sin City story with Dwight, which was the 2nd story in the film adaptation with Clive Owen playing Dwight. But I think one of the key differences is that Frank Miller draws his characters in a more abstract cartoony style, so although the characters are clearly human beings, there's very few people on earth who look as deformed as the Sin City characters. As opposed to Lapham's character designs, which are really photo-realistically draw, which gives more attachment to the action in the book, and thus most likely seemed more unsettling to me than something like Sin City.
Visually, I was impressed with how Lapham was able to make something that seemed simple on the surface actually complex. A majority of the stories are 6 basic panel grids, but there's a lot going on in each and every one. Like on the 5th story with Orson, from p.144-149, there's a lot of dialogue coming from his parents, but no where in the story do we ever seem them. The closest we come is a one panel kiss silhouette from his mother on p.146. It just reminded me a little of the shark from Jaws.
I also liked how Lapham varied the speech bubbles depending on the context and situation. For instance, whenever someone was intoxicated the bubble would be very bumpy and the lettering more spaced between each other and looked like it was scribbled. It reminded me a bit of Jeff Smith's lettering in Bone in that respect, especially for some characters like the Lord of the Locusts or the Rat Creatures. And of course the captions and titles had a type print, almost like a police or criminal record, which of course is very fitting for the mood.
Story-wise, I found it a little jarring at first to be plunged into a world that was basically ours, but the dark underbelly of it. It was kinda like a Quentin Tarantino movie, because a lot of these people are not typically seen in "normal society" but as we get to know 'some' we find they too go through some of the same experiences and even know the same pop culture stuff we do ex) Star Wars. There was a lot I took away from it, that I won't soon forget, which is something Cynthia usually asks us after we finish a work. Things that'll stick with me for some time are the mantis eating Virginia, her Halloween experience, Orson's drug trip, Joey killing all those people in the diner, and so much more.
There's a lot to talk about Stray Bullets. Like Billi 99 it's not something I would've read or heard of if not for this tutorial, and although it was darker than my usual comic taste, I like being exposed to new things and getting a new flavor of something that's not mainstream.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Billi 99
If it hadn't been for this tutorial, I don't think I would've read this or even heard of this work. Reading it, I was defiantely reminded of Will Eisner's work in The Spirit and even Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novel. I know Billi 99 came out in the early part of the 90's, but I'm not sure if this had any influence on Miller's work, but there are defianatel similarities in tone, art, and many other aspects.
It was a really enjoyable story that took things that have already been used in comics and other media and made it unique. In fact there are even direct references to some of these influences such as Zorro. It's not necessarily a superhero book, but it does have a film noir style, probably best depicted by the choice of making it a black and white comic.
I'm familiar with Tim Sale's work in superhero comics with Jeph Loeb on Batman, Heroes, and their various Marvel projects, but he really blew me away with the art in Billi 99. Not only that but the fact that he did all the lettering, which was a joy to look at, especially the sound effects. There are many sequences that come to mind after reading it like the panel spacing on p. 11 that drop down to the corner. Or the flashback sequence on p.20-21, where the art style noticably changes. I don't know how best to describe it, only that the lines change, but you can tell this part is set in the past.
And of course, no film noir comic would be complete without silhoutes, which there are plenty of in the book. There's one I particularily like on the bottom left on p.30, which at first I didn't know what it was, but then I finally realized it was a closeup of Anunzi's bottom half of his face drinking from the glass. Another sequence to note is the chase sequence between Billi and the cop on p.148-149, that's arranged in interconnecting panels read from left-right in a curvy fashion. You just have to look at it to see what I'm talking about it, but it's such a unique way of staging a chase while still keeping the story going and not using too many panels.
Overall, I found Billi 99 enjoyable. Perhaps a little too similar to other works, but I'm guessing this came before many, and glad to read another jem that hasn't been noticed in the mainstream.
It was a really enjoyable story that took things that have already been used in comics and other media and made it unique. In fact there are even direct references to some of these influences such as Zorro. It's not necessarily a superhero book, but it does have a film noir style, probably best depicted by the choice of making it a black and white comic.
