The International Interconnectivity of Comics

Kean Soo recently made a post over on the Flight Comics blog about the release of a book in a series by French artists Bannister (previously featured in Flight) and Nykko.

Something very interesting that has happened since the world of comics hit the internet was that the community of artists that used to be localized by regions became a global network of cartoonists. This emergence of a global community of writers has definitely influenced the comics market. With artists on one side of the world promoting those on the other, young readers and artists can have a taste of a world of comics previously not immediately available.

“A note to our French reading audience: Bannister and Nykko’s second book of their award- winning Enfants d’ailleurs series hits stores today in France! If your local book or comic store imports French BDs, now would be a good time to ask them to order in a couple of copies, or you can order a copy directly from Amazon.fr.”

Of course, one needs to be able to read another language, but the barrier of oceans is brought down by a simple click.

Stories for Children

Kean Soo made a post over at the Flight blog a few days ago commenting on the interviews conducted with Hayao Miyazaki during his 1999 American tour promoting his film “Princess Mononoke.”  Soo makes a specific comment about how

“[Miyazaki's] thoughts on sci-fi anime and the importance of creating entertainment for children and future generations are especially interesting.”

In the video itself, Miyazaki addresses the fact that he dislikes sci-fi anime because it “flaunts despair,” and doesn’t show a compassion for fellow man.  He says that in “Princess Mononoke,”  he purposefully discarded the formulas of making an entertaining film (such as the pace, which makes the film over two hours long) to create a piece of work in which he addresses the hard questions for children.  He raises the question of the direction of the world and whether man is doing the right thing or not, while still reinforcing the idea that this film is for children (granted, not younger children).  In a world where hypermediacy tends to creep into our everyday life, with everything we would possibly want to know (that is, not necessarily what we need to know), I find that it is these things, be it film, or stories, or music, that slow us down that provide us with more of what we need.  How far can we take this creation of art to what we want to be real?  Is it not stepping back and seeing what is actually becoming of our world more important?  Perhaps this immediate, hypermedia society, while it is the next step in the creation of communications, isn’t the appropriate one.  Just something to think about within the context of modern communications.

Artist’s Steve Hamaker’s First Tutorial Video

Kazu Kibuishi over at Bolt City has posted a link to Steve Hamaker’s first instructional video (in what he hopes to be a series) of tutorials explaining the process of digital coloring and painting for comics.

“Steve Hamaker, the colorist for Jeff Smith’s Bone graphic novel series, was incredibly helpful when I had questions about the color production process on Amulet,”

says Kazu, who has recently completed the production of Amulet (scheduled for release through Scholastic in Spring 2008.)    It excites me to see artists in the field working to help one another out.

Comics and Cartoons

Flight Comics is a blog run by several artists who contribute to the the Flight series, a yearly publication of short stories in the comics form edited by Kazu Kibuishi. Often posted are shows in which contributing artists will be featured, interesting interviews with artists about their craft and ideas, and new engagements of artists, such as new comics, publications, and online pieces. Always fun to explore the comics community.

Cartoon Brew is a blog run by Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi. They make posts about news within the cartooning and animation industry, mostly within the traditional animation sector. There is always something interesting to read, and one finds that the artists behind the animations are truly people worth noting. Be sure to check it out.

Class Assignment 1

The internet has become a forum for the minds of many, just as physical existence itself is but a forum for the interaction between what we call minds. Since the printing press, there has not been a medium through which an opinion or piece of information could be as speedily and easily propagated. That is, from the vast jump of writing multiple copies of something one letter at a time to the production of the printed page, the equally immense leap from the printing process to the publication of a blog creates a completely new method for the expression of ideas and opinions. With the modern simplicity of pressing a button and the applied intellect of communicating an idea through writing, an entry could be multiplied millions of times instantaneously on millions on computers with a connection to the internet. Before the emergence of the blog, a writer with an idea first needed to be approved before he could go through the process of being published for a mass audience, or if through a free press, the hard work of actually printing the pages made publishing a long and arduous process. The rise of personal blogging and journaling sites allow users with simple word processing skills to publish at the speed at which they can produce works. Most sites provide the software for publishing on a seamless and simple web page, and the click of a button posts it to an address where it is accessible through the internet. Being read, of course, is a completely different process of networking and self-marketing (or, in all truth, corporate marketing), where as a writer going through a publisher had the comfort of being endorsed and marketed by the publisher, who was after a profit, and would ensure sales. These are just aspects of one of the differences between blogs and traditional print.