Posts Tagged ‘Artists’

Preserving Comics History Volume by Volume

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

Comics_Interview_Volume_2_Standard_cover

CO2 Comics proudly announces the immediate release of the second volume of David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW The Complete Collection.

That is right, Volume 2 is On Sale Now!

It can be purchased exclusively, through direct links to CO2 Comics’ Product Spotlight Page.

We at CO2 Comics are on a mission to preserve comics history one volume at a time. We are collecting the entire 150 issue run of David Anthony Kraft’s popular COMICS INTERVIEW magazine that exclusively featured interviews with everyone and anyone that was involved in the comics industry in any shape and form.

Originally published from 1983 to 1995, COMICS INTERVIEW gave voice to the comics industry at a pivotal time in its history. The magazine was able to provide insightful interviews with writers, artists and editors that were active in the earliest days of the industry as well as the young Turks whose careers since continue to shape the industry today.

Page by page, volume by volume, David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW The Complete Collection is an accurate, candid, and authoritative  perspective of the history of comics that comes directly from the mouths of the people that lived it.

Amazingly relevant to current issues that affect the industry today, every volume is a necessary source of vital information for anyone who wants a complete understanding of the comics industry today.

Planned as an eleven volume set, CO2 Comics is delivering David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW The Complete Collection one volume at a time. Previously released and currently available, the first volume, proved to be impressive. Featuring 680 pages of incredible content the huge book meticulously preserved issues 1-14 of the historic magazine, bound in either paperback or hard cover editions and reasonably priced at $34.99 and $54.99 respectively.

Volume 2 continues the tradition of excellence, delivering 688 pages that compile issues 15-28 and is immediately available for purchase direct to customers online through CO2 Comics’ Comics Interview portal, www.comicsinterview.com where, as an added bonus, sample interviews from over a dozen industry legends  can be reviewed.

Carl Macek Interview

Scott McCloud Interview

Flo Steinberg Interview

Bill Willingham Interview

As with volume 1, a Premier Edition featuring the classic Comics Interview logo will be available for just a limited time in both paperback and hardcover editions. Standard editions of both featuring the traditional Comics Interview logo are and will continue to be available for both Volume 1 and  Volume 2.

Comics_Interview_Volume_2_Premiere_cover

Comics Interview Volume 2 Premiere cover

David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW The Complete Collection is a massive and beautiful centerpiece intended for any comics library. Accumulated one volume at a time it continues the tradition of anticipation and fulfillment that is experienced by every comic collector. If you love comics, now is the time to begin your own collection of the greatest interviews in the history of comics. Order your copies today!

Making Comics Because We Want to,

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in CO2 Comics, Encouraging Comics, Making History, Reinvention, The Comic Company | No Comments »

Lights Out!

Monday, August 29th, 2011

As I begin to write this week’s blog the East Coast is hunkering down in preparation for landfall of Hurricane Irene. Here in South Jersey all of the shore points have already been evacuated and Irene isn’t expected to hit for two more days! I live inland about forty minutes from the coast and I am getting nervous about the potential for the severe damage that can be caused by this historic storm. Today we received a rolling message from the electric company warning about the very real threat of drastic power outages and informing us that those outages could take days to correct.

Those of you that follow this blog know that Tuesday is the regular day for this to post and fortunately Bill Cucinotta will be finalizing the post from Philadelphia, which is also in the path of the storm but significantly inland. Thankfully the city is not nearly as susceptible to damage and outages caused by trees as we are buried here in the heavily wooded Pinelands, home of the fabled Jersey Devil.

I hope against odds that come Tuesday I will be able to enjoy reading this post and be able to visit all of my favorite places on the internet. More importantly I hope that everyone in the path of this storm fairs well and comes through this ordeal safely.

All of this talk about the lights going out is making me think about how dependant we have all become on our computers and other electronic conveniences for our information and amusement. I’ve started reminiscing about those simpler times when I looked forward to reading a stack of pulpy comics on a rainy day. I have to wonder how kids today will get by without power to supply their iPods, iPads, gameboys, cell phones, laptops and televisions.

Even the creative process grinds to a halt when the lights go out. More and more writers and artists are dependant on their computers as their primary tool with which to create. I know I’d much rather peck away on the keyboard, making corrections instantly as I clack along. The option of writing this blog with pen and paper is now just about as obsolete as writing it in hieroglyphics.

Regularly, I review old-school comic creating techniques, most recently looking at the basics of just drawing a line without the use of a computer program. Sure, artists are always dependant on tools to execute their ideas but in the past primary tools were simple and more dependant on the skillful hand of the creator than a complex program brought to life by the power grid.

