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January 06, 2006
I'm like a sniper, hyper off the ginseng root
Mike Watson, artist of the very funny and all-too-rarely-produced Gabagool!, is posting big chunks of Freddie and Me, his graphic novel about his adolescence as a Queen fan, for free on the internets. Dawson's art is developing beautifully; the shaky, lo-fi charm that he showed in Gabagool! is blossoming into confident line work, idiosyncratic forms, and dynamic compositions that bring to mind a warmer, more personal Joe Sacco. The story is equally endearing. I can't wait to see the completed volume.
I actually got a little choked up reading Gotham Central #39 on the train this morning. I hadn't realized how invested I had become in the characters, especially Allen and Montoya, over the last few years. It's a testament to the power of strong characterization; when Blue Beetle or Hawkeye bought it, the only emotion I could summon up was snark. If you gave up on this series for any reason, be it the exodus of the original creative team or its shift in a more superhero-focused direction, you're missing the powerful culmination of 3 years of character development and maybe the best arc of the series.
Comic Book Galaxy has a preview of Barry Windsor-Smith's proposed Thing graphic novel. Apparently it's not a sure thing that Marvel will publish the book, which makes it all the stranger to see excerpts on the internet. Click on over there for some outstanding black and white Windsor-Smith goodness.
My man Jason Rodriguez, AKA the busiest man in comics, is putting together a new feature at the DC Conspiracy site. He's looking for brief comic pitches and scripts to which he will lend his prodigious editing talents. It's all going to happen online as a "heavily moderated brainstorming session," with the admirable goal of everybody helping each other make better comics. If you've got a story rattling around in your head that could benefit from some feedback and polish, this sounds like a great opportunity. It's definitely a lot more helpful than Robert Kirkman's latest bit of "advice" on CBR, wherein he dispenses the useful wisdom that you suck and you should give up.
One last link for you: Paul O'Brien's year-end wrap-up of Marvel's entire X-Men line. The guy's obviously a glutton for punishment, but at least we get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. You may want to skip ahead to the end, where O'Brien gets down to the dregs of all the aborted series, one-shots, and other failed cash-in attempts. For a sample, here's his summary of the recent What If? book starring Wolverine:
It's by Daniel Way and it's crap. Basically, it's "What if Wolverine had lived during the Prohibition and had the origin of the Punisher?" The answer is "He would have been the Punisher, only during the Prohibition." Pointless beyond belief.Good! Use your aggressive feelings, boy! Let the hate flow through you!
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at January 6, 2006 04:14 PM
Comments
Actually, two different articles. The Hive, on Buzzscope starting next thursday is a brainstorming make the industry better thing.
This other little exercise on the DCC site is making would-be comic writers better.
All good, though, thanks for the plug. And I'm busy now but in four weeks I get a lot less busy.
Posted by: Jason Rodriguez at January 6, 2006 04:46 PM
So Jerm, you hype the J.R. column, but you don't contact your partner in procrastination to actually dust off our own in-need-of-brainstorming stuff???
Posted by: Matt B at January 9, 2006 11:34 AM