Meltdown Comics will be holding Kids Comics L.A., an interactive day of comics, creativity, and family fun on Saturday, December 4th, 2010. Organized with Sam Humphries (CBGB, Fraggle Rock, MySpace Comics) the free event will introduce young readers to comics, and creators who will teach the attendees how to create their own comics.
Creators participating in the event include Ian Brill (Darkwing Duck and Rescue Rangers for BOOM! Kids Comics), David Server and Jackson Lanzing (Penguins of Madagascar for Ape Entertainment), and Chris and Shane Houghton (Reed Gunther).
Sonic Nova, Kriss Bliss, and dozens of other artists will be showing their work at the Artoberfest Art Show at MillBilly Art Studio from 3pm to 1pm this Saturday. Go and check it out. Costumes are encouraged!
About seven years ago I was making ends meet as an assistant in the Videogame division at Twentieth Century Fox. I can't say the position was a nonstop cavalcade of fun, but it did have its moments, especially when it occasionally involved one of my favorite pursuits: Comics. My good friend David Stalker was looking for a writer for a licensed game relaunch, and shared with me his idea of using a comic book writer to remold an intellectual property that was long in the tooth. I had recently come across writer Grant Morrison's website, so I took a shot in the dark and sent an email to the site's webmaster about Morrison potentially writing for the game, hoping that they would forward along my inquiry to him. It turned out that Morrison's manager & girlfriend-now-wife Kristan actually ran the site, and we started talking about the possibility of getting together the next time they were in Los Angeles. After a few months and a dinner that involved a bit too much wine for my bodyweight, Morrison got the gig, and I got an inside look at how a genius writes for a project with a million moving pieces while simultaneously assuaging the proprietal concerns of a vertically integrated media monster. For an aspiring writer like myself at the time, this was priceless.
Needless to say, the experience inspired me to keep up with all things Morrison, and when I read that Meltdown Comics in LA would be screening Patrick Meaney's documentary Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods, I made a beeline down Sunset Boulevard to check it out. The store's gallery where the screening was held was packed, but they squeezed me in after a quick handstamp from the ever-vigilant Chris Rosa.
The documentary is impressive, not just in terms of its production value, but in terms of its structure. Most documentaries are structured to tell a narrative, but GMTWD is actually a polymyth, layered to tell multiple narratives. In addition to the narrative of Morrison's own journey as a writer, the documentary presents the evolution of the superhero in American Comics, and ultimately the arc of the mindset of Morrison's audience and how we view the world, from the decade of potential that was the 90s, to the low of 9/11 to the uncertainty of today. The doc will be available to purchase at Amazon next week, but if you live in LA, you can get it for $15 at Meltdown right now.
Here's the trailer:
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Scientists and Hollywood Special Effects experts gathered at Caltech to discuss the real world science and technical wizardry behind "Iron Man 2" and present extended scenes from the "Iron Man 2" home video release.
24Hour Comics Day is the brainchild of comic-book guru Scott McCloud. Originally a challenge to Steve Bissette to write & illustrate a complete comic in twenty-four hours, the concept grew in popularity until it became an annual event across the country.
Annex Comics will be hosting 24 Hour Comics Day on Saturday October 2nd, 2010, beginning at 10:00 am. All local artists are invited to participate; please bring your own art supplies. Sonic Nova will be onsite to answer questions about the craft of creating comics as his illustrates his new comic, Victory Mullet.
If you really want to learn how to make comics, come down to Annex Comics this Saturday.
Over on his Writing Samples page, Tom Gastall has posted the first act of Operation Total Chaos! A master villain schemes to destroy a small town, and there’s only one person who can stand up to him… his babysitter. Check it out!
One of the highlights at SDCC for me was the inking demo that Paul Pope gave for the CBLDF. Pope inked the skull of Yorick from Hamlet for the demo. The process really came together for me when Pope added the shadow of the skull on the fingers of the hand holding it, establishing the relation of the hand and the skull in a 3d space.
Some of my notes from the demo: -Pope uses Koh-i-norr & Sumi ink, and a ceramic dish to hold the ink when working. -For Paper, Pope uses Strathmore Hot press 2-ply, or cold press for an "old masters" effect. -Pope uses a variety of brushes for inking, including Windsor Newton Series 7 & the University Series. -Fill in large black areas with a small sponge to save time. -Don't store your brushes in the jar point-down. -When inking with a caligraphy brush, plant your pinky on the paper to steady your hand. -He uses Masters Brush Cleaner for cleaning brushes. -Pope likes to "activate" his brush before use by allowing the ink to soak into the bristles for a few minutes. -He likes to watch episodes of the Outer Limits for lighting ideas.
Check out some video clips of the demo from around the web:
next week, but if you live in LA, you can get it for $15 at Meltdown right now.
