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First up we have one of my newly favorite artists Sean Murphy(Joe the Barbarian) telling us all about the ART OF STORYTELLING. Here's one of my favorite quotes from the very talented artist:
And I’m not trying to slander other artists who don’t care about storytelling. Most comics aren’t about storytelling, they’re about epic ideas and pretty pictures. A ton of guys don’t care about storytelling and have great careers--just none of the guys I'm into. I just wish people would stop calling themselves storytellers when they don’t even want to be.
Next up we have an excellent article from Douglas Wolk(Techland.com) asking 8 Questions to Comic Creators. Of course the questions are not asked directly to any one specific creator or group of creators but any creator in comics should take the time to read this. As should you, because as I've said before we need to step our game up and FIND OUR BALANCE when it comes to enjoying comics. Here's a small segment of Douglas' fantastic read:
Why is this comic a bargain for its cover price?
I don't think $4 is prima facie too much for a comic book; I paid $125 for Kramers Ergot 7, and I'd do it again. But there are a lot of $3 and $4 comics out there, and that adds up in a hurry, and if I'm going to buy a 32-to-40-page pamphlet I want to get the sense that its creators passionately believe that it's going to be the most awesome, most spectacularly entertaining thing I read all month, rather than another piece of product to fire off in this week's skirmish in the market share wars. Be amazing or get off the racks.
I don't think $4 is prima facie too much for a comic book; I paid $125 for Kramers Ergot 7, and I'd do it again. But there are a lot of $3 and $4 comics out there, and that adds up in a hurry, and if I'm going to buy a 32-to-40-page pamphlet I want to get the sense that its creators passionately believe that it's going to be the most awesome, most spectacularly entertaining thing I read all month, rather than another piece of product to fire off in this week's skirmish in the market share wars. Be amazing or get off the racks.
The A.V. Club interviews my favorite comic creator, Grant Morrison. Topics range from writing Dick Grayson as a poor kid, his upcoming nonfiction(non-comic!) book SuperGods, and his expectations of the critically acclaimed All Star Superman series among other things. As usual, Grant provides an interesting read and an even better outlook on comics from a creator standpoint. I talked to (comic writer)Ron Marz a while back, and he had similar thoughts on the how to deal with leaving character titles in a "shared universe." Here's what Morrison had to say in this MUST READ interview:
AVC: When you’re done with a project and you hand it off to somebody else, do you still follow it? Do you keep an eye on what people are doing with what you’ve left behind?
GM: I sometimes go back. Not often. It’s weird that there’s a sustained continuity that people pass on. Characters are re-energized by new generations of creative people. You’re kind of passing on the baton, and it might go in a completely different way from anything you thought was appropriate. So sometimes, yeah, I’ve looked at them now and again, but sometimes they’re very different from what I would like to see. [Laughs.] It’s a hard question. Sometimes I pretend not to look at my own characters, because that’s like different people getting off with your girlfriend or something.
AVC: So if someone else is writing Animal Man or Doom Patrol…
GM: I usually check it out, but I start seething, sitting in the chair thinking, “This is totally daft, he would never say that!”
GM: I sometimes go back. Not often. It’s weird that there’s a sustained continuity that people pass on. Characters are re-energized by new generations of creative people. You’re kind of passing on the baton, and it might go in a completely different way from anything you thought was appropriate. So sometimes, yeah, I’ve looked at them now and again, but sometimes they’re very different from what I would like to see. [Laughs.] It’s a hard question. Sometimes I pretend not to look at my own characters, because that’s like different people getting off with your girlfriend or something.
AVC: So if someone else is writing Animal Man or Doom Patrol…
GM: I usually check it out, but I start seething, sitting in the chair thinking, “This is totally daft, he would never say that!”
There you go. You may now enjoy your comics again, hopefully we have made a mark on you.