Deconstructing Comics

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2013/01/geekgirl.jpg)A sexy, geeky female superhero? The concept has possibilities, but Tim and Mulele find some problems with Sam Johnson's Geek Girl (http://deconstructingcomics.com/?attachment_id=3035)...

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2013/01/comixology2.jpg)Waaaay back in July 2010, Tim talked to David Steinberger (http://deconstructingcomics.com/?p=660) of ComiXology about the emergence of digital comics. Since then, simultaneous release of digital with paper has become the norm. And, guess what - flying in the face of earlier fears of some in the industry, digital comics have actually helped, not hurt, the sales of paper comics. Tim talks to ComiXology co-founder John Roberts to find out why this is, and more. Then we get the scoop on Mulele's latest Web comic, a new version of Mindgator (http://mulele.com/mindgator/).  

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2013/01/backoffice.jpg)We start the year off right with a critique of Irish creator Mark Egan's comics statement about call centers, Back Office!

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2012/12/cerebus.jpg)Dave Sim's massive "Cerebus (http://www.cerebusdownloads.com/index2.html)" series creates a dilemma for a comics reviewer. It contains some fantastic cartooning, hilarious scenes, and spot-on dialog. And yet... other parts feature highly misogynistic views and out-of-whack text-to-pictures ratios, both of which make it "hard to read" in different ways. Dana and Kumar re-read the second arc, "High Society," and consider the good and the bad of the entire series, the mixing of satire and parody, and more.

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/batman-tarzan.jpg) Tim & Brandon discuss "Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman" by Ron Marz and Igor Kordey! Also: Brandon talks about an online figure-drawing class he took, and we different philosophies of how to become a versatile artist. Is it better to start with figure-drawing training, or is it better to figure out your style on your own? How important is it to have experience drawing “Bigfoot” funny comics? (originally published November 13, 2006)

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2012/12/withearthaboveus.jpg)Two astronauts battle their own ship's computer. Sound familiar? No, it's not 2001: A Space Odyssey, it's Lee Milewski's"With the Earth Above Us (http://issuu.com/milewski/docs/wteau?mode=window&pageNumber=1)". Not unlike Kubrick's movie, this one strikes Tim and Mulele as being a bit hard to follow...

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2012/12/bunniesinspace.jpg)This week, the work of Nick Dupree (http://www.nickscrusade.org/). At New York Comicon, Mulele had hoped to meet Nick but didn't get the chance. Nonetheless, we took a look at his imaginative, unusual comic Bunnies in Space (http://www.superdude.org/?p=583), and here's our critique...

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2012/12/kingcat.jpg)If you're old enough to remember pre-Internet days (like us geezers who make this podcast), you remember how new comics creators used to get known. No Web comics, Tumbler, podcasts, etc. Like John Porcellino, they hit the "zine" scene, announcing themselves through Factsheet Five and getting placement in a few comics shops. Porcellino's King-Cat, with its accounts of his pets, his dreams (the sleeping kind), amusing anecdotes, and occasional fiction, drew notice in the comics world for the way it eloquently fed the reader's life back to him, making note of things the reader might have missed. Drawn & Quarterly is releasing selected King-Cat comics in hardcover; Tim, Kumar, and special guest Tom Spurgeon discuss the first collection, King-Cat Classix.

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/monarchmonkey.jpg) This week, a collection of cut paper comics, each one better than the last. We critique Monarch Monkey and Other Stories (http://dougderocherart.blogspot.jp/), by Brad DeRocher, Dan Mazur, and Hyun Supul.

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/oswaldchronicles.jpg)A lushly-drawn, colorful fantasy tale of a powerful mouse. What could possibly go wrong? Well, our recording software, for one thing! Tim and Mulele brave technical difficulties to critique J.D. Calderon's The Oswald Chronicles.

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/archie.jpg) It's been more than 70 years now since the debut of Archie comics, featuring (though not quite from the beginning) America's favorite love triangle of Archie, Veronica, and Betty. Along with Jughead, Reggie, and the rest of the gang, these characters keep us coming back for more, changing with the times while still presenting an idealized America where drugs, booze, and sex seem not to exist. This week Tim talks with Archie ubercollector (and Coliseum of Comics (http://coliseumofcomics.com/?page_id=12) Back Issue Manager) Jack Copley about what keeps Archie interesting, some of his favorite stories and creators, and "The Archie Room"!

