Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Am I the only one who feels like this?
I’ve been insanely busy with lettering the last few weeks, so I haven’t made it to the comic shop in about a month. I finally got a break around 3 o’clock yesterday so I decided to head in the City and visit a shop. I usually go to Jim Hanley’s Universe or Midtown Comics, but I’m in the beginning stages of research for a possible graphic novel so I wanted to see if The Strand Bookstore had some out-of-print books that I’ve been looking for. The Strand is in Union Square so I stopped by Forbidden Planet, hoping to catch up on the comics I’ve missed the past few weeks.
So here’s where I got a real jolt of reality. There wasn’t a single “mainstream” comic that piqued my interest. Four weeks worth of new books and I didn’t buy a single one. I’m pretty sure that working in the industry for the past 5 or 6 years has jaded me a bit, but I didn’t realize that my jadedness had gone this far. It’s just starting to feel like everything has been done before in some form or another. Does mainstream comics need new blood? Maybe it does...I mean it seems like it’s the same fraternity of guys writing all the “important” books. It used to be that the “event” comics were spaced out over time. One every year or two… Secret War and Infinity Gauntlet being two that comes to mind. Now it seems like it’s one after another after another, in my opinion, if you keep bombarding your readers with big event comics over and over with no break in sight, you’re going to lose that excitement that is key in getting people interested in these events. Nobody will care about the event if they know there’s another 2 or 3 coming up right after this one. Killing off a character used to be a big deal. Think of Elektra’s death in Daredevil or Gwen Stacy’s in Spider-Man. They meant something… they shocked people, now when someone dies we’re only a story arc away from the big “Return”. I used to laugh at the storylines of Daytime Soap Opera’s, but mainstream comics aren’t far off at all. They’re so alike that it’s hard for me to even think about it without being embarrassed.
Keep in mind that I’m just a lonely letterer. But first and foremost I love comics. There’s been a lot of talk lately about the influx of Hollywood talent that has come on and started writing books. While this is great, and these guys are talented people, but really what makes a guy who writes a show on the WB more capable of writing a book than a guy who has been writing comics for his entire career? Do the companies think they’re making themselves more legitimate this way? Maybe they do, maybe they don’t.
It goes back to me thinking that the sooner the comic industry stops looking at itself as Hollywood’s bastard little brother, the sooner they’ll get that respect they so desire. How many times have you read a creator interview where he says that he’s trying to make comics more “cinematic”? How about those reviews where the writer has “Tarantino-like” dialogue? Or the penciler who is using wide panels to get that “cinematography-feel” to his art? If people want to feel like they’re at the movies they’ll go to a theater or they’ll pop in a DVD, they’re not going to flip through a 3-dollar comic for it. People buy comics to get a comic experience. They go the movies for the theater experience.
Another thing I notice is how mainstream comics have all but completely counted out their female readership. But every single time I walk through the graphic novel section at Barnes & Noble or Boarders there are as many, if not more, girls reading comics than guys, they’re not reading mainstream books, they’re reading Manga. What is it about Manga that gets the girls to read? Has anyone at the big companies thought about this? Are they doing anything to get in on this market? There’ve been a few attempts, but nothing memorable. I think more can be done. It’s worth it… 50% of the readership is basically ignored.
What about kids? Seems like they’re another group that is being given up on. Marvel has a few books and they’re making an effort, but much more can be done. And really, the plug will be pulled the second the books marketed for kids start losing sales and/or money. DC, with the big Infinite event thing they have going on is not only forgetting about new readers, but they’re forgetting about readers like me. I’m not a DC reader, I’ll check out an occasional book, but I’m more than willing to become a regular reader of one or more of their titles. Thing is, when I read about the present event, I’m completely and totally confused. Earth 1 Superman and Earth 2 Superman, different Flash characters, different Green Lanterns… I don’t know where to start and frankly, I don’t want to. How would an 8 year old kid be able to figure out what is going on there? I’ve heard people say that kids don’t want to read comics; they want to play video games. Part of that may be true, but what about the 1000’s and 1000’s of kids lining up around the block at midnight when the new Harry Potter book comes out? Yeah, Harry Potter is a phenomenon that doesn’t come around often, but if it proves anything it proves that kids will read if given a great product. Comics can’t grab all of that audience, but I’m willing to bet some of those kids would enjoy a comic book.
Wow. I really rambled on there. I should place a disclaimer here. Yes, I work in the industry, but that was written as a fan of comics. I love comics and I want to see them succeed and be more than a fringe fraternity of fans who only leave the shadows when a movie is released. I have no “inside” knowledge of what’s going on behind the scenes and I don’t want any. I just want to see the industry, as a whole, push itself further.
--Randy
So here’s where I got a real jolt of reality. There wasn’t a single “mainstream” comic that piqued my interest. Four weeks worth of new books and I didn’t buy a single one. I’m pretty sure that working in the industry for the past 5 or 6 years has jaded me a bit, but I didn’t realize that my jadedness had gone this far. It’s just starting to feel like everything has been done before in some form or another. Does mainstream comics need new blood? Maybe it does...I mean it seems like it’s the same fraternity of guys writing all the “important” books. It used to be that the “event” comics were spaced out over time. One every year or two… Secret War and Infinity Gauntlet being two that comes to mind. Now it seems like it’s one after another after another, in my opinion, if you keep bombarding your readers with big event comics over and over with no break in sight, you’re going to lose that excitement that is key in getting people interested in these events. Nobody will care about the event if they know there’s another 2 or 3 coming up right after this one. Killing off a character used to be a big deal. Think of Elektra’s death in Daredevil or Gwen Stacy’s in Spider-Man. They meant something… they shocked people, now when someone dies we’re only a story arc away from the big “Return”. I used to laugh at the storylines of Daytime Soap Opera’s, but mainstream comics aren’t far off at all. They’re so alike that it’s hard for me to even think about it without being embarrassed.
Keep in mind that I’m just a lonely letterer. But first and foremost I love comics. There’s been a lot of talk lately about the influx of Hollywood talent that has come on and started writing books. While this is great, and these guys are talented people, but really what makes a guy who writes a show on the WB more capable of writing a book than a guy who has been writing comics for his entire career? Do the companies think they’re making themselves more legitimate this way? Maybe they do, maybe they don’t.
It goes back to me thinking that the sooner the comic industry stops looking at itself as Hollywood’s bastard little brother, the sooner they’ll get that respect they so desire. How many times have you read a creator interview where he says that he’s trying to make comics more “cinematic”? How about those reviews where the writer has “Tarantino-like” dialogue? Or the penciler who is using wide panels to get that “cinematography-feel” to his art? If people want to feel like they’re at the movies they’ll go to a theater or they’ll pop in a DVD, they’re not going to flip through a 3-dollar comic for it. People buy comics to get a comic experience. They go the movies for the theater experience.
Another thing I notice is how mainstream comics have all but completely counted out their female readership. But every single time I walk through the graphic novel section at Barnes & Noble or Boarders there are as many, if not more, girls reading comics than guys, they’re not reading mainstream books, they’re reading Manga. What is it about Manga that gets the girls to read? Has anyone at the big companies thought about this? Are they doing anything to get in on this market? There’ve been a few attempts, but nothing memorable. I think more can be done. It’s worth it… 50% of the readership is basically ignored.
What about kids? Seems like they’re another group that is being given up on. Marvel has a few books and they’re making an effort, but much more can be done. And really, the plug will be pulled the second the books marketed for kids start losing sales and/or money. DC, with the big Infinite event thing they have going on is not only forgetting about new readers, but they’re forgetting about readers like me. I’m not a DC reader, I’ll check out an occasional book, but I’m more than willing to become a regular reader of one or more of their titles. Thing is, when I read about the present event, I’m completely and totally confused. Earth 1 Superman and Earth 2 Superman, different Flash characters, different Green Lanterns… I don’t know where to start and frankly, I don’t want to. How would an 8 year old kid be able to figure out what is going on there? I’ve heard people say that kids don’t want to read comics; they want to play video games. Part of that may be true, but what about the 1000’s and 1000’s of kids lining up around the block at midnight when the new Harry Potter book comes out? Yeah, Harry Potter is a phenomenon that doesn’t come around often, but if it proves anything it proves that kids will read if given a great product. Comics can’t grab all of that audience, but I’m willing to bet some of those kids would enjoy a comic book.
Wow. I really rambled on there. I should place a disclaimer here. Yes, I work in the industry, but that was written as a fan of comics. I love comics and I want to see them succeed and be more than a fringe fraternity of fans who only leave the shadows when a movie is released. I have no “inside” knowledge of what’s going on behind the scenes and I don’t want any. I just want to see the industry, as a whole, push itself further.
--Randy
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Random Musings
ITEM!
There is probably thousands of Oscar blogs out here on the intraweb, but get ready for the LazyComix version. I didn’t see any of the Best Picture nominees, hell, I didn’t see damn near every movie nominated. So Brokeback Mountain, Crash, whatever…. When they hit Netflix, I’ll check them out.
