meltblog

Kirby_Press_Release.pdf

“I was thinking how the world should have cried on the day Jack Kirby died”
The above line is from a song titled MELT by the band Monster Magnet. It perfectly represents the undying enthusiasm for the many and varied works of Jack Kirby, an enthusiasm that is that is stoked, nurtured and built to burn ever higher by fantastic Earthlings like Mark Evanier, author of KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, a magnificent coffee table edition now in wide release from Abrams.

Mark Evanier was smart enough and lucky enough to have worked as Jack Kirby’s assistant and eventually became the standard-bearer for all things Kirby. He has done more than perhaps any single person to point the curious and the uninformed in the direction of the work of the King and in this new biography he does so in a wonderfully engaging yet unassuming style that brings neophyte and professional alike to the same conclusion; without Jack Kirby, modern comics would not exist.

While Jack Kirby is no longer with us, his spirit and legend are carried forward in print and in many wonderful tales that you can hear in person when Mark Evanier joins us at Meltdown Comics on June 7th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for a signing and question and answer session. We look forward to seeing you then. Long live the King!

A brief Q & A will be hosted by super Kirby Fan and ADULT SWIM Animation Producer/Director Jon Schnepp.

About Jon Schnepp:
Jon Schnepp has been directing, writing and producing episodic series and short-form shows for the past twelve years. His credits include directing the popular “Upright Citizens Brigade”, directing the 3D origin of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”, editing episodes of “Space Ghost: Coast to Coast”, and co-producing and directing “Metalocalypse”. Jon has worked on programming for Cartoon Network , FX, Nickelodeon,
MTV2, VH-1, and Comedy Central. Deeply influenced by comic books, SciFi flicks, and all things “geek”, Jon continually produces, writes, and directs his own films, which include Nerd Hunter 3004 and The Removers. Jon has also used the skills he acquired from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago to design and create characters for the animated series “Metalocalypse” on Adult Swim. Jon is currently co-producing/directing for its second season. Absorb!

MARK EVANIER SIGNS
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS
AT MELTDOWN
JUNE 7, 2-4 PM
7522 SUNSET BLVD
www.meltcomics.com
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AC&E is proud to announce an evening with comic book creator/writer Jim Krueger! Join us Friday night, October 12 th for networking and snacks followed by Q&A with one of the major talents in media today.
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via- www.comicbookresources.com
written by:  Michael Climek

The New Yorker Festival was a series of events and talks put on by The New Yorker magazine last weekend. The festival catered to a diverse crowd with dozens of events on a variety of topics at locations through New York City.
Of the many events, one was particularly relevant to comics readers, a panel entitled “Superheroes: Up, Up, and Away,” featuring comics writer Grant Morrison; comics writer, illustrator, and creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola; novelist and writer of Marvel’s new “Omega the Unknown” series Jonathan Lethem; and creator of the popular television show “Heroes,” Tim Kring. The event was moderated by magazine editor and fiction author Ben Greenman.

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I was tooling around the Aint-it-cool website recently, and got really bummed out when I read the following in its comics review section:

“I hate comic books that cost over three dollars. But what I hate worse are comics over three dollars that actually look interesting enough to buy. What I hate even more than a three dollar comic that looks interesting enough to buy is one that’s good enough that I’m going to have to buy the next issue, therefore causing me to spend over three dollars on another comic book. OK, fine, actually with the thirty percent discount on new books that my comic guy gives me it comes out to about two dollars and sixty-five cents with tax but you get my drift.Damn you DUSTY STAR. Damn you for being a good comic book that costs $3.50 an issue.”

Besides being a very faux-clever way of beginning a review (actually, it’s goddamn annoying), it’s a major dis to independent comics, whether the writer knows it or not. What this guy, who goes by the nom de plume “superhero”, is basically saying is that all he buys is the most mainstream of comics coming from Marvel and DC. That’s because nobody else can really deliver comics for less than 3 dollars and make any money in the dwindling comics market. Because of their decades-old marketable icons, the Big 2 can sell advertising, offsetting production costs, and still come up ahead. Not so for the struggling indy comics, which more often than not are the source of today’s quality work in sequential art.

