You remind me of the babe!

While we’re waiting for Skottie Young to show off his takes on more Bone characters, here’s Young’s interpretation of Jareth, the Goblin King from Labyrinth. “As much as I love that movie,” he writes, “I do not have a ton of love for the David Bowie Goblin King [...] It’s a bit dated. So today I played with that design a bit.”

I feel him. While I loved Jareth’s look from within the ’80s, it hasn’t aged well. It’ll be interesting to see how the as-yet-unnamed artist of Archaia’s graphic novel prequel about Jareth handles it. Since it’s a prequel, it’ll be a younger Goblin King, one whom Archaia’s Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy describes as being “Sarah’s age or a little older” and “kind of a punk in his own way.” He also notes that David Bowie has likeness approval and that whatever the prequel Jareth’s sense of style , he’ll look like a young Bowie.

Whoever the artist is for the first Archaia book, the company does have plans for more, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that one of them could be by Skottie Young.

See what I did there? Skottie Young drew Fone Bone in a post titled “Bone Daily Sketch.”

I really want that title to mean that there are more Bone Daily Sketches coming, because in spite of Young’s statement that the character has “a style and design so solid that if anyone else touches it, they explode and it just looks like the original[...]there is no really making it your own,” I think he’s done just that. I agree that it’s super-rare though, which just shows how strong Young’s style is.

He does hint that “there are some other characters in [the Bone] universe that lend themselves to a bit more freedom,” so hopefully that means we’ll see Young’s versions of those too over the next few days.

Scarlet Spider

Say the name “Scarlet Spider” to a longtime Marvel reader and you’re bound to get a range of reactions. But come the new year, Marvel is hoping all the reactions will be positive and numerous when the new Scarlet Spider series launches on January11. As recently confirmed in Marvel’s Point One one-shot, the new Scarlet Spider is none other than Kaine, the Peter Parker clone recently cured during the Spider Island event. Unlike many of Marvel’s series set in New York, Scarlet Spider will enjoy the unique cityscape of Houston, Texas — one of many factors that has me looking forward to reading it. Before the series gets started though, series artist Ryan Stegman stepped away from his drawing table to take part in this Q&A. In addition to this interview, CBR also is offering a preview of the first issue. After reading this (and enjoying the preview), be sure to check out the recent installment of Comic Book Resources’ “Axel-in-Charge,” where Alonso interviewed Stegman.

Tim O’Shea: How did Marvel approach you about joining the Scarlet Spider creative team? Was getting to work with [series writer] Chris Yost a deciding factor in joining the project?

Ryan Stegman: I had been working on an issue of Amazing Spider-Man and I made it clear as I could to editorial that this is the type of stuff I wanted to be doing. I practically begged. And Steve Wacker said that he would love to have me back and but that ASM was booked up artist-wise for the foreseeable future. I couldn’t argue this, because the artists that they have are fantastic. So one day, out of the blue he called me up and told me about this idea and I was sold. No offense to Chris, but that wasn’t a selling point because I think I was hired before him! Chris turned out to be the icing on the cake.

O’Shea: Can you take folks through designing the new costume?

Stegman: I spent a lot of time thinking about it and thinking about it. I really knew that I wanted something very classic, with very few bells and whistles. I wanted it to read instantly and from a distance. I tried some stuff and sent it over to Skottie Young and he told me he hated it. Haha. But he had the same ideas as me for what we were looking for and so he helped me to refine it and really get rid of all the unnecessary crap that I wanted to put on it.

I also thought it was important to get rid of the hoodie because that’s Ben Reilly’s costume. I’ve taken a lot of heat for it, and I understand everyone’s attachment to it. But I want Kaine to be a different character…More edgy and frightening looking.

O’Shea: Are you inking yourself on the book (if not, who is)? You recently tweeted about experimenting with inking with a Cintiq. Are you hoping to eventually work on Cintiq for your pages, or how?

Stegman: No, I am not inking myself. I’ve been working with an inker since I worked on She-Hulks named Mikey Babinski. He’s a friend of mine and we’ve really developed a great working relationship. I have inked myself before, but I don’t have the patience for it! I can only really work in a much scratchier style or I find it to be no fun. So I’m glad to have someone that does that heavy lifting for me.

I do part of my work on the Cintiq. Layouts and I add my perspective digitally, then print that out onto the Marvel board in light blue and draw over it. I don’t foresee a future where I would draw completely digitally. For one thing, I like selling original art! And for another, I just can’t quite get the control that I need to have on it. It’s close, but not quite there yet.

O’Shea: Not every artist goes through Marvel’s Artist’s Training Program (as you recently discussed with Axel). What kind of lessons did you learn from Klaus Janson, for example?

Stegman: I learned so much in those few days! I learned a lot about storytelling and the business in general. But the biggest thing that Klaus imparted on me was to never take storytelling for granted. You need to make active decisions when laying out your pages. I guess before working with Klaus and Howard [Chaykin] I didn’t realize how much one could really get into that aspect and since then I’ve been obsessed. There’s plenty more that I learned, but that’s the most concrete thing.

O’Shea: Scarlet Spider is set in Houston. Creatively, what kind of visual opportunities does playing in a different cityscape provide?

Stegman: I have to study Houston and find out the feel of it. When I draw New York, I have a certain aesthetic that I go for. It’s generally kind of dirty and cramped. But Houston is much more wide open. So I just try to use the right reference and understand the city and hope it gives off the right feel. I am much more in tune with making Houston accurate. New York you can kind of put a bunch of pieces together and it just feels like New York. But with Houston, I’m paying attention to everything, right down to how they paint their crosswalks.

O’Shea: Not suprisingly, you read the Clone Saga in preparation for this new assignment, did it inspire you somewhat with some ideas to work into the present day project?

Stegman: Oh, yes. Chris and I are always firing emails back and forth to each other with ideas that we have. Just the other day I became obsessed with Ben Reilly’s impact webbing and told Chris that I’d love for that to be something that Kaine has. And it might end up being so!

Reading that stuff helps me to really understand Kaine as a character too. I think that now more than ever I realize how much baggage he has. So it really helps put me in the mindset of, “This is not Peter Parker … at all.”

O’Shea: Rather than give everything away, I was wondering if you care to discuss the Scarlet Spider supporting cast in general terms?

