Making Comics - Communication

Communication is the key. The key to everything in life in fact. In how we maintain harmony in our relationships, better ourselves in our employment & social standing, and resolve conflicts as they arise. Communication is a important part of making a comic for without it you could end up with a sub-par comic or worse yet come to a standstill where nothing ever gets done and the comic is dead in the water.

As part of a creative team I've learned that I really need to work on my communication skills. On the project I'm working on now, as primarily as a writer & inker, I have to convey idea's, business, and needed corrections to the artist. And this I've learned can be a tricky thing or perhaps a better phrase such as 'double edged sword' would be more appropriate. If I say the wrong thing the artist will be mad for a month, but if I say nothing then the creative process will suffer and the comic will not be as good as it can be.

So learning to basically 'talk' really is key. For example, how do you tell an artist that he has drawn a hand too small? Or that the entire page he or she just drawn can't be used because it doesn't serve the story? You have to image that to the artist who has spent hours and days working on the pages in question that it feels like a slap in the face and is not the news they wanted to hear.
Sometimes at the risk of doing a sub-par comic the writer has to bite his lip from time to time and pick his battles with the artist so as not to create any undue resentment. Not that anyone should have in mind that they are going to battle, far from it. Time constraints of a deadline tend to add to the tension.

Communication is also a two-way street. There are times where the writer is just not clear about what they wanted in a page. Honestly, that is just nicer way of saying the writer probably did a terrible job at writing the plot for that said page. Writers can make mistakes too and sometimes don't fully consider the difficult task the artist has in bringing their story to life.  And I would image there are some writers who probably don't like having their writing critiqued by the artist, but there comes a time where that conversation may be had for the sake of the story.

Every one from writers, artist, inkers, colorist, and letters must communicate effectively to get their respective jobs done so as to work in unison to create something worth while that somebody may actually want to buy in some comic shop.

Here is what I learned, so far at least:

• Don't laugh or smile when you give critiques (when asked) or when you review someones work. That tends to make them defensive even though you meant nothing by it. The person your talking too may not realize it is a 'nervous laugh' and not a mocking one. 

• Keep your critiques simple and straight to the point. Don't drag it out, but make sure they understand what your talking about. 

• Sometimes a conversation over the comic or a critique can go sour. Rather than butting heads just drop the topic and resume that conversation for a later day when cooler heads prevail. 

• When it comes to someones art a lot of passion is involved. Be mindful of that. 

• Make the time to have a conversation about having better constructive dialog about the comic your creating together. Remind them that your partners and not advisories and that good dialog is going to lead to a better comic being made. 

• Know your creative teams limitations at their chosen craft and know when to push them and when to back off. 

• Be receptive about constructive criticism of YOUR OWN work. Its easy to criticize others people work, but you must be open to the same treatment. Rather than being defensive listen to see if their right about their assertions and learn from them. 

• Remind the people in your creative team that the goal is to make a comic people want to buy. Comics is a commercial  medium geared toward the masses reaching the broadest audience possible (assuming that is you want to make a few dollars). 

• Don't forget to praise what members of your creative team are DOING RIGHT! Good work, good attitude, and hard work should always be praised and rewarded. Society would be better for it if this was more wide spread. 

That's it. Communication is key for without it you wouldn't have a comic book (unless your a Kubert then you could do the whole thing yourself).

Top Ten - Reasons why Marvel Comics suck

"Disclaimer - If your not a fan of comics or have not followed what Marvel has been publishing throughout the decades, your probably not going to understand many of the references contained within". 


Some of my first comics as a child of the 80's were Transformers, a few issues of Conan, and a badly mangled copy of the Incredible Hulk which was missing the cover that was probably torn off by me (also during this time I was getting Superman and Batman, but lets keep this strictly Marvel Comics based). My undeveloped brain still wasn't quite 'self-aware' of it's self or surroundings.Very much like a little monkey running wild and throwing poop. I have no memory of actually reading these comics between the ages of 5-7. I must have just really enjoyed the pictures. But that was the early start to what would become a cherished hobby to this day.

My appetite for comics started to take form in the early 1990's. At that time I was really into horror movies (Friday the 13th's, Puppet Master, Army of Darkness, Nightmare on Elm Street...etc) and my taste in comics was reflecting that. I started collecting issues of Ghost Rider during the 'Spirit's of Vengeance' story arc. Ghost Rider was such a cool looking hero with his flaming skull, leather, chains, spikes, and motorcycle.Then you had Johnny Blaze in his trench coat looking rugged with his 90's hair cut and shot gun in tow. A lot of interesting things was happening in the comic at the time.  It was on the Fox Network that the animated series of The X-Men hit the tube and that is when I officially became a comic book addict! Not just watching the cartoon, but buying every single X-Men based comic I could get my hands on. I had missed the Jim Lee years when I first started reading the X-Men and I had started reading the books when writers Scott Lobdell, Larry Hama, and Fabian Nicieza were shaping the X-titles along with artist such as Andy Kubert, Adam Kubert, and Joe Madureia to name a few. It was a great time for comics.

Quite-a-bit has changed since the 90's. And I will argue most of it for the worst. I love the Marvel Universe so I write this not as some hit piece but more as a appeal to sanity and common sense on the part of Marvel. Though I doubt they would ever read this or even care. This article is for all of you that are as annoyed as I am. I've tried to search the internet for people who shared my views, but far too often the focus of many peoples opinions on what Marvel is doing wrong tends to be on one or two things.
I believe that is entirely in-correct. There is actually in my view a huge growing list of things that Marvel is doing wrong that is attributing to the eventual overall decline and health to Marvel Comics and the comic book industry itself.

Things such as $5 comics with prices continuing to rise, comic creators not staying on a book for longer than 6 issues, constant relaunches, lack of continuity in all the books of a shared universe, and lack of creative restraint (as odd as that may sound). Both Marvel and DC are guilty of this. And as a fan of both companies I think it is fair to say that both of them are following the same self-destructive idiotic path but in particular Marvel is currently the biggest offender of the two (with DC not far behind).
This traces back to the decision to make Joe Quesada Editor-in-Chief at Marvel which has had some positive and negative consequences to the books they publish. Things have only gotten worse since Disney purchased the company.

Below I provide at least 10 reasons why Marvel currently 'sucks'. 

#1 Too Many Relaunches - Just how many relaunches do we need before Marvel realize that they are mentally fatiguing their fans? And what was wrong with the books in the first place to even need relaunches? Marvel seems to be going through some type of undiagnosed disease called Rebootis First Issueidous. Some people are selective readers and maybe they haven't noticed in the past, but I think people are starting to take notice now that things have gotten out of hand with Marvels constant relaunches and reboots. Editors at Marvel have admitted that the all new #1's is nothing more than a marketing ploy to sell comics and further more they plan to continue the trend! The problem with that is it is only a temporary boost in sales with no lasting positive impact. Every time Marvel relaunches a series they are essentially alienating hardcore fans of that respective title. Often these relaunches don't pick up or acknowledge where the book left off and these relaunches don't keep the previous creative team. Basically it makes every other first issue you bought of a particular series feel more and more worthless than the one before it and those to come after.

Now lets take a look at a long winded example of Marvel going overboard with relaunching a series. The Incredible Hulk was first published in 1962. The series continued on for decades up to issue #474 in 1999. That is a long time. From the 60's to the 90's it was common both in Marvel and DC to have comics that were numbered in the five to six hundreds! But that was in a time when the 'Big Two' had saner heads at the helm.
So from 1962 to 1999 The Incredible Hulk had 474 issues. Then the book was relaunched  under the title 'Hulk' in 1999 with a all new #1 issue. Eventually the title 'Incredible' was added to the name. The book continued to be published from 1999 to 2007 when at issue #112 the Hulk was kicked out of his own book and it was renamed the 'Incredible Herc'. From there it gets more confusing. In 2008 the comic series 'Hulk' was released with a all new first issue. However this book didn't feature the Hulk, but a character simply referred to as the 'Red Hulk'. Yet again the fan favorite Hulk was kicked out of his own book and was used as a supporting character to Red Hulk. Marvel churned out a whopping 57 issues of 'Hulk' in 2008. So for roughly a year the real Hulk didn't have his own book. Way to go Marvel.


