Got some cool back issues at the small local con we had here that my local shop hosted. Getting close on completing a couple of runs of stuff I have been working on for a few years. Got a good stack of various old Savage Sword of Conans for a buck or two each. Got a couple of old 70s Marvel monster reprints for a buck each too. First con I had been to for a few years. It was a pretty fun haul.
― earlnash, Monday, 4 November 2019 02:33 (four years ago) link
Wertz has always (Fart Party started fifteen years ago!) been a great writer-in-pictures, pacing her gags and effectively communicating her characters through very basic conventions. She also would have probably been both better and more successful if she had more range and depth to her drawing.
She obviously doesn't think so, though: even after getting into the New Yorker and then a big hardcover book deal based on her detailed, representational drawings of buildings, she's now doing her gag cartoons for TNY as straight-up stick figures drawn with a pen.
― now let's play big lunch take little lunch (sic), Tuesday, 5 November 2019 23:01 (four years ago) link
picardfacepalm.gif
― Nhex, Wednesday, 6 November 2019 01:04 (four years ago) link
I’ve been reading some of the current Sonic the Hedgehog IDW series with my son... it’s surprisingly dark for a kids’ book. The plot beats will be very familiar to anyone over the age of six (a ragtag band of heroes tries to save a populace from a spreading zombie infection; as the heroes themselves succumb and are transformed, one by one...) — but it’s done well, with solid dialogue and brisk plotting. The art is strong, too. There’s something compelling about these cute mutant-animal characters being placed in a straightforward action narrative, without irony or condescension. I guess there are whole genres like that, but I don’t usually encounter them.
― quinn morgendorffer stan account (morrisp), Tuesday, 12 November 2019 04:26 (four years ago) link
I'd say that's most Sonic games since Adventure; I hate what they did with those but ymmv.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 12 November 2019 13:30 (four years ago) link
https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/russo-brothers-marvel-vs-dc-docuseries-quibi-1203402642/
― paris geller spinoff pitch (morrisp), Thursday, 14 November 2019 02:58 (four years ago) link
RIP, Tom Spurgeon.
― EZ Snappin, Thursday, 14 November 2019 04:22 (four years ago) link
:-(
RIP
― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 14 November 2019 07:00 (four years ago) link
A great writer, a long-time force for good in comics, and a lovely person.
― now let's play big lunch take little lunch (sic), Thursday, 14 November 2019 09:45 (four years ago) link
^^^
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 14 November 2019 12:11 (four years ago) link
btw Jon I read your ^^^ last night, then went to bed and you turned up as a "character" in the comic I read
― insecurity bear (sic), Friday, 15 November 2019 08:59 (four years ago) link
https://www.instagram.com/p/B40uSVDFAFO/
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Friday, 15 November 2019 16:13 (four years ago) link
Spurgeon was a nice refreshing voice amid the rest.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 15 November 2019 18:56 (four years ago) link
Xpost sic was this a comic you read while dreaming or are you referring to the issue of Fatale where Tom H and I get iced?
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Friday, 15 November 2019 19:34 (four years ago) link
gonna need an issue number here
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Friday, 15 November 2019 19:35 (four years ago) link
was this a comic you read while dreaming or are you referring to the issue of Fatale where Tom H and I get iced?
neither! Rookie Moves by N0vember G4rcia Spurgeon was a nice refreshing voice amid the rest.
gonna disagree with the implication I'm reading here: a major project of Tom's in his life and his work was to highlight and enhance the wide variety of interested, caring, and worthwhile voices that are talking about comics everywhere, all the time.
― insecurity bear (sic), Friday, 15 November 2019 20:09 (four years ago) link
Perhaps I'm just remembering a specific time when I was mostly around Comics Journal associated circles but I got the impression that he was a lot mellower and less deep into feuds than everyone else. Not to say there weren't a lot of good people, because there was and that community was important to me but that's just how I remember his place in it.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 15 November 2019 20:18 (four years ago) link
Top of the head, if I try and think of writers that Tom brought into the Journal, it's mild-mannered Chris Mautner, Bart Beaty writing about untranslated European albums, Ray Mescallado getting a monthly superhero column, gentleman Gil Roth... (while the feud-free Spurge himself was adding a Melody-Maker-style two-page spread of opening snark to every issue, and writing things like Shit List! and The Butt-Eye Address by "David Peters")
Agree that he didn't hold or build personal feuds in public, but this was more a function of him seeing disagreement and argument as valuable in discussion of art and labour.
