NonSensical Words

Who lives in their workspace, and can you eat of the floor?

2012-01-24T14:53:00.000+08:00

Go to: ComicsAlliance, by Lauren Davis

I'm always a little curious about the level of organization, or chaos, maintained within different artist studios.

Donna Troy Explained

2012-01-20T15:09:00.000+08:00

Go to: ComicsAlliance by Curt Franklin and Chris Haley

Webcomic: Get Your Censor On

2012-01-18T15:58:00.002+08:00

Go to: Get Your Censor On by David Rees (via Aaron Colter)

"Life will suck if they censor the internet"

Update: Comics creators and bloggers hate SOPA.

The Resistance

2012-01-18T15:20:00.000+08:00

Go to: The Joy of Tech by by Nitrozac and Snaggy

I have no interest in making my blog go dark in order to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA). But you get the gist.

Illustration: Cathedrals by Simon Gane

2012-01-18T14:52:00.000+08:00

Go to: Simon Gane (via Tom Spurgeon)

Webcomic: Tents Beyond Tents

2012-01-13T14:55:00.000+08:00

Go to: Cartoon Movement Haiti Week, by Pharés Jerome and Chevelin Pierre (via Tom Spurgeon)

You're not Kirk

2012-01-11T13:59:00.000+08:00

Go to: Boldly Gone by Kevin Church and Ming Doyle

Webcomic: Kushinagar

2012-01-06T13:41:00.000+08:00

Go to: The Caravan, by Joe Sacco (via Brigid Alverson)

That's if you can tolerate the Flash-based interphase.

A Belated "Happy New Year" Greeting

2012-01-04T01:18:00.002+08:00

Go to: Dubious Pixels by Michael Buntag

And my woes have already begun....

I'm still here. Just barely.

Awkward

2011-12-25T00:37:00.000+08:00

Go to: Lucky by Gabrielle Bell

Have a socially inept holiday y'all!

Wonder Woman #3

2011-12-22T23:32:00.012+08:00

By Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson, Jared K. Fletcher

In my posts on Aquaman and Green Lantern, I mentioned in passing their predilection for R-rated violence. Illustrating scenes of bloodletting comes very easily in the DC Universe. The same can't be said for the rendering of any kind of sexual content, which ranges from embarrassingly juvenile to simply bizarre. So when the scene in Wonder Woman #3 revealing the affair between Queen Hippolyta and Zeus is actually handled with a measure of something approaching intelligence and maturity, it can be considered a meager victory for the series and its creative team.

I haven't changed my mind about the decision to make Diana the illegitimate daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. It still feels like a retreat from what originally made the character unique and different. But as far as execution goes, WW is shaping up to be among the better titles the New 52 has to offer. Artist Cliff Chiang is one of a handful of artists at DC (Along with Francis Manapul on The Flash and J.H. Williams on Batwoman) who employs a style that's individual and yet accessible - one that doesn't look like a refugee from the Image-influenced 90s. Chiang's clean lines and grasp of drawing fundamentals even manages to make the new WW costume look passable (Or at the very least, look less overdone). His linework is full of energy. The characters look like they're inhabiting an actual space instead of just floating in front of a backdrop. The attention to quality is matched by Brian Azzarello's story. While I'm still not sold on the scenes involving decapitation back in issue #1, his WW is, if not completely human, certainly more grounded. By way of contrast, the reader has only to read WW's debut in Justice League #3 to see how poorly the character can be handled. The series creators have chosen to portray their ensemble as broad types rather than individual personalities. In the case of WW, she's an ingénue who takes her cue from the George Perez and Jodi Picoult runs on the title, but updated to fit in with today's more bloodthirsty standards.

Justice League #3

The Justice League version is a very generic product seemingly whittled down from other sources that were themselves rip-offs of other ideas - a walking engine of destruction dressed in a bathing suit and heels, who becomes immediately objectified by her would-be colleagues. Ugh! In contrast, The Azzarello WW's barely restrained anger to her mother's revealed dalliance makes her immediately more relatable as a character. The difference between the two interpretations of her is the difference between competent vs. lazy genre writing. In her own series, her reaction helps define her personality a bit more while pushing the story forward. And for now, it's a story worth reading.

