Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* Caleb Goellner found a graphic that tracks the comics-related efforts over at Kickstarter. That's like an entire Tundra's worth of material paid for through that service.

* Chris Mautner has several thoughts on Life In Hell, a key comics work for a lot of comics readers of a certain age.

* not comics: here's a tweeted photo of Neil Gaiman buying a couple of Smurfs. Smurf toys, that is, not actual Smurfs -- his life isn't quite that awesome. Also, two people from completely opposite ends of my life both sent me a link to this picture.

* Caitlin McGurk profiles John Milton Morris. Ira Wolfman talks to Stan Lee. Danno Klonowski talks to Matt Chic.

* I think it's great when people ask this kind of question, because sometimes we assume that one person in in control over a project and right now there's a tendency to see various books as their writers' no matter what the division of labor is like. At the same time, I think there are some books that can be described that way and there's no reason to give it a second thought, and there are also times -- say when contrasting the writing on a book to another book and another writer -- that this is a fair descriptive, period.

* getting stuff in your convention sketchbook is fun.

* I disagree with the notion expressed here by the artist Guillem March that some kind of line is crossed when an artist or creative professional publicly criticizes another. In fact, I prefer public criticism because I think that 99 percent of work done in comics is done publicly. I mean, I get what March is saying, but I don't think it's a big deal for someone to say they don't like someone else's art for X, Y, Z reasons no matter how they do it, particularly when there's a cultural element to the criticism -- in a recent case involving March, that issue was the depiction of women. I'm also a little leery that there's a segment of the comics community more concerned with decorum than substance. I suspect that's a pile of sand on which to build any sort of meaningful professional community. I'm not saying that March believes this, because I think he's clearly coming at this from seeing virtue in a certain standard he feels that's part of professional conduct. It's more that I feel this notion also appeals to people that find more importance in being nice to one another than co-existing in a professional community where certain standards and ideas are important and debated and part of the public conversation. If you don't think that's a part of comics culture, or find that line of thinking upsetting, let me assure you that I really love your work.

* missed it: Bert Witte, RIP.

* Doug Zawisza on Planet Of The Apes #15.

* finally, I'm not all the way certain why it seems Jeff Parker is the only mainstream comics writer with a consistent license to amuse himself, but I'm not going to question it.
 
posted 7:10 am PST | Permalink
 

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