Showing posts with label autobiography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autobiography. Show all posts
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Monday, July 31, 2017
Bob Batchelor on the birth of Spider-Man echoed in local 'King Kirby' play currently running
Coincidentally, a press release from Bob Batchelor came through today that ties in strongly with the play King Kirby which is currently running in Greenbelt. The paragraph where Goodman asks for more Westerns (or whatever is selling) is a recurring episode in the play, as is this characterization of Stan Lee. In his upcoming biography of Stan Lee, Batchelor writes about the creation of Marvel's first superhero character, and Jack Kirby's role in it. With his permission, here's info on his book and the excerpt (which, if you think it gives Lee too much credit, bring it up with Bob please).
Fifty-five years ago the Amazing Spider-Man debuted in a comic book series that faced cancellation for low sales. If it weren’t for a stream of fan letters and readers gobbling up the book, one of the world’s most iconic superheroes would have died an untimely death.
The story behind Spider-Man’s creation and appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 is a tale filled with intrigue, and more importantly, Stan Lee’s calculated risk. The famed editor and writer deliberately ignored his boss – publisher Martin Goodman – who rejected the character, because “people hate spiders.” Unable to get Spider-Man out of his head, Lee had an origin story printed in AF #15. The overwhelming response and extraordinary sales would transform Marvel from a publishing also-ran to the hippest, hottest publisher on the planet.
Below is a 1,500-word excerpt on Spider-Man’s creation by noted biographer and cultural historian Bob Batchelor, which is excerpted from his new book Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel (published September 15, 2017).
Batchelor, who teaches at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, is the author of more than 25 books, including Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel (Rowman & Littlefield, September 2017, adult trade, retail $22.95). Amazon: http://amzn.to/2q4lNYe
A lifelong comic book fan and noted media resource, he has been an editorial consultant for numerous outlets and been quoted in or on BBC Radio World Service, Today.com, Columbus Dispatch, msnbc.com, The Miami Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Dallas Morning News, Taiwan News, Associated Press, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.
Spidey Saves the Day!
By Bob Batchelor
All lean muscles and tautness, a new superhero bursts from the page. Swinging right into the reader’s lap, the hero is masked, only alien-like curved eyes reveal human features, no mouth or nose is visible. His power is alarming: casually holding a ghoulish-looking criminal in one hand, while simultaneously swinging from a hair-thin cord high above the city streets. In the background, tiny figures stand on rooftops, looking on and pointing in what can only be considered outright astonishment.
The superhero is off-center, frozen in a moment, as if a panicked photographer snapped a series of frames. The image captures the speed, almost like flight, with the wind at his back. The hero’s deltoid ripples and leg muscles flex. Some mysterious webbing extends from his elbow to waist. Is this a man or creature from another world?
The answer is actually neither. Looking at the bright yellow dialogue boxes running down the left side of the page, the reader learns the shocking truth. This isn’t a grown man, older and hardened, like Batman or Superman, one an existential nightmare and the other a do-gooder alien. No, this hero is just a self-professed “timid teenager” named Peter Parker. The world, he exclaims, mocks the teen under the mask, but will “marvel” at his newfound “awesome might.”
It is August 1962. Spider-Man is born.
Spider-Man’s debut in a dying comic book called Amazing Fantasy happened because Stan Lee took a calculated risk. He trusted his instincts. Rolling the dice on a new character meant potentially wasting precious hours writing, penciling, and inking a title that might not sell. The business side of the industry constantly clashed with the creative, forcing fast scripting and artwork to go hand-in-hand.
In more than two decades toiling as a writer and editor, Lee watched genres spring to life, and then almost as quickly, readers would turn to something else. War stories gave way to romance titles, which might then ride a wave until monster comics became popular. In an era when a small group of publishers controlled the industry, they kept close watch over each other’s products in hopes of mimicking sales of hot titles or genres.
Lee calls Marvel’s publisher Martin Goodman, “One of the great imitators of all time.” Goodman dictated what Lee wrote after ferreting out tips and leads from golf matches and long lunches with other publishers. If he heard that westerns were selling for a competitor, Goodman would visit Lee, bellowing, “Stan, come up with some Westerns.”[1]
This versatility had been Lee’s strength, swiftly writing and plotting many different titles. He often used gimmicks and wordplay, like recycling the gunslinger Rawhide Kid in 1960 and making him into an outlaw or using alliteration, as in Millie the Model.
A conservative executive, Goodman rarely wanted change, which irked Lee. The writer bristled at his boss’s belittling beliefs, explaining, “He felt comics were really only read by very, very young children or stupid adults,” which meant “he didn’t want me to use words of more than two syllables if I could help it…Don’t play up characterization, don’t have too much dialogue, just have a lot of action.” Given the precarious state of publishing companies, which frequently went belly-up, and his long history with Goodman, Lee admits, “It was a job; I had to do what he told me.”[2]
Despite being distant relatives and longtime coworkers, the publisher and editor maintained a cool relationship. From Lee’s perspective, “Martin was good at what he did and made a lot of money, but he wasn’t ambitious. He wanted things to stay the way they were.”