And then, in September of 2009, to make a quick buck, Marvel pretended they never did any previous relaunches and they came out with the Incredible Hulk issue #600. So since issue #474 they had to count all the other relaunches and reboots, and still the math doesn't quite add up right to equal 600 issues. The overdone multiple first issues and bizarre make believe issue #600 was a insult to long time readers who were quietly leaving the book that had become as bi-polar as the character himself.
So from issue #600 to #606 the book had a major change yet again. The title was changed from 'The Incredible Hulk' to 'The Incredible Hulk's'  (in the plural sense). The book had shifted to focusing on the Hulks family and supporting cast. This continued until issue #635 when in 2011 the book was relaunched again! Apparently sales were taken a dip due to story arcs that may have been over the top, filled to the brim with too many Hulks, and essentially no longer resembled the book that long time readers had enjoyed for decades. So of course sales probably dipped, and as usual it's time for an all new first issue, yay. This next relaunch of Hulk (Volume 4) only lasted for 15 issues before being relaunched and relaunched yet again. This time Marvel was doing a reboot of all their titles regardless if they had already been rebooted, relaunched, repackaged, and rebranded previously.
So in 2012 Marvel gave us The Indestructible Hulk, which wiggled it's way to issue #20. And by 2015, the Hulk was relaunched again as The Totally Awesome Hulk and as of the writing of this article is currently ongoing.

The Incredible Hulk (Volume One 1962-1999)  issues 1-474
Hulk (Volume Two 1999-2007) issues 1-112
Hulk (Volume Three 2008-2008) issues 1-57
The Incredible Hulk (2009-2011 mysterious return to Volume 1) #600-635
The Incredible Hulk (Volume Four 2011-2012) issues 1-15
The Indestructible Hulk (Volume Five 2012-2014) issues 1-20
The Totally Awesome Hulk (Volume Six 2015-?) Issues 1-? 

Six relaunches and the last couple a year or two between them. Wow. A bit much?!?

So how do you go from some 400 issues from 1962 to 1999 and  then to constant relaunches that happen every couple of years more frequently from the last relaunch?
If you do too much of the same thing then it takes away from the uniqueness of the action. When Marvel came out with all new first issues of Spider-Man and the X-Men in 90's, well those books had been on going for roughly 3 decades. So it had a big impact. And those books would not be relaunched again till almost a decade later. But now with relaunches every 2 to 3 years, its too much. Way too much. Maybe instead of relying on gimmicky marketing to boost sales for these books why doesn't Marvel try to focus on good storytelling with great creative teams who are invested in the respective books they are working on for at least 24 issues? How hard is that? I had just given the example of the negative impact constant and frequent relaunches have had to the Incredible Hulk title. What Marvel has done to that series is what they've done to their entire line of books (X-Men, Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Thor...etc) and it's going to hurt them long term as a publishing company and the readers who are rapidly loosing interest.

#2 Price - You don't need me to tell you that comics are just too damn high. Really. As we all know comics from Marvel cost $4.99. That's Five dollars for a single book! So yeah we're all gonna be selective and take fewer chances on newer books that we are unfamiliar with. Disregarding the fear of sounding old, I remember there was a time where I could dig for change in the couch and what I could find laying around loose in the house after which I could easily afford 2 or 3 comics at gas station, grocery store, or local pharmacy. I have lived to see the time when comics were 60¢, $1.25, $1.50, $1.75 and $1.99. It was in the late 90's (I keep going back to that don't I?) and the early millennium that comics cost $1.99 an issue. That felt a bit high back then, but still affordable. Roughly two bucks an issue. You could see the writing on the wall back then. So It came as no surprise that the cost for comics would continue to rise. But now, gee, publishing companies just don't mess around no more. They used to raise the price in increments, but now it goes up a full dollar every few years.

Either Marvel doesn't care (which I don't think that they do) or they are oblivious, the price of comics is outrageous. I remember in the 90's I would buy every X-book I could find along with Spider-man and Hulk. At that time the X-books were X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force, Cable, X-Factor (that sometimes I would skip), X-Man, Generation-X, and few annual's here and there. In total, I was buying roughly 10 to 12 books a month (some from other publishers).

How many books do I buy now a month? On average, 0. In my case I buy comics every three months and usually I only buy two at the most. That is a big drop in both quantity and frequency of purchase in my case and I don't think I am alone in that.

Most comic fans can grasp simple economics and understand that comics is a business and usually the price reflects the needs of that business. But, there comes a time when you start to question things. I understand inflation, but come on! What has brought us to this point?

Many people have forgotten the impact Diamond Comic Distributors had on the comics industry once they became the sole, one and only distributor for comics! The savvy Steve Geppi and his staff at Diamond Comic Distributors had started buying out their competition since the early 1980's. This continued all the way up 1995, when Marvel Comics challenged Diamond by purchasing Heroes World Distribution and started printing their comics in-house. But this failed for Marvel due to bad management and a couple of other failed ventures on the part of Marvel.



And after 1995 Diamond bought Heroes World Distribution from Marvel making them the one and only distributor for the entire comic book industry!

Now, let me say that I have no problem with big companies buying smaller companies and making smart investments. There is nothing wrong with that. That is how you know a company has really good smart management at the helm doing what they are supposed to be doing. The problem, however, becomes when there is no more competition in the market place. Which is what has happened. Without competition from other distributors, Diamond is free to charge what they want, which in the end reflects how much you pay for comics. This is why monopolies are bad for the consumer.

In 1997 this got the notice of the U.S Justice Department.  In the end nothing came of it. And in the words of a Wikipedia article that best sums it all up, "The investigation was closed in November 2000, with no further action deemed necessary on the basis that, although Diamond enjoyed a monopoly in the North American comic book direct market distribution, they did not enjoy a monopoly on book distribution (books including non-comic books)."

So basically the Justice Department agreed it was a monopoly, but because they don't take comics seriously, and it don't affect regular book publishers, well, they just laughed and closed the case. Government looking out for the small guy. (Sarcasm).

Don't get me wrong, I think Diamond Distributors is a fine company with probably some good people in their employ from top to bottom, but there can be no denying that having one distributor for all the comics in the civilized world is not a good thing and the rise in prices shows.

One other thing to consider about the price of comics. Warner Brothers and Disney. To film studio powerhouses. Warner Brothers who own DC Comics and Disney who owns Marvel Comics. These two film studios have vast amounts of money. They have enough money to where each could start their own distribution companies for comics if they wanted too. However they won't. Want to hear my opinion as to why? Because Warner Brothers and Disney don't give two flying craps about comics. They don't. What they do care about is intellectual properties that have a established fan base that they can make movies, merchandise, and cartoons about. That is where the money is at for them. Comic books represents to them an endless well of ideas that are cheap to pull from to make millions on the big screen. So that is another reason why the price of comics is never 'reeled in'. They are not worried about competing for your dollars at the comic shop because they are competing for your dollars at the cinema.

Either Marvel doesn't care (which I don't think that they do) or they are oblivious, the price of comics is hurting the entire industry. I remember in the 90's I would buy every X-book I could find along with Spider-man and Hulk. At that time the X-books were X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force, Cable, X-Factor (that sometimes I would skip), X-Man, Generation-X, and few annual's here and there. In total, I was buying roughly 10 to 12 books a month (some from other publishers).

