Back to the grind (sorta)
Feb. 26th, 2008 06:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stinglikeabeeHello everybody! A day back in LA and I'm still trying to get my bearings straight. San Francisco seems like a lifetime ago...
Wondercon was much fun and I've learned quite a lot. Despite myself, I used to think comics was one of those things people churned out without much regard. That's my fault, as I realised I now almost specifically read only comics in the superhero genre. These tend to seem like it caters for the juveniles who enjoy big breasts and people punching dinosaurs. When I had access to the LA Public Library system I'd read the early Miller stuff, but the more 'indie' ones too - Terry Moore, Clowes, etc. The Central library in downtown had a great selection of collected Kirby stories from Fantastic Four and Fourth World, and I'm sure I browsed through them fairly quickly. Eight years later and I'm less inclined to read stuff like DMZ and Crumb's works. I can't exactly pinpoint why, but I hope it changes.
I never once stop to think about what makes up these books. Inking, colouring, the paper it's printed on... that's what I've found out about from attending the Wondercon panels. What I concentrated on before was writing, since I had always reckoned on becoming a serious writer. That sort of coincided with a long held teenage dream to set up my own comic company, but now I scratch my head and wonder 'who's going to figure out the necessary day-to-day duties of creating a comic book?' Since learning the core basics, I'm definitely eager to learning more about the industry, even if nothing comes out of it. And not just the material costs of the production, but the history as well. I sat at the Jack Kirby panel and listened to these artists rhapsodise about his work and the massive influence he still has today. I was amazed that these guys remember a particular splash page Kirby made decades earlier, and that they could still explain why it captivates them still. This is the sort of moment that's gotten me itching to read and learn more.
For the next couple of days I'll be uploading pictures and writing up my notes on the Wondercon days. Heh, if you're not that keen on hearing me blag on about things someone said about their work in comics that I found interesting, you may want to avoid me for a while. I have LOTS of material, believe me. Pages and pages.
And now to play catch up on my f-list. Eeek.
Wondercon was much fun and I've learned quite a lot. Despite myself, I used to think comics was one of those things people churned out without much regard. That's my fault, as I realised I now almost specifically read only comics in the superhero genre. These tend to seem like it caters for the juveniles who enjoy big breasts and people punching dinosaurs. When I had access to the LA Public Library system I'd read the early Miller stuff, but the more 'indie' ones too - Terry Moore, Clowes, etc. The Central library in downtown had a great selection of collected Kirby stories from Fantastic Four and Fourth World, and I'm sure I browsed through them fairly quickly. Eight years later and I'm less inclined to read stuff like DMZ and Crumb's works. I can't exactly pinpoint why, but I hope it changes.
I never once stop to think about what makes up these books. Inking, colouring, the paper it's printed on... that's what I've found out about from attending the Wondercon panels. What I concentrated on before was writing, since I had always reckoned on becoming a serious writer. That sort of coincided with a long held teenage dream to set up my own comic company, but now I scratch my head and wonder 'who's going to figure out the necessary day-to-day duties of creating a comic book?' Since learning the core basics, I'm definitely eager to learning more about the industry, even if nothing comes out of it. And not just the material costs of the production, but the history as well. I sat at the Jack Kirby panel and listened to these artists rhapsodise about his work and the massive influence he still has today. I was amazed that these guys remember a particular splash page Kirby made decades earlier, and that they could still explain why it captivates them still. This is the sort of moment that's gotten me itching to read and learn more.
For the next couple of days I'll be uploading pictures and writing up my notes on the Wondercon days. Heh, if you're not that keen on hearing me blag on about things someone said about their work in comics that I found interesting, you may want to avoid me for a while. I have LOTS of material, believe me. Pages and pages.
And now to play catch up on my f-list. Eeek.
