Pictures for Sad Children: Jeff's Favorite Webcomic

I've been writing almost nonstop for two weeks for serious work, so I thought I'd try writing for fun (!).

Webcomics are HUGE, and they're everywhere. They span genres, from fantasy action to comedy, and some are long and some are short. Gaming is usually the biggest glut of the webcomics seems to be gaming, and I find those insufferable.

I'm attracted to the more idiosyncratic comics, myself: Dinosaur Comics, XKCD, and my favorite, pictures for sad children. Dinosaur Comics is the exact same layout every single comic, with no difference from day to day. Ryan North is somehow able to craft multiple stories and characters from this template.

XKCD, on the other hand, leans more towards intellectualism without seeming condescending or impenetrable, an extremely tough feat. Mostly he uses the more high level learning as a springboard for a spectacularly clever joke.

But pictures is more subtle. It's less definite, occupying an abstract, surreal territory that most webcomics never dare to enter (and even fewer accomplish on any level). Its aim is not punchlines or cheap tricks. It exists in a plane that always veers towards the absurd with a straight face. Every sort of surreal gag is played with astounding deadpan force (porn, anyone?), and what's more, seems to elevate the comedy to another level, treating these events as no more than everyday happenings.

As far as summing the plot, there's Paul (who is a ghost), Gary, a loser english major with no future and plenty of strange in his life, and Jeremy, the roommate who never leaves his room. The stories themselves are too weird to simply sum up, and the pacing is deliberate, though never calculated save for John Campbell getting bored and moving to a new story.

I find it extremely difficult to pick out exactly what makes this webcomic so good. It could be the spare illustration style, which gives the quiet insanity room to breathe and stand on its own, it could be the incredible weirdness that simply oozes through each and every story, or it could be the fact that this is the first comic that is able to seamlessly weave the random=LOL idea into cohesive storytelling and come out even better than expected. Nothing ever feels forced, and nothing is jumped to to make you laugh just because.

It's a strong webcomic, but more than that, pictures for sad children is a strong comic.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

News Update

It's beginning to be that hectic time of the year again, but here's a quick update about things afoot:

-A movie poster for the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie came out recently. You can look at it here.
-Iron Man opens in theaters this Friday, May 2nd.
-This week's issue of Blue Beetle is a special Spanish issue. If you're looking for something a little different and unique, check it out.
-Got tales or pictures from New York Comic Con? Send 'em here and share them with everyone!

Take it easy comicphiles!

Emerald City Con Auction

Warren, I know we don't know each other outside of a few random posts on your boards, but I'd like to ask a favor for a fellow creator and friend of mine. I hope you could get the word out about the benefit auction for Josh Medors at Emerald City Comic Con. Josh is a really good guy, but he's got cancer on his spine and they've told him if the chemo doesn't work it looks bad. He's mostly a freelance artist (he's currently working on one of the Frazetta books at Image), so he's uninsured. It's well known you can break servers with your link posting abilities, so if you could, it would be much appreciated by Josh and all of us. Here is the info (it's on the front page):http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com. Josh is a big fan of your work, so anything you could do would lift his spirits.

Thanks,RD HALL
http://www.myspace.com/rdhallHeroes

Online GN writer
http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/index.shtml?novel=80

John Sowder Interview

PENUMBRA from ‘Divine Authority Presents’

-by Joe Churney

I first became aware of local artist John Sowder when I picked up a copy of Fan-atic Press’ Slambang Comic Anthology. He wrote and drew a strangely touching story entitled ‘When You’re Different’, which is about a flesh-eating monster who is trying to live a normal life in a small suburban town.

Currently Mr. Sowder is gearing up to produce Penumbra: a series of 8-page stories for a comic anthology. The series is set in the year 1977 and revolves around a young girl and her quest to discover the secrets involving her non-human lineage. There are many surreal and flat out strange scenes along the way, and the art is an interesting mix of classic superheroes with a homespun dark indy look. I had the chance to speak with Mr. Sowder and pour over the finished product as it stands so far.

Joe Churney: What is Penumbra about?

John Sowder: Penumbra is slated to appear as a five part mini-series to be featured in the forthcoming anthology ‘Divine Authority Presents’.

The story centers around Valerie, who is a nineteen-year-old girl who discovers that she’s the offspring of an otherworldly being and that her very existence threatens all human life on earth.

Initially, I started this as an homage to ‘70s Mike Ploog comics like Man-Thing or Werewolf By Night with a bit of a Lovecraftian twist. I think the story shifts to a darker tone by the second part and becomes something quite different.

