The library is a great place for readers to discover comics, and it’s a great place for comics readers to check out things that they want to try without spending their hard-earned cash. I’m looking at comics that I find in the New York Public Library system.

With vol. 5 of the hipster-popular Scott Pilgrim series recently arriving in shops, I suddenly realized that I was a full volume behind in reading this series. Perhaps my affection for the series has waned during the lag time between volumes. Perhaps I just found vol. 3 very good but unexceptional. Whatever the cause, vol. 4 dropped without much notice in my world, but having enjoyed the previous books in the series, I went to the library to catch up.

A few of my issues with previous volumes – the characters, particularly Scott, are mostly annoying, and for all his art’s many virtues (and there are many), cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley’s characters are often hard to distinguish – remain as minor distractions in this otherwise intelligent and entertaining book. Specifically frustrating in this book, Scott’s girlfriend Ramona and Scott’s flirtation Lisa could nearly be twins. Pay attention, reader, for Ramona’s hair often dangles in front of one eye.

Despite a few problems, however, I still found the book very engaging and fun. The video game-stylizations remain cute, for example Scott’s “level up!” when he makes a personal breakthrough. The layouts work well, keeping all the talking heads’ scenes just as exciting – more exciting, honestly – as the sword battles. While I have problems with O’Malley’s character designs being difficult to distinguish, his character acting is terrific. The story is filled with complicated human emotions, yet you never fail to understand when Scott is confused, happy, lonely, or anything else on the emotion rainbow.

The meta-textual elements are used cleverly as well, with multiple in-story references to other volumes of the series or to the page structure itself.  Still, the best part is simply the evolving character arc of Scott Pilgrim.  He’s not someone I have much sympathy for, but he’s moving (very, very slowly) toward becoming one. It’s a fun book, a coming of age story couched in outlandish and fun video-game conflict metaphors.  If you come across it at your local library, be sure sure to check out Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together.  Meanwhile, I’ll cross my fingers and hope for vol. 5 to arrive at the NYPL soon.

Paul Maybury, creator of last year’s critically-acclaimed Image graphic novel Aqua Leung and a longtime member of New York’s Act-I-Vate comics collective, is hard at work these days putting together his next opus–a 230-page graphic novel called Party Bear, which explores characters looking for hope in the seemingly-hopeless life of lower-middle-class America. Maybury, having just crested the halfway point in creating art for the book, contacted Blog@Newsarama to discuss the project.

Blog@Newsarama: What’s the overview? What’s happening in the series to make people want to read it?

Paul Maybury: Party Bear takes place in a fictional neighborhood in Boston. It examines the absence of fathers in the lives of Milsap and his best friend Seal, who have Mothers with very different views and paths in life.

It’s also a study of the roles people adopt  as a result of the pressures of their neighborhood and social class. And how it’s seemingly impossible for them to get out of the dismal cycle of helplessness and apathy that stems from lack of education and opportunity.

The mysterious mute character Party Bear acts as an icon of something new and exciting that sends the neighborhood a buzz with new ideas and hope. His silence is interpreted in various ways by everyone around him, acting as a mirror in some cases for their true intentions.

The story centers around Milsap and Seal, and how they both plan to get out of their neighborhood and better their lives, and how Party Bear alters their paths.

I know that’s somewhat vague, but there’s a lot going on.

I do not have a publisher for the project. I’ve been in talks with a couple, but I’m sort of just letting it get finished and riding out the economy crisis until I can ask for the deal I really want.

Blog@: How specific is Boston to the story? Certainly it’s a popular setting for a lot of different kinds of stories–and it’s often a character unto itself.

PM: In a way it’s just another city, It’s a big northern city, and similar to NY and Baltimore in a lot of ways. It’s a very racially tense city, a  smart and busy city, but it’s also a little more working class, old and still very much segregated. All of the characters are loosely based off people I’ve known. I grew up in the city of Boston, so it made sense to place the story there, as I feel I can speak from experience.

