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Art & Illustration Sometimes I Like Stuff

Summit Street Maps: Reeyobigs Edition

INDUSTRY TODAY

I was asked by a peer to draw up John Carter, even though the only thing I knew about the character was that Gil Kane drew him once. I liked the challenge of working on something unfamiliar, especially if it has swords. I never get to draw swords.

FORM TOMORROW

Death To the Universe has a great piece about the unique visual demands that only comics can carry (that’s putting it as broadly as possible). A Treatise on Optics nails one of the many aspects that make comics an important and beautiful art form.

On a loosely related note, another one of my favorite blogs, Heavy Discussion, recently posted a bunch of pictures and commentary of old zines. I think having tactile proof of one’s interests may be archaic, but it still has a lot more intimate power than we give it credit for. Having said that, don’t rule out the notion that HD may have inspired this post.

A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

It’s not weird for me to look up and find that Slave to the Rhythm has been on repeat all afternoon. That, and a bunch of podcasts. Baseball on the radio might as well come next. Perhaps the hum of an electric fan may do the trick.

Brett Gelman has a new podcast up: Gelmania. That’s right, the guy behind the immortal iBrain teamed up with Tim Heidecker for this one. I hope it’s a recurring thing. It’s all good, but the 17:12 mark is where you want to be.

I wonder if that bit was the reason Marc Maron sounded bummed while talking to Neil Hamburger recently. Neil, who sings for one of the most important figures in Metal, usually leaves me in tears. I can see how awkward and out of place it is to have him come out in this intimate way that Maron’s cultivated.

BACK ON COMICS

Nick Abadzis wrote a piece about the Russian Cartoon Music concert played by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, an event we recently attended in Brighton Beach. Nick’s got some exceptional drawings accompanying the article. Good to see Blaise Larmee and J-Shasta leave comments.

Did I mention that Tony Salmons has a blog? Yeah, and he’s posting tons of original and unseen art over there. I have to pry myself away from the screen whenever he posts something.

In an unprecedented move, I discovered that I was basically wrong in my hateful assessment of the Legion of Superheroes: Five Years Later. I’ll write about the experience at length sometime soon but in a nutshell: I love the Giffbaum era of the title and have become obsessed with its place in comics. I recently came across Tom Bierbaum’s livejournal, where he describes what went on with each story he wrote issue by issue! I know… thank me later.

SWORDS

Oh, wait, look. I have drawn swords before. This Tellos piece was done a couple of years ago for a proposed Mike Wieringo tribute book, put together by Todd Dezago. I liked Mike’s art a whole lot but I never got around to reading Tellos when it was coming out. I was unfamiliar with the story, but the characters were fun to draw.

That should do it. Back to inking.

–Fiffe

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Sometimes I Like Stuff

NYCC ’11 Report

NYCC was this weekend.

Yeah, it was busy, it was packed. I met some folks, caught up with others, good time overall.

This, however, is what I got out of it…

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Art & Illustration Sometimes I Like Stuff

I Still Believe (Daredevil #260)

I recently did this drawing for Bergen Street Comics, my very own Daredevil cover on one of the blank “sketch” covers. I noticed that the back portion was available, so I designed it vertically, knowing that what I wanted to draw wouldn’t necessarily work if the comic was one/half displayed.

You may ask, “Well, how come you didn’t have him striking a pose mid-jump through a couple of water towers or fighting a cluster of ninjas?”, and you may very well have a point. Although I’ve seen those classic scenarios done to death, I still like them just as much as you do. However, no version of Daredevil is as close to my heart as Ann Nocenti’s version.

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"ZEGAS" Sometimes I Like Stuff

Bergen St. Signing & Baltimore Comicon

This past Friday night was the official release party for Zegas #1 at Bergen Street Comics and there’s no question as to how it went down. It was a blast.

Tom & Amy Adams, Tucker, Cav, and Matt all helped this night move along beautifully. I owe them a great deal for putting together such a wonderful night and for displaying a lot of my original art. The presentation is top notch, and I’m really flattered that they went all out for this. On my way to the store that night, boxes full of comics in tow, the sky decided to open up over Brooklyn. It poured miserably, but that didn’t stop folks from coming out! Saw some old friends, made some new ones, signed some books, talked some shop. It was fantastic. Photos can be seen here, and to each and every one who attended, I thank you for doing so and hope you like the comic.

We stayed a bit later than usual, but we were looking at making the drive to Baltimore for the convention mere hours after the signing was over.

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Art & Illustration Sometimes I Like Stuff

AKIRA Summer Fun

The little kid is Akira. That guy behind him is Joker. They’re both characters from Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA.

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Discussion & Analysis Sometimes I Like Stuff

Baltimore Con: REYOBIGS Edition

MangaSpidey2

I had a last minute chance to attend the Baltimore ComicCon this past Saturday. I was happy to have been able to make it even for just a day, which turns out to be the perfect amount of time to enjoy the show (unless you’re running a booth, of course). I caught up with Joe Keatinge for a bit (Mr. Glum thanks you, Joe!), which included giving me the Hard Sell to move to Portland. The rent situation actually made me reconsider for a second. Also, I got to meet Tom Scioli of Godland & the Myth of 8-Opus fame. I saw the original pages of his web comic, American Barbarian, and they were gigantic… probably the best way to read this comic.

In between booth hopping and catching up with folks, I dug up a few comics of interest.

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Art & Illustration Sometimes I Like Stuff

Reyobigs: Night Business, comics prison & my pure love

A few days ago, I bought some comic books and I felt so strongly about them that it compelled me to write about the experience. The first comic wasn’t great, to tell you the truth. Halfway through reading it, my suspicions were confirmed: what a load of horseshit. This low level, “bad ass” poseur drivel strikes a pose SO HARD that it shatters like crystallized mulch. I hated myself for giving this cliche ridden gem the benefit of the doubt… but what’s one to do? I had to try it out. Check it out for yourselves. Just go to your local comic shop and ask for — for — uh, I can’t believe it. The name escapes me.

Thankfully, I had apparently been saving the best for last. I’m sure you’ve seen the commercial or read all of the praise the book’s been getting, but NIGHT BUSINESS totally made my night. The creator behind it all is Benjamin Marra. You can say that Marra’s using “bad ass” tropes as well, but the thing that separates his work from the previously mentioned shitty comic is that Marra actually has a sense of humor. Equal parts old school Paul Gulacy and Faust’s Tim Vigil, Marra’s making his comics on his own terms with a dedication that’s pretty admirable. Thank God he’s not waiting around, hoping for a publisher’s permission to start his comic. And thank God he’s using newsprint. Oh, and wish him a happy birthday today, folks!

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