Riding the wave of critical success and extraordinary sales of The Fantastic Four, Goodman gave Lee a simple directive: “Come up with some other superheroes.”[3] The Fantastic Four, however, subtly shifted the relationship. Lee wielded greater authority. He used some of the profit to pay writers and editors more money, which then offloaded some of the pressure.
Launching Spider-Man, however, Lee did more than divert the energy of his staff. He actually defied Goodman.
For months, Lee grappled with the idea of a new superhero with realistic challenges that someone with superpowers would face living in the modern world. The new character would be “a teenager, with all the problems, hang-ups, and angst of any teenager.” Lee came up with the colorful “Spider-Man” name and envisioned a “hard-luck kid” both blessed and cursed by acquiring superhuman strength and the ability to cling to walls, just like a real-life spider.[4]
Lee recalls pitching Goodman, embellishing the story of Spider-Man’s origin by claiming that he got the idea “watching a fly on the wall while I had been typing.”[5] He laid the character out in full: teen, orphan, angst, poor, intelligent, and other traits. Lee thought Spider-Man was a no-brainer, but to his surprise, Goodman hated it and forbade him from offering it as a standalone book.[6]
The publisher had three complaints: “people hate spiders, so you can’t call a hero ‘Spider-Man’”; no teenager could be a hero “but only be a sidekick”; and a hero had to be heroic, not a pimply, unpopular kid. Irritated, Goodman asked Lee, “Didn’t [he] realize that people hate spiders?”[7] Given the litany of criticisms, Lee recalled, “Martin just wouldn’t let me do the book.”[8]
Realizing that he could not completely circumvent his boss, Lee made the executive decision to put Spider-Man on the cover of a series that had previously bombed, called Amazing Fantasy. Readers didn’t like AF, which featured thriller/fantasy stories by Lee and surreal art by Steve Ditko, Marvel’s go-to artist for styling the macabre, surreal, or Dali-esque. It seemed as if there were already two strikes against the teen wonder.
Despite these odds and his boss’s directive, Lee says that he couldn’t let the nerdy superhero go: “I couldn’t get Spider-Man out of my mind.”[9] He worked up a Spider-Man plot and handed it over to Marvel’s top artist, Jack Kirby. Lee figured that no one would care (or maybe even notice) a new character in the last issue of a series that would soon be discontinued.
With Spider-Man, however, Kirby missed the mark. His early sketches turned the teen bookworm into a mini-Superman with all-American good looks, like a budding astronaut or football star. Lee put Ditko on the title. His style was more suited for drawing an offbeat hero.
Ditko nailed Spider-Man, but not the cover art, forcing Lee to commission Kirby for the task, with Ditko inking. Lee could not have been happier with Ditko. He explained: “Steve did a totally brilliant job of bringing my new little arachnid hero to life.”[10] They finished the two-part story and ran it as the lead in AF #15. Revealing both the busy, all-hands state of the company and their low expectations, Lee recalled, “Then, we more or less forgot about him.”[11] As happy as Lee and Ditko were with the collaboration and outcome, there is no way they could have imagined that they were about to spin the comic book world onto a different axis.
The fateful day sales figures finally arrived. Goodman stormed into Lee’s office, as always awash in art boards, drawings, mockups, yellow legal pads, and memos littering the desk.
Goodman beamed, “Stan, remember that Spider-Man idea of yours that I liked so much? Why don’t we turn it into a series?”[12]
If that wasn’t enough to knock Lee off-kilter, then came the real kicker: Spider-Man was not just a hit, the issue was in fact the fastest-selling comic book of the year, and maybe that decade. Lee recalls that AF skyrocketed to number one.[13]
The new character would be the keystone of Marvel’s superhero-based lineup. More importantly, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man transformed Marvel from a company run by imitating trends into a hot commodity. In March 1963, The Amazing Spider-Man #1 burst onto newsstands.
Fans could not get enough of the teen hero, so Lee and Marvel pushed the limits. Spider-Man appeared in Strange Tales Annual #2 (September 1963), a 72-page crossover between him and the Human Torch. And in Tales to Astonish, which had moved from odd, macabre stories to superheroes, Spidey guest-starred in #57 (July 1964), which focused on Giant-Man and Wasp. When The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 appeared in 1964, with Lee dubbing himself and Ditko “the most talked about team in comics today,” it featured appearances by every Marvel hero, including Thor, Dr. Strange, Captain America, and the X-Men.
Spider-Man now stood at the center of a comic book empire. Stan Lee could not have written a better outcome, even if given the chance.
All this from a risky run in a dying comic book!
