Rolling comic book thread 2018

Fantagraphics site has the Breccia coming out at the end of October btw

Ward - thanks.

Aldo - Vives does a big variety. He does mainstream action like Last Man, he did Polina which got a Juliette Binoche film based on it, a comic about swimming, some science fiction, humor and probably a lot else.

He's about as varied as anyone going right now.

Re: Breccia, might go for a foreign edition of his Lovecraft work. His work has been getting reprints recently in French and german so maybe he's gathering interest again.

Had not heard that East of West had gotten optioned. It's almost an American Anime type comic, so I think it would work well as that style of animation.

5. East Of West

What is it? Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta’s Image Comics series follows Death—of the Four Horseman Of The Apocalypse—and his attempt at stopping the world from ending. The book is a sci-fi/Western set in an alternate reality-version of the United States, and both Hickman and Dragotta are on board as producers.
How far along is it? Amazon picked up the project in April, but that’s all we’ve heard. That means it’s probably still very early.
Will it win or die? The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman is also on board as an executive producer, and he knows a thing or two about making comic books into hit TV shows, so that’s a good sign. Plus, the original comic is great, so East Of West could have a good shot if development starts to pick up speed. [Sam Barsanti]

https://tv.avclub.com/game-of-game-of-thrones-thrones-43-big-upcoming-fantas-1828746565

I was eyeing Urotsukidoji in the shops recently, seemed a bit too expensive but a few days later I couldn't resist. Surprised it wasn't the whole thing but only the first of 4 volumes.

Artwork by Toshio Maeda is so much better than I remembered. Pleasantly surprised by this because I didn't see myself wanting to delve into this. Have some good memories of the first animated film (guy cutting off his own penis then attaching a demon penis and some other intense things) and was curious if reading these books would explain what the hell was going on in the later films which was tedious and incomprehensible for me at the time but also intriguing (because how the hell does the story progress into space opera?) but I'm finding out the manga is a very very different story. I hope it goes into the space stuff. Don't make me watch all that anime. Interestingly, Maeda remade the manga a few years later to incorporate elements of the anime.

Maeda might be one of those manga artists whose international success did a lot more for him than his success in japan. Regularly doing American and European conventions and makes good money off his fans, semi-retired. He claims he got his English speaking skills just from watching films and television.
There's quite a few video and audio interviews around, including one from Bourdain's tv show.

There's a blog called Tentacle Lounge that gives in-depth coverage of his work. Some of the art is admirably moody. I don't like some of the coloring techniques he uses these days but he seems to have recovered from his hand injury very well.

From a short dip into Urotsukidoji, the contrast between the general nasty aura and the jokiness is very odd.

Fakku released these recent 4 volumes but somehow a new publisher Denpa (founded by ex-Vertical staff) acquired it and Fakku's Shintaro Kago book (meaning they taken maybe the only two really interesting things Fakku had). I would be very interested to see more Maeda stuff.

Here's a bit about Denpa that may interest.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenorsini/2018/08/31/a-qa-with-the-founder-of-denpa-fandoms-newest-manga-publisher/#4948f4a1794c

Were people talking about the upcoming Thimble Theater collection on this thread? Whatevs, here's one of the strips - Segar paying tribute to Herriman!

https://scontent.fman1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/41394292_2142035325809701_7239858106933444608_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=96c4fb4f8e458231d0fade11860ac287&oe=5C239951

My most recent purchase has been the first of two new volumes collecting the work that British comics genius Ken Reid did for the publisher Odhams in the 1960s. I couldn't resist book one because it contains my personal favourite Reid strip, Jasper the Grasper, naturally enough about a miser. It's easy enough to say Reid was the British Basil Wolverton, but the level of manic, grotesque detail in his work also feels adjacent to some of the underground artists (who were publishing their first comics at the same time that Reid was enjoying a small measure of freedom at Odhams, along with a similarly energised Leo Baxendale). This strip made a DEEP impression on me when I read it as little boy in a comics annual in the 1970s:

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bx_MLiftV_c/WEt8kB89IhI/AAAAAAAA6PM/iBHxd34IG9YhpbEqqewvIZXQhbmoGzxNgCLcB/s1600/Jasper%2BThe%2BGrasper%2B%25289%2529.jpg

I got that giant Drawn and Quarterly 25 Yr Anniversary book out of the library in the hopes that I would find out about some cool folks of theirs I was unfamiliar with. Unfortunately turns out I'm not interested in most of their stable :( Huizenga looked kinda interesting, maybe I will read Curses.

Huizenga's Ganges was the best ongoing series of the last decade.

That Segar / Herriman strip was in this book, my childhood exposure to Thimble Theatre:

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/08/a3/a3/08a3a378081a86fb0d4d0d34b5b2304c--bud-printing.jpg

one of only two times I've ever borrowed a comic from someone and not given it back, and I still feel guilty 34 years later

Carlos Ezquerra passes.

https://i2.wp.com/www.starkafterdarkonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-15-2.png

lol "judge Minty"

Pretty sure that page is by McMahon rather than Ezquerra, fwiw

yep that's mcmahon.

first 2000ad i bought
https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/893977.jpg

finally finished reading Al Ewing's Loki: Agent of Asgard run. outstanding. what an excellent, worthy follow-up to Gillen's run. unbelievable how great a character Loki has become over the past decade.

