I enjoyed this Stuart Carlson cartoon (especially appropriate given the weather we’ve been having in Chicago lately).
Play Ball
Category Archives: Comics
Flushing Bush Away
Review: The Education of a Comics Artist
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.
PvP Watchmen Spoof
Online comic strip PvP has had some funny Watchmen spoofs the past couple days (click the thumbnails to see full versions).
Alan Moore Flaunts His Curmudgeon Status
“The average age of the audience now for comics, and this has been the case since the late 1980s, probably is late thirties to early fifties—which tends to support the idea that these things are not being bought by children. They’re being bought in many cases by hopeless nostalgics or, putting the worst construction on it, perhaps cases of arrested development who are not prepared to let their childhoods go, no matter how trite the adventures of their various heroes and idols.”
-Alan Moore, putting a perhaps-unsupportable weight on “probably”
Wired magazine has an interview with Alan Moore in which he presents his thoughts on the state of comic books, the influence of Watchmen and future plans for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. As the quote above implies, he’s seems to enjoy playing the role of the scold, and an egotistical one at that. He’s often revered as the greatest writer in comics—and I’m a fan of his work—but he’s not the only one capable of doing worthwhile work in the genre, as he seems to imply.
Undermining his “hopeless” analysis is the admission, “I have to say that I haven’t seen a comic, much less a superhero comic, for a very, very long time now—years, probably almost a decade since I’ve really looked at one closely.” But sit down and tell us about those superheroes today, with their hippity-hop and capes hanging down below their asses, Grandpa Moore.