COMICS INSIGHT: Finishing JACK KIRBY's HAWKMAN

New York-based comics illustrator and designer Brendan Tobin provides some quick insight into the creative process of comic book creation here by completing a rough sketch of DC Comics' Hawkman by legendary artist, the late Jack Kirby.  Kirby originally penciled  the work as a presentation piece for an unrealized Hawkman cartoon, presumably dating his initial sketch back to the late 60's or early 1970's. 

[Interestingly, Kirby left New York and the comics industry behind in the late 1970's, disillusioned with both Marvel and DC Comics for not giving him fair payment or enough credit for his creations. He went to California and began a new career in animation, working briefly for Hanna-Barbera before winding up at Ruby-Spears in 1980.  There, he designed characters and backgrounds for the Saturday morning action series Thundarr the Barbarian as well as created presentation boards for potential new projects. Although none of Kirby's concepts were produced before he died in 1994, the Ruby-Spears company (in tandem with Sid and Marty Krofft) announced in April they plan to revisit his ideas for production. ]

Working from the original pencils, Tobin completes what Kirby began, first by inking the Hawkman, then finally coloring and lettering. What he ends up with is an amazing piece of comics art and history. Tobin also posts this process on his own blog, which you can find [here].

Hawkman  - Jack Kirby's original pencilsTobin inks Kirby's line work, then adds the lettering

 Hawkman completed, Kirby -style - by Brendan Tobin

MORE TO SEE

The New York Times recently compiled an online slide-show of Jack Kirby's yet-to-be-produced cartoon characters and concepts, found [here].

Comics In Comics: Bluewater's ELLEN DeGENERES Is True FEMALE FORCE, Selling Out In Less Than A Week

With the market for superhero comics cornered by DC Comics, Marvel, and Image, many smaller publishers like Dynamite Entertainment and Bluewater Productions  have turned to licensed properties for their bread and butter.  It's a task that has brought both companies success; with fantasy and science fiction titles like William Shatner Presents and Ray Harryhausen's Wrath of the Titans,  Bluewater's Founder and President Darren G. Davis has definitely scored some wins for his small Bellingham, Washington-based publishing and production company. 

But surprisingly, Bluewater's greatest successes haven't come from the traditional genres that feed many a comics fan's appetite.  Instead, the publisher's recent line of non-fiction comic book biographies, a genre that comics have rarely explored, has been their big win and earned the publisher spots on Live with Regis and Kelly, The View, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, with write-ups in The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, abbracadabbling,  and numerous other blogs and media outlets.   In addition, Bluewater's unauthorized bio-comics  earned them MTV's award as Best Buzz Generator of the comics industry for 2009.

Female Force, the first title in Bluewater's biographical line, is the source of that Buzz, and the popular series remains very much in the public eye. Published monthly,  the comic offers self-contained examinations of strong and influential women who are shaping modern history and culture. Past issues of Female Force have featured Michelle Obama, Princess Diana, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, and others; their second issue,  Female Force: Sarah Palin, published just after the 2009 Presidential inauguration, sold out in less than a month and has since gone on to a third and even fourth print run, the Going Rogue edition.

We get a huge comedic kick out of Ellen DeGeneres and have been loving her daytime talk-show for years (in fact, we're watching it on the Home Office LCD right now!). Being the Ellen mega-fans that we are, we were psyched when Bluewater announced their plans last year to bring Ellen into the Female Force family for the series' 13th issue.

Female Force: Ellen DeGeneres hit comic shops across the nation just over a week ago, and in a testament to the popularity of both Ellen and the Bluewater series,  Issue #13 has already sold out. That's before our favorite  comedienne has even had her chance to chat the book up on live TV, something we've been anticipating for days.  But the comic, written by Sandra C. Ruckdeschel and penciled by Pedro Ponzo, has still received plenty of national attention, being featured in such mainstream publications as MTV, People Magazine, US Weekly, and E! Entertainment Television.

Thankfully, for the scads of Ellen fans that still haven't gotten their hands on a copy, Bluewater stated just last night that a second printing of the comic is already in the works. Featuring new cover art, Female Force: Ellen DeGeneres - 2nd Printing should see a release date by mid-summer 2010.

The one week sell-out rate of Female Force #13 puts Ellen ahead of former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin's Female Force #2.  We don't think that fact should cause too many Tea Party problems, but that's not to say Ellen's comic book bio hasn't already found some controversy.  At Ellen's request, Bluewater provided free advertising  - and will be donating a portion of the  comic's proceeds -  to the Humane Society of the United States, an organization Ellen publicly champions.  Earlier Female Force personalities have made similar charitable requests, but Ellen's has drawn fire from pro-hunting organizations that have threatened to boycott the issue.

We say 'whatever' to that; the comic book buying power of pro-hunting organizations in the United States isn't what we'd call, well, existent.  It's an empty threat, and kudos to Bluewater Productions for not sharing those pro-hunting peeps' concerns.

