Books I Lettered But Didn’t Read Until Now #2

Even though my choice for the first installment of this Lazy Feature didn’t exactly set my Geek World on fire, I decided to pull another random trade off my shelf. This time around I decided shifting gears from a Garth Ennis book might be a good idea so I went with a good ol’ wholesome Captain America book. What I didn’t know is how wholesome this book turned out to be. And that’s not a bad thing.

Captain America Volume 4: “Captain America Lives Again” Collecting issues 17-20 and a Lee/Kirby Classic: Tales of Suspense # 66. Written by Dave Gibbons with art by Lee Weeks.

I have a lot of Captain America trades on the shelf and at first I was going to grab on of the Ed Brubaker ones (I think I have the first volume) but for some reason I just couldn’t do it. Maybe it’s because Cap “died” or maybe it was because I wasn’t in the mood for it’s “serious” tone. Maybe it’s because after all the media hype of Cap’s death, after all the new readers it brought into comic shops, Marvel decided to capitalize on that tidal wave of excitement by releasing the next issue a few months late. Way to keep ‘em coming back for more, guys.

But whatever, let’s get on with a Captain America book that I friggin’ LOVED!

Reading this trade reminded me why I continue to read Marvel stuff even when 99% of it makes me want the time I spent reading it back. But this trade made me feel like I was reading some old school Marvel.

The story is basically a “What If”. Starting off with Cap floating through the ocean in a block of ice but instead of getting picked up by the Avengers, he’s picked up by Nazis. Cap wakes up in a world where the Nazis won the war and the Red Skull is the big cheese. However, there’s an underground movement of freedom fighters led by your who’s-who of Marvel Superheroes. All out of costume but you don’t miss their fancy duds a bit. I’d go more into it, but I’d hate to spoil some of the neat reveals and surprises.

The story moves along at a great pace with tons of action and enough character interaction to make you wonder who’s up to what and why. There is even a time machine that is usually the down point of any story (the last time machine story I read involved Iron Man riding a horse in his armor complete with joust, Ugh) but Gibbons turned it into an integral part of the story without getting caught in the usual traps the time machine device can fall into. The time machine even tied the whole thing up in a nice bow.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the art of Lee Weeks. I’ve lettered a good amount of his work over the years and always enjoyed it but I never realized how good the guy is until I read this story. He’s one of the most underrated artists in the biz. I don’t know what he’s working on now but I want to go out and find more of his work. Actually, I have the trade of the recent Peter David run on “Hulk” that Weeks penciled. I’ll have to make the next book I pull of the shelf.

As a little bonus Marvel threw in Tales of Suspense #66, the origin of the Red Skull by Lee & Kirby. It’s classic, campy Stan Lee but still fun to read. A nice li’l addition to this really fun trade. If you get a chance to pick this one up, go for it. I think you’ll enjoy some good old-fashioned Captain America. I mean, he’s dead now…… right?

Thanks for reading, Folks!
--Randy

Books I Lettered But Didn’t Read Until Now Reviews #1

Looking for some new comics to read I realized that I have shelves full of trades and I’ve read very few of them. One of the “perks” of being a letterer is the comps that show up at your door every few weeks. I haven’t been lettering full-time for months and books are still showing up. Last week FedEx left me with a few trades one being Wolverine Origin and the other was The Punisher. As I flipped through them I was surprised to realize that I didn’t remember either one at all. So over the past few subway commutes to work I decided to read one of ‘em.

So here’s the First in a series…

“Books I Lettered But Didn’t Read Until Now Reviews”
The Punisher Max Volume 7 “Man of Stone” by Garth Ennis & Leandro Fernandez

First of all as a letterer, this book was in the top 2 as far as the most well prepared scripts in which to letter from. This book was a breeze to letter for 40 plus issues and if the rest of my lettering work went as well as The Punisher did I might still be lettering. But that’s another story.

I was a huge fan of the Ennis/Dillon Punisher stuff back in the day and after reading the “Man of Stone” storyline I was reminded about what I don’t like about the Punisher Max incarnation. This really goes deeper than just the Punisher Max run but the entire Max line as a whole. But more on that later.

