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Comic Book Jobs: South Park
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Television,
Yes, I'm cheating again, but only slightly as you'll see. South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's genius TV show, needs a little bit of help. Perhaps yours?
They need an Animator, a Technical Artist, and my favorite (and why they are listed here), Storyboard Design Artist.
The storyboard gig is entry-level, but includes Background Design and (the cool part) Character Design.
You'll need experience with the various computer design programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
They'd like you to know that this is "not a compositing job" but you can expect an "intense, creative, and rewarding production schedule beginning in April."
You will have to be living in Los Angeles for the duration, but how bad is that, really?
Good luck, job seekers!
[Artwork: South Park]
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Forgotten Comics: Lyonel Feininger
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Ordinarily, I’d just put this down in my Weekend Reading section on Friday, but it’s so beautiful and wonderful to look at, that you need to see it now.
If you love old comics, want to see how one of the masters used to use his newspaper space or wonder why so many cartoonists complain about how the shrinkage of the reproduction size of their art harms the art form, go check this out.
Animator Michael Sporn has posted a nice selection of Lyonel Feininger’s classic strip: The Kin-der-Kids. Michael says the strip stands “with the best of Winsor McCay’s comic strips and, in some ways, is even more graphically daring than McCay.”
Feininger had a fascinating career that started in cartooning and ended in fine art.
After you're done looking at his comics, be sure to check out his wild, later stuff.
Click to continue reading Forgotten Comics: Lyonel Feininger
Q&A: Neil Vokes And Dr. Strange #1
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews, Marvel Comics,
One of my favorite comics back in the 1980s was an independently produced gem called Eagle from writer Jack Herman and artist Neil Vokes. Neil’s carved out quite a career for himself since then working for all of the big publishers and becoming a fan favorite.
Coming up in February, Neil teams up with writer Roger Stern (Amazing Spider-Man) for a Dr. Strange one-shot called Doctor Strange: From The Marvel Vault #1.
Going back into the continuity archives, this issue tells the story of Dr. Strange’s first night in the house that would become his Sanctum Sanctorum for many years (the weird old brownstone at 177-A Bleecker Street in Manhattan).
Marvel’s solicitation copy says “But what eerie secrets does the building hide? What lurks within its walls? Is it...haunted? Now, at last, the full story of Doctor Strange's first night in his Sanctum Sanctorum stands revealed.”
Hopefully, Dormammu will make an appearance behind one of the doors!
Vokes has a nice, spooky style that’s perfect for Dr. Strange and since the story is set back in the Manhattan of the 1960s (the Ditko version of Manhattan), I wanted to find out more.
Click to continue reading Q&A: Neil Vokes And Dr. Strange #1
Weekend Reading: Bill Finger, Mighty Samson, The Shadow & Valerian
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Independent, Marvel Comics,
Thank you internets, you’ve been great this week. So let’s share that bounty with others:
Mighty Samson: Writer J.C. Vaughn has a preview of Mighty Samson #1 at his blog. Shooter’s involved, Patrick Olliffe is the artist. Dark Horse is the publisher. I’m in!
Here’s a little more about the series at Comic Attack.
Shadow: Novelist James Reasoner has a Forgotten Book that’s a must have for fans of Maxwell Grant’s The Shadow: Gangland's Doom: The Shadow of the Pulps, by Frank Eisgruber Jr.
British Comics: Matthew Murray at Comics Beat goes all out for the new Dandy and breaks down its contents.
Peanuts: Zach Weiner finally lets Charlie Brown kick that football.
Peppers: Mark Evanier lives the sitcom life.
3-D: Ricky Sprague at Project Child Murdering Robot tells how Marvel Comics (in 3-D!) turned him into an atheist. Bonus: 3-D artwork on the internets!
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Bill Finger, Mighty Samson, The Shadow & Valerian
President Bob Foster And Myron Moose
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Independent,
Mr. Natural and Fritz The Cat (Robert Crumb). Cheech Wizard (Vaughn Bode). Dirty Duck (Bobby London). Wonder Wart-Hog (Gilbert Shelton).
All of them are great underground comic book characters. But they're not my favorite. For my money, cartoonist Bob Foster created one of the greatest underground comic characters of all time, Myron Moose.
Foster published Myron Moose Funnies in the early 1970s and they were later re-published by Fantagraphics in the late 1980s, along with Moose strips that originally appeared in Marvel's Crazy.
Foster's also had the kind of career that a lot of people would look at and go "cool!"
He's been an animator for Hanna-Barbera (among others), lived in Europe where he wrote tons of comics - including Donald Duck - for Walt Disney Publishing and later was the editor of Walt Disney's Comics & Stories, and other Disney-based titles.
