4 January 2010
[batman] xkcd: Lease … ‘I don’t know what you just said because I was thinking about Batman.’
2 January 2010
[moore] Comics Won’t Save You, but Dodgem Logic Might … an Alan Moore interview in Wired … ‘I think the comics medium could play a big part in addressing our problems. It’s such a wonderful medium. You can talk about anything, and talk about it in a very powerful and informative way. I’d like to see comics become a medium in which new ideas could be expressed in new, compelling forms, but I don’t really see that coming from the industry’
23 December 2009
[comics] Robert Crumb Thinks God Might Actually Be Crazy … another Crumb interview promoting his Illustrated Book of Genesis … ‘As a Gnostic, yeah, I would say there’s a bigger design. Sometimes you have a split-second glimpses of it. For a second you catch the greater meaning, but then it’s lost.’ [via Neilalien]
[funny] Go Look: Spiderman Missed His Train At Kings Cross.
22 December 2009
[comics] Mike Sterling On Watchmen: ‘…there’s a part of me that wishes the Watchmen film had been an enormous hit, enough so that a sequel would have been inevitable, and that even possibly new comic book follow-ups and tie-ins would have been published. Because really, the fanguish that would have caused would have been epically awesome.’
[comics] Dave Sim Goes Partially Print On Demand; Industry To Follow? … this makes a lot of sense for Sim – and it fits in with his past as a champion of self-publishing … ‘The important thing to take away from this is that POD is now being used for comics as a way to keep backlist available, without having to print thousands and thousands of comics at a time that may take years to sell through. That’s about the best use of POD I can think of, actually, following up a high-quality print run with digital copies for latecomers.’
[comics] Complete Set of Opening Credits to the Marvel Cartoons of the 1960s with Lyrics … ‘The musical intros to these cartoons have left an undeniable splash on American pop culture. Now, as a case in point, I have a 6 year old nephew and he knows the words to the 1960s cartoon Spider-Man theme song. How is that even possible?’ [via Metafilter]
21 December 2009
16 December 2009
[comics] Go Look: Top 75 Most Iconic DC Covers of All-Time.
15 December 2009
[history] The Magnet … a mostly-complete archive (scroll to the botton of the page) of the famous weekly boys story paper that featured Billy Bunter along with many other similar papers. [via Metafilter]
13 December 2009
[comics] Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns on Batman … ‘He’s kind of a dick.’ (more…)
11 December 2009
[comics] Time Lost Batman is on Twitter: ‘You don’t get it, Pharaoh. This isn’t a desert. It’s an operating table, and I’M THE SURGEON!!!’ (more…)
10 December 2009
[comics] The Comics Reporter’s Holiday Shopping Guide ’09 … great selection of comic gifts to buy this year … On A Drifting Life: ‘Very few if any reviews of this massive autobiographical work from the great Yoshihiro Tatsumi note how completely mad it is on a certain level to follow a young man around as he reads and draws comics over the space of several decades. This book more than has the courage of that particular conviction, and I’ve never seen any artist invoke the relationship-warping monomania of creativity as well as Tatsumi does here.’
8 December 2009
7 December 2009
[morrison] Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods Trailer … a bunch of comic-types try to sum up Grant Morrison … (more…)
[comics] The Best Comics Of The ’00s … from The A.V. Club. On Morrison and Quitely’s All Star Superman: ‘…Morrison puts a fresh spin on old Superman ideas-Bizarro, Jimmy Olsen’s monstrous transformations-and introduces some of his own, including a story in which Superman is secretly responsible for the world you’re living in right now. It’s enough to send even the most jaded comics fan outside to look up in the sky.’
3 December 2009
[comics] Counterculture Comics Hero Grant Morrison Gets a Biopic … Wired cover a new documantary about Grant Morrison … ‘Morrison has lived a very full life, from playing in rock bands to experimenting as a transvestite to becoming, like Alan Moore, a chaos magician. There’s a lot of fertile ground in his personality alone, to say nothing of his sometimes autobiographical comics. In the process, Morrison has become a counterculture icon primed for mainstream crossover.’
30 November 2009
[comics] Go Look: Bill Sienkiewicz art for the 1980’s Dungeons and Dragons cartoon … (more…)
27 November 2009
[comics] Skin … The Forbidden Planet blog remembers Skin the long out-of-print comic from Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy … ‘McCarthy’s art is astonishing, from the brutal leer on Martin’s face in one scene to the psychedelic, drug-fuelled sex scene with the young skinhead and some hippies (aided in no small part by Carol Swain’s brilliant colouring) which is a great example of how bloody amazing McCarthy’s art often is. Both art and story combine perfectly to tell a powerful tale of a disturbing subject and do so while denying the reader the normal emotional crutch of having a loveable but put-down hero to root for…’
26 November 2009
[comics] Go Look: Jack Kirby’s Inglourious Basterds Comic Book Adaptation!