Blog@: What sort of names are Milsap and Seal?

PM: Seal is named after the singer. His mother wanted to give him the name of a more sensitive man than his father, which is revealed a little later in the story. I used the name Milsap because I wanted him to be that person who’s always on the edge of being that kid who gets picked on at school. He’s been dealt kind of crappy cards, which is why he’s overly rambunctious to cover up his insecurities and flaws. So the name sort of reflects that a little in contrast to his behavior.

Blog@: Books like Mystic River examine the relationships of fathers and children, too. Do you think the whole Irish Catholic thing, with a kind of muting of emotion and a prohibition on contraception and abortion, lends itself to that kind of story?

PM: Yeah I think so. I’m half Irish, and half Spanish, and really culturally I think it’s kind of the same across the board, in Boston at least. My family was pretty different compared to a lot of my friends and neighbors, meaning I had a pretty free-thinking liberal window to look through. But abortion wasn’t something that most families really considered as far as I could see. Books like Mystic River really work well when placed in a city that is notorious for keeping it’s issues to itself. In Party Bear both Milsap and Seal are without strong father figures, which sort of gives them a hole in their lives that they’re always trying to figure out and assimilate by looking to every other older male character be it good aspects or bad. This sort of lends to the lack of direction and motivation to really grasp the tools to live a life beyond what immediate opportunities present themselves. Which is why I want to show to very contrasting Mothers for Milsap and Seal, so the reader can see the effect their parenting has on both characters by the end of the book.

Blog@: “It’s also a study of the roles people adopt  as a result of the pressures of their neighborhood and social class. And how it’s seemingly impossible for them to get out of the dismal cycle of helplessness and apathy that stems from lack of education and opportunity.” …So is this graphic novel going to come with an all-Springsteen soundtrack CD?

PM: Hah, maybe some Springsteen, Nas with some Bad Religion peppered in.

Blog@: Is Party Bear an actual bear or is that, like, somebody’s club name or something?

PM: Party Bear is an actual bear who wears a red striped Party Hat. I wanted to have a character who was goofy and ridiculous, then throw him into a very serious story and see how long I can ignore the fact that he’s a giant bear. Sort of a modern fairy tale where you just have to accept that it’s weird and go with it as the reader to see where it goes.

Blog@: When your entire motivation is to get the hell out of Dodge, what is success?

PM: I think success can come in many different forms. It could be achieving great wealth and moving out and living your dreams. Or something as simple and the awareness that things could be better, and the very idea of improving your life. I don’t believe everyone is given a fair chance in life, and Party Bear examines a 

group of people trying in different ways to get there despite many disheartening obstacles.

Maybe it’s a recession, maybe it’s Diamond’s new cut-off numbers, but this month’s Diamond Previews catalog is about a pound lighter than last month’s. Just an observation. Previews is, as I’m sure you know, the behemoth catalog that your local comics retailer uses to order titles from Diamond, the (nigh) monopoly that brings comic books from the printer to the store. If you’re a publisher or creator and your book doesn’t get notice here, you’re screwed.

Here are the books in the May 2009 shipping catalog (shipping being a relative term, since seemingly half the books are advance solicited and come out months later) that caught my eye:

Several years ago, Brian Fies released a heart-breaking book titled Mom’s Cancer. The book was exactly what you fear it’s about. Abrams Comicarts has Brian’s new book listed this month. It’s titled Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? and it sounds significantly less tragic. Looking at the technological advances in the world from the promises made at the World’s Fair in 1939 through the Apollo space mission in 1975, it looks to be a study of humanity, technology and our shared evolution.  Then again, maybe it is a tragedy.

(more…)

Batman: Cacophony #3: Kevin Smith finishes a miniseries.

Daredevil  #116: Brian Michael Bendis returns…

…as a cover model? Oh wait, that’s the Kingpin, as drawn by Marko Djurdjevic. Well, the Kingpin returning to the pages of Daredevil is probably pretty exicitng too, isn’t it?