What I did see was Revenge of the Sith…. Which was nominated for best makeup and lost. It was not, however, nominated for Visual Effects. Now, I’m not saying it should’ve won, because there are a few movies that should’ve won and Oscar and haven’t. Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese all haven’t won and Oscar… go find me 3 filmmakers who’ve influenced movies more than those three. Meanwhile Kevin Costner has a Best Director statue in his house.
Anyway, I’m just trying to figure out how Sith didn’t even manage a nomination? Sure it had more effects than the other flicks, but volume alone shouldn’t warrant a nomination. But maybe high quality on top of volume should? Love or hate the prequels, your distaste with the acting/story/whatever, has nothing to do with the quality of work the guys at ILM put into that movie. Before it’s all said and done, the techniques used on the Prequels is going to change the way Special Effects are used in the future. Digital Stuntmen, Digital Head replacement that allowed an 84 year old Christopher Lee to fight guys 50 years younger than him, General Grevious was one of the most amazing and technically complex CGI characters ever put on screen. The Clone Troopers were built without the use of a 3-D Model scan. How about using a Digital Camera to make the SFX artist’s job easier? The guys at ILM were doing digital work on the movie hours (and sometimes less) after the scene was shot. With a film camera you’re waiting for the film to be processed and then scanned into a computer. You’re also getting some of the best picture quality on the screen. Do these things contribute to an Academy Awards voter’s consideration? I have no idea. Yeah, I’m biased, but a nomination? That’s all I’m saying.
ITEM!
I’ve succumbed to the coolness that is Hardcover comic books. I’ve never bought one before, but yesterday I picked up the Powers Volume One HC Edition and wow. What a cool volume. I’ve only read Powers after it moved to Marvel and frankly, I’m not completely in love with the book. It’s well written and Oeming’s art is great, but I always feel like I’ve missed out on something when I read it. But I’ve stuck with it. A bit part of that is the fact that it has the best Letters Page in comics. Which is a lost art form. Gotta make room for ads, right?
Anyway, I sat down and read the first 2 issues of the book and it’s amazing. Some of the best reading I’ve had in a long, long time. I’ve heard nothing but praise for the “Who Killed Retro Girl” storyline, and so far I see what they mean.
When I finish up, I’ll give another long-winded review.
ITEM!
Pixelstrips is back on track, folks, I’m 99% sure I’ll hit tomorrow’s deadline.
Thanks for reading.
--Randy
There is probably thousands of Oscar blogs out here on the intraweb, but get ready for the LazyComix version. I didn’t see any of the Best Picture nominees, hell, I didn’t see damn near every movie nominated. So Brokeback Mountain, Crash, whatever…. When they hit Netflix, I’ll check them out.
What I did see was Revenge of the Sith…. Which was nominated for best makeup and lost. It was not, however, nominated for Visual Effects. Now, I’m not saying it should’ve won, because there are a few movies that should’ve won and Oscar and haven’t. Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese all haven’t won and Oscar… go find me 3 filmmakers who’ve influenced movies more than those three. Meanwhile Kevin Costner has a Best Director statue in his house.
Anyway, I’m just trying to figure out how Sith didn’t even manage a nomination? Sure it had more effects than the other flicks, but volume alone shouldn’t warrant a nomination. But maybe high quality on top of volume should? Love or hate the prequels, your distaste with the acting/story/whatever, has nothing to do with the quality of work the guys at ILM put into that movie. Before it’s all said and done, the techniques used on the Prequels is going to change the way Special Effects are used in the future. Digital Stuntmen, Digital Head replacement that allowed an 84 year old Christopher Lee to fight guys 50 years younger than him, General Grevious was one of the most amazing and technically complex CGI characters ever put on screen. The Clone Troopers were built without the use of a 3-D Model scan. How about using a Digital Camera to make the SFX artist’s job easier? The guys at ILM were doing digital work on the movie hours (and sometimes less) after the scene was shot. With a film camera you’re waiting for the film to be processed and then scanned into a computer. You’re also getting some of the best picture quality on the screen. Do these things contribute to an Academy Awards voter’s consideration? I have no idea. Yeah, I’m biased, but a nomination? That’s all I’m saying.
ITEM!
I’ve succumbed to the coolness that is Hardcover comic books. I’ve never bought one before, but yesterday I picked up the Powers Volume One HC Edition and wow. What a cool volume. I’ve only read Powers after it moved to Marvel and frankly, I’m not completely in love with the book. It’s well written and Oeming’s art is great, but I always feel like I’ve missed out on something when I read it. But I’ve stuck with it. A bit part of that is the fact that it has the best Letters Page in comics. Which is a lost art form. Gotta make room for ads, right?
Anyway, I sat down and read the first 2 issues of the book and it’s amazing. Some of the best reading I’ve had in a long, long time. I’ve heard nothing but praise for the “Who Killed Retro Girl” storyline, and so far I see what they mean.
When I finish up, I’ll give another long-winded review.
ITEM!
Pixelstrips is back on track, folks, I’m 99% sure I’ll hit tomorrow’s deadline.
Thanks for reading.
--Randy
Friday, March 03, 2006
Pixelstrips Page Posted!
Better late than never, I always say... check it out here and keep NYComix as the #3 strip over at Pixelstrips!
thanks!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
LazyComix Recommended Reading & More
ITEM!
I’m 2 weeks late on my Pixelstrips page. Between the convention and the lettering workload, I barely have time to post this… but I want to update this Blog more often. Maybe a Monday/Wednesday/Friday deal. We’ll see.
I posted over at my Pixelstrips forum that I’d be late with the new page, and what do I see when I go to the front page? NYComix making its first appearance in the Top 5. Figures, when I finally break the Top 5, I don’t have a new page up for folks to read. So I’ll be up tonight drawing so hopefully I can get the new page up before the weekend is over.
Thanks to those who went over there to see the new page and I apologize for being late. I’ll be back on regular schedule soon.
ITEM!
At the Convention last weekend, I picked up a few Trade Paperbacks for 40% off. As well as a comic by on of my favorite creators, Jim Mahfood.
STUPID COMICS #3 by Jim Mahfood (Image)
Anything by Jim Mahfood I’ll check out. He’s one of the most innovative and amazing creators working in comics today. Stupid comics #3 is a collection of short stories dealing with mostly with the 2004 Presidential Election. They’re hilarious and scary at the same time. Just like the election, actually. If you get a shot, pick it up.
JEW GANGSTER by Joe Kubert (iBooks Graphic Novels)
This little hardcover graphic novel by Joe Kubert is one of the best comic reads I’ve had in a long time. As to be expected, Kubert’s art is incredible, he’s on of the all-time greats in the history of comics and even at his age he’s still making incredible work. What really stands out about his art to me is his storytelling. He’s a master and I wish some of the up-and-coming artists would check this book out. He doesn’t rely on fancy panel layout or even heavy, (often overbearing) Photoshop coloring. He just tells a good story, period. With all the coloring effects and easy to spot movie star photo reference around comics these days, it’s nice to see how it was done, and how it should be done.
JINX by Brian Michael Bendis (Image)
I’ve ready plenty of Bendis Marvel stuff and I’ve always been a big fan of his writing. JINX was my first introduction to his art, which surprised me as not being that bad. He’s using a lot of photo reference, but at least it’s not Ben Affleck shots swiped from Google. You can tell Bendis is trying to push the envelope of comic storytelling and JINX was a good read. Made me want to read some more of his earlier work.
I’m 2 weeks late on my Pixelstrips page. Between the convention and the lettering workload, I barely have time to post this… but I want to update this Blog more often. Maybe a Monday/Wednesday/Friday deal. We’ll see.
I posted over at my Pixelstrips forum that I’d be late with the new page, and what do I see when I go to the front page? NYComix making its first appearance in the Top 5. Figures, when I finally break the Top 5, I don’t have a new page up for folks to read. So I’ll be up tonight drawing so hopefully I can get the new page up before the weekend is over.
Thanks to those who went over there to see the new page and I apologize for being late. I’ll be back on regular schedule soon.
ITEM!
At the Convention last weekend, I picked up a few Trade Paperbacks for 40% off. As well as a comic by on of my favorite creators, Jim Mahfood.
STUPID COMICS #3 by Jim Mahfood (Image)
Anything by Jim Mahfood I’ll check out. He’s one of the most innovative and amazing creators working in comics today. Stupid comics #3 is a collection of short stories dealing with mostly with the 2004 Presidential Election. They’re hilarious and scary at the same time. Just like the election, actually. If you get a shot, pick it up.
JEW GANGSTER by Joe Kubert (iBooks Graphic Novels)
This little hardcover graphic novel by Joe Kubert is one of the best comic reads I’ve had in a long time. As to be expected, Kubert’s art is incredible, he’s on of the all-time greats in the history of comics and even at his age he’s still making incredible work. What really stands out about his art to me is his storytelling. He’s a master and I wish some of the up-and-coming artists would check this book out. He doesn’t rely on fancy panel layout or even heavy, (often overbearing) Photoshop coloring. He just tells a good story, period. With all the coloring effects and easy to spot movie star photo reference around comics these days, it’s nice to see how it was done, and how it should be done.