Stegman: We will be creating a lot of the supporting cast and villains from scratch. Which could not be more exciting for me. Today I was working on a character and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if he could make fire snakes?” and then I drew it. Because this is his first appearance! Nobody can say no, because nobody knows who the hell he is yet. And stuff like that is SOOOOO liberating artistically.

O’Shea: Looking at some of the pencils that CBR previewed for the project, one asset (among the many) is the unique way you layout the web lines (such as here) and how the Scarlet Spider uses them. I don’t think I’ve seen another artist be so unique with the lines. When and how did you realize that was an aspect you wanted to play with and exploit dynamically?

Stegman: The first time I saw Todd McFarlane draw webbing I knew that I wanted to draw webbing. Haha. It’s so cool. But beyond that, movement and energy are two things that I am very conscious of in my work. And the webbing just provides me with the opportunity to add movement and energy to the art. When done right, it really breathes. Plus, by putting webbing in the foreground you can create a lot of depth and cool compositions. I intend to keep pushing this stuff. I love it.

O’Shea: It’s clear in reading your discussion with Axel that this title has allowed you to challenge yourself creatively, can you talk about the thrill and challenge of that?

Stegman: As I mentioned earlier, the most challenging and rewarding part is that we get to create so much of it. But beyond that, I feel that this book really plays to my strengths and so I am getting to use all of the tools in my toolbox. And at the same time, I’m trying to add new tools. Drawing a spider-character is an interesting challenge in his own right because there are SO MANY poses you can put him in, given his flexibility. So figuring out new and exciting things to do is always fun.

O’Shea: Do you find Twitter to be an easy means to interact with readers?

Stegman: I love Twitter for that. I think back to my 15 year old self and wonder if my head would have exploded if Twitter existed. Because at that age, all I ever wanted to do was hear directly from my favorite creators. But I had to wait until Wizard Magazine came out. Then the internet came along and I would spend all day in the Wizard chat room on AOL and creators would pop in occasionally and it was the greatest.

Now I’m on the other side of that, and getting to talk to readers is the best. I’m a very extroverted person so it’s very unnatural for me to stay at home and work by myself. But Twitter allows me to talk to people and get it out of my system. I’ve even made friends with quite a few readers on there. Now, when I go to conventions, I get approached all the time, “I’m so-and-so from Twitter” and immediately the ice is broken. You know stuff about each other. So conversations get rolling as though we have known each other for a long time.

O’Shea: Were you able to get an Xbox on Black Friday?

Stegman: Haha. YES! I got one online. It should be arriving today, in fact. I honestly have no idea when I’m going to play it though. I have a 9 month old son and a job where I work 7 days a week. But hopefully I can make some time to play the Kinect dance games or something with my wife.

O’Shea: One looking in the rearview question, do you have a favorite scene from your work on Fear Itself: Hulk Vs. Dracula?

Stegman: In issue 2, the spread at the beginning of the issue was a big moment for me. I felt like I really captured the action that I had been going for in my work all along. Like I always wanted massive action scenes, but when I’d finish them they’d never live up to my expectations. But that one totally did. And it was the Hulk smashing monsters. Nothing better than that.

O’Shea: Any questions you’d like to toss out to Robot 6 readers?

Stegman: My question to Robot 6 readers is: Will you buy Scarlet Spider? PLEASE?!!!

Green Lantern #3

Hey kids, it’s time once again for What Are You Reading?, a weekly look into the reading habits of your Robot 6 bloggers. This week our special guest is Rik Offenberger, comics journalist and public relations coordinator for Archie Comics.

To see what Rik and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.

*****

Brigid Alverson

This week’s reading included two totally different comics about young men haunted by their father’s work-related deaths, which is an odd coincidence because they are otherwise totally different stories.

Spontaneous

I had been reading the single issues of Joe Harris and Brett Weldele’s Spontaneous, but I sort of dropped off in the middle, so this weekend I went back and read all five issues, the entire story arc. It’s a great supernatural thriller about a young man and a slightly wacky investigative reporter tracking down the cause of multiple cases of spontaneous human combustion in a small town. The young man, Melvin, is driven by the memory of his own father exploding into flames before his eyes. The story stretches credibility a bit in places but also includes some good twists, and the pacing is perfect. I am also a huge fan of Weldele’s atmospheric, watercolor-styled art, which is perfect for a story like this. (You can read the whole first issue at Robot 6.)

Saturn Apartments is a sci-fi manga about a window washer in a huge ring-shaped apartment colony that circles the earth like the rings of Saturn. It’s located in the stratosphere, 35,000 feet up, so it’s not in outer space–the earth is right there, but no one lives there any more. Mitsu is the son of a window washer who disappeared while working on the lower side (the earth side), and when he starts at the same job, he wonders if his father wasn’t just trying to get to home to earth–but his first gig is in the exact same spot where his father disappeared, and that first-hand encounter changes his thinking. Saturn Apartments is your basic workplace manga in a sci-fi setting, and the entertainment in this book comes both from the technology and the personalities, especially the customers who’s windows Mitsu cleans. The ring-shaped complex is literally stratified: Wealthier people live in the upper levels, with access to natural light, while the lower class lives at the bottom of the ring in crowded, dark streets. The lack of natural light weakens their immune systems and makes them sickly. Creator Hisae Iwaoka uses this as a structural element in the story but doesn’t get too heavy-handed with it.

Tim O’Shea

Batman: The Brave & The Bold #13

Batman: The Brave & The Bold #13: Once Grant Morrison has praised someone’s writing and picked them to write a Steel back-up for his ongoing Action title, one would think it would be a good time to notice the creator. I’d already been enjoying writer Sholly Fisch’s run to date, but this month’s Calling All Robins may be the writer’s best issue to date. His ability to capture the voices of the various Robins, through the myriad incarnation (plus one Nightwing) of the character is uncanny. Rich Burchett’s prowess at capturing the characters’ look (no easy fit) is the icing on the cake.

