Super Design Day
Last week Ron Randall and I gave a talk to Ziba Design Group, who were having a special "Design Day" event. Kind of like one of those retreats where you have to fall backwords and let that asshole from Payroll catch you so later you'll trust that he actually processes your check. But much better! Under the guidance of Eric Helsin, they split up into ten groups of people from different parts of
Awful, if you think about it.
Just watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving." After all the business with popcorn and toast, it ends with Snoopy and Woodstock carving up a turkey and digging in. Urgh. Is there such a thing as mad-bird disease?
More Thwacking
NPR has an interview from this weekends Sunday show interviewing Chris Elliott on Shroud of the Thwacker. Unless I missed it, they didn't bring up The Boilerplate Controversy. Instead they lobbed a nice big softball, probably in deference to his dad of long radio fame. So Shroud gets "the NPR bump", that holy grail of book writers everywhere-- well, no, I guess having Oprah command her legions to
You'll Only See It Here ....and on my own blog
David here. Here are some of my penciled and inked pages from issue # 1 of Bite Club: Vampire Crimes Unit, due out from Vertigo late this winter. These are pages I colored myself as samples, but the art in the books will be colored again by the talented Brian Miller at Hi Fi. So, I just thought I post 'em and junk.
Finally, real power.
Congratulations to Karen Majewski, the new mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan. Some of you might know Karen's husband, mini-comics legend Matt Feazell.Elsewhere, there's an interview with me up at Legions of Gotham, just in time for the arrival of Gotham Central #37, which, as an Infinite Crisis crossover, has been getting a lot of attention.Speaking of which, here's a look at a page of the original
An OS X driver for the Mustek Scanexpress a3 USB
The Mustek-on-a-mac instructions have been moved to our new blog:http://periscopestudio.com/?p=197 Thanks!-Posted by Steve Lieber
Thursday update.
Lots of stuff to post today. First up, Matthew Clark's in the news. Matthew's latest issue of Outsiders has, we're told, been bagged and labeled FOR MATURE READERS by a retaailer in Arkansas.Tierney had a surprise. He had a call from a customer who also works in local law enforcement to warn him about the potential dangers of selling "homosexual content" in "Outsiders" #30.The sad thing, of
More Boilerplate/Thwacker coverage
"The site includes numerous copyright notices, but neither Elliott nor his publisher, Miramax Books, seemed to have noticed. Elliott somehow convinced himself that Boilerplate and Campion were actual historical figures and the two characters appear throughout Thwacker. Elliott offers a now humorous acknowledgement to his brother, Bob Elliott Jr. for research assistance, that notes, "…you can't
The Cabin Boilerplate.
From The New York Times, November 1, 2005(photo by David Needleman)As a comedian, actor and satirist, Chris Elliott has made a career out of blurring the line between truth and absurdity. As (author of the novel The Shroud of the Thwacker) he has unintentionally fuzzied things further by falling for an online spoof and incorporating a fictional robot into his book as a historical figure...Now, Mr
Saccovision
Check it out, crack writer Inara Verzemnieks did a nice long piece on Portland cartoonist Joe Sacco in this Sunday's paper. Unfortunately you can't see the pictures that went with it, unless there's some other link for that which I didn't see. She wrote a good overview of Mercury a while back, so we're big fans. Of Sacco too!That was Parker. This is Lieber, with more news about cartoonists we
Paul Guinan and his Sideburns
I haven't posted any goofy photos of studio members recently, so here's a shot that shows Paul Guinan with his Halloween sideburns.Thanks to Heartbreakers Meet Boilerplate, Paul's been getting a lot of ink lately. A quick look around the web:Variety , Comic Critique ,The Williamette Week, The Stateman Journal, Comic Continuum, Movie Poopshoot, Oregon Live, Comics Should be Good Like many
Back from Gijon
So as I mentioned a week or so ago, I spent the week at the SALÓN INTERNACIONAL DEL COMIC DEL PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIASThis wasn't a convention. An arts festival would be the closest comparison I guess. The organizers brought a number of Anglophone and Spanish cartoonists to Gijon to exhibit their work, meet the public, and shovel down endless platefuls of the local ham. Selling comics was the last
Battle Comic
I tried to find an online version of this last week after it ran in The Oregonian, but of course it took Tom Spurgeon to point the way. Cartoonist Mike Russell summed up the Stumptown Comics Fest in the only way you can truly report a comics show- with comics. I'm the raving nutcase running around with Thing Fists on, and Mike totally nailed me. I can't do a good caricature of me, and I see me
Less than a proper post.