JINX by Brian Michael Bendis (Image)
I’ve ready plenty of Bendis Marvel stuff and I’ve always been a big fan of his writing. JINX was my first introduction to his art, which surprised me as not being that bad. He’s using a lot of photo reference, but at least it’s not Ben Affleck shots swiped from Google. You can tell Bendis is trying to push the envelope of comic storytelling and JINX was a good read. Made me want to read some more of his earlier work.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Post-Convention Wrap-Up
Back to the ol’ lettering thing over here and coming down from the NYComic Con, which went really well. If you’ve been following this blog you know that Philly convention last year was an unmitigated disaster, but this past weekend went much better than expected. I had a great time hanging out with my old Bullpen co-worker Jacob Chabot, sold plenty of comics, and met a lot of cool folks. I just may do it again next year.
If anyone is interested, feel free to shoot me an email and I’d be happy to get a copy of the new Mini comic out to you.
On the Pixelstrips front, it’s slow going at the moment. I had to miss last Wednesday’s release date in order to meet lettering deadlines as well as prepare for the Convention. The comic will be out this week… most likely not tomorrow, but by the end of the week.
I apologize for the wait.
Thanks.
--Gent
Friday, February 17, 2006
Convention Preview
With only one week to go, I'm further behind that I thought I'd be. But, I should be able to finish up before next Friday.
Here are a few shots of some character sketches I've done in preparation for my first venture into offereing Convention Sketches. Feel free to let me know what you think of them.
--Randy
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Plan B!!!
I ran a few test stencils yesterday and it didn’t work out as well as I had hoped. (Check out the pics) I didn’t really know what to expect, but after this I’m glad I gave myself time for Plan B.
I was hoping to have each cover of the Mini Comic with it’s own unique stencil. But the one thing I didn’t think of was how much Krylon Paint stinks. So I don’t want to have people walking around the convention smelling the fumes of my comic. So, with Ereisa’s help, I have a good replacement. I’ll still stencil, but I’m going to stencil one big one, then I’ll shrink that down on a copy machine, and use it on all the covers. Thus eliminating the awful, mind altering stench.
In other Mini Comic news, I got another pin-up from Jacob Chabot and it’s fantastic. It’s presently my desktop wallpaper and I couldn’t be happier with it. Chris Giarusso sent me the thumbnail of his pin-up, (which is actually a really cool one-page comic) and boy and I glad I asked Jim Lujan, Jacob and Chris to do a few pages… it’s really going to add to the Mini.
Also, don’t forget about page 2 of the new NYComix “Who Gives a @#$# about the Letterer?” over at Pixelstrips.com.
Thanks!
--Gent
Friday, February 03, 2006
NYComix Swag and New A Story Up At Pixelstrips!
ITEM!
There’s a new Chapter beginning over at PixelStrips.com…. it’s called: Who Gives a @#$%* the Letterer!
It’s going tell how I got into Lettering and what it’s like to work for the one of the Big Boys in the Comic World.
There will be a new page up every Wednesday, so have a look.... page 1 is up now!
ITEM!
As I gear up for the NY Comic Con this February, I got a surprise package from my sister-in-law back in Saugerties.
A box full of NYComix Tote Bags!
I’m so excited about it as it’s a great idea and something I’d never think of. I’ll be handing these babies out free at Booth #AA72. Check 'em Out!
Thanks Kate!
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Lazy Reviews and MiniComic Update
ITEM!
The lettering over here on my end of the Virtual Calligraphy Train has slowed down a bit. After about 3 weeks or so of having a book due just about every day, I finally found some free time to get knee-deep into Volume 2 of the minicomic.
After making a quick dummy mock-up, this one looks like it’s clocking in at 32 pages. Which is a lot considering Volume 1 was something like 21. So as it stands right now, the pages are ready to go. I’m just waiting on a few pin-ups, which I think will show up. I hope they do as I think they’ll really add something to the comic. If someone is going to be kind enough to drop 2 bucks on a hand stapled, Kinkos printed comic, I might as well throw in a few extras, right?
I’ll be giving the stencil cover a test run tomorrow and I’m going to have Ereisa take some pictures of the process so I can post it here… it could be a total disaster, who knows. Either way you’ll see the Triumph or the Failure here in a few days.
ITEM!
After literally a few months since my last trip to a comic shop, I’ve made it out to the shop the past 3 weeks. During my “dry spell” I realized that I was completely out of the comic loop. Most every comic message board was foreign to me. Although my pull from 2 trips to the comic shop only resulted in 9 comics, I was pretty happy with the reads.
Here are my impromptu reviews.
1) The Goon #15. By Eric Powell.
This is the one comic that keeps my faith in “mainstream” comics afloat. I have never, ever read a bad issue of this book. Powell is, in my opinion, the best writer/artist in comics right now. The latest Trade just came out as well, so if you haven’t tried this book, do yourself a favor and do so.
2) All-Star Superman #1&2. By Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely.
I only bought this book because I have yet to hear a bad thing about it. I’m not a huge fan of Morrison’s work, which is sacrilege in some comic circles, but his stories tend to wind up a little esoteric, in my opinion. I absolutely loved the start of his X-Men run, but by the end, I dropped it. And that was when I got comps from Marvel. Either way, the first 2 issues of this book were really fun and it really made me want to read more…so we’ll see what happens. I’m on board now, that’s for sure.
3) New Avengers #14&15. By Bendis and Cho.
I’ve been enjoying Bendis’ Avengers run since Disassembled. I’ve missed a few issues here and there, but I’ll probably pick those up at some point. Spider-Woman’s double agent story is really interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. I miss Finch’s artwork, though. Cho is great, but Finch’s art just seems to fit better for the book, IMO.
4) Powers #16. By Bendis and Oeming.
This book is always good. I keep forgetting to order the Hardcover that just came out. I’ve never read the early stuff and I’m looking forward to doing that. I love Oeming’s work, I originally bought this book for Bendis’ writing, but now I buy it for Oeming’s art.
5) Savage Dragon #122 By Erik Larsen.
A new Dragon? What? Yup. I can’t even remember when issue 121 hit the stands, but this is a book I’ll buy no matter what. My boss, Chris Eliopoulos, lettered this thing, it’s been a while since he was on the book and from what I read in the back, it’s only temporary, Erik is looking to hand letter this book himself soon. When he does that, he’ll be a one-man show. Which is pretty damn neat.
6) The Amazing Joy Buzzards #4. By Crosland, Mahfood, Smith and Hipp.
I’ve never read and issue of this book, but I heard that Mahfood was in it, so I picked it up. It was a pretty cool read, and it’s nice to see a real Indy feel on an Image book. I’ll pick up the next issue, Mahfood involved or not.
7) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. By Miller and Ching.
This is the first issue of the Darkhorse Star Wars relaunch. I hate to say it, but I was incredibly under whelmed by this book. I really haven’t read a good Star Wars comic in a long while. I’m picky with Star Wars, but this book didn’t feel like the universe at all to me. The art was nice, though, as well as the cover. But the story…..
So that’s the rundown of comics I’ve read recently. It was nice to pick some books up after a long layoff… I’ll be back at the shop next week, hopefully.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for update on the Mini Comic Cover Stencil.
--Gent
The lettering over here on my end of the Virtual Calligraphy Train has slowed down a bit. After about 3 weeks or so of having a book due just about every day, I finally found some free time to get knee-deep into Volume 2 of the minicomic.
After making a quick dummy mock-up, this one looks like it’s clocking in at 32 pages. Which is a lot considering Volume 1 was something like 21. So as it stands right now, the pages are ready to go. I’m just waiting on a few pin-ups, which I think will show up. I hope they do as I think they’ll really add something to the comic. If someone is going to be kind enough to drop 2 bucks on a hand stapled, Kinkos printed comic, I might as well throw in a few extras, right?
I’ll be giving the stencil cover a test run tomorrow and I’m going to have Ereisa take some pictures of the process so I can post it here… it could be a total disaster, who knows. Either way you’ll see the Triumph or the Failure here in a few days.
ITEM!
After literally a few months since my last trip to a comic shop, I’ve made it out to the shop the past 3 weeks. During my “dry spell” I realized that I was completely out of the comic loop. Most every comic message board was foreign to me. Although my pull from 2 trips to the comic shop only resulted in 9 comics, I was pretty happy with the reads.
Here are my impromptu reviews.
LazyComix Picks O’ Da Week.
1) The Goon #15. By Eric Powell.
This is the one comic that keeps my faith in “mainstream” comics afloat. I have never, ever read a bad issue of this book. Powell is, in my opinion, the best writer/artist in comics right now. The latest Trade just came out as well, so if you haven’t tried this book, do yourself a favor and do so.
2) All-Star Superman #1&2. By Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely.
I only bought this book because I have yet to hear a bad thing about it. I’m not a huge fan of Morrison’s work, which is sacrilege in some comic circles, but his stories tend to wind up a little esoteric, in my opinion. I absolutely loved the start of his X-Men run, but by the end, I dropped it. And that was when I got comps from Marvel. Either way, the first 2 issues of this book were really fun and it really made me want to read more…so we’ll see what happens. I’m on board now, that’s for sure.
3) New Avengers #14&15. By Bendis and Cho.
I’ve been enjoying Bendis’ Avengers run since Disassembled. I’ve missed a few issues here and there, but I’ll probably pick those up at some point. Spider-Woman’s double agent story is really interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. I miss Finch’s artwork, though. Cho is great, but Finch’s art just seems to fit better for the book, IMO.