While Ennis is usually good for an entertaining read this story was as pedestrian as a Steven Segal movie. Here’s the ingredients. Take your loner (Punisher) and pit him against incredible odds as he faces a rogue Russian General on foreign soil. Throw in the Punisher’s tough-as-nails-and-hard-to-get Love Interest whose out for justice on her abusive husband. The abusive husband is your basic scumbag American Traitor who happens to be using the Russian General as a way to get the Punisher out of hiding. Segal--I mean--the Punisher sports some major machismo as he teams up with the Love Interest amidst a frenzy of sexual tension. He takes out the Russian with just his wits and a Houdiniesque escape that’ll make you wonder what the show McGuyver would’ve been like if it were an R Rated Movie. Oh, and don’t forget the General’s right hand man who has a major attitude problem but “surprisingly” gets his in the end.

Outside of the formulaic storyline Ennis’s writing was just peppered with curse words that are really the only reason I can see keeping this book in the Max line. Now I’m no alter boy, I’ve been known to curse like a longshoreman, but the use of these words just seem so out of place. It’s like a bad Howard Stern rip-off radio show getting a day of FCC Free radio. They seem to be used purely for shock value… although they’re not shocking to anyone over the age of 8.

When Marvel first announced it’s “Adult” line of comics it was thought that it could be the answer to DC’s very successful Vertigo line. Vertigo is almost an entirely stand-alone line similar to a creator-owned line or “independent” line of comics. Vertigo doesn’t hinge on Superman and Batman but rather books like “Fables”. Now I’ll admit that Vertigo has had much more time to iron out any problems while the Max line is still relatively new, but one would think that with a model such as Vertigo that Marvel could’ve learned from their cross-town rivals. Instead the Max line seems like its in limbo. Looking from the outside it seems as if the line could fade away and nothing would be missed. Just move the Punisher back into the regular Marvel Universe. Or turn Punisher War Journal into regular ol’ Punisher and viola!

While Vertigo seems to be a place where their creators can take independent ideas free of DC Universe tangles, Marvel has taken that possibility away from the Max line with the Icon Line, which is a series of books created to give big-name creators a place to show-off their non-Marvel universe creations.

What will Max Line’s fate be? Your guess is as good as mine. Right now it doesn’t look good unless somebody comes along with a clear vision as to what the line means to Marvel. Because it has to be more than a Punisher book fulla cuss words.

So that’s my first rather scathing review of books I lettered but didn’t read. Boy, looking back what’s more scathing than Segal movie comparison? Eeek.

I’ll pull something else off the shelf tonight…hopefully I’ll enjoy it!

Stay tuned folks and thanks for reading.
--R

Back with some cool news!

So I can’t lie, I’ve been back from my Honeymoon for 2 weeks and it’s basically taken this long to come down from the amazing time Ereisa and I had. There’ll be some choice pictures at some time, so stay tuned.

Now it’s time to get back into the swing of things, which is one of the hardest things to do when you’re doing your own webcomic. There’s nobody to kick you in the pants when you’re late. One way I’ve found that is a great way to combat this is establishing a deadline. Sure, you can just arbitrarily pick a random deadline and that often works for me. “Randall Month” was one of those self-imposed deadlines that worked well for me. But this latest deadline is one that I’m really beginning to feel the pressure of but at the same time, I’m super excited about it.

If you’re a fan of comic book Podcasts like I am you’ve probably heard of Comic Geek Speak. They’re a long running show and are one of the best shows you’ll find online. Coming up in September they’ll be celebrating their 300th Episode with what is essentially turning into a CGS Convention. It started back on Episode 100 and it grew quite considerably with Episode 200 but 300 has all the makings of an all-out comic geek fest of epic proportions and I’m lucky enough to be a part of the festivities as a guest. Along with Mike Norton (DC’s The All-New Atom), Steve Bryant (Athena Voltaire), Morry Hollowell (Civil War) and others I’ll be there pimping NYComix and Randall. So if you’re in the Reading, PA area on September 21-23th stop on by. Tickets are available now through CGS so check it out. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the previous celebrations so expect nothing different for 300.