Have we become so dependant on creating digitally that we are in danger of losing the freedom of our voice as creators when the lights go out? I think that Irene may teach us a brief yet tough lesson, especially if some of us are without power for several days. Besides the fact that milk will go bad in a warm fridge, some of us are about to find out that we need to maintain our ability to create with analog tools like paper, pencils, ink, ruling pens, brushes, nibs, and rulers.

The ability to create with our hands not cuffed by a computer will give us the opportunity for greater spontaneity, greater freedom and greater control of our own creative destiny. I am not insinuating that we should abandon the use of the computer for creating. Absolutely not! In many ways digital art has opened up an infinite number of doors for creative opportunity. I am suggesting that just as a little league ball player has the fundamentals pounded into his skill set to make him a better player, young artists should master the use of the rudimentary yet traditional tools of the medium to assist in making them better comics artists.

Someday, when and if the lights do go out, It will be the comics artist that has mastered the basic skills that have been used for decades that
will have the advantage and be able to create without the use of a power cord.

Making Comics Because I Want To

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Encouraging Comics, The Comic Company | 5 Comments »

The Process of Penciling: Part 4

Monday, May 9th, 2011

The previous posts on this subject of the process of penciling have all led up to this glorious moment, actually penciling the final image on the bristol board to lay the foundation for the letterer, inker and colorist. It is time to bring out the all-important creative tool, the Magic Pencil!

It sounds silly, but a lot of young artists do think that there is a special pencil that will make their work look better. The truth is, there is! It is whatever pencil you prefer the most.

If you are comfortable with a certain pencil and are able to lay down an image with confidence with it, then it is the one for you. Your very own magic pencil. Things that may help determine which pencil is right for you will be the comfort of the barrel or grip, the hardness of the lead and the sharpness of the point.

I recommend not using lead that is too hard because it will damage the paper, is hard to see and difficult to erase. Lead that is too soft gets messy, and smears on the page getting on your hands and clothes. Soft pencils also require a lot of sharpening and don’t last as long. A medium hardness, for me, works best. Art pencils using HB lead are a good choice.

Number 2 Ticonderoga

I had an anatomy teacher in college, Martha Erlebacher, that drew figures like Michelangelo. Her pencil drawings glowed with a brilliant luster that was unbelievable. When asked what kind of pencil she used she proudly proclaimed, “A number two Ticonderoga!” The common yellow pencil pencil that we all took standardized tests with was her favorite because, as she said, “it had an eraser.”

Besides having an eraser, the lead, or more appropriately the graphite, in a number two pencil has a nice medium density. These pencils can be found everywhere in a multitude of brands, always have erasers, and sharpen easily.

Sharpening is the key to crisp pencil work. Always have a sharpener at your beckon call. Sharpening your pencil is like dipping a nib in ink. Keep your pencil charged with a nice point.

I recommend that you invest in an electric sharpener. You can get battery operated ones for about twelve dollars but for just twice the amount you can get one that plugs in and is always dependable. Trust me, it is an investment you will thank me for if you don’t have one already.

Mechanical pencils are another option and don’t require sharpening. You will find that there are a lot of styles with very comfortable grips and some come with erasers though they usually fall off easily. You can get refills for the lead that come in different hardnesses and widths. If this is your preference I would recommend stocking up on your favorite.

Erasers are about as important as the pencil. We all make mistakes even if we are tracing up from carefully made roughs. The eraser is your friend but it can quickly become the enemy. Too much erasing, especially with a coarse rubber eraser can damage the paper’s surface and make it difficult to draw on and impossible to ink. Too much erasing also leaves mounds of eraser crumbs that become a nuisance.

The eraser at the end of most pencils is made of pink rubber. The Pink Pearl, a beveled eraser that has been popular for years is the same type of eraser. Staedtler Mars is just one of many companies that makes a white vinyl eraser that is much softer than the pink erasers and is much nicer to paper.

Both types of erasers leave lot of crumbs. It is a good idea to have a soft brush handy to brush away these crumbs without smearing your pencil work.

These types of erasers are also used in electric erasers which are a huge asset especially in the final production stages after the work is inked. Nothing in the process of producing comics is more tiring and tedious than erasing the pages to get ready for print.

The kneaded eraser is a much different kind of eraser and is a joy to have around. It looks like a ball of putty and can be molded in all kinds of shapes. It picks up lead like a magnet and leaves no crumbs at all! This is the best reason to use one. Playing with the kneaded eraser is also a great way to relieve tension.

Kneaded erasers are not the best if you press hard on your pencil work. They do not get into the tiny groves as well as the harder erasers. As the kneaded eraser does its job it has a tendency to turn black. You can clean it by regularly kneading it. Eventually you will want to replace it when it starts getting smudgy but generally it will outlast more conventional erasers.

So, there are magic tools after all. Add them to your tool box but remember, the best tool is your talent and that tool gets better with practice. Get out there and draw those comics. I’d love to see them when they are done.

Making Comics Because I Want to.