______________________________
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Fifty-five years ago the Amazing Spider-Man debuted in a comic book series that faced cancellation for low sales. If it weren’t for a stream of fan letters and readers gobbling up the book, one of the world’s most iconic superheroes would have died an untimely death.
The story behind Spider-Man’s creation and appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 is a tale filled with intrigue, and more importantly, Stan Lee’s calculated risk. The famed editor and writer deliberately ignored his boss – publisher Martin Goodman – who rejected the character, because “people hate spiders.” Unable to get Spider-Man out of his head, Lee had an origin story printed in AF #15. The overwhelming response and extraordinary sales would transform Marvel from a publishing also-ran to the hippest, hottest publisher on the planet.
Below is a 1,500-word excerpt on Spider-Man’s creation by noted biographer and cultural historian Bob Batchelor, which is excerpted from his new book Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel (published September 15, 2017).
Batchelor, who teaches at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, is the author of more than 25 books, including Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel (Rowman & Littlefield, September 2017, adult trade, retail $22.95). Amazon: http://amzn.to/2q4lNYe
A lifelong comic book fan and noted media resource, he has been an editorial consultant for numerous outlets and been quoted in or on BBC Radio World Service, Today.com, Columbus Dispatch, msnbc.com, The Miami Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Dallas Morning News, Taiwan News, Associated Press, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.
Spidey Saves the Day!
By Bob Batchelor
All lean muscles and tautness, a new superhero bursts from the page. Swinging right into the reader’s lap, the hero is masked, only alien-like curved eyes reveal human features, no mouth or nose is visible. His power is alarming: casually holding a ghoulish-looking criminal in one hand, while simultaneously swinging from a hair-thin cord high above the city streets. In the background, tiny figures stand on rooftops, looking on and pointing in what can only be considered outright astonishment.
The superhero is off-center, frozen in a moment, as if a panicked photographer snapped a series of frames. The image captures the speed, almost like flight, with the wind at his back. The hero’s deltoid ripples and leg muscles flex. Some mysterious webbing extends from his elbow to waist. Is this a man or creature from another world?
The answer is actually neither. Looking at the bright yellow dialogue boxes running down the left side of the page, the reader learns the shocking truth. This isn’t a grown man, older and hardened, like Batman or Superman, one an existential nightmare and the other a do-gooder alien. No, this hero is just a self-professed “timid teenager” named Peter Parker. The world, he exclaims, mocks the teen under the mask, but will “marvel” at his newfound “awesome might.”
It is August 1962. Spider-Man is born.
Spider-Man’s debut in a dying comic book called Amazing Fantasy happened because Stan Lee took a calculated risk. He trusted his instincts. Rolling the dice on a new character meant potentially wasting precious hours writing, penciling, and inking a title that might not sell. The business side of the industry constantly clashed with the creative, forcing fast scripting and artwork to go hand-in-hand.
In more than two decades toiling as a writer and editor, Lee watched genres spring to life, and then almost as quickly, readers would turn to something else. War stories gave way to romance titles, which might then ride a wave until monster comics became popular. In an era when a small group of publishers controlled the industry, they kept close watch over each other’s products in hopes of mimicking sales of hot titles or genres.
Lee calls Marvel’s publisher Martin Goodman, “One of the great imitators of all time.” Goodman dictated what Lee wrote after ferreting out tips and leads from golf matches and long lunches with other publishers. If he heard that westerns were selling for a competitor, Goodman would visit Lee, bellowing, “Stan, come up with some Westerns.”[1]
This versatility had been Lee’s strength, swiftly writing and plotting many different titles. He often used gimmicks and wordplay, like recycling the gunslinger Rawhide Kid in 1960 and making him into an outlaw or using alliteration, as in Millie the Model.
A conservative executive, Goodman rarely wanted change, which irked Lee. The writer bristled at his boss’s belittling beliefs, explaining, “He felt comics were really only read by very, very young children or stupid adults,” which meant “he didn’t want me to use words of more than two syllables if I could help it…Don’t play up characterization, don’t have too much dialogue, just have a lot of action.” Given the precarious state of publishing companies, which frequently went belly-up, and his long history with Goodman, Lee admits, “It was a job; I had to do what he told me.”[2]
Despite being distant relatives and longtime coworkers, the publisher and editor maintained a cool relationship. From Lee’s perspective, “Martin was good at what he did and made a lot of money, but he wasn’t ambitious. He wanted things to stay the way they were.”
Riding the wave of critical success and extraordinary sales of The Fantastic Four, Goodman gave Lee a simple directive: “Come up with some other superheroes.”[3] The Fantastic Four, however, subtly shifted the relationship. Lee wielded greater authority. He used some of the profit to pay writers and editors more money, which then offloaded some of the pressure.
Launching Spider-Man, however, Lee did more than divert the energy of his staff. He actually defied Goodman.
