New Comix in '08

Pilfered this from Dean Haspiel’s always-great blog…. It’s a link to Heidi MacDonald’s “The Beat” blog where she got a bunch of creators from all walks of comicdom to plug what they’ll be up to as well as what they’re looking forward to in the New Year. Check it out HERE.

As for me…. I’m looking forward to getting back in the saddle and getting some new LazyComix!! Seriously I suck, I really need to get going, but hey, it’s called LazyComix for a reason. As for other folk’s work Jacob Chabot told me there will be another Volume of The Mighty Skullboy Army…. There’s some new stuff coming from Jeffery Brown that I’m sure will kick-ass. The best mainstream comic on the stands in All Star Superman so I’m hoping that’ll continue to come out this year. I’m digging Bendis’ Powers right now…. Of course there’ll be more of The Goon from Eric Powell as well. Plus who knows how many surprises.

Stay tuned.
-Gent

Goings On

Boy, life sure gets in the way of this little mindless comic blog. In the past few weeks, on top of moving I switched jobs and starting freelance lettering again. So while things got crazy for a bit they’re settling in again.

As you can tell by the previous post I’m letting for DC Comics and I’m loving it. The change of characters and just general atmosphere really reinvigorated lettering for me. As I said earlier, I didn’t expect to get all jazzed about working on Batman but it was really one of the coolest gigs I’ve ever had. Since then I’ve worked on Detective Comics and Gotham Underground as well. This weekend I lettered Booster Gold. A book I know nothing about but it just the act of working on something new makes a huge difference.

In other news I picked up Ultimates Volume 3 #1 last week. New Joe Mad art. Can’t lose, right? Wrong. Mad is better than ever but the coloring just ruined the book for me. It was so bad I was startled by it’s awfulness. So bad I couldn’t believe they let the book go to the printer looking like a dark, muddy and completely overpowering mess. As a letterer you accept taking a backseat to the rest of the team. People don’t buy books for lettering and they don’t buy books for coloring either. People are buying that book for Joe Mad… not for the coloring. I’m hoping they’ll release a penciled version of the book, but we’ll see. Maybe next issue will be toned down a bit.

If you haven’t read all of Randall Issue One, you can read it in it entirety here… go check it out if you missed it over at Pixelstrips.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned… more NYComix are in the works as well as new Randall.

--Randy

Marvel's Online Back Issues

So Marvel announced their new online comic service today. 1000’s of back issues online for 10 bucks a month or a yearly fee of 60 bucks. It’s getting tons of press, Howard Stern mentioned it this morning and I’m sure the Marvel folks are beaming with joy at the reception their latest online business venture is getting.

What do I think about it? It’s a nice try. Looking back, I wasn’t crazy about DC’s Zuda announcement, but at least you’re getting quality original content by top quality creators for free. Marvel is offering Amazing Fantasy 15 for 10 bucks.

I just can’t figure out what these big companies are thinking. How long can they sidestep the question of bringing in new young readers? Just because it’s online doesn’t make it appealing to kids. The Internet is like television for kids today, there’s cool stuff online and there’s historychannel.com. Honestly do they think they’re going to get kids to stop playing Halo 3 by offering them the first 60 issues of Fantastic Four? Hell, I love Stan and Jack as much as the next geek but is your average 13 year old is going to read that stuff? They can watch or play the video game version of Spider-Man 3 or they can read the issue where Spidey defeated the Sandman with an industrial vacuum.

I’m on the extreme side of the online comics debate. I think they can put the latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man online the say day it hits stands and sales won’t see a massive shift in numbers. The average reader is going to treat these online books like previews or a movie trailer. If they dig the book, they’ll buy it next month at their shop. I can’t remember ever hearing someone say they’d rather read a book online than physically hold it in their hands.

Maybe putting the entire issue online won’t ever happen but how about putting the first 7 to 11 pages online the day it hits stands? Maybe you’d try that book you’re on the fence about. This could even blow up that whole “writing for the trade” thing, as well. No more slow pacing fellas… hook your reader in 11 pages if you want to see a bump in sales.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day I have to remember that online comics are in their infancy and corporate comics don’t have the know-how or balls to take a risk with this stuff. It’ll take someone else to take a risk and get rewarded for it before the Big 2 hop on the bandwagon.

In the meantime, good luck getting a 12-year-old to read an issue of Uncanny X-Men from the Nixon Administration.

--Randy

Brooklyn!

So yeah, I haven’t posted in ages. But I have an excuse this time! I just moved. From my cramped one bedroom apartment in Bay Ridge to a palatial 3-Bedroom in Bensonhurst. It’s been quite an adjustment so far. Bay Ridge is a really nice neighborhood with amazing restaurants and bars while Bensonhurst is a more “neighborhood” Brooklyn place. It’s still a safe place and all that but just a li’l more rough around the edges. But in the throws of New York City Apartment Living it’s every man for himself. When a bigger place opens up you have to jump on it. The day we officially took the apartment we were walking out when a car pulled up and asked if the apartment was available. It’s cutthroat, man.

Anyway, I can’t believe I’m actually living in Bensonhurst. I’m a huge Mafia buff, having read dozens of books on Italian Organized Crime and everyone mentioned Bensonhurst. It’s basically Ground Zero for the Brooklyn syndicates. I’m not as sure about what is going on today, from everything I’ve read it seems the Mafia has been really broken up. That’s not to say it’s gone by any stretch of the imagination, it’s just not what you see in the movies.

Bensonhurst has spawned some of the biggest mobsters of all-time. Sammy “The Bull” Gravano was born and raised in Bensonhurst before he became the most famous turncoat since Joe Valachi in 1961.

“Don Vito” Genovese operated in Bensonhurst. Genovese came up the ranks under the famed mobster “Lucky” Luciano. Genovese aided Luciano’s rise to power, which resulted in the creation of the “Commission”, which established the hierarchy of the mob and the “5 Families” that you see and hear about in films such as the Godfather.

Many of the guys who reached fame via Scorsese’s classic “Goodfellas” film were either born in Bensonhurst or in the case of Paul Vario, operated from Bensonhurst. Paul Sorvino played Paul in Goodfellas.

Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta was born in Bensonhurst.

Tommy “Two Gun” DeSimone, played by Joe Pesci, was every bit as crazy as the film portrayed him. DeSimone, was eventually killed by, according to Henry Hill, John Gotti himself. If you remember the great “Go get your shine box” scene, Billy Bats was a made man in the Gambino Family and Bats wasn’t DeSimone’s only run in with the Gambino family. While it is known that the Gambinos did kill DeSimone, Hill’s assertion that Gotti was the triggerman, is not. That does make a hell of a story, though.

James Burke “Jimmy the Gent” was played by Robert DiNiro in Goodfellas. Called Jimmy Conway in the film, (Conway was his mother’s maiden name) Burke was in foster homes most of his childhood. Incredibly, one of his foster fathers died in a car crash as he was turned around beating Burke in the back seat. His foster mother then blamed him for that, in turn beating him for years after. Reading about Burke is amazing stuff. He was basically a serial killer. He killed dozens of people and almost killed the famous New York City journalist Jimmy Breslin, chocking the writer to near death in public. Years later Breslin would receive letters from the Son of Sam. Talk about a couple of interesting on-the-job hazards.

Well, that’s enough of this little Mafia Lesson for today. Thought I’d give you an update on where the hell I’ve been.

Stay tuned for comics!

--Randy

Dead Means Dead

The death of Captain America is a subject I’ve been thinking about recently. While the death of Cap garnered national attention the aftermath has been “when is he coming back? That got me thinking. What makes a well-done death?

It’s really a topic I can ramble on about for ages and I just might so read on at your own peril.

So what are the best Marvel deaths? I think it’s obviously the deaths that have lasted.

All two of them.

1. Gwen Stacy
Gwen’s death was one that stuck with me as a geeky fanboy who couldn’t believe Peter’s hot blonde bombshell girlfriend could possibly be thrown off a bridge by Spidey’s Arch-Villain the Green Goblin. The death was so impactful in so many ways. It actually made a bad guy seem like he wasn’t just a bumbling, ranting fool who’ll always screw up and be stopped by the hero before things get too bad. The Goblin actually threw a woman off a bridge. He didn’t threaten Spidey with it and give him time to rescue her, just chucked her off like a sack o’ stones. And if that wasn’t bad enough Spidey did manage to shoot some webbing onto her before she hit the water. But instead of her bouncing back into his loving arms. It snapped her neck. I mean that’s classic Spidey. He tries to save her and accidentally snaps her neck in the process. Meanwhile the Goblin watches and cackles like a guy in a green goblin suit who just threw a girl off a bridge. While writers have dipped their ugly disgusting toes into the death of Gwen Stacy story none have had the balls to outright bring her back. If they did… Ya know what? I’m not even getting into it.


2. Uncle Ben
This is the death of all deaths. Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man and the event that shaped Spider-Man. We all know how Uncle Ben went down and how it resulted in “with great power comes great responsibility.” Like the Wayne’s death created Batman, Ben’s death created Spider-Man as we know him today.

Getting back to the Death of Captain America. What makes Cap’s death different from the 2 mainstays?

Cap is coming back. It’s not even a debate. It’s only a matter of when and how.

There’s no debate when it comes to Gwen and Uncle Ben. Bringing them back would only set up their eventual deaths. Again.

It would only result in “shock” and gaggles of pissed off fanboys. Their deaths are integral to the mythology of Spider-Man. They’re keystones in the book. They really can’t be changed. (Well, they could but it would suck.)

So my question is what purpose did the death of Captain America serve? Sure it was well done but at the end of the day is killing a character worth it if the only reaction is one of “when’s he coming back”? Shouldn’t a death really be death?

It should shake a reader to his core. It should be so good that you can’t even think of a way to bring him back without dramatic repercussions. It should be so good that even new writers wouldn’t have the balls to bring him back. Writers would line up to bring Cap back. Someone might line up to bring Uncle Ben back but they’d be scared as hell about it. JMS dabbled in the Gwen Stacy story and that resulted in one of the crappiest Spider-Man stories of all-time. Ugh.

Dead means dead. There’s nothing truer in comics if the story is done perfectly. If not done perfectly… then its costume redesign time.

--Randy

VideoBlogs & Great Marvel Comic Covers

LazyConversations… I’ve been talking about it for what seems like forever and I’m sure 99% of the folks nice enough to read this blog forgot about it when I mentioned it some months ago. Anyway it’s so on track that I’m about ready to release the first episode. Episode? Yup, they’re live action. VideoBlogs you might say. They’ll be posted on LazyComix.com and/or YouTube. I haven’t gotten that far yet as editing these puppies are way more work than I imagined. Nevertheless it’s a blast for an amateur filmmaker wannabe like myself.

The first few LazyVideoBlogs is going to feature a bunch of folks from the amazing web comic collective: Ac-ti-Vate. Go over there and check it out… great web comics pushing the medium of the web forward instead of jokes about video games.

•

I noticed the covers Joe Quesada is doing on his and J. Michael Strazynski’s Spider-Man: One More Day and while it’s cool to see them trying to bring back the old wonderfully designed covers of the Silver and Bronze age, they’re not quite there.

Great covers are a long lost art in today’s comic medium. Never Judge a Book By Its Cover but in the case of early comics it was the covers that sold the books. The covers told a story, they shocked you and made you want to pick up the book. Today it’s just a barrage of pin-ups and posters.

I did a quick Google search for “Great Marvel Comic Covers” and found this awesome site packed full of great examples of what covers once were. I was happy to see my all-time favorite issue; Amazing Spider-Man #26 was among the 4 Color Wonders by the likes of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko & John Romita Sr.

Amazing 26 is that book I always look to as the perfect example of comic storytelling. The “Man in the Crime Master’s Mask” storyline Lee and Ditko packed tons of action, Peter Parker problems including everything from a missing costume, Betty Brant & other assorted gal problems, Flash Thompson being a jerk, Aunt May pampering, J.J. Jameson flip-outs, Green Goblin suspense, underworld crime power shifting, Spidey getting his ass kicked twice and a potential secret identity crisis… all packed into 22 pages of classic Steve Ditko goodness.

