Scott McCloud's Blog, page 18

Someday, All Comics Will Look like This:

Rebels of the Pacific Northwest

Something about this three-part interview with Vancouver cartoonist Colin Upton made me very happy.

It's encouraging to see a mini-comics rebel from my small press excursion days holding forth on a dozen topics and looking relatively healthy after recent bouts with diabetes and other challenges.

Upton's interview reminded me of another recent YouTube find; a video interview with minicomics legend Steve Willis from Washington State. Both videos communicate an air of stubborn resistance to anything slick or mass-produced which makes me smile.

As I've mentioned here before, one of the things I loved about the small press scene of the '80s and early '90s was the freedom it gave cartoonists to pursue their own path regardless what the marketplace might have wanted from them.

A version of that freedom migrated to the Web, but even a technophile like me knows it's not the same, and can still enjoy listening to a cartoonist explain his craft with a pencil in hand, sitting at a slanted table, surrounded by books, and hearing the sound of a northwest rain falling outside his window.

Oh, Wait! Here's Something Important After All…

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Next Weekend (December 11-12) is my Comics: Theory and Practice Two-Day Workshop at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art.

Due to a site update glitch, the workshop was listed as "Sold Out" for a week. That's actually wrong. It's ALMOST sold out, but if you'd still like to participate, there are just a few seats left. Sorry for the confusion.

In two very full days, it'll be my pleasure to teach you everything I know about making comics. Now's your last chance to sign up to join us.

I Have Nothing Interesting to Say Today…

…so here's a picture of William Howard Taft:

Have a great weekend!

Not Even REMOTELY Safe for Work

Why yes, I'm willing to link to porn comics.

If they're funny, creative, and only slightly evil.

Especially liked this one.

[]

Not Comics, But…

…this sounds pretty interesting.

So, here's a thought experiment: If you knew that the question of life on other worlds was about to be settled and you had to put money on Yes or No, which would you pick?

(I'm sure tomorrow's announcement is nothing that conclusive or impressive, but it's fun to dream).

That Old East Wind

Dash Shaw has a fascinating take on the new Tezuka book from Abrams and the DVD it contains. His thoughts on "the God of Manga's" superhuman work-ethic are sobering. (I'm looking forward to getting the book myself, but it's the Christmas/Chanukah season, so I'm not allowed to buy it just in case).

Coincidentally, over at HU, Stephanie Folse is re-reading the original Elfquest series, reminding me of a time in the early '80s when the Tezuka fan club among working American comics professionals numbered in the single digits—and most definitely included both Wendy Pini and myself.

Tezuka was, for many years, my favorite cartoonist. I had a bookcase filled with untranslated Tezuka that I studied like the Torah for hours on end. Sometimes I'd close my eyes, reach for a random volume, flip to a random page, and open my eyes again to find a beautiful, inventive, and unique page waiting for me.

Tezuka famously drew well over a hundred thousand pages of comics over the course of forty years. I mentioned this in a little tribute to Tezuka in Zot! in the mid-'80s. Later, one of my readers visited Japan and showed the God of Manga my little comic. His only message back to me was to emphasize "quality over quantity."

Watching younger cartoonists discover Tezuka for the first time over the last couple of decades has been quietly satisfying. In some ways, I feel like Shaw's generation of innovators is ready to consider the whole man in a way mine was rarely ready or willing to.

What did I Miss?

Some random notes from the last nine days.

Got an email from Ryan Estrada this morning announcing his latest insanity, the One Month Animated Feature. Actually sounds like a fun project. I wish him luck. Also sleep, when it's done.

Really enjoyed the first volume of X'ed Out, the new Charles Burns series. Eager to read more.

Okay, the end of Walking Dead Episode 3… How many saw that coming halfway through #2? Show of hands. (Failed surprises aside, I'm really enjoying that series).

Via Ivy (who got it from Stephen Fry), we've all been enjoying the Hell out of this video.

After largely missing them in New Orleans due to explodey-chest syndrome, I had the pleasure of seeing Neil and Amanda at a great engagement party at agent-extraordinaire Jon Levin's house Saturday. Lots of new and old friends there, but I have to make special mention of Stephin Merritt, who I'd never met before but is one of my favorite songwriters. We'd just watched Pieces of April two nights before (a Thanksgiving tradition in our home) which has songs by Merritt in it, so he was on our mind already.

Speaking of music: Two recent buys I can't get enough of are "If You Return" by Maximum Balloon (with vocals by Little Dragon) and the criminally-catching "L.O.V." by Fitz and the Tantrums.

Back to the drawing board!

Taking a Break…

Since the kids are getting Thanksgiving week off, and I have a lot of catching up to do after my recent health issues (see below), I've decided to take a week off from blogging.

Be back at the keyboard on Monday, November 29.

STANFORD: Thursday Night!

If my body doesn't have any other booby traps in store, I'll be lecturing at Stanford University this Thursday at 6pm.

Spread the word and I'll see you there.