For months, Lee grappled with the idea of a new superhero with realistic challenges that someone with superpowers would face living in the modern world. The new character would be “a teenager, with all the problems, hang-ups, and angst of any teenager.” Lee came up with the colorful “Spider-Man” name and envisioned a “hard-luck kid” both blessed and cursed by acquiring superhuman strength and the ability to cling to walls, just like a real-life spider.[4]
Lee recalls pitching Goodman, embellishing the story of Spider-Man’s origin by claiming that he got the idea “watching a fly on the wall while I had been typing.”[5] He laid the character out in full: teen, orphan, angst, poor, intelligent, and other traits. Lee thought Spider-Man was a no-brainer, but to his surprise, Goodman hated it and forbade him from offering it as a standalone book.[6]
The publisher had three complaints: “people hate spiders, so you can’t call a hero ‘Spider-Man’”; no teenager could be a hero “but only be a sidekick”; and a hero had to be heroic, not a pimply, unpopular kid. Irritated, Goodman asked Lee, “Didn’t [he] realize that people hate spiders?”[7] Given the litany of criticisms, Lee recalled, “Martin just wouldn’t let me do the book.”[8]
Realizing that he could not completely circumvent his boss, Lee made the executive decision to put Spider-Man on the cover of a series that had previously bombed, called Amazing Fantasy. Readers didn’t like AF, which featured thriller/fantasy stories by Lee and surreal art by Steve Ditko, Marvel’s go-to artist for styling the macabre, surreal, or Dali-esque. It seemed as if there were already two strikes against the teen wonder.
Despite these odds and his boss’s directive, Lee says that he couldn’t let the nerdy superhero go: “I couldn’t get Spider-Man out of my mind.”[9] He worked up a Spider-Man plot and handed it over to Marvel’s top artist, Jack Kirby. Lee figured that no one would care (or maybe even notice) a new character in the last issue of a series that would soon be discontinued.
With Spider-Man, however, Kirby missed the mark. His early sketches turned the teen bookworm into a mini-Superman with all-American good looks, like a budding astronaut or football star. Lee put Ditko on the title. His style was more suited for drawing an offbeat hero.
Ditko nailed Spider-Man, but not the cover art, forcing Lee to commission Kirby for the task, with Ditko inking. Lee could not have been happier with Ditko. He explained: “Steve did a totally brilliant job of bringing my new little arachnid hero to life.”[10] They finished the two-part story and ran it as the lead in AF #15. Revealing both the busy, all-hands state of the company and their low expectations, Lee recalled, “Then, we more or less forgot about him.”[11] As happy as Lee and Ditko were with the collaboration and outcome, there is no way they could have imagined that they were about to spin the comic book world onto a different axis.
The fateful day sales figures finally arrived. Goodman stormed into Lee’s office, as always awash in art boards, drawings, mockups, yellow legal pads, and memos littering the desk.
Goodman beamed, “Stan, remember that Spider-Man idea of yours that I liked so much? Why don’t we turn it into a series?”[12]
If that wasn’t enough to knock Lee off-kilter, then came the real kicker: Spider-Man was not just a hit, the issue was in fact the fastest-selling comic book of the year, and maybe that decade. Lee recalls that AF skyrocketed to number one.[13]
The new character would be the keystone of Marvel’s superhero-based lineup. More importantly, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man transformed Marvel from a company run by imitating trends into a hot commodity. In March 1963, The Amazing Spider-Man #1 burst onto newsstands.
Fans could not get enough of the teen hero, so Lee and Marvel pushed the limits. Spider-Man appeared in Strange Tales Annual #2 (September 1963), a 72-page crossover between him and the Human Torch. And in Tales to Astonish, which had moved from odd, macabre stories to superheroes, Spidey guest-starred in #57 (July 1964), which focused on Giant-Man and Wasp. When The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 appeared in 1964, with Lee dubbing himself and Ditko “the most talked about team in comics today,” it featured appearances by every Marvel hero, including Thor, Dr. Strange, Captain America, and the X-Men.
Spider-Man now stood at the center of a comic book empire. Stan Lee could not have written a better outcome, even if given the chance.
All this from a risky run in a dying comic book!
______________________________
[
1
] Mark Lacter, “Stan Lee Marvel Comics Always Searching for a New Story,” Inc., November 2009, 96.[
2
] Don Thrasher, “Stan Lee’s Secret to Success: A Marvel-ous Imagination,” Dayton Daily News, January 21, 2006, sec. E.[
3
] Quoted in ibid.[
4
] Stan Lee and George Mair, Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002), 126–27.[
5
] Ibid., 126.[
6
] Roy Thomas, “Stan the Man and Roy the Boy: A Conversation between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas,” in Stan Lee Conversations, ed. Jeff McLaughlin (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007), 141.[
7
] Lee and Mair, Excelsior!, 127.[
8
] Thomas, “Stan the Man,” 141.[
9
] Lee and Mair, Excelsior!, 127.[
10
] Ibid., 128.[
11
] Ibid., 128.[
12
] Ibid., 128.[
13
] Stan Lee, Peter David, and Colleen Doran, Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir (New York: Touchstone, 2015), n.p.Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Jasmine Pinales
by Mike Rhode Jasmine Pinales exhibited at the DC Zinefest and agreed to answer our usual questions afterward. She will be at SPX this fall if you'd like to meet her, and her comics are for sale now on her website. (All images are taken from her website).