Batman & Robin #3: Not sure which I like more in this series; Bruce Wayne as father figure, or Alfred as the grandpa (with espionage savvy). One thing that threw me with Peter Tomasi’s writing in this issue, I think he may have had Daddy Batman use Child (Assassin) Robin as bait in a trap. An odd thing for a father to do to a son, even when it’s Batman.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Essentials Volume 1: I don’t know if it was intentional on the part of Marvel to release this Essentials volume on the same week of Veterans Day, but if not that’s one great coincidence. As much as everyone enjoys Jack Kirby’s art in some of this issues #1-23 collection (plus one annual), I really gained a newfound appreciation for Dick Ayers on this project. One funny quirk, the fact that Stan Lee named a story named “An Eye for An Eye” (issue #19) in which the then two-eyed Nick Fury…does not lose his eye.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #3: I would strongly recommend this book were it not for Jeff Lemire’s annoying narration crutch of S.H.A.D.E.NET (the computer program that runs operations and is seemingly technologically omnipotent or something). The monsters in this issue drawn by Alberto Ponticelli are a reason to check out the book, though. And I hope one day that they can get Arthur Adams (is he Marvel exclusive?) to draw a guest arc.

Black Panther #525: I normally would be overjoyed to have Shawn Martinbrough on art (working with David Liss’ strong script). And while I was quite happy to see him on this assignment, it seems like his art was too rushed in certain points. In fact toward the end of the story, a villain is introduced and I had to re-read the pages, as it appeared a page of the story was missing. But honestly as much as I am displeased by the quality of Martinbrough’s art, on his worst day, the artist outperforms 85 percent of current mainstream artists. And his noir approach is picture perfect, in a general sense, for this series.

Battle Scars #1: As little interest as I had for the Fear Itself event, I was pleasantly surprised by the basic premise of this limited series (Military veteran who is sought after by villains and protected by heroes). But I wonder how much we will see of series like this, given that editor Alejandro Arbona was recently let go by Marvel. Time will tell.

Rik Offenberger

Jughead Double Digest #175

Jughead Double Digest #175: Jughead is always good for a laugh, and this issue is no exception. Jughead is featured as his super hero alter ego Captain Hero. Which is the best name a comedy hero ever came up with. He is join in his super hero adventure by Big Ethel, who has been looking for any way to team up with Jughead since before I was born. Its both fun and funny, it’s everything you want from a comic book. Pal’s and Paws is the following story and I don’t know what Hotdog is such a good foil for Jughead. It’s hard to do animal stories in comics but Hotdog has always been able to bridge the gap between funny animal stories and strait comedy stories. The double digest is the greatest value in comics with more comic pages per dollar then any other format. The balance of the digest is filled with Jughead tales spanning the generations. If you are a new fan then all the stories are new to you, but if you are a long time fan you get to re-experience your childhood love of Jughead as the classic tales cover every decade.

Mega Man #7: Mega Man is a video game-inspired comic that is so good you don’t have to have played the game to enjoy it. However if you are a gamer, Mega Man follows the game closely and adds depth and enjoyment to the game you already love. In this issue Mega Man searches for his kidnapped sister. Clues to clear Dr. Light’s name is coming up empty. Dr. Wily is still at large. Maybe Mega Man can save the day with the help of the six Robot Masters, or are the robots wandering right into Dr. Wily’s latest trap? It’s the mixture of both fun and excitement that Ian Flynn delvers better then anyone else.

Green Lantern #3: Green Lantern was never one of my favorite characters, but it is one of the best comics on the rack. Geoff Johns’ have overcome my concerns about a character who only had to think about what he wanted and his ring would do it for him. Hal Jordan has been put through his paces from one set of personal torture to another. Currently he has been stripped of his ring and finds his non-super life is a total mess. His greatest nemesis, Sinestro has offered Hal his powers back and Hal has to answer to Sinestro. However it’s not entirely clear that Hal will survive the experience. To make matters worse, the Guardians of the Universe, who give Green Lantern’s their powers, are now considering pulling the plug on the entire corps and starting over.

Huntress

Huntress #2: I have been a Huntress fan since she first appeared in DC Super Stars. She started as the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and after the first Crisis she became Helena Bertinelli, a girl whose family was killed by mafia rivals. She has always been a character who could stand up to Batman without flinching. In the current story, Huntress creator Paul Levitz tells a compelling story of Helena Bertinelli’s trip to Naples, where she ends up fighting the mafia to save young girls from a prostitution ring. It’s a full blown, hard core kick ass adventure that should please any comic readers and on top of it all, Marcus To’s art is outstanding.

FemForce #157: FemForce is the first all female team book. Bill Black and team have been building a small but very loyal fan base since 1984. I started reading FemForce with FemForce Special #1. This issue focused on the storyline involving Synn’s loss of control of her powers. The whole FemForce team have repaired to a high-tech government paranormal facility, The Colorado Project, where they hope to preform an experimental medical procedure to restore Synn’s balance. Stardust and Nightveil argue as to whether science or magic is the best cure to Synn’s ills. This issue also introduces N.E.D.O.R. Agents. Set in 1965, the strip answers the question, what if the Standard /Nedor heroes had been revived in 1960s, like the DC and Marvel/Timely heroes were? The store features Fighting Yank, Pyroman, Black Terror, The Commando Cubs, and other actual Golden age heroes, and introduces second-generation heroines Pyrogirl, Candi Future and Fighting Yank, jr. Plus Dinosaur Girl faces an Asian giantess who seems to be the first in an endless wave of new female Axis menaces.

Magneto Not A Hero #1

Magneto Not A Hero #1: Erik Lasher is the best villain in any comic. In that he is so complex that he can be written as both hero and villain. He is the Malcolm X to Professor X’s Martin Luther King. He wants Mutant equality now by any means necessary. He is also a holocaust survivor, who really believes “Never Again.” In this four part story a video surfaces of Magneto murdering members of an anti-mutant group. It’s not clear if the tape is real or a fake. But Erik must answer to the Avengers for the contents of the tape as well as deal with the reaction from within his mutant community. The thing that makes Magneto fun is playing the line between being a mutant rights activist and being a mutant terrorist. Skottie Young does a great job focusing on Magneto and how others deal with him.