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/fashionablenonsense.jpg)Benji Ratliffe sent us his four-year-old unpublished work Fashionable Nonsense for critique. It's a somewhat supernatural tale with a Scott Pilgrim tone. He wrote the script and hired an artist. While it does indeed have some problems -- with clarity of the story, as well as storytelling and inking -- why not put it out anyway? Tim and Mulele extol the virtues of putting your work out, even if you're not 100% satisfied with it. Character sheets (http://communicationzero.blogspot.jp/2009/01/fashionable-nonsense-character-sheets.html) Read pages 1-11 (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/fashionablenonsense_excerpt.pdf)

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comiket.png)FLASHBACK! On December 31, 2006, Tim visited the Tokyo Comic Market event, and gives his impressions. Also: A Mulele update, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, and Brandon's review of the movie Eragon! (Originally published January 8, 2007) Photos below the jump (complete with admittedly goofy captions written in 2007)... Tim Visits "Comic Market" December 31, 2006 I attended Comic Market (Comiket for short) on its third and final day. This event is held twice a year at Tokyo International Exhibition Center, better known as Tokyo Big Sight (sic). More about Comiket on Wikipedia (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231124543.jpg) Tokyo Big Sight (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231125117.jpg) Hi, Mom! (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231125814.jpg) A mob scene — tables set up by individual comics creators in one of the arenas of Tokyo Big Sight (TBS). (Apologies for the lousy camera-phone photography!) (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20070103163200.jpg) At left, the one comic I bought, "Winter Holidays." At right, the thick, heavy catalog for the event. (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/comiketcat.jpg) An all-too-typical page from the catalog, showing who was at each table and a sample of their work. Notice any certain theme here? (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231140458.jpg) In another area of TBS, where trinkets, postcards, etc. are being sold by small-time exhibitors. After taking this shot, I was told not to take photos in this area. Oooh, illicit photo! (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231141756.jpg) The only area where photography was officially allowed was the roof, where cosplayers posed for pictures. (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231141925.jpg) Another mob scene... hard to avoid walking between cameras and their intended subjects! (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231142508.jpg) OK, I'm in love now. (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231142525.jpg) "BoBoBo-Bo Bo-Bobo" is one of my favorite Japanese cartoons -- had to get a shot of this guy. His afro opened up and everything! (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231142744.jpg) (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231142758.jpg) Another cutie...disappointly, though, think she was wearing a skin-colored leotard on her legs. A number of girls were. (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231142918.jpg) If anyone knows what manga this guy is supposed to be from, please let me know! (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231143620.jpg) OK, NOW I'm in love! The girl on the right has such an expressive face. Before I took these shots I was watching her as her expressions changed. There was just so much meaning there. It was exhilarating to watch. (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231143634.jpg) Yes, I think the girl with pink hair to the left is a guy. There were a number of guys dressed as female characters -- not that there's anything wrong with that... (http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/comicmarket061231/20061231143724.jpg) Earth, Wind, and Fire? Here??

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/NYCC_Logo.jpg) Mulele is back from New York Comicon! While he can't talk about what might have transpired in terms of getting work (which is a whole lot better than saying "nothing happened"!), he has plenty to say about the experience of being there & his impressions of the comics industry, how his thoughts about it changed, and about New York, the city. While at the con, he ran into Jordan Kotebue, creator of Hominids, who Tim met at Emerald City 2011 (http://deconstructingcomics.com/?p=976). Tim calls him up this week to catch up on his progress, including how our own critique of Hominids (http://deconstructingcomics.com/?p=1041) changed his approach to the comic.

(http://deconstructingcomics.com/podcast/references/drunkendream.jpg) Up until the late '60s, Japanese girls' comics were mainly done by men, and could often be formulaic and sappy. But then several female creators broke into the field and revolutionized the genre. One of them was Moto Hagio, whose stories (even when they had science fiction aspects to them) dwelt on not fitting in, losing what you love, and other themes that could be depressing, but were usually expressed in innovative and compelling ways. Little of her work is available in English, but Fantagraphics released an overview of her work, A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, two years ago. Tim and Kumar review.