May 6, 2008 on 6:44 pm | In Cartoonists, Web Comics
So, I’ll admit it, I’ve been a bit wary of posting a lot about Zuda Comics, DC’s voter-driven webcomics initiative. There are a few reasons for this, chief amongst them that I’m not sure anything created, released and publicized by one of the biggest publishers in the history of North American comics qualifies as either “indie” or “alternative.”
However, yesterday I got two e-mails from creators in the business who I know and whose work I generally enjoy, and their sensibilities fall squarely into the camp of stuff we normally cover here, so I thought I’d pass word of their running in the most recent competition. For those who don’t know, Zuda posts a whopping ten trial strips each month, two of which are chosen based on reader votes to continue on as regular web features. I received word of:
ACTION, OHIO
Written by Neil Kleid and drawn by Paul Salvi, this strip seems to be a reappropriation of comic tropes dating from the pulps through the Marvel heyday and set against a modern noir tale. The strip even has its own production blog, which was where I snagged this piece of promotional art:
HANNIBAL GOES TO ROME
This second entry I heard word of is a historical comedy strip that reminded me a lot of what Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey do with Comic Book Comics but with Roman war stuff instead of funny book stuff. It’s by Brendan McGinley and Mauro Vargas, and while I couldn’t pull an image of it so easily, you can access it and Action, Ohio both by going to the Zuda homepage. If you want to vote to keep a strip alive, you’ll have to register, and I should add that if you get in the voting spirit, please check out every strip competing. It’s only fair.
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April 20, 2008 on 12:58 pm | In Cartoonists, Events, Graphic Novelties
As I was saying earlier, I had the opportunity to hang out at the CBLDF sponsored RASL release party in Manhattan on Wednesday night, and although the supremely awesome Jeff Smith isn’t actually a guest at NYCC, the whole event felt like the calm before the storm/the nights before Christmas/the last chance to drink moderately all weekend long.
It also provided the first opportunity for my to try out Wizard Staff Photographer Dylan Brucie’s giant, super-powered Camera Monster 5000 which I was barely able to function with except to snap this shot of Smith, his wife and Cartoon Books publisher Vijaya and Toon Books Publisher Francoise Mouly. See?
Frank Miller was there too, but by the time I figured out how to properly try and take his picture, he mysteriously disappeared into the night, hat in hand. The Beat has some
photos of such things however, even though she wasn’t even there.
HOW DOES SHE DO IT?
P.S. - Yeah, I know it’s kinda a huge photo right now. I haven’t been able to post images in two days for some reason, and when this came through, I figured I’d go with it while I could. I’ll fix later. Promise.
March 27, 2008 on 8:17 pm | In Cartoonists, Events, Web Comics
Oh my God, you guys! It’s crazy around these parts these days, but we’ve got a few really super cool features that Dave and I will be blogging all up in your faces over the next few days (Can you say “New Pancake Lover”?????). But for right now, how’s about you and I play some Linko for fabulous internet prizes?
In what is probably either old news or news that falls so strongly into the “well, of course they are” category that you probably all figured it was happening, the dudes at Penny Arcade are prepping their own video game. Now, I don’t play video games much if at all, and my interest in the online adventures of Tycho and Gabe is almost totally contingent on my wanting to sound really smart about the web comics business model at comics industry cocktail hour (that and I like it when I see a strip where they mention Deep Space 9). HOWEVER, even I think the idea of a straight up adventure game starring the pair and created with the guys who did The Secret of Monkey Island sounds awesome.
Won’t you please click on this link which contains an interview with the guys from Hothead Games who are bringing this cash cow to pixilated life?
In other weird cartoonist media crossover news, Jeffrey Brown was recently profiled for a Canadian television show call SexTV. I don’t get the title either, but the video looks cool. I found this on the Top Shelf newsletter, which probably means you’ve already seen it. But if you’re not on that list, the easiest ways to get signed up include going to the Top Shelf site, contacting anyone at Top Shelf for any reason or giving Chris Staros a high five on the floor of any convention.
Lastly, I went to the release party for the new issue of Comic Foundry last night thrown by the man pretty Tim Leong and the lovely Laura Hudson. Tim took photos of me looking pale and bloaty next to pretty girls which you can see here. The new issue of their mag looks really slick and is in stores April 9th.
- KP
March 26, 2008 on 11:14 pm | In Cartoonists
It’s hard not to love the endearingly funny, sketchbook journal-style autobiographical comics of Liz Prince. Holding a shameless magnifying glass up to her personal life, Prince highlights the sweet along with the uncomfortable with an added dash of quirky and nerdy (her cat’s name is SCIENCE!). Like asking her boyfriend to smell her armpit or obsessing over Saucony running shoes and Zelda on the Nintendo DS.