Goon #32 Tenth Anniversary Issue: Wow, thanks for making me feel old, Eric Powell. Jerk. (Oh and, by the way, congratulations!) This special $3.99 issue features 32 story pages by Powell, plus pin-ups by Mike Mignola, Jeff Smith, Kevin Nowlan, Bernie Wrightson and more. Preview here.

Hulk: Broken Worlds #1: Paul Benjamin, Roy Thomas, Fred Van Lente, Peter David, Herb Trimpe, Clayton Henry and others tell four stories about the Hulk journeying to…Aw, who cares who cares what it’s about, look at that line-up! An oversized, $3.99 issue.

Killer of Demons #1: Writer Christopher Yost and artist Scott Wegener launch a new series about a guy who, uh, kills demons. Hopefully there’s more thought and imagination given to the comic itself. The first issue will run you $3.99 for 40 pages.

Little Nothings Vol. 2: The Prisoner Syndrome: The next volume of short, whimsical autobio strips from the acclaimed, bird-headed cartoonist responsible for Dungeon, A.L.I.E.E.E.N., Mr. O and many  of the best comics being made today. This 128-page trade will run you $14.95, and if the first volume is a good indication, will be well worth it. Excerpts here.

(more…)

(h/t Racialicious)

For many years, Beacon Press–a nonprofit book publisher since 1854–has had the privilege of publishing Octavia Butler’s “Kindred,” the story of a modern black woman transported through time to the antebellum South. Octavia Butler died tragically in 2006; those familiar with her life and work know how singular and important her legacy remains. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the novel, and Beacon is deeply honored to announce a collaboration with the Butler estate to produce a graphic adaptation of “Kindred.” The press is currently inviting proposals from cartoonists who appreciate Octavia Butler’s legacy, and reflect hercommitment to social justice in their own work.

Those interested in discussing a proposal should email the editor of the Graphic Books list, Allison Trzop, at atrzop AT beacon DOT org. The deadline is March 16.

We’ve been discussing portfolios and such here at the blog recently, so I thought this was particularly well-timed. Have art that you want someone to look at? Here’s an open call. Plus, Octavia Butler’s work is amazing. Can’t wait to see what they come up with for this project.

The LA Times Book Prize nominees were announced today, and there was a bit of excitement for comics readers.

Nate Powell’s Swallow Me Whole, published by Top Shelf, is on the list for Young Adult Literature, right next to another luminary we all know and love: Neil Gaiman with The Graveyard Book.

This might seem like a double victory for us comic lovers, and it is, but Powell’s book is the first comic since Maus (Fiction, 1992) to be nominated on the list. While Gaiman is One Of Us, The Graveyard Book is prose.

“As a fan, I admit I’m kind of hoping Neil and Nate huddle in a corner somewhere in LA and hatch a plan to collaborate on a new book,” Leigh Walton of Top Shelf said, and I can’t blame him. Swallow Me Whole (read my full review here) is a haunting story of a brother and sister in the grips of mental illness, beautifully rendered in black and white, and full of images straight out of a dream.

“We sort of had the feeling Swallow Me Whole would be a sleeper hit. This tremendous honor is a great opportunity for those who haven’t looked at this amazing book to check it out. Nate’s artistic wizardry is obvious from first glance, but the richness of his storytelling is something that grows and grows the more time you spend with Swallow Me Whole. We’re incredibly proud of Nate and delighted that his book is going to reach so many people so deeply — especially young people,” Walton said.

Check out more of Powell’s work over at Top Shelf 2.0 as well—because what’s better than free webcomics?

If you like what’s you’ve read so far totally check out more super cute comics at:www.sosuperduper.com!

By Bon Alimagno

Oni editor Randall Jarell wrote a provocative column last week asking readers if they were the “William Hung of Comics.” I don’t want to put words in his mouth but I read the column as a warning of sorts for artists to be realistic about the quality of their work, especially when approaching a comic book editor with their portfolios. In the comments there were a few asking how they could actually know ahead of time whether their work was any good. How do they know they are not so blinded by their passion that they view their work with the proverbial rose-colored glasses?

