art and design
DC Comics’ new logo numbering mystery
DC Comics’ new logo was officially unveiled this morning, followed by the release of mockups showing how the “peel” design would appear on digital devices, collected editions and single issues. However, a closer look at the latter reveals a comics conundrum: a New 52 cover for Batman, with the current creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, is labeled as Issue 708, while George Perez’s Superman #1 cover is numbered somewhere between #700 and #709 (it’s partially obscured, making it difficult to tell). Here’s the thing — despite the New 52 covers, both of those issues were published before the New 52 was announced in July 2011.
Batman #708 was printed in March 2011 during David Hine and Guillem March’s run on the book. Any issue of Superman that begins with “#70_” would had to have been somewhere between June 2010 and March 2011, spanning J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson’s runs. Assuming these are the numberings from March 2011, that would mean the final two issues should be Green Lantern #64 and Wonder Woman #609. Could this be a sign of the New 52 numbering being a last-minute change for DC? Or maybe DC wasn’t letting the outside firm in on its relaunch plans, which could indicate this logo has been in development since well before March.
Then again, it could just be a coincidence, but it is an odd oversight to present a new logo with numberings from issues that hit stores 10 months ago.
Whatever the case, it brings us to the question why the company didn’t roll out its new brand identity in late August, when it relaunched its entire line, or even last month, when it published a mammoth hardcover collecting all 52 first issues – one that now rests on shelves sporting the nearly seven-year-old “swoosh.”
DC’s “peel” logo will make its comics debut in March, when most of the covers presumably will bear the number 7.
- January 19, 2012 @ 03:00 PM by Steve Sunu
Ilias Kyriazis imagines the Avengers 15 years from now
by Ilias Kyriazis
I linked to Ilias Kyriazis’ image of his favorite DC characters earlier this month, and as we wait patiently for the Marvel version he mentioned he’s starting, here’s something to enjoy in the meantime: Kyriazis imagines what the Avengers might look like 15 years from now.
The line-up includes several kids of current and former Avengers, like Luna Maximoff, Valeria Richards and Danielle Cage, all grown up and following in the footsteps of their parents. They’re joined by a few wild cards like Molly Hayes and Quentin Quire. If you head over to his blog, he shares the background of each character and why he chose their respective looks.
- December 19, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | Archie-Valerie romance rekindled; cartoonist resigns
Archie #631
Creators | Dan Parent discusses an upcoming Archie storyline that will bring Valerie Brown from Josie and the Pussycats to Riverdale, causing sparks to once again fly: “The fans can expect the next step in what I think is the most romantic story in Archie history. The chemistry between Archie and Valerie was hot the first time they got together, and now you’ve really got to see it simmer, all the way from the rekindling of their romance to getting much more serious than we’ve seen before.” [USA Today]
Editorial cartoons | Cartoonist Jeff Stahler has resigned from The Columbus Dispatch following accusations that he lifted ideas from other cartoons, including one that ran in The New Yorker. [Poynter]
- December 13, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Artist Keron Grant resurfaces with new art book
Artist Keron Grant burst onto the comics scene in the late 90s, but really came into focus at Marvel a few years later with his work on Fantastic Four, Iron Man and a stand-alone issue of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run. After a run on the DC series Son of Vulcan in 2005 however, Grant largely dropped off the comic map. Since then he’s become an illustrator and an artist outside comics, doing T-shirts, giclee prints and books. He’s had success in that field, but for alot of comic fans who don’t travel in that circle he’s dropped off the map.
But he’s out to change that.
Grant is collecting some of his most popular pieces from the past year into a limited edition art book. Measuring nine inches square and clocking in at 70 pages, Grant’s book is available directly through the artist for $35 by emailing him at Keron@KeronGrant.net. If you’ve forgotten how good he is, he’s given us a sample of what’s inside the book.
- October 21, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Collages mash-up real-life and fictional superheroes
Eleven Fine Art in London kicks off an exhibit called “Supermen- An Exhibition of Heroes” Sept. 16, which features collages of real-life heroes made from fragments of comic books.
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, Ben Turnbull’s collages “celebrates the real life heroes, the firemen, and policemen who protect us everyday, in iconic new images meticulously constructed from fragments of fictional superheroes including Captain America, Daredevil, and The Fantastic Four as well as Batman, Spiderman (sic), and the Hulk,” according to the gallery’s website.