How many books do I buy now a month? On average, 0. In my case I buy comics every three months and usually I only buy two at the most. That is a big drop in both quantity and frequency of purchase in my case and I don't think I am alone in that.



#3 Creative teams leave too early -  The days when you could pick up your favorite comic and know you will be greeted by the masterful works of a creative team that you really like are over. Of course I am referring to the Writer & Artist duo's that bring life to some of your favorite characters in comics. It's a rare thing to see two comic book creators staying on the same book for a extended period of time. Remember what it was like when writer Larry Hamma and artist Adam Kubert worked on Wolverine together for several years? How about writer Chris Claremont and artist John Bryne on the Uncanny X-Men? Or Roy Thomas with John Buscema on the Avengers? And on and on it goes. But near the start of the new millennium that was the beginning of the end of that trend. Now creative teams only work together for 5 or 6 issues. That's it. Usually the writers will stay on a book for a full 12 issue run, but not the artist. On a business standpoint you want to keep the creative teams together that make you the money. Common sense. Sports teams have players sign multi-year contracts and although Marvel has something similar they do not however try to keep creative teams on the same book for an extended period of time. This is in part due to Marvel wanting to double their output of comics a month by having multiple artist contribute to a single series (a terrible mistake and just an all around dumb idea).  That decision was made several years ago, though I'm unsure if they stuck with it. Apparently it has had a lasting impact as you don't see mainstay creative teams anymore. One quick example is the creative team of Rick Remender and John Cassaday who did great work together on Uncanny Avengers. It was a great book where both the writer and artist were equals creating a story that was worth returning too and might I add, respectful to the roots and nature of these well established characters of the Marvel Universe. However, they only worked together for like at least 5 issues and 7 at the most. Really disappointing as this creative team could have done great things together.

 Rick Remender (writer) & John Cassaday (artist) only did a handful of issues of Uncanny Avengers

As I said before, usually it is around 6 issues that a writer and artist team will work together. There are some exceptions, but increasingly rare. Artist will tell you that it takes a while for them to build 'a stride' or a comfort level with whatever book they are drawing. It took Jim Lee several issues of drawing Batman before he found a good approach to rendering the character. There are so many advantages to keeping a creative team together than the constant in & out that we see today.



#4 Lack of Continuity - From the 1960's all the way up to the late 90's Marvel had continuity between all their books. The Marvel Universe truly was a shared universe where all the Marvel characters could interact and there was consequences for those interactions no matter how benign. Here is a couple of examples off the top of my noggin: In the 90's Wolverine lost his adamantium laced skeleton in the pages of the X-Men and this story continued in Wolverines own book. In a another storyline the X-Men were fighting Onslaught who had just taken over New York with the use of Sentinels and in the pages of Spider-Man Spidey was fighting or avoiding the very same Sentinels. While these two examples are not the best in the world they do however illustrate a shared universe between all these characters, hence the word Continuity.
Sometime in the early 2010's a decision was made by Marvel to disregard continuity and focus on self contained stories. This, in my opinion, had a disastrous effect on the company and some long time readers such as my self.
I remember during this time Wolverine had been brainwashed by Hydra into assassinate various characters in the Marvel Universe. At some point he killed then X-Man NorthStar. However in the pages of X-Men published the same month Wolverine was fighting with the X-Men against some type of supervillian. What?!? He just killed a team mate, and it's business as usual? Even though self contain stories do offer some creative freedom, lack of oversight on the part of the editors is inexcusable.
One other selling point to have a continuity between all the books is the fact it leads to great sales. Sometimes to find out the rest of a storyline you have to read another title altogether. For example, in the past you could read any of the Spider titles (Peter Parker Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Web of Spider...etc) and all the story's would interconnect with one another in complete harmony. The same could be said for any of the X-Books (X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, Generation X, Cable...etc).

Continuity in my opinion leads to better stories with bigger pay off. Sure, from a writers perspective it can be a bit restraining, but anything worth doing isn't always easy.



#5 Over Saturated Market - Just how many Deadpool titles does Marvel need? How many Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man....etc?  At one point before Wolverine was being milked for all he was worth (before they killed him) and they were publishing around 4 books on the character. FOUR BOOKS?!? Thats a bit much for one character an't it? Let see if I can remember, there was Wolverine, Weapon-X, Wolverine & the X-Men, and Savage Wolverine. There may have been another, but I really don't feel like doing the research on it.

Deadpool is the new cow Marvel is milking and it's only going to get worse. Over saturating the market with the combined lack of continuity between the books leaves readers feeling confused, overwhelmed, and uninterested in what Marvel is putting out. I propose this: How about Marvel put out one Avengers book, one Deadpool book, one Spider-man book....etc? There is an old expression 'sometime less is more'.

Instead of focusing on quantity the emphasis should be on QUALITY. Top notch writers and artist sticking to one title for a one or two year commitment where the focus is on telling great stories instead of marketing ploys and flooding the market with too many titles.



#6  Too Many Big Events - Some people would use the terminology 'Crossover' , but I believe I believe 'Big Event' might be a somewhat better word. These huge crossover/big events may have started with Jim Shooters Secret Wars from 1984-1985. A big shared universe event, to my knowledge, had never been done in Marvel up to that point. What is a 'big shared universe event' or 'Big Event'? Basically any large grand scale event where all the protagonist or in this case superhero's from different backgrounds/books come together to fight a common foe nor deal with a earth shattering crisis. In the case of Secret Wars it involved the entire Marvel Universe which consisted of Fantastic Four, X-Men, Hulk, Avengers, Spider-Man...etc. It was a fresh new exciting thing that I don't believe the company had ever tried before or at least at that magnitude.

Secret Wars (2016)

Since that time big block buster events in the Marvel Universe happen every year. EVERY YEAR. As sure as Summer is around the corner you can expect a major villain or earth shattering event to threaten the hero's of the Marvel Universe. With frequency of these big events there is no recovery period for neither the heroes of the Marvel Universe nor the readers to digest or process the experience. The problem with these 'big events' is that when you do too many of them they become fatiguing. And some cases they actually make light of the events that happened before.
Reminds me a bit of the cartoon Dragon Ball Z where the hero's face off against a foe who is the strongest opponent they have ever faced. They beat the villain and life returns to normal. Then there is another villain who is even stronger than the last. They eventually beat him and life returns to normal. This vicious cycle in Dragon Ball Z makes all former villains in the series seem weak despite all the previous epic battles of survival had taken place due to the havoc they caused.

There is a place for huge crossovers and big events in comics, but timing is everything. The characters effected by these events need time to process and deal with the fallout and repercussions which should make excellent material for any good writer and a good read for any fan.

Rather than give a history lesson on the subject I will refer you to a Wikipedia list that is far more detailed than I possible have the patience for.

List of Marvel Crossovers and Big Events


#7 Lack of Creative Restraint - Some of you may agree with me while others may not, but I think it is fair to say that Marvel has very little restraint on the storylines they create. Stories that are constantly trying to upstage the last in outrageous and off-the-wall different material. The problem with that is Marvel doesn't take the time to nurture story lines as they once did as story's are becoming more and more rushed to get ready for the next 'Big Blockbuster Summer Event' that they usually do every year.
Also there are times when Marvel takes a easy way out of shaking things up in a title without doing the hard work required to build to greater payoff for the reader.

This is hard to explain. My best example is as follows:
A few years ago Marvel decided to kill the Punisher and unless I'm mistaken he was literally torn to pieces. What made the Punisher such a cool different type of hero is first off, he was one of the first anti-hero's ( a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, and morality at times). Second the Punisher had no super powers. He was a regular flesh and blood guy who had been pushed to seek vengeance and justice which was refreshing take on the superhero genre in Marvel consider most of their comics are about people with superpowers doing good. Here was a guy who used guns, smarts, and a little big of brawn to get what he needs. The Punisher is a book that is a little more realistic, in my view, to the superhero genre.