I'm familiar with Tim Sale's work in superhero comics with Jeph Loeb on Batman, Heroes, and their various Marvel projects, but he really blew me away with the art in Billi 99. Not only that but the fact that he did all the lettering, which was a joy to look at, especially the sound effects. There are many sequences that come to mind after reading it like the panel spacing on p. 11 that drop down to the corner. Or the flashback sequence on p.20-21, where the art style noticably changes. I don't know how best to describe it, only that the lines change, but you can tell this part is set in the past.
And of course, no film noir comic would be complete without silhoutes, which there are plenty of in the book. There's one I particularily like on the bottom left on p.30, which at first I didn't know what it was, but then I finally realized it was a closeup of Anunzi's bottom half of his face drinking from the glass. Another sequence to note is the chase sequence between Billi and the cop on p.148-149, that's arranged in interconnecting panels read from left-right in a curvy fashion. You just have to look at it to see what I'm talking about it, but it's such a unique way of staging a chase while still keeping the story going and not using too many panels.
Overall, I found Billi 99 enjoyable. Perhaps a little too similar to other works, but I'm guessing this came before many, and glad to read another jem that hasn't been noticed in the mainstream.
Astro City Part 2
Much of my reaction to the 2nd half of Astro City is included in Part 1 of my blog, but I'll continue with Part 2. I liked the first page of the 5th story Reconaissance with the alien spy. The lettering is old and looks like something from a fairy tale story or something, but it too is as deceiving as the main character himself. I also liked how in the last 2 pages, the font of the words "Humans!" in the caption boxes gets bigger expressing the growing anger of the alien's rage.
There are nice little touches in the art I enjoyed from the story like on p.137 with the "helicopter shots" of the panels that go deeper into a closeup of the alien's face (still in human form) but his eyes have cats eyes to remind us of his alien nature.
On p.100 there's also a different version of the dream/fantasy sequences we've already seen with the blue lines that look like they've been dropped in a puddle.
There are nice little touches in the art I enjoyed from the story like on p.137 with the "helicopter shots" of the panels that go deeper into a closeup of the alien's face (still in human form) but his eyes have cats eyes to remind us of his alien nature.
On p.100 there's also a different version of the dream/fantasy sequences we've already seen with the blue lines that look like they've been dropped in a puddle.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Watchmen Character Images Revealed
As most people already know, there's a Watchmen movie in the works with "300" director Zack Snyder at the helm. Obviously there's a lot of anticipation for it, especially considering previous Alan Moore comic adapations have not been met with great success. Warner Bros. has released some images of some of the principle characters, and they're actually pretty good for the most part. My one complaint is that some, like Ozymandias, give off a "Batman and Robin" vibe, probably not helped by the fact that nipples are visible on his costume.
The Comedian, however, looks awesome. Check them out right now:
http://www.superherohype.com/news/watchmennews.php?id=6887
The Comedian, however, looks awesome. Check them out right now:
http://www.superherohype.com/news/watchmennews.php?id=6887
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Comic Book Club Cable/Deadpool Show Video Footage
I've already told the group about the Comic Book Club, which I hope we can attend one show sometime before the end of the year, but I went to last week's show featuring the creative team for Marvel's now cancelled book "Cable/Deadpool" Fabian Nicieza, Reilly Brown, and Nicole Boose. I know Patti was interested in going, and I'm sorry you didn't get to go, but here's a link to the footage now on the club's website, where I'm referred to as their "unofficial fan videographer"
http://www.popcultureshock.com/cbclub/?p=35
http://www.popcultureshock.com/cbclub/?p=35
Astro City Part 1
Before reading "Astro City" I wasn't too excited, because I thought the idea of "superheroes in the real world" had already been played out time and time again, and wasn't sure what Busiek could offer that was fresh and unique. Some examples in the past that Busiek also mentions in his introduction are Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and others I've seen since then such as The Tick, Venture Bros., and more recently Mark Millar's new miniseries for Marvel Kick-Ass. But after reading it, I was very pleasantly surprised and thought Busiek did a great job of maintaining both the reality and mundane of the real world with the fantastical life of superheroes.