Getting back to the cover here’s exactly what I’m talking about. Who the hell is the crime master and how is he able to beat Spider-Man? And what the hell does the Goblin have to do with it? That alone would make any red blooded comic kid tug his mother’s shirtsleeve begging her to pick up the book for him.

Meanwhile check out this site full of Ultimate Spider-Man covers like this one.

Huh. Assorted Spidey sticking to various New York City Landmarks. Riveting. Too bad they tell you nothing about the really great Brian Michael Bendis storylines inside.

I don’t know why this shift has taken place. I’d imagine that cover art is now basically stockpiling art to be used on any future issue they want.

•

So hey, stay tuned for the first LazyComixVideoBlog and enjoy those old covers… I defy you not to turn one into your desktop wallpaper! I did… good ol’ Jack Kirby on Captain America #106.

Thanks for reading.
--Randy

Movin' On To New Projects!

So Randall is done. Well, not done in a finite way but it’s done enough for me to leave the story alone for a while as it goes through weekly updates over at Pixestrips again. Thank god for the Comic Geek Speak Episode 300 show for giving me a hard solid deadline. Otherwise I’d still be sitting on the darn thing.

Oh, and if anyone from the show is stopping by the ol’ LazyBlog be sure to drop me a line. The show itself was fantastic. A nice small show but with a very diverse group of artists… artists of webcomics, minicomics, animators, writers, inkers, colorists you name it, independent guys and mainstream guys. I sold a bunch of comics and did some sketching as well. I think it’s safe to say a great time was had by all.

Anyway so now I’m in that weird place where I wonder what I’m going to do next. There’s that graphic novel that has been written and rewritten over and over again for over a year now. It’s something I really want to get started on but it’s such a daunting task. As it stands it like a 70-plus page story written in screenplay format so I have no idea how the page and panel breakdown will work. I’d love to do it as a 96 pager, that way I can break it down to three 32-page chunks. Then I kinda fool myself into thinking it’s not one 96-page behemoth. Nevertheless there’s a ton of reference I still need to do before I seriously get started but it’s gone from a project in the back of my mind to one that I’m just about ready to tackle.

One thing I am going to start right away is some new NYComix. It’s been so long since I’ve done them and the feedback at CGS 300 as well as follow-up emails after the show from folks asking to see more makes me realize that I need to get new stuff out there. I’ve wanted to take NYComix a bit further than what they are now, more complex longer stories that combine the things I’ve learned from the earlier strips. And I’m working a new angle in them that I’m really excited about.

Again, getting back to how a deadline really makes me get things done I applied for a table at the 2008 New York City Comic Con… so if I get a table I’ll have another deadline in April to work towards. I have no clue if I’ll get a table but we’ll see. I dunno if they’re reviewing my work before they grant me a table or what. With my luck I won’t get a table and I’ll walk by an empty table where Rob Liefeld was supposed to be sitting. But I digress…

So in the meantime hit up Pixelstrips every Wednesday for new Randall pages. It’ll take ya right to the end of the first issue.

Oh, and watch out for the long ago announced LazyComix Conversations… I swear, it’s coming. Only in live action video! All YouTube style like the kids do.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
--Randy

The New Comics Experiment: RESULT SHOW!

VOTING RESULTS

BPRD Killing Ground #1 by Mignola, Arcudi & Davis 15 votes at 20.83%

Bad Planet #1 by Jane, Niles & LaRosa 3 votes at 4.17%

Powers #25 by Bendis and Oeming 26 votes at 36.11%

Fables #64 by Willingham & Alexovich 17 votes at 23.61%

None of 'em! 11 votes at 15.28%

So I’m like 2 weeks late but here we go… the results of the first “New Comic Experiment”. You can see the results above. I should’ve figured that a Bendis book would clean house on the Bendis Board, but I’m glad I picked that book up…more on that later.

Coming in second was Fables #64. But here’s the kicker. At the time I left for the comic shop, BPRD was winning by one vote. So I never read Fables. Although many comments from the thread suggested I not pick up that issue because I would be lost in the middle of story.

An interesting development as that is a big problem with mainstream comics right now and part of the reason I tried this experiment.

There are so many 6 and even 12 issue storylines that it has to be putting a dent in sales. I just won’t pick up a book if the cover says its part 3 of a 6-part story. So by the time that storyline wraps up I’ve likely forgotten about the book or the creative team that piqued my interest are now off the book. There seems to be a lack of jumping on points for new readers. Especially with DC, as books like 52 and Countdown impact their entire line. There’s just no way I’m touching a new DC book. I’ve heard lifelong DC fans say they can’t keep up with it all, how would a casual DC reader like myself ever jump into that universe?

Marvel is slightly better, but again a lot of 6 to 12 issue storylines with no jumping on points. Not to mention we’re fresh of the Civil War crossover. And in the middle of World War Hulk, which isn’t a massive crossover, but a crossover nonetheless.

Well, before I start going further into a fanboy rant, let’s move onto a couple of really fun comics. Powers #25 and BPRD Killing Ground #1.

I’ve been an on and off reader of Powers since it’s Image days. I love Mike Oeming’s art, however the thing that has made me drop the book a few times has been the storyline. At its core Powers is a grim and gritty street level crime book with superheroes mixed in… a great combo. When the book debuted at Image with the “Who Killed Retro Girl” storyline, it was one of those books I couldn’t get enough of. As with any long running book it has had it’s peaks and valleys. It went through a few strange cosmic storylines that I just didn’t get into at all but the recent issue #25 has gotten back down into the streets. There’s still a little bit of cosmic alien stuff going on, but as long as the story doesn’t completely shift to “outer space”, I’ll keep picking this book up. This book needs to stay street level; it’s where Bendis and Oeming are at their best.

Another fun part of Powers is the back of the book. There are a few interviews, a lengthy letter’s page, a “No Life” section with DVD, book and CD plugs and reviews. Good stuff. I’ll be picking up issue 26 next month.