After the Punisher is butchered by Daken who is the son of Wolverine he is later revived as a Frankenstien type of monster and given a new book called Frankencastle. Now I will be honest about this I did enjoy the concept and the series as a whole. My problem is it ruins the character. The nature of the character being a non-super powered person doing amazing things. After all, Marvel already has a Frankenstien type of character in Dethlok. The best way this should have been handled in my opinion would have been to revived the 'What If'' series and made this a major feature. Or make FrankenCastle part of the Ultimates universe. That way you could have your cake and eat it too. 
Creativity is a great and necessary thing in comics, but when you take away any semblance of common sense and unrestricted creativity you end up with a recipe for disaster that results in ignoring continuity with other books in a shared universe, damaging a long built up characters ethos, too many big crossover events, and being constantly over-the-top which causes reader fatigue. This point has been difficult to explain, but still valid if you give it some thought. 






#8 Marvel doesn't listen to it's readers -


Though this is seldomly talked about it if ever, I think it is fair to say Marvel is increasingly listening to their audience less and less. Perhaps the start of this was the elimination of the letters page in all of their comics. The letters page was a window into what readers were thinking and feeling. It was a great way to get fans more immersed  into the books and characters they cared about as well as building a sense of community. You knew you were not the only fan by reading the letters page. It was a great and probably overlooked feature.
As expected the mail probably began to dwindle with the coming of the digital age, but with that said there is email which is instantaneous communication and delivery. The letters column was also a great way to tease upcoming events with readers through a quick Q&A. I've always enjoyed the letters page and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It was a shame they got rid of it but they could just as easily bring it back. And, isn't it interesting that minus the letters page that the cost of Marvel publications is still high? You would think it they would be cheaper.
Marvel is currently flooding the comic book market with drivel that would better serve as kindling for the  winter. Everyone is tired of relaunches and reboots. But the attitude at Marvel seems to be 'Take it or Leave it'. Well, people are leaving it. In droves. And it is only going to get worse.
I guess the reason I started with the letters page argument is because Marvel today does not have a open dialog with it's readers. Which is not only odd, but utterly stupid. You can't just look at sales and guesstimate what people want to read. The simplest solution is ask them and listen to them. Right now as far as I know there is no open lines of communication between the publisher Marvel and it's soon to be dwindling readers. And sadly, I don't believe this is going to change.


#9 No synergy between the comics and movies/animation -

 It doesn't make much sense to have a movie about the Avengers that is made up of Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, Hulk, and Hawkeye but yet in the comic there is only a old Captain America that is part of the team. What's wrong with that? Well this might seem a bit nick picky but if your trying to promote a brand you have to be consistent with what your product is. Kids who watch the movie and later go out to buy a Avengers comic are going to be confused because the Avengers in the comic have nothing to do with what they saw and loved on the big screen. Now granted everything doesn't have to be exact, but the general idea, premise, and overall characters need to be their. The movies that Marvel is putting out should help build a future reader base with this generation of kids.



When I was kid I loved the X-Men cartoon on the Fox Network. It had great stories, great characters, good animation, and great voice actors. And to this day when I read any X-Men book those voices from the cartoon are going through my head. Me watching that cartoon lead me to buy the comics. And those comics had the same characters that saw on the TV. That in a sense is the synergy that I'm talking about. That is why it is important. The movies and the cartoons are essentially marketing for the comic books. But if what we see in the movies and cartoons is not reflective of the comic books then the comics in the long run is going to suffer in building new readership for the next generation. Common sense really. There are those who argue that synergy hasn't shown any direct correlation with a boost in sales, but I would argue that synergy is not a short term investment but rather a investment for the future.

#10 Mickey Mouse has no interest in publishing comics -

One of the worst decisions Marvel ever made was putting themselves up for sale to Disney and at at time where they were becoming extremely profitable due to Marvel Studio's. It just didn't make sense to me to sell the company when it could have grown even bigger than what it was. Now, Marvel is just one tentacle, I'm sorry, one division among many that Disney owns. Speaking of what Disney owns:
 Marvel Studios, Marvel Comics,  Lucas Film (Star Wars Franchise), ESPN, ABC, A&E Network, Lifetime, History Channel, Hulu (32% stock), Touchstone Pictures, and Pixar Animation Studio's just to name a few.
Mickey Mouse controls a vast empire. And that empire runs on vast amounts of cash as you would imagine. Here is something to thing about; Why did Disney buy Marvel? They don't really need Marvel Studio's to make movies for they already have studio's to do just that. They don't need a publishing company because they have enough money to start their own. So what was Mickey Mouse interested in?
Intellectual Properties.
They wanted Marvel for it's former namesake, the 'House of Ideas'. Endless ideas and beloved characters to make movies, t-shirts, theme park rides, cartoons and whatever else about.
And your wondering what is wrong with that? Nothing for the most part except the most important which is they, in my opinion, are NOT INTERESTED IN MAKING COMICS. Zero interest.
In fact I'm willing to wager that Mickey Mouse and his corporate heads see the publishing side (comics) of Marvel as a financial loss more than anything. The amount of work and dedication it takes to build and maintain a successful printing company is daunting. And in the digital age where everything is instant you have to make sure your product is great and worth the wait. Mickey Mouse an't got time for that.

I further submit that many of the relaunches and reboots in Marvel Comics comes from some head goon's at Disney. Why? They are constantly looking for fresh idea's for film and animation. Comics to them is a testing ground for new idea's in which they are probably looking at sales and charts to figure out what people want. One such example is them experimenting with race, sexual orientation, and sexual preference of Marvel Characters to what they hope would draw money one day at the box office. It's not out of some high ideal's or moral standards that Disney is probably making Marvel turn Thor into a Girl or replacing Spider-Man with a black hispanic teen or the Falcon as Captain America all the while alienating long time fans of the original characters that they grew up with and loved. Let's continue this detour as this point further illustrates how Disney is just Frankenstiening Marvel characters in an attempt to create more interest in Marvel based movies without a care to what it does to a already well established comic book universe that has been about now for 60 years give or take a few.

Though at this point some will say I sound sexist or racist (which I'm not), I, as a long time fan can't understand why Marvel can't create NEW and ORIGINAL Black, Indian, Asian, Hispanic, Women, Gay, Lesbian......Superhero's. They did it to some extent with a new Ms.Marvel in the form of Kamala Khan who is both Arab and of the Muslim faith. Although it is using a pre-existing character concept, but in this case it works as Ms.Marvel has never really been a beloved character before hand. Personally, I love the comic Ms.Marvel! It's a great book (if you haven't read it you should, it feels like classic teenage Spider-Man for the new generation). At least get the trade paperback.

Its really not that hard to create original new ethnic superhero's. Here let me give it a shot off the top-of-my-head........how about a Asian teen who is outside one night looking at the stars and gets hit by a comet gaining the powers of flight and super strength, but he is not invulnerable like Superman and he is growing deathly ill every time he uses his powers. How about that!?! Plenty of drama, lots to work with as writer, sounds like a good character, and it doesn't destroy a pre-existing one.
I would feel the same way about the issue if they made Storm white, Bishop white, Colossus into a french guy, Luke Cage a white guy, Black Panther a white rich man in North America....etc. I wouldn't like that at all. It's not necessary and makes light of well established characters. Its not a issue of race or sexism but rather respecting already existing characters and concepts. We need new and original hero's and not recycled ones.
Marvel can create somewhat new hero's/heroine's, but I don't think Disney is up for totally brand new ORIGINAL characters. Instead the focus is on recycling beloved characters for either the sake of it or to see what 'sticks'.

