Geek Speaking Money Shots over Nowhere Men

Geek Speak:

The Reaction Money Shot

Whether she intended to or not Sam has taken Mark and Steve to a place from which they cannot return. The question remains, will they be better people for it? 

My wife had a fair amount of input into these comics, particularly regarding my drawing of Sam's breasts. It's a testament to how awesome my wife is that her input wasn't, "you really shouldn't do that, some people might be really offended." She could have, and she would have been justified. Let's be honest, this puts a toe over the line of sexism. My wife could have made that argument and I would either have had to shelve this entire mini-arc, or find some way out of the corner I'd painted myself into. Instead what she said was, "Wow. She has a huge rack."

Something to that effect, and she was right. My first pass at drawing Sam with her shirt up had her significantly larger in the chest region. My wife's comment was a good observation because the first pass at drawing her with her shirt up was inconsistent with how I'd drawn her with her shirt down. So Sam got a breast reduction. 

The guys' reaction in panel three is based on a doodle I did before bed a long time ago. I've been trying to find a way to work up to it ever since. I had a lot of fun drawing their reactions in panel three, and overall I'm pleased with the results. 

One more strip with these three, I think, then we'll take a break from these characters for a bit. 

Comic Book Review: Nowhere Men

Publisher: Image Comics
Issue: 1
Price: $2.99 (cover price) $2.39 (on Heavink.com where shipping is free). 

Recommendation: Highly recommended

I'm going to start this review by saying this is a bold book. It deals unflinchingly with high-concept themes such as morality and ethics as they apply to scientific pursuit, human experimentation be conducted in secret, and the overreach of corporate ambition when it places profit above humanity. These are huge, huge ideas and they are handled well by the creative team of writer Eric Stephenson, artist Nate Bellegarde, and colorist Jordie Bellaire. 

The beginning of the book is a kind of prelude to the story in the rest of the first issue. The book opens at some point in the past. Based on the clothing and hair we're led to believe it's in the late 70's or early 80's. This is followed by what looks like the curriculum vitae of the four characters on the first page a la Playboy interviews. This is a brilliant choice on the part of the creators as it lays out exactly who these men are without having to devote pages and pages to character development. This becomes important in very short order as we jump from "some time ago" to "years later" and the characters introduced on that first page are much older, and much has changed between them. 

We meet them after a crisis moment in which one of their projects has taken a serious turn for the worst, resulting in the deaths of two men. How they respond to the tragedy sets up one of the major themes of the book. At the same time Stephenson deftly weaves in exposition that sets the stage for events later in the story.

Stephenson's writing is spot on. The arc of the book is carefully crafted to establish the tension early on, then leaves the reader on cliffhanger that is nothing less than out of this world. His dialogue is natural and each character speaks in a voice so distinct, so painstakingly well crafted, that you can very nearly hear what their voices would sound like if they could speak. 

The artwork is equally well done. Each panel builds on the one before, and the team of Bellegarde and Bellaire have done an admirable job evoking the tension of Stephenson's words.  The line work is tight and, detailed, and disciplined. This tightly controlled quality makes it even more jarring when you're introduced to characters who've been subjected to the secret experimentation that is one of the books major themes. In a medium where the monstrous and spectacular are all but quotidian, it's a remarkable achievement when a creative team can shock the reader. Bellegarde and Bellaire do it, and make it look easy. 

If I have a criticism it is that the same tightly controlled quality that makes it possible for Bellegarde and Bellaire to surprise the reader also makes the book feel as though they are holding back. Bellegarde is obviously a more-than-capable illustrator, but a large number of panels throughout the book offer only spartan detail. This adds impact to the big reveals in the book, but it also makes the world feel as though it lacks depth or substance. Almost like actors playing out a scene against flats painted in solid colors. 

I'm somewhat guarded in my recommendation of this book partly because the last book I reviewed was Saga, a title that would skew the curve for anyone else, and partly because it seems like the creative team is holding back. Overall a very solid first issue, and I'll be picking up the other issues to see where this team is taking us. 

Note: The cover image above is used without permission. If you would like to support the title or acquire a copy of the book please purchase it from the online comic store, Heavy Ink (linked from the image). Better yet, get out of the house and go to a local comic store and support them by picking up the print versions.

Zen and the Art of Supergirl

Pre-Work Doodles: Supergirl

If I get to work early enough I will usually do one of two or three things: sleep, draw in my sketchbook, or drink coffee and listen to the radio. Which one I choose to do depends on how tired I am, how early I managed to get to the parking garage for the office where I work, and whether or not I have a clear idea of something I would like to draw. To be honest I mostly end up sleeping. 

No matter what I'm doing I use the time in the car before work as a kind of pre-work-day meditation. Most days this is the last quiet time I get all day. Weird as this is to say about a parking garage, it's very peaceful. If I've decided to sleep I'll lay my seat down as far as it goes, cover up with a blanket I claimed from the pile of the things that my daughter will never use, and shut my eyes. 

When I draw I set the same alarm I use if I'm sleeping, and use it as a timer for when I need to put everything away and go to work. I can usually get at least the basic pencil work done for a drawing before I have to pack it in and go inside.

When I sit and sip my coffee while listening to the radio...that's pretty much it. Though I do usually zone out and daydream. Sometimes that helps with the process of coming up with topics for this blog, or ideas for Geek Speak. 