The second book I picked up was BPRD Killing Ground #1. Like Powers I picked up this book a while back but dropped it for some reason or another. Guy Davis is just a kick-ass and massively underrated artist. His work is like no one else’s in the business. I almost wish this book was black and white, although the colors by Dave Stewart by no means detract from Davis’s art. It’s just so refreshing to see an artist who isn’t afraid of letting a brush stroke look like a brush stroke that I think it could stand alone and hopefully inspire up and coming artists to stay away from this recent wave of photorealistic art.

So I’ll be picking up both of these books next time around. It’s safe to say the New Comic Experiment was a success. As I look at this week’s shipping list there isn’t anything grabbing my attention. We’ll see what looks good on the shelves tomorrow.

So hey, thanks for reading and if you voted over at the Bendis Board, thanks for your input.

--Randy

Amazing Spider-Man

Amazing Spider-Man was my Go-To book for many years but that stopped a few arcs into the Straczynski run. I’m not into his work at all and I’ve been looking forward to his departure so I could give it another shot. However, with that finally happening, Marvel throws a curve ball.

Amazing Spider-Man will soon be the only ongoing 616 Spider-Man. It’s also now shipping 3 times per month. (616 is GeekSpeak for the original Marvel Universe not the Ultimate Universe) During ComicCon Marvel announced the creative teams, one of which is top notch while the other three just make me scratch my head.

Dan Slott, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines and Morry Hollowell
This is basically the Civil War art team with Dan Slott writing. Slott is a big-fan of Bronze-Age Marvel. He writes old school, fun storylines and I’d love to see his take on Amazing. Civil War, no matter what you thought of it, had some gorgeous art. That’s the kind of creative team that should be on a Flagship title like Amazing Spider-Man.

The rest of the creative teams rounds out like this…

Marc Guggenheim, Salvador Larrocca and Jason Keith
Guggenheim did a pretty lackluster run on a Wolverine book. So lackluster that I’m not sure if it was Wolverine or Wolverine Origins. I even lettered the books and I can’t recall. Larrocca did some nice art on X-Men back few years ago but his art has morphed into a Greg Land-esque photo-referenced light box look that really bums me out. I don’t know if he thinks this is a direction he should take his work with the current shift towards more “realistic” art, but nothing makes me drop a book quicker than photo-referenced art.

Bob Gale, Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning and Jeromy Cox
Bob Gale co-wrote Back to the Future, Jimenez is a solid penciler but still, I don’t know how one can get excited about a Spider-Man book written by the guy who co-wrote Back to the Future. Maybe it’s just me. I don’t know if Gale has written anything else for Marvel but I’ve honestly never heard of the guy and I’m follow comics and creators pretty closely.

Zeb Wells, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townshend and Antonio Fabela
The final team is Marvel’s resident cartoony team. (Except when they substitute Scottie Young for Bachalo) I’ve never read a Zeb Wells book I’ve liked. There’s usually a humor angle to his work, but it’s seldom funny. Bachalo does some fun-stuff, but a team like this on Amazing Spider-Man just doesn’t fit.

As I mentioned earlier this is their flagship book. Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr. and Jr., Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen. These are big time names on a big time book. I hate to knock this admirable endeavor Marvel is undertaking, but I take my geekdom seriously… Amazing should have Hall of Fame creators on it. Amazing Spidey is the Yankees. Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle should be wearing that uniform… instead we’ve got the Kansas City Royals wearing the pinstripes.

Stay tuned tomorrow for The New Comic Experiment.

--Randy

Decompression... what does it mean?

Decompression. It’s one of those new terms that strikes up a conversation with comic book fans that’ll likely result in a rather heated debate.

First off what the hell does it mean? Wikipedia defines it as this: “Decompression is a stylistic choice in comic book storytelling, characterized by a strong emphasis on visuals or character interaction and usually resulting in slow-moving plots.” It even gives a page as an example, this one being from an issue of Astonishing X-Men #14 by Joss Whedon and John Cassiday. The Wiki entry goes on to mention that it originated in Japanese Manga and recently became popular in the mid to late 90’s through writers like Brian Michael Bendis and Warren Ellis.



I’ve read quite a few articles on the subject and it’s a topic that you can rarely find a straight answer. You often hear that it means stretching out the plot. But how and why is the writer stretching out the plot? Isn’t stretching out the plot really the same as “padding the story”?

I’ve been on message boards discussing the topic where Big Name creators have joined the conversation and said that a page long fight sequence is padding the story. That really struck me as surprising. Check out the aforementioned X-Men page. Can using 5 panels to show Wolverine say “Good morning” to his fellow X-Men not be padding while at the same time a 5-panel fight sequence is padding?

I just don’t get it. This is where I get hung up. And when I try to boil down why I disagree with this it comes back to what I want out of a comic book. A mixture of action and story.

Sure decompression is a stylistic choice, but it’s a choice that I wish wasn’t as popular as it’s become. At times a decompressed story can be a fun read but when it’s not working, decompression is just flat-out unreadable. So much so that it makes me feel like I just wasted my money.

Going back to where decompression started there is something that basically goes hand in hand with it. Widescreen panels. The cinematic approach to comic book storytelling. Our handy X-Men page above shows this technique as clear as day. A handful of other artists who are going this route are Bryan Hitch (Ultimates, The Authority) and Alex Maleev (Daredevil). Both of which are partners of Warren Ellis and Brian Bendis. Taking this cinematic approach obviously makes the artist and writer think in terms of cinema. 24 frames per second. The “time between the notes on a piece of music” is how an uber-popular writer explained decompression to me. An interesting concept but is this why people buy comics? For the time between the notes? Don’t people want the crescendo and not the silence between?

Hulk smashing a car on top of Ben Grimm’s head is a big note I don’t want to miss. I’m not really interested in the notes between the cars smashing into Grimm’s rocky dome.