Sure this all sounds like a ton of fun but the reality of the whole thing is that I really need to get my ass in gear and finish the first Randall storyline. I’ve ironed out the last details of the storyline and have laid down the beginnings of the dialogue but what that really does for me is give me an idea of how many pages this bad boy will end up being. I think there are 15 pages on Pixelstrips now and it’ll be around another 15 or so to finish before September.

On top of all this I realize that I need to get people to come over and check out my comics so a little self-promotion needs to be done as well. One way I’m going to do this is a free sketch “promotion” I’m doing over at the CGS forums. So far I’m up to 14 sketches that I’m going to do now that will be picked up at 300.

Yeah, it’s a lot of work but it’s something that I’m really looking forward to. So if you’re a fan of CGS and can make it out to the show, let them know and then let me know you’re going to be there. It should be a lot of fun.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading,
Randy

Married?

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

Grindhouse

Grindhouse

I went out last night and finally checked out this flick and goddam is this a great flick! First of all it’s 2 movies in one by 2 of my favorite directors. Second it’s a throwback to old exploitation/B-Movies/Horror movies. Third it’s a couple of guys making flicks they want to make, the latter being something that has become increasingly more important to me as of late.

Being that I’m a little late to the boat (along with everyone else who is going to see “Wild Hogs” instead of this movie) I’m sure you know the deal. Robert Rodriguez kicks off the show with “Planet Terror” a Gore-Fest of great Zombie movie proportions. Full of everything you’d expect from a movie starring a Go-Go Dancer with a machine gun leg Rodriguez has brought his filmmaking to a place where he can virtually put anything he can imagine on screen and he has a hand in every aspect of his work. He writes, directs, edits, does the sound track, acts as visual effects supervisor and director of photography. He’s working fully digital all from his own friggin’ house. He’s one of the few modern day filmmakers who are harkening back to the days of the 1970’s Film Brats. Back when guys like Francis Coppola were starting independent studios like American Zoetrope. Zoetrope never came fully into fruition thanks to some impatient studio heads, but the genesis of the studio spawned into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch and others. Rodriguez’s own studio “Troublemaker Studios” is even farther from the vile clutches of Hollywood, residing in Austin, Texas. “Planet Terror” pulls no punches and is a wild ride complete with Rodriguez’s trademark fast action and super quick cuts. Along with some fancy “Missing Reel” editing, “Planet Terror” alone was worth the admission price.

In between features you have a handful of hilarious “trailers” by Rob Zombie and Eli Roth’s hilariously disturbing “Thanksgiving” trailer. All of this and we haven’t even gotten to Quinten Tarantino’s “Death Proof”.

Now pretty much everyone I’ve talked to or read about who’ve seen Grindhouse prefer QT’s flick to Rodriguez’s. But the best part of this is that both movies are completely independent of one another and are just different interpretations on a theme, the theme obviously being Grindhouse movies. Death Proof stars Kurt Russell in one of his best roles ever as Stuntman Mike. You know what. I’m not even about to spoil the wild ride Tarantino takes you on through this movie. It’s honestly one of the best times I’ve even had in a theater. Amazing dialogue with one of the best car chases since “The French Connection”. QT is flat out one of the greatest filmmakers ever. To ignore anything that this guys puts on film is waste of every movie lover’s time.

In true “Lazy Rambling” tradition I should go into a long diatribe about how the American Film going audience is a giant gaggle of blubbering idiots who should all have their theater going rights revoked for the remainder of their lives…. But I won’t.

