Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

Also, welcome back ADD and In Sequence.

Did I miss anyone?

 
Congratulations on breaking 300 issues, Star Wars Tales.

Found in the Dark Horse solicitations at Comicon, via this Comics Journal message board thread.

STAR WARS TALES #320

Featuring TONY MILLIONAIRE (W/A), PETER BAGGE (W/A), GILBERT HERNANDEZ (W/A)
BOB FINGERMAN (W/A), JAMES KOLCHAKA (W/A), and MORE!

On sale June 30, FC, 64pg, $5.99

This issue features some of the heavy hitters from the world of indy comics!
Gasp as Tony Millionaire (Sock Monkey) offers up a story featuring JAR JAR
BINKS’S long suffering father—George R. Binks! Squeal in delight at Peter
Bagge (Hate) exposes the underdeveloped leadership skills of Senate
Representative JAR JAR BINKS! Gasp as James Kolchaka (American Elf)
chronicles the exploits of Boba Fett’s cousin Melvin as he tries to
assassinate a JAR JAR BINKS sippy cup! And marvel at the utter lack of JAR
JAR BINKS in stories by Gilbert Hernandez (Love & Rockets) and Bob
Fingerman (Minimum Wage)! Plus much MORE!

posted by Steven at 12:21 AM

 
Hush.

Before I left for work yesterday I promised myself that I was going to write the kind of damning cross-blog screed that I usually try to avoid, mainly because I'm bad at it. But work was so relentlessly rough that it drove all my evil blogging thoughts right out of my head and replaced them with evil animation thoughts.

Instead, I'm going to take a moment and reflect on something David "I still haven't written about Mars" Fiore mentions during his current discussion on Cerebus. I don't want to reprint the entire post, so please take a look first, if you haven't already. Essentially, he has a quote from Dave Sim made a few years back on why he no longer listens to music and why there is no music in Cerebus (excluding the Barry Windsor-Smith piece, I presume). Sim makes three basic points. One, that he is playing on the idea that comics are a silent medium. Two, that not listening to music while working improves his work. And three, that at the point in which the interview was taken he dislikes music so much that he wishes it had never existed.

As usual, David questions this to beautiful effect, marking it as a potential turning point in Sim's gradual isolation from humanity.

"The idea is: vision is proprietary, while hearing is contractual, or passively receptive to Otherness. If it's true that, as fallen human beings, we are all radically incomplete (and I believe it is), then I think we can say that the most important holes in our theories of personal integrity are on the sides of our heads...

David doesn't address Sim's first point, so I'll let it slide, other then to say that I've probably written more about silence in comics than on any other topic, though I've never completed anything that I felt was satisfactory for the blog. Considering what I do end up posting, it can't be at all good. Needless to say, I believe that silence in comics, which is all too often viewed as a liability, can be turned on its head and used guerilla-style, becoming a strength.

Point number two is where David and I part ways. I don't listen to music very often. Maybe one or two hours a week, outside of intrusive music played by neighbours and co-workers. This doesn't include going out the bar, which I adore. Perhaps at least part of the reason I don't enjoy music outside of the dancefloor is because I'm so accustomed to getting down when I hear it, and it seems like a waste of good music when I can't.

This comes as a huge shock to people. When asked recently what the last CD I bought was, I couldn't remember, though I was sure it was well over a year ago. I have almost zero knowledge of any music made in the last ten years, and even with those songs I do know, I can't name the band or song title. My brothers are the same way, which is kind of weird.

Anyway, like Sim I used to listen to music while working. In my circle of friends it was at least as important to have good mood music playing while drawing as it was to have pencils and paper, and this was a theory I was suckered into. One day I questioned this need, and after giving it some thought, I tried drawing without music. It was tough at first, if only because it had become such a habit. But, in the end, that's all it was. A habit, and a detrimental one at that, not even including the ceremony of wasting hours of good drawing time juggling CDs and making mixed tapes. Gradually, the lack of artificial stimuli increased my concentration and allowed me to take new steps forward in my craft.

There's no doubting that many talented artists, much more talented then me in any case, listen to music or other stimuli while drawing (or other forms of art, for that matter). The question is whether they would improve in their work without, what I consider, a placebo, no matter their current skill level. I believe they would. The usual response when I bring this up is that it could never work for the person I'm speaking with, that they couldn't go without, that it feeds their muse. Not being willing to try, I suppose they'll never know for sure.

Which brings us full circle to David's post. I agree with his words, but disagree with his intent.