4) Powers #16. By Bendis and Oeming.
This book is always good. I keep forgetting to order the Hardcover that just came out. I’ve never read the early stuff and I’m looking forward to doing that. I love Oeming’s work, I originally bought this book for Bendis’ writing, but now I buy it for Oeming’s art.
5) Savage Dragon #122 By Erik Larsen.
A new Dragon? What? Yup. I can’t even remember when issue 121 hit the stands, but this is a book I’ll buy no matter what. My boss, Chris Eliopoulos, lettered this thing, it’s been a while since he was on the book and from what I read in the back, it’s only temporary, Erik is looking to hand letter this book himself soon. When he does that, he’ll be a one-man show. Which is pretty damn neat.
6) The Amazing Joy Buzzards #4. By Crosland, Mahfood, Smith and Hipp.
I’ve never read and issue of this book, but I heard that Mahfood was in it, so I picked it up. It was a pretty cool read, and it’s nice to see a real Indy feel on an Image book. I’ll pick up the next issue, Mahfood involved or not.
7) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. By Miller and Ching.
This is the first issue of the Darkhorse Star Wars relaunch. I hate to say it, but I was incredibly under whelmed by this book. I really haven’t read a good Star Wars comic in a long while. I’m picky with Star Wars, but this book didn’t feel like the universe at all to me. The art was nice, though, as well as the cover. But the story…..
So that’s the rundown of comics I’ve read recently. It was nice to pick some books up after a long layoff… I’ll be back at the shop next week, hopefully.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for update on the Mini Comic Cover Stencil.
--Gent
Monday, January 30, 2006
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Back In Action
Whew. It’s been quite awhile since I last posted in here. These last 2 weeks I’ve been lettering like a madman. Which is great, can’t complain when you have work, but boy, it really throws a wrench in my other work. Hopefully next week I’ll really get down to business. The NY Con is approaching fast.
I did manage to get to the comic shop last weekend. It’s been so long since I’d been there that it was shut down! Newspaper covering the windows, gate pulled down… just flat out abandoned. Thing is, it didn’t surprise me at all. That comic shop was a dump. It was the kind of shop that gives comics a bad name. Messy, dirty, unorganized, a cranky co-owner behind the counter who wasn’t too keen on personal hygiene, and don’t forget his mother sitting in the middle of the shop (right next to the 50 cent bins) eating anything she could get her mitts on, spilling ketchup and other assorted condiments all over the wares. Awful shop.
Lucky for me there’s another really nice shop nearby. I picked up All Star Batman and Robin #3. Which I really like, I know it’s the cool thing online for fanboys to bash Miller, but the guy is amazing in my opinion. Nothing cracks me up more than some fanboy on a message board with a Serenity username talking about how Frank Miller, the guy behind Batman: Year One and Dark Night Returns, can’t write Batman.
Anyway, I also picked up Sgt. Rock The Prophecy by Joe Kubert. A flat-out amazing book. If you haven’t picked it up, do yourself a favor and do so. If I have a “Pick of the week” this book is it.
I also picked up Jim Mahfood’s “Adventures of One Page Filler Man” As usual its amazing work from Mahfood.
I’ll be heading out to the comic shop tonight to meet up with my good buddy C.B. Cebulski, whose book: Mangaverse, I just lettered. It’s a real fun book with great art and great lettering. : ) It’s on the shelves now, so show C.B. some support and pick it up this week.
Don’t forget about the new NYComix over at Pixelstrips, and stay tuned, things should be heating up here as the Con approaches.
Thanks.
--Randy
I did manage to get to the comic shop last weekend. It’s been so long since I’d been there that it was shut down! Newspaper covering the windows, gate pulled down… just flat out abandoned. Thing is, it didn’t surprise me at all. That comic shop was a dump. It was the kind of shop that gives comics a bad name. Messy, dirty, unorganized, a cranky co-owner behind the counter who wasn’t too keen on personal hygiene, and don’t forget his mother sitting in the middle of the shop (right next to the 50 cent bins) eating anything she could get her mitts on, spilling ketchup and other assorted condiments all over the wares. Awful shop.
Lucky for me there’s another really nice shop nearby. I picked up All Star Batman and Robin #3. Which I really like, I know it’s the cool thing online for fanboys to bash Miller, but the guy is amazing in my opinion. Nothing cracks me up more than some fanboy on a message board with a Serenity username talking about how Frank Miller, the guy behind Batman: Year One and Dark Night Returns, can’t write Batman.
Anyway, I also picked up Sgt. Rock The Prophecy by Joe Kubert. A flat-out amazing book. If you haven’t picked it up, do yourself a favor and do so. If I have a “Pick of the week” this book is it.
I also picked up Jim Mahfood’s “Adventures of One Page Filler Man” As usual its amazing work from Mahfood.
I’ll be heading out to the comic shop tonight to meet up with my good buddy C.B. Cebulski, whose book: Mangaverse, I just lettered. It’s a real fun book with great art and great lettering. : ) It’s on the shelves now, so show C.B. some support and pick it up this week.
Don’t forget about the new NYComix over at Pixelstrips, and stay tuned, things should be heating up here as the Con approaches.
Thanks.
--Randy
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
It's a Traaaaaap!
A little Admiral Ackbar to get you through the week. I posted a few more sketches over at my site... check 'em out.
As with every Wednesday, the latest NYComix page is over at Pixelstrips.com... Take a look.
thanks.
--Gent
Friday, January 06, 2006
More Mini-Comic #2 News
Things are really starting to come together on the upcoming NYComix Mini-Comic #2. Available this February at the New York Comic Con and through Lazycomix.com... it’s really shaping up to be a great Mini.
Over 30 pages of NYComix as well as a comic by Ereisa Wells and pin ups by Jacob Chabot of Mighty Skullboy Army Fame (we’ll be sharing a table at the show), Chris Giarusso of Mini Marvel and G-Man, and Jim Lujan… who already sent me an incredible pin-up.
Keep checking back for more info and don’t forget that there is a new page up over at Pixelstrips.
--Gent
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Monday, January 02, 2006
Mini-Comic Issue 2
Just a Quick Mock-up for the cover of the upcoming NYComix Mini-Comic Issue 2, which will be available at the New York Comic Con this February. It'll probaby change, but this is the idea I'm playing around with.Let me know what you think.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
New Page
Just posted a new page over at Pixelstrips.
Check it out.
As I stated over at LazyComix.com... all new NYComix will be appearing there for now. It's tough to keep up on both sites, especially with a full-time job. Plus, there's some other stuff going on that I'll announce soon.
Thanks for looking!
--Gent
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
I'm Back and So is Randall.
So it’s been awhile since my last entry. Obviously, the holidays make everything crazy but now that it’s somewhat back to normal, regular updates should be back and running. The holidays even screwed up my Pixelstrips schedule, and I’m hoping to get a new page up there before the end of the week.
I spent the holiday in upstate New York and landed a great present that was a total surprise. My sister-in-law has a screen printing business, I mentioned a few times that I wanted to make some NYComix shirts but I never got around to making a serious order. Well, come Christmas I get a box and what is it full of? NYComix T-shirts! Pretty sweet, I think. I’m going to print a bunch of them up for the Con in February, so if anyone wants one, they’ll soon be available.
I also met up with a few friends over the holiday. I’ve known them both since I was like 13 years old and we don’t see each other as much as I’d hope. I’m down here in NYC, Mike is near Albany and Drew in practically in Canada. But an interesting thing happened during our separate conversations. They both asked me why I haven’t finished Randall.
A while back I decided that I wasn’t happy with the comic and that it was just too much of a departure from my NYComix. True as that may be, I still love Randall. It’s like my first-born. It’s the first comic I really sat down and worked on with the intention of showing it to people. It’s admit ably crude and weird in places, but I think I may just finish it up. Drew, who just gave my his first novel to read, knows what it’s like to want honest feedback from a friend, so I trust that he would tell me if finishing Randall would be a waste of time. He said I should consider is an “exercise” worth finishing. So I think I’m going to. I mean, the book is even thumb nailed through the end, so why not? On thing I don’t really understand is why people have to have a “style” they have to adhere to, I always though a good artist could do a lot of different things. An artist’s style is always evolving. Why can’t it evolve in different styles? Why are there even unwritten rules in art? The reason I love art, and comics in particular is that there are no rules.
R. Crumb has a distinct style that you recognize instantly, but look through the full gamut of his work and you’ll see the classic Mr. Natural style of art as well as cartoon work that is as strong as any you’d see in a Disney cartoon or comic. He does both equally well.
So anyway, looks like Randall is going to make a comeback. Kind of a Farewell Tour.
Although, it seems like every “Farewell Tour” isn’t an actual Farewell, so who knows.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Howard Stern
Today was Howard's last show. Listened to it here in NYC but was unable to go out to the rally... I got deadlines, man!
The man has been a part of my mornings for a looooong time. I can't remember when I didn't listen. I can't wait for the move to Sirius and I won't miss "regular" radio in the least.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Philip K. Dick & R. Crumb
R. Crumb is one of the biggest artistic influences on my work. He's one of the greatest comic book artists of all-time. Bar none.