Go see the movie…

All Star Superman

When All Star Superman came out, I had my doubts. Morrison is one of those writers that is just hit or miss with me. He starts off strong and just fades away before the finish line. So going into All Star there was some trepidation mixed with hope. Hope that there would be a Superman comic that I would actually love to read. With the release of the 7 issue I’m forced to gush over this book. Maybe it’s because my beloved “The Goon” (Eric Powell) is on a hiatus but I actually read All Star 2 times in a row in one sitting. Issue 7 is a 2-Part Bizzarro storyline with an amazing cliffhanger backing up a fun, action packed storyline that made me laugh-out-loud and just enjoy a good old-fashioned superhero story starring the original superhero. It’s worth mentioning that this 2-part storyline is as long a “storyline” as you’ll find in this series. If memory serves me right, this is the first multiple part storyline of the book. Check out Morrison’s 1 page, 4-panel, 8-word retelling of Supes origin. There’s no “Decompressed” storytelling going on here.


I can’t recommend this book enough. Even if you’re one of those readers who isn’t a huge fan of Grant Morrison the incredible art by Frank Quitely is worth the cover price. (The colors by Jamie Grant are amazing by the way.) The hardcover of the first 6 issues just came out so you can grab the whole run in one trip to the shop.

So I hope you enjoyed my gushing.

Gent signing off.

--Randy

p.s. Go read Randall over at Pixelstrips.

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

Randall Reminder

We're weekly again! The adventures continue every Wednesday at Pixelstrips.

If you want to brush up on what has already went down here.

Thanks for looking and feel free to write me at Randy@LazyComix.com

Wanna Letter Comic Books, Kid?

Every now and then you see someone talking about lettering online. I came across and interesting conversation between a few big name writers and Richard Starkings (of Comicraft fame).

If there’s any doubt as to why I couldn’t keep lettering on a daily basis anymore, this might give you an idea.

From what I can see, this all started due to a post by Greg Rucka on his live journal page about going over the lettering he got back from a issue of “52”.

Want to know a lost art?
Lettering.

Just spent an hour and a half going over the lettered copy of Week #48 of 52. The issue is of particular importance to me for obvious reasons if you've seen the cover. If you haven't, you'll know it when you read it.

An hour and a half compiling detailed notes and making extensive corrections to 18 out of 20 pages. Nearly 50 separate mistakes, from missing punctuation to mixing up captions with spoken lines, right down to giving the lines to the wrong characters.

A fucking hour and a half.

I miss Todd Klein.

Instead of artists like him, we get [Comicraft] instead.

This prompted a thread over at another "Big Name" writer’s message board, Warren Ellis.

That was one of the biggest wrenches when I started working for America. "Where are your placements?" "Why aren't you numbering your copy fields?" The number of times I had to explain that lettering know how to both place and count...

Now, I’m not a huge fan of Comicraft but I’ll sure as hell stick up for them before I do a writer who makes more money on one page than then a bullpen letter makes on a book.

Why do these guys need placements? Because there’s a million different characters not named Spider-Man and Batman, that’s why. Talking heads of detectives in suits who look the friggin’ same… or my personal favorite from my time lettering: A scene in the United Nations… full shot of the entire room full of dozens of men in suits… no placements and I’m supposed to know who Joe Schmo is. And if you point to the wrong character (because how the hell would you know where the balloon is going) you get snide comments and cries of you being lazy from an Editor or a writer. Not to mention that placements speed up the lettering of a book that is likely late due to the artist and/or writer.

Does Rucka think this letter wanted to mess the book up? Did the letterer get placements to make sure it went more smoothly? Or was Rucka too busy? If he was, then maybe he ask himself if sitting down with a sharpie and doing the placements would take him an hour and a half. What script did the letterer get? I know from experience that you’re more likely to get struck by lightening while hitting the lottery than you are to get a script that was proofed by the editor. Hell, many times an editor gave me the wrong draft of a script. Imagine lettering the first draft of a script only to find out there have been 3 drafts after that one that you just spent 5 hours lettering. And guess how much the letterer gets paid for re-lettering that book? ZERO. Or how about the writer who won’t do his final draft until the letterer finishes the book with a script that he and everyone involved knows is going to change dramatically later on? And how much extra cash does the letterer get for lettering entire pages that will be completely scrapped and replaced with new dialogue? ZERO.