And worse, this guy proclaims to ‘hate’ paying $3 + for comics. So, anybody out there trying to create a new and interesting work, a new mythology, a new genre, a new way to see the art form, you are screwed. You see, this “superhero” fella can’t afford your books. He’s already spent his milk money on all of this year’s Infinite Civil Crises War tie-ins. No matter that most are written in the most mundane and hackneyed manner, with little or no reverence for the characters. And who cares if the art looks like it was drawn soullessly by the HAL-9000? Not our friend “superhero”. The fact that it’s not only men in tights beating each other up over and over again – but the same goddamned men in tights beating each other up since 1938 – can never bore our courageous reviewer. He’ll buy the crap. And he can have it, for all I care.

What bugs me here is that there’s wonderful new work out there that is largely ignored by guys like this. Imagine there were two other dominant “universes” out there, and theses guys Kirby, Ditko, Kane, Siegel, etc. are just starting out. And imagine that these great talents are all reduced to keeping their day jobs at the VA (sorry, Harvey) while self-publishing their books, charging $4 bucks a piece, and still, they lose money, all because smug assholes like “superhero” would rather pay for an executive editor’s new Porsche than give new comics their day in the sun. Can’t happen? It is. Most retailers won’t even put a new title on their racks if it isn’t the Big 2, or maybe Dark Horse and Image. And “superhero” seemingly has no powers that can cut through the confusion beset in his mind by crossover fever.

Listen, bub, I don’t care if you were being whimsical, witty, or just plain stupid. And however glowing your review of Dusty Star (which I have not yet read), the fact is that you must disdain the art form if you cry about the economics in favor of the status quo. I’d rather spend 20 bucks on one great comic, than $18 on five shitty books. And I wouldn’t spend one thin dime to read your vacuous bullshit masquerading as a review of the medium I love so much. If you weren’t writing on a site with some “pop culture authority”, one that could influence reader’s opinions, I wouldn’t really care. But you do, and somebody out there may be listening. If you really had any respect for indy comics, Dusty Star, comics in general, and even just plain ol’ “art”, you wouldn’t have maligned your own essay with such a thoughtless preamble, which only serves to further damage the chances of great new work emerging from behind the eclipse of the tired capes.

Aside from blackmail, it’s no easy task for a writing man, with his eye on creating indie comics, to find a suitable, willing artist and collaborator. “How do you find an artist?” is one of the most common questions I hear from writers scouring the Internet in search of the next James Jean (who is hopefully down to work for free). Naturally, there’s no handbook for this sort of thing. Each person has their own methods and ideas. Admittedly, I’ve only recently started dealing with this. But I do have some things to say.

Finding an artist, cold, on the Internet is difficult. I have a friend who has had some success with this approach, but he’s an absolutely relentless bastard with a clear vision of his story and dozens of scripts already written. That said, it’s no surprise that the artist he’s had the best collaboration with lives locally. Forming a collaboration is a delicate thing. I think it’s generally a better idea — at least while you’re starting out — to try and find someone in your community first. Somebody you can grab lunch or a drink with. Contacting an artist on another continent, who has never seen your face, doesn’t exactly breed a sense of loyalty or dedication. Of course, when you’re doing work for hire jobs, collaborating with an artist that isn’t local is pretty much commonplace.

If you want to create comics, live and breath comics. The passion has to be there. Become part of your local comic book community. That means going to events, chatting with retailers, attending conventions, etc., etc. Meet people who are walking the same streets that you are, asking the same questions, bleeding for their art. I met the artist that I’m currently working with through an artist friend. Another artist I’m working with I met at an event at Meltdown Comics. It’s all who you know? Well, yeah, of course.

Also, never settle. Find an artist whose work speaks to you. Chances are, if you’re responding to a persons art it’s because you’re both interested in similar things. I immediately connected to Brandon Graham’s art when I read the short stories he was doing for the Meathuas anthology He works in naturalism, and so do I. We both love the quiet moments of a narrative. Two people with coffee and conflict. Urban drama. Ordinary characters dealing with life and love (it also doesn’t hurt that he draws some of the best looking women in comics). As it turns out, I ended up pushing for him on a comic book project I was involved with for a big Internet brand. The project fell through, but Brandon and I stayed in touch and cooked up a little something of our own. Work begets work. Now we have a comic story in development called Down Time.

I’ve studied Brandon’s work intensely and I’m writing to his strengths. In a successful collaboration each creator will make the other look good, and create some glorious comic art along the way. But you have to hustle to get that point. When you search deep down, you know whether or not you’re doing all you can. So, how bad do you want it?

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*Addendum*

It should also be noted that artists who have the misfortune of coming across Dirty Hollywood-type who is only creating a comic book as a movie pitch have a responsibility to kick that person in the face.