Brandon Graham's Blog, page 257

hi marian! After years of slumber, I've finally decided to take steps to start a "career" in the the arts. I have to pay rent though... do you have any tips on how to survive/navigate a terrible day-job in the meantime? (It's been quite the juggling act.)

Hi - this is a really good question, and I’ve actually tried to answer it several times but I’ve never been satisfied with my response.

Anyway, let me try again.

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can you teach me how to be cool

I like to think of myself as a trailblazer, in the leafy wilds of coolness. A pioneer, really… so here you go:

I’m going to spend this afternoon and evening going through my asks, old and new. And to anons who send me things that aren’t questions, just nice messages: thanks very much. I obviously can’t reply directly, but they make my day.

orc stain 8 fucking WHEN! im making you responsible brandon, somebody has to answer for this.

I talked to James grieving wife Marley Z tonight and she said he’s been working on it a lot lately and coloring a lot and that he also has been hogging the cat.

I got the idea that he’s getting a lot of the next trade done before he puts in out. but who can say, he is elusive and only answers questions in trade for chicken.

I did manage to get a recent photo.

Hi. i was directed at this tumblr for harsh critizism of DC's new diversity movement. Could you provide that? Maybe including some mac&cheese analogies? Many thanks.

I find it interesting: maybeee, hopefully positive, but with some disappointing elements.

I see it as publishers catching onto that a huge amount of comic readers are women and people of color who want to see real representation in the books they read or even white dudes who are side eyeing a publisher for it’s lack of diversity in hiring.

So you get books like Gotham Academy and Batgirl that seem to me as DC book that are being sold as female friendly. Whole foods comics. Because they are books that are being sold with a intended political agenda.  They both have like 3 creators on them and one is a woman. (Becky co-writing on Gotham and Babs Tarr drawing BatG.)

I think these are like the corporate response to what creators like Kelly Sue DeConnick have in their blood. I suspect their hearts are in the right place in the creative level but at least that is my theory for why these books seem to be getting green lit

I think them bringing in Gene Yang, is a smart move. He makes really good comics, and I’m glad to see Ming Doyle co-writing as well as drawing. I really like her art.-plus these days being just an artist in that end of comics seems to be not enough.

So my disappointment in all this is that at my core I’m intensely anti corporate and especially anti corporate control and ownership of the creators works and characters,  This is still DC, still the same people who brought you Before Watchmen and have been shitting on creators rights for decades. The same people who will change scripts and art without the creators permission & run it with Combos ads every other page.— yup, still DC. 

I feel like all these creators being brought in could be doing books they own and control at Image or First Second

or where ever.

I would love to see more creators just write off ever working in that end of comics ~ but also, I don’t expect my agenda to be universal. I know talking to Kelly Sue,( I think we might’ve talked about it on this inkstuds) I’ve gotten the idea that the advantage in working for those companies was the distribution it allowed for her ideas. So she could do smart female characters that young readers could actually find as opposed to my ideal world of digging forever to find comics gold.

So hopefully It’s a good thing and DC can be less shitty at least on diversity in hiring level. I see a lot of excitement about it and I’m like “ugh. a Prez relaunch..?” but I gotta let people like what they like. I’ll be over here being a sour indy dude. 

Prophet semi-omnibus HC 1, before or after earth war?

After I would think. No set plans yet. 

According to Diamond, Earth War is cancelled. I hope this just means it has to be re-solicited due to delays?! Whennnnn will this majesty happen?

Yeah, Earth war was put on hold to be re-solicited. It’s all my fault but I think it’ll be worth the wait in the end. We’ve got 2 and a half issues done now and we’re gonna send it out again as soon as we have 3.

Here’s a Giannis spread from Earth war colored by JB3.

comixruleeverythingaroundme:Had to get it! Couldn’t have come...

comixruleeverythingaroundme:

Had to get it! Couldn’t have come out better. One hero down, next up: xaime!

yesssssssssssssss!

Needless to say, I’ve been watching more Spiral zone...

Needless to say, I’ve been watching more Spiral zone cartoons.

Sexica is a really interesting name, is it dutch?

It’s like the name Jessica but with it’s face getting eaten by the word Sex.

Will you be at TCAF

I think I might miss it..