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in CO2 Comics, Encouraging Comics, The Comic Company | 1 Comment »

The Process of Penciling for Comics Part 2

Monday, April 25th, 2011

It sure would be nice if the act of drawing a comic page was as simple as sitting down to a sheet of blank paper and letting the images just spill out. Having watched many a professional do seemingly just this I always have to remind myself of the years of training and experience it took for them to make it look that easy.

Preparation is the key ingredient when penciling comics or any of the other disciplines involved in creating a comic page.

Different artists may have different approaches to how they prepare. I am going to describe my personal very anal approach that you can simplify as you wish.

It is important to begin with some type of script or plot and an expectation of exactly how many pages the completed story is intended to be.

I always liked to make thumbnails of each page keeping in mind the pagination of the final publication which will dictate right and left hand pages and two page spreads. Using the thumbnails as a guide I determine what should roughly happen on each page. This helps with the development of the pacing and the visual storytelling.

Once the page thumbnails are determined I would make roughs of each page deciding how they should be laid out. These roughs are smaller in size than the original art will be and are merely intended to prepare for the final work. It is important at this point to be conscious of where text will be placed in each panel.

From the layouts I can now determine any reference that I may need to acquire. In the past Illustrators generally built a file referred to as a morgue where they clipped and saved images to be used as reference. The internet is a vast supply of reference images that has made the use of the traditional morgue somewhat obsolete but reference material no matter how you get it is always of value. many pencilers use models and take photos to get exact reference.

It is important to note that the idea of using reference material is to insure that the information you are building into your images is accurate. Reference material is not meant to be traced or copied, especially if the reference material is derived from another artist’s work.

The next step for many pencilers is to rough in the pencils at the actual size of the original art. Some artists will do this right on the page either lightly or with non-repro blue pencil. I like to build my roughs on tracing paper developing them into a tighter image. The reason for this is that I do not want to damage the surface of the paper that will be used in the final image by repeatedly erasing pencils that I wish to correct.

After I am happy with my roughs I will use a light box to transfer the final clean pencils to the paper that the original will be completed on.

If you are working with an editor it would be a good idea to run these early stages by them to avoid complicated changes in the project after a lot of the work has been completed.

Once you have tightened up your pencils the work is off to the letterer!

In the next installment I will write about paper choices, squaring up a page and ruling panel borders.

Making Comics Because I Want To

Gerry Giovinco

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Posted in CO2 Comics | No Comments »

The Process of Penciling for Comics

Monday, April 11th, 2011

There is no doubt that when it comes to penciling for comics the first priority should be to learn to draw as best you can and to become an expert at visual storytelling. Once you have mastered these skills it is time to put the lead to the paper, remembering that comic art is made to be reproduced and that penciling is just one of several disciplines involved in making the finished comic page.

The penciler must be conscious of the script, the lettering, and the inking of the finished work. It is the penciler‘ to produce pencils that will enable the other work on the page to be executed properly. Everything from the type of paper to how final erasures will be made should come into consideration.

The tools are important too. Beginning cartoonists always want to know about the “magic pencil.” There is one but, like a baseball player’s favorite bat or glove, it is a very personal selection for each comic artist as are most of the other tools that will be used to create a comic page.

The space that the comic artist likes to work in has an effect on some of the tool decisions. Some artists like to be mobile and move around their home while they create, others like a studio built to the specifications of the Fortress of Solitude. Regardless of the preference, it is important to have a source of light, a smooth surface to work on and a comfortable place to sit.

The above image is reproduced from The Secrets of Professional Cartooning by Ken Muse-Prentice Hall-1981

Comic artists all begin as young doodlers drawing sprawled-out on the living room floor before graduating to the kitchen table. Those flat surfaces parallel to the ground ultimately cause distortion in the image. To prevent this the paper must be parallel to the eyes of the penciler. The penciler usually compensates for this by either hunching over the work or tilting the work surface.

Lap Boards

The artist’s draft table is the best piece of furniture for the task and comes in many different styles but the beginning cartoonist may not have the space or the money to afford one. This is when a lapboard will come in handy. I’ve seen lapboards that look like small versions of actual drawing boards and I have seen smaller ones made out of masonite. Some artists like to use an oversized clipboard. The board rests in your lap and leans against a table in front of you offering a nice parallel view of your work.

Whichever drawing surface you choose you will want one with smooth strait edge on one side which will be important for ruling the page.

Be sure that wherever you choose to work there is enough light. Many artists like a swing lamp that they can attach to the drawing table. I think it helps your eyes if you can mix fluorescent and incandescent light. Some swing lamps have both types of bulbs just for this reason. It is easy to compensate for the mixed lighting if you can’t find one of these lamps. If your ceiling light is fluorescent you may want an incandescent bulb in your lamp and visa versa.