Once again, if we use that X-Men page as an example you’ve got 2 silent panels capturing those “moments between the notes”. All right, sure. But are people really interested in an entire page of Wolverine sitting in a breakfast nook? There must be as Astonishing X-Men is one of the most popular books on the stands, but that isn’t for me.
Now all that smashing and action isn’t always great for story development but there is room for both. It’s the juggling of those 2 essential elements that make me love comics. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko packed Spider-Man’s origin into a space smaller than today’s standard comic book format of 22 pages. I believe it’s something like 15 pages? (if anyone out there has that info handy, let me know). Take today’s retelling of Spidey’s origin in Ultimate Spider-Man (by Bendis) and we got that story spread out through 5 issues. I enjoyed the story, but I do remember thinking that I can’t believe they stretched this out to 5 issues. And that was way before I’d heard of decompressed storytelling.

What will this latest storytelling trend lead to in the future? Is decompressed storytelling to today’s comic culture what the dark, gritty realism of Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns was to the 1980’s comic culture? We got some real crappy comics out of that movement but we also got some great one’s like “Kraven’s Last Hunt” by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck. The problem is, can we really compare today’s comics like Ultimate Spider-Man and The Authority to Watchmen and Dark Knight?

Hmm. I don’t think so.

But we can sit back and watch the ride. Or seek out some comics with Batman knocking some thugs teeth out. Or go with the Fantastic Four eating dinner at a diner for 16 pages. The choice is yours. The shelves are full of comics these days.

Thanks for reading.
--Randy

Comic Book Message Boards

I spend more time on comic book message boards than I do actually reading new comics. I get just about all my news via “Spoilers” and from the sound of most spoilers I’m glad I find out that way than if I dropped 3 bucks to find out Gwen Stacy had a fling with the Green Goblin before she died. (And that said fling resulted in a pair of super powered kids bent on killing Spider-Man.)

Message boards are an interesting look into the world of fans and I’m always fascinated by what I read. Is it simply a fraction of fans or does that fraction represent the larger sum? Does “WebShooters2’s” opinion really show what the fans think or does the secrecy provide the necessary cover that lets folks say things just to get a reaction out of people? Nevertheless, message boards are always a riveting insight into the world of comic book fandom.

Here are Top Five surefire ways to start a fanboy message board riot.

1. Go on any creator’s message board and say something bad about his/her work.

Now this doesn’t only go for extreme things like “So-And-So sucks donkey balls”. I’m mean, anything at all. Go on the Bendis board and mention that the latest arc of New Avengers could have been 6 issues instead of 12 and sit back and watch the fireworks.

2. Mention John Byrne in any context.

This cat is the lighter fluid in the Fanboy Weber Grill. Most stems from his very odd online presence in which he’s established himself as a curmudgeon yelling at the kids to get off his lawn, but John Byrne circa 2007 has almost erased the memory of the ground breaking work he did on X-Men and Fantastic Four. Again, I’m not saying that work is completely forgotten, but his grouchy routine certainly contributes to the “What have you done for me lately” attitude of some fans.

3. Mention Frank Miller in any context.
Similar to Byrne but without the curmudgeon aspect. Most of this comes from his latest All Star Batman and Robin run that comes out about as often as Haley’s Comet. Sprinkle a little Dark Knight 2 into a conversation and watch sparks fly.

4. Late Books
Late book discussions really bring up some interesting conversations. On the whole, they’re obviously bad things but on occasion, people just don’t to care. Like for some fans, The Ultimates by Millar and Hitch can be as late as it takes Hitch to find Samuel L. Jackson reference while for others 5 months between issues is completely unacceptable. Books written by “Hollywood” writers are interesting subjects as well. Last I heard Allan Heinberg is basically going on a year to write and issue of Wonder Woman…. The same colossal delays go on in his Marvel book Young Avengers. But I seldom read anything bad about a guy who is apparently so busy writing “The O.C.” that he can’t squeeze in a few hours to bang out a 22 page comic script. Late books are always a fun message board read not to be missed.

5. Photo-Realistic Comics.
This is one that is also split. How so, I dunno. I lettered one of the biggest culprits of this on Ultimate Fantastic Four, namely Greg Land. Now I know there’s no concrete evidence that this guy is light boxing Jessica Alba for Sue Storm panels but a few interesting pieces of evidence have raised some eyebrows in recent years. Like this one and this one. Again, in the world of comic book message boards this obviously shady practice is given a pass by some in the name of “great art”. With “great art” being more in the eye of the beholder than ever.

Alright that’s all for now. Go over to the Bendis board and mention how there are too many balloons in the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Stay tuned!
--R

I Remember when Comics used to be 2 Dollars!

How much more expensive can comics get? $2.99 was always my cut-off for a 22-page comic. Sure 3 bucks isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things, but there are so many comics available why stick around for long on something for that price? A 6-issue storyline is going to run you around 20 bucks. You might as well wait for the trade at that price. At least you won’t have to flip through a ton of ads and wait god knows how long for the book to actually come out. Plus by the time the storyline ends there’ll be plenty of reviews to look at before you really decide if you want to buy the thing. And if you really want to save some money, order your trades online at a place like InStockTrades and pick it up for like 10 bucks.

Now I’m more likely to drop 3 bucks for an independent comic than I am for a comic from the Big 2. In my opinion the Indie guy earned the extra buck while the Big 2, with more hype, more ads and shoddy scheduling have to prove themselves a bit more to me. Sure the Indie book might wind-up sucking just as much as the Spider-book but I just feel a little better about giving my hard earned money to an indie book than a corporate comic. My li’l way of stickin’ it to da man, you might say. (The Man stuck it to me for 7 years so what the hell.)

This topic makes me think about the future of digital comics as well. While I really believe that web comics like those on Ac-Ti-Vate are providing the model for self-publishing online, the future of mainstream comics online is still a murky one. Recently Top Cow announced that they would be providing digital downloads of their books through the website IGN. For a Buck you can download a PDF iTunes style but the catch is… all downloads will be at least one-year behind their new releases. Now while I know this basically the first time a “mainstream” company is doing this, I have to say they’ve screwed this up in a major way. I understand that they’re protecting the retail comic shops by keeping the books a year behind, but who the hell is going to download a year old Top Cow book for a dollar? First off, reading a standard comic book as a PDF file is a major pain in the ass. Second, printing 22 pages of a full-color comic is a giant waste of ink and with the price of your standard ink-jet printer toner, forget it. Third, this is Top Cow. I defy you to not find a Top Cow book in any 50-cent bin and I’m not talking about a Top Cow book from last year (which will surely be in there) I’m talking about last month’s Witchblade. Which apparently they’re still publishing and Michael Turner isn’t penciling. This isn’t going to work and nobody is going to care.