We discussed the design of art deco playing a role and a basic sense of nostaglia for superhero comics in the past. For instance, one group of heroes, "The First Family" is obviously a giant homage to Marvel's Fantastic Four, it being comics 'First Superhero Family.' One thing I noticed and really liked was how all the stories ended with a caption designed as a road signing saying "You are now leaving Astro City" I think this helped in connecting the individual stories and really each one together and made it come to full completion. I'm not sure how effective it was for every story, but it was certaintly effective for the stories "In Dreams" "A Little Knowledge" and "Safeguards" all of which end with the main character leaving Astro City either physically and/or mentally.
Of all the stories, I think my favorite was "A Little Knowledge" because it was really Eisner-esque and film noir-ish, where the superhero isn't the main character at all, but someone who finds out his secret ID and contemplates what to do with it. The fantasy sequences are great and often hilarious, and I noticed that unlike the panels set in reality, those are drawn without borders, in order to differentiate the reality and fantasy of what this character is going through.
Unlike the previous work we read, "Buddha" Astro City varies its speech bubbles very often issue-to-issue and page-to-page and examples include the Shark God on p.49 which is colored like Shark skin and written menacingly to the Demolition character on p.104 that uses BIG BOLD and brick looking like font. Overall though, it's a great series that I regret not reading when it first came out and I'm amazed that Busiek can bring such an incredible amount of sophistication to what is dubbed a "kids' genre." Look for what else I have to say in Part 2 of my blog on this.
We discussed the design of art deco playing a role and a basic sense of nostaglia for superhero comics in the past. For instance, one group of heroes, "The First Family" is obviously a giant homage to Marvel's Fantastic Four, it being comics 'First Superhero Family.' One thing I noticed and really liked was how all the stories ended with a caption designed as a road signing saying "You are now leaving Astro City" I think this helped in connecting the individual stories and really each one together and made it come to full completion. I'm not sure how effective it was for every story, but it was certaintly effective for the stories "In Dreams" "A Little Knowledge" and "Safeguards" all of which end with the main character leaving Astro City either physically and/or mentally.
Of all the stories, I think my favorite was "A Little Knowledge" because it was really Eisner-esque and film noir-ish, where the superhero isn't the main character at all, but someone who finds out his secret ID and contemplates what to do with it. The fantasy sequences are great and often hilarious, and I noticed that unlike the panels set in reality, those are drawn without borders, in order to differentiate the reality and fantasy of what this character is going through.
Unlike the previous work we read, "Buddha" Astro City varies its speech bubbles very often issue-to-issue and page-to-page and examples include the Shark God on p.49 which is colored like Shark skin and written menacingly to the Demolition character on p.104 that uses BIG BOLD and brick looking like font. Overall though, it's a great series that I regret not reading when it first came out and I'm amazed that Busiek can bring such an incredible amount of sophistication to what is dubbed a "kids' genre." Look for what else I have to say in Part 2 of my blog on this.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
New Jeff Smith Project Available this week
Jeff Smith, the creator of the acclaimed series Bone, and most recently did a Shazzam miniseries this year, is back with a new comic series which hit comic book shelves this week. It's a sci-fi adventure and you can read more about it in 2 interviews I found online.
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=139951
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=148096
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=139951
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=148096
Monday, February 18, 2008
Buddha (Part II)
I think the second half for the than the first, probably has more cartoony-nish and abstract designs.
Tezuka uses a lot of techniques known by many as being "anime-ish". Take for example the exaggerated expressions of characters throughout the work or in the crowd scene in Chapra's contest with the warrior on p.295, Tezuka draws them as pigs, the meaning of which should be very obvious. Moments like that for me at least, took me away from the story, or maybe because it was something I wasn't expecting, but it was unusual to have these consistantly contrasting styles of realistic backgrounds, and characters and emotions like the birth of Buddha himself, and then we get scenes like this that look like they're from Looney Tunes.
I did notice how Tezuka manages to effectively capture speed despite working with a still medium. As McCloud points out, fast dashed lines can evoke quick fast movement, and Tezuka utilizes it frequently throughout the work. Look at the pole being rocked on p.294 or Tatta stealing the silk on p.39
In addition to that, Tezuka also uses many sound effect captions, which is pretty much universal in comics throughout the world. But Tezuka also knows when to use absolute no sound, words, etc. just images, which is one of the things that separates Western comics from Eastern comics, as McCloud points out. In fact he even references p. 52-53, to show what silence can do, and to provide an example for different kinds of panel transitions such as Aspect-Aspect.