Wonder Woman #3

“...all that is bogus”

2011-12-21T12:44:00.001+08:00

Go to: Drawn and Quarterly, by Guy Delisle (via Sean T. Collins)

Go to: Salon, by John Gorenfield, for a recounting of the experiences of Shin Sang-Ok and Choi Eun Hee, who were kidnapped at the command of Kim Jong-Il in order to produce movies for the North Korean film industry.

Coniferous

2011-12-21T12:19:00.001+08:00

Go to: Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson

Christmas Tree

2011-12-20T11:50:00.000+08:00

Go to: Stop Paying Attention by Lucy Knisley

It's A Depressurrealing Insignifound Cartoon Moment!

Green Lantern #1-4

2011-12-19T19:50:00.024+08:00

By Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy and Keith Champagne, Alex Sinclair, Sal Cipriano, Francis Manapul

I never got too far into the Geoff Johns run of Green Lantern, which makes me a lapsed reader of the title. Now I understand that Johns managed to fashion it into one of the cornerstones, if not The Keystone, of the DC Universe. He did this by generating a convoluted cosmology around the Guardians of Oa and the Green Lantern Corps that left me more disinterested in following the title. But when DC announced that their latest company-wide relaunch wasn't a reboot, they meant that certain titles, especially this one, would carry on more or less unaffected. In fact, several titles of the New 52 universe start were the old Green Lantern storylines left off. How was this supposed to appeal to new readers?

Well, in the case of the core Green Lantern series, Johns harks back to an earlier and simpler era. Hal Jordan has been kicked out of the Green Lantern Corps for actions that aren't explicated in any detail. Meanwhile, arch-villain Sinestro has been reinstated as a Green Lantern. The first thing he does is travel to Earth to enlist the help of Hal, in order to liberate his home planet Korugar from the clutches of the Yellow Lanterns. As a reader I don't get why Sinestro is now fighting the very corps that he himself founded, but whatever. The point of the story is that Sinestro has gone back to treating Hal like a rookie under his wing again.

The character dynamic is similar to what longtime GL fans already knew about the duo (Or to viewers of the GL movie). Sinestro is a condescending jerk who corrects every little mistake Hal makes, like not knowing how to properly save people from a collapsing bridge and whatnot. For his part, Hal acts nothing like the savvy veteran that he's supposed to be. Rather, he's a loser who can't hold down a job, maintain a steady relationship, or pay his rent on time. He wants so much to get back into the GLC, so he takes Sinestro up on his offer without hesitation, even if he hates his guts. If Johns is trying to make Hal a sympathetic character who's down on his luck, he doesn't succeed. There's one scene were he goes on a date with his on-off again girlfriend Carol Ferris that sounds like it was meant to be funny, but falls flat when Hal asks Carol for financial help. Hal just comes across as a dumb fighter-jock instead of an experienced superhero. Actually, Sinestro goes out of his way to make fun of the "super-hero" label as well.

That Geoff Johns' GL continuity survived relatively intact is representative of the new DC Universe. It looks and feels a lot like the old Universe, just refurbished to get the attention of lapsed readers. And it shores up the already loyal fans. But it doesn't work as well opening up to a new audience. Johns loves organizing his cast into stark black and his white categories (i.e. the Sinestro Corps and the GLC), but he's not particularly adept at portraying more human subtleties. This weakness mixes uneasily with his fetish for graphic violence. The results aren't so much intelligent and edgy as they are creepy and disturbing. The two main characters sometimes act like bickering teenagers. The wielders of the most versatile weapons in the universe use them mostly to torture, strangle or disembowel their enemies. The Guardians have no problem lobotomizing anyone who disagrees with them. And those are the people who are in charge of protecting the universe from evil?

In issue #4 Sinestro reaches a turning point. His plans to save Korugar have gone to pieces. He's trapped and cornered. Encouraged by Hal, he begins to admit his mistakes and asks for help from the people he sought to protect. Does this mark genuine change, or a red herring thrown in before Sinestro reverts back to true villainy? The problem is that having to choose between him and Hal kind of sucks.

Ryan North exposes Santa

2011-12-15T16:28:00.002+08:00

Go to: ComicsAlliance: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Complete by Ryan North

Illustration: Breast Cancer Ad Campaign by Maisa Chaves

2011-12-15T16:25:00.000+08:00

Go to: The Mary Sue, Ads of the World, by Maisa Chaves (via Timothy Brannan and Andy Khouri).