Today was a drawing day and I decided to try and draw Supergirl. I got about halfway through drawing here before I had to pack everything up. I finished the pencils and the inked lines later in the day. 

She's caught in a quiet moment hovering high above the earth. Maybe she's thinking about lunch, maybe she's trying to remember the location of a clean bathroom in Prague. Whatever she's thinking, it's a moment that the dangers and stresses of her day-to-day life are (literally as well as figuratively) miles away.

The time I take for a quiet moment in the morning is kind of like that. It's a moment of relative peace before I have to return to the melee. 

Geek Speaking Overworked Dragon Savages

Geek Speaking: The Overworked Edition

I've had days like this. I've seen other people have days like this, too. In general they go on a a long lunch break with an HR "specialist" and are never heard from again.

Look, ma! I'm drawing backgrounds! Try to ignore the fact that "Fred" seems to have the longest right arm in human history.

The idea for this came from a former coworker. We'd had a particularly difficult morning, and I think both of us were a little loopy from sleep deprivation. It must have been a Wednesday. Things always get a little Flerpy on Wednesday. Around this time I'd started drawing more of these cartoons and he would send me chat messages with possible dialogue for strips. This is one that's stood the test of time, and I'm finally (more or less) equal to the task of drawing it. BEHOLD!

Comic Book Review: The Savage Dragon
Publisher: Image Comics
Issue: 1
Price: $1.95 (original) $3.00 (value after 20 years...yeah...my daughter will probably not be going to college on the proceeds from selling my comic books).
Recommendation: Get off your ass and go out right now and buy every trade paperback edition you can find starting with volume 1. Why are you still reading, I said GO BUY IT!

In 1992 a number of creators including Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, and Rob Liefeld broke away from "the Big Two" who dominated the world of comic book publishing.  Their split allowed them to release their own titles without fear of censorship from the still-somewhat-relevant Comics Code Authority, or losing control of their intellectual property to the publishing giants who controlled (and still control) the majority of mainstream titles.

The Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen was one of the flagship titles released by these creators under the "Image Comics" label. Larsen's book was released around the same time as Youngblood, WildC.A.T.S., and arguably the most well-known book, Spawn. Of the four original titles the only ones still in publication today are Spawn and The Savage Dragon and Larsen is the only one of the creators who founded Image Comics to still be writing and drawing his own book. He gets mad props for that.

Larsen's distinction of having the longest run as artist and writer on any American comic book, ever notwithstanding, he deserves mad props for another reason. This book, in its entirety, is (and you'll pardon me, I don't do this very often) fucking awesome.

In this first issue it helps if you've read the three issue mini-series that preceded it, but the story provides enough exposition to get you caught up on what's going on and who the characters are that you can get up to speed fairly quickly. The story takes place in Chicago which is being overrun by super-powered criminal "freaks" when the titular character is discovered in a burning field. He has no memory of who is or where he came from, but has full knowledge of the world and current events. He's even able to answer questions about obscure sports trivia. He has an unknown type of amnesia.

The man who discovered him, Frank Darling, is a lieutenant with the Chicago P.D. and is desperate to get the Dragon's help. By making a shady deal with underworld forces he's able to make that happen (I'm not going to say exactly how), and this super-powered amnesiac joins the Chicago police force and becomes known as Officer Dragon. Using his powers of strength, advanced healing (think Wolverine in is prime), and near invulnerability (think Mr. Incredible; he can be hurt but it takes a shitload of punishment to do it) he takes the fight to the freaks.

The story is over the top violent with a campy, tongue-in-cheek cop show mentality. It's also important to keep in mind as you read it that it's something of a send-up of the entire world of superhero comic books. That was actually a problem I had with the book originally. At the tender age of fifteen I really, really didn't understand the humor. My palate for satire wasn't sophisticated enough to appreciate the really subtle (and not-so-subtle) jabs at the comic book industry. When I came to it again in my twenties with fresh eyes, a more developed sense of humor, and a little bit of cynicism it was like reading it for the first time. I got it, and it was great.

If nothing else, I recommend reading this as a landmark achievement in comics, but it is also consistently very, very well done.

Note: The cover image above is used without permission. If you would like to support the title or acquire a copy of the book please purchase it from the online comic store, Heavy Ink (linked from the image). Better yet, get out of the house and go to a local comic store and support them by picking up one of the trade editions.


Of Savages and Dragons, and a Version of Me that's 20 Years Younger
I think I've been waiting the last twenty years to write this review. Which is funny because twenty years ago anyone walking around talking about their blog would probably have been handed a paper cup full of Thorazine and told to lie down. Not so today. Now I get to write about a truly amazing comic book and have my comments read by tens of people! The glory of the Internet!

I've owned these comics for decades, and for the last several years they've been sitting in storage in my families home in Aurora, CO. Major thanks are due to my mom and brother who held onto them despite offers to take them off of their hands, and even made sure they were undamaged when the house's pipes leaked through the floor. Some of the boxes I'd used to organize and store my comics were destroyed, but the comics themselves remained intact inside their comic sleeves and backboards.

I actually got a small, personal, nostalgic thrill when this box arrived from Aurora and I opened it to find Issue number 1 of my all-time favorite comic safely in its bag and in the same condition as the day I first brought it home.