Currently playing: Strangeways - Living in the Modern World
Proudly in my tenth Cola free year!
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Sunday, December 08, 2013
The cover of the Yorkton Kaleidoscope
Artwork that I digitally painted is on the front page of the Yorkton weekly newspaper! I'll file THAT under "Things I never imagined I'd be saying"! 🙂 The art is from the book The Purple Bean by Abigail & Justin Shauf - my friend Justin Shauf illustrated his daughter's story - and I got to colour it! Way to go, guys!
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
On the cover of the Rolling Stone.... (or Digital Webbing Presents)
For the last ten years, Digital Webbing Presents has been one of the more well known and respected indie comic book anthologies. Digital Webbing Presents #7 was released today, and I was the colourist for the cover.
It's not the cover of the Rolling Stone, but it's close enough!
My friend MJ Fletcher is the creator of the Doorknob Society, and has published three novels you can get for your Kobo or Kindle! This issue of DWP features the first appearance of the Doorknob Society universe in a comic book. I haven't read it yet, but I have no reason to doubt that it will be as exciting as the books have been.
I was very honoured to be asked to do this piece, and was happy to work over the fantastic art of Wendell Cavalcanti and Eric Dotson.
You can purchase Digital Webbing Presents on Comixology! It's only $1.99!
Currently playing: Prism - Cover Girl
Proudly in my seventh Cola free year!
It's not the cover of the Rolling Stone, but it's close enough!
Click for a larger image
I was very honoured to be asked to do this piece, and was happy to work over the fantastic art of Wendell Cavalcanti and Eric Dotson.
You can purchase Digital Webbing Presents on Comixology! It's only $1.99!
Currently playing: Prism - Cover Girl
Proudly in my seventh Cola free year!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Full Circle
Thanks to Facebook, I recently got a chance to acquire a great little piece of my own personal history.
Almost fifteen years ago, I got my start in the comic book business at Lovern Kindzierski's Digital Chameleon, doing colour separations on DC Comics on the overnight shift.
It was a dream job for me. To the right is a photo of 22 year old Donovan, about to head off to my first night of work in the comics industry. I was still living in my dorm room after finishing up my Fine Arts degree.
Colour Separators, as we were technically called, are all but extinct now. (Feel free to skip this paragraph if comic book colouring history sounds dull to you!). Currently, colourists use programs like Adobe Photoshop to add their hues to the lineart. In the olden days, colourists painted xeroxed lineart and created a work of production art called a colour guide, which was then sent to the Separator who created four separate sheets of film for each of the colours printed (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black). (Neal Adams claims that in the 1960's, DC Comics actually had housewives in Connecticut doing their colour separations!). Our role at Digital Chameleon back in 1998 was a transitional phase - we did the colouring and modelling in Photoshop the way that books are coloured now, but the colour choices were dictated to us by the colour guides, created by colouring veterans, many of whom had not yet learned Photoshop.
My first night on the job was incredible. I got straight to work on the first splash page of Action Comics #746. This was the big leagues. Action Comics made it's debut in 1938 with the first appearance of Superman. While Superman was not my favourite character to read about, he IS an icon. And lo and behold, on the first page I was to work on was a full page drawing by superstar Canadian artist Stuart Immonen of Superman himself. Strong. Powerful. Mopping the deck of a cruise ship. (Okay, so it wasn't the most exciting, action packed page, but that didn't matter!). By the end of my 8 hour shift, my first page was complete. I was soon to learn that taking 8 hours to complete a page was unacceptably slow, but hey, it was my first day on the job! Cut me some slack!
A decade and a half later, I accidentally stumbled across the Facebook profile for the colourist of that issue, Glenn Whitmore. Mr. Whitmore managed the Herculean task of creating painted colour guides for FOUR Superman books each month, every one of them coming to my shift at Digital Chameleon for separation. Having worked on so much of this man's work during the embryonic stages of my colouring career had a big influence on me, and I was happy to have the opportunity to tell him this.