I’m enjoying his go at The Hulk just now also.

Really digging the Nocenti/Aja miniseries The Seeds. I'm not sure about the actual story, per se, but it's incredibly weird and evocative, and invites multiple visits.

Yeah, I'm enjoying. Ales Kot's Days Of Hate has a similar vibe.

This could be a cursed question, but can anyone recommend any “how to draw comics” books? Not the McCloud, but old school “this is how you do a head and perspective” type books.

I bought a WACOM during a late-night Amazon sadbinge and thought it might be fun to try making a comic journal for a course I’m doing. Nothing for public consumption, just fun farting around at home.

My advice, avoid anything like How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way and just get yourself anatomy books (I like the Anatomy For The Artist by Sarah Simblet), drawing perspective books and take a good look at the storytelling techniques of comic artists you like.

http://dw-wp.com/book-guides/drawing-words-writing-pictures-volume-1/

Chip Zdarsky should make a compendium of all his 'How to draw' bits
https://i.imgur.com/aoolwhA.jpg

Basic facial proportions and positioning (all rough estimates, natch, which vary from face to face) that will blow u mind:
-U face is roughly 3.5 noses high. The .5 at the top is roughly congruent with u hairline (if you have one, which I do not)
-U horizontal eye area is roughly as wide as u nose is long
-The corners of u mouth roughly align with the outsides of u irises
-U ears roughly start at the top of u eye and extend to the bottom of u nose

Etc, etc. First lesson is free, we can work something out for subsequent lessons.

http://arnoldzwicky.s3.amazonaws.com/WallyWood.jpg

https://i.redd.it/vrlebpuk21hx.jpg

Thanks! That’s super helpful. It came in the post today and I crowned it by drawing a picture of a bee at the level of a Photoshop-unfriendly 4-year-old

And unexpected byproduct is that, for the first time in my life, I’m *really* looking at the art when I’m reading comics. Comic art has always been a bit like music lyrics for me – as long as it isn’t noticeably amazing or horrendously getting in the way, I kind of ignore it

Anyone else here read The Nib? I'm actually backing their subscription service, which I practically never do anymore. Their daily output is consistently great stuff, especially in this political climate - the stories and writing also seem to be generally well researched as well.

Comic art has always been a bit like music lyrics for me – as long as it isn’t noticeably amazing or horrendously getting in the way, I kind of ignore it

I've always thought there was a paralell between music critics who spend 99% of their time talking about lyrics and comics critics who do the same for story - in both cases it's because writing about writing is easier.

Nick Drnaso's SABRINA was quite good. I'm a little let down by how it just "ends" like an indie film but i that's sorta par for the course these days i guess

Really liked Sabrina, and his earlier collection of interlinked shorts, Beverly.

Also just read and enjoyed Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak, a collection of minicomics and new stuff.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512oVdavRdL._SY445_QL70_.jpg

Tried but was defeated by My Favorite Thing is Monsters. I was impressed by and deeply admired the skill of its execution, but am not in a good place for reading a book like that at the moment. When I found myself reading an extended section where the friendless, self-loathing child main character is sitting with a sobbing widower and listening to the tape recordings of his suicide wife talking about her own experiences having been raped as a child in Nazi Germany, i realised I was not enjoying the book enough to keep subjecting myself to it. But as I say, I could see it was VERY GOOD, but just not for me.

Nowak's No Love Lost is my #1 comic of the year

Gonna look for nowak stuff at CAB this Sunday, thx for tips

Hey sic I can't find any reference to No Love Lost with a desultory google - is it part of a collection with another name or am I being stupid?

sorry, it’s called No Better Words!

Ah, thanks, I'll look out for it.

xps I can totally understand that reaction to MONSTERS, it's pretty overwhelming.
GIRL TOWN just showed up in my local library, so I'll check it out.

Gonna look for nowak stuff at CAB this Sunday, thx for tips

No Better Words is on Silver Sprocket, who are exhibiting - I bought it at VanCAF, but they didn't seem to be carrying it at Short Run last weekend.

(though I think it was just one bloke from Portland who'd driven up, not anyone coming from HQ in SF)

Just borrowed Sabrina by Nick Drnaso from the library. Can't tell if it's good or bad timing for a non-genre graphic novel to be called this in the same year that Netflix have a new Sabrina series out (not that you would confuse the two, visually). Anyway, looks interesting - a kind of blank, templatety art style that seems almost sinister:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/02/sabrina-nick-drnaso-review-graphic-novel

it's very sinister!

my Short Run #haul btw:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrMlf3BVYAAO2OI.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrMlgNoVsAAvyx_.jpg

ah well

WHY ART? by Eleanor Davis was a sweet, short read. Tiny profundity.

Saw her read it at a thing in manhattan
She is tremendous

I can see the photos, sic, and I am very envious

yeah what is fuck off squad, lol