So the next time you’re a Big Name Writer. Making really good money to do a job you’re privileged to do… a job that is likely your dream job… a job that pays royalties for years to come. Remember that the letter is a guy who makes a flat rate that is a fraction of what you make. And remember that the letter is busting his ass to get that book out on time because nobody gives a shit how much time the letterer has to finish the book. Remember that the letterer probably finished that book overnight only to wake up a few hours later to reletter it. And remember that the letter takes a ton of pride in how his work looks on the page.

Reading that stuff gave me the old lettering feeling again. One of frustration and aggravation.

--R

Randall Is Back!

Next week kicks off All-New Randall pages going live every Wednesday over at Pixelstrips. Check out a preview here and I'll be sure to remind ya'll come next Wednesday...

-R

Lunchtime Spidey

The first in what will be a new feature here. Done with fine point micron pen and colored in photoshop.

The Devil's Rejects

So I’m always on the lookout for some good old-fashioned Horror flicks. A few months back I re-watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the Tobe Hopper version, not the crap that just came out) and upon growing older and a little smarter about film I realized that it is a really well made flick. It’s beautifully shot and expertly edited. For a film most people think of as one of the bloodiest movies ever it’s actually edited in a way that shows very little of the gore. It’s the unknown and unseen off-camera that is truly disturbing about Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece. You’re more scared of what can happen than you are of what has happened. (Even though what has happened is scary as hell.) It enters into the psychological aspect of fear while simultaneously showing a chainsaw wielding, skin suit-wearing maniac on screen. That’s a pretty neat trick to pull-off as a filmmaker.

This kind of horror film is rarely made today. I think it’s a mixture of a few things that has led to the rather sad state of the present day horror movie genre. Studios are almost exclusively releasing focus group tested movies. Sure there are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part a big studio isn’t going to consider a low-budget horror flick when the can release Saw 4 with a built-in audience. Why make a Devil’s Rejects when you can do Saw 4 and/or make a Chainsaw remake with CGI and the latest WB actress that happens to be on the cover of Maxim? These kinds of movies have that “built-in audience” that grabs The Suits attention more than sitting through an unknown pitch. This stuff goes right on down to comics these days. Why are they pummeling fans with “Event Comics”? Because they sell and they know people will buy them no matter what.

All right, on to the real matter at hand. My reaction to the closest thing to a 1970’s low-budget horror flick: Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects.

I really dug about 2/3rds of this movie. It had a little Chainsaw, a little Last House on the Left and even a little Bonnie and Clyde. Zombie did some really nice things with the camera and some really nice use of Needle Drops along the way. They got a little repetitive and at times I wondered if they only used the Needle Drop because they paid for the rights to the song, but nevertheless I was impressed by the look of the film. While there were a lot of old horror homage scenes (Like Chainsaw and Last House) there was that twist to them that made them not come off as a total rip-off. The only thing that really bothered me was the last half hour. The pre-established characterization went out the window when it served the plot as well as the use of a rather convenient and confusing plot devise. (The deformed mongoloid that saved the day and then walked into a burning house as if the reason for doing so obvious to the viewer.) The car scene at the end just seemed weird to me, almost like it was an afterthought, but hey, who am I to complain? There weren’t any CGI monsters and bad acting like you see in flicks like Saw or The Hills Have Eyes. Which, I should confess I haven’t been able to sit through because I suddenly become a luddite when it comes to making horror movies. They should put a cap on Horror movie budgets and completely ban the use of CGI in every one. Prove me wrong, but I haven’t seen it work yet.

Anyway, if you’re a horror movie fan, check out Devil’s Rejects. It was a pretty solid flick…. Especially if you’re a fan of 70’s horror movies.

Thanks for reading,
Gent

Diverging Comics Interview

My first post-lettering interview is up over at Diverging Comics dot com... Check it out here!

Big thanks to Sean and Wayne for the exposure.

Stay tuned for another Podcast interview next week.