After some chatting, Glenn was kind enough to send me the original colour guide I'd launched my journey on. It's still got my name on the back, printed in my atrocious printing style. You'd never know I was an artist by that chicken scratching! (Phoenix was the name of my computer workstation).
Here's a shot of the actual colour guide and the printed comic, side by side.
The colour guide is really a fantastic artifact of the old days of comic creation. A wonderful piece of messy, beautiful production art, marked up in the margin with notes from the editor and colourist. Below is a full scan of the guide (complete with a personalized note from Glenn Whitmore), along with his original colour notes, which told us separators useful bits of information, such as Lana Lang's hair colour (YR25).
Click here to see a large scan of it.
I own a lot of books that I've worked on from the big 3 publishers. However, this piece of art, symbolic of my first steps in the industry, is by far the highlight of my collection.
It's a huge honour to have some of the guides I had worked on in my possession. Looking at them again rekindles some of that wide eyed excitement about the craft of colouring that I had when I started.
What struck me about revisiting Glenn Whitmore's guides is that he actually uses COLOURS. A lot of books nowadays feature really dark, moody, greyed out "colouring". Whitmore isn't afraid to have his pages look bright and, well, colourful. (A colourist who colours! Imagine that!). He understands atmospheric perspective, colour temperature and contrasts, and uses them well. I've always loved how he painted lighting effects - below are two panels from his guides that I think show his skill in this area.
So now, several issues of old colour guides are sitting on the bookshelf above my desk. Glenn Whitmore was probably just happy to unload some of these papers out of storage to clear up some space. But for me, this page is a meaningful symbol of the first steps I took in this semi-career of mine over a decade and a half ago, and I'm extremely grateful that he was okay to part with it.
It was a dream job for me. To the right is a photo of 22 year old Donovan, about to head off to my first night of work in the comics industry. I was still living in my dorm room after finishing up my Fine Arts degree.
Colour Separators, as we were technically called, are all but extinct now. (Feel free to skip this paragraph if comic book colouring history sounds dull to you!). Currently, colourists use programs like Adobe Photoshop to add their hues to the lineart. In the olden days, colourists painted xeroxed lineart and created a work of production art called a colour guide, which was then sent to the Separator who created four separate sheets of film for each of the colours printed (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black). (Neal Adams claims that in the 1960's, DC Comics actually had housewives in Connecticut doing their colour separations!). Our role at Digital Chameleon back in 1998 was a transitional phase - we did the colouring and modelling in Photoshop the way that books are coloured now, but the colour choices were dictated to us by the colour guides, created by colouring veterans, many of whom had not yet learned Photoshop.
My first night on the job was incredible. I got straight to work on the first splash page of Action Comics #746. This was the big leagues. Action Comics made it's debut in 1938 with the first appearance of Superman. While Superman was not my favourite character to read about, he IS an icon. And lo and behold, on the first page I was to work on was a full page drawing by superstar Canadian artist Stuart Immonen of Superman himself. Strong. Powerful. Mopping the deck of a cruise ship. (Okay, so it wasn't the most exciting, action packed page, but that didn't matter!). By the end of my 8 hour shift, my first page was complete. I was soon to learn that taking 8 hours to complete a page was unacceptably slow, but hey, it was my first day on the job! Cut me some slack!
A decade and a half later, I accidentally stumbled across the Facebook profile for the colourist of that issue, Glenn Whitmore. Mr. Whitmore managed the Herculean task of creating painted colour guides for FOUR Superman books each month, every one of them coming to my shift at Digital Chameleon for separation. Having worked on so much of this man's work during the embryonic stages of my colouring career had a big influence on me, and I was happy to have the opportunity to tell him this.
After some chatting, Glenn was kind enough to send me the original colour guide I'd launched my journey on. It's still got my name on the back, printed in my atrocious printing style. You'd never know I was an artist by that chicken scratching! (Phoenix was the name of my computer workstation).
Click here to see a large scan of it.
