§ Nice art: Levon Jihanian is probably best known in comics for drawing the indie style Danger Country, but he’s quite the painter.
§ Everyone today is going to be talking about Abraham Riesman’s profile of Todd McFarlane, because it’s full of juicy details, like how McFarlane uses sunlight, water and time to make meetings uncomfortable for those he does business with:
I can take advantage of people’s bladders. I’ve got a strong bladder. It’s true! Here’s how you take advantage of that. You get these punk-ass lawyers and three-piece-suit guys, and they come to my office, and it wasn’t an accident that where I used to draw, the sun would be straight this way [he shoots his hands toward me] and it would go straight past me, right to where I’d sit them. In the sun. Now, if you’ve never been to Phoenix in the summer? [His offices are located near Phoenix.] It is excruciatingly hot. Especially if you’re wearing a three-piece suit. So what I do is, I sit them strategically in a place where the sun is coming right through the window and they’re getting hotter and hotter. I’ve actually turned up the heat in my room, ’cause I’m like a cockroach — I’ve adapted. But these guys haven’t.
That’s only the start. Click through for a very entertaining profile of one of comics true originals.
§ Zainab Akhtar s back at the AV club with 10 female cartoonists you need to know – not the usual suspects but plenty of new people to follow.
§ The NY times has a lengthy obit of Jay Lynch, who passed away last weekend. And Patrick Rozenkrantz also looks at Lynch’s life for TCJ.
§ And Todd Klein remembers Dave Hunt.
§ Arsenic Lullaby’s Douglas Paszkiewicz has a brutal dissection a comic-con that thought to promote some of its older stars more than the cast of Stranger Things…and was underattended.
Do you think anyone who isn’t on social security cares who Parker Stevenson is? Parker Stevenson is the name that helps you win a trivia contest, not a name that gets people to come to you comic-con. …With all due respect to Parker Stevenson, I’m sure -The Hardy boys- was fine show…but I’ve never seen it because there wasn’t a t.v. set inside my dad’s balls, which is what would have had to be the case as I was SPERM when this guy was last famous.
I’m making a point here, I’m not ragging on Stevenson. I’m sure if there was a t.v. set in my dad’s balls I would have been entertained by this show…and went to a sperm comic-con and looked for his autograph. But there wasn’t so I don’t know who he is, and more importantly neither does 50% of the population and 60% of the population that does know is in a nursing home and their grand kids ain’t going to take them to your show, because their grand kids don’t G.A.F. about Parker Stevenson.
§ Here’s a methodical look at who charged what for autographs at ECCC, or at least what cartoonists charged. There was some talk of this at the Big Apple Con this weekend, and some fist shaking at Neal Adams for starting the practice. Complicated subject.
§ And a look at the wild popular “Sarah’s Scribbles” comics by Sarah Anderson.
Her work through the character “Sarah Scribbles” inspires people across the globe. The comics she makes rarely surpass four to six panels, but the message they produce is profound. If her large following on Facebook, Twitter, and her website wasn’t conclusive enough, the passionate crowd at her book signing sealed the deal. During the Q&A portion, there was no shortage of compelling questions. Aspiring webcomic creators, eager students, and bright-eyed children were all itching to pick her brain. I wasn’t surprised, but it was certainly motivating and moving.
§ Monkeys Fightings Robots has a brief survey of comics by women in 2016, at least as they breakdown at various publishers.
The State We took the 500 best-selling comics (106 unique titles) of 2016, sourced from Comichron, and then marked if they had a woman either as the writer or the artist. The result is disheartening to say the very least. Women were on the creative teams of: 17% of titles 11% of comics 11% of DC comics 8% of Marvel comics 28% of Image comics 43% of combined Boom, IDW, Archie, and Dark Horse comics.
§ Tim’s Corner is a comics shop in Rock Island, IL. It was blown up by a propane explosion about a week ago but has been able to reopen in a temporary spot down the street.
§ San Diego Comic-Con’s Returning Registration took place on Saturday and news flash, all the tickets available sold out in about an hour. The Unofficial SDCC Blog has the blow by blow account:
Not everyone can be victorious, though. 24 minutes in — which is right on pace with 2015, when it took 23 minutes — Preview Night was gone. Saturday was next at 43 minutes, followed closely by Friday at 46 minutes. Thursday took a bit longer, clocking in at 55 minutes.
It seems to have gone smoothly and swiftly. Open Reg is coming in a few weeks, and Hoteloween in April sometime.
§ Comicbook.com asks a crucial question: 20 Years Later, The Creators Answer: How Did “Electric Superman” Happen?