She made her first autobio comic, about meeting Evan Dorkin (Dork, Milk & Cheese), when she was 16 and later got her big break after sending Top Shelf a mini-comic of what they would go on to publish as Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed?—which won the Ignatz Award at SPX for “Best Debut” in 2005. Since then, Liz has become an anthology Viking with most of the critically acclaimed volumes like Papercutter, Project: Romantic, You Ain’t No Dancer and even VICE Magazine’s Comics Issue.
Her upcoming Top Shelf collection, Delayed Replays, will print online material from her Livejournal. Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed? gets a new printing from Top Shelf next week after being out of print for a while. She’s also continuing to work on a longer form autobiographical work called Two Headed Boy, so that’s something to look forward to in the future.
For some instant gratification go check out her Livejournal, which she updates pretty regularly. She’s currently in the middle of a “100 Themes” posting frenzy, which will eventually end in 100 strips, each focusing on a single theme. Fun!
If you don’t feel good about life (or comics) after reading Liz’s stuff your heart is a black hole weirdness.
Quotable:
“I do still have a certain level of personal embarrassment. Usually if I find something really mortifying it will take me a couple months to come to terms with it and be able to use it in a comic. As far as stuff that just involves me goes I tend to find a lot of humor in either the terrible things that happen to me or the terrible things that I do to other people. But when there’s someone else involved I try and give them a say on whether or not I divulge their personal secrets.”
-DP
March 18, 2008 on 9:36 pm | In Cartoonists, Interviews
Greek native Vasilis Lolos broke into American comics working with Rick Spears (Teenagers From Mars) on Pirates Of Coney Island at Image. Along with various mini comics like his own Hats and 2007’s 5 with Becky Cloonan, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon and Rafael Grampa, Vasilis has started his own graphic novel series at Oni Press called The Last Call.
How did you get into comics and illustration?
I got to a late start when it came to drawing. I was reading a lot of comics as a kid but other then Mighty Mouse and K.I.T.T. I didn’t draw much until I was 16 or something when I was preparing for architecture school (I ended up in graphic design). I drew a lot of short stories in that time and went into self-publishing with groups of friends. I got my first publishing deal in a weekly magazine called “9″ and since then I’ve been drawing comics full-time.
How has your style of drawing evolved since you first started? Were there any comic artists that inspired you?
I started off with a very European style, but after taking some heat from a friend I dove headfirst into the depths of “manga,” that was around 1998. Since then I’ve been looking at more alternative artists including Taiyo Matsumoto, Max Anderson, Guy Davis, Mike Mignola and Frank Miller. Of course my style has changed a lot over the years, switching mediums and techniques, but that’s all a part of growing up. Katsuhiro Otomo is an everlasting influence to me, as well as Moebius, however the last few years I’ve been drawing inspiration more from outside of comics.
What kind of inspiration do you draw from outside of comics?
I really like the Art Deco period, and I’ve been into Dore’s engravings. I also draw a lot of inspiration from the German exspressionist film movement. I buy a lot of magazines that are related to Space exploration and mechanical design. Really I pick up things from here and there, trying to make sense of it in a sort of mental-to-visual Tetris fashion. Of course there are themes and visual styles that I’ve always liked, but sometimes something unexpected will capture my attention and I throw it into the mix.
What was it like going from the Greek/Euro comics scene/industry to the American? How would you say they differ?
I was working in Greece as a professional for five years, I published a graphic novel and was getting consistent work in various magazines and newspapers, and my friends and I had self published several anthologies, mini comics and cd-rom comic zines. Not to pat myself on the back but I thought my work was well recieved, so leaving that industry and starting work in the US was like going from Hero to Zero. Nobody knew who I was and it felt like the five years I’d already been working didn’t count for anything. But I’m working hard to regain my Hero status, and I’ve learned a lot and met so many great people in the US who have been nothing but encouraging. I mean, if you had told me five years ago that Geoff Darrow and I would trade comics at Comic Con I would never have believed it.
There is no real way to compare the Greek and American comic scene, there are a lot of comics that are translated into Greek but there aren’t many professional venues who publish Greek creators. The majority of Greek comic artists are independently published or political cartoonists, but the number of creators are on the rise and in the past few years the industry has grown a lot. There are a lot of cool people in the comic scene here, but I gotta be honest, there are a lot of haters too. But what can you do? Hate the game, not the playa.
Tell me about your latest book, The Last Call. How did you come up with the concept?
I’ve always wanted to do a coming-of-age story about friendship and what it means to grow up, and I’ve always wanted to draw a murder mystery (keeping in mind that I’m a fan of the paranormal), so when the opportunity arose to do a short graphic novel series with Oni Press The Last Call was born fairly painlessly. It’s an adventure story of two boys, Sam and Alec, who get caught up in a murder case on a ghost train. I’m working on the second book right now, I hope to have it out for New York Comic Con in April 08. The story is really inspired by the feeling I get from Miyazaki movies and Agatha Christie books.
What else in on the horizon in your immediate future - Last Call and Pirates of Coney Island?
