Scott McCloud's Blog, page 24

Issue Maps!

Here's another fun one to throw into the "Is it Comics?" basket: illustrated issue maps like this one.

An easy "no" in cases where it's just words (like in this classic from Mr. F) but a more interesting question when the pictures do more of the talking.

If you go far enough, would it start to look a little more like this?

[Thanks to Dafna at Microsoft for reminding me of these crazy, wonderful charts:]

I Didn't Even Know this Guy Existed

Over at Jordan Crane's What Things Do, they've been running a ton of old art by Abner Dean, a mid-20th Century illustrator. (I'm assuming it's in the public domain or they have permission, it's clearly not in print anymore).

Pretty crazy stuff, but definitely worth a look—and worth a buy if you can find a used copy of the original.

Here's the big page. Long load times and probably NSFW, but a real mindbender.

It reminded me of William Steig's brilliant About People. Also recommended and...

Cartoonists: You Can Do This!

If you can write and draw comics, you can give a great presentation.

Presentation software is incredibly easy to learn. Pick good pictures and some stories to go with them and you're set. If you're a little shy, just read one of your comics; maybe one or two panels per page.

Dave McKean isn't Steve Jobs or anything in the above video. But compared to 99% of all presenters, he's mesmerizing. Why? Because his work speaks for itself. And Dave has lots and lots of cool pictures and stories to...

Midnight Movies and Meteor Showers…

…lead to very late mornings.

Gotta get to work, but yes we loved it and can't wait to see it again.

I'm at Microsoft on Monday (I know, not on the schedule; it all came together kind of quickly) so I might not post for a few days, but will try to offer thoughts on the movie next week.

Meanwhile check out this shot of some adorable cosplayers who were at the Regal in Simi Valley last night. Didn't get names, but if anyone knows these guys, let us know and I'll be happy to identify them.

London's Hypercomics Home

If you love creative, cutting edge comics and can be in London anytime from today until September 26, don't miss the Hypercomics exhibit The Shapes of Comics to Come at the Pump House Gallery in London's Battersea Park. It sounds (and looks) like a fascinating, site-specific exploration of comics' outer boundaries. Admission is Free.

Curated by "The Man at the Crossroads" himself, Paul Gravett, and featuring the prodigious brains of artists like Dave McKean and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, this is ...

I Say Dry Erase Girl is Comics

What do you think?

(It's pretty funny, if you haven't seen it already)

Mentioned this on Twitter and had a few forerunners pointed out to me including:

80,000 Words by Mark Rosewater (2006) (via Michael Slone)

An untitled photo series by Miranda July (via Lane Kneedler)

And Andrew McDonald's excellent A Pictorial Guide to Avoiding Camera Loss (via Rachelle M)

Now That's an Experimental Comic

You know you're entering strange territory when the first line in the "About" paragraph is an Apollinaire quote.

For that matter, you know you're in strange territory when the artist in question is veteran DIY avante garde comics artist Warren Craghead.

From the Download page at Diffusion.uk:

A Sort of Autobiography is a possible story of Warren Craghead's life projected both back to his birth in 1970 and forward to his death in 2060. Each decade of his life is represented by a storycube as a...

Small "d"

Whoops. Kind of overdid it in the comments section for Thursday's post (see my long comment near the bottom for an explanation).

Ah, democracy…

Ivy always liked Jackson best in the Hall of Presidents. What a wiseguy.

Understanding | Making | Teaching

Haven't listened again myself yet, so there's a chance I made a fool of myself, but I enjoyed talking with James Sturm on our Friday Comic-Con panel and I think some interesting points were raised.

Courtesy of TCJ, here's the audio of the panel and (photo by Kristy Valenti).

Congratulations…

…to Dylan Meconis on the recent release of her gorgeous Family Man collection. (Buy here).

…to Larry Marder on becoming the new president of the CBLDF. (Donate here).

…to California on at least temporarily overturning Prop 8. (Marry here).