J.C.: Who are the central characters of the story?

J.S.: Well, there’s Valerie. Visually, I suppose she’s a rogue Charlie’s Angel with a chainsaw instead of a gun. She’s on a quest to discover her true origins when she’s forced to form an alliance with a mysterious man known as ‘Nameless Joe Quinn’. And then there is Valerie’s twin sister Twila, who is not entirely human.

Valerie is caught between these two characters, she doesn’t trust either of them. She has special powers but the more she uses them, the more she becomes like her sister. So she really has to struggle to hold on to her humanity.

J.C.: Recently Steve Gerber, the writer of Man-Thing, passed away. What are your thoughts on his work?

J.S.: His work was eye-opening for me. I’ve always been a fan, right up to the end. He was a creative writer and a bit of a risk taker. He could take the most insane concept and make it work.

J.C.: Who are some of your other influences?

J.S.: Too numerous to mention! When I was younger, I had these big Swamp Thing double issue reprints with cool wrap-around covers. I wanted to draw like Bernie Wrightson. I stopped reading comics until I was older and picked up a copy of Moore’s Killing Joke . After that I read pretty much anything I could get my hands on.

But I look outside of comics for inspiration as well. I love old pulp stories and illustrations, as well as a few current small press magazines. Noir cinematographers like John Alton are an influence.

J.C.: When will Divine Authority Presents be available.

J.S.: There’s no set date as of yet. It will be announced on the Divine Authority website. I’ve been taking my time and making sure to do my best. If I never get the chance to work on any other comic, this is something I can call my own and I’m happy about that.

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You can check out the Divine Authority website at www.DivineAuthorityComics.com

Review: Secret Invasion #1 (Spoiler-Free)

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Leinil Yu

Anyone who has been reading comics for…well, for a while knows that Marvel and DC are big on ‘event’ stories. The are often huge and overwhelming and not as good as they are advertised to be. The latest is Marvel’s “Secret Invasion”, headlined by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Yu. The first issue hit today. How was it? Read on.

I’m as tired of the next big universe altering event as the next person, and I wasn’t really feeling SI until recently. Then I figured, if this really goes back as far as BMB claims…that’s the makings of something pretty special. So I decided to check it out. If you don’t know the basics, the Skrulls have decided to push a full-on invasion of Earth by taking advantage of their shapeshifting abilities. This gives them the element of surprise and sows seeds of distrust throughout the heroes. That basically where SI picks up.

Bendis is definitely a polarizing writer. Some love his characters and dialogues, while others hate those same things and lament his lack of skill with ‘big’ characters rather than his street-level stuff. However, SI has a nice mix of both. Yes, this is a huge alien invasion with nearly every hero involved, but he’s getting into the psyche of characters and focusing on the psychological aspect of this attack, and it works well. There are speeches, attacks, and some crazy reveals in this issue, and it looks to only get wilder from here.

As dividing as Bendis is, Yu can be said to be just as polarizing, if not more so. His art works well for this event where it might not have otherwise. He draws dark and gritty characters (now with an inker, unlike his New Avengers work, thank goodness), and that fits the tone of the story – nothing is truly clear cut and definite, and Yu’s art adds that uncertainty to the story.

Overall, this was a solid first issue. It sets up the rest of the story nicely and sets in motion several different plot threads. If you’re interested in what’s been going on in the Marvel Universe, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

FREE Fallen Angel art

IDW Celebrates Peter David's Fallen Angel #25 by artist signing and free original Art

For more than two years, readers of Fallen Angel have been enjoying a dark atmospheric tale of a former celestial being who continually defies THE BOSS by helping those who can't help themselves. Now reaching issue 25, Fallen Angel is the longest running title in IDW Publishing history.

To celebrate this landmark issue, IDW is giving away original pages of J.K. Woodward's series artwork at two different promotional events.