--Randy

Another Sketchbook Bites the Dust

I don’t know of too many artists that don’t carry a sketchbook with them at all times. Some do incredible work in their books, while others like myself, use it almost as a diary. The bulk of my sketchbooks are filled with “Subway Sketches”. Which is something that was introduced to me by a teacher at Pratt. He or she (sadly I can’t remember what teacher is was) made it a homework assignment to bring in a few pages of our sketchbooks filled with people we drew on the subway. At first it was tough for me. I’d hunch over my sketchbook in a vain attempt to hide what I was doing but as time went by I reached a place where I could just draw without caring who was watching me. Although I do feel weird when the person whom I’m sketching realizes that I’m using them as a figure drawing exercise. A handful of times people have gotten up and walked away after realizing what I was doing but after the hundreds of people I’ve drawn that’s a really rare occurrence.

Unfortunately, working from home for 4 years made it tougher and tougher to fill up my sketchbook. I’d only ride on the train a few times a month but with my job forcing me back into the NYC Rat Race I just finished a great little sketchbook that Ereisa bought me back in 2004. I can’t believe it took me this long to fill up 192 pages but it did. So before I file this little book on the shelf with all my other spent sketchbooks, I thought I’d scan a few choice pages and throw them up here on the bog. Flipping through it’s really fun to see the work go from good to awful to horrendous to bad. It was also pretty wild to see quite a few rants about wanting to get out of lettering. I also did a few streams of conscious comix for the first time, something that I’ll diffidently be doing again in my new sketchbook.

So check out a few random sketches.

1. Cover
After I finish every sketchbook I go through it and write down anything that I did in it that I think I might need and/or want to use later on. There are 3 upcoming NYComix in this sketchbook and they’re noted at the bottom. I also did the Randall Redesigns in this in there.


2. NYComix Volume 2 Mini Comic Cover Ideas
I knew from the start I wanted to do a stencil, but none of these ideas made it very far.

3. Old Man
People get off the train before you can finish drawing all the time. This guy got up right when I started and it morphed into this weird thing.

4. Randall Redesigns
The redesigns just started in here and then went on to a bigger 9x12” sketchbook I use for character designs and page thumbnails for comix. I even do a few pages in that sketchbook instead of on art board. But that’s fairly rare.


5. Comix
Chris Ware’s sketchbooks got me into doing comics in my sketchbook. Something I never considered before. None of these will become more than this, but one will… (Although not the one I’m showing here.)


6. Monk’s Mood
Listening to Jazz on the subway is a favorite pastime of mine. This was done while listening to Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Mood.”


7. DMV
Not done on the Subway but at the Midtown Manhattan DMV. I think it was an almost 4 hour wait. The character is “Art” who I guess is becoming my other comic persona…he made an appearance in the first (and so far, only) “LazyComix Presents…” More of the ol’ curmudgeon to come.

8. Subway Sketch
One of the more tolerable examples of my subway sketches. This one done on the way home from my first day at the new job.


So there you have a few excerpts from my recently depleted sketchbook. I’m already 2 pages into a new one. Let’s hope this one doesn’t take almost 3 years to finish. Boy, that’s pathetic. I need to draw more.

In other news I’ve got a few things coming up including a few interviews. One in plain ol’ print and the other a podcast where you can hear me babble for over an hour. More on that stuff to come.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading,
Gent

Reviews of Old Stuff

So 2 weeks down at the new job and only 2 blogs to match. Gotta get more into the swing of this thing and figure out a way to post more consistently. Even so, I wish I had some reviews of new comics to make but this week was an uneventful trip to the comic shop. Instead I’ve got a handful of old comics that I picked up at the NYComicCon.

The 2nd Annual New York Comic Con was pretty good. Much, much bigger than last year and from what I hear it was a more organized event. While there I picked up a few comics out of the dollar bin. “Dollar bin”, god-forbid they have a 50-cent bin. You’d think they’d sell more that way. I mean, I’m assuming this is all left over stuff. I know I would’ve picked up a lot more back issues at 50 cents.