It's a huge honour to have some of the guides I had worked on in my possession. Looking at them again rekindles some of that wide eyed excitement about the craft of colouring that I had when I started.
What struck me about revisiting Glenn Whitmore's guides is that he actually uses COLOURS. A lot of books nowadays feature really dark, moody, greyed out "colouring". Whitmore isn't afraid to have his pages look bright and, well, colourful. (A colourist who colours! Imagine that!). He understands atmospheric perspective, colour temperature and contrasts, and uses them well. I've always loved how he painted lighting effects - below are two panels from his guides that I think show his skill in this area.
Currently playing: Deadbeat Honeymooners - King of Your Heart
Currently colouring: Adam Zero, The Last Man On Earth: Chapter 2!
Proudly in my seventh Cola free year!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Stan Lee
This was a phenomenal weekend.
I met Stan Lee.
Yes, THE Stan Lee, who is responsible for creating the stable of superheroes of Marvel Comics that was my playground as a boy.
At almost 90 years old, Lee looks great and is still as sharp as a knife.
Some of my first work for Marvel was colouring Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 8. As Stan Lee signed my book, I giddily told him that I'd worked on the tome in front of him, and that it was an honour to have him sign my copy.
He paused, flipped through it, and kindly said, "Well, it looks like you did a pretty good job!".
I was more than a little stunned. He was obviously just being nice. My voice belying the stammering in my head, I responded by saying, "I think you did a better job writing the stories, Stan!". He chuckled, and we posed for a photo.
Unlike other great moments in life that seem to pass so quickly, my 30 seconds with Stan Lee was perfect. Time slowed, we both got some words in, I didn't make a fool of myself, and it ended on a note of humour.
This guy is on the same level as Walt Disney, for crying out loud! Both have created works that spawned iconic American characters. His work has been a central part of my life, and I got the chance to shake his hand and thank him.
It was a weekend I'll never forget.
Currently playing: Sting - If I Ever Lose My Faith in You
I met Stan Lee.
Yes, THE Stan Lee, who is responsible for creating the stable of superheroes of Marvel Comics that was my playground as a boy.
Some of my first work for Marvel was colouring Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 8. As Stan Lee signed my book, I giddily told him that I'd worked on the tome in front of him, and that it was an honour to have him sign my copy.
He paused, flipped through it, and kindly said, "Well, it looks like you did a pretty good job!".
I was more than a little stunned. He was obviously just being nice. My voice belying the stammering in my head, I responded by saying, "I think you did a better job writing the stories, Stan!". He chuckled, and we posed for a photo.
Unlike other great moments in life that seem to pass so quickly, my 30 seconds with Stan Lee was perfect. Time slowed, we both got some words in, I didn't make a fool of myself, and it ended on a note of humour.
This guy is on the same level as Walt Disney, for crying out loud! Both have created works that spawned iconic American characters. His work has been a central part of my life, and I got the chance to shake his hand and thank him.
It was a weekend I'll never forget.
Currently playing: Sting - If I Ever Lose My Faith in You
Currently colouring: An as yet unsolicited Marvel Masterwork!
Proudly in my seventh Cola free year!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Kevin Lamo
Kevin Lamoureux is the Liberal Party candidate in my riding of Winnipeg North.
One of my neighbors is a supporter, and his sign got bent in the wind yesterday, shortening the candidates' name to "Kevin Lamo".
And no disrespect meant to Mr. Lamoureux. I just had a good chuckle at "Kevin Lam-o".
Currently playing: Max Webster - Let Go The Line Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics! Proudly in my sixth Cola free year!Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Donovan Yaciuk Story, starring Ralph Macchio
"We think of you every night when we watch the karate kid on dancing with the stars…"
I've gotten a few comments in emails from friends ever since the most recent season of Dancing With The Stars series hit the airwaves.
Ralph Macchio, probably best known for his roles in films like the Karate Kid, the Outsiders, and My Cousin Vinny, is currently a contestant on the show. And I guess if I were to pick someone to play me in "Handsome Devil, the Donovan Yaciuk story", Ralph Macchio would be a pretty good choice!
