29 June 2011
26 June 2011
Gene Colan
Rest In Peace, Gene Colan.
From Tomb Of Dracula and Iron Man and Howard The Duck to Ragamuffins and Detectives Inc. and the Harrowers, one of the finest artists the medium will ever know. Nobody could work a pencil like him.
20 June 2011
Relativity, Inc.
I love comic books.
When I was younger I dreamed of being an artist and a writer, and especially an editor. My meager journalism background eventually lead me to comic book journalism, which allowed me to come to know many a creator and publisher of the industry. While I no longer mess with reporting or reviews or interviews or the like, I still communicate with tons of writers and artists. They are my friends. I remain an active comic book reader, and remain extremely passionate about the medium.
I have taken sick pride in the number of creative gigs that I have turned down in the past few years, as there are numerous writers and artists who got their start in the media game. I am particular about my creative efforts, and always have been. And while the bulk of my writing projects lined up are outside the realms of sequential art, there will be certain exceptions, all of which involve working with friends. The creative act itself means more to me than money or press or anything silly like that. And there are always a thousand or more starving artists for every open position at the half dozen or so publishers that can still afford to pay creators. Obviously, I will never be one to seek out active employment as a creator myself in the industry.
But my passion is strong, and I have been wrestling with ways in which I can still be relative to the medium I love so much.
A few months ago, it hit me.
I want, in the coming year, to gather the means with which to form a new non-profit organization. Last year, I served on the interim Board of Directors for the Friends Of Lulu charity organization, as we (under the guidance of President Valerie D'Orazio) guided the group into retirement. The experience left me hungry.
Before my time with FoL, I had played a small roll in the Wonder Woman Day charity event, from handling much of the PR for WWDIV to hunting down artists willing to contribute to the charity auctions for both WWDIV and WWDV. Before that, I have years of grassroots social work experience, from years of seasonal involvement bellringing with the Salvation Army to cooking at soup kitchens and detox centers, and especially my family's decade-long work in the form of Rebecca's Voice, wherein we organized rallies and demonstrations, etc, all to promote Domestic Violence Awareness.
What I would like to make happen, is the formation of a comic book-focused charity group. Because the FoL left a certain void to fill, as will the impending demise of Wonder Woman Day. CBLDF can only do so much, and the Hero Initiative is very much biased in their decisions. There are plenty of smaller efforts, so my group might serve as a manner of middleman, connecting those in need with the agency best suited to assist.
Moreso, I would like for the group to be in a position to serve as an educational front, by sponsoring lecture series and hosting gallery showings. We could grant scholarships. Promoting diversity would be a key issue, as would creator rights and combating censorship. We could provide free legal counsel in censorship issues. We could help with medical bills, and other cases of creators in need. Shite happens, and the folks who bring these books to life should receive any and all support so that they might continue to do their work.
Because, media is a clusterfuck of biased sensationalism, and there are more than enough creators trying to squeeze into the business. The largest publishers are basically idea machines for other mediums. The industry has been shrinking exponentially since it all began over 70 years ago, and the end most assuredly is nigh.
I think to cure the ills, we need to dig deeper than worrying about anything as subjective as plot points or Hollywood.
I do not know how I will make this happen, but I have a world of ideas, and I am very open to suggestions.
When I was younger I dreamed of being an artist and a writer, and especially an editor. My meager journalism background eventually lead me to comic book journalism, which allowed me to come to know many a creator and publisher of the industry. While I no longer mess with reporting or reviews or interviews or the like, I still communicate with tons of writers and artists. They are my friends. I remain an active comic book reader, and remain extremely passionate about the medium.
I have taken sick pride in the number of creative gigs that I have turned down in the past few years, as there are numerous writers and artists who got their start in the media game. I am particular about my creative efforts, and always have been. And while the bulk of my writing projects lined up are outside the realms of sequential art, there will be certain exceptions, all of which involve working with friends. The creative act itself means more to me than money or press or anything silly like that. And there are always a thousand or more starving artists for every open position at the half dozen or so publishers that can still afford to pay creators. Obviously, I will never be one to seek out active employment as a creator myself in the industry.
But my passion is strong, and I have been wrestling with ways in which I can still be relative to the medium I love so much.
A few months ago, it hit me.
I want, in the coming year, to gather the means with which to form a new non-profit organization. Last year, I served on the interim Board of Directors for the Friends Of Lulu charity organization, as we (under the guidance of President Valerie D'Orazio) guided the group into retirement. The experience left me hungry.