A month or two ago I read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick. The book was amazing and it quickly shot up the ladder as one of my favorite books. I'm reading another of his books right now... "The Man in the High Castle" and it's also amazing.
I'm surfing some PKD sites the other day and I ran across a very interesting comic. In an issue of Weirdo Magazine (#17, released in 1986) Crumb did an eight-page story about a "Religious Experience" that PKD had in 1974. It's an amazing story and, of course, the art is incredible. Here's the link. You can read the whole story there.
Enjoy.
--Randy
Monday, December 12, 2005
Keep On Truckin'
per·se·ver·ance n • steady and continued action or belief, usually over a long period and especially despite difficulties or setbacks
Who knew that after reaching my lifelong goal the one thing I’d need more than anything else is that? If I knew then what I know now would I still have pursued it with the same passion? If the end result is becoming jaded beyond repair is it worth it?
These are questions that I’m struggling with lately. The answers are pretty far off right now… I’m sure they’ll be revealed in time. Until then it’s persevere, persevere, persevere.
Anyway, after some shopping this weekend, I took some more pics of that great view of lower Manhattan as the N Train crosses the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn. No matter what else is going on, seeing this always makes me smile.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
What I'm Up To....
I’ve been working on a bunch of stuff lately. With the holidays approaching, I feel like I need to get as much work in now as I can. The week of Christmas is basically a no-work week for me. Sure, I’ll be doing some lettering, but my own work will take a backseat to shopping and running errands.
I’ve got 3 projects going on right now. The first pertains to that brain I posted a few entries back. I’ve got the story written, but I still need to break down the panels a bit better. Its times like this that I’m happy to don’t work directly on the art board. I usually do a separate background, and in the case of this comic, a bunch of different shots of the main character. I’ll do this right in my sketchbook and just pick and choose which ones I like. Then I’ll scan the background and all the images and just move stuff around right in Photoshop. The main reason I do my comics this way is that I like to work bigger than the traditional comic board allows, especially if I’ve got a 6-panel breakdown. I feel like I can’t get the hatching and detail I want at that size and if you feel constrained when you’re drawing, you’ll never get your best work. I think of it as if I’m shooting a movie or something. I do as many shots as I can and then edit them together in “post”. It’s then I’ll see if I need more shots or if I’ve got enough. Sometimes I have too much. It all depends.
Anyway, I’ll do a blog entry about it sometime soon.
The other project I’m working on is my 2nd major writing proposal to Marvel. My first is being reviewed now. I haven’t heard anything back, so instead of waiting around I figured I’d better get going on another. Plus, how often does a first time writer get his first proposal accepted at Marvel? I can’t be too often. I’ve read tons of Brian Michael Bendis interviews where he’s talked about how he just pounded Marvel with proposal after proposal for like 10 years. So that’s my plan. Someone said the “squeaky wheel gets the oil” (or something like that)… so get ready for me to be squeaky. I just finished the outline for this story, so after a few alterations and tweaks, I’ll be ready to start putting this thing together.
The last thing I’ve got going on is Pixelstrips. I just finished the second chapter over there and I have no clue what story I’m doing next. I have ideas peppered throughout the stacks of notebooks I have lying around, so I’ll have to dig them out and see what strikes my fancy. You’ll find out by next Wednesday. In the meantime, feel free to head on over to my message board and post away. I'd love to hear from more people who read my stuff.
So that’s what’s happening over here at Lazy Comix.
If you just read this blog, you’ll probably be interested in one of my favorite comic blogs a great artist named Mike Wieringo. If you’re a comic fan I’m sure you’ve heard of him. Right now he’s penciling Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man over at Marvel. Before that I had the pleasure of lettering his work on Fantastic Four. That was a book I really enjoyed working on. Mark Waid wrote some fun stuff on the book, but Mike’s art never disappointed. Check it out. He always posts sketches and right now he has a few unpublished FF pages up there.
Good stuff.
--Gent
I’ve got 3 projects going on right now. The first pertains to that brain I posted a few entries back. I’ve got the story written, but I still need to break down the panels a bit better. Its times like this that I’m happy to don’t work directly on the art board. I usually do a separate background, and in the case of this comic, a bunch of different shots of the main character. I’ll do this right in my sketchbook and just pick and choose which ones I like. Then I’ll scan the background and all the images and just move stuff around right in Photoshop. The main reason I do my comics this way is that I like to work bigger than the traditional comic board allows, especially if I’ve got a 6-panel breakdown. I feel like I can’t get the hatching and detail I want at that size and if you feel constrained when you’re drawing, you’ll never get your best work. I think of it as if I’m shooting a movie or something. I do as many shots as I can and then edit them together in “post”. It’s then I’ll see if I need more shots or if I’ve got enough. Sometimes I have too much. It all depends.
Anyway, I’ll do a blog entry about it sometime soon.
The other project I’m working on is my 2nd major writing proposal to Marvel. My first is being reviewed now. I haven’t heard anything back, so instead of waiting around I figured I’d better get going on another. Plus, how often does a first time writer get his first proposal accepted at Marvel? I can’t be too often. I’ve read tons of Brian Michael Bendis interviews where he’s talked about how he just pounded Marvel with proposal after proposal for like 10 years. So that’s my plan. Someone said the “squeaky wheel gets the oil” (or something like that)… so get ready for me to be squeaky. I just finished the outline for this story, so after a few alterations and tweaks, I’ll be ready to start putting this thing together.
The last thing I’ve got going on is Pixelstrips. I just finished the second chapter over there and I have no clue what story I’m doing next. I have ideas peppered throughout the stacks of notebooks I have lying around, so I’ll have to dig them out and see what strikes my fancy. You’ll find out by next Wednesday. In the meantime, feel free to head on over to my message board and post away. I'd love to hear from more people who read my stuff.
So that’s what’s happening over here at Lazy Comix.
If you just read this blog, you’ll probably be interested in one of my favorite comic blogs a great artist named Mike Wieringo. If you’re a comic fan I’m sure you’ve heard of him. Right now he’s penciling Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man over at Marvel. Before that I had the pleasure of lettering his work on Fantastic Four. That was a book I really enjoyed working on. Mark Waid wrote some fun stuff on the book, but Mike’s art never disappointed. Check it out. He always posts sketches and right now he has a few unpublished FF pages up there.
Good stuff.
--Gent
Monday, December 05, 2005
Fanboy Radio Appearance *UPDATE*
A few posts back I mentioned that I'd be appearing on Fanboy Radio. If you missed it you can now hear it for free, here. (direct link to MP3)
While you're there, click around and check out the other Episodes. Scott and the guys over at FBR do a great job. If you're a comic fan, you'll love it.
Thanks!
While you're there, click around and check out the other Episodes. Scott and the guys over at FBR do a great job. If you're a comic fan, you'll love it.
Thanks!
Friday, December 02, 2005
My Next Comic...
I realized that I've really been putting a lot of NYComix up on my site as well as the ongoing story at Pixelstrips. So I'm going to do a Non-NYComix story next... I'm just about to sit down and start drawing it. I don't know how to explain the story and I don't have a title for it yet either-- so I'll just post a bit of reference I'll be using for it.
Oh, and some great news on the upcoming NYComix Mini-Comic Volume 2. The Man himself: Jim Lujan will be contributing a pin-up as well as some other special guests that I can't quite reveal yet. Should be fun... its shaping up to be like twice as big as Volume 1. Stay tuned.
--Gent
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Fanboy Radio Appearance
Can you "appear" on a radio show? Not quite sure that makes sense.Sorry for the big gap here on the Blog. But with the holiday and all, it was tough to update. I'm also dog sitting for friends who are presently living it up in Jamaica... I love dogs and he's been good... but boy are they a lot of work. I have 2 cats that I adore and if they could open their own cans of food, they'd never need me. Dogs on the other hand, are, as the great Larry David said, "Like letting a bum live in your house." Anyway, he's fun and a good dog.
As for the Fanboy Radio appearance, you can hear the show today at 1 p.m. Central time. (Here's a time zone converter) The show is about the Bullet Angelica. (a great online comic jam I've spoken of before here on the Blog) If you haven't been to Fanboy Radio before, check it out... if you love comics, you'll love the show.
Big thanks goes out to Scott Hinze and the Fanboy Crew.
And don't forget the new page over at Pixelstrips.com!
Thanks
Friday, November 18, 2005
New NYComix...Episode 7
There's a new 3-Page NYComix up. This is one of the funniest things to ever happen to me here in New York City...Hope you guys enjoy it.
Feel free to drop me an email to let me know what you thought of it.
--Randy
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Get In On The Ground Floor
Some of you may know that my comic, NYComix, is part of a great webcomic site called Pixelstrips.com...
