Archive for March, 2004
NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CARTOON ARTISTS COME TO WEXNER CENTER FOR PANEL DISCUSSION
EVENT HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH EXHIBITION SPLAT BOOM POW!
The Wexner Center presents the Splat Boom Pow! Cartoon Panel, featuring three of the most acclaimed cartoon artists working today, on Thursday, April 1 at 4:30 pm in the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater. They will participate in a spirited discussion of their work and current directions in the field; the event is free and open to the public, and a book signing will follow.
The panel is held in conjunction with the exhibition Splat Boom Pow! The Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art, on view at the Wexner Center Galleries at The Belmont Building, Spring Street and Neil Avenue in the Arena District (open until 9 pm that day). Note that the Cartoon Panel will be held at the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St.
Panelists:
* Gary Panter is the �King of Punk Art� and Emmy Award-winning set designer for the Pee Wee�s Playhouse television show. Panter is also known for the comic Jimbo.
* Fantagraphics artist Peter Bagge is the author of the popular comic Hate and former editor of Weirdo, R. Crumb�s legendary magazine.
* Jessica Abel is another Fantagraphics artist, the author of the award-winning Artbabe comics series, and a talented cartoon journalist.
Moderator is Brian Rotman, professor in Ohio State�s Department of Comparative Studies.
Panel:United
Hey, out there in comic-book land. You can’t tell, but behind the scenes things are humming on the third installment of Panel, “Panel:Space.”
Over the weekend we exchanged a flurry of e-mails trying to nail down last-minute details: Someone needs to get the cover stock! We need a vote on the cover price! We need samples from peoples’ stories! We need a head shot of Glenn! We need a sticker for the band! And so on.
It won’t be long now …
Well, shit
AAA: Gas approaches prewar highs
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2004/03/15/daily14.html
One year later, and gas isn’t down to 5 cents a gallon yet? If this keeps up, I’m going to demand my civil liberties back.
(Incidentally, this is what Tony does all day)
More Photo References for Artists (HUGE!)
Ok, found a mondo extensive list of photo references on the Digital Webbing message boards, compiled by artist Joel Klampert.
We’re talking everything under the sun: rotating models, ancient weapons, classic cars, nude female and male refs, landscapes, TONS ‘O’ GUNS, punk clothes, wild forshortening, space ships, horses, goth chicks, etc. etc. etc.
Plus links to lettering/coloring/inking tutorials. A great resource for you artists, check it out.
Ultimate Big Screen Car
From a story at Sky News - “UCI surveyed 1,000 people to mark the release of the new Starsky and Hutch film, which features the detective duo’s famous red and white Ford Gran Torino.”
Here are the Top 10 movie cars:
1 Batmobile (Batman, 1989)
2 Aston Martin (Goldfinger, 1964)
3 Mini Cooper (The Italian Job, 1969)
4 Herbie (The Love Bug, 1969)
5 DeLorean (Back to the Future, 1985)
6 Greased Lightning (Grease, 1978)
7 Ford Mustang (Bullitt, 1968)
8 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968)
9 Lotus Esprit (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)
10 Plymouth Fury (Christine, 1983)
Photo Reference Site for Artists
Looks like this is a good spot for all types of photo references: gettyimages.com
Brick and Mortar Comics Shops, Fear Amazon!
An e-mail received by a friend of mine who is on the Amazon mailing list, edited for length…
———- Original Message ———————————-
From: “Amazon.com Book Editors”
Date: 11 Mar 2004 17:05:25 -0800
Amazon.com Delivers Comics & Graphic Novels
Visit the Comics & Graphic Novels Store
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/4366/ref=mk_del_522651
FEATURED IN THIS E-MAIL:
* Superheroes
* From the Funny Pages to You
* Little Pictures, Big Stories
* Much Ado over Manga
* Make Your Own
* More to Explore
Comics lovers, rejoice! In recent years, comic books have changed
from lurid, flimsy rags sold in the racks of newsstands to sturdier,
respected works of real literature. Titles like “Blankets,”
“Watchmen,” and “Sandman” have blown away the format’s perceived
limitations, and a wave of popular Japanese comics, or manga, has
exposed a whole new generation of readers to the possibilities of
comic books. We’re proud to announce that Amazon.com has created a
Comics & Graphic Novels Store, where you’ll find all the genre
has to offer–from superheroes and comic-strip characters to comedy
and drama. Visit our store today and discover the power of little
pictures.
SUPERHEROES
***********
They’re more than muscle-bound mutants in tights and capes–they’re
superheroes. Whether you’re seeking Wonder Woman, Superman, the
Green Lantern, or Spiderman, you’ll find them all in our Comics
& Graphic Novels Store.
“Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross”
“The Science of Superheroes” – Lois H. Gresh
“Catwoman: The Visual Guide” – Scott Beatty
LITTLE PICTURES, BIG STORIES
****************************
Just because a story’s delivered in a series of tiny pictures
doesn’t make it a bad story. Fans of graphic novels know the medium
is the perfect vehicle for deep, thoughtful stories, heart-pounding
adventures, or classic weird tales.
“Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood” – Marjane Satrapi
“The Best of Ray Bradbury: The Graphic Novel” – Ray Bradbury
“Alex Ross Terminator: The Burning Earth” – Ron Fortier
MUCH ADO OVER MANGA
*******************
Japanese graphic novels, or manga, with their big-eyed characters,
wild spiky hair-dos, and nubile young women, have become the biggest
trend in comics since the dawn of the superhero. Check out popular
titles like “YuYu Hakusho,” “Dragonball Z,” or “Yu-Gi-Oh!” to see
what all the fuss is about.
“YuYu Hakusho, Vol. 3″ – Yoshihiro Togashi
“Yu-Gi-Oh!, Vol. 4″ – Kazuki Takahashi
“Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 3″ – Nobuhiro Watsuki
“Saiyuki” – Kazuya Minekura
“Sgt. Frog, Book 1″ – Mine Yoshizaki
“Fruits Basket, Book 1″ – Natsuki Takaya
MAKE YOUR OWN
*************
Sure, it’s great to read manga by famous artists, but why not try
creating your own? Learn the tricks and techniques for drawing
first-class manga with instruction from the cartooning books found
in our Comics & Graphic Novels Store.
“Manga Madness” – David Okum
“Draw Your Own Manga: All the Basics” – Haruno Nagatomo
MORE TO EXPLORE
***************
VIZ Manga and More
Whether you like your manga cute and cuddly, dark and scary, or
full of out-of-this-world adventure, the VIZ Manga & More Store
has the titles for you.
——————————————–
Hmm, lots of emphasis on the manag trades. No surprise there.
More Fark
From another one of their funny Photoshop contests:
Added on 3/12 by darae: Another awesome “truth in advertising” entry from the same Fark contest:
Three-Headed Frog
http://www.local6.com/news/2900371/detail.html
(edited by Dara 3:10 PM to include a picture)
It’s all over the boards- a drunk driver rammed into the Slave Labor offices this weekend. Here’s the official word from the lovely Jen @ Slave labor
…Hello, kids. SLG’s editor-in-chief Jennifer de Guzman here to bring you some news and allay fears that are possibly floating around. As you might have heard, the SLG office had a run-in with a drunk driver. At about one a.m. early Saturday morning, a drunken woman plowed her car through our front doors and windows, taking out part of the store and our editorial and production department. No one was in the office at the time, so no one was hurt. We don’t anticipate any significant delays in production or shipping.
We’re still a little dazed, but we’re tough SOBs here at SLG, and this hasn’t come close to knocking us over. We’ll just need a little time to clean up and set things in something close to resembling order. As Dan just said to me, “You can drive a Honda Civic through the heart of our business, and all that we’ll say is, ‘Hand me a broom.’” Thank you, everyone, who has exressed concern for us.
Fortunately no one got hurt. Members from Panel will be flying down to console Jen ‘personally’.
So Diamond Rejected Two of Our Books…
And the form letter arrived today. There are 9 generic checkboxes for why they would turn down a product. Here are the 8 reasons they didn’t reject BigCityBlues and Panel: Architecture…
* “Your product is not visual enough for our market…”
* “The artwork is too rough…”
* “The retail price of your product is too high.”
* “The discount you offer is too low…”
* “The discount you offer, combined with the quality of the product, is insufficient to justify…”
* “The format that you have chosen for your product is unpopular with collectors and retailers…[goes on to reference 'mini-comics]”
* “You did not include a phone number…”
* “We require a full photo-copy or published sample of titles from new publishers…”
…and the one reason they stated why the books were rejected:
* “Our market is slow for this type of product at this time.”
So the art was good (and presumably so was the writing, though they don’t have a category for that), the price point was good, the discount was good (at 60% it better be!), the printing and format were good, and I even remembered to include my contact phone number. But the market just isn’t there for an anthology book or a slice-of-life book?
Curse that slow market! I blame it all on Bush’s economy! (that’s a joke)
*sigh*
Dave Sim
I had no idea the man had “found god”, and that it was through Islam.
What a strange and endlessly surprising world we live in…