Uncanny X-Force #17: In Uncanny X-Force, Rick Remender goes into familiar waters as we are in part 7 of the 8 part Dark Angel Saga. The Saga actually began in June 1986 when Apocalypse first appeared and started a storyline that led to the end of the Angel and the birth of Dark Angel. One of my favorite lines in the book is Warren saying “X-Men don’t kill” especially since Dark Angel does kill and the entire Uncanny X-Force cast are the X-Men who kill. You could even go as far to say they are child killers. The events in Uncanny haven’t matched up with Schism yet. If you are a long -ime X-Men fan there are lots of little payoffs with fond memories of Age of Apocalypse. Even playing up the Phoenix and Weapon X relationship. While I find this all to be great fun and well thought out, I don’t know if it is even accessible to new fans. I hope it is, because this is all the wild violence that made Wolverine a super star in the early days of Uncanny X-Men and now he is leader of a team of like minded mutants.

Acclaimed artists Scott Morse and Skottie Young took their six-month-old sketchblog in a new dimension this morning with the debut of a not-yet-titled webcomic starring Asher and Spittle, anthropomorphic animals described as “our dynamic duo, our Laurel and Hardy, our Artoo and Threepio.”

“We’re creating these one page at a time with no outline to work from: we’re shooting from the hip,” Morse writes. “This could backfire and destroy comics and the internet itself … or succeed and make the internet a better place and comics the medium of choice for storytellers. Or at the very least make you smile twice weekly.”

Morse’s pages will update every Monday, while Young’s will appear every Friday.

Apocalypse Bunny

Regular visitors of Skottie Young’s blog have had a treat lately. Young has announced that’s he’s working on his own graphic novel (in addition to his other, current commitments) and he’s updating his progress in a series of extremely honest, self-reflective posts. There are a couple of things that make this different from other production blogs, a big one being that Young is already a beloved artist with a strong career and plenty of fans who follow it. Most production blogs – and I don’t mean anything negative by this, I promise – are publicity tools as much as anything else. Not that Young’s necessarily above wanting publicity, but the tone of his posts aren’t hyperbolic promotion. They’re educational, as much for Young as for any of his readers. Probably more so.

In his first post, he talked about motivation: Why he wants to create his own graphic novel and why he’s failed in previous attempts. The second post – the one that really got my attention – was more process-related. He wrote about his experience at Trickster in San Diego this year and how it gave him an idea for his next attempt. It’s not just a process-post though, it’s a beautifully told story with a twist ending that made my heart skip a beat when I finished it. He left Trickster with an idea for a cute, very Skottie Young-esque story about an apocalyptic rabbit. I would have bought it for the art and the hopes of some chuckles, but after playing with it for a while Young found the story turning into something else – something deeper –  that I can’t wait to read now.

His most recent post is about the writing process: a topic I find especially fascinating when discussed by people who are drawing their own material. Is it best to write a full script first? Just make it up as you go along? Or something in between? Young doesn’t suggest that there’s a one-size-fits-all answer for everyone, but the way he applies the question to himself – and particularly to his previous failures – is heart-warming and enlightening.

If you haven’t checked out Skottie Young and Scott Morse’s joint sketchblog lately, you’re missing some awesome stuff. One of the coolest things about it – besides just some damn good art – is observing their different approaches to the same subjects. For instance, Morse had a very whimsical take on the Spider-Man villains, but I thought that Young captured the magic of Harry Potter especially well. And though Morse is taking a brief break at the moment, it’s going to be tough to beat Young’s Star Wars drawings – including this homage to VW’s Li’l Vader – when he gets back.

It’s not a competition and I don’t mean to make it sound like it is; I just find it fascinating to watch how these two fantastic artists think differently about these various characters and series.

Legal

Legal | A Rochester, N.Y., businessman and the three men he allegedly hired to steal $40,000 worth of comics have been indicted on federal murder charges in connection with the death last summer of an elderly collector.

Authorities allege that Rico Vendetti hired Rochester residents Arlene Combs, Albert Parsons and Donald Griffin to break into the rural Medina home of Homer Marciniak, a 77-year-old retired janitor, on July 5 to steal his comic collection, described as “his pride and joy.” Police say the burglars entered the house in the pre-dawn hours after cutting the telephone line. When Marciniak awoke and surprised them, he was allegedly beaten and knocked to the floor. Although his injuries weren’t life-threatening, Marciniak died of a heart attack later that day. The four defendants face mandatory terms of life in prison if convicted. [The Buffalo News]

The Wayside Manor

Awards | UCLA sophomore Diana Huh has been awarded the 2011 Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship by the National Cartoonists Society Foundation. Huh, an illustrator for the UCLA newspaper and creator of the webcomic The Wayside Manor, will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award weekend in Boston in May. [press release]

Retailing | Uel Carter, who worked on and off at now-defunct Berkeley, Calif., institution Comic Relief, is partnering with Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen and others to launch Fantastic Comics at 2026 Shattuck Ave. Named for Larsen’s first “Next Issue Project” comic, the store will open on May 1. [Berkeleyside]

Retailing | The Easton, Pa., bomb squad was called to Sacker’s Finest in Post-Apocalyptic Goods, a comics and record store, on Wednesday after a customer traded in a World War II mortar shell. The retailer accepts military memorabilia, but an employee wanted to make sure the device wasn’t live. Officers reportedly didn’t think the mortar was live, but took it with them. [The Express-Times]

Retailing | Rachel Arnett spotlights Chapel Hill Comics in North Carolina. [The Daily Tar Heel]

Creators | Action Comics writer Paul Cornell chats briefly about getting inside the head of Lex Luthor: “Lex is a couple notches below being a really great hero, from being actually Tony Stark. Those two have so many similarities, but in these couple notches are all of these bad things. Lex would like to think that he protects the planet from a dangerous, insufferable superpowered alien with heat vision, who will one day become cold and terrifying.” [io9.com]

Creators | Skottie Young is interviewed on video. [Schoolism]

Green Goblin by Scott Morse

Comic creators Skottie Young and Scott Morse have teamed up to launch a brand-new sketch blog called SkottieScott where “you’ll get a daily(?!) punch in the face consisting of character sketches by everyone’s favorite comics makers.” They’ve been drawing Spider-Man’s villains over the past few days, so head over there to see the Green Goblin, Kraven, Mysterio and more.

Steve Niles

There’s some disagreement about where it started, but it couldn’t have been much earlier than Steve Niles’ blog post, which is where I first heard about it. Some credit Eric Powell and it’s true that this is a drum that he’s been beating for a while now. As has Robert Kirkman and others. But Niles’ post last week called for specific action (that doesn’t necessarily require walking away from well-paying corporate gigs) and inspired a flurry of opinions and commentary about supporting creator-owned comics and what that really means. Readers and creators alike have been talking so excitedly about it that some have called it a revolution. But is that really what it is? And if so, a revolution of what? Since most of the books this column covers are creator-owned, these are good questions to try to answer here.