I’d like to share some very common issues that come up time and time again in my portfolio reviews. For many artists these are obvious, but they would be shocked how many portfolios I still see that have these issues. I usually welcome any request for a portfolio review at the cons Harris attends. In my mind if you had the guts to approach me, a complete stranger who could rip your heart out with a scathing critique, you’re already a step ahead of nine out of ten people out there who want to do comics for a living. I appreciate the energy and passion coming from these artists and hope they’ll take my advice to heart.

*Draw the Most Exciting Millisecond: The magic of comics lies between the panels. But that magic dies if the panels themselves are stale and uninteresting. You need to make the reader not just want but need to imagine what happened from panel to panel. Say you’re drawing a car going through the front window of an office building. You should ask yourself not just what the most exciting moment of that action sequence is, but what the most exciting MILLISECOND is. You see artists like Bryan Hitch and Frank Quitely do this in their finest work: everything seems to be moving. They dot the panel with all kinds of details like floating spit and blood droplets, broken teeth careening away at every angle, buttons torn off of clothing, etc, etc. Little things like that convey the sheer ferocity of the impact, it’s direction and it’s aftermath. There’s a sense of chaos to the positioning of objects in the frame indicating that without a doubt there’s going to be a hell of mess to clean up afterwards. This makes the reader want to imagine what happens next, where all that blood and gristle, all the splintered wood and shattered glass will end up. But you don’t need to draw all of that. The readers will do it for you in their own imaginations. It’s this engagement that the very best artists create, making reading a comic book not a passive experience but a creative, active partnership between the artist and the fan.

*The Conversation: For some, drawing action sequences can be easy. But two people just talking: that can be hard. When rendering conversations far too many portfolios feature heads facing in only three directions: exactly left, exactly right or perfectly straight at the reader. This immediately tells me you have some fundamental trouble with anatomy and perspective, because these are the safest and most boring angles you could ever draw a head. Vary your angles. I should almost never be looking directly at a character’s face since that immediately triggers the subconscious signal that I’m being directly spoken to. And even if I am, it should not be so straight-on that I can’t see a little of the side of a head and much of an ear. As with the previous point, draw a head position and facial expression that makes the reader want to reconstruct how the head and face got there and where it will go next. Capture only the most exciting and interesting milliseconds of that conversation. I told at least two people at NY Comic-Con to look up Ultimate Spider-Man #13 by Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley. For my money it may be the single best issue of their entire legendary run. Why? It takes place almost entirely within Peter Parker’s bedroom. Think about that: how hard is it to contain twenty-two pages of action within a single confined setting, a teenager’s bedroom in Queens. This isn’t the bridge of the Enterprise we’re talking about here. This is a place where the most exciting thing in the room will have to be the facial expressions and body language of the two people talking. It worked, so brilliantly I doubt many realized the action of the comic never left the room”.

*Less is More: A lot of critics when talking about the works of certain artists concentrate on their attention to detail. What I tend to observe though is what was left out: did you draw so much detail that I can’t tell what’s going on? Maybe you just drew something that compels me to linger on it for so long that I get thrown out of the story. Worse, maybe the background of a panel is so overdone I don’t care what happens to the characters in the foreground. Your job is to sustain the reader’s interest and make them want to turn the page. There’s another professional aspect to this too: if I hire you I need to count on you to stay on schedule. If you spent a week drawing the most detailed two page spread anyone’s ever seen, it just delays the book. And anyway the reader may look at that spread for all of five seconds before they move on. People often tell me with pride how long they took to draw a single panel. I almost always end up asking why they spent so much time on it.