We're not twins, but I have to admit there is a resemblance there!
Anyway, it's flattering to be compared to a guy who once appeared on the cover of Teen Beat magazine! It's better than being told you look like Rick Moranis!
Anyway, forget the Dancing With The Stars stuff. Here`s the best thing Macchio has done this year!
Currently playing: NHL Playoffs - Detroit Red Wings at Phoenix Coyotes
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my sixth Cola free year!
I've gotten a few comments in emails from friends ever since the most recent season of Dancing With The Stars series hit the airwaves.
Ralph Macchio, probably best known for his roles in films like the Karate Kid, the Outsiders, and My Cousin Vinny, is currently a contestant on the show. And I guess if I were to pick someone to play me in "Handsome Devil, the Donovan Yaciuk story", Ralph Macchio would be a pretty good choice!
We're not twins, but I have to admit there is a resemblance there!
Anyway, it's flattering to be compared to a guy who once appeared on the cover of Teen Beat magazine! It's better than being told you look like Rick Moranis!
Anyway, forget the Dancing With The Stars stuff. Here`s the best thing Macchio has done this year!
Currently playing: NHL Playoffs - Detroit Red Wings at Phoenix Coyotes
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my sixth Cola free year!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Beating my addiction.
Five years ago today, I had my last drink of cola.
You may laugh when you I call it an addiction. I don't mean to belittle real addictions that ruin people's lives, so perhaps "habit" is a better word for it. But at my peak I was drinking around 3 litres of pop per day, starting with breakfast.
Disgusting, I know.
I'd tried many times in the past to cut it out of my life, and I was only met with migraines, nausea, and moodiness.
I'll tell you what helped me beat it, and hopefully if there is something in your own life that you want to change, it can help you too!
My tradition was to have a 7-11 Double Gulp. Every day. Two litres of Coke. I'd get it first thing in the morning, and it would last me until lunch.
In April of 2006, my wife and I took a trip to Vancouver for almost a week to stay with relatives. There were no 7-11's within walking distance, and I wasn't going to make our gracious hosts drive me to one every morning. So, not wanting to be a glutton, I only snuck maybe a can a day out of their fridge. I was FORCED to limit my consumption.
I was in town to see my favourite band, Queen, performing with Paul Rodgers. So in addition to having reduced access to my drug of choice, I also had something big that I was really looking forward to that helped keep my mind from begging for it's fix.
In short, eliminate the supply of your habit, occupy your mind with something else you're really excited about, and hold yourself accountable to friends and family!
For me, accountability was posting the number of cola free days I'd experienced at the end of every blog post. I still keep that tradition as I enter my sixth cola free year, just scroll down to the bottom of this post! During the first year, if I was craving cola, I just remembered I'd have to reset the count on my blog and start from zero.
These tactics also worked for my wife when she quit smoking. Thanks to a terrible flu that ravaged her for over week, she had not smoked in 4 or 5 days. She couldn't get out of bed for a cigarette, let alone go buy any. Realizing this was one of her longest smoke-free streaks, she capitalized on this and rode it out. She's been riding that wave for almost 15 months now.
I'm incredibly proud of her, and her path was similar to mine. Forced elimination of supply, mind occupied with something else (in her case, getting rid of her flu!), and the support of friends and co-workers.
My advice? Quit trying to give up cold turkey just because it's Thursday. Find an event, a vacation, illness, or distracting life event that's happening soon, and piggy back your efforts to quit around this!
Currently playing: Queen - We Are The Champions
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my sixth Cola free year!
You may laugh when you I call it an addiction. I don't mean to belittle real addictions that ruin people's lives, so perhaps "habit" is a better word for it. But at my peak I was drinking around 3 litres of pop per day, starting with breakfast.
Disgusting, I know.
I'd tried many times in the past to cut it out of my life, and I was only met with migraines, nausea, and moodiness.
I'll tell you what helped me beat it, and hopefully if there is something in your own life that you want to change, it can help you too!