Before my time with FoL, I had played a small roll in the Wonder Woman Day charity event, from handling much of the PR for WWDIV to hunting down artists willing to contribute to the charity auctions for both WWDIV and WWDV. Before that, I have years of grassroots social work experience, from years of seasonal involvement bellringing with the Salvation Army to cooking at soup kitchens and detox centers, and especially my family's decade-long work in the form of Rebecca's Voice, wherein we organized rallies and demonstrations, etc, all to promote Domestic Violence Awareness.
What I would like to make happen, is the formation of a comic book-focused charity group. Because the FoL left a certain void to fill, as will the impending demise of Wonder Woman Day. CBLDF can only do so much, and the Hero Initiative is very much biased in their decisions. There are plenty of smaller efforts, so my group might serve as a manner of middleman, connecting those in need with the agency best suited to assist.
Moreso, I would like for the group to be in a position to serve as an educational front, by sponsoring lecture series and hosting gallery showings. We could grant scholarships. Promoting diversity would be a key issue, as would creator rights and combating censorship. We could provide free legal counsel in censorship issues. We could help with medical bills, and other cases of creators in need. Shite happens, and the folks who bring these books to life should receive any and all support so that they might continue to do their work.
Because, media is a clusterfuck of biased sensationalism, and there are more than enough creators trying to squeeze into the business. The largest publishers are basically idea machines for other mediums. The industry has been shrinking exponentially since it all began over 70 years ago, and the end most assuredly is nigh.
I think to cure the ills, we need to dig deeper than worrying about anything as subjective as plot points or Hollywood.
I do not know how I will make this happen, but I have a world of ideas, and I am very open to suggestions.
18 June 2011
JUN
Been strolling through back to back illnesses, while hunting down odd jobs. Quite a bit of landscaping and assorted farm work, lots of working with my hands. Turning down more writing gigs however. Unless it's helping a friend I'm just not interested. I am living without money, without generating bills, and am just able to give what I am bringing in to my surviving immediate family members. I am setting and living by my own standards. I am spending much time meditating in the woods as well, specifically on the land once owned by my grandparents. It feels like too many persons are waiting for me to make a move, but I am falling into hermitage mode, falling into sponge mode. I try to spend as much time in the future as in the past, though the draw to be a participating member of society diminishes from one moment to the next. I do not want to save the world. I do not want to destroy the world. I believe either aim is missing the point entirely.
04 June 2011
so mote it be!
Creatively, I am not pursuing any additional outlets until early next year at the soonest, but I wanted here to share some dream projects that have been with me for awhile, and may go on like that for too many more years before I ever find the means with which to bring them to life. If anybody wants to steal one- by all means do. All of these should exist.
I would like to write and illustrate a Harlequinade as a Tijuana Bible. The epitome of genius, cultural satire to end all cultural satire.
I would like to write a 33 issue finite series featuring the Fighting American, with each issue corresponding directly to its concurrent degree in Freemasonry. It would be bigger than the Watchmen. I suppose The Knife And Fork degree would be the zero iss.
I would like to design a coloring book titled Necronomasutra. It would incorporate an epic poem I have been working on for over a decade called the Lion and the Goddess, in which a lion and an Egyptian goddess engage simultaneously in pornographic sex and philosophical discourse.
I want to write a comic book adaptation of Charles Kingsley's Water-Babies, ideally for Classics Illustrated. The Classics Illustrated line, which may have presented dozens upon dozens of adaptations in the past 7 decades or so, has never adapted Water-Babies. A few years back I had the chance to electronically mention this to (current Classics Illustrated publisher) Papercutz's Editor In Chief. Neither of us could find any record of the book ever being brought to comic book form before, under any label. Considering the wealth of social and political commentary therein (much of which could easily find relevancy in today's world), and the really fun visual potential, this is a sin.
...to be continued?
I would like to write and illustrate a Harlequinade as a Tijuana Bible. The epitome of genius, cultural satire to end all cultural satire.
I would like to write a 33 issue finite series featuring the Fighting American, with each issue corresponding directly to its concurrent degree in Freemasonry. It would be bigger than the Watchmen. I suppose The Knife And Fork degree would be the zero iss.
I would like to design a coloring book titled Necronomasutra. It would incorporate an epic poem I have been working on for over a decade called the Lion and the Goddess, in which a lion and an Egyptian goddess engage simultaneously in pornographic sex and philosophical discourse.
I want to write a comic book adaptation of Charles Kingsley's Water-Babies, ideally for Classics Illustrated. The Classics Illustrated line, which may have presented dozens upon dozens of adaptations in the past 7 decades or so, has never adapted Water-Babies. A few years back I had the chance to electronically mention this to (current Classics Illustrated publisher) Papercutz's Editor In Chief. Neither of us could find any record of the book ever being brought to comic book form before, under any label. Considering the wealth of social and political commentary therein (much of which could easily find relevancy in today's world), and the really fun visual potential, this is a sin.
...to be continued?
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