The New 52.

In just a few hours, the world ends. Well not really, but the DC universe, which has stood as "cannon" (I hate that term) since 1986 is coming to an end and in it's place shall rise the so called new 52. And I have to say I have not been more excited about DC comics in a long time. It is a great opportunity to throw off the shackles of extremely convoluted continuity, and start new and fresh and allow new ideas of these Iconic characters flow. That said I also have misgivings. I as a reader don't give two shits about continuity, true I know a lot of it as a comic reader for at least 26 years, but I really don't care if my continuity is gone, or as some fans (melodramatically) put it none of it counts. I am a little miffed that my beloved Supergirl has ended just as I believed it was getting good. My worries are one, they won't go far enough and two they'll get just as convoluted just as fast. As for one, they only seem to be going bold with Superman and by extension Supergirl and boy. And a lot of he differences seem to be in the "darker and grittier realm" which I don't go for in super hero books. But I promised myself I won't prejudge any more than I would with any new comic. As for two, it seems that they are picking and choosing which character's are getting new origins, for instance Superman is all new, Wonder Woman seems to have newish bits, but Batman isn't changing at all except a condensed timeline, oh and Barbra Gordon can walk again and is going to be bat girl pissing off handicapped people the world over. This bothers me because I've seen it all before.

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was this comic company that told stories about guys and girls in tights that saved the world. this company was of course DC and they didn't really care about. how these stories fit together. Then one day they found out their readers did. And to preserve the old stories people liked without getting in the way of the new stories they wanted to tell, they had an easy answer. "it happened one Earth 2" for years after DC had what came to be known as the Multiverse. And in retrospect I thought it was a good way of handling continuity the writers got to tell cool engaging tales and the continuity nerds got to keep track of their well ordered "Cannons". But later, I don't know DC history well enough to know if it was editors or Fans, but the Multiverse was deemed too complicated. I don't get why people are so scared of continuity a comic is just like any other book you read it if you like it keep reading it if you don't try something different, but I digress. It was determined that something had to be done to simplify it. So they destroyed the Multiverse in the epic "Crisis on Infinite Earths". leaving only one continuity, made of elements of all of the "earths" tailored to fit together. Sound familiar? Well it worked quite well at first, Most notably in the updating of the characters it's never a bad idea to do that in fact I believe that the big characters need a shake up every ten years. But after a while the continuity got just as convoluted if not more than it was before "Crisis" leading to a number of events in the last decade that where completely about continuity. It was a mess, and it didn't even last half as long as the Multiverse. So here DC is again re starting their line and streamlining the continuity.

Like I said I think this is a good idea, but I'm hoping this new continuity stays cleaner and easier for the easily daunted new reader than the "Post Crisis" era was. Look at Ultimate Marvel that's what this could easily become. I have high hopes and a lot of excitement.

So here's the books I'm looking forward to.

Batgirl: Even though I'm not fond of oracle not being around anymore, Gail Simone was the best writer ever on Birds of Prey and it's worth the $2.99 just for her writing Barbara Gordon again. Plus it looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun.

Action Comics: It's always neat to see new takes on Superman, and Grant Morrison is just batshite crazy enough that even if it sucks it'll be worth the look.

Supergirl: though I hate her new costume and the aggro "all his powers and none of his compassion" stuff in the press releases. Supergirl is my favourite DC superhero if not favourite superhero so y'know hopeless fanboy.

All Star Western: I'm interested in what a 21st century western comic will be like.

Swamp Thing: He's been gone for a while it's time.

Wonder Woman: though it still seems that the people at DC still don't have a handle on what Wonder Woman is, they are at least giving her a niche having her fight the paranormal/ macabre. It looks like it'll be fun. As long as they don't portray her as a "man hatin' bitch"

Though not interested in "Grifter" "Stormwatch" or "Voodoo" I am really stoked that the Wildstorm stuff is being brought into the DCnU.

well happy Wednesday and welcome to the new world.

Boobs.

Probably the most talked about attribute of comic art is the "most common super power", I'm of course talking about boobs and how they are drawn. Of course unless you live under a rock you know how they are drawn. Big or Huge.

There is a lot of talk as to why the most common answer is most comics are drawn by men and men are pigs. While true, I don't like generalizations, even if they hit the mark pretty well. I'll give in to the fact that some artists, Frank Cho and Jim Balent come to mind, just love drawing girls with big boobies. But I think it's deeper. In our culture, I won't bore people with sexual anthropology, big breasts equal beautiful. they are after all one of the most visible secondary sexual characteristics and one of the only ones that a person can't hide. I'm not saying this view is right or wrong it's just a fact. But as an artist myself, I know a third reason, one that I've worked against for most of my career. Big boobs are easier to draw. Large breasts mean that the artist doesn't have to get the upper torso, shoulders, or underarms right in many views... the boobs cover it up (the same goes for long hair). Also the artist doesn't have to worry as much about placement on the chest when the breasts are big they fit where they have to. I discovered this when I was designing Darcy Anderson in "Neuropsychosis" for those of you who don't know my comic (shame on you) Darcy is a small flat chested character. I had to really work much harder on my upper torso and Shoulder joints so she didn't look like a man. You are probably thinking geez how lazy. But bear in mind a typical cartoonist draws their character's many many times, quickness is of the essence.

Now large breasts in comics are not a problem in and of themselves, and if you look into it you will seldom see a feminist writing about comics that complains of large boobs. The application of the boobs is the problem. It's a matter of the "girl with the boobs" and "the boobs on that girl" dichotomy. On the surface both sound like a less than polite observation about a girls looks, but the difference is in the subtleties. The former sees the girl, the latter only sees the breasts. The goal of the artist that cares about their work should be the "girl with the boobs" because that is the one that actually is a character. If you make a good rounded defined character it shouldn't matter how they look, like a real person they will be more than their appearance.