Disney has found a play ground for idea's that they can pillage for movies and cartoons. Also you have to consider that basically they have found a endless well of underpaid artist and writers to create new concepts for very little money compared to what is paid in the film industry. I can imagine a Disney executive going to a movie writer and saying, "Were interested in hiring you, but your asking too much money. Most of the concepts, ideas, and plot is already written in our publishing division (Marvel), and really all we need you to do is condense it down into a one hour movie, and not for what your asking ($$$)".

Again, Disney didn't buy Marvel to make comic books. They didn't buy Marvel because they are fans of superhero's or the 60 plus years of Marvel ethos that had been created by hundreds of writers and artist. Disney bought Marvel (for a low figure of $400 million for a company that is really worth billions) so that can make movies, cartoons, licensing of intellectual properties, and new theme park rides based on the characters of the Marvel Universe. That is it. All that is great and fine an dandy except the one thing that makes it all possible, comics, is at the bottom of their priorities. They don't care that sales are low (during the time of this article they are) and will continue to get low. And they could care less as long as they get the 'fresh' new idea's for everything else that they are into.


Prediction: Mickey Mouse will continue to milk this cow called Marvel Comics until they lose plenty of money publishing garbage at which point they will go full digital where they will only sell Marvel comic books online as ebooks. Sound too far fetched? Not really. They have everything they want already with intellectual properties. Publishing to them is probably more of a headache and a money pit. So don't expect Disney, ahem, Marvel to be listening to the fans anytime soon or making any changes that long time fans will love. Marvel is now a 'Take it or leave it' company.
Expect sometime in the future for Image Comics to become the #1 publisher in the industry with DC being a distant second, Marvel probably being tied to 3rd place with another publisher (Valiant maybe?).

I hope Marvel turns around and makes changes, but truly that is probably not going happen.

 

Top Ten - Comic Artist that should make Tutorials

As a isolated struggling aspiring comic artist the need for really good 'how to' tutorials becomes essential. Especially in light of not living anywhere near any great art schools or comic conventions that one could get good tips and advice from. Most of the 'how to draw' books, video's, and DVD's that are out there fall short of their promise and are nothing more than basic tips that most people learn after drawing the first few years.
Perhaps the reason that so few good tutorials or books on how to draw for comics or fantasy exist is likely because there may not be that many good teachers in the field. Meaning, you can have 1000 great artist, but out of that 1000 only 30 are good teachers. And out of that 30 probably only one will take the time to make a book or video about it.

And lets not fool ourselves here. Even the best made books on the subject often leave you scratching your head with less answers and more questions. And of course, no matter how many books and DVDs you own, none of them can make you a artist. Only time and effort can.

The subject at hand came up with a discussion with a close friend. It's one of those classic hypotheticals where you can  pick anybody in the world for whatever the scenario might be. In this case it was who would be some of the top artist we would like to see make video tutorials sharing some of their tips, tricks, technique, and advice. Well after a little thought, here is my list. It is not ranked in any order. I pretty much put this together as artist came to my mind. I will try to play the hypothetical part of 'director' for each of these artist in terms of what I would hope they will actually teach in their respective tutorials.

Frank Millers 'Sin City'

1. Frank Miller - Miller is perhaps one of the most experimental and continually evolving artist in comics. His style has shifted throughout the years to reflect both his skill and willingness to experiment. From his days on DareDevil, to the Dark Knight graphic novels, and to his creator owned work of Sin City Miller has shown considerable growth as an artist to which of many of his peers have sought to emulate in one way or another. Jim Lee's run on 'Deathblow' is one example.
A good tutorial by Miller should feature his expertise in the use of light and shadow displaying his ability to create eye grabbing contrast that few can copy. His innovative layouts give the reader a grand theatrical scope and feel making his stories larger than life.
Light & Shadow as well as layouts would indeed make a killer tutorial by Mr. Miller. 


 2. Arthur Adams - Known for his work on X-Men,

Longshot, Fantastic Four, Monkeyman & O'Brien, and various one shots and covers, Arthur Adams is a monster of an artist. There is a little, if anything, this man can't draw and render beautifully. His sense of detail can even put the mighty Jim Lee at shame at times while at other times he knows when 'less is more' in terms of details. His catchy and infectious line work has influenced many of the industry greats such as Jim Lee, J.Scott Campbell, and Erik Larsen just to name a few.
The best use of Adam's skill in a video tutorial would be showing his abilities in rendering things such as fire, smoke, rubble, holes in buildings, speed lines, destruction, clouds, various weather, and of course his specific rendering style for female and male characters. And lets not forget his wonderfully drawn classic monsters, everything from Godzilla, King Kong, to aliens, b-movie monsters to anything in-between. 

3. Kelley Jones - I think I first became of aware of Kelley Jones from his work on a four issue limited series on Venom (one of Spider-Man's rouge gallery). In the limited series Venom fought the X-Men villian Juggernaught. How cool is that? But of course everyone remembers Jones from his run on Batman. And what a run it was. Fresh off the heels of the Knightfall storyline where Batman gets his back broken by the muscle bound Bane is where we are presented with a new terrifying vision of the Dark Knight. One where Batman is no longer this silly crime fighter who fights in broad daylight along side other superhero's throwing out cheesy one liners. No, Jones Batman is more like a demonic thing on a mission. Always sticking to the shadows and not above using violence or fear to achieve his ends. Its clear to any novice that Kelley Jones has studied the master of horror Bernie Wrightson to some extent. Although the influence is evident Jones still has his own thing going on artistically.
Jone's use of light and shadow and his expertise of horror based story telling is something sorely lacking in today's comic artist tool box. I would wager one hour's worth of a quality lesson from him could potentially equate to a decades worth of value.


4. Erik Larsen - A true comic book fan if there ever was one. Erik Larsen has been drawing comics since he
was a child where he would draw a couple of pages of his creation Savage Dragon, staple it together, and share with friends. He has drawn for Marvel, DC, and of course Image Comics (of which he is a co-founder). Known best for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man and The Savage Dragon. What earns him a place on those top ten artist to make a tutorials list is the fact that he embraces everything that makes comics fun; action, big guns, explosions, fights, witty dialog, strong women, and off the wall insanity! The Savage Dragon became Larsen's outlet for creative expression where his only limits are the one's he puts on himself. His art much like his stories continue to evolve. His earlier work resembled John Bryne's with a mix of Arthur Adams and possibly a dash of Walter Simonson for flavor. These days his works resembles invokes a lot of Jack Kirby, Walter Simonson, Mike Mignolia, and Herb Trimpe. There are other influences too that are still prevalent in his current work, but I really don't want to list them all! Needless say he studies everyone and borrowing a bit here and there from people.
Larsen would truly shine in a comic book art tutorial by showing us how to convey 'action' in a scene using both characters and backgrounds. His use dynamic poses that are a tried and true standard for any superhero genre artist. And finally, his Kirbyistic backgrounds and monsters are a welcome homage to the 'King' as well as a treat to fan's. If Erik Larsen couldn't make a good tutorial, then I don't know who could.

5. Arthur Suydam - Suydam has been around for a while but only in recent times has he achieved the notoriety that he deserves. Old school fans may know him for his work on Mudwogs, Heavy Metal Magazine, Penthouse Comix, and House of Mystery (to name a few). In 2005-2006 Marvel Comics released a five issue limited series called Marvel Zombies where a world wide zombie virus has infected the world including all the superhero's and villians of the Marvel Universe. Although Suydam never done the interiors he did do all six covers. I would argue those covers reinvigorated career and introduced him to a new generation of fans. The Maxx creator and artist Sam Keith credits him as one of his influences.
Tutorial wise, it would be great to see his approach to mix media; his use of water colors, acrylics, and oil based paints as well as his composition and layouts methodology.



