All posts by James

About James

James Seidler is a writer living in Chicago. The editor for the now-defunct humor publication FLYMF, he has now decided to maintain his web presence and smart remarks through this blog.

Review: The Education of a Comics Artist

Books, Comics, , , , , , , ,

The Education of a Comics Artist, a collection of short essays and interviews edited by Michael Dooley and Steven Heller, offers a fascinating look into the methods and motivations of some of the top practitioners of visual storytelling. The book presents an amazing lineup of contributors—Jim Steranko, David Mack, Chris Ware, Art Spiegelman, Marjane Satrapi, Kim Deitch and many more legends in the field—weighing in on disciplines ranging from editorial cartoons to comic strips, Archie Andrews to alt comics.

Every section is insightful, with creators reflecting on the influences and insights that inform their work. Some articles are accompanied by black-and-white illustrations, but text is the main focus, with artists elaborating on the creative process that results in ink on paper.

Later portions of the book examine the conceptual framework that surrounds visual storytelling, with articles and interviews on teaching, understanding and—oh yeah—making money from comics. The thoughts on display are diverse, lively and occasionally contradictory, making for a rewarding view into how comics of all types are created.

SXSW 2009 Preview: Part Three

Music, SXSW,

Sprengjuhollin

They are: An Icelandic pop band. According to their SXSW page, “Sprengjuhollin’s success in its native Iceland can be viewed objectively by the broadness of its fanbase that covers art school hipsters, mechanics, housewives, convicts and politicians.” Unfortunately, my Google search for “Icelandic Convict Radio” failed to return more information about this exciting new subgenre.

Sounds like: The type of band that plays over the credits of a Wes Anderson movie. (Their web site says Belle and Sebastian, so I don’t have to.)

The Tracks (from their MySpace page):

Worry till Spring
Some brass over the chorus gives this mellow groove-rider a little extra flavor. Clean production, warm vocals and a plucked guitar keeps the whole thing humming.

The Drive
A snare heavy intro (channeling “Get Off Of My Cloud”?) gives way to surf-scented fuzz. It’s a nice groove, reminiscent of Apples in Stereo, but it doesn’t seem to quite have anywhere to go.

Tonight
A descending violin squall jumps into a propulsive, string-heavy rush of a song. It turns dreamy at the end, with chanted “Oh la la”s that are bright enough to life the mood of even the most jaded convict.

The verdict: Sprengjuhollin is a great pop band, with a fun, clean sound, but they seem a bit too edgeless to be compelling live.

A Movie in the Making: The Entertainers

FLYMF Alums, Movies, , , ,

Fierce competition. Close camaraderie. A dying art form. And some of the fastest hands you’ll ever see.

That’s the premise of The Entertainers, a ragtime documentary being created by friends (and FLYMF co-founders) Nick Holle and Michael Zimmer, in collaboration with filmmaker Brent Watkins. The movie centers on the World Championship of Old-Time Piano, an annual competition held in Peoria, Illinois. As competitors gather to see who can wring the most swing from their piano, these guys are on hand to capture the love, joy and sorrow that accompanies the practitioners of one of America’s original art forms.

Their trailer gives a sense of the richness of the ragtime experience:

As The Entertainers web site says:

These talented, idiosyncratic performers represent a broad spectrum of the American experience, but they share one abiding love: for ragtime, the first great American music.

Like a combination of Spellbound and Best In Show, The Entertainers will explore a unique American sub-culture, whose eccentric and hilarious characters pursue the perfection of an esoteric art.

Help them make this movie a reality. In exchange for early contributions, the filmmakers are offering space in the credits, DVDs upon release and other exciting goodies. Nick and his friends at WutWutAlma Productions followed a similar fundraising strategy for their first movie, Illegal Use of Joe Zopp, and it worked out great.

Great movies need great supporters. You can play a role in telling this exciting story.

Why I Oppose Chicago 2016

Well Worth Reading, , ,

But based on the existing evidence I think a little skepticism is warranted: if there are cost overruns, or if no developer steps forward with $1 billion to pour into a speculative housing deal in the middle of the greatest housing crash since the Great Depression, then guess what, Chicago? You’ll be covering the balance. Money that could go to schools, parks, police, and firefighters will be diverted to the Olympic effort—including the $10.5 million the bid says will spent coming up with a mascot. Plus, Daley is expecting residents to give up something at least as precious as public money: public space. Only he’s not being up front about it—he’s pretending that we don’t have to be inconvenienced at all.

-Ben Joravsky, The $10.5 Million Mascot, Chicago Reader

The arguments for stating the 2016 Olympics in Chicago are similar to when a big-league team begs for money for their new stadium. “Net gain!” they say. “It’ll create jobs. Bring in tourists.”

Well, profit doesn’t always materialize, even in good times, much less an economic meltdown. And Chicago hasn’t shown itself to be capable of managing costs or timelines for big projects.

The Olympics sound exciting, but I’d rather spend the money on our schools, streets, parks, public transit and other projects that will benefit residents more than Mayor Daley’s ego.