Mainstream books have to take their web comics to the next level. Offering old books or chunks of current books isn’t making a big impact.

How can they make their web comics significant? Offer something online that readers can’t get anywhere else. A daily strip that is New. Tell something that happened between the pages of the current issue of Amazing Spider-Man. It can’t hurt to try. Pay a creative to create a webcomic. You won’t have to pay for printing costs so what the hell?

Comics are going to need to change soon if they’re going to survive in their current stapled form. More needs to be offered if they’re going to gain new readers and keep them. Not to mention if they’re going to get old readers like myself.

Thanks for reading, folks and feel free to add your thoughts… this is a topic that spurs my inner geek.

--Randy

Arrivederci

Every so often I drop “Big News” here at the LazyBlog… and most of the time the news is related to my webcomix. Hardly ever is the news related to my lettering work.

But today it is, and the reason being is that after this week, I’ll no longer be lettering.

After 7 years I’ve finally decided to move on. It’s been on my mind for a long time and after sniffing around for other opportunities for about a year, I’ve found one that feels right. I’ll be back in the rat race that is the New York City rush hour commute and I’m actually really excited about it. Sure I’ll miss being at home and working in sweatpants and slippers but in a weird way I was never comfortable with it.

There’s a bunch of factors that have gone into my reasons for leaving lettering, not all of which I’ll go into but one was that I’m just incredibly burned out and horribly jaded. And the longer I do this and the more jaded and cynical I become the more that poison seeps into my own work. And sure I don’t get paid for my own work but the comic work I am getting paid for doesn’t feel like my own work anyway. I need an injection of fun into my comics and the idea of 100% of my creative energy going into my own work just seems like the right thing to do. Plus I’m hoping that some time away from mainstream comics will make me actually care about them again.

So hey, thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out Randall over at Pixelstrips. The next chapter is ready to roll and I’m be coloring that bad boy today.

Thanks for reading.
Gent

Old Is New Again But Not Really

Sometimes I feel a little sympathy for mainstream comic writers. How do you keep characters that are 50-60 years old fresh and new? It’s the toughest part of the job these days. Do you revamp like the Ultimate line or Infinite Crisis? Do you give your hero a new costume or bring someone back from the dead? Or do you reveal your hero’s secret identity for the entire world to see? All of these things could work but the real problem is that these things have all been done before!

The Ultimate line is essentially John Byrne’s Chapter One series from the 90’s. DC’s recent Infinite Crisis is a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths… their last attempt to clean up insane continuity tangles. Spider-Man’s classic costume was recently changed to some ugly Iron thing and now it’s going back to the black costume.


Spidey’s identity was also revealed, as was Daredevil’s not long ago. DD’s is now a matter of speculation again as Iron Fist posed as DD while Matt Murdock was in prison. Again, not the first time DD or Spidey used each other (or someone else) in their respective costumes to confuse anyone thought to have a clue to their identity. With all the “back-from-the-dead” going on in comics there are three that are “untouchable”; Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy and Bucky.









But recently Bucky had made a comeback as a longhaired assassin and Gwen Stacy almost came back but instead apparently had a fling with the Green Goblin that spawned two super-powered kids. (Don’t ask.) Uncle Ben, so far, has been the only untouched dead character. But I’m betting his days are numbered.

So what do you do when everything has been done before? Why rehash something that was already done only to change it back during the next “event”? Is it sales? Is it an attempt to put your stamp on the character for the next volume of the Marvel Encyclopedia? Why aren’t there new storylines? And better yet, why aren’t there new heroes? Sure Spider-Man, Superman and Batman are going to be around forever but the fact that Wolverine is the “newest” superhero is a bit pitiful, no? Are we stuck on these characters, are we so unable to branch out or think of a story in their universe that doesn’t involve these guys? Are upcoming movies shaping characters and costumes? Comics shaped these movies but now it’s the other way around for some reason.



Maybe it’s the fan’s fault. My favorite Marvel comic is, by far, Runaways. It’s fresh, fun, action packed and full of characters that are original on their own. The book doesn’t hinge on a Spider-Man appearance or on what happens in an X-Book. It’s a unique take on the superhero genre set in a world 60 years old and crawling with thousands of preexisting characters. The thing is Runaways doesn’t sell all that well while books with the Big Characters continue to sell even if the story isn’t all that good.

I guess it’s because pulling a Spider Book off the shelves is kinda like going to your parent’s house after you’ve moved out. It’s familiar and you know your way around. If you buy a book you’re not familiar with it’s like visiting your girlfriends parents house for the first time. You can go sit on the couch and look around but it’s not home. (At least not yet.)

So what does this all mean? Damned if I know. This has turned into the “Lazy Rambling” of all “Lazy Ramblings” But really; I think that it’s time for a new hero. And a female version of Wolverine with 2 claws instead of 3 isn’t a new hero. I’m talking about a brand-new shiny hero that is completely original. One that captures the fanboy’s interest and makes them realize that you can buy a comic that doesn’t have Wolverine in it and still buy the comic with Wolverine in it.

All right, whoever stuck with that ramble deserves a No-Prize.

Stay tuned and go click on Randall at Pixelstrips… I want in on that Top Five in the worst way. I’m that vain.