Not much time to do this. Sara and I are on the floor at an airport gate, waiting to board the flight that'll start us on our trip to Spain for the Gijon Comics Festival. So.Quicksand! Not as deadly as we once thought!More Stumptown wonderfulness. Erika reports./God bless Tom Peyer for finding this stuff.And how about a bit of actuial comics news: David Hahn's Marvel comics debut, X-Men Unlimited
World class; gravitational center.
When it comes to bright lights and emerging stars, Portland has a higher density than any solar system in the galaxy of graphic arts. Local heavyweights include two of the best guys in mainstream comics: Greg Rucka and Brian Michael Bendis, the top dog in the Marvel universe and Seth's hero on "The O.C." Of course, there's comic creator Craig Thompson (some critics called http://www.blogger.com/
STUMPTOWN!
Jen Wang, Craig Thompson and Erika Moen.Steve RolstonCeleste Woods has signed a three-year exclusive with her father Pete.Fantastic Four writer Jeff Parker shows how a simple sharpie can lend your Thing Hands greater verisimilitude.Mercury intern Susan Tardif stole the Thing Hands when no one was looking.Indigo did most of the work. He's tired.Paul Guinan works on a sketch. By hand.Ovi NedelcuJoe
"A shit-ton of assassin ass."
"Van Meach, the lovable mutant of a government project called Interman, is on a mission to find out where he came from while simultaneously kicking a shit-ton of assassin ass. Parker's crisp, detailed scenery sucks you into a world of government cover-ups and an international quest to find answers to a cold war project gone awry."Jeff Parker's The Interman reviewed in the Portland Mercury as part
Run to your local indy-friendly store.
Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards by Jim Ottaviani and Big Time Attic hits stores today.We've all been watching for this one carefully, and we couldn't be more excited about its arrival. Looks like the industry agrees, too, as it was one of the buzz books of SPX this year, and sold out long before the end of the show. Here's what Variety's Comics Blog says about it:"If there wasn’t a
Just Hold It.
NOTE TO FELLOW STUDIO MEMBERS: Hey guys, I'm the one who walked out with the Orion Bathroom Key in my pocket. You'll just have to make do with the Snake Plisken one until I get in around 2:00 today. Sorry.--Parker
Links for early Tuesday
I wonder if Marvel will work this into the publicity for Omega the Unknown? Jonathan Lethem named a Macarthur Genius Fellow Speaking of genius, when the Macarthur people get around to recognizing minicomics, Sean Bieri better be at the head of the line. Seanrecently posted some good news at Sequential Tart.I'd love to show you some art from the issue of Gotham Central I'm working on, but I can't,
Daily Sketchbook
From David Hahn:I just want to let the good readers of the Mercury Blog know that I am going to attempt to post a page a day (starting yesterday) from my sketchbook on my blog at Stop Saying "Amazing"!I will attempt to do this from now until the end of time, but I'm sure I'll miss a day here and there. I contribute to my sketchbook almost daily and I should do the same with my blog, so hopefully
Weekend update
Steve here. You know, I can't believe Parker made it throughbeverage week without paying tribute to this American Classic. Oh man, I could drink me down a couple of cold ones right now.Two more great reviews of Flytrap.The Comic Queen starts her review with something I need to work harder on. "I honestly have yet to figure out why Lieber and Ryan don’t get more attention for their work." And
Home Alone
David Hahn here. I've been asked by a lot of people what my home studio set up is like. Okay, just one guy asked, but I thought it would be fun to post pictures of my home workspace. I'm hoping my studio mates will do the same, even if they just sit on the couch with the lapboard, let's see it! I think it's cool to see what our personal environments look like when we do what we do: Draw guys
Flytraporama
"Sara's a novelist. She's used to autonomy when telling a story. 95% of my work has been collaborations. So of course she's flexible and easy to work with while I'm a total prima donna."That's Lieber, telling us what we already knew. He and Sara talking to Newsarama about their project, FLYTRAP. They all say the word "batch" a lot, and for some reason take an extended moment to smack Sean Bieri
But Enough About You...