This issue will be special in more than just number, though. Peter David is promising an absolute upheaval in the story, "The great thing about a creator-owned series such as "Fallen Angel" is that I can unilaterally kick over the apple cart without having to run it by a plethora of Powers That Be, and that's what's happening. The great thing about working with (artist) J.K. Woodward is knowing that he's able to take whatever I throw at him and knock it out of the park." IDW's Editor-In-Chief, Chris Ryall, calls J.K.'s work consistently brilliant and "nothing short of awe-inspiring". J.K. is thrilled with the series success, "Peter gave me some exciting challenges with this story and I've had a great time illustrating. There's a reason I've stayed with this series for over 2 years!"
J.K. reveals that loyal readers will be rewarded with bonus features in this issue, including a double cover and character gallery, but that the extra content also makes it a great time for new readers to jump in. “…It not only introduces the characters but gives a summary of the story so far. It’s a perfect jumping on point for first time Fallen Angel readers.”
As for the free artwork, a page will be given to each of the first 10 people to attend one of these promotional events:

Wed March 26, from 5-8pm:
The Comic Bug
1807 Manhattan Beach Blvd
Manhattan Beach, 90266
www.thecomicbug.com

Wed April 2, from 7-9pm:
Golden Apple Comics
7018 Melrose Ave, LA 90038
www.goldenapplecomics.com

Artist J.K. Woodward will be on hand to sign his pages, copies of the comic or pretty much anything the fans want to stick under his sharpie.
I'll also be there with copies of Crazy Mary for JK and I to sign.

Doctor Who in comics again!

DOCTOR WHO
Issue 1

Review by Michael Colbert


Written by Gary Russell
Art by Nick Roche
Colors by Charlie Kirchoff

IDW Publishing

The Doctor returns to the time of comics with a lot to like for the hardcore and casual fan.

A lot of people don’t “Get” Doctor Who, at least in this country. The TV show has been a kiddie program, history show, horror, Hard SF, a parody, a bad Fox network TV movie, and even Cyberpunk in its decade’s long run. So why don’t a lot of Americans “get it”? One reason is that The Doctor doesn’t conform to the typical space opera hero most people regencies (but most people think of Captain Kirk as a typical Sci Fi hero); he doesn’t use guns, only a sonic screwdriver and his wits. And he’s more inclined to disarm people with witticisms and fast talk than Kung foo. He’s more cerebral than muscle; it just doesn’t scan in the land of the cowboy and Bruce Willis. Another reason is because it’s so unapologetically, willfully… English… That means whimsy, dry humor and laughing at the void that constantly threatens to consume. It makes for an odd balance sometimes and if the story doesn’t deliver the goods it can all come off as just plain silly. One book written about the best of Science Fiction television said “Doctor Who can, at its worst, be stupid and distracting, at it’s best hypnotizing.” So how does the new comic featuring the 10th Doctor and his human companion Martha Jones fare against high expectations from the fans, an uphill climb in a US market that seems to have no interest in SF comics and is still so damn English?
Pretty well, thank you very much.
For those of you who don’t know, the Doctor is an alien. His race is called “Timelords” and he is the last one. He looks human and frequents Earth in his TARDIS a time and space ship that looks like a police call box (it’s an English thing). The brilliant aspect of Doctor Who is that he can go anywhere and anywhen so a story can go in any direction and be just about anything. That’s a lot of choices laid out and a lot of ways to get lost but more often than not Doctor Who stays coherent, colorful and fun, which is a pretty good way to describe the comic. Admittedly I’m a bit biased but at the same time my judgment is harsher because I’ve been such a long standing fan. The stand alone story already assumes you know something about the Doctor, a safe assumption if you’re buying the comic, but doesn’t require much effort on the reader’s part to catch up. The Doctor and Martha Jones are sampling the best chocolate milkshakes from across time and space (English whimsy) and stumble across an alien that captures rare or extinct species for hunting purposes (the void right there with a milkshake). The story keeps a light tone and moves along fast enough to keep you from noticing the silliness in the internal logic (A space diner that houses a slave trade, and alien badguy that says he rocks). It’s all good fun with a wink and humor. The space milk bar where the action takes place is called the “Korova v.3” and the splashpage has aliens ranging from beavers to bugs to cyborgs all enjoying the best milkshake in the universe (including one alien crying over his spilt drink). The plot is paper thin but it whizzes by so fast you’ll hardly notice. The conflict is resolved in a fashion completely loyal to the internal logic of Doctor Who with the bad guy dooming himself despite The Doctor offering a chance at redemption. Then it’s off to the next adventure.
If you are a fan of Doctor Who you’ll have plenty to enjoy, the comic has really captured the spirit of the rebooted TV show and hopefully with future issues can tackle the potential also. The villain is a callback to a TV episode (the first Christmas special) which links nicely if you’re a fan. If you’re not a fan, or have a passing interest, I’d still suggest you give it a try; the book can be so many things that odds are The Doctor will deliver eventually.