*Kill your Idol: I see a lot of portfolios trying to emulate certain styles, particularly the Image founders and especially Jim Lee. Yet these artists seem to think Lee’s style can be reduced to an overabundance of crosshatching and musculature only possible through an insane abuse of steroids. What Lee has done though is perfect a style that’s distinctly his. He knows how far to take the crosshatching and musculature and he never crosses that line. You need to find your own voice, you need to understand your own strengths and weaknesses and play up to those. The portfolios that always strike me are the ones presenting such a personal and fresh style I can’t even imagine what story I would put it on. They’re ahead of the curve. I usually take a card or a leave behind and put it away in case the opportunity arose to hire the person.

Hope this helps. If anyone has any more specific portfolio issues they’d like me to address feel free to leave them in the comments.

Bon Alimagno is Director – Publishing & Editorial for Harris Comics, publishers of Vampirella.

From Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily (subscription log-in required)…
DC Comics Forces NBA To Scrap Plans For Krypto-Nate T-Shirts

Nate Robinson and his Krypto-Nate alter-ego have become such a phenomenon, DC Comics, the originator of Superman, wants a piece of the action, The Post has learned.

Two days after the 5-7½ Robinson spectacularly won the Slam-Dunk competition during All-Star weekend, the NBA announced plans to release a green Krypto-Nate T-shirt for sale at the NBA Store and NBA.com.

KNICKS BLOG
One day later, the NBA scrapped its plan because of intellectual property issues with DC Comics, the originator of the Superman comic books. DC Comics’ offices are located on Broadway, near the NBA Store.

Robinson’s Krypto-Nate scheme – designed to topple a red-caped Dwight Howard and his Superman shtick – was too close to home for DC Comics. Kryptonite is the green emerald crystal found on the fictional planet Krypton that weakens Superman. The NBA is now looking to involve DC Comics in future Krypto-Nate endeavors, according to a league source. (more…)

Brendan McGinley, editor of the Dose comics anthology, writer of Hannibal Goes to Rome and co-writer (with Joshua Elder) of Mail-Order Ninja, has rolled out a new webcomic–Heist–at Indelible Comics. He sat down with Blog@ to discusss the project.

Blog@Newsarama: Why not give a capsule summary of what the comic is actually about for the uninitiated?

Brendan McGinley: Heist is the story of the world’s greatest supervillain, a clever thief who has as little to do with superheroes as possible, and so they have no idea he exists. But he’s addicted to thrills, so he takes on the impossible job of stealing something dangerous from their headquarters.

Blog@: And in doing so, he’s not going to be…err…raping any superhero’s wives out of sheer opportunity, right?

Cause I guess according to some people that happens sometimes when the bad guys break in

BM: No, he will not.

Not because he’s better than that — he’s a horrible person

–but because he prefers the thrill of the chase to outright violation.

He thinks he IS better than that

But he’s a thug. I’m honestly not sure if he’s capable of rape. I like to think it’s not in his character, but thankfully it’s not a question.

Blog@: How do you write a character like that–someone who doesn’t have a real clear sense of self–and not make the reader feel confused?

BM:Oh, it’s easy enough. He’s a caricature to start with.

We pummel some depth into him.

Blog@: So as far as format–are you going to have everything, or whole issues, go up at once or do more of a one-page-at-a-time approach a la Warren Ellis’ new thing? (more…)

A look at Mysterius, The Unfathomable and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

The first issue of Mysterius, The Unfathomable hit the ground running and issue 2 indicates this series will maintain a steady clip through its six issue run with DC Comics‘s Wildstorm. It’s always exciting to discover a hot new title. When it’s put together by such creative guys as writer Jeff Parker (Marvel‘s Agents of Atlas) and artist Tom Fowler (DC‘s Green Arrow), so much the better.

The team is made up of a writer who draws and an artist who writes. As stated in a Newsarama interview with Jeff Parker and elaborated upon by Tom Fowler to the CBC, this project is a meeting of the minds. Among the influences for the creation of the series are episodes of The Prisoner, The Avengers and even House. But something that goes deeper is a certain literary character: Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently, detective of the paranormal.