here's what I'm doing:I've written an X-Men Unlimited story for issue # 11, due out next month. I received the pencils and some of the colored pages. Suh-weet. David Aja is the artist and his stuff is fabulous, reminds me of Karre Andrews's work. That's the New Mutants, Sunspot and Cannonball, hanging out there.Also, I drew the cover (in Adoble Illustrator, 6 hours) to an upcoming book called
Heartbreakers? Met Boilerplate.
And the Statesman Journal has a review of it right here. Thank goodness we have Mike Jozic to find this stuff for us since Paul won't pass it on.
Hurricane Art
Jeff Parker here--I'm repeating my post from Mystifying Oracleof what I'm auctioning this week for Gulf Coast flood victims. Please spread this around if you're a blogger or message boarder, more of Mercury Studio will be putting up art when they get in this week. My story in Dark Horse's THE ESCAPIST is coming out soon, and I'm going to use some pages from that for any Katrina Relief auctioning.
On Larsen's "old stuff" essay.
"Your old stuff was better" is a horrible thing for any artist to hear. Speaking as a reader and a cartoonist, though, there are times when I've thought it myself. Not every artist gets better throughout their career. Some change, and some lose that special something, even as they improve as technicians. One example that comes to mind is Lou Fine. I've heard both Joe Kubert and Gil Kane remark
Wha-?
I thought this was worth highlighting. In a post below, I mentioned that Mark Fossen noticed a lettering technique Sara Ryan had me use in Flytrap. In the comments thread Augie responded:"I did notice what he mentions about your lettering. It's not exactly a new invention, but it is the kind of thing that's used very sparingly today. It's not in the Comicraft How To Letter book, which makes it an
Good press.
New blogger Mark Fossen shares his thoughts on two comics of mine. He even notices stuff about the lettering that I thought only Augie would spot. And Steven Grant has some fine things to say about Heartbreakers meet Boilerplate. And here's a photo of Wonder Woman and Fantastic Four artist Drew Johnson rehearsing for his eventual move to Los Angeles. We miss him.
CUCKOO CUCKOO CUCKOO
(This is Terri, the girl one- Steve's making me post too. It's like an EST session here today. "POST IN THE BLOG OR NO BATHROOM KEY" he's saying. It's terrible. People are sobbing brokenly in the corners and Ron's trying to chew through his wrists. Although that might be more because of the music we're playing)Anyway. Parker came back from the South with a cuckoo clock, which he put up in
Steve said I'm supposed to post...
...So here's some stuff from my sketchbook. And remember, kids, it's a crime to eat the breadsticks and NOT eat the pizzacrusts. And when in doubt, the answer is "The Beta Band".David Hahnwww.hahndynasty.com
"Dean Martin never sang about minestrone"
An important discussion at 1:28 pm: What is the difference between minestrone and pasta fazool?
Optimism and pessimism at the Byrne Board
There was a big thread on the Byrne board over the weekend, dealing with the future of the comics industry and the comics medium. Here are a couple of my contributions, addressing why I'm optimistic."There's a lot of doom and gloom, and for the life of me, I don't see why. I don't think there's ever been a better time to read comics. An enormous amount of the best work of previous decades is
The 2nd Flytrap printing isn't as impressive.
So I've got those second printings of Flytrap in. No, I'm not going to do a press release. Good lord. Anyhow, these have a plus and a minus. The plus is that I ran the the art a little bigger and on heavier, slightly whiter paper, so art-wonks can study my virtuoso brushwork more closely. The minus is that the printer didn't trim the books or score the cover edge for a flatter fold, so as
Fill our ears.
Thanks to airtunes, we've been playing a lot of music in the studio, and it's always a challenge to find stuff that'll keep the energy level up without distracting people from their work. I've been putting a lot of Beach Boys and Buddy Holly out there. James Brown seems to work well, (and you can crack up the room by hitting them with "I Feel Good" right after Springsteen's "Nebraska.") Beta
Taking a whiz in the Mighty Mercury Manner
Our front door keys no longer work for the bathrooms, so we've been forced to humiliate bathroom-goers the same way our favorite cafes do, with conspicuous keychains!