Take a look at artist studio’s on the web and you will find that they are all very different and very personal. If you plan to be a successful comic artist, expect to spend a ton of time in this space so insure that it is comfortable, inviting, efficient and productive.

In the coming weeks I will look at other tools and techniques that are valuable tip to comic pencilers, please feel free to chime in with your own personal preferences. I think it can become a fun discussion.

Making Comics Because I Want To

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in CO2 Comics, Creationism, Encouraging Comics, The Comic Company | 3 Comments »

CREATIONISM

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

Recent Champions of Creationism: Millar, Haspiel, Casey & Ellis

Hallelujah!

What a wonderful time to be a comics creator!

More options exist than ever before to create original works, have them published in multiple formats, reach a worldwide audience, retain ownership and have a sense of control over what happens with our intellectual properties.

All we have to do is figure out how to make some money while we’re at it!

It is this sense of monetary entitlement that seems to be frustrating creators the most and it is justifiable, especially in this awful economy. We all want to be paid for our hard work.

How do we define our value? What is appropriate compensation for what we do as comic creators? When do we realize we are being screwed and by who?

This isn’t an issue unique to comic creators. Ever apply for a job? Any job? The trickiest blank to fill on the application is “desired salary.” With few exceptions, the more labor intensive the job is, the less we can expect to be paid.

The arts, regardless of the discipline, always seem to leave a trail of under appreciated and undervalued yet talented creative types groveling in the wake of employers who have benefited immensely from the revenues generated by the exploitation of the works created by the artists that they have dealt with.

We all know the exceptions. The stars in the arts and entertainment world shine bright and are showered with wealth, adding to the frustration of those that toil diligently at their craft for limited compensation. These are the artists that either know how to manage and promote themselves or are able to surround themselves with people they trust to handle these duties.

I have always believed that if you want to earn what you feel you deserve as a creator, you should work for yourself. Why make someone else rich at the expense of your talent? This, of course takes time, requires investment, commitment and risk, most of the elements that the publisher assumes when publishing a work and why they expect to retain so much of the revenue generated by sales.

If there was ever a time to take on those daunting responsibilities, NOW is the time to take charge of your talents as comic creators. There is no need to sell out your skills or your creative ideas to publishers who are unwilling to value your work respectfully.

The internet provides so many opportunities for creators that did not exist just ten years ago. Comic creators now have tremendous resources available for everything from learning the techniques of the medium to the publication, marketing and distribution of the final work. All of these assets are available for free or at minimal cost compared to anything that was ever available before.

As a community of comic creators, we need to come together and champion each other. Now is the time to redefine the market, recondition the consumers, and reinvent the product. Now is the time to take control of our creations and be the beneficiaries of our own talent.

Will 2011 will be the year that comic creators finally recognize the significance of their independence? We are off to a good start. In the first few weeks of the new year discussion on this topic has already stirred the pot. Mark Millar, Dean Haspiel, Joe Casey, Warren Ellis and myself have all made a point to instill this dynamic into the mindset of comic creators, many of which are diving into the digital distribution arena possibly a bit to hastily with a Gold Rush mentality.

It is time that we all become as creative and aggressive marketing our comics as we are when creating them. We can charge in alone or we can rally together by supporting and sharing each other’s endeavors and ideas, encouraging an evolution that will redefine the course of comics as an industry and a medium.

Evolution at the hands of the creator…what a novel concept. Maybe we can make a Big Bang in how comics are perceived by the masses or maybe we can at least put the Pop back in our favorite Pop Art by insuring that comics are the popular reading material of the widest audience possible.

Bill Cucinotta and I are committed to exploring the possibilities that are available to the comic creators that are part of our cooperative community here at CO2 Comics. We also recognize that we are part of the greater community of comics professionals. We intend to be part of the dialog that empowers this new trend of Creationism.

Our think tank is more than a canister of of carbon dioxide.

We have been challenging the boundaries of convention in the comics field since the early eighties with Comico, our former creator owned publishing house that found ways to publish other creators while paying highly competitive page rates and a generous royalty on sales. From modest beginnings we found creative ways to compete directly with Marvel and DC in the fledgeling Direct Market. We made inroads in licensing and merchandising that opened the doors for others. We set standards for production and quality with innovation and hard work. We made mistakes and we learned from them.

We proved that it is possible to build a dream with perseverance, enthusiasm and creativity. CO2 Comics is our opportunity to do that again in this new digital era. As always our focus is on the success of the creators. We know that the success of the creators that we have relationships with translates into success for us. It is a simple formula and it works.

Creationism can be the new evolution of comics if you let it.

Our message to all creators: “This is your time. This is your opportunity. Take advantage of it. We plan to!”

Hallelujah!

Making comics because I want to.

Gerry Giovinco


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Posted in Creationism | 1 Comment »

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