--Randy

Pixelstrips and Reviews

Yesterday marked Randall’s debut on Pixelstrips. Back when I was doing NYComix on there I had to upload each page individually every Wednesday. But now the uploading process has been improved allowing you to upload as many pages as you want and to assign the corresponding date in which the new page replaces the old. It’s a neat feature that takes a bit of the stress out of hitting that weekly deadline. Fortunately I’m just reposting the pages from Randall Month, so I’ve got a real nice cushion as I work on the next chapter. Although I am inserting a new page in previously published stuff, just to give it a better flow. There’s a bunch of stuff I’d love to tweak but I’m afraid that if I go down that road I might wind up redrawing panels, etc. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m really feeling the need to finish this story. I’ve got to get it out of my system so I can move onto new things. When the time is right, I’ll go back to it… but it won’t be for a while.

I’ve got 3 pages of the next sequence penciled and it’s shaping up. The story continues to evolve and go places I didn’t expect but I’ve more comfortable with the outcome now than I was during Randall Month. When I usually work I write a full-script and then thumbnail the pages, etc. This time around I’m jotting down what happens in each sequence and thumb nailing it out that way. The dialogue is coming last. Kinda like the Stan Lee “Marvel Method” but only with one artist.

So feel free to check out the pages over at Pixelstrips… Let's see if we can't bump our pal Randall into the Top Five...

In other news I made it out to the comic shop last night and walked out with one monthly and a looooooong awaited trade paperback.

So here are some quick reviews.

All Star Superman #6 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
I can’t believe I’m still reading this book 6 issues in. I find Morrison’s writing always hooks me early on and then by the end I’ve completely lost interest as the story just turns into an esoteric train wreck. It happened with New X-Men as the end of that turned into something that to this day I still can’t even begin to figure out. I’ve read message board threads full of hardcore X-Fans who still can’t decipher what happened with that storyline years later.

Superman hasn’t done that yet and I really hope it never does. Issue 6 even had Krypto in it and I still liked it. I don’t know the back-story of what is essentially a dog-version of Superman but I always giggled at the presence of a super powered canine, but hey, it worked here. Quietly’s art is always solid and the Digital Inks and Colors by Jamie Grant are beautiful. They complement the pencils as opposed to overpowering them, like a lot of colors are doing these days. So I’m still on board with this book… let’s hope it stays that way.

Batman Year 100 by Paul Pope
I picked up the first issue of this back when it was originally released and loved it so much I decided to wait for the trade so I could get the whole story in one shebang. One thing I can’t figure out is why DC waits so long to release trades. Why not get the things out right after the monthlies wrap up and the book is still fresh on people’s minds? Waiting for months and months only allows people to forget about it and move on to something else.

Anyway Paul Pope’s art and writing is just fantastic in this book. His art particularly stands out as just flat-out gorgeous. The more I look at it the more I think that his version of Batman is my favorite and that includes Frank Miller. There’s a real neat little sketch extra in the back with Pope’s thoughts on why he designed Bats the way he did. Big clunky combat boots with laces. Sleeves that don’t quite reach his gloves and a mask that is a cross between an old-fashioned football helmet and a Mexican wresting mask. His inks are beautiful and his use of blacks while allowing a brush stroke to look like a brush stoke is a breath of fresh air in a time when light-boxed, magazine referenced and over rendered art is slowly taking over.

I can’t recommend this book enough and I can’t wait to get my hands on some more Paul Pope comics. Check out his blog for more cool stuff.

So that’s it, folks! I’m off to lettering…

Thanks for reading!
--Randy

LazyComix is back for '07!

LazyComix didn't actually go anywhere, but it sounded like a good title...

It sure has been a while since I’ve posted around here. I tried to throw a few things up there just so I didn’t go a month without doing anything, but it was still a pretty pathetic blogging display. So now with the holidays finally behind us we can get back to regular updates and more webcomix from yours truly.

I’m constantly trying to think of ways to get people to visit the site and this blog more often. With comix obviously more sparse, I’ve kicked around every idea from a “syndicated”-type strip to a daily sketch blog. All of these things may come to fruition in the coming year but I’ve got one idea that I think could be a blast. It’ll take some scheduling and maybe even some string pulling, but we’ll see. Stay tuned as I’m planning on getting that idea into high gear as Randall Chapter 2 approaches. I’ve got 2 pages penciled with page 3 thumb nailed and ready to roll.

So look for 2007 to be a bit more well rounded here at LazyComix… more regular updates and a “schedule” that’ll be something you can actually follow!



I often write about my trips to the local comic shop and how even after weeks of not going, I still walk about with 2-3 comics if I’m lucky. I just couldn’t be less into monthly pamphlet mainstream comics. Maybe it’s because I’m “too close” to it but I just can’t get into a single storyline. I purposely skipped out on Civil War even though I really enjoy Millar’s writing and I thought the idea was great…I just had a sinking feeling that there was no way they’d come out on time… and anyone following the series knows how that turned out.

So will I become a full-time trade paperback fan? Possibly. But as I get older, more cynical, more jaded… I realize I’m a giant comic book curmudgeon. Part of this is due to comic Message boards. Fans tend to flock together like sheep, agreeing with one another seemingly without thought or reason. Stan Lee catches crap on message boards, if he does, nobody is safe… one of my favorite fan quotes about Stan The Man was: “Honestly, what has Lee written in the past 20 years that has had any impact on contemporary comics?” That gem was followed by people agreeing with him!

Now I won’t go on about how someone can say Stan Lee hasn’t had an impact on contemporary comics. The question should be why can’t contemporary comics develop a character NOT created by Stan, but that’s a blog for another time. (Soon, actually as that’s a favorite topic of mine) What I realize is that these kinds of comments and opinions from fans unfortunately throw more fuel on my curmudgeon fire. However, one thing has happened that I didn’t expect and that I couldn’t be happier about. I’ve gone back and reread some classic comics by creators that today’s fanboy’s have turned on.

One of the big ones is one of my All-Time favorite creators: Frank Miller.

Miller’s recent All Star Batman and Robin, which followed his previous recipient of Fanboy vitriol: “Dark Knight 2”, has been crapped on relentlessly by fans. Now ASBR sure ain’t Batman: Year One, and it probably deserves some of the criticism it’s received, but what it has brought to my attention is the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” attitude fans have. You see this all the time in sports. Guy gets a hit his first 3 times up, drives in 3, but when he pops up his 4th time at bat he gets booed. It goes with the territory, I suppose.