Anyway I picked up the first 3 (of 4) issues of Evan Dorkin and Dean Haspiel’s-- The Thing: Night Falls on Yancy Street. Dorkin and Haspiel really had a grasp on what made Ben Grimm The Thing. They also clearly have love for the great Lee/Kirby FF of the 60’s and of 70’s Marvel books. I absolutely loved it and I wish they had that issue 4. Guess I’ll have to track it down. I don’t think this is collected anywhere, unless they packed it into the back of an FF trade somewhere. If anyone knows, shoot me a message.

I also picked up a random issue of “Web of Spider-Man”. (Issue 30) I remember that I had the issue back when I was a kid but after reading it (and not finishing it) I can’t figure out what made me remember it. It dealt with a character called “The Rose” and a new Hobgoblin. It was really convoluted and spent more time telling stuff that happened in other issues of whatever Spidey books they were putting out back then than it did telling its own story.


I also picked up Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #15 with a story by Paul Pope. Pope’s art is so good I’ll basically buy anything he does. I don’t know why this series was cancelled but the premise of the book was something I wish Marvel would try again. Self contained Spidey stories by established creators who primarily work in the “Indy” world. Bendis did this as well with Ultimate Marvel Team-Up. Maybe they’ll get back to this someday but I doubt it. Reading that Spidey story made me realize that I haven’t read an ongoing Spider-Book in a few years now. I’m still on my fanboy soapbox with Amazing Spidey. As long as JMS is on that book I won’t read it. I had hopes for Friendly Neighborhood with David and Weiringo but they kicked that off with that “The Other” storyline and followed that up with the Iron Spidey thing. And I’m not even sure what the other Spider-Book is. I will be picking up Ultimate Spider-Man when Stuart Immonen takes over. I’ve read the Bendis/Bagley version off-and-on but I grew tired of Bagley’s art after a while. I just can’t get into his work. Immonen, on the other hand, is an artist whose work I really enjoy. I lettered his stuff on Thor a few years ago and his style has really changed since then. I read a few issues of Nextwave and while his work was great I wasn’t a fan of Warren Ellis’ writing. I’m definitely looking forward to Immonen’s Spidey work, though. It’ll be nice to read some Spidey again.



Speaking of Warren Ellis I read his and Adi Granov’s Iron Man: Extremis trade last week. I lettered this storyline but didn’t read a word of it while I did. The book was chronically late and up against a deadline plus there were a few chunks of 20 plus balloon pages that would’ve taken me longer to read then letter, so it was nice to read it without really knowing what was going on. I’ve never read any of Ellis’ big stories like Transmetropolitan or Planetary and as I said earlier I didn’t love Nextwave or his Ultimate Galactus stuff so my expectations weren’t high. I gotta say though, I really enjoyed this story. Without spoiling it the story deals with a new version of the super soldier serum that was ingested by a terrorist hell bent on destroying the future. Ellis really jumped Iron man and the armor into the next generation making the armor more than just a wearable weapon. While there were some chatty parts they didn’t bother me much and there was plenty of action to make up for it. Really, the one thing about the book I didn’t love was the painted art by Adi Granov. While it was quite nice in places, the endless barrage of Tom Cruise reference got really old fast. This stuff is becoming more and more prevalent with Marvel books lately with guys like Bryan Hitch and the king of photo reference (or light boxing) Greg Land. I don’t know what’s up with it but man it annoys the crap out of me. It’s “Photo Reference” not “Photo Replication”. Nevertheless, check out the trade.

So there are a few comic reviews for ya. Maybe I’ll find some new books this Wednesday.

Stay tuned,
Gent

Back With Plugs

So after my first week away from lettering and at a “real job” for the first time in 4 years, I’m finally able to post.

First thing I wanna do is plug the aforementioned “Ballpoint Fiends” blog. It’s an art collective of some great artists I’ve been lucky enough to meet via Fanboy Radio. Jim Lujan (The Dog Hostage), Jeff Elden (Middle Child) and Justin Stewart (Popped Culture) are a bunch of guys who are out there making comix they want to make. I’m proud to be a part of it… the possibilities are endless and we’re like in the embryo stage at this point so stay tuned. In the meantime head on over and check out Jeff’s first “Fiendish Act” comic. We’ll all be doing one while we try to figure out what we’re really going to do on the site. While you’re there, check out the rest of the guy’s sites for some kick-ass web comix.