Click to continue reading President Bob Foster And Myron Moose
Steve Rude Could Use Some Help
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Independent,
Steve Rude has been having some financial difficulties. His story has been all over the internets, but in the event that some of you people (gasp) don’t read Tom Spurgeon’s The Comics Reporter or Heidi MacDonald’s The Beat or Robot 6, I’m directing you to Tom’s story.
The Dude’s been auctioning off some of his sweet, sweet Nexus original art on eBay to cover his debt and give him a shot at keeping his home from foreclosure. The prices are nice, but more importantly, this is going to a good cause. Nexus, written by Mike Baron and illustrated by The Dude, was one of the big independent creator-owned comic books to succeed in the growing direct market of the 1980s, and owning a piece of Steve’s fantastic art is like owning a piece of history.
Years ago, at the request of First Comics’ Rick Oliver, I once gave The Dude a ride from the San Diego Comic Con to LAX. We should all live so long to have a 2-hour ride with him in the car. Heidi MacDonald was also with us. Good times!
If you can spare the cash, if you like original art, if you like Nexus, help out the Dude.
[Artwork: Nexus, © Mike Baron and Steve Rude]
Comic Book Jobs: Pixar Animation
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies,
Are you a comic book artist who’s looking for a change from Batman/Spider-Man/Avengers and want to get into something new? Do you want something steadier in an industry that might be around for awhile? Try animation.
Pixar is the animation studio that has redefined it. Hits like Toy Story, The Incredibles, Cars, A Bug’s Life, Up, and more have made it the gold standard for cartoons. And if you can draw comic books, you might have a shot at working for their studio.
They’re looking for Story Artists “to portray the film story concepts in comic book form to guide subsequent film production.”
That sounds a lot like storyboarding, which is a lot like drawing comic book panels. You’ll be receiving “written and verbal descriptions of a sequence from the Director” and creating storyboards that “depict the action, camera placement, and acting of the characters in that sequence.”
Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Pixar Animation
Batman Confidential #50: Jerry Bingham Returns
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
If there’s one comic book I’m really looking forward to in November, it’s Batman Confidential #50. For starters, it’s the first of a 5-part story by writer Marc Guggenheim, the executive producer of the upcoming super-hero TV series No Ordinary Family. That would have me at the comic store anyway.
But what’s going to get me there on November 3 is that the art (and cover) is by my pal Jerry Bingham (artist on Batman: Son Of The Demon, one of the great graphic novels of all time). DC’s promo copy says Jerry’s drawing Batman “for the first time in more than 20 years,” and who am I to argue?
I’ve known Jerry for years – I’ve commissioned covers from him on comics I’ve edited and written. And he was a design-and-color consultant in the early days of the Ultraverse, so I got to hang with him nearly every day and watch him work. I can’t wait for this.
This 56-page issue stars “a younger, more maverick Batman as he faces a foe who had once tangled with the Justice League of America in the Orient!” The back-up JLA story ties in with Marc and Jerry’s lead.
I’m already in line.
[Artwork: Cover to Batman Confidential #50 by Jerry Bingham, © DC Entertainment]
Weekend Reading: Comic Con International, Tom Peyer, Ultraverse and Paul Cornell
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, Television, Independent,
Comic Con International in San Diego is closer than you think. Years ago, I started compiling my own list of convention secrets starting with a great place to go to the bathroom that’s tucked away in a corner, just minutes from the convention floor, and no one seems to know about it. Then I read the list compiled by Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter and I am ashamed of my own ineptitude. If you’re going to the con this summer, you need to read Tom’s list of 135 tips.
After you’ve finished reading Tom’s tips, here are a few other links to brighten your weekend…
Want To Be A Writer?: Of course you do. Who doesn’t? Step into any cocktail party or backyard barbecue and it’s full of people bursting with ideas, if only they can find someone who could take a few minutes to write it all down for them. The real trick is finding places that might be interested in publishing something once it’s all written down. If you feel like writing some stuff down, John Scalzi (the Hugo Award-winning sf author) and Wil Wheaton (yes, that Wil Wheaton) have joined forces to create a writing contest that’s win-win-win for all. Maybe even you.
Walking Dead Artist Lends Talents to Romero
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Movies, Image Comics,
The Walking Dead writer Robert Kirkman may be lending his concentration to filming the television version of the hit comic book series, but artist Charlie Adlard is lending his talents to a great source of their inspiration: George Romero.
In a promotional poster for Romero’s latest film, Survival of the Dead, fans of the Image series should be quick to notice Adlard’s familiar artwork. That’s a whole lotta zombie goodness right there.
Check out the film when it hits theaters on May 28!
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