9 November 2009
[comics] 70 Facts You Didn’t Know About Marvel Comics … ‘Artist John Romita Jr based the Daredevil villain Typhoid Mary on his ex-wife.’
6 November 2009
[comics] Rediscovered: Joe Matt’s How To Be Cheap (more…)
[music] The Music Of Grant Morrison: Torturted Soul / October … Grant Morrison on vocals with The Fauves … ‘There was talk of some sort of CD of GM related stuff being collected a few years back but I don’t think anything ever came of it. A pity. Anyway, I have no record sleeve scan, so here’s a picture of singer and cat. Meow.’
5 November 2009
[comics] A List Of Favorite Comic Book Cliches … ‘We’ll always have a soft spot for Julie Newmar as Catwoman in the 1966 “Batman” TV show, if only for the matter-of-fact way that she told Batman that they could both be happy if he’d just let her kill Robin.’
29 October 2009
[comics] The Haiku of the Ancient Sub-Mariner … great gag strip from Evan Dorkin … ‘Angry, So Angry…’
15 October 2009
[comics] Comic Tools … fascinating blog looking at the craft, tools and skills behind the art on a comic book page.
14 October 2009
[comics] Smilin’ Stan Lee is on Twitter: ‘Uh oh! My appointment just arrived. Gotta get to work. To be continued tomorrow– or tonite if there’s time. Excelsi– whatever!’ [link]
6 October 2009
[comics] Super-Social Networking: Superhero Facebook Status Updates … ‘Bruce Wayne is glad to see the new law requiring skylights in all buildings was passed.’ [via Sore Eyes]
2 October 2009
[comics] Name Five Great Things About Steve Ditko … One of Evan Dorkin’s: ‘I have it on good authority that at a Valiant Comics shindig Ditko got up and went after someone who had taken his photograph, brandishing a chicken leg. No fracas or altercation took place, I just like the image of him shaking a chicken leg at the guy while explaining his reasons for not wishing to be photographed. If I remember correctly, the photograph was “taken care of”. I guess that’s not a reason why Ditko is great, but it is a reason why Ditko is Ditko. And Ditko is great.’
1 October 2009
[comics] Abhay Khosla’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula [Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five]
30 September 2009
[comics] A Review Of Big Numbers #3 by Alan Moore & Bill Sienkiewicz … ‘The opening chapters of his From Hell and Watchmen are compelling, but no one could guess those works’ ultimate richness from those chapters alone. The same would have been all but undoubtedly true of Big Numbers. The third chapter brings a fuller understanding of what was lost by the failure to complete more than a quarter of the book. The failure is beyond a disappointment; it’s about as close to an artistic tragedy as one can imagine.’
23 September 2009
[comics] On Writing, Collaboration and Superheroes … interesting look at the dynamics between writers and artists creating comics … ‘If Bendis and Maleev’s take on Daredevil falters at times in its disregard for the formal properties of comics, it is also guilty of rolling out age old tropes for the “revival” of superhero titles. One is left with the impression that mainstream comics writing has not only stagnated but in all likelihood regressed in the last decade becoming competent yet mediocre.’
21 September 2009
[comics] Psychological Violence In Late 1970s/Early 1980s UK Girls Comics … notes from a talk at Interesting 2009 … ‘The huge success of Tammy, which ran from 1971 to 1984, was partially based on some actual research by IPC magazine into what girls enjoyed reading about. Apparently they liked to be made to cry. Vulnerable amnesiacs who avoided multiple, mysterious attempts on their lives to discover their parents had been killed in some kind of transport ‘accident’ sent sales figures of up to a quarter of a million a week…’
14 September 2009
[comics] George And Lynne Explained … amusing explanations of the midly NSFW and sexist newspaper strip … ‘By the way one man is wearing a low cut back top and another wearing a vest and choker it suggests that they like her outfit for its fashion sense rather than the way it shows off her cleavage. So this is a gay super pub with its own multistory car park…’ [via Metafilter]
11 September 2009
[comics] Dirk Deppey on Paul Levitz stepping down as publisher of DC Comics: ‘…one has to ask: How many initiatives has Levitz botched over the years? From the serial alienation of the company’s most profitable writer, Alan Moore, to the unholy debacle that was Minx – one of the many, many publishing lines created under his oversight that were badly conceived, badly executed, badly managed and badly promoted from start to finish – Levitz has in recent years presided over what can only be described as one of the most embarrassing periods in DC Comics’ corporate history.’
10 September 2009
9 September 2009
[comics] Funny business … Jon Ronson visits the Beano’s offices … ‘When I arrived this morning, one of the writers, Claire, was sifting through the pile of letters that had come in from fans during the week. I picked one up at random. It was from a little boy, aged six. He had assiduously drawn a picture of a man standing outside a gym. “This is Jimmy Gym,” his letter read. “He should be in the Beano. He’s always in the gym training.” “Are you going to print this one?” I asked Claire. “No,” she replied. “The picture wouldn’t reproduce well.” She glanced at Jimmy Gym with a mix of compassion and steely resolve, and gently placed him in the No pile. “You have to learn to be ruthless,” she said.’