When Kevin quoted Niles’ post for Robot 6, he pulled this piece of it: “Can I say something I’ve wanted to say for a long time? If you like something, tell your friends. If you love it, tell the world. But if you hate something, just throw it away, don’t buy it again and move on. We spend way too much time tearing shit down. I just want to try the other direction for a while.”

The commentary on that quote was split between defensive and supportive. “I don’t get that logic,” wrote one person. “That’s like going to see a movie and finding out it’s really, really horrible. Then you hear that a dozen of your friends are going to see that same movie. Wouldn’t you want to warn them about what they are about to endure, the time they will waste, the money they will lose, etc, etc?”

Micah S. Harris and Loston Wallace's Lorna: Relic Wrangler

It’s a good point. Should comics commentary be 100% positive or is there room for serious criticism? I think that writer B Clay Moore’s comment on that same post speaks to this. “I’d love to see sniggering snark eliminated from comic book blogging and reviewing. A renewed focus on promoting the positive is something anyone should be able to get behind.” Without putting words into Moore’s mouth, I don’t hear him saying that there’s no place for serious criticism. For him, it seems to be more about the tone. I would agree.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about manga-blogger David Welsh’s distinction between criticism and reviewing. “Reviewers are offering advice to consumers,” he wrote, “while critics are engaging in a more canonical discussion.” Both of those are valid reasons to write about comics and neither is inherently nobler than the other. But they do have different relationships to less-than-positive commentary.

Criticism, by Welsh’s definition, requires some objective distance between the comic and the person writing about it. The critic has to be able to talk about what works and what doesn’t in a way that doesn’t take into consideration how much money was spent on it.

Kody Chamberlain's Sweets

Reviewing, on the other hand, which is what the vast majority of online comics commentary is, is intimately tied to personal investment, whether financial or just the amount of time spent consuming the story. As the commentator said above, “Wouldn’t you want to warn your friends about what they were about to endure?”

Well, sure. But there are different ways to do that. You can calmly share your opinions and talk about what didn’t work for you without what Moore calls the “sniggering snark.” Too many readers and reviewers seem to take malicious glee in tearing apart comics that they aren’t enjoying without seriously engaging the work. Granted, not all work deserves serious engagement, but it’s not hard to tell which books those are and to avoid them. After a point, it becomes a case of “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” If you know you don’t like a particular storyteller or type of story or tone of comic, but you read it anyway, you sort of lose the right to be taken seriously when you complain about it, don’t you? As another commentator to Kevin’s post said, “Maybe there’d be a lot less whining and curmudgeonry in Internet comic fan circles if people just read and talked about the comics they liked, and stopped buying the comics they didn’t.”

Not everyone agrees of course. That last commenter I quoted prefaced his remark by saying that he’s been told his opinion is naïve. And there’s certainly a reason that there’s so much snark on the Internet: people love to read it. I tend to be a positive-thinking hippie like Niles, but I’ve also caught myself chuckling at Abhay Khosla and Tucker Stone from time to time. I don’t regularly read those guys, because it gets to be a bit much after a review or two, but they’re excellent writers and I do get the attraction.

Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rahsan Ekedal's Echoes

I kind of feel about them like I do hot peppers though. A little in the dish adds some zing that I appreciate and even like, but too much is overwhelming and ruins the meal. There are too many folks trying to be Khosla and Stone and it’s destroyed the online comics discussion for a lot of people.

Unfortunately, the traditional response to that hasn’t been very helpful either. Complaining about snark is just as useless as the snark itself. Less so, because it doesn’t even have entertainment value. So the Internet discussion has largely degenerated into a bunch of people complaining about everything. That’s not news to anyone, I know, but this is what I see Niles and others trying to change.

When I hear words like “creator-owned comics revolution,” my first thought is that creator-owned comics are going to take down Marvel and DC as the top-selling comics in the US. I would love to see creator-owned books sharing the Direct Market best-seller lists with the Big Two, but I don’t know how realistic that is. At best, it’s a long term goal. (It’s already happened with self-contained graphic novels and bookstores, but the focus of the current discussion seems to be mostly on serialized periodicals and the DM.) So it’s not particularly valuable to see the current mood as the start of some kind of Big Two takedown, but then again, Niles’ comments don’t even remotely suggest that. What he’s recommending is revolutionary in another way.

Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's The Sixth Gun

Skottie Young clearly identified the real problem on his Twitter feed. In response to Eric Powell’s continued (as Powell calls it) “farting and bitching,” Young wrote, “I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. Will you be providing actual solutions or just old fashion bitching?” Later, to Scott Wegener, Young wrote, “If you were to write detailed blogs about said books and why you like them, I and probably others would retweet. This would help direct me. Telling me what’s wrong doesn’t actually give me a direction. Tell me what’s right leads me to it.”

Later, on his blog, he said, “As comic creators, we’re lucky to have our fans, and in the day of instant social networking we have their ears on stand-by. So I’ll put out the call for everyone who has a blog or Twitter account. Spread the word on the books you read and enjoy that may not get the attention you think they deserve. It’s not about dissing the books that get attention, it’s about propping up the ones that need more. Give links to Amazon, or your local shop that has it in stock.” This is also what Niles is recommending.

In that initial post that Kevin quoted, Niles also wrote, “All I’m doing lately is attempting to call attention to creator-owned books. I think plain and simple, things are going to get even tougher out there and we have to find our place. Personally I believe there is severe lack of cooperation among creators. There’s a very dog-eat-dog mentality in comics sometimes and I think all we harm in the end is ourselves. My simplistic solution right now is to support as many of my fellow creators as possible. We just don’t have access to publicity budgets, so simple grassroots networking can help us all a great deal.”

Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener's Atomic Robo

To that end, Niles has announced that he’s going to start a column devoted to spotlighting creator-owned work and has requested that creators contact him about potential coverage. Young has already begun putting action to his thoughts on his own blog by recommending I Kill Giants and promising every Monday to continue showcasing a different book that he’s enjoying. And he’s rubbed off on at least Scott Wegener who also resolves to write occasional recommendations for books he’s enjoying.