So, on one of those never-ending Sundays, which seem to afford time for everything, I decided to throw on a hoodie and some flip flops and find a cozy spot in my neighborhood cafe and take a closer look at issue two of Mysterius alongside a copy of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. It wasn’t long before I caught on to the vibe that attracts Parker and Fowler.

Dirk Gently. Mysterius. A quick and dirty comparison/contrast: Both men are highly eccentric, live well beyond their means and have a tendency to write bad checks. They are both in tune with the world in a hyper-analytical fashion, a saving grace, which keeps each of their heads above water. Dirk is no ladies man while Mysterius fancies himself to be one and has just enough looks and charm to back him up. Both characters are clueless until they focus and then they’re in their element, for the most part. (more…)

“The DVD equivalent of an audiobook”: That’s Film Threat’s assessment of Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic DVD (It’s actually a fairly positive review). “Motion Comic” still sounds strange to me, like someone referring to a movie as a “moving picture.”

Ed Brubaker deftly dodges what would have been a devastating face-kick from Zoe Bell: Or maybe that picture was posed. The LA Times’ Geoff Boucher on comic book writers in Hollywood. The article begins, as all articles having anything at all to do with comic books must for the remainder of the week, with a mention of Watchmen.

Wait, what did the ‘90s X-Men care about underwear?: I’m pretty sure none of ‘em even wore underwear, or we’d see more visible panty lines through their super-tight spandex costumes. Please see Kevin Church for more on the only team-up stranger than Archie/Punisher.

The Alan Moore comic they will never, ever make into a movie: I try not to run press release-type information here…unless it’s awesome. And this sounds pretty awesome. Top Shelf will be re-releasing Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s three-volume epic of erotica Lost Girls in a new $45, all-in-one single hardcover collection (shrinkwrapped, for obvious reasons). That’s good news to anyone interested in reading what is probably the most intelligent work of pornography ever made (certainly in comics form) but couldn’t bring themselves to part with the cost of the original set (I think it was $75, but it’s been a while). It’s currently set to ship in May; more info here.

Over at Daryl Cagle’s Cartoon Web Log, there’s a story you should read.

Cartoonist Dan Reynolds has been treated for testicular cancer, and continued to draw cartoons while undergoing treatment, attempting to keep things positive. Now that he’s off chemo, he’s making a more concerted effort to use his art to help others fight their cancer, and he’s offering a subscription to his daily cartoons for just $10. The money will go to the American Cancer Society.

Editorial cartoonists are suffering plenty in this economy, so it’s heartening to see someone working to help others. Check out the link for examples of his cartoons and to sign up for the subscription.

As the clock ticks down to midnight, it’s looking more and more like Watchmen will make a bang in the Hollywood scene.

Checking out the early reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Watchmen is doing pretty well for itself, nabbing an early rating of 81 percent of “fresh” reviews. (The Dark Knight, just to give some context, received 94 percent, while the Spirit received 15 percent.)

Here’s some highlights thus far — here’s Devin Faraci from CHUD:

A huge budgeted superhero movie that delivers intellectually? That takes serious, ballsy chances with the form? Why, that sounds like a piece of art. A glorious, epic, exciting, mind blowing piece of art.

Empire also had these things to say:

Okay, it isn’t the graphic novel, but Zack Snyder clearly gives a toss, creating a smart, stylish, decent adaptation, if low on accessibility for the non-convert.

Justin Chang of Variety, while not a fan, had this to say:

The movie is ultimately undone by its own reverence; there’s simply no room for these characters and stories to breathe of their own accord, and even the most fastidiously replicated scenes can feel glib and truncated.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt didn’t seem to like it. (Although based on this comment, I wonder if he ever read [or enjoyed] the original comic):

The real disappointment is that the film does not transport an audience to another world, as 300 did. Nor does the third-rate Chandler-esque narration by Rorschach help.