My tradition was to have a 7-11 Double Gulp. Every day. Two litres of Coke. I'd get it first thing in the morning, and it would last me until lunch.In April of 2006, my wife and I took a trip to Vancouver for almost a week to stay with relatives. There were no 7-11's within walking distance, and I wasn't going to make our gracious hosts drive me to one every morning. So, not wanting to be a glutton, I only snuck maybe a can a day out of their fridge. I was FORCED to limit my consumption.
I was in town to see my favourite band, Queen, performing with Paul Rodgers. So in addition to having reduced access to my drug of choice, I also had something big that I was really looking forward to that helped keep my mind from begging for it's fix.
In short, eliminate the supply of your habit, occupy your mind with something else you're really excited about, and hold yourself accountable to friends and family!
For me, accountability was posting the number of cola free days I'd experienced at the end of every blog post. I still keep that tradition as I enter my sixth cola free year, just scroll down to the bottom of this post! During the first year, if I was craving cola, I just remembered I'd have to reset the count on my blog and start from zero.
These tactics also worked for my wife when she quit smoking. Thanks to a terrible flu that ravaged her for over week, she had not smoked in 4 or 5 days. She couldn't get out of bed for a cigarette, let alone go buy any. Realizing this was one of her longest smoke-free streaks, she capitalized on this and rode it out. She's been riding that wave for almost 15 months now.
I'm incredibly proud of her, and her path was similar to mine. Forced elimination of supply, mind occupied with something else (in her case, getting rid of her flu!), and the support of friends and co-workers.
My advice? Quit trying to give up cold turkey just because it's Thursday. Find an event, a vacation, illness, or distracting life event that's happening soon, and piggy back your efforts to quit around this!
Currently playing: Queen - We Are The Champions
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my sixth Cola free year!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Coyotes Done In Phoenix?
The Phoenix Coyotes are set to take on the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and are trying to carry on the franchise tradition of the White-Out, which originated when they were the Jets here in Winnipeg. With the lack of fans coming to the games in Arizona, there's going to be a glut of Red Wings fans making the trip to snatch up the thousands of seats typically open at Jobing.com arena.
So much for a home team White-Out.
To make matters worse, AZCentral columnist Dan Bickley has completely embarrassed the team with today's opinion piece titled, "Detroit fans: If you can't stay away, please wear white".
In short, the piece is nothing but BEGGING Red Wings fans to wear white.
Here in Winnipeg, we had no troubles with our White-Outs. And this is a city that felt like a Montreal home game when the Habs were in town! But we never needed to be begged to support this team and atmosphere in the playoffs.
The rumours of a Coyotes relocation to Winnipeg for the 2010/2011 season are picking up steam. Nick Kypreos and Doug MacLean of the Fan 590 are quoting sources saying the deal to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in the desert is essentially done. I know what it's like to lose a team, and I wouldn't wish that one anyone. Not even the fans in Phoenix who truly love the Coyotes.
That being said, there really isn't a lot of those fans to have to feel bad for, if they can't fill an arena with their own fans during a playoff run.
Bring them home.
Currently playing: David Lee Roth - Just Like Paradise
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
So much for a home team White-Out.
To make matters worse, AZCentral columnist Dan Bickley has completely embarrassed the team with today's opinion piece titled, "Detroit fans: If you can't stay away, please wear white".
In short, the piece is nothing but BEGGING Red Wings fans to wear white.
"If you must go to the games in Arizona, please wear white. We don't want outsiders thinking we can't sell out playoff games. After all we've been through - from bankruptcy hearings to relocation threats - the last thing we need is more national embarrassment."
"A sea of red at Jobing.com Arena would do just that."
That a piece like this needs to be written in the first place is pathetic.Here in Winnipeg, we had no troubles with our White-Outs. And this is a city that felt like a Montreal home game when the Habs were in town! But we never needed to be begged to support this team and atmosphere in the playoffs.