Mark McCracken Interview

DIVINE AUTHORITY

-by Joe Churney

Divine Authority began when artist Jamie Apgar approached his cousin Mark McCracken to collaborate on a comic book project. In their younger days, Jamie was impressed with the elaborate stories Mark would conceptualize while playing with action figures. Together they established Midnight Warriors: the flagship title of what was then known as A.M. comics (Apgar/McCracken, a.k.a. ‘After Midnight’).

Since then, Divine Authority has established a loyal fan base and expanded to include other titles such as -Girl!, Icebox, The Nameless One, Rank in Hell and more. Not only is Divine Authority a way for Mark McCracken and others to promote their own creator-owned projects, D.A. also exist as a labor of love.

I had the chance to pose a few questions to D.A. publisher and creator Mark McCracken:

Joe Churney: What are some of the hardships and challenges of publishing/promoting your work?

Mark McCracken: I think one of the biggest challenges for me is getting highly invested in a project that never sees fruition. Collaborating with artists on a level where we are only hoping to promote our work and try to garner profit, and not offering a page rate in a traditional employer/employee setting, everything is based on motivation. Sometimes an artist will be "gung-ho" about a project, rip through 7 pages, and then taper off and decide to quit because they don't have it in them to finish the book. I actually have a book I am sitting on now, a solo one-shot for a character from Midnight Warriors, for which the opening scene has been drawn by three different artists and never finished. With a project like this, I am disappointed, because I like the script, it's integral to the story of the character, and I want to see it printed. With other stories it's actually beneficial they never saw fruition because it's given me the opportunity to revamp the concept continually, making it into something far better than it had been before. A potential ongoing series, "Spyne", has fallen into this situation, and each time it's lost the artist and been re-written, I've always added something new to the story that makes it all the more unique and interesting.

Lately I've been working primarily with artists online and it can be stressful trying to get a feel for people simply from words, but it hasn't stopped me from trying. Just this year I found an artist with amazing potential, Fran Ros, who's already blazed through most of an issue of Midnight Warriors that I am dying to see available in-print.

Another hardship we've suffered in the past was mistreatment by a printing company.

J.C.: Do you have a regular print schedule for your books?

M.M.: We don't have a regular printing schedule. When Jamie and I first started out, we wanted to be monthly. Then we realized it was pretty impossible. And that was back when our lives weren't so busy. Now I find myself and all of the aritsts have school, work, and their personal lives, so it's really difficult to put out anything on a regular basis. It also depends on the motivation factor, too. I try to script a project while an artist is working on it, that way I can tailor to their strengths and include any new ideas I've come up with in the meantime. I hate a script that gets "stale" waiting on an artist, so Ive found this method of scripting to be very beneficial to me. I personally like to have several new issues of a series out each year.

The easiest way to guarantee this is to stagger artists, so that each issue isn't necessarily drawn by the same artist. This works well with -Girl! because it is a comedy, originally drawn in traditional manga style, and from issue #5 & upward I have tried to script each issue as a self-contained story, without requiring the readers to have read the issues that came before in order to enjoy the story. With a series like Midnight Warriors it is a little more difficult because I try to keep the art style more realistic, the issues flow one into the next with a lot of continuity-heavy plotlines. What I have tried to do to alleviate this is to work ahead. While at the moment I am completing the present issue, Midnight Warriors#10, with Francesca, I am also working on a storyline encompassing MW#12-16 with Edgard Aedo, for which he's already finished the first part and is working on the second. This way, by the time we reach #12, we will have several issues completed by Edgard to release in a row without needing to sub artists to keep release dates closer.

J.C.: What have been some of your personal favorite stories that you have published?

M.M.: My favorites are always the stories yet to be, because I feel as time goes on my writing only gets better.

Of what we have printed so far, I liked -Girl!#1 because it introduced what I considered to be a fairly unique concept for a heroine, and in #6 (presently at Ka-Blam!, soon to be in my hands) I put added emphasis on the fact that each of -Girl!'s personalities beleive they are the prime personality and the others are the splits. I also have a special interest in #6 because it is based on a true story of my experience with a certain major retailer. It was easiest to weave it into -Girl! as a common plotline is the fact that -Girl! cannot keep a job because she is constantly shape-shifting into her other selves.

