Brandon Graham's Blog, page 146

my 2nd IMAGE+ magazine.Comic lovers page

my 2nd  IMAGE+ magazine.Comic lovers page

garsh:Ever wonder why Mega Man looked the way he did on...

garsh:

Ever wonder why Mega Man looked the way he did on Captain N: The Game Master? Read on for the answer, in the words of the artist who designed him: Fil Barlow.

To put it in perspective, I had less than a couple of weeks to do the art posted here. I was the last artist to be seasonally laid off by DiC. Once fired, my working Visa was terminated and I had to leave the country. I had one night to play the games and no further contact with the material, including the manuals. I had no idea who was involved in the making of the games, and I didn’t know the name Capcom back then, but I wasn’t in any position of authority to contact the clients at Nintendo. If anything it’s surprising how much I got right, considering.

Even this explanation doesn’t clarify the green color scheme disparity. He also said he was terrible at playing the game, so never confronted any of the bosses. If that’s true, he should have only ever seen Mega Man in blue. It turns out the TV he played on must have suffered from poor contrast settings, as he went on to add the following remark.

…Megaman’s appearance is simply how it looked to me on the TV I had and no one else checked…

And if you think that’s something, his original design concept included a whole “mega” family, with mom, pop and even mega pets. It was more of an Incredibles type of super hero situation than the Astro Boy / Tetsuwan Atom homage that Mega Man truly represented. Further, his early vision for what became Captain N was based primarily on the Paper Boy videogame and was entirely unlike the end product we saw on TV, for better or worse.

See for yourself in Fil Barlow’s Deviantart gallery:
http://filbarlow.deviantart.com/art/Before-Captain-Nintendo-there-was-Buddy-Boy-312281346

deconcomics:This week’s podcast features Aussie comics...

deconcomics:

This week’s podcast features Aussie comics creators and animators Helen Maier and Fil Barlow. What is the meaning behind their new series “Yorris”? http://deconstructingcomics.com/?p=5226

Fil Barlow’s ZOONIVERSE running in ISLAND #9 I’ve been a huge...

Fil Barlow’s ZOONIVERSE running in ISLAND #9 

I’ve been a huge fan of this comic since I was a kid. needless to say I am thrilled. 

westcoastavengers:New Mutants | Brandon Graham

westcoastavengers:

New Mutants | Brandon Graham

An older IQ84 fan art I did

An older IQ84 fan art I did 

Hey Brandon. Did anything ever come about that Kanye project you mentioned a while back? Maybe I'm mistaken, but I recall something about a secret Kanye project.

I did some work for him (mostly spit balling ideas with guys he works with), I don’t know if anything came out of it but I did talk to West on the phone a couple times, which is worth a name drop I guess? 

You're generally critical of the comics coming out of the "big two" I'm curious if there are any comics from Marvel or DC from the last twenty years that you do think are worth checking out? Just curious what floats your boat.

Suuuureee

I should qualify that I think a lot of great creators have worked at those places but that the structures of those places just don’t seem ideal for making your best work– 

I liked Farel’s work on Omega The unknown with Jonathan Lethem

Emma Rios did a great run of Doctor Strange with Mark Waid, Called STRANGE the doctor is out.

I liked The Young Avengers stuff that 

Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie.did.

David Aja and Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye was fun, I liked what I read by Kelly Sue Deconnick on Captain Marvel.

Brubaker did some good stuff, anything by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez is always good. Adam Warren did some big 2 work. His Titans book is amazing. 

The Authority book Ellis &Hitch did I think is amazing. (also his Transmet with Robertson  if we’re talking Vertigo too) 

And Morrison and Quitley’s All star superman is fantastic work. 

I feel like I could go on and on, but those are what I thought of 1st. 

Ideally I never wanna be so anti corporate comics that it blinds me to the great work that individuals do at those places. but I would also argue that in the long run those companies are not there to put out art, and the respect of the wishes of the creators who make the work is not their priority. – and I don’t know if any reader should care but as someone who works in comics– fuckkkthat. 

popgunwar:Older prophet sketch

popgunwar:

Older prophet sketch

I keep getting heated up over other people's opinions on the internet and I don't think it's good for my overall happiness. How can I learn to be a chill as you?

Something I try to remember is that an opinion is only worth something if you really value where the person giving the opinion is coming from.

I tend to only take comics advice from people who make comics I like. It’s worth being open to new ideas, & I’m always interested when an intelligent person I respect is coming from a different place than I am– but you are the only one who has to live your life.