The rumours of a Coyotes relocation to Winnipeg for the 2010/2011 season are picking up steam. Nick Kypreos and Doug MacLean of the Fan 590 are quoting sources saying the deal to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in the desert is essentially done. I know what it's like to lose a team, and I wouldn't wish that one anyone. Not even the fans in Phoenix who truly love the Coyotes.That being said, there really isn't a lot of those fans to have to feel bad for, if they can't fill an arena with their own fans during a playoff run.
Bring them home.
Currently playing: David Lee Roth - Just Like Paradise
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo
Don't laugh. I've got fond memories of Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo!
My Baba and I used to play when I was just a wee lad. Hearing the familiar whir of the bingo balls getting thrown around can take me back to my youth!
Cat and I always try to get a couple of games in every year for fun. We played in today's game, and I came so very close to winning $2000!
Do you have any idea how frustrating the card below is for me?
Anyhow, it was still a fun game!
In closing, I'd like to say that Kathy Kennedy has perhaps the greatest nails in the city of Winnipeg! If you want to see them, tune in to next week's Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo - they're on the screen for the whole half hour holding bingo balls!
Currently playing: Elton John - I'm Still Standin'
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
My Baba and I used to play when I was just a wee lad. Hearing the familiar whir of the bingo balls getting thrown around can take me back to my youth!
Cat and I always try to get a couple of games in every year for fun. We played in today's game, and I came so very close to winning $2000!
Do you have any idea how frustrating the card below is for me?
Anyhow, it was still a fun game!In closing, I'd like to say that Kathy Kennedy has perhaps the greatest nails in the city of Winnipeg! If you want to see them, tune in to next week's Kinsmen Jackpot Bingo - they're on the screen for the whole half hour holding bingo balls!
Currently playing: Elton John - I'm Still Standin'
Currently colouring: Silver Bullet #8 by Lonely Robot Comics!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks vol. 13
Below is a page that I did colour restoration on from Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks vol. 13, on sale this week!
I handled the colouring on Amazing Spider-Man #130, which was ridiculously time consuming. Ross Andru's art looks simple enough, until you start working on it!
That last panel, with all those darned flowers, took me two hours to complete! I think I recall that the precise moment where I suffered an exhausted breakdown was trying to whittle in all those tiny white flowers with green petals, in the top right corner.
When you are passionate about the work, you go the extra mile to focus on the details. And there were many minute details to focus on here!
Anyhow, this volume has the first appearances of the Punisher and the hilarious Spider-Mobile, the marriage of Aunt May to Doctor Octopus, and the DEATH OF GWEN STACY!!!
Order your copy now!
Currently playing: Doug and the Slugs - Makin' It Work
Currently colouring: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 11!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
I handled the colouring on Amazing Spider-Man #130, which was ridiculously time consuming. Ross Andru's art looks simple enough, until you start working on it!
That last panel, with all those darned flowers, took me two hours to complete! I think I recall that the precise moment where I suffered an exhausted breakdown was trying to whittle in all those tiny white flowers with green petals, in the top right corner.
When you are passionate about the work, you go the extra mile to focus on the details. And there were many minute details to focus on here!
Anyhow, this volume has the first appearances of the Punisher and the hilarious Spider-Mobile, the marriage of Aunt May to Doctor Octopus, and the DEATH OF GWEN STACY!!!
Order your copy now!
Currently playing: Doug and the Slugs - Makin' It Work
Currently colouring: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 11!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Review: Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #5 - Dark Horse Comics
Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #5Writer: Jim Shooter
Artist: Roger Robinson & Agustin Alessio
Colorist: Wes Dzioba
Letterer: Blambot
Cover Artist: Michael Komark
Buy it now!
Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #5 at TFAW.com
Take a look at the stunningly gorgeous panel below, and give me one good reason why you aren't reading Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom!