"Keep those channels open and you've got a chance to remain cognizant of what you're about; plug them up and watch yourself become a "ruler in Hell" in the blink of an eye (and you'll never blink again!)"

It is the music listener who is plugging those channels. I'm not arguing that listening to music cannot be enlightening, but how is listening to music to the exclusion of your own immediate environment any more worthy? When I draw in "silence" I can hear the cats purr, the wind blow, the ghostly conversations whispering through the hallways, all more creatively stimulating, less blatantly intrusive and more pleasantly random than a hi-fi with an automatic CD changer.

Is it possible that this way could lead to a sort of madness? I can't see why not. After all, you are immersing yourself in your own thoughts for hours at a time. But that's really just one of many factors you would need to achieve that kind of isolation. And most people who have agreed with me on working in relative silence make it a point to get out, socialize, even write blogs and communicate that way. Cartoonists are notorious for their marathon, deadline-busting phone sessions, and now with instant messengers, they can even pretend to be working while they converse. It may be true that Sim couldn't, or rather wouldn't attempt that balancing act, but it's a choice that he, and many before him, have made in support of their art.

Obviously I disagree with Sim on point three. I mean, it's not like I'm crazy. Right?
posted by Steven at 3:07 AM

 
Free Comic Thursday - Erich Sokol

It's...it's beautiful!

It was a little over a year ago today that veteran Playboy illustrator Erich Sokol passed away. What better way to wind down from a hard day of reading comics naked then reading naked comics, courtesy of Shane Glines? And if you still haven't had your fill, the fine folks at Shane's old stomping grounds, The Drawing Board, have a nifty little thread devoted to Sokol's work, with plenty of extra large, slow-loading samples. You've been warned.


posted by Steven at 3:34 AM

 
Happy International Read A Comic Book Naked Day!



As per annual tradition, I will be taking the day off to read some comics, nekkid. The world of comic news and commentary will have to wait until tomorrow.

What will I be reading? Well, I've been given a small amount of birthday money that will be put towards picking up an issue or two of the greatest genre comic book ever made, Turok, Son of Stone.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Insult to Injury, All Too Flat, and Progressive Ruin, our first three inductees into the Hall of Fame, for their kind support in making International Read A Comic Book Naked Day the rousing success that is is today. May you forever avoid papercuts on sensitive places.

For those of you without a comic handy, the following are all the online comics I have showcased in my weekly Free Comics Thursdays so far this year. A happy International Read A Comic Book Naked Day to you and your loved ones.

These Changing Times. Archie meets feminism, with lovely art by Harry Lucey.
Gasoline Alley. A huge run of Frank King's classic strip.
Golden Age Romance Comics Archive. An indispensible selection of cover-to-cover tearjerkers.
I Had To Be Tamed. The title of this Charlton romance says it all.
My Bloody Valentine. Open source comic character Jenny Everywhere juggles inifinite suitors.
Undecided Heart. Alex Toth in love and in black and white.
Alex Toth Annotations. More Toth (and others) then you can handle.
They Called Me-- Man-Hater! Nick Cardy. Swoon...

And yes, I did write this naked.


posted by Steven at 3:55 PM

 
Close Your Eyes...

Seeing as I can't even afford to buy comics, the only issues of The Comics Journal I tend to purchase are those that have a major interview with someone whose work I really enjoy. The only exception to this rule is when I stumble upon copies of the Journal for real cheap. This past weekend, I came across a treasure trove of great magazines, including two issues of Illustration, two of Comic Book Artist, one Alter Ego and three Comics Journals, all for a buck each. I had already cleared the comic shop out of all their CarToons mags.

I had passed over the three Comics Journals on numerous occasions, but it wasn't until I got them home and took a closer look that I realized that I had missed certain features from those previous, quick glances. An interview with Will Eisner on the origins of early comic book sweatshops, the second part of a talk with John Severin, and a transcript of a panel discussion with Jason, the author of one of my favourite comics of all time, Hey, Wait...

In Hey, Wait... the plot revolves around a friendship found between two children during a lazy summer off, until a single event changes their world forever. It's obviously much more complex then that, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it yet. Hey, Wait... has practically everything I love about the mechanics of comics rolled into one great piece of work. A consistently static panel structure, a minimalist art style, limited movement, concrete restrictions on timing, and the effective use of something most people consider comics' weakness, silence. All these things contribute to create a set pacing which, when broken even subtly, have a devastating impact on the viewer. Though I have no idea if it's an influence on Jason, Hey, Wait... shares the same techniques employed by my second favourite comic strip artist, Harold Gray, creator of Little orphan Annie, even moreso then Chester Brown's faux-Gray stylings on Louis Riel.