For more info, go to Mozambique Fashion Week and DDB Mozambique.

Shannon Wheeler Sketch Diary

2011-12-11T21:59:00.001+08:00

Go to: TCJ.com, by Shannon Wheeler

American Fall: Part 2

2011-12-11T21:46:00.000+08:00

Go to: Cartoon Movement, by Stephanie McMillan

Aquaman #1-3

2011-12-08T18:30:00.020+08:00

By Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Rod Reis, Nick J. Napolitano

Anyone who's written for Aquaman has had to contend with the widespread perception that he's something of a joke. But Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis tackle this in the most direct way possible. The first issue starts out well enough. Our newly revised hero demonstrates that his physical prowess is almost a match for the 1938 Superman by foiling a heist. He leaps over tall buildings, casually tosses around an armored truck, and absorbs machine-gun fire at point-blank range without flinching. Sadly, he doesn't attempt to outrun a bullet train. Still, the point has been made. "This ain't your daddy's Aquaman" is the message they seem to be conveying.

The story however grinds to a halt when he attempts to enjoy a meal at a seafood restaurant, only to be interrupted by an obnoxious blogger (yes, we're all like that) who wants to troll him in person. Aquaman tolerates him for as long as he can, before leaving in a huff. But at least he has his lovely wife Mera to tend to his wounded male ego. And the reader is pretty much told why Aquaman's much cooler than (s)he thinks. Yes, he eats fish. Get over it. No, he doesn't need to return to water to survive. Yes, he communicates telepathically with sea life, but don't refer to it as "talk to fish" because fish don't actually understand human speech. It's about as subtle as a bag of hammers.

C'mon Aquaman. Namor would have broken that guy's kneecaps and tossed him
into the ocean for interrupting his meal.

Thank goodness the next issue gets back into the thick of things (albeit not as quickly as I'd like) when some carnivorous fish-people decide to feed on a seaside town. Aquaman and Mera intercede, over the objections of the police. When the fish-people attack again, the pair go through them like the Nisshin Maru carving up a pod of Minke whales. Lots of bloodshed ensues, as expected in a Geoff Johns comic. Look! he's a badass now. And the plot inches forward in issue three when Aquaman enlists the help of an old acquaintance of his father named Stephen Shin, who supposably tried to kill him at one point. Lots of hints about Aquaman's past are dropped, including an enigmatic statement about the trident he uses as a weapon.

New 52 Aquaman is something of a prick, which is justified in the series by the public's attitude toward him. Wouldn't you be too if you knew they kept laughing behind your back? The problem with the series' metatextual approach is that it sometimes puts advancing its own arguments over advancing the story itself. Telling the audience that the character is cool won't necessarily make them like him any better if the character hasn't yet been well developed. But whether by accident or design, the results are also rather comical. Instead of sulking about a world that hates and fears you, why not one that refuses to take you seriously? Plenty of ten-year-olds know how that feels. That almost everyone treats Aquaman with slight condescension works as a foil to his own truculence. And it helps make him look less like an insufferable jerkface, unlike some other so-called heroes (Yeah, I'm looking at you Green Arrow).

Retaliating like monsters is the Americ... I mean, Atlantean way.

So Aquaman is misunderestimated. But wouldn't it have been possible for him to have started out slightly more mature and self-aware, gradually learning to adopt a more relaxed and self-depreciating attitude as the story progresses? Oh wait, this is a superhero comic book. Never mind.

An Uneven Trinity Revisited

2011-12-06T14:53:00.001+08:00

Go to: Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton

To paraphrase Ms. Beaton, Batman and Superman can go fuck themselves!

Anyway, this is hearkening back to an earlier post.

Portfolio: Tina Lugo

2011-12-04T22:36:00.000+08:00

Pink Batman

Astro-a-go-go

Go to: Tinalugo.com (via Brian Warmoth)

Lines in Ink, Lines in the Sand

2011-12-04T22:15:00.000+08:00

Go to: Cartoon Movement, by Josh Neufeld (via Heidi McDonald)

Wranglin' a Cup of Joe

2011-12-04T22:04:00.000+08:00

Go to: Emi Lenox Tumblr (via Laura Hudson)

I, Animal

2011-12-04T21:25:00.000+08:00

Go to: Nucleus, by Graham Annable (via Kevin Melrose)