Read on, comics fans!

This Saturday is Read Comics in Public Day! It's also Jack Kirby's birthday, which is no coincidence.

This event is one of those groundswell things. Since comic readers have historically been perceived as  less than literate, despite the posturings of the Simpsons' Comic Book Guy, who now has his own comic book, this event could be an opportunity to dispel preconceived notions about comic readers. We're not semi-literate slobs or social misfits. We're just people who love to read- an increasing rarity. According to the American Booksellers' Association, book sales are paradoxical. While people are ostensibly buying more books, independent stores are closing, and there's no evidence that people are reading the books they buy. Nor do the figures note what types of books are being sold. The largest sellers remain cookbooks and the Bible.
Bottom line is that, according to the US Census Bureau statistics, April 2010 book sales of $917 million are at their lowest level in 8 years.
And comic book stores are not immune from this disturbing trend, as evidenced by the recent closing of one owned by filmmaker and comic lover Kevin Smith, and by the closing of the great Forbidden Planet in England.
Eau Claire Comics and Collectibles, in Eau Claire, WI, the first store to sell my work, is also gone.
We are blessed here in the Twin Cities to have a comics community that supports no less than a dozen comic stores, but I fear for their future as well.
Possibly that's a sad but realistic outcome.
The economy is either improving slowly or doomed, depending on what the economic seers had for breakfast. Unemployment appears to have leveled off around 10% and may or may not rebound. That leaves many people with little, if any, disposable income.
So if we are in an inverted Maslow model, where the hierarchy of needs is worked down to the basics rather than up to self-actualization, I fear that books and comics will not be very high up most people's lists of necessary purchases, at least for a while.
And as is the case with any art form, continued involvement is crucial to comics' thriving.
We've overcome much of the 30s - 60s stigma about comics, partially due to the snobbery associated with the "graphic novel", but we need to be visible. We need to be seen loving our comics, proudly.
Hey, if it's good enough for Bogey, it's good enough for us!

Original Art Sundays #55: Tranny Towers strips 4 & 5

This week was full of prep for my Comic Book History class (I start teaching again tomorrow, which always feels like coming back to life!), and writing my article on GLBT portrayals in underground comics for the Midwest PCA.
As such, no new work again this week.
I've allocated a whole day for studio this week. This should allow me to finish the partial page posted a few weeks ago, and to complete the new page I've been laying out in my sketchbook du jour.
Meanwhile, please enjoy two more pages of Tranny Towers. The Valentine's ceremony depicted took place at Metropolitan Community Church, one of two local GLBT Christian churches. The text comes from the original ceremony. The male/female couple in the front are a quick loose riff on Reed Waller and Kate Worley of Omaha fame.
Please view full size for a better reading experience!

Starman,waiting in the sky...

Jack Horkheimer has passed away at 72.
He was hokey and corny, but he made science accessible, and his enthusiasm inspired us all. I used to see these on PBS every now and then, and was always fascinated, as much by his energy as the content.
Horkheimer wrote his own epitaph.
"Keep looking up!"

Original Art Sundays #54: Tranny Towers strips 2 & 3

Much time spent prepping for comic book history class (does the fall semester really start in one week? Wow!).
So I thought I'd post some stuff that's been on my mind for a bit, material I planned to post last week.
Here are the first two continuity based episodes of Tranny Towers.

Image presented as originally printed, aside from redrawn Photoshop borders and the title type of the first strip being re-lettered digitally.
As you read these, bear in mind that each strip was originally presented as 1/4 page on a fairly standard magazine size page. Until I got the hang of dialogue placement and pacing, those aspects of the early strips were, well, not stellar.
Once again, please click to see the image at full size.
I had such ambitions around this strip! I had thought I'd set the queer comic strip world on fire with a funny animal transsexual strip. I had also hoped to draw on my experiences as an intern on Omaha The Cat Dancer, to bring the sensibilities of Kate Worley's wit and humanity to bear. The other queer-related comics that greatly influenced me, the work of Alison Bechdel and Howard Cruse, figure in with my attempts at subtle wit. Both their blogs are linked elsewhere on this page, but I've provided embedded links as well for your clicking convenience!
Next week: back to A Private Myth!

Ideas are free, so give away your book!