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
I write and draw fiction and autobio comics.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
My work is all traditional. I pencil, ink and letter on paper. I've used ink, markers and watercolor for my final pages depending on what best fits a project. I have produced some digital art but it never feels as strong as my traditional art, I don't think it's the best representation of my art. I lay out my comics on computer and do corrections and clean up.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
1988.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I live outside of DC in Fairfax County. We moved here when I was 3 and I've been here most of my life. I went to Norfolk for college then returned.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
Who are your influences?
Everything. I really got into Will Eisner's work between The Spirit and his more personal projects after he was done with that. Piet Mondrian is one of my favorite painters, I love Dali and Caravaggio. Yuko Ota and Meredith Gran have some of the best comic timing and gorgeously clean art. Takako Shimura has comics fill of emotional characters and art that has a nice weight to it. So many cartoons, I loved The Weekenders and Recess as a kid. I've pulled visual cues I like from Jen Wang, I really like the was she draws eyes. Craig Thompson's work is gorgeous and made me want to try harder with brushes/brush pens. Internet discussions have made me more confident and inspired to try a broader variety in body types and more diversity, even though plenty of my early characters had variety.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
All of my past experiences have brought me to where I am now and things would be different if I changed anything. That said, it'd be interesting to see how things could be different if I had gone into college focusing on comics and art and not transferring to comics after a few years in science.
What work are you best-known for?
I don't think I'm known for anything at this moment.
What work are you most proud of?
"How to Make Friends and Captivate People", it's my longest comic to date at 28 pages or so, the printed book has 40 because of an extra story. It was a struggle to produce as I had never tried such a long narrative and I misjudged how long it would take.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
I'd like to continue working on my various stories and characters. I have a female knight and prince story; a group of theater nerd kids; a depressed robot and a myriad of others that I'm sketching out and thinking over slowly. I have a lot of ideas and just need the money and time to focus on them.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I'll
step away from a project and create differently. Changing media or
tools helps to reinvigorate me to focus on the main projects I'm working
toward. This year I got into Hamilton and drew a mess of art, sketches
and comics and in the past few weeks I've been listening to the audiobook
of Jurassic Park and have had a wealth of ideas for mini comics about
the first book that have relatively little to do with the movie.
Sometimes indulging and receiving media is necessary to get a new spark,
you'll see the right turn of phrase and everything starts turning again
and you can keep creating. Another thing I've done, in 2013 after
college I stopped drawing just to take a break and I felt awful not
drawing anything after a few months so I forced myself to do a little
sketch before bed.Those sketches turned into a sketchbook I have a shows for sale as I worked through being burnt out and getting back into the groove of production. In 2014 I did a daily sketchbook where I tried different ideas in the small spaces I had. These were for me but sharing them was a great experience too as I became more comfortable with what I could do in the space provided and looked up new topics.
What do you think will be the future of your field?
More independent creators and creator owned work becoming popular and bigger powerhouses in comics shops. Image does an amazing job putting creators first and Fantom Comics in Dupont Circle works so hard to promote creator own material even as they stock DC and Marvel. They're still big in supporting local DMV creators.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?
I've attended SPX since 2012 and this is my first year tabling it, I'm excited. It's a lovely show to attend, a large crowd but there's so much positivity and love for comics in everyone attending and tabling it's great. I'll have at least one new book there that weekend that I'm working on. I'm at L7.
BMore Into Comics in Baltimore is a fun little day show. It's
tiny -- in a bar -- but as an attendee you would have plenty of time to
talk to the local artists who are tabling. An upside to small shows
over big shows and some great local creators go there.The DC Zinefest - I've shown there since 2015, the audience is very enthusiastic. It's great seeing how many female creators there are.
The Richmond Zinefest, I've tabled there two times now, and it's been in different venues both years, but has been going on for a while in its previous venue. The way it was set up in the library felt confusing as a tabler, maybe it was better for someone who knows that library better, but I heard from many people as they stumbled to the room I was in they were surprised there was another room.
Locus Moon in Philly, I showed there in 2015, it was a ton of fun. Great creators and audience. Everyone there was super enthusiastic. I've heard they're focusing more on publishing and I'd like to go to the show again, not sure if it's happening anymore.
Comics Arts Brooklyn - a small show in a church in Brooklyn, NY. Like smaller shows you get a great change to meet and talk to a creator for a while. Attendance has been enthusiastic and it's at a pretty good time of year in November, chilly but not too cold.