Tezuka uses a lot of techniques known by many as being "anime-ish". Take for example the exaggerated expressions of characters throughout the work or in the crowd scene in Chapra's contest with the warrior on p.295, Tezuka draws them as pigs, the meaning of which should be very obvious. Moments like that for me at least, took me away from the story, or maybe because it was something I wasn't expecting, but it was unusual to have these consistantly contrasting styles of realistic backgrounds, and characters and emotions like the birth of Buddha himself, and then we get scenes like this that look like they're from Looney Tunes.
I did notice how Tezuka manages to effectively capture speed despite working with a still medium. As McCloud points out, fast dashed lines can evoke quick fast movement, and Tezuka utilizes it frequently throughout the work. Look at the pole being rocked on p.294 or Tatta stealing the silk on p.39
In addition to that, Tezuka also uses many sound effect captions, which is pretty much universal in comics throughout the world. But Tezuka also knows when to use absolute no sound, words, etc. just images, which is one of the things that separates Western comics from Eastern comics, as McCloud points out. In fact he even references p. 52-53, to show what silence can do, and to provide an example for different kinds of panel transitions such as Aspect-Aspect.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Greg Pak Q&A
Greg Pak, filmmaker and comics writer on such acclaimed projects as Incredible Hulk- Planet Hulk and last summer's smash hit World War Hulk, and current co-writer on Incredible Hercules, has a bi-weekly reader Q&A segment on his official website brokenfrontier.com
I sent in a post to about a month ago or so, and found out last week that he answered it! I've had the fortune of meeting Pak a few times in the past year at signings and his last appearance at the Comic Book Club, now available at youtube, but I was so glad to see that he liked my questions enough to choose them and answering some lingering questions in my mind.
Check it out right here:
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/columns/details.php?id=795
I sent in a post to about a month ago or so, and found out last week that he answered it! I've had the fortune of meeting Pak a few times in the past year at signings and his last appearance at the Comic Book Club, now available at youtube, but I was so glad to see that he liked my questions enough to choose them and answering some lingering questions in my mind.
Check it out right here:
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/columns/details.php?id=795
Spirit NYCC'07 Panel Podcast
Below is a link to an audio podcast of a panel of the Spirit film panel where some of the filmmakers and people who worked with Will Eisner attended. This is where the teaser poster was first revealed, and although it's a year old and a lot of stuff has happened since then, it's still worth listening to, to hear about and learn the progression of the Spirit film adaptation.
That plus, my cousin and I were lucky enough to ask the panelists question, which you can hear during the Q&A portion of the podcast. I'm the one who asks who Will Eisner wanted to play Dennie Colt and my cousin who was about 13 (and was really excited this being his first Con which you can hear it in his voice) asks if Robert Rodirguez will be involved.
http://nycccast.com/?p=53
That plus, my cousin and I were lucky enough to ask the panelists question, which you can hear during the Q&A portion of the podcast. I'm the one who asks who Will Eisner wanted to play Dennie Colt and my cousin who was about 13 (and was really excited this being his first Con which you can hear it in his voice) asks if Robert Rodirguez will be involved.
http://nycccast.com/?p=53
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Buddha Thoughts
Osamu Tezuka's Budha was defintately a different take on the life and story of Budha. I'm familiar with his past work in manga and anime such as Astro Boy and Metropolis, but even so, never thought he could deal with such deep and adult themes.
The style is of course consistent with Tezuka's usual Eastern style, cartoony designs of the characters, which is effective in immediately connecting the reader to the characters' essence, so you immediately know who they are and what kind of person they are. Takka has a small body and a big head, so you know he's a sly tricky head. The General is fat and gives off the feelings that he is a villain, and so on and so forth.
As McCloud often mentions in his books, the Eastern style differs tremendously from the West in their frequent use of aspect-to-aspect transitions, and the way creators take their time with small moments and silent times. A great example of this is when the General finds out Chapra is a slave and contemplates from he should do in many panels all from a different perspective.