We’ll keep checking as the opening looms…

By Filip Sablik

Okay, I admit this week’s Blog title is a bit of a cheap attention grab. But you’re reading, right? My title refers to a Blog@Newsarama article that my buddy Randal Jarrell, Managing Editor at Oni Press, posted last week. He addressed a popular topic – “How do you go from aspiring creator to comic book professional?” – and did an admirable job of explaining how comics are a lot like “American Idol”. No really, he did a much better job explaining it, so give his column a read.

I wanted to add to the conversation and thought, “Self, you need a topic for next week’s blog entry. People seem to like to talk about this topic, let’s just steal some of Randal’s thunder.” Thanks for laying the groundwork, Randal! Hopefully I picked up a drink for you at WonderCon this weekend.

But enough exposition, here’re my thoughts on the topic.

First, Randal is right. In my years in the industry, I’d say a good 90-95% of the pitches, pencils, inks, colors, lettering, and completely finished comics are really, really bad. That cannot be understated.  (I am, of course, not talking about your samples/project/pitch, dear reader. You are awesome.) But that’s true of any entertainment/creative industry. All you have to do is watch shows like “American Idol”, step into any art college around the country, or hang out at Open Mic night at your local coffee shop. As human beings, we love to express ourselves creatively. After we’ve satiated our basic needs of food, safety, and love, most people want to express themselves.

Secondly, I do believe most human beings have the capacity to become at least proficient at some artistic discipline. Some of us are born with a greater natural disposition or talent for one thing or another. For example, I had an easy time figuring out how to doodle faces and people as a kid, while my cousin could shoot hoops while I sat on the bench. But with enough time, effort, and genuine education, I do believe anyone can learn to play an instrument, draw, sculpt, or whatever creative pursuit might tickle your fancy. In his most recent book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell estimates it takes the average person 10,000 solid hours of sincere & regimented practice to achieve technical mastery of a single set of skills. That’s about 10 years at 2-3 hours of practice per day. It’s an interesting thought, because how many of us truly put in that much time to master a skill? Here’s the other thing, even if you get good enough is it actually enough to ensure your success?

Probability says “no”. Because here’s the cold hard truth – it takes more than talent and skill to be successful in an entertainment industry. Using Randal’s example of “American Idol”, look at the contestants the judges pick. They aren’t just the best singers, but also they tend to be well spoken, charming, good looking, and so on. It’s about the whole package. To bring it back to comics, when I look at a portfolio at a convention I’m not just looking at the work. I’m taking in information about the potential creator as a person based on the way they introduced themselves, how they handle themselves in a conversation with me, how they’re dressed, and a hundred other little clues that tell me something about them. I (and most editors who’ve been in the business for some time) can usually determine in the first minute if there’s any potential for a working relationship there. Sometimes less. If you are a jerk to me in the first couple minutes of meeting me, there’s a good chance that will be reflected in an ongoing relationship. Or if you make excuses for your work, it signals that you’ll probably make excuses when I try to give you notes on a real project.

Randal was also right in that it is much easier to review an artist on the spot than a writer. I can glance through a portfolio in a few minutes, but a pitch will take at least 10-15 minutes to read and even the pitch doesn’t tell me much except that you have a good story idea. It doesn’t tell me much about your ability to write compelling dialogue, pace a story, build solid story structure, and so on. It’s honestly why here at Top Cow we don’t break a lot of new writers. It’s too time-consuming and too risky to do with the half a dozen books we publish each month. Randal suggests publishing your own work as an actual comic, which you can then use as an example of your work. If you look at the list of top writers in the industry, they are full examples of guys who believed in themselves enough to publish their own work or get a friend to do it for them. Bendis, Brubaker, Kirkman, Hickman, and the list goes on.

Here’s a positive example, since I don’t want this column to be overly negative. Last year at New York Comic-Con, at the end of the show a guy came up to me to show me his portfolio. He was friendly, well spoken, and not at all cocky (1 point!). I opened his portfolio and it was really, really good (2 points!), and he had previously been published by two other publishers (2 more points!). Within the first minute of meeting him, I knew he was a guy we should give a shot too. I walked him over to Rob Levin, shoved his portfolio in Rob’s hands and said, “We should give this guy work.” His name is Nelson Blake II and he just drew Broken Trinity: Witchblade for us. He’s got more work coming out soon, which is even better!