The Wizard of Zzzz.
Now the up-to-the-minute hipsters of Mercury Studio are discussing the mind-blowing synchronicities that happen when you play Pink Floyd and the Wizard of Oz at the same time. Cutting edge stuff, here. Somehow this came out of Parker's suggestion that one could mash-up Zapruder's Kennedy film with the Patterson Bigfoot footage.
Hushabye Geekroom
As I write this, the studio is engaged in a fierce debate over how best to re-edit Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Developing...
209
Parker here– and here's Lieber's strip about his father that I talk about over on Mystifying Oracle. This orginally ran in Portland Monthly magazine. If it isn't loading for you, go here.
Off to Gotham.
I'm about to be busy for a month or so, so let's get some blogging in while I still can. Word has it that Parker will be back in town soon. Everyone wants to know if he's got his North Carolona accent back, and if those crazy rumors about him actually drawing again are true. Inker Jeremy Colwell has been working with Mercury a lot recently, doing great stuff. Looking for inking? Visit his
Monday, passionate Monday.
Everyone else has linked to L'il Rivkah, so I guess I should, too. The best adverserial response I've seen was on a comment thread on ">Chris Butcher's blog. It came from the always quotable Abhay Khosla , and I hope he won't be too pissed that I'm reprinting it here:"not to be the Grinch, but if i spent long hours sitting at a desk, not getting enough exercise, worrying about wrist injuries or
Thursday linkblogging.
Linkblogging. It's what's for dinner.First things first, The Willamette Week has declared Mercury the "Best Hall of Superheroes." Um... Okay. Cool. They ran our picture and everything. When they took the photo the week before their "best of" issue, we kind of thought they were going to use our name to take a shot at the competition: "Best Portland Mercury" or something like that.Kind of
Heartbreakers Meet Boilerplate- In Stores Now
Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett's latest graphic novel "Heartbreakers Meet Boilerplate" is in stores now! A year in the making and executed in a revolutionary new illustration technique Paul calls "paintography," a new art style that combines drawing, painting, and photography.The Heartbreakers, a family of clones created from the DNA of a beautiful redheaded scientist, team up with Boilerplate,
Off to Chicago
The WizWorld Chicago con starts on Thursday, and I'll be there. Big Surprise. Look for me in Hall B, table 1886. Truth to tell, I never knew there was a Hall B. Please god, don't let that be the new name for the plexiglass habitrail that connects the hotel to the convention center. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find they've put me somewhere on the ramp overlooking the main room- the one with the
Friday morning. Where is my oatmeal?
There's been much discussion of Colleen Coover's controversial new comic Banana Sunday. I'm confident that the message I posted to Newsarama on page two of this thread should clear up any lingering difficulties.In all the talk about new stores like RIOT opening up, I haven't seen any mention of the two fantastic new shops we have here in Portland: Bridge City Comics and Cosmic Monkey Comics.
On Hahn.
From David Hahn: three pages of his current project at Vertigo. A Pete Woods interview with sketches, at The Pulse.Jeff Parker talks to the press about his Fantastic Four stories.
Monday, playing catch up.
Everything you need to know about the net in two sentences: "I discovered MuggleNet that first-ever afternoon and I went in the chatroom, and it was so funny. I was treated with outright contempt." - J.K. Rowling on her first visit to a Harry Potter chatroom.Over on the TCJ board, someone asked a question about learning to ink with a brush. I wrote the following reply which I hope might helpful
It's late on Friday, so of course I'm blogging.
First things first- there've been lots of questions about Jeff Parker. The answer is he's fine. He's taking care of some family business back east, working on a bunch of scripts for Marvel and reportedly conducting experiments to resolve the age old conflict of tractor versus fire safe. We were bewildered, too.Nonetheless, we understand that many of you were disappointed that he wasn't there at
Post con.
