Scott McCloud's Blog, page 11

I Have Nothing to Say Today…

…so here's a picture of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Looks kinda like Liam Neeson, doesn't he?

Okay, About Source Code…

Just gotta get this off my chest…

(it's all in the first comment)

SPOILERS!

DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE MOVIE.

Hobo Lobo

Speaking of experimental comics, Hobo Lobo of Hamelin is a cleverly designed multi-plane side-scroller by Stevan Živadinović that most of you can probably view without any technical hiccups.

I like the multi-plane effect. Full-out 3D could also work for scrollers like this of course. The key is in maintaining the work's identity as a still life; even though navigating through it might be filled with dynamic motion.

[link suggested both on Twitter and in yesterday's comments]

Meanwhile, Dylan Horrocks has details on Darkest Day, a benefit book for the victims of the Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake which can be purchased here.

That's it for this week. See you all Monday!

Is it my Imagination…

…or has there been an increase in the number of extended canvas webcomics by young artists lately?

Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part (they laughed at me at the academy, the fools!) but yesterday alone, I got two emails from relative newcomers, both consciously exploring webcomics' unique spatial opportunities.

Check out the lovely art in Ada Starfield (above) by "Darcie" and Shira-chan's playful The Ketchup Conundrum; two very different comics, but both ditching the page metaphor in their own way.

Maybe all we needed was a few spatially sophisticated popular stories like Emily Carrol's His Face All Red or Daniel Lieske's Wormworld to kick off a new round of digital exploration. Maybe it's just a temporary blip. But hey, it's nice to see experimentation on the rise again for as long as it lasts.

And Yet the Waves Keep Moving…

Bottle from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

[via Ivy's friend Caroline]

The Periodic Table of Storytelling

This is cute. Seems to have gone up about a week ago. I think… Hard to tell with these things.

I like the suggestion that it would make a good dartboard — and that Hollywood should never be allowed to play.

Might be fun to use with Rory's Story Cubes (maybe for 24-Hour Comics Day!)

[link via Byron Woodson]

Dash Shaw's The Ruined Cast

I mentioned Dash Shaw's film project last summer when a teaser trailer went up. Now's our opportunity to help support the film via Kickstarter.

The Ruined Cast is co-produced by who used Shaw's artwork to great effect when directing the recent feature Rabbit Hole (which I liked A LOT, by the way, and highly recommend along with Mitchell's other great films).

Friday Odds and Ends

Congratulations to all the Eisner Nominees this year. It was especially gratifying to see our old friend Barry Deutsch snag a nomination in the "Best Publication for Teens" category for his wonderful Hereville.

That it's a tough category is even more gratifying. Wouldn't have a been a tough category at all just a few short years ago.

In other news, here's an endearingly nerdy article on Mathematical Equivalence in Comics that was pretty much tailor-made for guys like me—and presumably some of you if you're reading this blog.

And finally, here are some David Lasky Disaster preparedness comics, 'cause um, y'know, just in case.

Hm. Guess I'm in a random mood today…

ANYWAY, have a great weekend. See you Monday!

Jumbo Deluxe

Jumbo Deluxe by Portland-based Adrian J. Wallace features some lively stories and engaging characters. It's a hard strip not to like.

It's also drawn in an attractive clear-line style. I'm surprised I don't see more comics sporting this look on the Web since it works well on the screen (Les McClaine's Johnny Crossbones is the only other one that comes to mind at the moment).

Wallace's work also falls into the growing roster of kid-friendly strips that might catch on outside of nerd-dom with the right approach.

He's only posting once a week right now. Maybe, with luck, he'll find reasons to update more often. Fingers crossed.

[link via David Chelsea's cool perspective blog]

Notes from Far Away Lands

Hats off to the tireless Jessica Abel who has a great report on last month's teaching comics seminar in Helsinki. She's much better than me at recording what's going on around her and I'm grateful for the record.

Also online are some of the excellent Webstock talks from February's trip to Wellington, New Zealand. As usual, I had to decline to have my talk filmed (see Monday's comments), but there's lots of other great stuff up.

Spring is always a busy time for travel. Check out some of my recently-posted upcoming engagements in the travel sidebar at right.