I'm the managing editor of Orang Utan Comics, group editor of AAM/Markosia, writer of Alpha Gods, Hypergirl and Hero: 9-5, and also do freelance inking and lettering work for the likes of AAM/Markosia, Slave Labour, Top Shelf, Image, Marvel/Panini and I letter the official Doctor Who graphic novels for BBC Books.
Orang Utan Comics - Alpha Gods - Hero: 9 to 5
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My Elephant Words story for this week. Please feel free to comment on the Elephant Words website, as feedback is always very welcome!
It’s a good, strong dialogue piece on a subject that of course reverberates with your own personal experiences. I like the early mention of theatre alongside the ‘show’ of the church.
I’d say that the woman has little to say and that her questions could exist within his own internal monologue and don’t act as a big opposing force.
“then just imagine what a peak behind the curtain” - the word is ‘peek’, but it’s just a typo.
I don’t quite understand this part of sentence towards the end of the work “you start out believing that you’re called of God and doing the right thing”. Is the phrase ‘you’re called of God’ something I’m just not familiar with?Overall, enjoyed the piece. Of course. ;)
I have corrected said typo. I’m tired and didn’t bother proof reading.
Yes, the woman doesn’t have much to say, but as I posted earlier, as an internal monologue (a style that I often use on EW) it was coming across as far too harsh. It was just an opinion piece, just a rant, and so really didn’t work at all. Turning it from a monologue into a dialogue just softened its impact slightly, for me, and also made the ending feel a little more poignant.
As for being “called of God”…yes, I guess that’s a phrase you’re not familiar with, but it’s essentially synonymous with “called by God.”
I have to say that it’s always going to be very tricky for any convention organiser to achieve gender parity on convention panels while the industry as a whole remains incredibly skewed towards male creators. That’s not to say that I don’t admire the principle of male creators stepping off panels…
There will be resistance to change and accusations of tokenism, I’m sure. The gesture’s sentiment is appreciated, but the approach should be less sensationalist. Conventions, their organisers and attendees will benefit more positively if the panels and guests are decided well ahead of time, rather than as a last-minute announcement (possibly disappointing and frustrating some fans).
From my experience working at Orang Utan Comics and Markosia, there’s never ever been a hint of being judged by anything other than my skill. The Indy comics community also seems to be very positive and supportive of anyone willing to prove their commitment. I count myself fortunate to be in such educated and gender-positive company, both male and female.
Encouraging more female creators to take part in panels is a great idea, not only as an encouragement for the next generation of artists and writers, but also for another perspective on the business. Should there be a seat available on a panel discussing my particular area of expertise – art and colour - I will gladly accept it and represent. ;)
Reblogged for Yel’s comments.
Total Biscuit discusses SOPA and why we should all be worried. That means you, fanarter, blogger, tumbler, twitterer, youtuber and etc.
I wonder who will prevail? Will we continue to be able to share and discuss ideas freely… Or will the narrowminded nincompoops, who don’t even know how the “internets” works, have their way?
…and a discussion on Twitter earlier in which someone decried the “utter sterility” of digital inking, and stated that unless you’re using physical ink on physical pencils on physical paper then you’re “not an inker” got me thinking about my inking and looking at it again.
I have to say that I…
These criticisms of art (digital or otherwise) crop up quite often. If it’s not ‘inking is just tracing’ then it’s ‘using photo references is cheating’. All this speaks more of the layman’s unfamiliarity of art methods.
As you mentioned, there is a misconception about digital colouring. I’ve heard people getting confused and envisioning digi-colourists parking their butts in front of the computer, pressing a button … et voila! Finished colours. Not so! I spend between five and seven hours colouring a page and a great deal of care is put into mood lighting, hues, shadows and highlights all intended to support not only the lineart but also the story.
PhotoShop and your tablet are simply a different set of tools. Digital art is more forgiving to mistakes than traditional, but it’s still a medium that invariably reflects your skill and experience as an artist. Same with inking, your inks are only as good as you are… regardless of whether it’s digital or traditional brushes.
Reblogged for Yel’s excellent input.
I realize I talk mostly about writers and story things, and that’s a disservice to comics criticsm because art is at least one-half of the story, probably more. It’s one of my greatest self-diagnosed flaws as bringer of the teal deer, how I regularly fail to discuss panel layouts and framing choices when I talk about what comics mean.
So today I will tell you exactly why Greg Land is horrible.
People buy comics for many reasons. My writer colleague focuses on the story and writing, me being the arty-fartist, I look primarily to the art and colouring.
Reading more and more about Land’s ‘technique’ makes me quite reluctant to buy these books. To my eye, reused panels stick out sharply, and seeing badly-selected traces from photos is like seeing a spelling or a grammatical error that distracts you from the content.
Now, deadlines are always tight and shortcuts are inevitable, but when you wilfully choose to service your personal desires rather than serve the story and the characters, then we have a problem.
I think me feelings about Land’s work have been more than adequately documented on this blog recently. Land drawing a comic isn’t going to stop me buying a book that I’m already reading and loving the writing on. I’m not going to boycott Land drawn issues of Uncanny X-Men, Kieron’s writing is fab and, you know, it’s Uncanny X-Men… But Land’s art will, definitely, put me off picking up something new.
We’re planning on doing something a little special for the show. I mean…other than having some awesome new books out.
We’re planning on building a fort.
Yes. A fort.
I’m mainly posting about this now so that I’ll feel obliged to actually do it, because it will be awesome.
We need siege weapons
YES!!!
Also, provisions. In the form of cake.
Wouldn’t roast suckling pig be more appropriate? You know, with the theme?
1 - ‘Brave Ewe World’ by Tpcat. Tpcat’s light, innocent style is frequently twisted by the dark humour and even darker subject matter. That’s why I love it so much and have most of her books in my collection. Terome McNally of Little old Man usually mans the table with his own brilliant works in tow.
2 - ‘Don Quixote’ adapted by Rob Davis from the Selfmade Hero table. A quick flick through and the strong style convinced me I had to get a copy. Looking forward to reading this, as I used to be obsessed by Cervantes’ creation when I was a kid.
3 - ‘Hero: 9 - 5’ by the OUC team with Markosia! You should absolutely get this book. New cover edition.
4 - ‘Omnipathy’ #1 by Joe Sparrow. I recognised the pixelart comic from a DD on DeviantArt. Very happy to have a copy signed by the artist in my hand.
5 - ‘Sly’ Print by echogreens.deviantart.com. Very nice piece, though I feel a little guilty as the artist had to replace a ruined print whilst trying to sign it. Oi vei.
6 - Postcard signed by dA’s one and only Humon! I follow her ‘Scandinavia and the World’ webcomic and it was a great surprise to see her there. Also got a booze demon badge.
7 - You have the button, you have the badge… it’s time for ‘Depressed cat on Twitter’. Because why not? It is virtually impossible to go wrong with cats.
8 - Then I spotted one of my favourite ‘Left 4 Dead 2’ fanarts from deviantArt. The one sweet thing about the MCM is that you have a good chance of running into the artists you follow on tumblr, deviantart and otherwise.
9 - Sticker by Exitstageleft.deviantart.com. Beautiful colour palettes but it’s a shame that they were so small and not a4.
10 - Ran into Reaperfox, always a pleasure… albeit a brief one.
11 - Josceline Fenton, the author and artist of ‘Hemlock’. It caught my eye at the May’s convention and I had to get both books there and then. Sadly, she’d already sold out of #3 on Saturday. Booh.
12 - My ‘Comic Industry Professional’ pass. The one that makes me feel like a bit of a fraud yet quite proud and awesome at the same time. :)
:)
