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Blog Archives: March 2008
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SOMETHING IN THE WATER
Inspiration isn’t something you can look up on a Website. There aren’t any handbooks or how-to manuals for good ideas. Sure, there are resources designed to help get you into the right frame of mind to create, but the actual ideas come from some nebulous space inside. In his book, Catching the Big Fish, David Lynch likens the creative process to fishing. There’s a virtually endless sea of ideas to draw from, and you have but to cast your line to reel them in. Sometimes, there’s nothing on the line, sometimes what you catch isn’t big enough to be of much use and you toss it back. Often enough, though, there’s something massive down there, and even though you might have to dive down deep to get it, the effort is always worth it. And once you’ve nabbed a few big ones, it gets easier to navigate the water. You have a clearer idea where those big ideas are lurking and how to circumvent some of the struggle in bringing them to the surface. It doesn’t necessarily become easy, but it does get easier.
Comics are all about ideas. People talk about superhero comics being nothing more than male adolescent power fantasies, but at their heart, their true appeal lies in the unbridled rush of mad ideas. Unbreakable metal, unstable molecules, teleportation, telepathy, the strength to lift buildings, the speed to outpace the fastest vehicles man can create, alternate realities and time travel – the real power in all of these concepts is that of the imagination. And looking past superheroes, there are horror, sci-fi, crime-based comics – a whole slew of reality-based comics and graphic novels, in fact – straight fantasy and so on. The thread that binds them all together (or the staples, as the case may be) is the tireless pursuit of ideas.
We have a comic called SCREAMLAND out today, and it’s built around a pretty fantastic idea. Imagine your favorite movie monsters – your vampires, your wolf-men, your lumbering creatures of the night revived from death by some crazed scientist – and then picture them as regular people with hopes and aspirations and lives beyond their parts in a string of out-dated films. With that in mind, consider for a moment what this motley crew would do once their time has passed, once movies have taken the great leap forward into the realm of big budget special effects extravaganzas and CGI. Think of them as actors from a different time, workers made redundant by advances in technology or by age, and seriously wonder, “Whatever in the world does an aging wolf-man do next?”
Harold Sipe has given that notion a considerable amount of thought, based on the excellent stories he’s telling with artist Hector Casanova. SCREAMLAND is one of those incredible ideas that seems so insanely simple – one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?!!” premises – but Harold has filled each issue with so much pathos and humor that it’s clearly not something he just dashed off in the haze of a drunken hour. (Although, interestingly enough, there is no shortage of drunken hours in the lives of his characters.) And with all good fiction, there’s plenty of subtext about the human condition. These may be “monsters,” but their plights are as real as any you or I might experience.
In short, SCREAMLAND bears all the marks of an idea that wriggled hard on the line, requiring just the right amount of patience and skill to bring it up from the depths. Perseverance has paid off, though, and while they had to take a real plunge, Harold and Hector have come up with one of the most uniquely engaging comics I’ve read in some time.
Don’t take my word for it, though. If you’re casting about for something new to read whilst at your local comics shop today, pick up SCREAMLAND #1 and find out for yourself.
SO LONG, DAVE STEVENS
And on a substantially sadder note, we learned yesterday that Dave Stevens, creator of THE ROCKETEER and a renowned “good girl” artist, had died after a lengthy battle with Leukemia. He was only 53. For a lot of fans, Dave’s probably most associated with his pin-up art, particularly his Bettie Page work. His career encompassed much more than that, though: Dave did storyboard work and worked with the legendary Russ Manning on the Tarzan and Star Wars newspaper strips. By all accounts, he put some of himself into every single illustration; he had a true passion for his art and it showed.
In addition to being just an incredible artist with a flair for capturing beautiful women on paper, Dave was just an extraordinarily nice guy. I met him a few times at the San Diego comic-con and I always walked away impressed by how genuinely friendly and gracious he was. I can’t imagine how deeply bereaved those who knew him closely must be right now.