Pixelstrips is a subscription webcomix site, but what's neat about it is that you can read all the comics for free every week. (subscribing gets you access to archives and extras) I put a new page up every Wednesday, so if you head over there you'll get a new page of NYComix every week for free. As well as a bunch of other neat comics. Today is the first page of a new story (chapter 2), but I promise you didn't have read Chapter 1 to know what's going on. So head on over and check it out, here's the link. I even have my own message board over there so feel free to post after you read the comic. I'd love to hear some feedback.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
A Comic Book Hiatus
Been taking a break from reading comics lately. Honestly nothing has been grabbing my imagination/attention. Don’t know why, but buying individual issues of comics has become more difficult to do. I feel like I’m buying a chapter of a story instead of the whole thing. Plus, I’m not able to stick with it if the first chapter isn’t very eventful. I guess I’m old fashioned when it comes to my comics. My favorite comic storyline is the Death of Gwen Stacy. I have the "trade" on my shelf and its like 2 issues long, if that. But in that span, Spider-Man was not only changed forever but his reason for doing what he did was reestablished and given even deeper meaning. Why now every story needs to be 6-8 issues is beyond me.
I have shelves full of trade paperbacks and I enjoy reading them because I’m getting the whole story without ads. Seems like a better deal to me. So I guess I’m turning into one of those “waiting for the trade” people.
Anyway, upon Ereisa’s request I’ve started reading more fiction novels. I’m a huge history fan and I’ve read a lot of World War 2 novels, (anything by Peter Ambrose), as well as any true crime book dealing with the mafia. Although I’m a bit burned out on Mafia books right now. Ereisa suggested I start reading some fiction, which I honestly haven’t done a lot of. She bought me a copy of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon and am I glad she did. If you’re a comic fan, do yourself a favor and read it.
Right after Kavalier and Clay I started reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Phillip K. Dick. A few blog entries back I mentioned that while visiting my parents upstate, my Mom dragged a box out of the closet full of old stuff. I found a sketchbook and a bunch of news clippings from my High School Sports days. Among the stuff was Androids. My good friend who I’ve known since I was about 13, Drew gave me the book to read. He’s a big fan of PKD and he thought I’d enjoy it. Mainly because he knew I really liked the movie Bladerunner, which is based on the book. Wow. What an incredible read. I finished it in about 3 days (a record for me) and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I’ve never read a book that made me think about not only the story itself, but the world in general. PKD is just an amazing writer. I still can’t get over how incredible that book was. I want to run out to a used bookstore and pick up some more of his writing because I’m that blown away by Androids. Bladerunner was a great movie, but it doesn’t even come close to doing the book justice.
So hey, enough babbling on about my seminal book reading experience, if anyone is reading this is a fan of PKD. Feel free to shoot me a message about what novel of his I should read next.
--Randy
I have shelves full of trade paperbacks and I enjoy reading them because I’m getting the whole story without ads. Seems like a better deal to me. So I guess I’m turning into one of those “waiting for the trade” people.
Anyway, upon Ereisa’s request I’ve started reading more fiction novels. I’m a huge history fan and I’ve read a lot of World War 2 novels, (anything by Peter Ambrose), as well as any true crime book dealing with the mafia. Although I’m a bit burned out on Mafia books right now. Ereisa suggested I start reading some fiction, which I honestly haven’t done a lot of. She bought me a copy of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon and am I glad she did. If you’re a comic fan, do yourself a favor and read it.
Right after Kavalier and Clay I started reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Phillip K. Dick. A few blog entries back I mentioned that while visiting my parents upstate, my Mom dragged a box out of the closet full of old stuff. I found a sketchbook and a bunch of news clippings from my High School Sports days. Among the stuff was Androids. My good friend who I’ve known since I was about 13, Drew gave me the book to read. He’s a big fan of PKD and he thought I’d enjoy it. Mainly because he knew I really liked the movie Bladerunner, which is based on the book. Wow. What an incredible read. I finished it in about 3 days (a record for me) and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I’ve never read a book that made me think about not only the story itself, but the world in general. PKD is just an amazing writer. I still can’t get over how incredible that book was. I want to run out to a used bookstore and pick up some more of his writing because I’m that blown away by Androids. Bladerunner was a great movie, but it doesn’t even come close to doing the book justice.
So hey, enough babbling on about my seminal book reading experience, if anyone is reading this is a fan of PKD. Feel free to shoot me a message about what novel of his I should read next.
--Randy
Monday, November 14, 2005
Bullet Angelica
A li'l plug for what I think is a real cool thing.
The Bullet Angelica is a comic jam that I'm lucky enough to be a part of. I found out about it over at Fanboy Radio and I was impressed with how much work these guys have been putting into the comic. Comic jams are basically a bunch of people working together to tell one story. The neat thing about it is that nobody talks about what they're going to do next. Its just a bunch of artists getting together and making a comic just for the love of doing it. Can't beat that, right?
Its worth checking out.
Here's my latest panel, please go here to read the rest of it.
More to come tomorrow.
--Gent
The Bullet Angelica is a comic jam that I'm lucky enough to be a part of. I found out about it over at Fanboy Radio and I was impressed with how much work these guys have been putting into the comic. Comic jams are basically a bunch of people working together to tell one story. The neat thing about it is that nobody talks about what they're going to do next. Its just a bunch of artists getting together and making a comic just for the love of doing it. Can't beat that, right?
Its worth checking out.
Here's my latest panel, please go here to read the rest of it.
More to come tomorrow.
--Gent
Thursday, November 10, 2005
A Sketch
Still trying to fit a few superhero sketches into my schedule. I've slowed down a bit lately, but I'm ready to jump back in the NYComix saddle. This sketch is my fave Batman villain, The Joker. I think most writers would love to get a crack at writing Bats, but I'd be more interested in writing a Joker story with a little Batman thrown in. Maybe someday.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Star Wars Prequels
I’m a Star Wars fan and I really enjoyed the prequels.
Yeah, I said it.
In fact, I really enjoyed them.
Yeah, they had flaws, the acting was awkward in places but the acting was awkward in places during the Original Trilogy too. What about the times Carrie Fisher used a British accent and then dropped it in the next scene? Anakin was “whiney” in the prequels? Go back and listen to Mark Hamill’s delivery of the “Going to Tochii Station to pick up some power converters.”
Bah. I could go on and on with commenting about the fans reaction to the Prequels. Take a trip over to the most popular Star Wars fan forum at TheForce.net… head into the prequel threads and see how insane it is. Sure there are plenty of people who love the movies, but there are some folks who act like George Lucas gave their Grandma a wedgie before kicking their puppy into traffic. The reactions are startling to me, really. There seems to be no room to take a step back and enjoy the movies...it’s just frame-by-frame, line-by-line microscopic critique of every second of these movies. I think if some of these fans just took a deep breath and watched the movies without the 20 plus years of preconceived ideas of what they think should happen, they might actually have fun.
But what’re you gonna do? I’m fighting a losing nerd-battle against other nerds making me the biggest nerd of all.
Anyway, I picked up Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days the other day and it’s the best Making of Star Wars book I’ve ever read. Written by Prequel Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll with 100’s of behind the scenes pictures that I’ve never seen before, it’s a great read. If you’re a fan of the movies, you’ll love the book.
Plus, take a look through the Prequel section of the book and you’ll be stunned by how many models were used for sets, ships, etc. A big blast on these movies is the overuse of CGI, but the model making was amazing for these movies, it was used a lot more that people realize.
On the LazyComix front, I’m about to start working on the newest NYComix. I have one more panel on a Pixelstrip page to finish up which will give me a few weeks free to work on some other stuff including a Lettering Tutorial for Pixelstrips. Which is pretty neat and I hope it’ll be an informative article that will help some web comic creators out.
I’ll keep you posted.
--Randy
Yeah, I said it.
In fact, I really enjoyed them.
Yeah, they had flaws, the acting was awkward in places but the acting was awkward in places during the Original Trilogy too. What about the times Carrie Fisher used a British accent and then dropped it in the next scene? Anakin was “whiney” in the prequels? Go back and listen to Mark Hamill’s delivery of the “Going to Tochii Station to pick up some power converters.”
Bah. I could go on and on with commenting about the fans reaction to the Prequels. Take a trip over to the most popular Star Wars fan forum at TheForce.net… head into the prequel threads and see how insane it is. Sure there are plenty of people who love the movies, but there are some folks who act like George Lucas gave their Grandma a wedgie before kicking their puppy into traffic. The reactions are startling to me, really. There seems to be no room to take a step back and enjoy the movies...it’s just frame-by-frame, line-by-line microscopic critique of every second of these movies. I think if some of these fans just took a deep breath and watched the movies without the 20 plus years of preconceived ideas of what they think should happen, they might actually have fun.
But what’re you gonna do? I’m fighting a losing nerd-battle against other nerds making me the biggest nerd of all.
Anyway, I picked up Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days the other day and it’s the best Making of Star Wars book I’ve ever read. Written by Prequel Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll with 100’s of behind the scenes pictures that I’ve never seen before, it’s a great read. If you’re a fan of the movies, you’ll love the book.
Plus, take a look through the Prequel section of the book and you’ll be stunned by how many models were used for sets, ships, etc. A big blast on these movies is the overuse of CGI, but the model making was amazing for these movies, it was used a lot more that people realize.
On the LazyComix front, I’m about to start working on the newest NYComix. I have one more panel on a Pixelstrip page to finish up which will give me a few weeks free to work on some other stuff including a Lettering Tutorial for Pixelstrips. Which is pretty neat and I hope it’ll be an informative article that will help some web comic creators out.
