Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
VEP COMICS #0 NOW AVAILABLE
My collection of crazy animal stories by Victor Pazmino is now available to download as a ZIP file or as a CBZ file. It is also available for download from the Digital Comic Museum, but you may need to sign in to be able to access it. I find I have misspelled Guayaquil, in the biographical information, for which I apologize but I am not going to go back and fix it now. I will just have to look like an ignoramus. This is the kind of thing it is and I think you will find it is some pretty nutty stuff:
Friday, May 24, 2013
VEP Comics
Here is a little project I am working on. I fell instantly in love with the wild bright style of cartoonist Victor Pazmino, and am working up a pseudocomic collecting some of his wacky animal stories from such comics as Hi-Jinx, Ha Ha and Giggle which are available online. This is the cover I have adapted from Happy Comics #13:
Monday, September 21, 2009
Comics
You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation! By Fletcher Hanks, edited by Paul Karasik. While many of the comic books of the period were being created by assembly-line studio processes, for a couple of years (1939 - 1942) Fletcher Hanks single-handedly created some of the damnedest stories ever drawn. His science-fantasy stories in particular are loaded with bizarre creations unique in all literature. His gelatinous semi-primitive style and unique conceptions, along with the brutal and garish coloring techniques of the time, make this the most artistically inspiring thing I have seen in ages. If I felt I could spare the few dollars, I would certainly buy a copy of my own. I am only reading one or two stories a day so I can keep this library copy as long as possible. The fact that he was personally a truly despicable character only adds to the mystique.
The Discworld Graphic Novels, based on the works of Terry Pratchett. Because his books are so popular I have made a couple of attempts to read one, but never got more than a few pages in before giving up. They seem to me to be Douglas Adams for Lord of the Rings Fans, only lamer. I might have liked it when I was fourteen, or maybe not. In contrast to the book just mentioned, this one was a real chore to get through - originally published in the mid-1990s, the art is slightly above mediocre at times, with lots of those "leering grin with a raised eyebrow" expressions inexplicably popular with young independent cartoonists. The stories and plot elements are a lot of cutesy tripe and "ain't I somethin?" wordplay that makes me want to kick the hell out of that Pratchett guy. I only read this out of a sense of social obligation so I could get some idea of what it is that so many people think is so darn great. It only confirms my feeling of not belonging in this world.
The Discworld Graphic Novels, based on the works of Terry Pratchett. Because his books are so popular I have made a couple of attempts to read one, but never got more than a few pages in before giving up. They seem to me to be Douglas Adams for Lord of the Rings Fans, only lamer. I might have liked it when I was fourteen, or maybe not. In contrast to the book just mentioned, this one was a real chore to get through - originally published in the mid-1990s, the art is slightly above mediocre at times, with lots of those "leering grin with a raised eyebrow" expressions inexplicably popular with young independent cartoonists. The stories and plot elements are a lot of cutesy tripe and "ain't I somethin?" wordplay that makes me want to kick the hell out of that Pratchett guy. I only read this out of a sense of social obligation so I could get some idea of what it is that so many people think is so darn great. It only confirms my feeling of not belonging in this world.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Comics
These are some of the comics I have recently enjoyed.
Worst by Hiroshi Takahashi (vol 1-3) A weird fantasy world of male posturing, inspiration for the even weirder satire Cromartie High School. In an all-boys' high school in Japan, every student is a huge hulking lout, and there is nothing else in the world but a baroque feudalism based on who is tougher than whom. The emphasis is on facial expression, poses, hairdos and clothing - a true Boys' Romance comic - romance meaning fighting. In three volumes there only appears one female figure, in a street scene and partially obscured by a speech balloon. In fact there is hardly anyone in this universe except the characters in the story.
Jet Lag, five stories written by Etgar Keret and drawn by members of the Actus group, including Rutu Modan, one of my favorites and an inspiration to me in cleaning up and simplifying my recent drawing style. A good example of some of the superior work being done in Israel. Anything by any of these people is worth looking up.
Golgo 13 by Takao Saito. 13 volumes of these intensely detailed and contrived stories are available in English. Golgo 13, a.k.a. Duke Togo, is the ultimate hit man, doing the impossible in every story, traveling to exotic locales to shoot people. I might call this a guilty pleasure, if I could ever feel guilty about reading comics.
Aqua, vol. 1 & 2, and Aria, by Kozue Amano. Pretty much the opposite of Golgo 13. The attempt to terraform Mars melted its polar cap and left the planet covered with water, and the planet's name has been changed to Aqua. Tourists in the city of Neo Venezia are transported by gondolas rowed by teenage girls known as Undines, and these stories are about the trials and trivias of a novice Undine. All very cute, sweet, inspiring and heartwarming.
Melvin Monster by John Stanley. Stories of a monster kid who can't help being good instead of bad, written and drawn by the genius behind Little Lulu, originally published in 1963. Splendidly revived by Drawn & Quarterly in hardback with foilstamped cover. Fun to read and full of eccentric invention.
Run, Bong-Gu, Run! by Byun Byung-Jun. A quiet Korean story of a little boy and his mother in search of the father who went to make money in the city. Beautifully drawn and painted in a way that made me stop reading and just sit looking at the picture. Expressive and a genuine work of art.
Worst by Hiroshi Takahashi (vol 1-3) A weird fantasy world of male posturing, inspiration for the even weirder satire Cromartie High School. In an all-boys' high school in Japan, every student is a huge hulking lout, and there is nothing else in the world but a baroque feudalism based on who is tougher than whom. The emphasis is on facial expression, poses, hairdos and clothing - a true Boys' Romance comic - romance meaning fighting. In three volumes there only appears one female figure, in a street scene and partially obscured by a speech balloon. In fact there is hardly anyone in this universe except the characters in the story.
Jet Lag, five stories written by Etgar Keret and drawn by members of the Actus group, including Rutu Modan, one of my favorites and an inspiration to me in cleaning up and simplifying my recent drawing style. A good example of some of the superior work being done in Israel. Anything by any of these people is worth looking up.
Golgo 13 by Takao Saito. 13 volumes of these intensely detailed and contrived stories are available in English. Golgo 13, a.k.a. Duke Togo, is the ultimate hit man, doing the impossible in every story, traveling to exotic locales to shoot people. I might call this a guilty pleasure, if I could ever feel guilty about reading comics.
Aqua, vol. 1 & 2, and Aria, by Kozue Amano. Pretty much the opposite of Golgo 13. The attempt to terraform Mars melted its polar cap and left the planet covered with water, and the planet's name has been changed to Aqua. Tourists in the city of Neo Venezia are transported by gondolas rowed by teenage girls known as Undines, and these stories are about the trials and trivias of a novice Undine. All very cute, sweet, inspiring and heartwarming.
Melvin Monster by John Stanley. Stories of a monster kid who can't help being good instead of bad, written and drawn by the genius behind Little Lulu, originally published in 1963. Splendidly revived by Drawn & Quarterly in hardback with foilstamped cover. Fun to read and full of eccentric invention.
Run, Bong-Gu, Run! by Byun Byung-Jun. A quiet Korean story of a little boy and his mother in search of the father who went to make money in the city. Beautifully drawn and painted in a way that made me stop reading and just sit looking at the picture. Expressive and a genuine work of art.
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