Welcome to another edition of Sunday Readings, with a look at some things I thought were interesting enough to share in case you missed them.
Welcome to another edition of Sunday Readings, with a look at some things I thought were interesting enough to share in case you missed them.
Okay, enough of the Groundhog Day jokes. Let's make with the links, which are mostly art-focused this time.
- Leading off: Someone (Meg Gandy?) pointed this lovely illustrator out to me on Tumblr and now I desperately want her to put out an art book of these illustrations that will blow your mind. Her name is Joanna Krotka, and someone should be throwing money at her to draw for them, like yesterday.
- Sophie Campbell does such an amazing job with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I hope they keep giving her arcs and one-offs to do as long this series lasts with IDW. (I am worried that new movie will ruin the work they've built up over the past three years.) Here's Sophie's cover process for issue 30. That image should be on a t-shirt--a legal one--right now for me to buy, or even as a print.
- Who cares why? Here's Faith Erin Hicks drawing Black Jack, the best Tezuka creation.*
- I used to love Brian Stelfreeze's Batman covers back in the last Golden Age of Batman books, just after Knightfall. Here's Mr. Stelfreeze working to re-imagine the Crime Syndicate. Take careful note of some of the cool things he does to make them different, and then remember, this man isn't working for DC anymore, and mourn for current superhero comics.
- Erika Moen suggests everyone start reading Clique Refresh, which started this week. It's a webcomic by Amy T. Falcome, and I hope it comes to Comic Rocket, where I do all my webcomic reading.
- Moving on to things not strictly related to art, Comixology talks about its French users in this infographic. I really love reading these, which offer insights into the growing digital comics world.
- RIP Morrie Turner, a groundbreaking artist that I don't think enough people are aware of, especially in this age of reprinting damn near everything. Thanks to Comics Alliance for the brief write-up.
- Johanna Draper Carlson lists her favorite graphic novels of 2013. Showing how diverse comics are these days, I admit to being unfamiliar with most of her selections. But that's what the library is for, once I finish moving!
- Meanwhile, Robot 6 looks at 6 books that may have fallen under the radar in 2013 and gets some help in the comments section. More fodder for the mountainous TBR pile...
- Sarah Horrocks spins a brief look at nostalgia and its dangers from a discussion with the ever-thought provoking Darryl Ayo. This is one of the few times were reading the comments is actually productive. I'm not sure how I feel on this, but I generally agree that we're sold more on the "we should like these characters" idea more than "this is a damn good story." It's a thing I'm constantly working on to break.
- Finally, Ron Marz, who has a lot of good things to say about what makes for good comics criticism, takes Comics to task (rightfully) for being a bit too writer-focused) and jumps in to help fix the problem by interviewing Laura Braga, the amazing artist on Marz's Witchblade right now. He really kills it with this interview, and it's well worth the read.
That's it for me. Anything you saw that I should but maybe didn't? Throw it in the comments for me.
*Suck it, Astro Boy.