So long, then, Dave Stevens. You were one of the best.
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Watch That Man
Hey, have you seen this interview with INVINCIBLE artist Ryan Ottley over at Newsarama.com? If not, you should check it out: Ryan talks about his upcoming one-shot, DEATH GRUB, a project he did for last year’s 24-Hour Comics Day. (If you’re not familiar with the concept behind 24-Hour Comics day, it’s a yearly event wherein professional and aspiring comic book artists alike set out to create an entire story in just 24 hours. You can find out more at 24hourcomics.com.) The book’s out in May, but in addition to the Q&A with Ryan, the article also showcases a few pages of art, y’know, so your jaw can drop whilst you wrap your mind around the notion that Ryan generated this entire comic in just one day’s time.
Ryan’s been drawing INVINCIBLE for almost five years at this point – he took over for original artist and co-creator Cory Walker with issue #8 – and over that time, he has become one of my favorite artists. Which is good, because when he turned in his first pages for INVINCIBLE, I have to be honest – I wasn’t sold on him as young Corenthal’s replacement. Ryan’s one of the hardest working men in comics, though, and his abilities have grown with every issue, sometimes making quantum leaps from one story to the next. It’s been amazing to watch.
The End.
Actually, not so much. You know I like to ramble. (I’ll keep it light this time, though; promise!)
Charting artist’s development is really one of the more fascinating aspects of reading comics. Everyone has a favorite artist, and it’s always fun to talk to other fans about who they like, how they discovered him or her, what they like about that particular artist’s style. It’s always exciting to discover an artist right when he or she’s starting to blossom, too. Jeez, remember when Bryan Hitch first hit his stride on STORMWATCH and then just exploded on THE AUTHORITY? (And then got even more, erm, explodey on THE ULTIMATES?) Even if an artist starts off with just incredible chops, the work is only going to get better over time and there’s just something magical about tracking that development.
It’s neat to see an artist begin to branch out, too. Nearly all of the Image founders started out as artists, pencilers more specifically, before gradually inking their own work, then plotting their stories, and then writing the whole shebang. Before the Image guys, it was Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Walter Simonson and so on; there’s a long and healthy tradition of artists movin’ on up to become writer/artists. DEATH GRUB is Ryan taking his first steps toward writing, and it’s nice to see him stretching his creative muscles. It also helps explain why he is so good at what he does. That fiery ability to sharpen storytelling skills, even if it isn’t directly applied to actual “writing,” will invariably spread to the page. And any artist burning up the pages of whatever series he or she is drawing will eventually have an absolutely blinding career.
Like I said, Ryan’s just around five years in. Some months, I’ll take a look at INVINCIBLE and think he’s at the top of his game, that he’s there, but then the very next issue will put the lie to that.
And then he goes and cranks out a pretty damn amazing one-shot in 24 hours.
Go read that interview.
And have fun watching what happens with Ryan Ottley next.
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Do You Remember the First Time?
What was the first comic book that took hold of your imagination? What was the first song that really made you listen to music? What about the first film you couldn’t stop talking about, or the first book that kept you awake at night pondering endless “what ifs?” How about your first real kiss, butterflies bouncing off one another in your stomach, or that first senses-altering bite of your favorite dessert?
There’s something inescapably alluring about “new.” Anything you’re experiencing for the first time is a gateway to worlds upon worlds of possibilities, some good, some a tad frightening, but all utterly intoxicating in their freshness. An encounter with something new fills us all with an indescribable feeling that leaves us yearning for more and constantly seeking different ways of satiating our growing curiosity about the world around us.
As a boy, that feeling hooked me on comics, hard. I still remember the first comic that caught my eye and how amazed I was, by every single aspect of the comics reading experience. It was like diving into the ocean and then seeing, close up, for the first time all the myriad wonders that lie beneath the surface.