I’ll keep you posted.
--Randy
Friday, November 04, 2005
Pekar in Wizard Magazine
Believe it or not, I’m plugging an article that appeared in Wizard Magazine. (Nov. 2005 issue169) I used to be a big fan of Wizard, but they seem to have entered the Hype-Machine that dominates comics these days. “Every books is great and there isn’t a bad book on the market” is the impression you get after reading an issue of Wizard. I understand the situation they’re in though, they can’t say anything bad about the Big 2 or they’ll be cut off. If that happens, they’re in a real bind. Maybe someday someone will start a magazine challenges Wizard’s stranglehold on the comic magazine market.
Actually, the thing that bothers me most about Wizard is their Top 10 Creators list. Brian K. Vaughn isn’t even on the Writers list. Meanwhile Runaways is probably the best superhero book on the market today. Not to mention his other books like Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina. And the Artists list? No John Romita Jr. and never, ever Mark Bagley. Romita Jr. is as good a penciler as any in history and Bagley is an anomaly in the field being that he hits his deadline every single month. He’s yet to miss an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and I think they’re up around 90 issues now. That should be recognized before pretty pictures that come 2 months late, but it’s not for some reason.
Anyway, enough with the Wizard stinks rant. The reason you should pick up the November issue is because there is a really well written article on my favorite comic creator, Harvey Pekar. Written by Chris Ward, it’s a candid and honest interview. Which isn’t surprising, Pekar is always candid and honest. Pekar goes into everything from politics, to movies, to mainstream comics. He even makes a great point about the first graphic novel. Which most people attribute to the late-great Will Eisner. Pekar points out that Robert Crumb did his first graphic novel, The Big Yum Yum Book back in 1962. It wasn’t published until 1975, but that’s still a few years before Eisner’s book. A sensitive subject as Eisner is as revered as anyone is the industry’s history, but he has a point. Problem is, superhero comics seem to take precedence over other forms of comics. I wonder if attributing something as important as The First Graphic Novel to someone like Crumb is avoided on purpose by the “elite” comic creators… it is certainly a question worth asking.
The article is a great read and Pekar never disappoints. He’s honest almost to a fault. He’s not afraid to speak his mind and I admire that greatly. It’s something that I struggle with every time I sit down to write my Blog and every time I think about what comic I’m going to start working on next.
So, go pick up Wizard. (I can’t believe I just said that.)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Happy November
After a rush lettering job yesterday, I’ve got some down time and just in time, too. After I post tomorrow’s PixelStrips page I’m all out of pages so I need to get going. I’m planning on doing 3 pages before then end of the week as well as start a new 3 page NYComix that I won’t be debuting at LazyComix.com. This will be the first time I’ll have my work presented for free somewhere besides my own site. I’m pretty excited about it and I’ll get you more info before the week is over.
As well as the new comic, I’ll hopefully be contributing an Op-Ed kind of article to the site as well. I’ve got this idea in my head that I think more comic fans should be thinking about so I’m sorting out those thoughts as well. Again, I’ll keep you guys posted.
Can you believe it’s November already?! Holy cow. I need to start doing more drawings like this one of my main man The Goon. I’ll be sketching at the New York Comic Con this February, so the more characters I do, the better. I’m sharing my table with fellow Marvel Bullpen pal Jacob Chabot of The Mighty Skullboy Army fame. So I’m pretty excited about that.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
First Ever LazyComix No-Prize
Brandon B. of Sunny California gets the first ever LazyComix No-Prize for pointing out that I was copying the Great Art Adams in this sketchbook pic I did sometime back in High School. (I’m almost 30 now, lest anyone think it was like last year.)
I’ll have to do more of these No-Prize things, that was fun.
New Comic @ PixelStrips.com
Just wanted to remind everyone that you can read a brand new NYComix over at Pixelstrips.com. It's free to read this weeks page, so go check it out here.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Blast From the Past
This past weekend, Ereisa and I went visit my folks in Saugerties, NY. While there my Mom dragged a big box of stuff out of a closet and asked me too look through it.
I dug through it and found a couple of books I thought I lost before getting a chance to read as well as a sketchbook from sometime in High School. I think its like junior year? Most of the stuff is Star Wars sketches, with makes me think it was around the time of the Special Edition release. Anyway, thought it would be fun to post some of them. A LazyComix No-Prize to whoever posts a pic of the original piece I copied that color shot from.
These pics are a few I took on the way home. The N Train into Brooklyn has an amazing view of Downtown Manhattan as it crosses over the Manhattan Bridge. It's just as amazing at night too.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Another New NYComix?! Already?!
After the more subdued NYComix Episode 6, I really wanted to do something more fun. And being that’s its been a while since I did a One-Shot, I decided to make it a Trilogy of NYComix One-Shots.
If you haven’t read any of the One-Shots, they’re basically one-page, one-panel, comics. I love walking down the streets of New York and getting one of those hilarious, out of context snippets of conversation. The newest One-Shot is one of my favorites. Check it out here.
And it looks like the NYCon is a go. More info to come!
--Gent
If you haven’t read any of the One-Shots, they’re basically one-page, one-panel, comics. I love walking down the streets of New York and getting one of those hilarious, out of context snippets of conversation. The newest One-Shot is one of my favorites. Check it out here.
And it looks like the NYCon is a go. More info to come!
--Gent
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
PixelStrips and other news.
Every Wednesday, I post a new NYComix page over at PixelStrips.com. Pixelstrips is a subscription based web comic site, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay to read the comics. You can read this week’s comic for free, every week. You just can’t read the archives. You have to pay for that.
So feel free to head on over to Pixelstrips, you’ll get a new page of NYComix there every week. Pretty, neat, I think. Plus I have my own message board over there, and nobody posts there at all. (Not just on my board, but the whole forum) So go talk to me. I love message boards. Go over there and start a thread about how you think the Star Wars prequels suck. I might have something to say about that, and it won't be pretty. :)
I went to the comic shop this morning and didn’t pick up as many comics as I thought I would. There was a Goon 25cent issue, so if you go to the shop pick that comic up, if you caught my previous Blog entry about The Goon, you know I think it’s the best comic on the market right now. And it’s 25cents fer cryin’ out loud…. practically free.
I also picked up the latest issue of BPRD. Not because I’m a big Hellboy fan, (I’ve never read an issue of Hellboy, which is comic blasphemy, I think.) but because Guy Davis is just amazing. I love his work. I heard somewhere that he does like 3-4 pages of pencils and inks a day. Which is insane because his work doesn’t look rushed. Plus, the story isn’t too bad, either, so it’s a good read.
I also picked up an issue of Silent Dragon. The writer, Andy Diggle was on Fanboy Radio the other day and they talked about Silent Dragon and it just sounded cool. Haven’t read it yet, but Leinil Yu art doesn’t disappoint.
And the NYCon news is that it’s a go. I just have to make sure I get a table. So if there’s a table available, I’m there. I’ll keep you posted.
So feel free to head on over to Pixelstrips, you’ll get a new page of NYComix there every week. Pretty, neat, I think. Plus I have my own message board over there, and nobody posts there at all. (Not just on my board, but the whole forum) So go talk to me. I love message boards. Go over there and start a thread about how you think the Star Wars prequels suck. I might have something to say about that, and it won't be pretty. :)
I went to the comic shop this morning and didn’t pick up as many comics as I thought I would. There was a Goon 25cent issue, so if you go to the shop pick that comic up, if you caught my previous Blog entry about The Goon, you know I think it’s the best comic on the market right now. And it’s 25cents fer cryin’ out loud…. practically free.
I also picked up the latest issue of BPRD. Not because I’m a big Hellboy fan, (I’ve never read an issue of Hellboy, which is comic blasphemy, I think.) but because Guy Davis is just amazing. I love his work. I heard somewhere that he does like 3-4 pages of pencils and inks a day. Which is insane because his work doesn’t look rushed. Plus, the story isn’t too bad, either, so it’s a good read.
I also picked up an issue of Silent Dragon. The writer, Andy Diggle was on Fanboy Radio the other day and they talked about Silent Dragon and it just sounded cool. Haven’t read it yet, but Leinil Yu art doesn’t disappoint.
And the NYCon news is that it’s a go. I just have to make sure I get a table. So if there’s a table available, I’m there. I’ll keep you posted.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Sketches
Last entry I mentioned that I might do some sketches at the upcoming NYCon... I was going to post a few practice pics yesterday, but Blogger was acting weird.
Here's a few to wet yer whistle... head on over to my site for more. They're in the sketchbook section!
Thanks for looking and feedback is welcome.
--Randy
Monday, October 17, 2005
Giving Big Cons Another shot? Maybe.
I'm thinking about going to the New York City Comic Con this February. I’m a little nervous because my trip to Wizard Philly this past summer was a big bummer. Granted, I just sat there with a stack of Mini-Comics on my table, but it was discouraging nonetheless.
