BeckyJewell

August 21, 2013 3:09 pm It is definitely a big, risky emotional jump to go from Thor to Batman even in the Thor/Batman movies. Why would you do that? Jaysus. The Thor movie that came out a few years ago just had a few lol moments. It's just fundamentally more funny to write and act a part of a character who is always out of his space-time element. Thor talking all Shakespeare while drinking beer, while mortals around him glance nervously at each other? Instant funny, if a bit lame. Meanwhile there is nothing fucking funny about Batman at all, and it affects real people. Nobody with a mental illness shoots a bunch of people in a theatre because they believe they are Loki. Batman will probably be depressing forever, and if not, shame on us.

August 19, 2013 12:59 pm Piracy seems to hurt creators/authors/artists in at least a small way, but it seems to either encourage or force creative people to diversify their work into different streams, which creates growth for the industry. Does Nicki Minaj care if literally almost a billion fans access her music via Youtube, rather than buying the track in iTunes? No, she's Nicki Minaj. There will always be more money, and she doesn't make it all off of just her music. Her net worth is 45 million. It could be a lot more. But does it matter to her? Stan Lee's net worth is estimated at 200 million. It could be a lot more. But does it matter to him? I'm not sure. It seems he has done what he wanted with life, but other commenters may know more about how he feels. In conclusion, just do a makeup line for your comic with M.A.C or a comic book-themed perfume and the pirates will not matter.

July 12, 2013 12:33 pm The key to making great comics isn't photorealistic or 'uncanny' art - it is creating art that can be believed. I agree with you, Gabe - I've also seen a few comic books that seem to be made by animating with a Playstation 3 engine and then snapping screenshots of renders. As experiments into representation, they work. But as far as telling a story effectively, they really fall flat. And they're creepy. Or silly. There are also some comics made up entirely of photos that are just very filtered in Photoshop. Sometimes this looks pretty okay, but to anyone who has touched a toe into Adobe programs, it looks pretty lazy. So, although there might be more 'reality' in renders, there is more emotional connectivity, which is more real, in really good, drawn art.

April 25, 2013 12:01 pm That's so MOMA

April 10, 2013 3:32 pm Thank you Josh for an excellent breakdown. Good lord, that firestorm was annoying. "a preponderance of dumbasses" --- lol

March 21, 2013 12:02 pm I give comics as much as possible! The key: You have to know the friend or family member that you are giving to. I regularly gift comics to both my Mom and Dad --- but I still can't figure out what comics my brother would like. So, i will wait to give him comics until I can figure it out. I don't want to inadvertently ruin comics for him. Often when I have a friend who wants to get into comics, but does not know where to start, usually I give them books that a.) Have good art b.) Don't need 100 issues as context c.) Make you better as a person/artist/writer/teacher after reading it. That said, comics I've gifted the most are pretty motley, but commonly never involve super heroes: Chris Ware, Mouse Guard, Gunnerkrigg Court, Saga, Maus, Mega Man, MLP, anything by Joe Sacco, Walking Dead.

March 15, 2013 11:18 am Oh dang wow I thought the fearless defenders cover was an actual toy. I'm staring at it and I'm still confused. That is some ace art right there.

February 25, 2013 5:47 pm I agree with Josh, and for real -- Art collectives or studios can be great for anyone but ESPECIALLY introverts (this is me also) who are on a team -- the exchange of ideas and edits is much more rapid, fluid, and natural. I wonder what an artist or comics-optimized Virtual Studio would look like? Someone should invent that. I keep waiting for skype to create a feature that enables live doodling chat, but maybe there are already better services out there that accomplish this for creatives.

February 25, 2013 4:33 pm Oh mannnn that Daredevil sequence is heart-stopping!

September 6, 2011 10:22 am So true on Gambit...I try to like him sometimes but usually it comes out as outward hate. He just does the wrong thing too often, you'd think he'd learn. There was this Ultimates story where he saved a little girl from Hammerhead's gangsters, that was pretty redeeming, but it will take like 20 more stories like that to make him 'likeable' in my book.