We're back. Everyone seems to agree that the show went extremely well. I might write a bit about what I remember, but I don't think I'm going to do the sort of big con report Parker and I have done over the past few years. You've all seen pictures of the Elvis Stormtrooper at this point; one more wouldn't add much to the conversation.Maybe the best part of the con was spending time with Jim
I'm at the Clambake.
It's almost midnight in San Diego. Preview night wrapped up nicely, and I've already got a bunch of sketches lined up. First up: The Iron Giant. Now that's a nifty commission. Matthew Clark was absolutely pelted with business. It looks to me like people are finally noticing what incredible work he's doing. Parker, alas, won't be at the show this year. He's heading East to deal with some family
New. So new.
My pre-con news: A new short story comic from my publishing imprint Cold Water Press.FLYTRAP Written by Sara Ryan, drawn by me. It's the first of a series of linked short stories. This one's called Juggling Act. It's in the same format as Me and Edith Head- sixteen pages in a cardstock cover- and it'll be as poorly distributed as that book was initially, which is to say that you can get it
Thursday afternoon
Local illustrator Terri Nelson's been working with us at the studio. You can browse through some of her work here.News from David Hahn. He's writing a story for X-Men unlimited number 11. It features the original X-men. I didn't get the artist's name, but I'll post it when I get a chance to ask David. David's own art can, of course, be admired at Hahn Dynasty.Nice article about Oni Press up at
Reviewing Parker
The critics weigh in on Jeff Parker's Marvel debut, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #4.Three big thumbs up: Spider-fan , Comics Nexus, and Silver Bullet. More Parker Marvel material can be found this week in Amazing Fantasy #10, debuting the Vampire By Night feature. And when you're all Marvelled and Parkered out, pick up Teen Titans #25 for some of the sharpest art yet by Matthew Clark, who's
New Sacco interview
Found this over at Mother Jones. Portland's own Joe Sacco talks about comics, journalism, and comics journalism.
Reviewing me, convening locally
Here are links to reviews of some recent works of mine. (Attention studio-mates: Sorry for making this so Lieber-centric. If you've got stuff you want me to link, send it.) Gotham Central #32 shipped in June. It's a terrific one-shot story about a couple of corrupt Gotham cops. Greg Rucka wrote it, and I did the pencils and inks on the interior. It's been pretty well reviewed: Fanboy Planet |
He's right.
Over at Fanboy Rampage, they're snarking on something John Byrne wrote:"I need lots of reference, to orient myself in the changed reality of the current Superman... I can't switch on my default Jimmy Olsen, for instance, because Jimmy doesn't look the way he used to. Nor does Lois. Nor does Perry. This is very much a part of what makes it feel like doing a whole new and different character... I
TABU by Fletcher Hanks.
The writing's like Bob Burden writing Tarzan for radio, and the art is equally surreal. There's an old piece of advice where pencilers are told to make the page work like a silent film. Fletcher seems to have taken it literally and stuck with the limited camera placements and stage-audience distance from the action that characterized some of the earliest silents. Read TABU here.
Jim Ottaviani visits Mercury
We were lucky enough to have Jim Ottaviani of G.T. Labs as a guest in the studio last week. Here's Jim showing off some of Mark Schultz's illustrations from a book he's got coming out soon: the never-before published autobiography of legendary dinosaur artist Charles R. Knight. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy and the book is a lively, fun read. And Schultz's illustrations are, of
Artist Alley Tips, pt. 90
I started to post some tips to David Lewis in the comments, and then realized I could squeeze a post out of it. It's also really to me and the other Mercury astronauts, because we need to remember all this as the summer convention season revs up.First, you ain't smelt Nothing unless you attended the old NY conventions at the Javits Center! Some particularly ripe fans who exuded Campbell's soup as
The latest.
A David Lewis is venting a bit about conventions. I've done a few conventions in my time, so I can certainly sympathize, but it's an indisputable truth that the more someone needs to read a rant like this, the less likely he is to recognize himself in your depictions. You can go ahead and let off some steam, but be aware that all you are going to do is A: get a few nods from people who already
Matthew at the PULSE!
There's a big, strapping interview with our boy Matthew Clark over at the Pulse right now. Very insightful, with lots of pictures you may not have seen. Go read up on that sweet action! Link to the Article
We've been neglecting you.