That’s a revolution. Wegener in particular admits that this isn’t his default setting. For creators to take an active role in promoting the work of other, worthy creator-owned projects is huge and I’m looking forward to it. I hope it catches on in a big way. I’ll be closely following the recommendations of Niles, Young, and Wegener and any other creators who are willing to jump on board.

It’s one thing to read the opinions of reviewers and critics. Regardless of their respective abilities to put thoughts into words, their opinions only hold so much weight. But when a creator whose work I admire takes the time to recommend something that he or she is enjoying, I notice that more. “If you like my stuff,” it says, “you may enjoy this too.” After all, it was Steve Niles who introduced me to Charles Burns and Sam Hiti who turned me on to Richard Sala.

The creators can only do so much though. A revolution in their way of thinking and approaching their community is important, but it only truly affects the industry with the participation of readers. For my part, I promise to buy one new comic a week based on the recommendations of Niles, Young, Wegener, and anyone else who chooses to join them. This week, I’ll go to my shop looking for I Kill Giants. Chris Smits and Patrick Brower offer an additional resource in their Creator-Owned Comics blog, but however you get your recommendations and whichever creator-owned book you choose to try, I hope that that some of you will join me.

by Guy Davis

Although I’ve never been to the Emerald City Comicon itself, I dig the artwork they get for the Monsters & Dames art book. Case in point: the above illustration by Guy Davis.

This year’s book once again benefits Seattle Children’s Hospital, and includes contributions from Geof Darrow, Cully Hamner, Humberto Ramos, Frank Cho, Yanick Paquette, Skottie Young, Aaron Lopresti, Cliff Chiang, Mike McKone and many more. After the jump you’ll find their official PR, along with a few more images.

*****

Debuting again at the upcoming Emerald City Comicon (ECCC) will be the 2011 edition of the shows popular MONSTERS & DAMES art book. The 2011 book not only features an amazing cover by acclaimed illustrator Adam Hughes, but has expanded to a whopping SIXTY (60) pages of brand new illustrations by some of the top illustrators in comics and animation!

Since its inception in 2009, the MONSTERS & DAMES art books and auctions have raised over $10,000.00 for Seattle Children’s Hospital, a premier child health care & pediatric center, recognized as one of the leading hospitals for children. The art book has sold out each year at the convention.

“Helping bring this book to life each year is an incredible experience,” says ECCC Convention Director Jim Demonakos. “Being able to not only create a fun, collectible art book that fans love and at the same time raise a huge amount of money to benefit local children is very rewarding.”

The full-color, 9″x12″, 60-page MONSTERS & DAMES hardcover is limited to 1000 individually numbered copies. The 2011 book features contributions from some of the top creators in the industry, including JG Jones, Geof Darrow, Cully Hamner, Bruce Timm, Humberto Ramos, Guy Davis, Todd Nauck, Frank Cho, Yanick Paquette, Skottie Young, Aaron Lopresti, Cliff Chiang, Mike McKone, Cameron Stewart, Erik Larsen, Chris Giarrusso, Pete Woods, Jonathan Hickman, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway and dozens more! For the complete
list of creators involved in this amazing art book, visit http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/monstersndames.php

The Ninth Annual EMERALD CITY COMICON, newly expanded to three days, will be taking place March 4th-6th, 2011 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in beautiful downtown Seattle, WA.

by Skottie Young

By Humberto Ramos

Chris Giarrusso

Cover by Adam Hughes

by Aaron Lopresti

Art by Skottie Young

“What is a kid comic? Did we grow up on ‘kid’ comics? Who knows? I think we grew up with comics that could be read by anyone. I got started reading comics when Image started. I was 13-14 years old and seeing bodies ripped apart and child molesters getting murdered in the pages of Spawn. Funny thing is, I could buy those at Toys R Us. Was that material meant for kids? Again, I don’t know. But I was a kid, I read it, and I loved it. I could name 50 other books that rode that line and at the end of the day, I was reading. I was learning and discovering and learning that i may be able to do something with my ‘doodling.’ Some people think that violence in comics isn’t what is needed to get kids to get off the X-Box and pick up a comic. I say that those people don’t really know what kids are playing on their X-Box. If anything our comics are way too tame for them. We all have grand ideas about how to make the perfect comics for kids. I say they already exist.”

– artist Skottie Young, continuing the latest round of debate about the availability of comics appropriate for kids

Darwyn Cooke

“A ton of guys who do super violent, adult books complaining about no books are made for kids. Odd trend. Me? I just go make a book for kids.” – Skottie Young, via Twitter.

I love this comment. Young doesn’t actually call anyone hypocritical, he just notes the strangeness of complaining about something that you have the power to change, but are choosing not to. I don’t know; is that the definition of hypocrisy? Maybe it is.

I think there’s a connotation though that hypocrisy involves willful deception and Young’s not accusing anyone of that. Without knowing exactly whom he’s referring to, I can imagine that a creator like that simply hasn’t thought through the disconnection between his words and actions. I don’t have to contribute time or money to the alleviation of world hunger in order to state correctly that it’s a horrible problem. And not contributing doesn’t necessarily make me dishonest. I can truly, legitimately believe that there’s a problem without taking a single step to solve it. And perhaps I believe that by drawing attention to the problem, I am contributing in some way to its solution. But – and I think that this is Young’s point – it’s a very tiny contribution and my complaining loses any power it had once people realize that that’s all I’m doing to help.

Like I said, I don’t know for sure whom Young was referring to, but I imagine that it’s at least indirectly inspired by Darwyn Cooke’s comments at Fan Expo. At the time Young wrote that, Twitter was all a… well, atwitter with folks’ responding to Cooke’s statement from a variety of angles. Even if Young wasn’t talking about Cooke, he was likely referring to someone who was. But since I don’t know, I want to be careful about how I talk about this. Young’s comment does apply to Cooke’s statement, but I don’t want to suggest that Young specifically had Cooke in mind when he made it.

After the break: So what was Young talking about and what does Cooke have to do with it?

