Deadlines, AAARGH!!!

Sometimes the stress of meeting a deadline can really get to you yet without the deadline some work will just never get done. The deadline is a necessary evil, especially in comics with monthly circulation schedules.

There's No Escape From A DEADLINE

Joe Williams and Tina Garceau do a nice job describing the perils in There’s No Escape From DEADLINE which can be read right here at CO2 Comics.

Back in the earlier days of comics one artist may have to hack out several comics in a month. Sometimes pools of artists would gather in a hotel room and jam to get an entire story done overnight. Guys like Joe Kubert can tell you stories like these all day long.

Joe Kubert, Photo Credit: Jim Salicrup for COMICS INTERVIEW

The worst part was that the pay was not so great considering all the work and talent that was necessary. This is why comics had long been considered the ghetto of the creative world.

Fans of CO2 Comics that have bought our first book David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection Volume 1 get a great inside look at what the industry looked like prior to the early 1980′s through interviews with many artists that had been there from the beginning of the comic book industry.

COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection

At times pivotal moments will pop up that retrospectively changed the course of comics and continue to effect the industry today.

One of those moments is described by Joe Rosen who had been a letterer in the industry since 1940 and during the eighties was still a go-to guy in the Marvel Bullpen.

Joe Rosen

He explains how his perspective was that creators generally used comics as a stepping stone to hone their skills, make a couple of bucks then move into a more rewarding career in advertising.

Joe credits Marvel with creating an environment with enough successful product, reasonable pay and benefits associated with contracts that creators could finally want to make a career out of making comics.

When you consider the great talents of the Silver Age, however, you still see a significant turnover with only a handful of guys and gals that are staples.

During the eighties, when the Direct Market begins to dominate distribution of comics, another shift occurs.

Dick Giordano, in his interview, describes an industry that was in danger of running out of talent as the older creators were getting set to retire and so few were being prepared to rise up the ranks.

Dick Giordano

Joe Kubert who tells about his comic arts school in COMICS INTERVIEW, along with some classes by Burne Hogarth at the School of Visual Arts in New York were about the only places that even taught comics at the time.

Dick, while he was running the show at DC, instituted a workshop for young talent that he hoped would help fill the impending void.

The educational efforts of these gentlemen and others that followed, the implementation of the Creators Bill of Rights and the success of the Direct Market and the diversity of product inspired by Independent publishers created a fertile environment that began to make comics an attractive career choice.

Today the numbers of talented people that describe themselves as comic professionals is astounding compared to the expectations of Dick Giordano in 1983.

Though the Comics Industry can still be a difficult place to forge a career full of financial gain it provides an opportunity for success that was unheard of just thirty years ago.

Comics have gained a respect in the artistic community and can no longer be described as a creative ghetto.

Most importantly creators now make comics because they want to, not because it is a humbling stepping stone to a greater career.

I enjoy finding these paradigm shifts as I read through COMICS INTERVIEW. The eighties was such a period of transformation for the industry as a whole and COMICS INTERVIEW was able to look at the whole era from inside out while giving us a clear view of the past through the eyes of the creators that had been there since the forties.

One thing that will never go away, however, is the dreaded DEADLINE and I think I just barely met this one. (Sorry, Bill)

Making Comics Because I Want to!

Gerry Giovinco

Monkey & Bird

Enthusiastic!
Joe William’s has proven to be possibly the most enthusiastic creator allowing us to present his work here on CO2 Comics. He has taken it upon himself to comment on many blog entries here and on CO2′s facebook page as well as his own website and social networking sites.
Now he also has his wonderful wife Tina in on the act. Joe is getting the most out of being part of CO2 Comics. He once mentioned that his site was experiencing so much heavier traffic since being involved with CO2 that he redesigned it just to get more value from the newly generated visitors.
Recently Bill Cucinotta asked Joe to send me a few notes about his Monkey & Bird strip that will debut on CO2 today and the following was what he delivered:

“Gerry,
Bill suggested I give you some kind of foreword for the strip.
I made some notes. Feel free to whittle them down to something comprehensible.
Meanwhile back in the jungle… Once upon a time, when you walked into your local drugstore or newsstand, you could find a variety of comics in the spinning racks. War, Western, horror, funny animal and great literature adapted to the comic format shared space with the costumed crime-fighters of which we’re all familiar thanks to the movies based on them. Sadly, the other genres have faded from the comics business just as the spinning racks vanished from the drugstores.
Monkey & Bird is Joe Williams and Tina Garceau’s attempt to mix funny animal comics with romance comics. No, it’s not what you think. Besides, that sort of thing is illegal in some States. The characters started life as a greeting card Joe made for Tina for their second wedding anniversary. Joe bounced ideas for a continuing adventure off of Tina and the characters took on a life of their own. Notes were made; sketches were sketched and roughly a decade later the comic is making its world premier at CO2 Comics! It was either that or Joe was going to make sock puppet versions of the characters and annoy children in the park with them. (I’m going to put the card up at Willceau Illo News tomorrow. I’ll send a link.) Joe supplies the script, pencils and inks for Monkey & Bird while Tina devises the color schemes and tells Joe what isn’t funny. Monkey & Bird is the story of Mickey the Monkey and Sylvia the Bird, their lives and love in the jungle.
Thanks Gerry.
-Joe”

The next day I received this link: http://willceau.com/news/?p=261,
Hey there’s nothing left for me to do but sit back and enjoy! Except… I truly have to introduce an unsung hero amongst our ranks who until now has not received credit for stellar work.
Tina Garceau!

Mickey & Sylvia

All this time Tina has been responsible for the fantastic colors that have illuminated the comics attributed solely to Joe. Check them out on Deadline and Hot Topics. Not only will she now get credit, she will have her own creator marquee on our Creators Page where it will note that she will also provide the colors for Monkey and Bird. Tina also holds the distinction of being the first woman creator who’s work graces these web pages on CO2 Comics.
Someone call Guinness!
We are excited to find that women creators are making a dynamic impact on the current comic scene both in print and on the web. Hopefully CO2 Comics will be a place for readers to find more works by women as part of our intent to promote diversity in the comics we present regarding content, style, perspective and of course the individuality of the creators involved.
Thanks Joe and Tina for playing with us here at CO2.
We are looking forward to lots of love for and from your work!
Gerry G.

Joe is a friend from way back in our days at the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA) currently named The University of the Arts (UArts.) He was an illustration major with a penchant for comics like all of our pals who had gathered together to work on a publication called Duckwork which was more of an excuse to draw comics and create mayhem around the school than anything else.

We were a prolific group that, besides Joe Williams, included myself (Slaughterman), Bill Cucinotta (Skrog), Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage, Trinity), Mike Leeke (Robotech, Elementals, Fathom), Dave Johnson (Robotech), and Joe Matt (Jam, Peepshow) just to name the guys who went on to work in comics.

Joe presents us with a fun short story called Deadline that was originally created as a promotional tool and does a great job displaying Joe’s talents as an illustrator with a comic flair. We expect to see more of Joe’s stylings on future projects but for now, kick back and enjoy the pressure that every professional artist endures when it comes down to the dreaded Deadline!

Gerry Giovinco