And there's no excuse. Ah well. Let's put something up just to prove that we're all still alive:"You will not be seeing a hairy girl running around in Amazing Fantasy. Sorry Furries!"Jeff Parker at Comixfan, discussing one of the many stories he's writing for Marvel. Matthew Clark, who recently wrapped up his Teen Titans arc, and is starting an Outsiders story, is also getting his next gallery
HAHN DYNASTY GROWS
Congratulations to Mercury's David Hahn and wife Robbyn, on the birth of Cleo Lanai. She arrived on May 2nd around 8:30 a.m. A seven-pounder, looks like. Shipped about a week late, but we feel readers will really enjoy this prestige format deluxe edition.
Our nominated friends.
The Eisner Nominations for 2005 are up. Big congrats to everyone who was nominated and a special shout out to these close friends:Jim OttavianiLeland Purvis (photo stolen from E.)Greg RuckaSean McKeever
Monday, Monday
Everyone's busy as hell, but here are a few things to keep those of you who check this page regularly from feeling cheated out of the time it took the page to load.Here are some snapshots of comics people I found while tearing apart my studio looking for reference:Rebecca Woods, Matthew Clark, Mike Cotton and Brian Bendis. Looks like there's a lapdance going on there, but I think they were posing
Heartbreakers Meet Boilerplate!
This just in from Paul Guinan and Anina Bennet:Our new graphic novel, Heartbreakers Meet Boilerplate, is being solicited right now for June publication--and it's like nothing you've seen before. We know everyone says that, but in this case it's true! Find out for yourself. Then contact us if you'd like an interview, pages to post on your site, or anything else we can provide.The art for this book
Preemptive Strike: BS Walks!
Mercury is about to be featured again in a prominent Portland magazine (and you can be sure Kevin at Thought Balloons will know about it before we do, somehow) so I'd like to nip some things in the bud, as Barney Fife would say. We've been soundly ignored on our recent plea to stop asking if you can bring your talented or directionless children by the studio. We have our own talented and
Your links for the weekend.
DC Comics reports that THE FLASH #219 and WONDER WOMAN #214, featuring the 2-part story "Truth or Dare," have sold out at DC Comics. Drew Johnson's pencils on the Wonder Woman issue are something to see.As further proof that Pete Woods is not dead, here's a page of his work on Catwoman.Thanks to the tireless efforts of Sean McKeever, Matthew Clark's spectacular run on Inhumans has finally been
Wednesday afternoon
Thanks to the recent media coverage, we've had an ungodly number of requests for studio visits. Many of these are from people who think that a room full of overloaded electrical outlets and foul-mouthed freelancers fighting brutal deadlines would be the perfect place to bring an entire class of fifth graders. I'm sorry, but it isn't. We're just not set up for school tours. Really. There are days
Lieber's Lentil Soup
Acquire:2 cups lentils (brown or green)2 white/yellow onions1 WHOLE BULB of GARLICTomatos or tomato paste- "some"2 potatoesChicken-Style SeitanCumin-to tasteCarrots-1/4 cupPossibly more garlicChopped Spinach- like, a quarter poundThis is what I'm working on while working, trying to duplicate Steve Lieber's Lentil Soup. Which is hard, because Steve's a real cook, which means he doesn't know what
Hahn interviewed.
"Being a typical, second-guessing, insecure artist type, I thought my fill-ins would fall flat on their face."The Pulse interviews David Hahn about his fill-in on Fables.
David Hahn is on the web
This link will take you to Hahn Dynasty, David's brand new website. Let's encourage some linkage here. We've got three copies of David's convention sketchbook, All Nighter, to give away. Add a link to David's site from your website or blog, and let us know in the comments to this thread. A week from now we'll put the names in a hat and draw three. The winners will each get a copy of the
New Mercury photos
New photos of our visit to the Emerald City Comic con in Seattle this February have been posted.Also, we gotspictures of our lunch with DC bat-editor Bob Schreck. A favorite:As a special bonus, pictures from last month's gallery exhibit, "Tell-tale Particles."-Paul
Feeling guilty- must post.
