Critiquing Comics 019: “Black Snow” and “Electric 1937”

Tim and Mulele are back with two comics, submitted for critique by their creators:

I'm Famous/Black SnowMichael Balestreri & Alex Siquig have several comics at blacksnowcomic.com, all of them centering around a group of superheroes. We tap our feet on the non-existent floor, and invoke Chris Schweizer’s “Guide to Spotting Tangents.” (Chris appeared in Deconstructing Comics Episode 157!)

Electric 1937Michael Liggett’s “Electric 1937” is set in a fantastically imaginative alternate reality. The comic just needs to tell us about it a bit sooner.

Critiquing Comics 018: “Windmills”

WindmillsA submission from the Philippines! Josel Nicolas sent us four issues of his Windmills series. While Tim and Mulele have some fairly harsh words for it, at the same time, we can see definite issue-to-issue improvement.

See sample pages of Windmills

Available as an e-book from Amazon or FlipReads.

Josel Nicolas on Tumblr

#076 “Houdini, the Handcuff King”

FLASHBACK! Tim and Brandon snack while examining Houdini: The Handcuff King and 24-hour Comics Day Highlights 2006! (Originally published May 21, 2007) Continue reading #076 “Houdini, the Handcuff King”

#150 Jenny Frison in the Windy City

Chicago 1968FLASHBACK! Chicago artist Jenny Frison talks about her Web comic (with Len Kody) “Chicago 1968“, studying at the Joe Kubert school, the upcoming Windy City comicon, and more! (Originally published October 20, 2008)

Critiquing Comics 014: Cross Hare

Cross HareCross Hare is a rabbit who’s a detective and a handyman, not necessarily in that order. How could it be improved? Tim and Mulele look for clues…

#303 So you want to go into the comics business…

Tom Rasch is working on a comic, animated cartoon, and toy line for his property Black Alpha.

Billy Hogan, a fellow comics podcaster, is drawing a comic called Slipstream for the new site Clockwork Comics.

Jeffrey Taylor is writing Slipstream, plus podcasting at supermanhomepage.com, and he’s got an actual paying gig writing about Superman!

Tim interviews all three.

#302 Mermaids and Aliens

A mermaid, the Hudson River, and 19th century riverboats are the focus of Mark Siegel’s Sailor Twain, a Web comic with a thriving online community. Tim and Mulele discuss. (read an interview with Mark Siegel on CBR )

Also, Tim talks to storyboard artist Michael Jasorka about his Kickstarter project, a graphic novel called December 3rd 1967: An Alien Encounter.

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)

Critiquing Comics 009: “Chafed” and “Kid with a Cape”

Kid with a CapeThis week we tackle a couple of recent mini-comics: Chafed by James Mitchell and Evan Spears, and Kid with a Cape by Dave Castro. We also touch on how to pull off a successful first issue, and one possible future for US mainstream comics.

“Chafed” on Deviant Art (registration required to bypass adults-only filter)

“Kid with a Cape” (info on issue 2)