Hola,
mmm it’s like 7 in the am. I have a new schedule that I’m trying out, I’ve always gotta be tightening and loosening the screws to keep my drawing life puttering along. put put put.
I’m trying out doing all the work work aspects of my job every other day. Today I did some writing for loot and drew these badges for the Stumptown con:
So tomorrow (or today after sleep) I’m ignoring everything else and only working on Multiple warheads. My theory is that it’ll help me build more excitement about the MW days. and I can rid myself of any guilt for not getting paying work or emails done on those days. They feel like days off.
Today I’ve been listening to an audio book of Robert Heinlein’s letters. There’s something great about hearing WW2 era publishing arguments that I can relate to today. I’ve probably said it on here before but I really like not always agreeing with Heinlein( wicked pro military and all) but still liking him through his work. Makes me feel all enlightened and shit, or maybe he’s just that loveable.
Stokoe’s Orc stain comes out today as well as Nate Simpson’s Non player.
I was reading some of what Sean Witzke has been writing about comics on his Supervillan site.
http://supervillain.wordpress.com/
I like this thing he typed about action—
“The trick that so many action-based comics creators never got (and movies, etc etc), is that action and character are one and the same. I don’t mean in the acting class sort of mentality way, I mean that even the blankest cipher should be able to walk into a story and shoot someone, and if it is written and drawn correctly it should tell you everything you need to know about that character. The more they do, the more you learn about the characters, the more their actions mean something.”
Brandon Graham 
Brandon, that’s a clever idea. Buckshot: “The mind tricks the body, body thinks the mind is crazy!”
I often get frustrated with what I’m doing and “quit” in despair. Then I amble on back to the same project after a week or two of obsessing over something else. I basically cycle through all of my interests on a fairly regular schedule.
BUT IT’S ALL POWERED BY GUILT. Neglect one project for another, etc.
I really dig that top center badge illo. A whole lotta character to that house for such a tiny image. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how much the design of buildings in comics can contribute to the feeling of a real, fleshed out world. Toriyama, Otomo, Moebius, Tezuka all have really distinctly THEM architecture to their buildings. Orc Stain, too.
I’m pretty pumped to read NONPLAYER. Glorious art from what I’ve seen.
Anyways, good stuff!
We seem to be listening to the same Heinlein audio book collection. “Grumbles from the Grave” is an interesting read/listen. The parts where Heinlein and his agent (I think) discuss the dire state that publishing is in gives me a bit of hope and perspective for the current publishing woes. His response that a good story will always find an audience seems to ring generally true (you just have to be flexible in how you market it).
Have you made it to later era Heinlein yet? The man is really fascinating to me. His engineering and storytelling is fantastic, and then he seems to start making his work into masturbatory Gary Sue stories. (Time Enough For Love, Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Number of the Beast, etc) I mean, there was always some of that in his work, I think, but he really cranks it up towards the end.
Idaknow. He’s an odd duck. Still, great stuff to listen to while doing tedious drawing.
best,
steven
Yojimbo, or The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly both spring to mind in the action = character = action regard.
Also…”Giving a shit about things like fights and chases always makes me feel a bit silly, but it’s what I care about and I enjoy seeing it done right and hate when it’s paid lip service to. Uncanny X-Force is a comic that understands what it is, and then goes about being the best dumb fight comic it can be.”
I think there’s a lot of truth to this. Miyazaki’s Castle of Cagliostro is excellent for that exact reason, too. ‘Oh, you want a Lupin movie, eh? Okay, lessee… Car Chase…Secret Passageways…Damsel In Distress…Zenigata + international realpolitik intrigue + Fujiko…that’s the basics, right?’ And then he just takes it balls to the wall from the get go.
The badges look great. Are we gonna be able to collect ’em all?
“The trick that so many action-based comics creators never got (and movies, etc etc), is that action and character are one and the same. I don’t mean in the acting class sort of mentality way, I mean that even the blankest cipher should be able to walk into a story and shoot someone, and if it is written and drawn correctly it should tell you everything you need to know about that character. The more they do, the more you learn about the characters, the more their actions mean something.”
I like that. As a guy working-out an adventure comic, I’m always on the look-out for ways to show character wordlessly.
I just spent the last month working on work work for other people and now I feel turbo charged to do my own stuff again. It’s such a thrill-ride.
I pick up both of these comics today and am about to take them for a toilet break of BLISS.
I really like the warrior rock badge, by the way. Your mind is a beautiful place.
Didn’t see Nonplayer at the LCS and I probably would’ve picked it up if I had; that cover is sick. If the interiors were anywhere close in quality I probably would’ve bought it too (I hate interiors that don’t match the cover, fricking Cover-tease!)
Anyway, I am slowly whithering away and dying without my weekly dose of anything Graham on the stands, get me some Multiple Warheadz before I fly up to Vancouver and picket the hell out of your apartment; “We’re in Canada, we flew from California, get us our comics!”
I was trying to restrain myself from buying Nonplayer until I saw yr drawing in the back. WAY TO GO.
PS noticed you were reading Murakami a while ago. What’d you think?
BTW, related to Heinlein, after going through pretty much is whole catalog, he references meprobamate/miltown (the muscle relaxer Soma is a pro-drug of this) frequently, both having his characters use it, and making comments about personal usage. Left me wondering if he had developed a habit (no judgment, just an observation) , as I think that he kept using it, according to the letters, into the 60’s-70’s.
That quote from Sean just keeps. rattling. around. in. my. head
Pingback: Things I Like That You Might Like Too: Art Fags and Not Paying Taxes « Suicide Girls Blog