Budha epitimizes many fundamental differences from Western comics, although they seem so obvious, are necessary to point out. The shape of the speech bubbles for instance, retain a circular design but don't have curves/tails from the character's mouth. Additionally, all the speech bubbles in Buddha are pretty much the same shape, so there's no real difference between what a character says and what he thinks. But it seems thoughts are pretty much are typed outside with nothing around them. Additionally, there's no caption boxes, although there are captions to explain the setting and the mood, etc. etc.
The style is of course consistent with Tezuka's usual Eastern style, cartoony designs of the characters, which is effective in immediately connecting the reader to the characters' essence, so you immediately know who they are and what kind of person they are. Takka has a small body and a big head, so you know he's a sly tricky head. The General is fat and gives off the feelings that he is a villain, and so on and so forth.
As McCloud often mentions in his books, the Eastern style differs tremendously from the West in their frequent use of aspect-to-aspect transitions, and the way creators take their time with small moments and silent times. A great example of this is when the General finds out Chapra is a slave and contemplates from he should do in many panels all from a different perspective.
Budha epitimizes many fundamental differences from Western comics, although they seem so obvious, are necessary to point out. The shape of the speech bubbles for instance, retain a circular design but don't have curves/tails from the character's mouth. Additionally, all the speech bubbles in Buddha are pretty much the same shape, so there's no real difference between what a character says and what he thinks. But it seems thoughts are pretty much are typed outside with nothing around them. Additionally, there's no caption boxes, although there are captions to explain the setting and the mood, etc. etc.
Will Eisner Documentary
Before viewing the film, I wasn't sure what to expect and how new and relevant it was going to be, since after a while, certain things about the history of comics get said over and over again, but it's essential for people not familiar with the medium.
But I was really surprised about how unique and informative the documentary was and the style of presenting Will Eisner's life story. I liked how they took illustrations from one of his autobiographical works in combinations with Eisner's own personal accounts. From memorable moments include fighting the neighborhood bullies, fixing a press machine that lands him a job, and the diner incident wherein Eisner is accused of being cheap.
I also liked learning of Eisner's major accomplishments beyond "The Spirit" which is usually the first thing he's known for, but hearing about his critically lauded works in the underground comics circuit in the 70's and his innovations was new for me. In fact, I had no idea it was Eisner himself who supposedly came up with the term "graphic novel" which is still used today. I thought it was also amusing and worthwhile hearing about his reaction to the new movements in comics in the 70's at a New York Comic Convention with Robert Crumb and all the other Underground creators.
I'm glad the filmmakers had interviews with comic creators still in the industry today, but wished they included more to see how influential Eisner was and still is today. But of course they got in some of the greats and the usual suspects of who you'd expect in a Will Eisner documentary such as Frank Miller, Stan Lee, and many others.
For the most part, I enjoy the Spirit, the the only minor gripe I have is the mixture of realistic characters such as the Spirit with some cartoony elements. I don't mind cartoony and abstract designs to a degree, but someone like Ebony White was really distracting for me, and I can see why Frank Miller has cut the character out of his film adaptation.
But I was really surprised about how unique and informative the documentary was and the style of presenting Will Eisner's life story. I liked how they took illustrations from one of his autobiographical works in combinations with Eisner's own personal accounts. From memorable moments include fighting the neighborhood bullies, fixing a press machine that lands him a job, and the diner incident wherein Eisner is accused of being cheap.
I also liked learning of Eisner's major accomplishments beyond "The Spirit" which is usually the first thing he's known for, but hearing about his critically lauded works in the underground comics circuit in the 70's and his innovations was new for me. In fact, I had no idea it was Eisner himself who supposedly came up with the term "graphic novel" which is still used today. I thought it was also amusing and worthwhile hearing about his reaction to the new movements in comics in the 70's at a New York Comic Convention with Robert Crumb and all the other Underground creators.
I'm glad the filmmakers had interviews with comic creators still in the industry today, but wished they included more to see how influential Eisner was and still is today. But of course they got in some of the greats and the usual suspects of who you'd expect in a Will Eisner documentary such as Frank Miller, Stan Lee, and many others.