― insecurity bear (sic), Friday, 15 November 2019 22:12 (four years ago) link
this gave me the inspiration to read Julia Wertz's memoir Drinking at the Movies, which was... sigh.
[...] there are several funny jokes in this, but Christ, the quality of artwork is just so bad.
I’ve never looked at old artwork and been like, this is fine. But luckily I’m also aware that it doesn’t actually matter at all. pic.twitter.com/TEQQTPuRsg— Julia Wertz (@Julia_Wertz) November 15, 2019
― insecurity bear (sic), Friday, 15 November 2019 23:07 (four years ago) link
that... is... some regression
― Nhex, Saturday, 16 November 2019 17:29 (four years ago) link
You’re gonna plotz if you ever find out about James Thurber
― insecurity bear (sic), Saturday, 16 November 2019 20:15 (four years ago) link
TCJ's Spurgeon obit is up
― Brakhage, Tuesday, 19 November 2019 01:30 (four years ago) link
how mad Dean must have been to work in the same office as a fat person 20 years ago
― insecurity bear (sic), Tuesday, 19 November 2019 02:09 (four years ago) link
Borrowed/read the three deluxe Wayward collections. As they advertise, mix of Buffy & Scooby gang with Japanese (and later Irish) mythology / monsters. Took some angles I wasn't expecting, which was cool. Liked the artwork a lot.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Friday, 6 December 2019 18:42 (four years ago) link
Don't know if I'll listen to these episodes but I love this podcasthttp://www.scottedelman.com/2019/07/19/mark-evanier/
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 15 December 2019 15:42 (four years ago) link
http://www.scottedelman.com/2019/11/15/paul-kirchner/http://www.scottedelman.com/2019/11/29/larry-lieber/
Had no idea Lieber was still around.
http://www.scottedelman.com/2019/07/05/lunch-in-l-a-with-comics-legend-gerry-conway-on-episode-99-of-eating-the-fantastic/Forgotten this one.
I never really got grip on the X-Men so I found this article fun, surprised how many of the basic concepts were unfamiliar to me despite knowing who all the characters are.
https://www.tor.com/2019/12/11/the-future-of-days-past-10-things-disney-could-learn-from-claremonts-run-on-x-men/
I appreciate that she noted the importance of the colours. In my continual assessment of why the characters/worlds appealed, I now think that the colour combinations were often stronger than the other design elements of the costumes.
Still would like to see more discerning reinventions of the stories. Couldn't Claremont do his own X-Men retelling from the beginning?
From hearing some talk up supposedly great unofficial fanfiction, do any of you know of particularly good DC and Marvel stuff online?
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 15 December 2019 19:36 (four years ago) link
twenty minutes about dazzler. i never knew JR JR was such a jersey guy.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzCbPmj1AY
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Sunday, 15 December 2019 22:37 (four years ago) link
Video not available in UK? Sometimes it seems like there's no rhyme or reason to these youtube restrictions.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 15 December 2019 22:43 (four years ago) link
suprisingly deep coverage, good video!
― Nhex, Monday, 16 December 2019 23:51 (four years ago) link
i got a copy of Eleanor Davis' The Hard Tomorrow for the holidaze from my mom; it's breathtaking. What a talent.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 17 December 2019 20:52 (four years ago) link
SyFyWire have published a list of "the best indie comics of the decade" that consists of nine Image comics, one tumblr, one iOS app, and a DC book.
― insecurity bear (sic), Tuesday, 17 December 2019 21:35 (four years ago) link
Finishing the last LOEG volume- the points being made are very much not new to those who follow Moore's work, but its stylistic playfulness still is enough to keep me gripped. That bing said, really can' be bothered with those 3D glasses for more than a couple of pages.
― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 18 December 2019 12:38 (four years ago) link
I loved the earlier volumes of LOEG but haven't yet got to this one. Partly because I don't give much of a shit about the comic characters he's making use of in the same way I do C19th literary characters. Is it still doing the "lots of unpleasant sex is really hilarious" thing?
― Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Thursday, 19 December 2019 03:59 (four years ago) link
It's still horny, yeah. All the other valid criticisms of the series also still apply (fucking Gollywog STILL IN IT ffs, I know Moore means well but god does he refuse to read a room). Did you read The Black Dossier? That's still my favourite, and probably the best summation of the serie's thematic concerns. This one has a lot of super hero stuff but also a lot of characters from spy stuff and weird animal characters that don't come from comics.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 19 December 2019 11:01 (four years ago) link
I think this is the only volume I haven't read. Black Dossier is great--my one claim to fame is getting a credit for explaining references in Jess Nevins's book of annotations.
― Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Saturday, 21 December 2019 00:57 (four years ago) link
controversial opinion: Moore does backmatter/prose breaks better than others and may be the best at it, but I keep getting more bored by these conceptual bits where he bounces between media and just wish he’d write a comic book
― mh, Saturday, 21 December 2019 02:20 (four years ago) link
Just read the Fantagraphics-published BEST OF WITZEND, which collects some of the worst-written comics I've ever had the bad luck to come across. Luckily it was from the library.
― Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Tuesday, 17 March 2020 00:30 (four years ago) link
Yeah, that was very much a regretful purchase.
― Doubling down on out of date information (aldo), Tuesday, 17 March 2020 08:13 (four years ago) link
Great art tho!
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 10:21 (four years ago) link
Oh aye, lovely to look at but it's a big bit of shelf (and cost) that could otherwise have been filled.
― Doubling down on out of date information (aldo), Tuesday, 17 March 2020 10:41 (four years ago) link
I mean, this splash page alone is worth 80 quid of anyone's money:
https://schulzlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/witzendmra.jpg?w=584
Also think it's interesting that Ditko was heavily involved with the editorial side on the early issues of WITZEND - he was obviously v sympathetic to Wood's desire to retain copyright/editorial independence, as well as being an admirer of Wood's incredible drawing skills.
It's not always about the writing.
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 10:55 (four years ago) link
I don't think a splash page with two ridiculously long speech bubbles is worth 80 quids, even if the layout is otherwise fine.
― Tuomas, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 11:09 (four years ago) link
he really went full Ditko, there
― mh, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 15:29 (four years ago) link
that splash is amazing - is it all Ditko?
― Dollarmite Is My Name (sic), Tuesday, 17 March 2020 17:24 (four years ago) link
Yep - he had a real golden period after he was newly liberated from Marvel - see also those amazing black and white strips for Warren he was doing at about the same time
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 18:02 (four years ago) link
Man. Wonder if he'd kept up a style like that through the '80s, his overtly ideological work might have caught on better under direct market distribution?
(I love the fact that his drawing and techniques changed so often, and that switching to doing his own lettering eventually let him integrate it so much better in the polemic work - Tuomas is right that even on paper those rant-balloons would be foreboding - but the inking and especially shading there show how drastically undermined as an artist he was at Marvel.)
― Dollarmite Is My Name (sic), Tuesday, 17 March 2020 20:15 (four years ago) link
Right at the end of the 60s Ditko got very ill and he when he came back - mainly at Charlton - his style had notably deteriorated, even on the creator-owned material, sadly.
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 21:21 (four years ago) link
This site has 'Collector's Edition', his best-known strip for Warren - again decent page rates, and the opportunity to stick it to Stan Lee, brought out the best in him
http://steveditkostuff.blogspot.com/2019/02/collector-edition-creepy-presents-steve.html
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 21:25 (four years ago) link
very good!
― Nhex, Wednesday, 18 March 2020 00:18 (four years ago) link