§ Steve Duin updates S. Clay Wilson’s health. Although he’s responding to medication for his pneumonia, the extent of his brain injury is not yet known. UPDATE: An email is circulating among Wilson’s friends stating that he is stable, but not responsive.
Bonus: This blog post is in Spanish, but has some fine examples of Wilson’s art. NSFW as if we had to tell you. Above, a SMALL DETAIL from GRIST #12.
§ Comicon.com and The Pulse have a brand new look!
§ Kristy Valenti goes to APE and reports on panels:
Ware said that, for him, cartooning was always about content, rather than form. He’s trying to make it clear on the page how we see things, and that comics are a way of finding that mechanism.[3] He described his comics as not a “style,” but a way of seeing. However, he worried that his use of the first person functioned as a filtration. Ware also doesn’t think of what he does as “drawing,” but rather as a weird form of symbolism. (He later clarified that his sketchbooks were “from life,” but that his comics were “from the brain.”)
§ Colleen Doran is seeking information:
I need professional cartoonists to participate in reviewing data and pricing charts for the comics industry for the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. Full time, working professionals in comic books only.
We must have accurate industry standards and practices for the latest Handbook. If you have done just a couple of gigs or self publish, I appreciate your willingness to help. However, I really need people who can give the Handbook perspective and accurate data. An industry track record is essential.
More in the link.
§ Johanna Draper Carlson explains 2008 Isotope Award judging and posts her favorite “best of the rest”. And here’s Part Two.
§ Van Jensen makes a startling confession:
So, it’s time to make an admission. I don’t collect sketches. I don’t want sketches in the books I buy. And I don’t understand the obsession in comics culture with sketches. It’s the same thing as getting a famous person’s autograph or having an athlete sign a ball or sports card. It’s a way of showing you had close contact with someone of note and commemorating that event (either that or proving you’re an eagle-eyed eBay shopper). You can show it off to your friends and say, “Look, I waited in line for 4 hours at Wizard World and totally asked Lee Bermejo to sketch a banjo-playing monkey riding Krypto the superdog!”
I agree with the sketch comment. I dont get it. Its expensive and you have to waster a bunch of time in line. I think its the new collector thing to go along with variant covers and toys and other wasteful habits.
If a line is not too long, then I will usually ask for a self-portrait of the artist.
I can understand those who collect sketches of a certain character or theme. Like “Batman Black and White”, it’s interesting to see how various artists interpret a character.
One should also note that for some artists, sketches are another product they can sell at their table, working on them when traffic is slow. While a reader may not be willing to pay $5 for a questionable, self-published comicbook, they would think nothing of paying $20 for a sketch of Spider-Man.
For some, it’s the only way affordable way to collect original art from an artist, as actual production pages can cost $100+.
The only sketches I’ve gotten in actual graphic novels are Sandman. Neil Gaiman and many of the other artists will “autograph” a quick sketch next to their signature. Otherwise, I am content to just get it signed.
Were I an artist, and someone bought a $20 book from my table (with the profits all going to me), then I would offer to do a quick sketch along with the signature.
I don’t know, I love drawing sketches for fans, I think it make a connection for them and frankly I like to get sketches as well. While at cons I bring a sketch book with me and get the artist in the area around me to do sketch in it. As a creator I think when I do a sketch for a fan they love it also its a way to keep them interested in getting my books. If you don’t like to get them or understand why that’s find but to think it’s a wasteful habit. I think it’s better a kid buy’s a sketch of a hero, then go out and spend the money on drugs, now there is a wasteful habit.
I love sketches. I love watching an artist actually do the sketch. If I just see the finished sketch, I still like seeing how the artist approaches doing a quick drawing instead of a final publishable drawing. ie: Rough circles for the limbs, how the eyes are drawn, etc.
I should’ve said this, but I do know some artists who really, really love doing sketches, and that’s cool. And it is a good way for them to make money. Again, I wasn’t seeking to belittle the practice or those who take part in it. Personally, though, it’s not for me. That’s all.
As the individual who wrote the sketch comment came to further clarify, there isn’t much to add.
However, I would like to address a couple of things. First, it’s not “the same thing as getting a famous person’s autograph or having an athlete sign a ball or sports card”. That would be having creators sign comics, and it boggles my mind when someone trucks a long box up to some writer or artist’s table and pulls out 50 books for them to sign. However, that’s their thing. Lastly, “It’s a way of showing you had close contact with someone of note and commemorating that event ” would apply only to the signiture. Sketches are a different animal.
Though I understand your point of view, I think you should try to avoid equating a signiture to a piece of art. If it was only about proof of contact with a person of note, then why does my girlfriend–who rarely reads comics and has no idea who most of the people at comic book conventions are–enjoy getting sketches? There’s just more to it than simply contact with greatness.
Or that’s what we tell ourselves to justify the expense. :)
I think it’s interesting that there are entirely different sketch traditions in Europe and the US.
Okay, it’s not that interesting.
“I think it’s interesting that there are entirely different sketch traditions in Europe and the US.”
I’m interested, how are they different Tom?
“I waited in line for 4 hours”
The best sketches are obtained from artists that don’t have long lines.
“The best sketches are obtained from artists that don’t have long lines. ”
Because their allotment for sketches for the entire convention was filled during the first 3 and 1/2 minutes of the opening day?