Drawing isn’t work. It’s a form of prayer.
– Random sailor
True.
Tag: comics
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Alright. This is the DC comics edition. As I was looking these over, I thought what’s the purpose of comics lettering?
My theory is comic book cover lettering needs to “anchor” the cover. It will be the one piece of comic book graphic design that remains the same issue after issue.
The cover art will change, but the title lettering (typically) stays consistent. Comic covers are displayed cover out on spinner racks (R.I.P.) and comic book stores. Good title lettering should immediately reveal who the hero(s) are and what type of adventure you’re in for.
Let’s take a closer look.
Tales of the Teen Titans #63, 1986 Before they were a hit cartoon, The Teen Titans were a superhero group with an ongoing series. Think the mini version of the Justice League.
DC kept their wordmark recognizable for this special Tales of the Teen Titans series by keeping the same font from their 80’s title The New Teen Titans. They did switch the color from red to blue. But it remains a font that coveys strength of the team as a group.
All Star Squadron #28, 1983 The whack Justice League deserves it’s due. It follows a common trend of comic book title lettering, using red and 3D block letters. But it works in three pieces of contrast as well.
- ALL is flat and lifted forward with the a white star behind it.
- STAR is the largest of the font sizes and has the thickest stroke around the letters.
- SQUADRON is slightly smaller and has a star inside the A. Also, the stroke thins out.
Batman The 10 Cent Adventure, 2002 There’s hundreds of variations of Batman covering lettering. The lettering for the one-off, 10 cent adventure has tall, blood red, san-serif font. The design foreshadows the story of Bruce Wayne being framed for murder.
Starman #13, 1989 One of the cheesiest superheros of all time. Has the name your friend’s little brother would think up on the playground. The lettering follows a similar trend. Red, 3D block letters. Tight kearning. And replacing a letter with a shape. In this case, a star for the A.
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Neil Gaiman’s script work on Sandman is well known. But he also drew comics for fun. Inspired by Steve Bissette’s 24-hour comic day shenanigans, Neil drew a four panel comic about his shades.
By – Hayley Campbell
Pencils – Neil Gaiman
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I heard a theory once that the best superhero movies are the ones where the hero is on screen, in full costume, the least amount of time.
The idea being that it’s what’s happening behind the mask that is the most meaningful.
I wonder if this theory holds true on the comics page.
Bendis’ run on Ultimate Spiderman was filled with these un-cowled moments. Moments where Peter Parker experiences the power of being Spider-Man, but also the vulnerability of being human.
From: Ultimate Spiderman, Issue #5: Life Lessons
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Art Thibert
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A Krazy Kat Strip from January 22, 1926 Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration contains a number of Herriman’s original art pieces.
The Krazy Kat strip above, is “cut and stacked”. A layout method used to fit strips into different newspapers.
Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration is the best kind of book. It’s the kind of book you lose an afternoon to. You open a few pages to “have a look”, and an hour later you wonder where the time went.
From: Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration
By: Craig Yoe
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Happy New Year!
In the last 10 years, comics have become more literary. They’ve explored deeper aspects of the human condition, similar to the great novels.
It’s been a wonderful progression for the form, but its made super hero comics easy to dismiss as frivolous.
Sure, super hero books can be shallow fist fight melees. But they can also be meaningful.
Alex Ross and Mark Waid demonstrate this well as Wonder Woman calls out a graybeard Superman for being a scared, shiftless, ….you get the idea.
From: Kingdom Come
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Merry Christmas!
In my mind each season has a specific cartoonist assigned to it.
John Porcellino is fall. None better than John at depicting a walk on a chilly fall day.
Bill Watterson is summer. Watterson is an all season cartoonist, but his panels of Calvin and Hobbes’ summer break hi-jinks are unforgettable.
We’ll go Charles Schultz for spring. Charlie Brown is a baseball player, no question.
Winter? Which cartoonist leads us into winter best?
SETH.
The drawings in Seth’s classic winter tome – It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken. depict a frigid, contemplative, Canadian winter in a variety of settings:
A packed, pre-Christmas main street.
A government building taking in a snow storm.
A lonely house sitting in silence.
And a windy walk home.
World building at its finest.
See you next week.
From: It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken: A Picture Novella
By: Seth
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Our SpongeBob theme continues…
The joy of the SpongeBob Comics Treasure Chest is in the variety of writers and artists telling SpongeBob stories in their own style.
Like other “best of” collections it opens up the possibilities of discovering artists and writers you weren’t familiar with.
That said, Paul Karasik and R.Sikoryak’s cartooning skills are SIK!
Both have published notable works – Paul Karasik of How to Read Nancy, and R. Sikorayak’s Terms and Conditions.
But as we know, the pinnacle of any cartoonist’s career is drawing SpongeBob stories.
Note: I’m not sure which of Paul or R.Sikorayak wrote or drew the story, but R.Sikorayak’s homages of old super hero comics appear in every panel.
From: SpongeBob Comics: Treasure Chest , I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planktons!
By: Paul Karasik and R.Sikoryak
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Tolstoy.
Melville.
Dumas.
Kolchalka.
Yes, the classics should be read, must be read. But in-between reading the classics, SpongeBob Squarepants comics have their place.
Especially SpongeBob Comics written and drawn by James Kochalka.
Sidenote. SpongeBob the show first dropped in 1999!
From: SpongeBob Comics: Treasure Chest
By: James Kochalka
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Write about losers and loners. Don’t get dragged down that road of trying to resist your natural inclinations.
SethNoah Van Sciver has a YouTube channel.
Yeah!
The prolific cartoonist generously shares his works in progress, conversations with colleagues, and on occasion, words of encouragement.
A few days ago he read a letter of storytelling advice from fellow cartoonist, Seth.
Warning!
The letter contradicts most storytelling advice you’ve heard.
Keep drawing y’all.
Floodlights and Goalposts 