“The life-changing events of 9/11 led us all to believe in the need for real life superheroes,” Turnbull said on the site. “Superman didn’t fly down to save the falling buildings, there was no Caped Crusader ready to do battle with the arch-enemy and Spidey didn’t spin his web. Without the need of a phone-booth or a revolving door these true patriots donned their iconic costumes and sacrificed life and limb for what they believed in. With every cut-comic hero and dialogue I hope to bring out the true merits of the Brave and the Bold in their fight for Truth, Justice and the American Way.”
You can check out more of the artwork here. The exhibit runs through Oct. 22.
- September 15, 2011 @ 05:00 AM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’11 | Winners announced for 2011 Eisner Awards
Eisner Awards
IDW Publishing led the 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards with five wins, including Joe Hill for best writer for Locke & Key and Darwyn Cooke for best writer/artist for Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit. The awards were announced last night during a ceremony at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Other winners included Vertigo’s American Vampire, by Scott Snyder, Stephen King and Rafael Albuquerque, for best new series, Image’s Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory, for best continuing series, and Skottie Young for best penciler/inker for Marvel’s The Marvelous Land of Oz. Comic Book Resources earned its second Eisner for best comics-related periodical/journalism.
The complete list of winners can be found below:
- July 23, 2011 @ 05:35 AM by Kevin Melrose
Win cool prizes for redesigning Spider-Man
Project: Rooftop, the costume redesign site run by our own Chris Arrant, and comics retailer Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics have teamed up for a contest that asks artists get “to spin a new web” for Marvel’s Spider-Man.
In “Spider-Man: Webhead 2.0.,” artists can redesign Spider-Man for a chance to win one of several prizes:
- First Prize: The Spider-Man Diamond Select Maquette (retail value of $85) and a bagged copy of Ultimate Spider-Man #160.
- Second Prize: Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 5 Softcover (retail value of $25) and a bagged copy of Ultimate Spider-Man #160.
- Third Prize: Spider-Man: Peter Parker Essential Vol. 3 (retail value of $18) and a bagged copy of Ultimate Spider-Man #160.
“Encouraging artists is something I’ve always enjoyed doing,” said Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics in Concord CA, president of ComicsPRO and founder of Free Comic Book Day. “I came up with some cool Spidey-related prizes and look forward to seeing all the Project: Rooftop entries!”
The deadline for entries of Aug. 8. You can find all the details over on the Project: Rooftop site.
- July 11, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Todd Klein breaks down Marvel’s Daredevil logos
In the latest of his series of logo studies, letterer and logo designer Todd Klein spars with the mastheads of the 45-plus Marvel title Daredevil. Klein’s research on these series is impeccable, covering every permutation of the comics’ logo — reaching out when possible to the original designers, back into the Silver Age. He even provides copious notes for when he was hired to work on the logo in 1996.
Although Klein is best known for his lettering, he’s contributed logos to virtually all major American comic companies, and his logo work is seen on the Batman: Year One storyline, logos for The New Teen Titans and its characters, as well as Witchblade, Tom Strong and Iron Man.
Klein’s releasing his Daredevil logo study in four parts, with the final installment due any day now. Begin with Part 1 which starts with the title’s debut in 1964. Read the installments, and then scroll back through his archives for other interesting logo studies.
- January 19, 2011 @ 02:30 PM by Chris Arrant
Comics A.M. | Responses to Heavy Ink, Fan Expo Canada adds a day
Warren Ellis
Politics | Warren Ellis joins the list of creators who want nothing to do with Heavy Ink after Travis Corcoran’s inflammatory remarks. At The Daily Cartoonist, Ted Rall pushes back on the outrage, saying, “If I only bought from companies and individuals whose political beliefs I agreed with, I wouldn’t be buying much.” [Warren Ellis, The Daily Cartoonist]
Conventions | Now there’s even more of Fan Expo Canada to love: The self-proclaimed “largest combined gaming, horror, comic, science fiction and anime event in the country” is expanding from three to four days, Aug. 25-28, 2011. [Convention Scene]
Manga | A Chinese artist named Xiao Bai is this year’s winner of the Japanese government’s International Manga Award. The prizewinning entry, Si loin et si proche (So near and so far), was published in Belgium last year. [Monsters and Critics]
- January 12, 2011 @ 09:07 AM by Brigid Alverson
Take a poster tour of comics’ great cities
Four Freedoms Plaza travel poster, by Justin Van Genderen
Designer Justin Van Genderen has created a beautiful set of comic-book travel posters showcasing Superman’s Metropolis, Batman’s Gotham, Spider-Man’s New York City, the Fantastic Four’s Four Freedoms Plaza and Akira’s Neo Tokyo. All five are available for purchase from Imagekind.