6. Adam & Andy Kubert - to say some good tutorials by these two

are long overdue would be a bit of a understatement. Considering the fact that they are the sons of comic legend Joe Kubert, they are both teachers at Kubert School of Cartooning, and they both have amazing careers in comics spanning decades who could be possibly more qualified than these two? Which it is surprising they haven't done any tutorials yet when you factor in that the Joe Kubert School already has six tutorial videos for purchase on their website (all of which are done by their dad Joe). Why haven't new tutorials been made by the brothers? Questions aside, both men have worked on books such as: X-men, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Kazar, Superman, Batman...etc.
Having been both active professionals for several decades now as well as teachers in the field who better to have tutorial videos? A course on anatomy, storytelling, coloring, inking, and perspective that either goes in greater depth than their dad or shows things Joe may have missed would be killer to see indeed.

7. John Byrne - One of the most influential artist of the 80's and early 90's, John Byrnes has a left a big mark on the comic book industry like a impact crater from an an asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Like the legends before him, first with Jack Kirby, then later with Neal Adams, Byrnes became a huge influence on some of the greatest artist of the 90's. Artist such as Jim Lee, Erik Larsen, Dale Keown, Todd McFarland (to name a few) and under appreciated artist such as Dan Jurgens and Tom Grummett. A powerhouse not just with the pencil but also in terms of his writing ability where he can tell both self contained stories and big story arcs while never loosing focus on character development and common sense. He portfolio includes: Fantastic Four, the X-men, The Incredible Hulk, Alpha Flight, She Hulk, The West Coast Avengers, Spider-Man, Superman...etc. To be honest if I could get a hour long video of Byrnes showing his approach to drawing comics I would be beyond thrilled!



8. Adam Hughes - What Dale Keown and Bart Sears are for drawing muscle dude's is what

Adam Huges is to drawing the female form in all it's glory. When compared to J.Scott Campbell, Michael Turner, Arthur Adams, and Marc Silvestri, Mr. Hughes doesn't quite get the same attention as these other great artist who render women with such beauty and ease. But having said that Hughes brings a realism, fun, and subtlety sexy to all of the women that he draws when in comparison to other artist. And unlike other artist Hughes hasn't capitalized on his abilities as an artist when compared to others in his field. For example J.Scott Campbell often drawsa female centric cast of characters (Gen 13 & Danger Girl), which is his specialty. Hughes for one reason or another has not done that or at least consistently. He does however draw sketch books and sketches at conventions that highlight his prowess at drawing women. 
A great tutorial on drawing, coloring, and poses of women would be without a doubt a best seller. 

9. Bill Sienkiewicz - like Jim Steranko before him, Bill Sienkiewicz helped to re-define what is possible as an artist in the comic book medium. Known mostly for his cover work on Marvels the New Mutants in the 80's, Sienkiewicz would go on to do many other covers for Marvel. These covers were works of art in their own right that one would expect to be hung in any museum around the world. Dabbling on the borders of the abstract Sienkiewicz wizard like control of colors and reckless abandonment results in work that few could possibly imitate. A video showing his use of water colors, acrylics and oils would be a sight to behold and hopefully something someone could learn from.



10. George Perez -  known more for his uncanny ability to cram over a hundred superhero's on a single page than compared to his stylistic sensibilities George Perez is a industry veteran that has left his mark in every company he has ever worked for. Most people instantly connect his name to his pencils on the Teen Titans and sometime later the Avengers. Personally I like the work he did for Malibu Comics on the Break Thru storyline and the few issues he did of the I-bot's for Techno Comix. His credits as an artist are endless. Why he tops the top ten of this list is he is a great story teller, great with layouts, great with covers, wonderful eye for details, and his amazing ability to cram a lot of characters in a single space. A George Perez tutorial would be well worth anyone's time and money. 






Well that's it. This is the list. Now, please note that this is my OWN PERSONAL LIST. This isn't some list complied through some national survey or any other means other than personal taste. And as I said before some of the people on this list happen to pop in my mind and I thought 'Great, I'll throw them on there'. Others are a no-brainer. There were a few artist that didn't make the list for one reason or another. Artist such as Sam Keith, Bernie Wrightson, Todd McFarland, Greg Capullo, Jim Lee, Norm Breyfogle, Marc Silvestri...etc. But I tried to pick people that it might be possible to get a tutorial from or at the very least really, really, really, should do one at the mercy for future generation of artist. Some people may have be excluded for health reasons or inability to finish things in a timely manner or would probably never consider doing a tutorial. At any rate, hope you enjoyed my list. I would love to hear what your list is and why. If you got time comment below.

Making Comics - Part 1

'The Zombie' by Brian Smallwood

My interest tend to be all over the place. Whether that be guitar, drawing, painting, writing, photography, film making...and on and on it goes. But the one common thread that holds them together is they are all creative outlets. Multiple uses of expression.
Of these creative outlets, drawing, and in particular penciling I would like to make a career of. Even though I'm open minded to having success in any field, this particular area of interest is where I wish to focus my attention. In particular, Comics.
So finally I get to the point!

Comics is a passion I've carried with me since childhood. It was in the 3rd grade in Elementary School  that I decided that I wanted to be a comic artist. Deciding this is half the battle, become one is where the true work begins. There is so many hoops to go through, trials and tribulations, and disappointments to endure, but if you truly love something then it's worth it. And it's worth it to me.

One big hurdle is getting your foot in the door in the comic industry, just getting people to notice you and your work. And there are so many talented people out there that your competing for the same audience that it makes it difficult to get noticed. So becoming comic artist, in my opinion, is a war of will and attrition. How bad do you want it, are you willing mentally to suffer for it, and how long are you willing wait?

The thing I've learn is it takes a long time to break into the industry with the major publishers. They get hundreds of packages from people like (or you assuming you draw) and they don't sift through them all. Most only look at your portfolio's only at comic conventions. So what do you do?
Artist Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon, Amazing Spider-man, Defenders) has the answer: "You draw comics". Really?!? Is that all it takes? What does he mean when he says  'draw comics'?  Well without hunting the direct quote down, he is basically saying stop making your main focus trying to work for the big boys (Marvel, DC, IDW, Darkhorse...etc) and just draw your own comics. Make up your own stories, your own characters, and just make your own comics.

Can it be that simple? Yes. These days more artist and writers get noticed and hired by the Big Boys for the work that they had done on their creator owned stuff. And lets look at this way. If your just drawing 5 pages of sequentials (drawings that tell a story) and just hoping to get noticed as well as get critiques, then you can only get so far. What are you going to do if you do get hired and you have to draw a 22 page book in a month when your only used to doing 5 pages at a whack?
See what I'm saying?
So Erik Larsen is right. You (assuming you draw as well as myself) need to make the main focus on drawing your own original stuff that is around at least 20 pages and hopefully impose your own deadlines for when you finish each project.

Another great example of the value of doing things yourself is in the figure of Jim Valentino (Guardians of the Galaxy, Shadow Hawk, Publisher of Image Comics). Jim in the early 90's was talked into leaving Marvel Comics to found a new comic company where creators retain the rights to their creations and have the potential to make more of the money they deserve. Of these creators to leave with Jim was Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarland, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio, and Jim Lee. Together they would found Image Comics.
Valentino unlike most of the Image Founders had experience creating and publishing his own comics. This experience became valuable and asset to the Image Founders later on or at the very least Valentino himself.

Jack 'the King' Kirby drawing, inking, and coloring at his work desk.