For the most part, I enjoy the Spirit, the the only minor gripe I have is the mixture of realistic characters such as the Spirit with some cartoony elements. I don't mind cartoony and abstract designs to a degree, but someone like Ebony White was really distracting for me, and I can see why Frank Miller has cut the character out of his film adaptation.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Comics & Sequential Art
As you can probably guess, there's much overlap in ideas between McCloud's books and Will Eisner's Comics & Sequential, but Eisner does offer some very new and interesting points about comics as an art form and elaborates furhter on some McCloud's points.
One of the most profound things about comics discussed by both authors is the fact that it's a medium that allows for a deep participation by the viewer. It requires the reader to fill in what isn't seen between/within panels, etc. etc. i.e. blood and gutter. Eisner talks about this as well, but one part in particular was really interesting to me and that had to due with character design within a limited frame. When we're given a closeup or limited view of a character, we have to make up a shape ourselves, and sometimes we get the artist's intention right such as a fat head having a fat body, but sometimes we don't and competely misintreprent it.
Eisner also has several chapters devoted to the layout and reading of a comics page, which McCloud has includes, but I think Eisner is perhaps more inventive in his panel layouts, at least for American standards. The typical method is left-->right up-->down but sometimes Eisner has the reader start at the bottom of the page go up and go back down to take it all in.
I had only read one Eisner story in my life, and that was his last comic ever for The Escapist comic for Dark Horse based on Michael Chabon's "Kaviler and Clay" book, but the The Burning of P.S. 13 was something really new for me. The word balloons, text, all had meaning and signifigance, which we had a hard time finding for the works we did last semester so that was refreshing. Also, the designs of the characters gave the reader an immediate sense of their personalities and what they're like i.e. the lawyer with the obaque classes, two hunched judges, and of course Hazel the Witch. I've never read one of Eisner's classic Spirit stories, but there are quite a few reprinted in Sequential art, so I don't know if they're all diverse in stories or out there like this, but it was an enjoyable read and interesting to compare and contrast with today's comics.
One of the most profound things about comics discussed by both authors is the fact that it's a medium that allows for a deep participation by the viewer. It requires the reader to fill in what isn't seen between/within panels, etc. etc. i.e. blood and gutter. Eisner talks about this as well, but one part in particular was really interesting to me and that had to due with character design within a limited frame. When we're given a closeup or limited view of a character, we have to make up a shape ourselves, and sometimes we get the artist's intention right such as a fat head having a fat body, but sometimes we don't and competely misintreprent it.
Eisner also has several chapters devoted to the layout and reading of a comics page, which McCloud has includes, but I think Eisner is perhaps more inventive in his panel layouts, at least for American standards. The typical method is left-->right up-->down but sometimes Eisner has the reader start at the bottom of the page go up and go back down to take it all in.
I had only read one Eisner story in my life, and that was his last comic ever for The Escapist comic for Dark Horse based on Michael Chabon's "Kaviler and Clay" book, but the The Burning of P.S. 13 was something really new for me. The word balloons, text, all had meaning and signifigance, which we had a hard time finding for the works we did last semester so that was refreshing. Also, the designs of the characters gave the reader an immediate sense of their personalities and what they're like i.e. the lawyer with the obaque classes, two hunched judges, and of course Hazel the Witch. I've never read one of Eisner's classic Spirit stories, but there are quite a few reprinted in Sequential art, so I don't know if they're all diverse in stories or out there like this, but it was an enjoyable read and interesting to compare and contrast with today's comics.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Comic Book Club 1/29/08 Footage
As Cynthia already mentioned at the last tutorial, there's a Comic Book Talk show at 154 West 29th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue at the People's Improv Theater every Tuesday at 8:00 PM.
I checked the guest list and once I saw the writers on the current Incredible Herc title for Marvel- Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente were making an appearance I grabbed my camera, every Hulk comic in my room, and rushed over there. So you can take a look at the footage right at youtube as well as old footage, just type in Comic Book Club or click on my username:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Trjx8icSs0
I checked the guest list and once I saw the writers on the current Incredible Herc title for Marvel- Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente were making an appearance I grabbed my camera, every Hulk comic in my room, and rushed over there. So you can take a look at the footage right at youtube as well as old footage, just type in Comic Book Club or click on my username:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Trjx8icSs0
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