So after reading post-upon-post about how possibly the greatest comic book writer/artist of all-time is now “washed-up” I went back and read the Dark Knight series again. Including Dark Knight 2. (Thanks to a kick-ass Christmas gift of the Absolute Dark Knight.)

The first Dark Knight is just flat-out comic book goodness. The writing, art and Varley’s colors are amazing. It’s Batman at it’s best, bar-none. Just typing this makes me want to flip through the book.

DK2 is another beast entirely. I wasn’t too keen on it when it first came out. But after I read it again, it’s a pretty solid read. Even Varley’s colors, which are wild and out-there, are interesting and often engaging. Miller’s art was minimal and somewhat crude at points… leaving maybe too much room for Varley’s colors. Nevertheless, there are pages and panel compositions that are downright beautiful in this book which deserve another look.

So if you’re plum outta fresh comics to read, dig around for your copies of the Dark Knight books…. If you hung onto your copies of DK2 give it a read (or even a flip-through) and write back… I’d love to see if I’m not alone on my latest discovery of a good comic that was buried by fanboy loathing.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!
--Randy

LazyComix Special Editon

I’ve been lettering all day and haven’t been able to fit in a blog… after Randall Month I got pretty used to posting every Wednesday. Being that I work from home with only 3 cats to keep me company (all 3 are sitting on my desk right now for some reason), my main source of human interaction is internet message boards. I’m a pretty avid user of the Bendis Board but I also peruse various Star Wars message boards. (My screen name will stay a secret as I have the death sentence on 12 message board systems) The hottest topic of Star Wars message boards isn’t as much the polarizing Prequel Trilogy as it is the Original Trilogy and its various Special Edition versions.

Now I’m admittedly a Star Wars and George Lucas fan. The flicks inspired me beyond imagination and I admire the flannel-shirt-wearing curmudgeon for doing things his own way, even if people don’t like it and give him endless crap for it.

Sure the Prequels weren’t the originals but I still say they’re better than your average Hollywood studio fare… most of them are focus group tested generic flicks with 8 different screenwriters. I just watched X3 a few weeks back and how they managed to screw that up after 2 successful predecessors and literally volumes of amazing stories already written for them, I never figure out.

Back to the Special Editions topic, there’s a huge group of Star Wars fans that believe that Lucas has no right to go back and tweak the Original films. Some think the movies are so beloved that they no longer belong to him but rather to the fans, while others think that his tampering is ruining the films. Both of these theories I strongly disagree with.

On a much smaller scale when I look back at my old comics there isn’t a page that goes by where I don’t want to redraw or rewrite panels. I’m never happy with my work and I don’t think there are many artists who are. Comic book great Erik Larsen wrote about it in his weekly column over at Comic Book Resources.

Even during Randall month I went back and added captions and tweaked dialogue and I’m sure I will again when I put the mini comic together. Creating is a never-ending process that, hopefully, is constantly evolving and improving. You learn more every time you do it. If a guy who made billions from his creation still thinks he can do better… that’s a pretty healthy thing.

As many great athletes have said when they retired… "once you feel like you’re not getting better it’s time to hang ‘em up."



Anyway, Chapter 2 of Randall is in the penciled stage. I’m not going to go back to weekly updates as originally planned but rather to one huge chapter update. Looking back, I think the story lost something when you could only read it one page per week… with the strip moving into more story I think it’s important to give all the information in one shot.

So, if you have yet to join the LazyComix Mailing List… head on over and sign up. You’re guaranteed not to miss a page if you do.

Thanks for reading,
Randy

Giant Turkey, Comics and Flicks

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a Lazy Rambling so in between coloring the last 2 pages of Randall I figured I’d drop a few pics and some recommendations.

The ridiculously huge Gentile Family Turkey was in full-effect this year as the Old Mad dead-lifted home a 47.5-pound bird. The pictures don’t do the thing justice. (Beer Bottle for Scale)





















I threw in a couple of NYC pictures as well, one of the Brooklyn Bridge and the other of the Arch in Washington Square Park at night.




















Now for a couple of recommendations:

FLICKS:
Garden State
I’d heard good things about the movie and Ereisa and I finally got around to watching it this past weekend. After being back in Saugerties right after I saw it, the going-back-home-to-your-small-town storyline really worked for me. A few things were a little weird, but all-in-all and enjoyable flick. Check it out on HBO or whatever random cable channels this movie is sure to populate soon.

V For Vendetta
I probably should’ve read the comic first, but I watched this one while working last week and was incredibly under whelmed. As usual with Wachowski Brothers movies, you’ve got fun action sammiched between a long-winded soliloquy and needless story. This flick only reminded me how they completely effed up the last 2 Matrix movies. Wow did they stink and V was only marginally better than those 2 train wrecks. Wait for this one to come on cable… maybe I missed something with this one as I saw it was like #116 all-time on IMDB’s list… sure 116 isn’t super high, but we’re talking All-Time here folks. This thing beat out movies like Platoon, The Deer Hunter, Dog Day Afternoon, The Exorcist and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

COMICS:
The last time I was at the comic shop I hadn’t been there for like 3 weeks and I still didn’t come out with a new book. I would’ve picked up the new American Splendor and Savage Dragon, but they were nowhere to be found. Hopefully next time out.

From Hell
After hearing the great interview FbR did with Alan Moore, I had to pick up a Moore book… I’m still in the process of reading it but wow… Moore writing is on a level all it’s own. Having only read Watchmen before, reading this book has made it a sure thing that I’ll be reading a lot more of his work down the line. Not to mention the beautiful Black and White art by Eddie Campbell. Reading it makes me glad I didn’t watch the supposedly horrible movie they made a few years back… I hear that one is worse than V.

Short little Recommended Section… hopefully more after Randall Month comes to a close. I can’t believe the month flew by like that but I just finished coloring one of the last 2 pages that will close out the first chapter. I’m really happy with the way this last page turned out and I think it’ll really hook people in for the upcoming chapters. More on that to come.

Thanks for reading…
Gent