We've been blog-negligent here at the studio. This means, I'm happy to say, that we've been making our deadlines rather than writing clever things here. Still, a neglected blog is an unhappy thing, so I thought I'd stick a few things of moderate interest out where everyone can see them.Sean Stewart's wonderful fantasy novel Perfect Circle is up for a Nebula. We worked on a spin-off together, a
Those photos
Here are the photos that accompanied the Oregonian article. They're © Motoya Nakumura. Click on a thumbnail and the picture will open in a new window. In other news, Pete Woods was interviewed by Chris Arrant at Newsarama: "With Robin the book has (or rather had) an optimistic and youthful lead character, so I worked in a very bouncy, cartoony style. With Detective Comics I moved on to a
We're in the paper
"On any given day, you will find a majority of the 11 artist members bent over their drawing boards, conjuring the worlds of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman and the Fantastic Four, among others.It's a colorful, riotous place that seems a bit like a comic book universe itself, where shelves groan beneath art reference books and model cars and stuffed piranhas, the stereo blares "Eaten by
Mercury live and on the wall.
Several Mercury members will be exhibiting pieces in the Comics in the Digtal Age exhibit, held this month, February 3-25 at the Pushdot Gallery. 830 NW 14th Ave., 503-224-5925. At the opening on First Thursday, the place will full of talented cartoonists. Stop by and socialize.
And then, this weekend, just about the whole studio will be guests at The Emerald City Comicon in Seattle. This is a
And then, this weekend, just about the whole studio will be guests at The Emerald City Comicon in Seattle. This is a
The Mercury Studios auction for Bill continues:
New items
Original art for Road to Perdition 2 by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Original Batman art by David Hahn from The Batman handbook
Adventures of Superman tpb, with an original sketch by Matthew Clark
-and here are direct links to the previous auctions:
Splash page from Bill's and my run on Hawkman
Hawkman model sheet- original art in pencil
Wonder Woman original art by Drew Johnson
Original art for Road to Perdition 2 by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Original Batman art by David Hahn from The Batman handbook
Adventures of Superman tpb, with an original sketch by Matthew Clark
-and here are direct links to the previous auctions:
Splash page from Bill's and my run on Hawkman
Hawkman model sheet- original art in pencil
Wonder Woman original art by Drew Johnson
William Messner-Loebs benefit
Thanks to an article in The Detroit News, the industry has noticed what a rough time Bill Loebs has been having. Bill, for those who don't know him, was the writer-artist of JOURNEY, a funny, exciting and thoughtful comic set on the Michigan frontier around the war of 1812. Bill also was widely acclaimed for his fine runs as writer on mainstream comics like Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Jonny
In the meanwhile
Going to let the further Eisner thoughts stew for a bit. Everyone's read enough for a while now, anyhow.
In the meantime, here's some Mercury-ish links:
Over at Parkerspace, Jeff reports on Mercury's Day of the Dude.
Small Beer Press has brought out a new issue of Lady Churchhill's Rosebud Wristlet, their highly regarded literary zine. It's edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, who rule. The
In the meantime, here's some Mercury-ish links:
Over at Parkerspace, Jeff reports on Mercury's Day of the Dude.
Small Beer Press has brought out a new issue of Lady Churchhill's Rosebud Wristlet, their highly regarded literary zine. It's edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, who rule. The
Visiting Dropsie.
"All day the rain poured down on the bronx without mercy."
It's clear and sunny here in Portland, and that doesn't seem right. I want the sort of brutal rain that Will Eisner used in the opening of "A Contract With God." I was about 19 when I first read it. I don't remember where I was, but I definitely recall the dual impact it had on me. I was both enthralled and repelledI was repelled, and,
It's clear and sunny here in Portland, and that doesn't seem right. I want the sort of brutal rain that Will Eisner used in the opening of "A Contract With God." I was about 19 when I first read it. I don't remember where I was, but I definitely recall the dual impact it had on me. I was both enthralled and repelledI was repelled, and,
Thanks for Everything(literally)
The greatest of our number is gone as of yesterday. Will Eisner's name comes up all the time in our studio, and every time one of us thinks we've come up with some cool new way to handle storytelling, we always find that Will already did it 40 years ago. I've posted some memories over at Mystifying Oracle, and I bet other Mercury members will have some things to say here during the day.
---Jeff
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