A connected story for the writers out there, Rob asked Nelson to send him the full story he had done for another publisher, because he thought the sample pages looked great and he was curious to read it. After reading it, he thought not only was Nelson’s work great, but that the writer had talent. He asked Nelson to introduce him to the writer and asked the writer if he had any other pitches. Shortly afterwards the writer turned in what was hands down one of the best pitches Rob and I had read all year. His name is Bryan Edward Hill and he’s writing half of Broken Trinity: Aftermath with Ron Marz. You’ll see more of that awesome pitch down the line.

One last anecdote before I leave you – there are some rare individuals that can spot a “diamond in the rough” from a pile of dirt. I’m lucky enough to work for one of those guys, Marc Silvestri. Marc has an undeniable eye for talent and can spot someone with great potential before I ever could. A couple of weeks ago, I was shown one of the pages from late, great Michael Turner’s original samples that caught Marc’s eye. I looked at it and with all humility and awe realized that I would not have seen Mike’s talent in one of those pages. They were bad. Really, really bad. But Marc’s gift is to see Mike’s potential and that’s what has allowed him to help nurture so many young artists over the years.

Take care,

Filip Sablik

Publisher Guy

Filip Sablik is the Publisher of Top Cow Productions, Inc. He’s been in the business for eight years and just officially entered his thirties. Occasionally, he does a bit of writing and drawing. He loves comics. Top Cow Productions, Inc. was founded by Marc Silvestri, co-founder of Image Comics. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry’s Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades.

War comics are, to put it mildly, not my thing, really. They’re rarely pleasant and often painful and very, very easy to do badly.

That said, I’ve read some really great war comics. DMZ is, in some sense, a war comic, and The Other Side was simply excellent. And so far, I’m truly enjoying Garth Ennis’s Battlefields books at Dynamite. You can read Caleb’s review of The Night Witches here and mine here, but the one that I think stepped it up even further is Dear Billy.

This is going to be spoileriffic, and I really think you should read it before you read what I have to say about it, so please only click below if you already have read the first two. Pretty please?

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Cartoonist Dave Kiersh has a new 140-page, full-color graphic novel set for release later this year entitled Dirtbags, Mallchicks & Motorbikes (which you can look at quite a bit of art from here).

I’m not going to review that book though.

Instead, I wanted to take a look at Kiersh’s 2008 mini-comic Neverland (distributed by Bodega), which is perhaps a better starting point for taking in his work, being a smaller, shorter, cheaper book at only 30 pages. It’s also a nice introduction to his highly idiosyncratic art style, and features a story that functions like something that’s part personal essay, part poem and part manifesto.

At six-and-a-half-inches tall and four-and-a-half-inches wide, the book itself is a squat yellow square, the cover image a bold, black set of abstract silhouettes suggesting a building and water tower beneath a sky of black stars.

The pages inside are less vibrant in their yellow and stark in their black, but the color scheme remains the same.

The inside covers are covered with abstract doodles that look a little like alien hieroglyphics, blending together to form a flat, maze-like wall, which, a page turn or two later, coalesces into the small-town setting of the book.

The pages are divided into grids, sometimes splash pages with big, round black borders, other times a collection of smaller panels with square-er borders, and the pictures inside them are a mixture of fat outlines and fussed over little scribbly-lines adding textures and shadows.

There’s a real naiveté to the art, whether affected or not, that gives it the look and feel of child-like art, although it’s so complex it must be the work of a skilled adult. The writing is similarly faux primitive, sometimes teen angsty enough to seem like it’s almost a parody of the sorts of things creative teens write in their journals, but with a raw emotion and palpable sense of yearning that’s hard to fake (And if Kiersh were making a joke of it, he’d need to push it a little further).

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