Van Genderen is also responsible for those minimalist posters for Star Wars planets, and the lovely black-and-white trio inspired by Superman II.
(via Rampaged Reality)
- December 7, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
X marks the comic: Tic Tac Toe Jam
Tic Tac Toe Jam
I thought this was pretty clever in the same way as Kerry Callen’s crossword comics was — Matt Madden shares how to play Tic Tac Toe Jam, where two cartoonists create a nine-paneled comic while playing a game of Tic Tac Toe. Each artist has to work their respective letter, “X” or “O,” into their respective panels on the board.
“What appeals to me about the idea is that the constraint works at a few different levels: there’s visual play and word play and there’s also an unusual storytelling challenge since you’re not telling a story in a linear fashion, instead you’re jumping from panel to panel, alternating with someone else, and trying to mold it all into some kind of coherent narrative,” he wrote.
One of the examples he shares, seen above, naturally works in references to the X-Men.
- December 6, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Batman’s secret superpower? Graphic design
The image above, featuring pretty much every variation of the Batman symbol, has been tearing its way across Tumblr for a few days now. I first saw it at Quipsologies, which describes it thusly: “Proof that Batman has one of the greatest logos ever: Recognizable (and equally bad ass) in any incarnation.”
Sounds about right to me!
Here’s something I’d like to throw to the group, though: Which of these Bat symbols do you consider to be the “real” one? Weaned as I was on Tim Burton’s Batman, I have to go with the fifth one down in the third column–that’s the version I myself wear in the classic yellow-on-black t-shirt form. What say you, Batfans?
- October 7, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Business cards for LexCorp, Stark Industries and more
If you’ve ever dreamed of working at LexCorp, Stark Industries or even Acme Labs, here’s the first step to making that dream come true — business cards. Fro Design Co. has created a print featuring business cards for Wayne Enterprises, Duff Breweries, Sterling Cooper, the Dharma Initiative and several other fictional companies.
- September 9, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Todd Klein designs dapper cover for Return of the Dapper Men
Return of the Dapper Men
We already know that Todd Klein is an award-winning letterer for all sorts of comics, and if you’ve been following along, you also know that he’s worked with various writers and artists to design some really awesome prints. So it’s no surprise that he designed the cover for writer Jim McCann and artist Janet Lee’s upcoming graphic novel, Return of the Dapper Men. The book is due from Archaia in November.
“Having a master designer like Todd Klein on board Team Dapper is a great honor,” said Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy in a press release. “I’ve been talking for months about how special this book is, and how much fun it is as an editor to be working on a fairy tale entirely unlike anything seen in comics before. With Todd joining creators Jim McCann and Janet Lee as we bring Dapper down the homestretch to publication, I can promise readers that this is one of those instances where the quality and artistry of this book lives up to the hype!”
- August 11, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Apple
Technology | Apple said it is adding new security measures to its iTunes store after a developer reportedly hacked into numerous customer accounts to boost the ranking of his comic apps, which briefly dominated the book category. The company claims the weekend incident was an isolated — about 400 of its 150 million iTunes users were affected — but customers tell The Wall Street Journal that hackers have hijacked accounts before, with Apple doing little to stop them. [The Wall Street Journal]
Conventions | Heidi MacDonald looks at the tug of war between San Diego, Los Angeles and Anaheim for Comic-Con International, and the tough decision facing event organizers. “This has been by far the most challenging thing we’ve ever done,” said David Glanzer, the convention’s director of marketing and public relations. “Nobody thought we wouldn’t have a decision by June.” The board hopes to make a decision before this year’s event kicks off in two weeks. “If we don’t [make an announcement],” Glanzer said, “a lot of the focus is going to be on that.” [Publishers Weekly]
- July 7, 2010 @ 08:37 AM by Kevin Melrose