Weird Worlds #1: Garbageman by Lopresti

DC Comics’ relaunch of the anthology title Weird Worlds begins this week with an impressive array of creators and characters.

Kevin VanHook and Jerry Ordway are presenting new adventures of the bad-ass fan favorite Lobo. Kevin Maguire debuts a new character called Tanga.

But for me, the one I’m most looking forward to is Garbageman, a new variant in the “monster-as-hero” genre from Aaron Lopresti (most recently the artist on Wonder Woman).

I’ve known Aaron for a number of years, ever since he worked on the Ultraverse on a book called Sludge. Aaron pencilled and occasionally wrote issues of the UV’s monster-hero that was created by Steve Gerber, who created an earlier monster-hero called Man-Thing for Marvel Comics.

Garbageman fits perfectly into the monster comic genre that includes Man-Thing, Swamp Thing, The Heap, Sludge and others. I’m surprised it’s taken this long for someone to step up and revive the concept.

Click to continue reading Weird Worlds #1: Garbageman by Lopresti

Al Gordon’s Comic Book Workshop

Taking a look around the Craigslist lately, I discovered not a job, but an opportunity. My old pal Al Gordon - a most excellent inker of comics and a fine comic book penciler in his own right, and a Harvey, Eisner and CBG award winner - is offering his comic book workshop.

Of course, it’s in San Francisco because that’s where Al is, but if you can make it there, it’s sure to be worth the trip. Al’s been doing his workshop since 2004, so there’s probably more than a few things you can learn about making comics, making art, making a living and having a career in funnybooks and its related offspring.

According to Al, “If you’re an accomplished ‘creator’ or just a frantic fan of this mind-melting medium and would love to produce your own comics, this is the workshop for you.”

Al promises to teach each class the “craft of producing a comic book, from start to finish” with the goal of creating “a comic book of any style and take it from scratch to a print-ready comic book yarn.”

It’s four classes a month, details and cool stuff at Al’s website.

[Artwork: Cover to Image Comics’ Wildstar by Jerry Ordway and Al Gordon, © Jerry Ordway and Al Gordon]