Anyway, the real reason I've brought this up is because the interview made me remember one of the more tantalizing scenes in the book, something which I'm sure is easily explained but which I've made a big, nonsensical deal out of anyway.

I almost never have to do this, but...

SPOILERS! Please Read No Further Unless You Have Read The Book!



When Jon is visited by Death near the end of the book, he says what so many people might say looking back over a life that didn't go as planned.

"Now if I was being punished that would make sense to me... if I was a bad person... but I'm not."

Jon closes his eyes and is cast back to before the time of Bjorn's tragic death. There we see the tree where Bjorn's death will occur, and then watch as the two boys play a game of soccer, with Bjorn taking the ball and scoring on Jon's empy net. Jon stands by as Bjorn leaps for victory. Immediately after this, the flashback has ended and Jon accepts his fate and boards a bus full of the dead.

So, what's the point of that scene? Is it to remind us of the potential Jon had in his childhood, potential that was squandered when he became an adult? Is it to give the reader one last glimpse of who the character was before his friend's death affected him so, providing a contrast that reemphasizes the tragedy? I could accept either of these possibilities if we were shown a happier memory, many examples of which took place earlier in the book. Instead, the last glimpse of young Jon that we see has him stoically watching as Bjorn celebrates his defeat. Plotting, perhaps, or thinking of the tree that's still fresh in all our minds. Maybe this scene, not shown until the end, is the missing key into why Jon does deserve the life he's lead, and that our sympathy has been misplaced all along.

It's one thing to live a life full of misguided regret. It's quite another to be burdened with the guilt of a deliberate murder.
posted by Steven at 1:10 PM

 
More on Rudy Lapick

Mark Evanier follows up the news of longtime Archie comics inker Rudy Lapick's passing with a touching note from his son, Rudy Lapick Jr.

"My dad loved his work and took much pride in it, I'm sure his co-workers would agree. In fact, he was sitting at his drawing desk when he passed away."

I've said it before. There's a special place in Heaven for cartoonists who work right up to the end.
posted by Steven at 2:14 PM

 
Japanese Batman Tits

Glom your orbs on this non-work safe Gary Panter original!

Ages ago, Progressive Ruin beat me to the punch on mentioning that Panter was making customized comissioned drawings based on three random words. I can't help bringing it up once again thanks to the picture linked to above, which can be found in this Comics Journal message board thread, along with many other beautiful, hilarious samples. If only I wasn't poor as dirt...

Let's ditch this scene before our dates catch on!

Sob. So, we've come to the end of our journey through the world of romance comic columnists. I'd like to thank my guests, Laura, Ann, Buck, Barbara, Flabby, Betty, Veronica, Marc, and Josie for pitching in and helping the youth of the world control their crazed lusts. Every question and answer was ripped straight out of the comics, with the exception of those few brave souls who emailed me their questions, and to which I provided answers that often made no sense. I'd also like to thank you, the reader, for putting up with this. It will never happen again. This I swear!

Cardy Girl Jane Ford seals the deal and sends us packing with timely advice on how to keep your legs crossed.



Dear Miss Ford:
About two weeks ago I met the greatest guy in the world... his name is Rick, and he's seventeen years old. I know it sounds dumb, but I really flipped for him... and he had the same reaction about me! To say we hit it off completely is really an understatement, but by the end of that groovy evening we were in love! We were almost inseparable for two weeks and, believe me, I thought I knew him better than any other person in the whole world. Then the sky fell in: Rick asked me to do something I just couldn't bring myself to do... he kept bringing it up, and I kept refusing. Rick got very angry and he said that when two people are really in love nothing else matters. He gave me a couple of days to make up my mind: either I "prove" my love to him or we break off!
What should I do? Please help!
"Heartbroken"

Dear "Heartbroken":
I can really sympathize with your problem: you have found what you consider to be true love, and you're afraid that by refusing Rick you will lose it. Consider this, Miss "Heartbroken," don't you think you'll lose much more by giving in to Rick's childish threats? Yes, i believe that this is the answer in your case. Any man in love respects and hopes to protect the one he loves... he does everything he can to keep her love! It's clear that what Rick is doing is using your love to get what he wants!
In my opinion, if you lose Rick by refusing... you have learned a lesson in love that will be useful to you for the rest of your life. But, on the other hand, if you lose Rick by giving in to him you will have learned your lesson the hard way! The choice is yours!
That's as I see it...
Jane Ford

posted by Steven at 12:21 PM