Lewis Hyde has written a MS titled Common As Air.
I've only read reviews and commentary, and may alter my opinion after I digest the entire volume, but I'd like to respond.
Essentially, Mr. Hyde is going with the concept of the "cultural commons". A "commons" is a shared set of necessary goods and services that help a society function, whose costs are borne equally by members of that society according to agreed rules.
However, Hyde also argues that anti-piracy legislation is "propaganda", as evidenced from this panel of Ward Sutton's review on the Barnes & Noble web site. This implies support of intellectual piracy. The irony of a bookseller's web site running a review of a book advocating this idea is not lost on me.

While it's unclear from the reviews and comments how Hyde's "cultural commons" is funded, it poses huge threats to creative individuals who hope to make a living from their work.
This model has been shifting for a couple decades now. The argument about downloading quickly evolved from "right and wrong" to "adapt or die".
My take is that we need a structure that supports artists, writers and musicians. It's unreasonable to presume that such labors are unworthy of pay, especially if one values them enough to consume them.
Some creative people have done their own end runs on this. Nina Paley's spectacular animated film, Sita Sings the Blues, uses the creative commons license by choice. I'm not sure what her success rate has been, but the laudable work is out there and as much under her control as she wishes it to be.
Perhaps that's the key. If a creator cannot control the price of their own work, we as a society have decided that said creator is not entitled to that control.
To quote Colleen Doran:

Art is WORK. Don't devalue our rights to fair pay and treatment as the complaints of the privileged. We won't be silenced by people who try to make us feel guilty for committing the original sin of making art. Take it from an artist who is a farmer. Physical labor is not harder than making art. Unlike ANY OTHER LEGAL WORK ON THE PLANET, it is the only work people think we should feel guilty being paid for. HELL, NO!

(end quote)

Hey, I have an idea. Let's do a FLAC download of Mr. Hyde's book and spread it around. Great ideas  deserve to be shared, and it's his idea, so he shouldn't mind. 

Hm. It doesn't seem to be posted on Google Books, only the title and blank pages. Guess Mr. Hyde doesn't practice what he preaches.

Creative commons, baby!

Original Art Sundays #53: A Dialogue with Harvey Pekar

Well, I shot myself in the foot by not properly saving the scan of the work I was planning on posting today.
However, as I was contemplating Hara Kari, I realized that from these setbacks we glean giant strides forward (to quote the great 80s film Real Genius).
A few week ago, Harvey Pekar died. I was lucky enough to chat with him once, and while I'm sure he would never recall me, my memories of him are vivid and positive.
This happened the same day my most recent relationship ended quite abruptly and unexpectedly. She spontaneously decided (in the middle of a month) that she had to live in another state, a thousand miles away, in three days. To say I was hurt and angry is like calling the Chicago Fire a weenie roast.
It didn't end well. Does it ever, really?
Her reasons are her own. Suffice to say I didn't agree and I've had more harmonious partings, though I hope that time heals that as well.
Shaken by Harvey's death and the unexpected turn in my personal life, I spent part of the following day re-reading my (ahem) complete collection of American Splendor.
I found this story. Not my favorite Harvey story (that's An Everyday Horror Story, from issue #5), but quite on point.
I chose to make a short video of it. For a soundtrack, I used R. Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders, as he and Harvey were friends and worked together often.
Timing and pacing this was an interesting experience. I wanted the text to be on-screen long enough to be legible, but not so long as to be tedious. Also, a series of static images can be less than exciting, so I used bits of motion and some image repetitions to shake it up just a bit.
I'm content with the result.
Full screen viewing recommended for reading ease!

To Boldly Go where no split infinitive has gone prior...

In yesterday's Newsarama, Jill Pantozzi offers an intriguing op-ed about the future of LGBT characters in the Star Trek franchise.
She correctly recalls the TNG episode about the androgynous species that is punished for choosing a gender, but bypasses the episode involving Dr. Crusher having a romantic entanglement with a joined Trill who is subsequently transferred to a female host, or the Trill love affair in DS9 with a similar plot thread that resulted in the first onscreen kiss between two women in the Star Trek world.
Likewise, Data's casual remark during the toast in Star Trek: Nemesis, "Ladies, gentlemen and any transgendered species..." was not played for laughs, but taken as a matter of course. I refer you to 7:19 in this clip.
However, the price to pay is Brent Spiner's singing (he's actually OK).