Drawing your own stuff is only going to make you better. You will learn a lot for your going to have to constantly figure out ways to draw things your not familiar with (assuming your challenging yourself and going beyond your comfort zone). Maybe your make believe hero is flying over water but you've never drawn water before. So, you figure it out. You find references and doodle. That's how it's done.
The advantages of drawing your creations is your going to get faster at draw, get more confident that you can do it, get more experience at drawing different things, and start to build a good portfolio. All these things are null and void though if you do not challenge yourself. You must always challenge yourself. Because that is not only how you grow as an artist but also as a human being. Draw things your not comfortable with. Draw things you've never drawn before. Don't just focus on your strengths but challenge your weaknesses. That is how you get good at your chosen craft.

No matter how many 'how to draw' books you have, no matter how many 'how to draw' dvd's you have, no matter the connections you make, no matter how well you promote yourself on social media, all is pointless unless YOU DO. Be a do'er.  These things that I've mentioned will not magically make you a comic artist. The bottom line is you must draw and draw a lot. That is biggest advice you will get from comic artist.

One of my favorite authors, Louis Lamour, was constantly writing. He didn't care if any of his stuff got published or not (though I'm sure he'd prefer to have it published) for he was focused on writing. He wrote. He wrote for the love it, he wrote to figure out new ways to write better, he wrote out of habit, out of boredom, sometimes he forced himself to write when he didn't want too, and of course sometimes he got paid to write. Though I'm sure if this is a quote, I believe I read somewhere that he said something to the effect of  "If you want to be a writer, you write".

There is a overlooked movie by Sean Connery that came out around 2000. It is called "Finding Forester". Now this movie isn't that great but having said that it is good and worth watching. It was on Netflix there for a while so you might want to give it a view in light of this article. Finding Forester has a similar theme to the movie "Goodwill Hunting" (1997) except one of the main supporting cast is helping a brilliant mathematician in Goodwill Hunting, where in Finding Forester it is about helping a writer realize his potential.

 In Finding Forester, Sean Connery plays this recluse who lives in an apartment in a rough part of the city. A seemingly urban kid breaks into his apartment, almost gets caught, panics, and leaves in a hurry leaving behind his backpack. Inside this backpack is his journal or essays (can't remember). Long story short the two become friends. Mentoring one another. Sean Connery helps the kid become a better writer and the kid helps him assimilate back into society. About mid way into the movie Connery challenges the kid to write in his apartment everyday. To which kid replies "What do I write about?" Connery ain't having his shit. He tells him to write about anything. The kid don't know what he wants to write about. So Connery slams a book in front of him and says "Here, copy this." After a bit of a back and forth of the merits of it Connery eventually explains that the kid needs to copy his words until he can FIND HIS OWN WORDS.
Now I've seen this movie on tv probably 4 times in my life, but for some reason that line finally stuck out to me. If you have to copy what someone else is doing word for word, line for line, action by action, frame by frame..etc...then you do it. Other wise you will always be sitting there trying to figure out what you should draw, what you should write, what you should do....etc.
Ain't got no time for that.

So the kid copy's the first couple of paragraphs and eventually he did find his own words and wrote 20 or 30 pages of his words. All it took was to get in 'the groove' , in the habit of being a writer.
Well my friends, no matter what your passion is get in the habit of doing it. Whether it's copying someone else's work (as long as you don't claim it's your own) or doing something original or derivative, it don't matter. YOU MUST DO.  So go out and find your own words my friend. I know I am trying to find mine.

Well this challenge is to myself and to those of you that draw too (or whatever else); if you want to be a artist, you draw. It's as simple as that. After all the talk, all the day dreaming, and networking, it all comes down to you drawing. That's it. Whether that be for a hour a day or 10 minutes that's up to you. Whether it's everyday or every other day that's up to you. But if you want to be a comic artist and you want to get good you have to put the time and effort in  it. There is no substitute.
I encourage you to please re-read this post. Maybe over time you will find new things to gleam from it that you missed or maybe just wasn't ready for yet. I know in 'Finding Forester' after casually watching the movie 4 times over the years I missed that important lesson of finding your own words. But I am grateful it finally came to me.

In summary, this post will be part of a series on 'Making Comics'. Of course this is part 1. I don't know how many I will do. I could do 5 or 10 or 30....etc. It really depends on if I find anything worth sharing or talking about. For the most part these post will serve to document my journey as artist, writer, inker, and whatever and the evolving process I go through. Maybe you can gleam something from it or at least find it interesting.
Here's to 'Finding your own words' (lifts Pepsi can in the air).

Top 10 Bands - 'That You Need to Listen Too' ( #1)

In writing this piece, this list is more for myself than anything. Often we are bombarded by technology and competing influences and a lot of cool things get lost in the shuffle. And with that said, here is my Top 10 Albums that you need to listen too. These bands or artist may not be Hall of Fame worthy but they do make some good music. In putting this list together I tried mainly to use bands that are a little more obscure or haven't had much mass appeal as of yet. This list is no particular order. Enjoy.

1. Baroness - A really good jam band that are a slightly dark sounding prog-rock. You will hear more riffs than actually signing. Great music to have playing in the background for when your working on something. If I had to describe their sound further, it would be the soundtrack to a medieval odyssey, a journey of time and space. Check out the 'Red Album". Who knows, after a listen, they may just be your new favorite band.

2. Gotye - This signer songwriter is interesting to say the least. Vocally he sounds like Sting (Police) and even sings like Sting! But that is where the comparisons end. Gotye is this atmospheric hipster pop. The songs themselves really don't focus on vocals but rather the mood the music is conjuring. Very light and delicate, but infectious at the same time. The music is similar to a modern Beck. His biggest hit to date is "Someone you used to know".  Other songs you should check out is "Hearts a mess" and "State of the Art".

3. ScissorFight - I used to get Century Media catalogs through the mail. That wad of paper was filled to the brim with artist and bands that I had never heard of. So in the early days of Napster, I would actually go through the catalog, pick the bands that seemed interesting, and search for them on Napster. And let me tell you, ScissorFight did not disappoint! They are loud, rude, fun, and lay down the thick riffs with your mother. Imagine combining the sillyness of the Foo Fighters, with a healthy dose of Black Sabbath, a pack of beer, and New Hampshire then you should create ScissorFight. Bottom heavy with their riffs, raw but understandable vocals, and extremely memorable lyrics, this is one band to brighten your day. Some songs: "Blizzard, Buzzards, and Bastards"
"New Hampshire was made for Fighting"  "Drink, Fight, and Fuck"....etc.

4. Iced Earth - Century Media's golden boys, this band has been around since the 90's but sound nothing like the 90's. If you were to mix the raw sound of Judas Priest with the technical precision and grand themes of Iron Maiden, then you might end up with Iced Earth. The band hails from Florida and does the state proud. Almost all of their albums are concept albums. Check out their album "Night of the Stormrider". Listen to it beginning to end and if your a fan of good metal, this is the band for you.

5.Quartz - the little engine that could of NWOBHM.  Everyone remembers Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Venom, and few others to just name a few, but somehow Quartz gets lost in the shuffle.
Creative grooves, good signing (think Coheed and Cambria) over Black Sabbath like riffs with slightly higher tempos (sort of like Heaven and Hell or Sabotage). The irony is Tony Iommi (guitarist of Black Sabbath) actually produced one of their albums. Great band that deserves more attention than what they get. Check out the song "Stand up and Fight".

6. Red Fang - With Red Fang they are a bit 'hit an miss' when it comes to their albums. Fans of the band would probably be up in arms about that statement, but I will concede that it may be more personal taste than broad appeal that I'm speaking about. They have much of the same energy as another band on this list, ScissorFight, but lyrically more subdued in comparison. This band has the potential to great. Be sure to check out their videos on YouTube. Its none stop fun is the best way to describe this band. Heavy with a sense of melody and not afraid to go into long jams, it might be time you gave them listen.