The fifth issue came out yesterday, and is the start of the second story arc. Well, it's actually the start of TWO new story arcs, both written by Jim Shooter but drawn by different artists; Roger Robinson and Agustin Alessio. The two stories take place a few weeks apart, but intertwine perfectly. We're given just enough info in each that one doesn't spoil the other, or anything to come.Similar to how Marvel's Doctor Strange, with it's trippy visuals and mysticism, became popular in the 1960's counter culture at universities, Doctor Solar could easily become mandatory reading for today's science undergrads. There's some weird, trippy stuff going on in this book, but it's all science based. No magic hocus pocus here!
And if you ever need to know what an Ergosphere is, put down that Astrophysics text book. Jim Shooter explains all you need to know in two succinct panels! The entire description of the purpose of the black hole is so beautifully and concisely explained that I think Mr. Shooter missed his calling as a science teacher.
The first four issues of this series were a great introduction, and were infused with a lot of humour as the newly incarnated Doctor Solar found his way in the world. The first story in this second arc takes a bit of a twist and seems to have a far more sinister tone, hitting it's peak when a corpse carries a miniature black hole down the street. We also get another glimpse into villain Tanek Nuro's deviant nature. He is one sick puppy! The preview images had some posters rolling their eyes over Nuro's use of an "avatar", connecting it to the recent film of the same name, but there is no sense that Shooter is capitalizing or copying the film in any way.
The second story is the first part of Solar's origin. Reduced to a single sentence, it can be describes as a tale about a black hole consuming 80kg of mass. Somehow, Shooter and artist Agustin Alessio make it the most captivating book I've read in a long time, and I'll be surprised if it doesn't end up as my Book of the Year at the end of December.
The narrative jumps back and forth between Dr. Philip Solar describing the project's goal of creating a black hole to power the world with it's energy, and the day after disaster where the black hold consumes the earth.
If this were a movie, no doubt the scenes featuring the matter consuming black hole would be accompanied by some spectacular sound effects designed to unnerve the audience in their seats. The amazing thing about Allesio's artwork is that it gives you the same, ugly, terrifying feeling of impending doom in the pit of your stomach on the printed page, WITHOUT sound, motion, or high definition 3-D movie screens! I really did feel uncomfortable watching Solar get accreted.Don't know what accrete means? Don't worry. Like I said above, Shooter does an uncanny job of making the science of black holes understandable to the layman!
While Allessio's artwork helps send this book into the stratosphere, it is not without it's faults, the main one being that it does seem to rely a little too much on photo reference in places. Phillip Solar is seen from different angles describing his experiment, yet it's obvious the same photo was used for reference in each case. In another scene where Gail Saunders is introduced, the fellow scientists in the crowd stare forward, as if this were a class photo, none of them focussing their attention on the character speaking. Also, doesn't anyone need to open their mouths to talk?
As enjoyable as Jim Shooter's Dark Horse work has been to date, this issue is elevated to an entirely different level. The pacing is perfect. The dialogue is natural. The stakes are high. It's a great story told from two different directions - the first arc with Robinson's more traditional comic art deals with the present, and the second featuring Allesio's more photorealist style looks back at a few weeks prior to Solar's origin.The two stories look poised to merge over the next 3 issues, coming together to form a cohesive story arc that, judging by the first shot fired, is going to be epic.
Currently playing: Samantha Fox - True Devotion
Currently colouring: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 11!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
MySpace Tshirt
Snapped a photo of this shirt on a recent trip with our daughter to the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature.
I get a feeling this shirt was a lot cooler 5 or 6 years ago, when MySpace was actually relevant!
And even then, lets face it, this shirt is not going to score you any looks from the opposite sex!
The back of this shirt might as well have an arrow pointing to your underpants, saying "Wedge me".
While snapping this photo, I quietly wondered what social network the museum's shirt department would focus on next... Spacebook? Twitearth?
Turns out someone was two steps ahead of me! Both are already established websites on the internet!
Currently playing: Charity Brown - You Beat Me to the Punch
Currently colouring: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 11!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
I get a feeling this shirt was a lot cooler 5 or 6 years ago, when MySpace was actually relevant!And even then, lets face it, this shirt is not going to score you any looks from the opposite sex!