A script by Troubles with Tribbles writer David Gerrold, Blood and Iron, was filmed independently, and features a prominent gay relationship. Thanks to Jill for alerting me to this in her article! This is cool in so many ways- a lovely dedication, a great space battle, and the inclusion of the "Pride colored" NBC peacock.


Here's Part II.



This Phase II stuff is pretty smart. I haven't had time to keep up, but if you want more, go to this site.
Meanwhile, real GLBT characterization in SF remains largely the province of the printed word.

Original Art Sundays #52: A Private Myth, cover

Well, here we are. A year since I started being audacious enough to post my own work.
In that year, I've posted a whole Surrealist Cowgirls story, The World in Love, a few Tranny Towers pages and a cover, about a dozen photos, a couple so-so music videos featuring my art and guitar playing, and a bunch of sketches and older work in weeks where I lacked time or organization to complete a new piece.
The big work, of course, remains A Private Myth.
I have high hopes for this project. My immediate goal is its completion, page by page. Within that are smaller goals, like preparing each chapter as a stand-alone comic, and choosing eight of the current pages for the fall MCAD Faculty Art Show in a couple weeks.
To all these ends, I decided to do the cover this week.
Or A cover. This might not be THE cover.
I don't consider this final, though I am rather happy with it. Again, pencils without inks, painted in Photoshop.

Almost entirely drawn freehand, hence the uneven edges and slightly skewed angles. I rather like that quality but question it from a standpoint of professionalism. The palette works, but I might reconsider it.
After some debate, I chose to retain the water-stain on the lower right corner. I think it adds a sense of age and use.
My original idea for this, an old map with Katherine's features as one of the continents, just didn't work. But it may show up as a cover for one of the chapters/issues if I can resolve its problems.
The work is inspired by those vintage sheet music covers I love so much! I wanted a sense of something vintage that has an enduring quality. Painting over white in the Color layer mode, often used for recoloring vintage B & W photos, lends to a more muted palette as well. It also shows the texture of the paper, a pleasant effect!
The tragedy and comedy lanterns in the upper corners are freely stolen from a classic Winsor McCay illustration.
So there you have it. Original art, one year in.
On to the next one!

THOR!

When I was a kid, one of the comics I used to defend my reading habits was Thor. I thought the mythic overtones, coupled with the faux-Shakespearean High English lent the book sufficient legitimacy that, as Thor might say, none would dare question its veracity!
At San Diego Comic-Con this year, they ran a trailer for the upcoming THOR film. Naturally (and I suspect possibly deliberately) it leaked out afterward.
As embedding appears to be disabled, please use the live link above for as long as it lasts!

In hindsight, as much fun as the Lee/Kirby Thor was, it really wasn't all that well-written. There was a sameness to the soap opera aspects, but Kirby's art was at its peak on this book, at least for me.

In the last couple years, the writing took a turn for the better under the auspices of J. Micheal Straczynski (who is no longer on the book, having jumped ship to DC, at least for now). His take on Thor reintroduced the book's majesty, while retaining its wit. Usually, when a writer is "witty" on a comic, it's at the expense of the characters. Not so here. JMS is capable of balancing humor and respect for his subject matter. That's great. Snark is nearly worthless. If you dont' respect the subject you're writing about, how can you expect that your readers will?

As for the trailer, Thor's look is based on the JMS storyline. It works. I have a minor problem with the early shots of Asgard. These are Norse gods. Their  home should look like it's carved of cold stone (as it does later on after Loki assumes power), not gleaming polished CG metal.
I shy away from many superhero comics to film adaptations these days. I'm not seeing Iron Man II until it hits Netflix. And as much as I like M. Night's work, the clips my friends showed me from The Last Airbender were quite painful.
But this looks promising.

Melismatics and SES 1

I've learned from past experience that if I don't post these ASAP, they might go away.
Here's the video from this year's SES Session I. I had absolutely no involvement in the production this year, but the work was largely done by the session students, and I had the lot of them in my class, so I take a measure of pride in their accomplishments anyway.




