Update and Recommended Stuff

Another huge gap in posts, but what are ya gonna do? Lettering has been kinda crazy, throw a holiday in there and before you know a few weeks have gone by.

Got a few things in the works. There’ll be a new NYComix One-Shot very soon. It’s penciled and ready for inks, but it’s one of the more detailed pages I’ve done. I try to do that on the One-Shot comics. I didn’t on the last one about the Hot Dog salesman and it’s probably the least favorite of the bunch for me. I’m even going to hand letter this one. I’m about as spent on computer lettering as a person can be. Plus I’m not sure if it jives with my art. It seems pasted over (which it basically is)… although it saves a ton of time, I’ll be looking to do more hand lettering in future comix.

I’m also way behind on the Baseball Illustrations for Spikeballparks. I’ve got a thumbnail ready, so I have to work out that piece soon as well.

Got a few Recommended Comics, Books and Flicks too.

Comics

Powers Hardcover.
Finally finished reading this one and I really enjoyed it. I’m pretty down on mainstream comics right now, but Powers really has an independent, crime-noir feel to it. If you get a chance pick up the Hardcover or better yet, pick up the first “Who Killed Retro-Girl?” Trade Paperback. Good stuff.

Invincible
Fellow VC letterer Rus Wooton was nice enough to mail me a trade of Robert Kirkman’s Superhero comic out of Image Comics. This book really made me feel like there’s hope for Superhero comics in today’s industry. While Marvel and DC are the top selling superhero comics, none of them have the fun, the action and the character development that Kirkman is putting into every issue of this book. I’m a huge fan of mid to late 1970’s comics and Invincible is like an updated version of those great books. It takes itself seriously but at the same time it’s not afraid to have a mad scientist with a giant brain, or a one-eyed alien who can fly and kick ass. If you’re tired of the mainstream superhero comics endless babbling and sparse action, pick up an issue of Invincible.

Books

The Man in the High Castle
Philip K. Dick has become one of my favorite writers and this book has really made me think, and the thing is… I’m not even sure what to think. But that’s a good thing. Sounds weird, but I can’t wait to get my hands on another PKD novel.

Flicks

The Good The Bad and the Ugly.

Spaghetti Westerns at their best by Italian director Sergio Leone. An absolutely beautifully shot movie that at 3 hours long left me wanting to see more. It’s an “art film” and a action flick all rolled into one. Gotta move Leone’s Dollars Trilogy to the top of my Netflix Queue.


That’s it. Stay tuned for that NYComix One-shot.

--Gent

Found Art

I took this photo over a year ago in the 7th Avenue subway station in Brooklyn…

There’s a great culture of street art in Brooklyn but this was one of the cooler things I’ve seen in the Park Slope area. Places like Williamsburg are just crawling with artists. The graffiti in that neighborhood is fantastic and there are things like this framed piece all over. I don’t particularly like the art itself in this frame, but the idea of framing something and just leaving it in a subway station is really cool, especially knowing that it will be eventually thrown out by an MTA employee…maybe someone picked it up.

--Gent

Letterer Without a Crew

So I haven’t posted a new Blog in ages. It’s been a number of things, ranging from that Home Run King illustration I did for Spike ballparks. Which took me much longer than I thought it would. It was tougher to take a jab at Barry Bonds than I thought. I didn’t want to be too blatant and just bash him. It would’ve been easy to do that, but less is more… I think that came across in the illustration.

I’ve also been adjusting to some changes that have come in via my lettering gig. Essentially it adds up to us being dragged into the production wing of comics. We’ve always been lowest on the totem pole, but not far down enough I guess. Because of this I’ve really been searching for more creative outlets…stuff outside of comics. The baseball gig has scratched that itch but I’m still looking for more. I’ve been researching Mini DV cameras and writing a script. I’m kicking around the idea of a live action trailer for a black and white underground comic. Just something, anything that takes the comics I’m doing to a place that I and people reading them wouldn’t expect. Why not a movie that promotes the comic? Flip da script as the kids say.

Quick plug for a movie I checked out the other day. Robert Rodriguez’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico. This guy is making movies is own way… writing, directing, shooting, editing, scoring, production design… he basically does it all. In the 70’s when guys like Lucas, Coppola, Scorsese, DePalma and the rest of the “Movie Brats” where coming up, they make movies from start to finish, the Auteur Theory of filmmaking with one person being the “author” of the film. Today’s Hollywood seems to just churn crap out like an assembly line…. (kinda sounds like some comics) Rodriquez is really one of the few young filmmakers that are outside of Hollywood (in Texas) shooting movies fast, cheap and with high quality. He and Quinten Tarantino are two of the auteur filmmakers that emerged in the 90's.

There’s and energy and just fun and enjoyable aspect to his flicks that really appeal to me. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, his first film, El Mariachi is one of the success stories that young filmmakers look at. He shot the movie for $7000 bucks and caught the attention of Hollywood by doing so. Of course, there are a lot of folks who dispute this budget, most of which seem to be bitter film geeks, but no matter how you look at it the guy literally became a human guinea pig by volunteering for human research studies to earn money to make Mariachi. So in my opinion, split hairs all you want on the 7000 dollars, they guy became a pincushion to make his film.

Mariachi and Mexico are just fun, fast-paced action flicks with great quirky characters. There’s a great DVD extra called “10 minute Flick School” and an even better book about the making of Mariachi called “Rebel Without a Crew”. If you’re in need of an inspiration story to get your work kick-started, check ‘em out.

Stay tuned, I’ve got a new NYComix in the penciled stage…should be ready in a week or so.

--Gent