In other news, my new job is located right next to Jim Hanley’s Universe, probably the best comic shop in NYC. While on a lunch break I went down and picked up a few comics. First was Jacob Chabot’s “The Mighty Skullboy Army”. I mentioned it a few posts back and man this comic is awesome… Laugh-Out-Loud-Funny and just so well done. Please do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s only 10 bucks. I can’t recommend it enough.

I’ve seriously been considering dropping mainstream superhero comics, but my love of the genre keeps pulling me back in. Unfortunately my 2 purchases didn’t do much to rekindle my interest. I’ll start with the good first.

The Brave and the Bold #1 by Kurt Busiek and George Perez.
I’m a fan of Perez’s work; he’s old school and just really looks like he loves what he’s doing. Busiek’s work is also something I’ve enjoyed when I’ve read it, but nothing has really stuck with me. I picked this one up because it seemed like a DC book I could jump on board with and enjoy without having to understand every corner of the tangled mess that is DC continuity. It was a pleasant surprise when that turned out to be true. I also have always wanted to read some Green Lantern stories, but again, I have no idea where to start. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book, but I doubt I’ll pick-up the next issue. The story didn’t really grab me and Supergirl is the next team-up. I’m not a huge fan of female versions of preexisting male heroes, so I’ll skip it. If you’re into DC books pick it up, at least you’ll get some Perez artwork.

New Avengers #27 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Yu.
I read and enjoyed the initial storyline of Bendis’ Avengers Disassembled followed by New Avengers. I think I stuck around for about 12 issues. I forget why I dropped it, but being that I wanted to read something and this was the first part of a new storyline, I picked it up. So, where do I start? You usually can’t go wrong with a Bendis book. The dialogue is always solid and the storyline is always well thought-out. Yu isn’t an artist whose work I seek-out, but I usually don’t mind it. Until this issue. It was so bad; it took me completely out of the story. Yu draws a pretty picture, but his storytelling really left something to be desired here. I should preface this by saying it could be in Bendis’ script, but this is stuff that should be done by the artist, regardless of the writer’s notes.

The fight choreography wasn’t choreographed. Characters changes positions in mid-flight from panel to panel, backgrounds didn’t match up, among others. At one point Elektra’s Sais just appeared in her hands in the last panel of a 6-panel page. Throw in some horrible ad placement completely screwing up a double-page spread reveal. Not to mention some really bad balloon placement that my fiancée said: “Looks like a pigeon pooped on the page.” I lettered comic for 7 years and I had no idea what order to read the balloons in. Placement I’m sure I would’ve been asked to fix, why it wasn’t in this case... who knows. It’s a shame because the book has potential to be a fun ride, but I just can’t get behind a book with elements that were so poorly done, especially with top-tier talent on a flagship title. Guess it’s back to the drawing board with my seemingly never-ending search for a superhero book I can look forward to picking up every month.

Thanks for reading folks and stay tuned, 5 pages of Randall Chapter 2 are inked and lettered.

--Randy

The Ballpoint Fiends

More to come...

http://ballpointfiends.blogspot.com/

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

Mighty Skullboy Army

Former Marvel Bullpen co-worker and friend Jacob Chabot releases one of the funniest comics you'll ever read.... The Mighty Skullboy Army.
It's so much fun to see how this strip evolved, I used to sleep in the cubicle next to Jacob's and I remember seeing the first version of Skullboy done in ballpoint pen on a piece of typewriter paper... it was just a germ of an idea then, but now it's evolved into an incredible comic that I can absolutely guarantee you'll love. It's one of those strips that is perfect for boy and girls of all-ages, comic readers and non-comic readers alike. Don't be surprised of you see more of Skullboy in the future.

So head on out to your LCS and pick it up... you won't be disappointed. (Or pick it up here at Amazon.com)

--Randy