That said there is a boob problem in comics. It's not that they are big. It's that they all are big! A great part of beauty in the real world is the variety of looks that men and women have. Artists should be mixing it up! make large breasted women sure, but fill the cast out with small and mid sized women, or women whose appearance defining features are hips or legs, or even that seemingly out of fashion concept of the face. How I "behave myself" when it comes to this is I allow myself one really large breasted character. And then everyone else has to have more humble bosoms. I also like to think about how the character's lifestyle affects their breasts. To bring up Darcy again, she is a gymnast (in earlier drafts a dancer) so large breasts where not appropriate to her. Jessy from the same comic is tall and thin so again large was not right. If you decide on a design before a character is finished think about how boobs will affect their life. If you have a character with a DD bra she has no business being an acrobat (I'm looking at you Jim Balent). That is why my large breasted character Stef leads a more sedentary life.

Another thing, as an artist, use the power of boobs. Breasts tend to be "read" with two meanings. "sexy'" and "Maternal" and you can use this, the sexy is obvious that's how breasts are used 90% of the time. But if you really wanted to do something fun you can subvert it. Make an attractive character with large breasts who isn't a sexual character. Make a character whose breasts actually make them unattractive Beto Hernandez is a master at this. Then there's Large breast angst. You can also use large breasts to give a character a more maternal feel. For instance with my character Stef, I decided to use her breasts (and the figure that goes with them) as well as her long hair and homespun like clothing to make her a visually comforting figure. As her place in the story is a sort of big sister to the cast. Likewise don't be afraid of the power of smaller breasts. If you want an energetic character you cannot go wrong with a small to flat chest. Not only will i make your drawing of the character more believable a small chest also reads in our culture as "youthful" (again not saying it's right or wrong it's just the way it is).

Of course the bottom line is that bra size like all other aspects of the comic needs to be done for a reason, other than titillation, and it all comes back to character, and story. There needs to be a reason or a result for a character's boobs, or for that matter any aspect of her appearance. The real world may be random but fiction is not, every little detail is done for a reason and as long as the who and why of the comic read true. The how and what will follow.

Art by Adam Hughes Power Girl (C) & TM DC Comics

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode Six

This is the sixth episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview the lovely Tayla from comicongirl.com

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Of course Tayla's site is http://comiccongirl.com/

And they where helping promote Jay Company Comics http://www.jaycompanycomics.com/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode five

This is the fifth episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview the lovely Haley from comicongirl.com

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Of course Hayley's site is http://comiccongirl.com/

And they where helping promote Jay Company Comics http://www.jaycompanycomics.com/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode four

This is the fourth episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview the lovely Shannon and the industrious Morgan from Minimates.

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

you can find out about Minimates: at http://www.artasylum.com/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode three

This is the third episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip we interview four cosplayers, These folks are so serious about their craft that they only ever told us their character names.



You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode two.

This is the second episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this clip Roger from Comic Outpost talks to us about their life sized super hero Statues. And what goes into their upkeep.

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Comic outpost can be found on the web at: http://www.comicoutpost.net/

The Hard Work of Having Fun. Episode one.

This is the first episode of a series of interviews that my cousin Ruben and I did at Comic-Con 2011 a couple of weeks ago. In this Episode we interview the lovely Paige, who was portraying master cartoonist Dean Yeagle's character Mandy, to promote his booth. Ruben and I where amazed by how much she resembled the character.

You can read my cousin's blog at http://doctorjiggawho.tumblr.com

Dean Yeagle's site is http://www.cagedbeagle.com/

Happy Birthday Fantastic Four.

Fifty years ago today the Marvel Universe was born. On August 8 1961, Fantastic Four number one, Marvel's first superhero title of the silver age, hit the newsstands. At the time the company that would become marvel comics was foundering a bit, making excellent if not overly impressive "monster books" and editor Stan Lee was (as the legend goes this is Stan so g.o.s.) was getting fed up with being a comic writer. He and artist extraordinaire Jack Kirby had been wanting to get superheroes going again. Since Stan was going to leave, he decided to go for it. Fantastic Four was a big hit pretty early on and led to the creation of many more comics by "Stan and Jack". And these comics later would come to comprise the Marvel Universe, arguably the most famous lineup of superhero characters ever created.
If you have never read Fantastic Four number one, the most shocking thing about it is how unlike a superhero comic it is. The story goes that the publisher didn't want any costumes and there had to be a monster on the cover. And the story with the exception of Superpowers has more in common with the Sci-fi and monster books. With renegade, astronauts getting powers, and a Mole Man and his subterranean creatures. With a hit on their hands Fantastic Four would continue and gain more of the characteristics of a Superhero book. But the Sci-fi Angle would remain to this day.
The Fantastic Four is also attributed as the forerunner of the "Marvel Method". Since Marvel had such talented artists. It was decided to merely give them an outline of the story and let (usually) Jack Kirby get on with drawing it. After the art was done Stan Lee (or a staff writer) would put in the dialogue. This arrangement gave marvel it's distinct edge, for the first time the art was allowed to be the star as much as the writing. This arrangement would last for the rest of the decade for 102 plus one unfinished issues, one of the longest runs for one creative team in mainstream comics.
So if your a fan of Marvel comics know that this is the 50th birthday of your beloved universe and that it all started with "The worlds Greatest Comics Magazine"

Art by Jack Kirby Fantastic Four (c) & TM Marvel Comics

Discovery's Flight Deck in 360 Degrees.

This is a link to a 360 degree view of the space shuttle Discovery's flight deck. I thought it was pretty cool. Thanks for user name Eric Morin at the John Byrne Forums for the tip.

http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/i ndex.html