Archive for October, 2009
Being it’s fast approaching Halloween, I’ve asked some of the group to post up art from… well now till Halloween is here. First up is…
Dara Naraghi (based on Warriors #2)
Saw this random piece on Craig’s Ineffables. It’s a regular column on Comic Related. Yay, Craig!
In honor of halloween, this week’s edition of 7 Covers features 7 “Halloween special” comics.
(Have a favorite series of your own? Or an artist? Character? Submit your own set of 7 covers by sending me small files (i.e. 72 dpi for the web) to ferret at ferretpress dot com and include “7 covers” in the subject line. Also, let me know if you have a blog or website you’d like me to link to.)
scroll down far enough and you can sample the record:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140353651641&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1123
Your political moment of the day:
“Limbaugh discovered halfway through his show that he’d been had, but defended himself by saying basically the thesis felt true.”
I started picking up Detective Comics with issue #854, which begins writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams III’s year long run featuring the new Batwoman. And while the story has been fairly solid, the art has just consistently blown me away with every issue. Or to put it another way: holy shit, this guy can draw!
Williams’ breakout work was with Alan Moore on Promethea. And while I generally love Moore’s work, that book read like a thesis paper on “magick” and I just couldn’t get into it. Over the years, I’d seen Williams’ art on other titles, but none that I collected regularly. And I must say, none that looked as amazing as the 4 issues of ‘TEC that are out so far.
He uses 3-4 distinct styles in the book, each for a different aspect of the story. Kate’s “civilian” life is depicted in a clean line style that reminds me of Seth Fisher and Geoff Darrow. The Batwoman sequences switch between a moody, painted look and stark black/white contrast, depending on the situation (hand-to-hand combat vs. vehicle chases vs rooftop prowling, etc.)
And then there are the wildly innovative page layouts:
Taken out of context of the story, as done here, they may seem gratuitous or gimmicky. But trust me, they work perfectly with Rucka’s script. A sequence involving a fight inside an out of control airplane tilts the action up, down, and sideways across 2 pages, matching the disorienting flight of the plane itself. A drug-induced hallucination sequence is depicted with a vivid color palette and painterly effects.
Of course, a huge amount of credit needs to go to colorist Dave Stewart as well. These days, colorists more and more affect the final look of the art by adding volume, texture, light, and depth…which used to be the domain of inkers. Stewart does a fantastic job on this book.
I usually don’t buy comics just for the art, but even if this book was a complete dog story-wise, I’d plunk down my hard earned cash to look through Williams’ beautifully rendered pages.
*Wholly Craft is having another book signing in November with Paul Hornschemeier & Jay Ryan in November. Friday the 13th to be exact at 7pm. Paul will be signing his new collection All and Sundry from Fantagraphics. He’s paired up with Chicago poster artist Jay Ryan. Jay’s got a new art book (of his posters) called Animals and Objects In and Out of Water. I’ve been a fan of Jay’s since I discovered him on gigposters.com.
*apparently there’s a memo circulating around that Wholly Craft is the new C-bus spot for indie comic signings. Ogre better step it up. Kidding.
Here are schematics for a DIY nonlethal weapon: The BeDazzler.
The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security has apparently spent $1 million developing this thing, but some folks made their own version for $250. The device uses LEDs to produce “nausea, dizziness, headache, flashblindness, eye pain and (occasional?) vomiting.”
Video here:
Last week I posted some of artist Jock’s cover from various DC books. This week, we take a look at 7 of my favorite covers of his from the Vertigo series The Losers, which is where he made his mark on American comics.
I love the cinematic look to his covers. Any one of them could easily be a movie poster. And speaking of movies, apparently a film adaptation of the comic book series is slated to hit theaters in 2010.
(Have a favorite series of your own? Or an artist? Character? Submit your own set of 7 covers by sending me small files (i.e. 72 dpi for the web) to ferret at ferretpress dot com and include “7 covers” in the subject line. Also, let me know if you have a blog or website you’d like me to link to.)
From the always-funny The Onion:
Area Man Has Far Greater Knowledge Of Marvel Universe Than Own Family Tree
“Though Sundling reportedly reread several issues of Moon Knight recently and found himself enjoying the subplot of the hero’s romantic involvement with Tigra, it is believed he did not realize his cousin was dating anyone until he received an invitation to the wedding.”
I also love the bit about the death of Captain America’s “little helper guy.”
This week, we take a look at parody crossovers, because, you know, there’s such a big demand for those. Without further ado, I present XXXena vs. Busty.
For a book that’s making fun of two shows that use sex appeal as a big selling point, they sure picked a craptacular artist who can’t draw a human figure, let alone a feminine one. And if a parody of Xena: Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t enough, they throw in a South Park parody as well.
Let’s see…South Park, a show that’s built upon parodies and satire itself…being parodied. Man, that’s meta. I bet in this comics, the kids spew kind words instead of profanities.