4 September 2009
[comics] Neil Gaiman’s Bookshelves … can anybody spot where the comics are in these photos? (click on them for high resolution pics.)
[comics] By Day, A Mild Mannered Comic Strip Artist … Chris Weston – He Fights Crime! … ‘I held up my drawings, and the policeman’s eyes widened with astonishment! “That’s him!” he splutterd. ” ‘Ere, come and have a look at this!” he called to his colleagues. They trotted over, took a look and exclaimed “That is spot-on! It IS him!”. Seems they’d already picked up a suspect who matched my drawings exactly…’ [via Metafilter]
26 August 2009
[comics] The Top 70 Most Iconic Marvel Comic Panels … a really strong list of key moments in the Marvel Universe.
24 August 2009
[funny] For Sale in Gotham London: Batmobile replica 4.2 engine 1 years Mot and 6mths Tax (£8,500) … ‘It has titanium cup holders as used in the Bugatti Veyron which I won in an auction and the arm rest is autographed by Batman himself Adam West.’ [via LDN]
[comics] Comica Festival 2009 … the website for the London’s comic festival – guests this year include Joe Sacco, Eddie Campbell and Bryan Talbot … ‘Preparations are well under way for the sixth Comica Festival scheduled for November 6 to 26, 2009, to be held at the ICA and other London venues.’
19 August 2009
[comics] Recommended: Harker by Roger Gibson and Vince Danks … really nicely done British small-press crime comic. Harker – the classiest occult detective TV show you’ll never see (a review from Richard Bruton): ‘The genre trappings are all there. The police procedural investigation, the crime scene investigation, the autopsy, the legwork, the finding of the clues; it’s all there, exactly where it should be. Add to that the mysterious supernatural goings on to get one really great comic book series. But on top of a really lovely idea, really well executed the thing reads incredibly well…’
14 August 2009
[comics] Watchmen’s Dave Gibbons on graphic art, computers and the dreaded Comic Sans … ‘There are people who specialise in lettering, and I’ve had my hand lettering made into a digital font. I picked up a copy of the Dandy the other week, and I was amazed to see that it was completely lettered in my hand-lettering font. It was quite a thrill, really, having been a Dandy reader years and years ago.’
13 August 2009
[comics] Dan Clowes Interviewed … [via Waxy’s Links]
CLOWES: There’s a book that came out more than ten years ago − a 50th-anniversary index of the members of the National Cartoonists Society. It’s a book of photos and short bios of hundreds of old-time American cartoonists, and for some reason a few “younger” − I was thirty-seven at the time − non-members, such as myself, were included.
There are dozens of photos of these old codgers smiling with these stupid grins on their faces. But you can see the sadness underneath. It’s such a grim document. My friend [and fellow cartoonist] Chris Ware told me he had to actually hide his copy of the book, because he can’t bear to look at it.
QUESTION: What did you both find grim about it?
CLOWES: All these lives spent behind the drawing board; decades on a daily strip that no one remembers.
12 August 2009
[comics] Hobo Darkseid is on Twitter: ‘SOME BELIEVE THIS SOCK OF NICKELS TO BE HALF EMPTY. DARKSEID BELIEVES IT TO BE HALF FULL. NOW HOLD STILL.’ [link]
11 August 2009
[comics] The Official Creebobby Comics Archetype Times Table … containing a robot, a zombie, an astronaut, a monster, a Lincoln, a Vampire, a T. Rex, a ninja, an alien, a platypus and many many combinations…
6 August 2009
[comics] Thoughts on the Forthcoming Howard Chaykin Blackhawk Collection … a look at one of Chaykin’s less well known comics from the 1980s … ‘This is a quintessentially Chaykin image. Why? Well, just gaze into Blackhawk’s eyes, and you’ll see the horrible truth: that Blackhawk totally seduced and bedded that swastika before shooting it to death and setting it on fire.’
4 August 2009
30 July 2009
[comics] Recommended First Comics … A bunch of writers from the Onion’s A.V. club discuss which comics to recommend to new readers … ‘Alan Moore’s and David Lloyd’s V For Vendetta is the good book I reach for when preaching to the heathens. Moore’s dense, self-loathing Watchmen seemed to turn off as many people as it turned on, at least when I tried to recommend it to newbies. But V For Vendetta’s mix of comfort-food dystopia, muted humanism, bleak poetry, and technical virtuosity is a far more palatable icebreaker, and one that serves equally as an entree into mainstream and underground comics. And the bottom line? In spite of its grim tone and literary air, it’s still got a guy in a cape and a mask kicking ass.’