Things You May Have Seen, Things You Should See
One of the very best things that’s come about from talking about web/indy comics and their creators is getting on :01 Books reviewers list. Almost embarrassingly often, one of their new offerings (my preference list skews heavily towards YA and/or graphic novels) shows up in the mail, and then I get to read the likes of Walker Bean, Koko Be Good, or Dawn Land, and that makes my day (often, my week).
And before I even get to open the book, I get to revel in yet another gorgeous book design, because :01’s secret weapon is Colleen AF Venable. Even if Ms Venable isn’t doing her webcomic anymore, she’s expending a lot of creative muscle on the embosses, debosses, glosses, foils, and shiny mirror finishes (case in point: the advance copy of Astronaut Academy — née Astronaut Elementary — I got last week) that appear on her covers. Where careless use of such features just makes things look cheap (cf: the entire “speculator boom” of 1990s comic books), Venable uses each carefully, adding maximum interest without overwhelming the essential purpose of the cover, which is to be appealing and intriguing.
Because good design is something that deserves attention, please spend a little of yours on this new interview with Collen AF Venable by That Cover Girl, complete with sneak previews of forthcoming projects. If you aren’t salivating to get your hands on those Feynman and Anya’s Ghost covers, there’s something wrong with you.
- I’m going to confess that I understand almost none of this next item, but then again, I don’t know squat about Photoshop. John Allison worked himself up a way to greatly reduce the time necessary to get from pencils to ready-to-colo[u]r lineart. And because he’s a nice guy, he’s sharing his technique with you over at his blog. Might I echo his very polite suggestion that if this saves you time, a brief shopping trip could be in order by way of saying Thank You?
- Gallery time! Those that follow this page may be aware that some of the most whimsical webcomickry being produced comes from (at least, from the reference point of myself, in the upper-right corner of the US) the literal Far Side of the World. Namely, Frank Gibson & Becky Dreistadt’s Tiny Kitten Teeth, from New Zealand, and the various projects of Rebecca Clements (easily accessible at KinokoFry), from Australia. Now they are teaming up for great comics (and possibly great justice), along with illustrators Melanie Matthews and Erin Hunting, for a show at the Owl & Pussycat Gallery in suburban Melbourne.
The O&P webpage isn’t providing details yet, but Gibson informs us that the show goes up on 19 February (that’s a Saturday) at 6pm, and runs until the 22nd. Those of you not dropping everything to fly Down Under for the show, expect to see more of Dreistadt & Gibson in North America in the future, as Gibson has finally been given permission to Have Freedom; with access to the major studios now much easier, look for Dreistadt to be a major fixture in animation in the immediate future.
- A new theory of mythogenesis for you to consider.
- And finally, because he knows why: Howard Tayler.
Aaaand I clicked through. Because I know why.
By Howard Tayler on 02.07.11 6:14 pm
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