Batwoman and The Question

Here’s an example of why care is called for: Cooke got a lot of heat for saying, “I don’t want to see characters who’ve been straight for sixty years become lesbians overnight.” Though that understandably upset some people who thought Cooke was lumping lesbians in with a list of items that cater to “the perverted needs of 45-year-old men” (J Bone explains that that’s not what Cooke is doing), far more commentary has been spent on trying to figure out just which character Cooke was talking about and then defending that character’s specific outing. If it’s Batwoman, she’s okay because she’s not the same woman who used to hit on Batman all the time. It it’s Renee Montoya, she’s okay because she hasn’t been around that long. If it’s someone else… who the hell are you talking about, Darwyn? I’ve got to know so I can shoot down your argument.

If what I believe isn’t a strong enough position to stand on its own without punching holes in off-the-cuff remarks someone made when cornered at a convention, I shouldn’t be making comments about it. So, it doesn’t matter if Skottie Young was talking specifically about Darwyn Cooke or Erik Larsen or anyone else. His point is still worth considering: people who complain about the lack of kids’ books – and who are in a position to do something about it – are sort of morally obligated to do something about it.

Richard Parker's The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke

Which brings us back to Darwyn Cooke. His comments are an explanation about why he doesn’t want to go back to superhero comics “in any big way.” If we understand that his laundry list of items was hastily constructed on the spot, we can forget about the details and focus on the big picture of his argument: that superhero comics have become too dark for a general, all-ages audience. And since we were just talking about this a few weeks ago in response to similar comments from Robert Kirkman, it’s a topic worth revisiting from Cooke and Young’s angles.

Cooke’s major work right now is adapting Robert Parker’s Hunter novels. Not the most kid-friendly stuff perhaps. But I don’t think that necessarily condemns him in light of Young’s statement, because where Cooke is specifically talking about superhero comics (and ones from DC and Marvel in particular), Young appears to be talking about comics in general. Cooke isn’t saying that that there are no comics made for kids; he’s just expressing displeasure that DC and Marvel’s main lines of superhero comics aren’t made for them. We know that he’s pitched ideas for kid-friendly superhero comics and been rejected, so he’s making a reasonable choice by not contributing to those lines until things change.

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's Wizard of Oz

My observation that Young must be talking about comics in general is based on his major work right now: Marvel’s adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. That puts a hole in his statement that we could pick at and make bigger if we wanted to. Since we don’t know which creators he’s talking about or what their specific complaints are, we don’t know if they’re complaining about comics in general or – like Cooke – superhero comics in particular. If it’s comics in general… well, they’re just wrong. There are tons of comics – like Wizard of Oz – that are made for kids. If it’s superhero comics, then Young’s statement doesn’t hold up all that well when we realize that the “book for kids” he’s talking about isn’t actually a superhero comic at all.

But I’m not interested in picking apart Young’s comment. I don’t really care how well it bears under scrutiny as an argument; its use is in holding up a lens through which to view this discussion about comics for kids and the creators – like Cooke and Kirkman and Larsen – who are complaining about them. Are these creators putting actions to their words? I’d argue that Cooke is when he refuses to do any more comics in the genre and for the companies he’s complaining about (besides, he’s already given us New Frontier). Kirkman and Larsen may be as well, though they’ve formed their complaints in such as way as to make DC and Marvel the only possible offenders while leaving themselves free to go as dark as they want with their own stuff.

I’m still not sure that’s fair, but neither does it relieve DC and Marvel of blame. You’d think that if anyone could force DC and Marvel into making comics for kids a major part of their publishing plans, it would be talents like Darwyn Cooke and Skottie Young. That they aren’t able to do that is alarming.

Junk

Artist Skottie Young, whose The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from Marvel is up for a couple of Eisner awards this year, sends word that he’ll have copies of his artbook, Junk, in San Diego next week.

“This book is filled with everything you could want out of an art book. Sketches, doodles, experiments, paintings, concepts, digital drawing, success, failures, and everything in between. JUNK ONE gives you a look at the personal work of a fan favorite comic book artist and cartoonist,” reads the book’s description on Bigcartel.com, where it can be purchased online. “JUNK ONE is a limited edition art book of only 1000 copies.”

And speaking of Young, he’s working on a new graphic novel and has started chronicling its creation on his blog and in video form. Check out entries here, here, here and here.

C.B. Cebulski and friend

One of the most welcome aspects of yesterday’s big DC digital-comics announcement from a creator-rights perspective is that “creator incentive payments” are a part of it. In his interview with CBR’s Kiel Phegley, co-publisher Jim Lee compared the payments to the royalties creators receive for print sales, saying “the freelance community will be happy that they’re being compensated in every way their stories are being sold.” That aspect of the arrival of digital comics publishing has been shrouded in mystery up until now, so DC’s move is a big first step.

Or is it? On his Twitter account, Marvel talent scout C.B. Cebulski took issue with a letter apparently sent out to creators by DC touting the move:

Sorry, DC, but despite what your nice letter says, you are NOT “the first to announce a participation plan for talent” for digital comics. I’m not sniping at DC, just correcting misinformation that’s being sent out freelancers, some who work for both companies.

Putting aside for the moment whether Cebulski was sniping or not, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort took an even blunter approach, as is his wont, when discussing the move with several readers:

So today, DC invented the digital comic and payments for same. Interesting approach, taking a leadership position from the back of the line. I don’t like it when they get press for something that isn’t true. But good on them for entering the digital arena. Not sure what catch-all contract you mean, but yes, Marvel is paying digital incentives.

Meanwhile, Cebulski’s above tweets were subsequently retweeted or replied to by Joe Quesada, Brian Michael Bendis, Andy Diggle, and Skottie Young.

Add it all up and it clearly indicates that some sort of royalty plan is in place at Marvel. But as far as I can tell, aside from Brevoort’s explicit statement, the company hasn’t said word one about it in public, whatever it may be.

The CBR mothership is looking into the story — as soon as they know more, you’ll know more.