When Pirates of Coney Island wraps up I’d like to tackle another monthly mini series in between Last Call GN’s. I have a few stories in mind that I’ve been toying with, we’ll see which one is the lucky winner. I’m also working on a comic with Becky Cloonan that she’ll be writing and I’ll be drawing, but I can’t say much about it yet. I’ve been keeping myself busy.
I love telling stories and making art, and comics combines both of these perfectly. I also love going to comic conventions, meeting other artists and creators. Actually, I love the whole comic industry: from the pencil to the page to the printer to the shelf.
-DP
March 11, 2008 on 10:03 pm | In Cartoonists
I just saw on Newsarama and followed the link over to Mark Evanier’s News From ME that Dave Stevens has passed away. While many comic fans may know Stevens as “the guy who created The Rocketeer,” his talent and creativity deserve much wider recognition than that Hollywood factoid affords.
In some ways, it’s a real shame that Stevens was such a perfectionist of an artist. His reputation for taking an incredibly long time to complete almost anything to his own personal standards meant that all comic fans ever got from the artist were a handful of issues, covers and pinups during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Then again, the fact that Stevens took so much time and care with every picture he ever drew makes finding his work a complete thrill and a joy.
Like most folks, I first came across Stevens’ comics thanks to the film version of The Rocketeer that Disney released in 1991. The general rap on the film starring Billy Campbell and Jennifer Connelly is that despite a big marketing push from Disney and good reviews, the film failed to connect with audiences and had no real franchise potential. While I’m sure the box office receipts backed that position up, little Kiel Phegley would beg to differ.
After seeing “The Rocketeer,” I was Cliff Secord crazy. I spent that summer trying to stuff my backpack until it fit the appropriate aerodynamic shape and trying to glue a fin to the back of my baseball cap. On the merchandising end, I snatched up every piece of Rocketeer paraphernalia I could convince my mother to buy me from issues of Disney Adventures featuring cast interviews to water-powered rocket toys. But the crown jewel in my collection were Stevens’ original comics, which even during the film’s release were hard to find.
Published across four different comic companies and landing finally at Dark Horse, The Rocketeer comics are one of those rare instances where the art and story are somehow equally idealized and authentic. I’m sure LA airfields of the ‘40s were never as exciting and spy-filled as Stevens drew them and its women weren’t quite as glamorous either, but Stevens made you believe that America’s Golden Age of comics was also its Golden Age of style.
It took me the better part of five years to track down every installment of the original Rocketeer serial and even longer to meet Stevens. I have to admit, the brief meeting we had wasn’t the shining pillar of awesomeness you expect when you meet your artistic hero. I was 18 and at San Diego for the first time. When I realized Stevens had a table, I went straight there to shake the man’s hand and let him know that I owned every issue of The Rocketeer ever published. “Well, there were only like seven of them,” Stevens replied before I bought my Bulldog Studios T-shirt and shuffled along. I’m pretty sure that was the exact moment I realized that I wasn’t going to be seeing any more issues of the comic. Like so many of his artistic heroes of the Golden Age, Stevens never got enough credit or money from his creation to sustain a long term career in the funny book biz, instead earning his keep with illustration and pin-up work. Still, I’ve always been happy to have the few Stevens comics I could find on hand, and on a pure entertainment level, they remain my very favorites.
I was also lucky enough to make the acquaintance of Stevens friend and the star of “The Rocketeer” film, Billy Campbell in perhaps the nerdiest encounter of my entire life. In the summer of 2002, I was an editorial intern at DC Comics, and on a July afternoon when I was out to lunch, I spotted Campbell eating lunch at a deli around the corner from the offices. In what was either the stupidest or balliest moment of my life, I approached my boyhood hero to tell him how much of a fan I was and asked if it was true that as a kid he’d wanted to draw comic books instead of act (I’d read that somewhere in a magazine).
Campbell was an extremely cool guy and a big comic nerd, so I flipped out when he took me up on my offer to show him around the DC offices, which earned more than a few turned heads from staffers saying “Did the intern just bring in The Rocketeer off the street?” He told Mike Carlin and I about Stevens’ current life as Bettie Page’s caretaker (the artist based Secord’s girlfriend “Betty” off of the famed pin-up girl), and Carlin told us about an aborted Rocketeer/Superman crossover that would have been written by Stevens and featured Cliff teaching a ‘40s Clark Kent how to fly (how cool would that have been?).
After wandering around a bit and pointing out a few of his favorite Golden Age Batman covers, Campbell was nice enough to sign an autograph for me: “To Kiel – Thanks for the tour, dude! – Billy Campbell” I keep it in the back of my first Rocketeer trade along with a photo I snapped of the Bulldog Café set on the Disney Studio tour I went on in 4th grade and a handful of other small scraps of paper that remind me of how good Dave Stevens was at what he did.
If you get the chance, buy some of his comics. You won’t regret it.
Above is the cover to The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine#2, the first Dave Stevens comic I ever bought as well as the front and back cover to Planet Comics #1, which hangs above my desk here at Wizard. For more on Stevens, be sure to check out a rememberance over at The Beat.