The back of this shirt might as well have an arrow pointing to your underpants, saying "Wedge me".
While snapping this photo, I quietly wondered what social network the museum's shirt department would focus on next... Spacebook? Twitearth?
Turns out someone was two steps ahead of me! Both are already established websites on the internet!
Currently playing: Charity Brown - You Beat Me to the PunchCurrently colouring: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 11!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Review: Magnus, Robot Fighter #3 - Dark Horse Comics
Magnus, Robot Fighter #3Writer: Jim Shooter
Artist: Bill Reinhold & Mike Manley
Colorist: Wes Dzioba
Letterer: Blambot
Cover Artist: Raymond Swanland
Buy it now! Magnus, Robot Fighter #3 at TFAW.com
A few months ago, I wrote a positive review of the first issue of Magnus, Robot Fighter from Dark Horse comics. It's taken half a year to get the third issue out, which has been a minor annoyance.
But when a book contains as much fun, excitement and adventure as this one does, it's easy to overlook the wait between issues!
The preview pages that Dark Horse released made it seem like this was going to be a 22 page UFC fight, which would have been the dullest comic ever produced, but thankfully only a handful of pages take place 'in the ring', and many other great story elements are introduced.
The Lovejoy Corporation (also seen in the pages of Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom!) is looking like it's going to have it's fingerprints all over this line of books, and are shaping up to be a good mysterious villain. Magnus' relations with the supporting cast start getting explored. There's some great dialog between Magnus' mentor, the robot 1-A, and a nice friendship is blooming with the homeless Goph named Little Eddie.
Bill Reinhold is joined by Mike Manley on the art chores, and the two blend well together. The thing I like most about Reinhold is the consideration he puts in to his backgrounds. I don't recall a single panel that didn't give a hint of where it was taking place. His renditions of the shadowy ground level that exists at the feet of the stretching forest of milespires really helps set the scenes that occur there. I also love the designs of the robots and vehicles, all of which seem to pay homage to concepts of the future that were envisioned in the 50's and 60's. They are retro, but not dated. It's a fine line, and the book walks it well.
I also caught a tattoo on a great character introduced this issue named Hippolyta that bears a striking resemblance to a starburst that Reinhold signs his art with. I guess we know who came up with her design!
Wes Dzioba's colours in the book are also fantastic. As with everything I've ever seen Wes colour, there's great attention given to separating foreground, middleground, and background. It's beautiful how the shadowed announcers closer to the viewer are set off from the rest of the panel by using a darker purple hue.
There's also a great scene that takes place in a Goph bar lit with florescent countertops that is really well done. The colours almost give the bar enough character to be real.There are a few minor nitpicks about the book. Some of Magnus' dialog seems a little wooden and makes him out to be a bit of a dullard. Would it kill him to say something that requires an exclamation point? (He does, but I can count the number of times on one finger). Considering that Magnus was raised in isolation by a robot, I suppose it makes sense that he would come across as a little robotic himself, so it may just be his character.
I also felt that the story was wrapped up a little too quickly, but this may be because the entire book moves so fast and packs so many story points into it's 22 pages. In all this is a good thing. I'd rather have Shooter's quick pacing on this book than the same story stretched out over a 6 issue arc. The climactic fight scene at the end seemed a little uninspired and lifeless when compared to the previous two fights that occur in the book. The punches don't look like they are overly powerful or threatening.
And finally, we all know that Magnus and Leeja are destined to hook up, but I'm not really sensing the love there! It almost seems like every other female in the book would be a better partner for Magnus! This is only the third issue, so I'll give this budding romance some time to blossom.
I do highly recommend this book, along with all the other Dark Horse comics Jim Shooter is putting out right now. They've all be fun, satisfying (if intermittent) reads.
We're starting to see some evidence of the books all being connected, despite occurring in different eras. It's probably best if you get in now before the the stories get even hotter!
Currently playing: Alias - When I'm With You (Live)
Currently colouring: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 11!
Proudly in my fifth Cola free year!
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