I liked Midnight Warriors #3 because it introduced Ray, one of my favorite characters of the series, and also included a lot of hints toward ongoing plotlines that most likely went unnoticed for the time being. The once certain plot elements are revealed in future issues, re-reading the back issues will offer a lot of new insight, readers will start to pick up on things they didnt notice before. MW#6 probably could have been told better (it was actually written prior to #3-5 as Andy Sullivan was working on issues in advance while he was a Marine away from home), but I thought it was unique to have a character afraid of their own birthday, and then finding out why was such a huge shock and so tragic you wanted to vomit. I plan to touch back on this storyline in MW#14 & 17, shedding some new light on the story with some added details, and it will of course be relevant to what is going on at present tense in the story. It leads into one of the biggest plot twists we've had in the works since Day One.

J.C.: Tell me a bit about your future plans for Divine Authority.

M.M.: First of all, I would like Divine Authority to have a wider variety of books. Right now we primarily print Midnight Warriors and -Girl!. "One Wrathful Bastard" is driven by Jim Sullivan and I am waiting until it gets going before we bring in a guest penciler to further the series. I would like to make the upcoming "Divine Authority Presents" a prominent project. The concept of asking only a small contribution per issue from artists ( 8 pages) has proven a better motivator, and will see the fruition of completed issues on more of a regular basis. Also, it will showcase several art styles and themes within each issue to give readers a sampling of our universe with each issue. Within the next few years I would like to see some of my longtime projects see print, and there is also a project I have been sitting on for about five years, never actually writing it because I want it to be my best work, and I have a feeling someday soon i will be ready to get started on it. I think the concept is very original. I'd like to think it is what -Girl! could have been if I wanted to make it an adult horror book. The series is tentatively called "Psychotik".

Second of all, I would like to attend more conventions as guests. So far we have remained fairly local, attending cons in Southern Tier NY, as well as Wizard World conventions. I've expressed interest in FanExpo up in Toronto, and someday soon I'd like to do San Diego Comicon.

I think the greatest challenge with doing cons is getting several artists to travel there as well, since they sell the book more than I do. If not for the artists bringing my story to life, no one would read it. The art is what people want to see and when it comes to autographs, they want to meet the artists, and I don't blame them. We were definitely squeamish about conventions back when we were printing them ourselves and they were completely B&W, and now that we're printing professionally it's a matter of having more books available and a variety of themes. We definitely have more to offer now than we did last year, and next year I hope for even more.

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If you would like to check out any of the Divine Authority books for yourself, please feel free to drop by their website at www.DivineAuthorityComics.com

and check out their myspace profile page at http://www.myspace.com/divine_authority.

Note: We were made aware of a misspelling in Mr. McCracken's name and it was promptly corrected. We apologize for this mistake.

Review: Logan #1

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Eduardo Risso
Colorist: Dean White

Let's set some things straight - Wolverine is awesome (if perhaps overused). Brian K. Vaughan is awesome. So what could a BKV-penned series about Wolverine be other than awesome?

That answer is nothing, and the three-issue Logan miniseries is just about as cool as it gets.

Hot off the finale of his hit series Y: The Last Man, Vaughan takes a look at Logan's past as a WWII soldier in Japan. This is only a three issue series, so BKV doesn't waste any time in this first issue. We're with Wolverine in the present before being presented with a flashback that takes over the rest of the issue. Everyone knows Logan's a badass, and this setting is the perfect place to show that as he mows through a few Japanese soldiers. However, his tough-guy attitude has always overshadowed a hidden soft side that he shows to very few people in his life. We get to see this, though, and the warrior is perfectly juxtaposed with a man looking only for peace.

The dialogue is pitch perfect in this issue. BKV captures the voice of Logan perfectly - he's someone who's experienced but still hopeful, and this is at a stage before all of the Weapon X mess, were we can see the future Wolverine at his purest. Other characters, such as a fellow POW and a young Japanese woman are also portrayed incredibly, with just the right amount and type of dialoge to give them unique voices.

This writing is complamented greatly by the art. Eduardo Risso seems to be able to draw every situation. Brief superhero antics, wartime battle, serene countrysides - this book has everything, and the pencils are both clean and edgy at the same time. It works in conjunction with Dean White's moody colors which perfectly set every scene. The pale winter landscape, dark and moody prisoner camp, and beautiful Japanese sunset each have their own feel and emotion that, with the writing and art, make for picture-perfect panels throughout.

If you've read anything by BKV, you know how character-driven his stories can be. With someone as deep and complex as Logan, it was only a matter of time before Vaughan got his claws (pardon the pun) into him, and it was well worth the wait. Get on the ride for these three issues. You won't be disappointed.