Critiquing Comics #186: “Holy Diver”

Holy DiverIf you’re an American who grew up in a certain era, you may have a story about that time you ended up at a presentation about how “backmasking” was being used in your favorite music to subliminally deliver satanic messages. Artist Rachelle Meyer, whose work we’ve encountered once before in Chad in Amsterdam #4, presents her own story about such an incident in her short comic Holy Diver , a story which you might expect to be eye-rolly and cynical, but it’s not. Mulele pops in to join Tim to discuss this cool comic.

Join us on Patreon!

Follow us on Twitter!

Critiquing Comics #108: “Good or Dead” and “Solus”

Good or Dead/Solus

Last time we looked at the first of five comics concepts on Irrational Comics’ “PITCH” page. This time, we get some answers about exactly how these 12-page teasers came to be, and critique two more of them: “Good or Dead” (about a zombie apocalypse in Singapore) by Louis Png, and “Solus” (about a monster on a rampage in a spacecraft) by Dan Amariles.

Critiquing Comics #087: Trans-Planetarium

Trans-planetariumA transgender person (identifying as a woman) attempts suicide in a bathtub. Then an angel appears! The woman’s wrists are healed and the angel shows her how her life could be better. A comic whose heart is in the right place, but could use some adjustment in its delivery. Tim and Mulele discuss Trans-planetarium, but Flip Knox, John Amberia, and Shallamar Muggott; and also look back on Mulele’s just-completed Kickstarter project.

MAKING COMICS: TOOLS (PART I)

Welcome back! Did you all do your homework? Did you check out Scott McCloud’s book, Making Comics? Hmm? I’m going to have to call your mothers and check in on you—make sure you’re consuming a healthy comics diet. We’ll get to that in a minute.

NEWS

It’s been a long week, and there continue to be exciting things happening in the comic world, including the passing of Steve Jobs—a visionary who has made sharing comics on our digital devices possible. Little Island Comics (the first kids’ comic book store in North America) is now officially open, and getting great reviews. The second installment of Emily Carroll’s 5-part mini comic Margot’s Room is live on her blog, and will continue until the last week of October. Craig Thompson’s Habibi has spread like wildfire, igniting reviews, conversations, and presentations at APE, the Cartoon Art Museum, and bookstores across the U.S. DC’s reboot has caused quite a stir, losing some faithful readers and gaining some new ones. Comic anthologies such as Aftershock: Artists Respond to Disaster in Japan, and Cartoonists Against Bullying (still looking for more comics submissions, btw), are providing aid to victims of disasters and bullying. It’s an exciting time for comics—both for reading and making them.

Continue reading MAKING COMICS: TOOLS (PART I)

So, you want to make comics?

Creating ComicsHave you ever read a comic and pored over the beautiful drawings, or wondered why those colored dots disappeared, or how many people it took to write, draw, print, publish and send out the comic? Have you ever thought of making your own comic?


Continue reading So, you want to make comics?