7. Ghost - Wow! What a band. What a band, indeed. Of all the bands on this list, here is one that consistently gets right almost every time. I am talking about albums that are good from beginning to the end. Their music seems timeless in the sense that it will age well with time. The songs themselves are simple and wouldn't be that hard for the novice guitarist to learn, but simple isn't always a band thing and this band proves it spades. The band themselves dress like druids with the singer looking like some undead satanic pope. The music itself sounds like new tunes from Blue Oyster Cult who are covering Black Sabbath (again another Sabbath reference in this list). The only bad thing I can say about this band, that as a Christian, I do struggle to listen to this guys. They sign about Satan, a lot! So if you actually pay attention to the lyrics and you happen to be a believer in Christ you will feel uncomfortable. But man, this band good. I wish they would lighten up on devil stuff for at least one album. No matter your personal beliefs this is a great band. Check out their first album. Google them. Now.

8. Mustasch - Bow to the Stach! These Swedish riff lords got their name from all their favorite rockers who they noticed all have mustaches. Tony Iommi, Freddy Mercury, Lemmy Kilmister (I think he was one, RIP)..etc. Imagine a band that has solid rock groove laiden riffs with a signer who has tone of a Freddy Mercury. Look at planet earth for you just encountered Mustasch. Love this band. Not everything they do is gold, but most what they do is gold. When looking this band up,  you need to listen to the album "Thank you for the Demon". Also, make sure you spell the name right or google will show you nothing but links to facial hair.


9. Steam Powered Giraffe - Well, honestly, if wasn't for their videos I'm not sure I would even listen to them. Having said that, their videos are good. This band is part of the Steam Punk genre (yes there is such a thing). Laid back Victorian musical landscape with folky overtones. Elaborate costumes, makeup, and mechanical choreography are the biggest things that stand out about Steam Powered Giraffe. Their music is decent. Very hit or miss.  I put this band on the list because you really need to watch their videos. Two that come to mind is "HoneyBee" and "Diamonds" as being among their best both musically and video wise.

10.  Perturbator  - if you love John Carpenter not just for his movies but also for the soundtrack to all his movies, then there is no reason you can't get into Perturbator. The music itself is part of the Sci-fi/horror Synthwave. Apparently there is more than one genre of synthwave. The great thing about their music is you can literally picture some awesome movie playing in your head. Very dark, atmospheric sounds that penetrate to all the favorite corners of your brain that you tend to neglect until flexed. Check out the album "I am the Night".  Good stuff.


That's my list. These band were named right off the top of my head. In no particular order. I may do other Top Ten list of the same topic (and other topics) to throw more little known or obscure bands out there. Any bands that you feel should make the list, let me know in the comments below.

"The Martian" - Movie Review

Well, just finished watching the film 'The Martian' directed by Ridley Scott (Aliens, Blade Runner, Prometheus...etc) and starring Matt Damon. What can I say other than I'm disappointed. For those that don't know I am a bit of a Mars enthusiast. I enjoy learning about space, the planets, the moons, and everything in between.  Mars in particular holds my interest for several reasons. One being it once had large bodies of water and ice. It was a warmer planet at one time. However today the planet is cold, possibly lifeless in terms of bacteria, thin atmosphere, and it's magnetosphere entirely absent. But at one point millions or billions of years ago it looked something like a primitive Earth, but something went wrong and scientist are still trying to figure it out.

So I know a little something about Mars I guess you can say. I can ramble on about it but I don't want to waste my typing energy on the subject just yet. Lets get back to the subject on hand; The Martian. The Martian is a movie about an NASA astronaut who is left behind during a sandstorm on Mars and assumed dead by the rest of the crew. So they leave the planet and head home. And let me say I am first and foremost annoyed at movie commercials that basically play the whole movie in a span of 1 minute. I already from the commercials know how the movie starts, how the protagonist deals with the situation, and that he makes it home. So really, what is the point of watching the movie for I've done seen the bulk of it in the trailer? I was hoping that it would still be enjoyable regardless. That really wasn't the case. I had hoped the film would borrow some key aspects of the movie 'Castaway' starring Tom Hanks. The plot for both movies are quite similar with some differences.  One key difference is Castaway takes its time and makes you feel what Tom Hanks character is feeling. And you get a very strong authentic feeling of being isolated. That aspect is missing in the Martian. The movie feels 'rushed'. And you really don't get the sense that he is alone on a hostile planet. You did somewhat in the trailers, but not in the movie itself. This could have been easily solved by not pointing the camera at Damon when he is giving his recorded status updates. Instead it would have been far better to see everything from Marks (Matt Damon) perspective. And we didn't need to see what all was going on with NASA or even at all. The whole movie should have been from Matt Damon's perspective.
Something else that hurt the feeling of isolation is the re-establishment of contact with NASA and the character Mark less than mid-way in the movie. Writing wise or drama wise, the re-establishing of contact in the movie hurt the movie in the long run. The main character, Mark, should have remained isolated in the movie to almost the very end leaving us, the viewer, guessing what would happen just as Mark was guessing himself creating a higher sense of empathy and relateability. Castway does this beautifully. This movie does not. And while I'm thinking about it, I found the science lacking in this yarn.

The big claim to fame for the movie is it's supposed science. Oh boy. I am no scientist or engineer or any type of great thinker known to man, but just a little basic research and you start to see how this film is flawed in several different ways scientifically (and from a writers standpoint).

First off, I like the fact that Matt Damon was trying to burn hydrogen to make water for his crops. That was neat. It seems plausible. I like the fact that there was a small explosion with his first attempt as a highly oxygenated environment is highly flammable and combustible (explosive). You can tell he puts thought into everything he does. Over mid-way in the movie part of his habitat explodes blowing the hatch and killing his crops. So question is, why didn't he foresee this? Why didn't NASA foresee this? Because at this point they were asking for constant updates as contact had been re-established. So they would have had to realize what was happening. And what was happening? Well the potato plants were creating excess oxygen in my opinion which led to the explosion. There is a certain mixture on our planet that makes up breathable air. A combination of co2 and Oxygen and few other elements. Too much or too little and we either can't breathe or we become 'high' on oxygen. Anyway, NASA should have known what could happen and told him to offset his Oxygen with more co2 (or at least in theory anyway). Seems like it could have been avoided.

Another pet peeve is the communication capabilities. It takes roughly 20 minutes (give or take) to send a message to Mars. And 20 minutes (give or take) to send a message to Earth. So roughly 40 minutes or more to have a two way conversation between somebody or even a rover from Mars to Earth. That is a bit of a delay. All through the movie you get the sense that messages between NASA on Earth and Mark who is on Mars is instantaneous. Although this movie seems to take place roughly 20 years in the future I still don't see technology growing to the point where we can send messages across planets faster than light. One day it may be possible, maybe within a 100 years. But the need for the technology isn't there yet. And it will probably be created by the private sector rather than a agency like NASA who operates on a shoe string budget.

All and all is the Martian a good movie? Its decent. After you watch it, you certainly aren't going to rush out and buy the DVD. The movie had the potential to be a timeless classic. But it suffers from lack luster writing, storytelling, drama, and not-so-believable science that can be 'googled' by any layman with access to a computer. If you want to watch what this movie could have been, I recommend you check out Castaway and the Apollo 13. Both movies oddly enough star Tom Hanks and have enough storytelling and tension to last a lifetime. I'm not sure what is wrong with Ridley Scott. His last movie Prometheus was ripe with terrible writing and poorly written plot that left many fans wondering 'What the hell have you been smoking?!?". Apparently, though this movie is nowhere near as poorly presented as Prometheus, it does leave any true fans of drama or science fiction a little disappointed in the end. Its worth watching, I suppose. Maybe.