What's your favorite thing about DC?
The variety of people and things to do.
Least favorite?
Metro. Also driving around here is a hassle, not always a direct way someplace. I can drive from where I am to Maryland in 30 minutes or to the middle of the city in 45.
What monument or museum do like to take visitors to?
I don't have many visitors, I'd want to show them the [National Gallery of Art's] East and West Galleries though; I'm a big fan of art history.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
Daikaya in Chinatown. Both the upstairs Izakaya and the downstairs ramen bar.
Do you have a website or blog?
jasmine-pinales.com also meisterjdraws.tumblr.com
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Hang Dai Studios at Baltimore Comic-Con: Dean Haspiel speaks (UPDATED!)
by Mike Rhode
Baltimore Comic-Con is one of the best and friendliest of the mid-size superhero focused cons. Under the leadership of Marc Nathan and Brad Tree, it's grown quite a bit in a decade and a half, but still remains enjoyable for all ages and interests. Hang Dai Studios is based in Brooklyn, but as usual will have a big presence at Baltimore. My friend Dean Haspiel (and Hang Dai Studios founder) will be there with the whole studio, a week after he, Christa Cassano and Gregory Benton attended the Small Press Expo. We hope to have interviews with everyone in the studio throughout the week. Our fifth interview is with Dean Haspiel.
Where did "Hang Dai" come from?
"Hang Dai" was derived from HBO's "Deadwood." Whenever Al Swearengen and Mr. Wu would curse their way through a private deal and come to an agreement, Wu would cross his fingers and say "Hang Dai." Or, something that sounded like that and which meant "Brotherhood." Or, as my studio mate Christa Cassano likes to say, "Sisterhood."
Blue pencil, occasional brush pen and Micron pens + digital shading/coloring.
What work are you best-known for?
I believe I'm best known for my collaboration with Harvey Pekar on The Quitter. Possibly, the ten-issues of The Fox I recently co-wrote and drew for Archie Comics. Maybe, some Billy Dogma.
Baltimore Comic-Con is my favorite show, bar none. A perfect combo of rookie and veteran cartoonists among old and new comic books and just the right amount of cosplay. I've also been a regular guest for almost 15 years.
What's your favorite thing about Baltimore?
Marc Nathan and Brad Tree.
Least favorite?
I've yet to encounter anything in Baltimore to make me dislike its innate charm.
What monument or museum do like to take visitors to?
One day I plan to stay an extra day or two so I can personally visit Baltimore's culture.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
Out of pure proximity and laziness, I tend to grab dinner at the M&S Grill on E Pratt Street and soak in the Inner Harbor sights.
Do you have a website or blog?
http://deanhaspiel.com/
Where did "Hang Dai" come from?
"Hang Dai" was derived from HBO's "Deadwood." Whenever Al Swearengen and Mr. Wu would curse their way through a private deal and come to an agreement, Wu would cross his fingers and say "Hang Dai." Or, something that sounded like that and which meant "Brotherhood." Or, as my studio mate Christa Cassano likes to say, "Sisterhood."
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
I hopscotch between superhero and memoir and psychedelic romance comix. My recent effort is called Beef With Tomato, co-published by Alternative Comics and Hang Dai Editions. It's about my escape from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?I hopscotch between superhero and memoir and psychedelic romance comix. My recent effort is called Beef With Tomato, co-published by Alternative Comics and Hang Dai Editions. It's about my escape from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
Blue pencil, occasional brush pen and Micron pens + digital shading/coloring.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
1967. New York Hospital.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
The comic book rack on the newsstand at the corner of 79th street and Broadway in NYC was my comix kindergarten. Later on I discovered a steady flow of pop art pulp treasures at West Side Comics, opened a weekly account at Funny Business, and discovered American Splendor and Yummy Fur at Soho Zat. After that, any inklings of pursuing a normal life went out the window when dreams of drawing comix for a living took over and held my sway. I never learned how to draw comix in school because school didn't teach comix. School shunned comix. Comix taught me how to make comix. And, I'm still learning how, one panel at a time.
Who are your influences?
Ron Wilson, Jim Aparo, Jack Kirby, C.C. Beck, John Byrne, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Will Eisner, Frank Robbins, Jim Starlin, Michael Golden, Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Zeck, Frank Miller, Katsuhiro Otomo, John Romita Jr., Frank Quitely, Goran Parlov, Darwyn Cooke, Marcos Martin, Chris Samnee, Gregory Benton, Josh Bayer, Stan Lee, Warren Ellis, Jason Aaron, Brian K Vaughan, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Ames, Mickey Spillane, and Richard S. Prather.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
The Thing: Night Falls On Yancy Street. I wasn't ready. I would ask to change the dark ending, too, so me and Evan Dorkin could make it Marvel canon rather than Marvel folklore.