That sense of wonder has kept me enthralled with comics for years, but I’ve never lost the craving for the feeling I had the first time. Sure, there are series I’ve enjoyed almost as long as I’ve been reading comic books – sometimes they’re good, sometimes they disappoint – but I’m always on the watch for something new. Even my favorite longtime series will fail to live up to expectations at some point, after all, and like most of us, I can look at things practically enough to realize there’s just no way that initial rush of excitement can be repeated again and again by a single comic.
Image Comics specializes in “new.”
Yes, we publish ongoing series and we occasionally reprint archival material that has gone out of print over the years, but what really stokes the fires that keep our engine running is new comics. Any given month at Image can unleash a barrage of new talent and new ideas: A revolution every month. As I mentioned last time, one of the guiding factors in accepting any unsolicited proposal is whether or not it’s something we’ve seen before, whether it offers some new twist on a familiar theme, and focusing on new ideas keeps our line diverse.
Someone told me once that diversity is a tricky thing to market, namely because as I’ve said before myself, different isn’t always synonymous with “good.” I’d argue, though, that “new” holds an appeal all its own, because everyone tires of something eventually, and there’s real value in being able to offer relief from the same ol’, same ol’.
Jay Faerber and Mahmud A. Asrar do that with DYNAMO 5. It’s a superhero comic, yeah, and I know the world is filled to the point of overflowing with superhero team books, but DYNAMO 5 isn’t just another team book. The tagline is deceptively simple: “The children of Captain Dynamo: Strangers bound by fate and a father they never knew.” In more defined terms, what that means is this: Aside from being one of the word’s most powerful superheroes, Pops was a bit of a pompous jerk that liked to sleep around. (There’s that lure of the new again!) He fathered several children and following his untimely death, one of the many women he was involved with sought out five of them – all of whom inherited some aspect of his power – and brought them together to protect the city left hero-less in the wake of their father’s passing. Each of Captain Dynamo’s offspring had different mothers, so they were all unaware of each another; they weren’t joined together by any sense of family. As the series has progressed, it’s become just as much – if not more – about the relationships between these five disparate individuals as it is about the superhero stuff, and it’s as fresh a concept for a superhero team book as, say, FANTASTIC FOUR was when it first debuted.
And I don’t know about you, but somewhere along the way, I’d grown all tuckered out from superhero team books. When Jay pitched D5 to Image, though, it was like being introduced to someone I just had to get to know better. A little familiar, maybe, because we instantly shared a number of things in common, but bewitching all the same, due largely to the promise of discovering what I didn’t know. Like Captain Dynamo approaching a new conquest, I was hooked. This was different. This was real. I wanted more.
It’s a feeling I look forward to every time something new comes our way here at Image. THE WALKING DEAD, CASANOVA, GØDLAND, ULTRA, PROOF – the list goes on and on. What’s even better is when someone can bring something new to the table repeatedly – check the Lunas with their 1-2-3 punch of ULTRA, GIRLS and THE SWORD or Robert Kirkman with INVINCIBLE then THE WALKING DEAD then THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN. Warren Ellis spreads it around, but man, look at what he’s done! TRANSMETROPOLITAN, THE AUTHORITY, PLANETARY, DESOLATION JONES, MINISTRY OF SPACE, FELL, etc., etc. Ellis is as transfixed by uncharted waters as his readers are by the courses he charts upon them. He constantly surprises and subverts, making him and his work all the more mesmerizing to his fans.
INCREDIBLE HULK #182 was the first comic that turned my imagination inside out. “Hey Jude” by The Beatles was the first song that turned me on to music. Star Wars was the first movie I saw over and over again and couldn’t shut up about, no matter how my parents tried to make me. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time was the first book that encouraged sleepless nights of wonder. Julie Taylor was, if not my very first kiss, the first girl who unleashed a net full of butterflies in my bewildered belly. Crème brulée was the first dessert that flooded my mouth with anticipation.
I want more.
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