This New York City Con is supposed to be gigantic. Like the San Diego Con, but on the East Coast. From what I can tell, its going to be much more diverse than the Big 2 dominated Wizard conventions, so it’s giving me a little hope that NYComix will find some kind of audience. Plus, I realize that for me to really grab the attention of folks, I have to sell myself. Just sitting there and saying hi to people isn’t going to work. I didn’t tell anyone that I was a letterer in Philly, I wanted my work to stand by itself… but, I’m going to at the NYCon. I figure if I put “Marvel” on my nametag the zombies who don’t buy anything without Wolverine in it will take a look. Plus, I’m kicking around the idea of doing sketches. It makes me a bit nervous, but it’s another way to get people to come over to your table. So I figure I can do headshots and attach one of the 2 volumes of NYComix along with it.
2 volumes, you ask?
Yup. By February I’ll have more than enough newmaterial for a second NYComix Mini-Comic. So I’m pretty excited about that. It’ll be bigger too, so hopefully it’ll all work out.
So stay tuned, I’ll let you know if this is really going to happen. I’m 99% sure and I’m hoping I’ll be able to split a table with a friend…we’ll see.
This New York City Con is supposed to be gigantic. Like the San Diego Con, but on the East Coast. From what I can tell, its going to be much more diverse than the Big 2 dominated Wizard conventions, so it’s giving me a little hope that NYComix will find some kind of audience. Plus, I realize that for me to really grab the attention of folks, I have to sell myself. Just sitting there and saying hi to people isn’t going to work. I didn’t tell anyone that I was a letterer in Philly, I wanted my work to stand by itself… but, I’m going to at the NYCon. I figure if I put “Marvel” on my nametag the zombies who don’t buy anything without Wolverine in it will take a look. Plus, I’m kicking around the idea of doing sketches. It makes me a bit nervous, but it’s another way to get people to come over to your table. So I figure I can do headshots and attach one of the 2 volumes of NYComix along with it.
2 volumes, you ask?
Yup. By February I’ll have more than enough newmaterial for a second NYComix Mini-Comic. So I’m pretty excited about that. It’ll be bigger too, so hopefully it’ll all work out.
So stay tuned, I’ll let you know if this is really going to happen. I’m 99% sure and I’m hoping I’ll be able to split a table with a friend…we’ll see.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Se7en
Working at home has many advantages. (And disadvantages, for that matter.) One big advantage for me is the ability to watch movies while I work.
Last Christmas, Ereisa bought me a little 13 inch TV with a DVD player built-in. It sits right next to my monitor so I look over from time to time as I work. I have a fairly big DVD collection (not as big as I’d like), but I usually watch movies when I feel like I need an inspirational kick in the pants. Movies like Star Wars, Goodfellas, Mean Streets, anything by Tarantino, and the movie I watched today. Se7en.
Se7en came out in 1995 and it still blows me away every time I watch it. It always did, actually. I didn’t see it in the theaters, but the first time I saw it I was still living at home with my folks and we had the good ol’ Steal-Per-View. (That little black box that unscrambled HBO, Pay Per View, whatever. It suddenly stopped working one day but it was cool when we had it.) Anyway, Se7en was one of the Pay Per View movies and it just got played over and over again all day long for like a month. I remember sitting down and watching it and it was one of those movies that just made you say: “Holy shit.” I watched it darn near every day thereafter for days.
Not only did David Fincher do a beautiful job directing it but the screenwriter: Andrew Kevin Walker really gave me a lesson in screenwriting. One of the things I’ve heard a million times about screenwriting is the idea of taking the viewer and making him/her think they know what is going to happen and then just completely flip that idea around so that they have no idea what is going to happen next.
Tarantino is a master at this. Pulp Fiction is a movie about stories you’ve seen a billion times. The boxer who is supposed to take the fall and doesn’t, the guy who is ordered by his boss to take his wife out on a date while he’s out of town, the hitman who thinks he has an easy job but it ends up becoming a total nightmare. The scenarios go on and on. Kill Bill is plain and simply a revenge movie. But Tarantino is such and amazing writer that he takes these played out story ideas and turns them into something you’ve never seen before.
Walker did the same kind of thing on Se7en. At first glance it’s a buddy cop movie, or another serial killer flick. But everything about that movie is the total opposite of what you think will happen. He even lures you into thinking you know the pattern of the story during the second act, but he blows that out of the water when Jon Doe walks into the police department and turns himself in. The killer turns himself in during the second act! It’s just such a great movie and it’s written so well. It never fails to inspire me and every time I watch it I feel like writing.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
New NYComix and other neat stuff.
I posted a new NYComix a few days ago. You can check it out here.
For those of you in the NYC area, there’s an amazing comic shop in Brooklyn called: Rocketship. It’s primarily and Indie Comic shop, but you can get all your “Big Two” comics there as well. Plus, they’re nice enough to carry my first Mini-Comic, so if you’re in the area, head on over and pick up NYComix Volume 1.
One of my favorite comic book websites is Fanboy Radio. I post on their Message Boards from time to time and met a fellow comic artist by the name of Jim Lujan. Jim and a few other guys have a really neat Online Comic Jam called The Bullet Angelica. It’s basically a bunch of guys working on the same comic and nobody knows what the heck is going to happen next. One person draws a panel, it gets posted then the next person in line does the following panel and so on. It’s a lot of fun and it’s worth checking out. It’s just a bunch of folks who love comics getting together and having fun making their own comic. My first panel was posted a few days ago. You can check it out here.
There some other stuff coming up as well, so stay tuned.
For those of you in the NYC area, there’s an amazing comic shop in Brooklyn called: Rocketship. It’s primarily and Indie Comic shop, but you can get all your “Big Two” comics there as well. Plus, they’re nice enough to carry my first Mini-Comic, so if you’re in the area, head on over and pick up NYComix Volume 1.
One of my favorite comic book websites is Fanboy Radio. I post on their Message Boards from time to time and met a fellow comic artist by the name of Jim Lujan. Jim and a few other guys have a really neat Online Comic Jam called The Bullet Angelica. It’s basically a bunch of guys working on the same comic and nobody knows what the heck is going to happen next. One person draws a panel, it gets posted then the next person in line does the following panel and so on. It’s a lot of fun and it’s worth checking out. It’s just a bunch of folks who love comics getting together and having fun making their own comic. My first panel was posted a few days ago. You can check it out here.
There some other stuff coming up as well, so stay tuned.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Harvey Pekar
“You can do as much with comics as the novel or movies or plays or anything. Comics are words an’ pictures; you can do anything with words an’ pictures!” --Harvey Pekar
For those of you who have read NYComix, the influence of Harvey Pekar on my work is hard to miss. Growing up in a small town, the only comics I had access to were Marvel and a few DC books. It wasn’t until my first year at Pratt that I discovered Pekar’s work. Ereisa bought me an R. Crumb Trade Paperback and in it were a bunch of comics that he did with Pekar. I reread them quite a few times and realized that what might seem like simple “talking heads” comics at first glace, are actually very complex stories that anyone can relate to. Pekar’s comics were like a punch in the stomach. After reading them I realized that I’m missing so many amazing comics by reading only Superhero stuff.
Last Wednesday marked the release of Pekar’s latest work, The Quitter, and, after reading it last night I think it’s his best work. With local Brooklyn artist Dean Haspiel, The Quitter tells the story of Pekar’s childhood and, as with all of his work, it’s brutally honest and real. Pekar has a reputation as a curmudgeon or a cranky old man, but after reading The Quitter, you’ll learn that there’s a reason for his unique personality.
There are many, many autobiographical comics being made today (mine included), but since 1972, Harvey Pekar is and will continue to be the best in the genre.
So, if you’ve never bought an “independent” comic before, go buy The Quitter. (It’s a Vertigo book from DC Comics, if that makes you Corporate comic junkies feel better) After you read it, lend it to a friend who hasn’t read a black and white comic or better yet, lend it to a friend who has never read a comic before. It’s a perfect example of what comics should be and a perfect example of the kind of work that can show the general non-comic reading public that comics aren’t just tights and capes for kids.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Thanks, Brandon...
This post goes out to Brandon from So Cal... who has been a big supporter of my work...
A few months ago at WizardWorld Philly, I spent an entire day watching a guy make bad balloon animals pull in more money in 10 minutes than I did all day with my Mini Comix… its known today at the infamous LazyComix Mini Comic Debacle… (well, not really, that just what I call it) A day or 2 later, I got an email from Brandon asking me if I’d send him a few of the left-over-hundred-or-so Mini Comics… I happily obliged and Brandon became the first person to plunk down his hard earned cash for my work.
A little while later Brandon commissioned me to do a Yoda piece for him… the result you see below… which now resides with Brandon in Southern California…
So a Big Thanks goes out to Brandon… your support is very appreciated.
--Gent
A few months ago at WizardWorld Philly, I spent an entire day watching a guy make bad balloon animals pull in more money in 10 minutes than I did all day with my Mini Comix… its known today at the infamous LazyComix Mini Comic Debacle… (well, not really, that just what I call it) A day or 2 later, I got an email from Brandon asking me if I’d send him a few of the left-over-hundred-or-so Mini Comics… I happily obliged and Brandon became the first person to plunk down his hard earned cash for my work.
A little while later Brandon commissioned me to do a Yoda piece for him… the result you see below… which now resides with Brandon in Southern California…
So a Big Thanks goes out to Brandon… your support is very appreciated.
--Gent
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