1967. New York Hospital.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
The comic book rack on the newsstand at the corner of 79th street and Broadway in NYC was my comix kindergarten. Later on I discovered a steady flow of pop art pulp treasures at West Side Comics, opened a weekly account at Funny Business, and discovered American Splendor and Yummy Fur at Soho Zat. After that, any inklings of pursuing a normal life went out the window when dreams of drawing comix for a living took over and held my sway. I never learned how to draw comix in school because school didn't teach comix. School shunned comix. Comix taught me how to make comix. And, I'm still learning how, one panel at a time.
Who are your influences?
Ron Wilson, Jim Aparo, Jack Kirby, C.C. Beck, John Byrne, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Will Eisner, Frank Robbins, Jim Starlin, Michael Golden, Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Zeck, Frank Miller, Katsuhiro Otomo, John Romita Jr., Frank Quitely, Goran Parlov, Darwyn Cooke, Marcos Martin, Chris Samnee, Gregory Benton, Josh Bayer, Stan Lee, Warren Ellis, Jason Aaron, Brian K Vaughan, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Ames, Mickey Spillane, and Richard S. Prather.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
The Thing: Night Falls On Yancy Street. I wasn't ready. I would ask to change the dark ending, too, so me and Evan Dorkin could make it Marvel canon rather than Marvel folklore.
I believe I'm best known for my collaboration with Harvey Pekar on The Quitter. Possibly, the ten-issues of The Fox I recently co-wrote and drew for Archie Comics. Maybe, some Billy Dogma.
What work are you most proud of?
Billy Dogma in Fear, My Dear. And, Heart-Shaped Hole.
Billy Dogma in Fear, My Dear. And, Heart-Shaped Hole.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
I aim to focus on creator-owned comix but, given the opportunity, I'd like to write and draw The Fantastic Four, Captain Marvel (Shazam), O.M.A.C., Deathlok, and bring back Marvel Two-In-One, featuring The Thing. I also have a great Batman & Superman story that features cameos of the JLA, done in the spirit of a cross between Sullivan's Travels and On The Road.
I aim to focus on creator-owned comix but, given the opportunity, I'd like to write and draw The Fantastic Four, Captain Marvel (Shazam), O.M.A.C., Deathlok, and bring back Marvel Two-In-One, featuring The Thing. I also have a great Batman & Superman story that features cameos of the JLA, done in the spirit of a cross between Sullivan's Travels and On The Road.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
Wash dishes. Work on something wholly different. Mix it up. Your mind is always working. Let it work by letting it relax and think different.
What do you think will be the future of your field?
Patronized digital comix produced one panel at a time; published one per day, delivered directly to your phone, and story arcs get collected into print (if necessary).\
Why are you at the Baltimore Comic-Con this year?
Baltimore Comic-Con is my favorite show, bar none. A perfect combo of rookie and veteran cartoonists among old and new comic books and just the right amount of cosplay. I've also been a regular guest for almost 15 years.
What other cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, or others? Any comments about attending them?
Besides BCC, I usually attend SPX, NYCC, MoCCA, CAB, and Locust Moon Comics Festival. I was a guest of Wizard World six times this year. They treat me very well.
Besides BCC, I usually attend SPX, NYCC, MoCCA, CAB, and Locust Moon Comics Festival. I was a guest of Wizard World six times this year. They treat me very well.
What's your favorite thing about Baltimore?
Marc Nathan and Brad Tree.
Least favorite?
I've yet to encounter anything in Baltimore to make me dislike its innate charm.
What monument or museum do like to take visitors to?
One day I plan to stay an extra day or two so I can personally visit Baltimore's culture.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
Out of pure proximity and laziness, I tend to grab dinner at the M&S Grill on E Pratt Street and soak in the Inner Harbor sights.
Do you have a website or blog?
http://deanhaspiel.com/
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
A Chat with John Kinhart interview at City Paper
by Mike Rhode on Sep. 24, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Rachel Scheer
Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Rachel Scheer
by Mike Rhode on Jun. 12, 2013
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2013/06/12/meet-a-local-cartoonist-a-chat-with-rachel-scheer/
Ms. Scheer's at One More Page at 7 pm on June 13th.
by Mike Rhode on Jun. 12, 2013
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2013/06/12/meet-a-local-cartoonist-a-chat-with-rachel-scheer/
Ms. Scheer's at One More Page at 7 pm on June 13th.
Monday, June 10, 2013
PR: Congressman John Lewis wows BookExpo crowds with MARCH: BOOK ONE!
 | Congressman John Lewis wows BookExpo crowds with MARCH: BOOK ONE! |  |
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Your friend thru comics,
Chris Staros
Top Shelf Productions PO Box 1282 Marietta GA 30061-1282 USA | |
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
May 4: Alison Bechdel at Politics and Prose
Alison Bechdel - Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama
May 4 2012 7:00 pm
In her acclaimed graphic memoir, Fun Home, Bechdel focused on her father, his secret life, and his death. Now she turns to her talented, emotionally repressed mother, exploring the family psychology and the tentative mother-daughter truce the two achieved via D.W. Winnicott , Dr. Seuss, and Bechdel’s own vivid memories.