The TRON theme is consistent with the 80s feel of the tune (at least to me), and works fairly well. Melismatics are a fun local band, not really my speed, but I'd see them if the opportunity arose again.
AS for SES, I have mixed feelings this year. While it always rejuvenates me, this year was also exhausting, more so than some past years. There are some internal changes in the program that cause me concern. I won't elaborate out of professionalism. But I do need to think about what these changes mean, and I picked up a nasty bug right after the animation show of SES II, that kind of soured me on the overall experience.
However, I did get to do some innovative teaching, including giving an assignment I'd never given before that yielded some great results.
Very satisfied with that.
And the enthusiasm of the students, much like the Shawn concert, reminds me of possibility when I need such reminders most.
I'm going to mull this all over a while. I have until March to decide if I'm doing it again in 2011. If I do, it will be my 12th year working SES, and with multiple sessions starting 6 years ago, my 18th and 19th SES sessions.
At 30- 50 students per session, that's a LOT of kids!
And they wonder why I don't remember all their names....

Shawn Phillips, July 26, 2010

I will write more on this tomorrow. The post will be expanded, but I wanted to get it out there that tonight's Shawn Phillips concert was amazing!
Here's me and Shawn, courtesy of my cheesy cel phone.

More details about this fantastic evening tomorrow!
Well, as Martha and the Muffins once sang, let me tell you, it's tomorrow and I never know what tomorrow will bring!
Shawn details:
Show started promptly at 7:30 as is Shawn's way. He made his entrance from the top floor of the 2-story stage setup and walked down the prop spiral stairs, which was big fun!
Shawn's playing with a band for most of this tour. I'd rather see him solo, but this band was a good complement to him. Talented players who knew when to step in and most importantly, when to hold back. Passion and restraint are such a difficult combination!
Here's some rehearsal footage with the band from earlier in the day.




The show was one long set, a little under two hours.
While Shawn was in voice and on for the night, and the material included stuff not performed publicly for more than 30 years, I was most struck by the philosophical and moral content of Shawn's works.
He spoke of the three things he tries to include in his writing:
Anger
Wonder
Technique
Anger is an awareness of what's wrong and a willingness to try to do something about it.
Wonder is a continual appreciation of the beauty in beads of water on leaves, an awareness of the delicacy and endurance of nature, of life.
Technique is balancing the two.
I've never heard it put quite that way before.
As often happens during a Shawn concert, I marvel at what the man has survived. Last night he told us about his 1976 accident, when his long hair got tangled in the propeller of an outboard motor. He was in critical care for three months and spent another four in recovery. The doctors were afraid he had brain damage and would never be able to write or compose again.
Much of the evening was about craft and possibility.  When I'm honored/confronted by the work of a creator of Shawn's caliber, I find myself torn between feelings of tremendous inadequacy and aspirations to immense possibility.
The evening was archived, which gives me hope that there may be a DVD in our future! (addendum: learned that there will be no DVD of this one).
I'll let one of my favorite Shawn songs close. This is from the MN Zoo performance two years ago, the best Shawn Phillips show I've ever seen. I encourage you to buy the DVD!

Original Art Sundays #51: A Private Myth, p. 15

At least I think it's p. 15. I'll go back and recount during the week.
Although the page is not complete, I'm posting it anyway. I left this one as pencils rather than do inks on it- my inks are not what they might be at times, though I have done some good ink work over the years.
I need to add a tier of panels and dialogue along the top and a word balloon associated with the main image.
I'm rather happy with this one. I may elect to leave more pages as pencil if they turn out this well.
I think that, even without the text, you can get a pretty clear sense of what's going on in this page.
Next week: more.

It was 41 years ago today...

...that man first walked on the moon.
Thanks to the timely reminder on Colleen Doran's blog, this did not elude me.
I recall sitting in awe in front of my Grandma's B & W TV console, my family around me. My mother, grandmother, brothers and sisters and I sat in awe.
My grandma quietly remarked that this was something Golden (my grandfather who had passed a few weeks earlier) always wanted to see.
Like Kennedy's death, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hands Across America and the Fall of the Towers, an event that touched us all.
There will always be the cynics and conspiracy theorists contending it didn't happen.
Twaddle.
They just refuse to believe in human possibility.



I'm also reminded of one of my favorite comics of last year, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?
The events are chronicled therein as well. (I'll amend this post with apropos scans tomorrow pages now ready to post!).

As we fight to treat each other decently in an increasingly indecent world, let us pause and recognize our capacities.
"Reach for the Moon" is no longer a euphemism.
Perhaps we can make the phrase "human decency" a reality as well.