Batman and Robin by Jim Lee

This is a special “WonderCon + more” edition of Thin Wallets, as we round up publishing news from last weekend’s con, plus a few other items of note …

• DC Comics announced that they are replacing the long-delayed All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder with Dark Knight: Boy Wonder. The book will still be by the creative team of Frank Miller and Jim Lee, and is due in February 2011.
• IDW has picked up the license to make comics based on HBO’s southern vampire show True Blood. The show’s creator, Alan Ball, is helping to develop the stories.
• IDW will also release another version of their Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer collection — Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer: Artist Edition. The oversized hardcover will be printed as the same size as Stevens’ original art, approximately 11 by 16 inches. “You’ll be able to see his beautiful blue pencil work, you’ll be able to see the stats, all of it,” Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier said. “It’ll be the closest thing you ever get to Dave Stevens original art.”
• Judd Winick announced that he is writing a new Barry Ween book. “Thankfully, after, like, an eight-year hiatus, I’m actually – swear to God – I’m actually doing more ‘Barry Ween.’ I’m writing it now,” he said at his spotlight panel. Barry Ween is heading into space in the new story.
• Image Comics is collecting The Crusades, by Steven T. Seagle and Kelley Jones, into a hardcover. The series was originally published by Vertigo. Seagle is also teaming up with artist Marco Cinello for a children’s book called Frankie Stein.
• Image is also publishing a one-shot by Joe Casey and Chris Burnham called Officer Downe.
• Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are working on two new projects for an as-yet-unrevealed publisher — Random Acts of Violence and Time Bomb.
• Ethan Van Sciver is bringing back his first creator-owned series, Cyberfrog, at Wildstorm. He’s also working with Gail Simone on a project.
• BOOM! Studios is working on a comic book version of Tim Burton’s recent Alice in Wonderland film. They also announced a western miniseries this weekend called Pale Horse.
• Dylan Meconis’ Family Man webcomic is being collected into print. You can pre-order it now.
• Two-Step, the Wildstorm miniseries by Warren Ellis, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, will finally be collected in November.
• Jeffrey Brown is working on a second Incredible Change-Bots book.
• Skottie Young’s The Adventures of Bernard the World Destroyer, which he previously posted on his blog, is now available in print.
• Roger Langridge is collecting his old Doctor Sputnik strips into a book that he plans to sell when he hits the United States in June.
]]> http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/04/thin-wallets-fat-bookshelves-a-publishing-news-roundup-3/feed/ 0 http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/12/slash-print-keenspot-apple-tablet-talk-and-more/ http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/12/slash-print-keenspot-apple-tablet-talk-and-more/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:00:01 +0000 JK Parkin http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/?p=30356 Webcomics | Fleen’s Gary Tyrell dives into some of the changes that the webcomics host Keenspot is making to its business model starting next July. Tyrell talks to Keenspot CEO Chris Cosby and some creators who are currently hosted on the site, and also posts an internal memo that describes the changes. I’d quote from his post, but really, if you’re interested, go read the whole thing.


Maya

Webcomics | Artist Chris Noeth launched a webcomic called Maya, which he describes as “a science fiction story with superhero elements.” He’s also hosting a column at InvestComics.com about the making of the strip.

Digital comics | Tokyopop polls the audience on how much they’d be willing to pay for online manga. Chris Butcher questions whether the three options they offer in the poll are really the best options. Tokyopop’s marketing manager shows up in the comments section, which also has a bit of an interesting side discussion about Fair Use when it comes to online comic reviews.

Tablets | Are we getting closer to an official announcement from Apple on some sort of e-tablet? Peter Kafka reports that Apple “has told some of its key developers to prepare versions of their iPhone apps that will work on a device with a larger screen, in time for an event next month.” He also connects the dots between what he’s heard and Apple booking space in San Francisco at the end of January.

Webcomics | Tom Spurgeon continued his holiday interview series by talking to Shaenon Garrity about Achewood.

Webcomics | Artist Skottie Young has been posting a series of one-panel strips titled The Adventures of Bernard the World Destroyer over on his blog for the past few weeks.

Webcomics | Sparkplug points out that comics creator David King has revamped his website, where you can read his Danny Dutch strips, now titled Reliable Comics’ Laugh Menu.

]]> http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/12/slash-print-keenspot-apple-tablet-talk-and-more/feed/ 0 http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/skottie-young-guest-draws-the-abominable-charles-christopher/ http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/skottie-young-guest-draws-the-abominable-charles-christopher/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:09:44 +0000 JK Parkin http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/?p=26075

The Abominable Charles Christopher

Earlier this week artist Skottie Young filled in for his friend Karl Kerschl on The Abominable Charles Christopher, Kerschl’s webcomic about a a sweet but somewhat dim sasquatch-like creature and his forest friends.

This is the second time Young has filled in for his friend, as he explained on his own blog:

Karl reached out and asked me to do a guest strip for his webcomic while he was out on some giant world tour where people are worshiping him and what not. I was flattered and agreed instantly. Then I realized that his wasn’t the first time I would be there to help save Karl in a rough spot. (just kidding, he needed no saving, and i’m convinced he actually had enough strips to cover his time away and just posted my out of pitty…haha) Eons ago, when I was waiting tables at Ed Debevics in Chicago, I got my first phone call from Marvel asking me if I could do a fill in issue in the ICEMAN mini series. And artist named… you guessed it, Karl Kerschl had some life things going on and they needed someone to fill in. I had never drawn a comic book in my life and was about to do my first for Marvel. And the rest is history…or still happening, or something like that.

After seeing the strip, now I really just want to see Young doing a webcomic of his own.

]]> http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/skottie-young-guest-draws-the-abominable-charles-christopher/feed/ 2 http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/09/straight-for-the-art-watch-skottie-young-draw-a-cover/ http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/09/straight-for-the-art-watch-skottie-young-draw-a-cover/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:01:03 +0000 JK Parkin http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/?p=22093

On his blog, artist Skottie Young shares a video of his digital drawing process for the cover to one of his Oz books for Marvel. “I then print this out and ink it traditionally with brush and ink,” he says.

]]> http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/09/straight-for-the-art-watch-skottie-young-draw-a-cover/feed/ 0 http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/07/straight-for-the-art-a-double-shot-of-deadpool/ http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/07/straight-for-the-art-a-double-shot-of-deadpool/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:30:12 +0000 JK Parkin http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/?p=15690

Deadpool #900

Let’s kick off the day with not one, but two cool covers that hit the web yesterday featuring everyone’s favorite Merc with a Mouth … above is 100 Bullets cover artist Dave Johnson’s cover for Deadpool #900. The second is after the jump …

*****

MTV’s Splash Page spoke with Joe Kelly about writing the character again as he guests stars with Spider-Man, and revealed this cover to Amazing Spider-Man #611 by Skottie Young:



Amazing Spider-Man #611

I give both covers a thumb’s up as well.

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