5015 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, District Of Columbia
I'm planning on being there - Fun Home was a great book.
May 4 2012 7:00 pm
In her acclaimed graphic memoir, Fun Home, Bechdel focused on her father, his secret life, and his death. Now she turns to her talented, emotionally repressed mother, exploring the family psychology and the tentative mother-daughter truce the two achieved via D.W. Winnicott , Dr. Seuss, and Bechdel’s own vivid memories.
5015 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, District Of Columbia
I'm planning on being there - Fun Home was a great book.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Meet a Local Cartoonist: Monica H. or "MonMon"
I met Monica Horn, who draws as Monica H. or "MonMon" at last fall's Intervention con. Here’s her interview:
Mike Rhode: What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
Monica H: I run a webcomic called Ocean Tides which is on Smackjeeves.com. It is a ghostly romance drama about a girl name Lily who Lily meets a spirit named Alex. She has to help Alex realize what’s happening around him and wonder why he hasn't crossed over yet. I update every Friday unless stated otherwise.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
It is a combination of both. Along with my laptop, the materials and programs I use are computer paper, cardstock, Black Faber-Castell ink pens (SX, S, M, B, and F), Prismacolor markers, lightbox, HP scanner, my tablet and Photoshop. I start out sketching a thumbnail based off of the script I wrote for the chapter. Then a larger sketch, I ink using my lightbox. Scan, clean it up and tone in Photoshop.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I was born 1986 in Monterey, California.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I moved out here because of my job as a graphic/web designer. I currently reside in Northern Virginia.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
I majored in graphic design and minored in illustration. I have been drawing every since I was little, and inspired by many different Artists. I am a graphic/web designer by day and a webcomic artist by night.
Who are your influences?
Walking in the artist alleys at conventions sure does inspire me at times but I have to say many other webcomic artists, Illustrators, my friends, my family and of course my fans of my comic.
I wouldn't change anything about my career, though I am always willing to learn new things and learn ways to improve my work.
What work are you best-known for?
I guess my webcomic Ocean Tides, or my watercolor paintings. If you asked me this 5 years ago I would say my fan art for different anime shows, but I felt that I need to improve my own work and find my own style.
What work are you most proud of?
Since I only have one webcomic at the moment and I can say that I am proud of Ocean Tides, my style has changed in the past three years. I can say I am proud of trying to find my own style as well with in those three years.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
I hope to complete Ocean Tides and start working on a new webcomic that I am currently scripting.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I sketch or doodle anything, whether it be characters from my webcomic or just characters from a show and book. I just keep at it until something sparks my interest. I also paint -- painting is also a great stress relief.
What do you think will be the future of your field?
I plan on trying to get my work out there for others to enjoy and by the end of day to know that I am placing something out there for others to enjoy, I am happy.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Intervention, or others? Any comments about attending them?
Intervention Con 2011 was my first con that I attended as a artist and I have to say I have had a lot of fun, I learned a lot from the other artists in the artist alley. As for other cons I do go to Otakon as a attendee, I always enjoy going.
What's your favorite thing about DC?
I enjoy the Cherry Blossom Festival and the 4th of July Fireworks
Least favorite?
The traffic, I can live without it. Haha.
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
How about a favorite local restaurant?
I enjoy the Hamburger Hamlet in Crystal City, they make a great rueben sandwich and the sweet potato fires.
Do you have a website or blog?
My blog is http://chibihoshiko.wordpress.com/ and my webcomic for Ocean Tides is http://oceantides.smackjeeves.com/
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Check out John Kinhart's Sorry Comics
John Kinhart kindly pointed out the State Depts' Gene Yang video, so I followed his link to his webcomics site, Sorry Comics. I've just quickly read his first 4 autobiographical strips and he's got some good work there. Check it out. I'll put up a link on the side for future use.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
OT: David Lozell Martin's new book
My friend David Martin has a new book out, and it's reviewed by the New York Times.
LOSING EVERYTHING
By David Lozell Martin
201 pages. Simon & Schuster. $24.
David's a better writer than the Times reviewer credits him as, but I can't imagine this book was easy to write. I've only read his fiction, and I'm both looking forward to, and dreading this autobiography. I'd recommend David's books, especially Crazy Love and Pelikan, and be sure to search by his middle name as you'll get relevant results.
LOSING EVERYTHING
By David Lozell Martin
201 pages. Simon & Schuster. $24.
David's a better writer than the Times reviewer credits him as, but I can't imagine this book was easy to write. I've only read his fiction, and I'm both looking forward to, and dreading this autobiography. I'd recommend David's books, especially Crazy Love and Pelikan, and be sure to search by his middle name as you'll get relevant results.
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