If you're thinking of picking up a copy Female Force: Ellen DeGeneres - which we strongly encourage you to do - you probably want to know what you'll find inside along with those pesky Humane Society ads.  Told from the point-of-view of the comic's writer, the comic's story follows Ellen's life from her youth in Louisiana and her days on the comedy club circuit to her  controversial sitcom and finally to her present as an Emmy-winning daytime talk show host and judge on American Idol.  

As with the series' earlier issues, Female Force: Ellen DeGeneres  is fully an all-ages read. Neither Ruckdeschel's writing nor Ponzo's art is close to stellar, but the story is thorough on the details and doesn't shy away from portraying Ellen's life as an openly lesbian performer, her support of gay rights and California's attempt to legalize gay marriage,  or the more controversial and profound points of her career.  Nothing needs to persuade us to be any stronger supporters and fans of Ellen's than we already are, but Female Force certainly reminded us why we've loved Ellen for years. And we learned a few things along the way, too. 

While the personalities selected for Female Force are important for being today's 'movers-n-shakers', their greater importance lies in the power they lend to Female Force itself.  Each issue has its own innate appeal that's different from the one before, and the potential of finding brand new readers is realized each and every month. It's a brilliant concept, actually, and to its great credit, the series has bridged the gap between comics ability to entertain with their natural potential to educate.  As much as Ellen DeGeneres has bravely broken down walls for gays and lesbian rights in this country, Bluewater's Female Force is breaking down many of the barriers that have held comic books back for over seventy years.

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 Be quick! First printings of Bluewater Productions' Female Force: Ellen DeGeneres are still available from our very own Amazon shop [here]! Amazon's also taking pre-orders for the second printing of Ellen's comic [here].  Or, to find an issue today, call the Comic Shop Locator Service at  1-888-COMIC-BOOK or visit them online [here].

Female Force: Ellen DeGeneres (2nd Printing)

Stay with your favorite comicsblog for more coverage of Bluewater's breakthrough bio comics, including what they've done for Michael Jackson and what they have in store for another one of our female faves, Lady Gaga! 

Education Is Debatable and 'War Is Boring' But Comics Remain In The Fight

The educational abilities of comic books brought the industry much unwarranted attention in the early 1950's, forcing the majority of publishers at the time to either close-up shop or adhere to the guidelines of the newly-formed Code of the Comics Magazine Association of America Inc, or the Comics Code Authority.  In the aftermath,  comics' ability to teach young readers became diluted if not forgotten as the age of their readership slowly climbed towards the adult. 

Yet even for their mature readers, comics' just-as-mature themes and story lines , especially those of 'War Story' comics, often offer comprehensive educations as a by-product of the research that drives their  narratives and references their artwork.

Authenticity may be the hallmark of contemporary comics, but the truth hasn't always been so well represented. Yet despite the social conscience and even the critical  acclaim they've achieved today, war-themed comics have never been as popular as they were. sixty years ago. Superheroes exploded onto the comics scene just prior to World War II, and it didn't take them long to bring their fight straight to the Axis.  Superman, Uncle Sam, the Black Terror, and their compatriots embodied the American ideal, a message so meaningful that it  drove comics readership into the hundreds of thousands. And those numbers weren't just kids; for much of the 1940's, American GI's comprised the second -highest demographic of comic book buyers.  

Much has changed since those days, including content.  The ubiquitous racial stereotypes  of comic book villains that once served as excellent propaganda and brought tremendous support for the war effort are gone. And the battles once waged by Captain America and Captain Marvel, Jr are now fought by more realistic protagonists - mortal heroes that can die.  For a terrific review of comic books during World War II, read Alex Ness' essay Fighting The Wars with Four-Color Comics - here.

One exception to our generality above was canceled before ever being published: American Power, the intended 2004 Free Comic Book Day submission from now-bankrupt comics publisher CrossGen Entertainment.  In all-out Captain America style, the comics' titular hero gives Osama bin-Laden what he's had coming since September 11th, 2001.   But times have changed; even if CrossGen had published Power, chances are very good that it wouldn't have been around long.

That's not to say that comic books aren't involved with the War On Terror or even the pursuit of the Taliban; they're instrumental, but they're not published by the mainstream American comics industry.

David Axe, Jonathan Hughes, and Matt Bors are the creators of War Is Boring, a comic strip written by Axe based on his experiences as a war correspondent.  Their blog site, also War Is Boring and on which the trio is joined by several other writers and comics journalists, recounts their very real and live-time experiences in Africa, Afghanistan, and other geographies where the United States  military is currently involved.  Among other things, War Is Boring provides a unique and fascinating look at conflict, US foreign policy, and the use of comics to provide non-fiction accounts of real-world events. 

Just over a week ago, Axe posted to his blog the photo at the top of our's - a 'Commando Comic Book - which he snagged a copy of while accompanying the Afghani troops on a commando air assault near the hot-spot of Bagram. Apparently, Afghan commandos give out watercolor comic books to illiterate villagers when they drop in for missions, all in an effort to help explain the role and purpose of the security forces to everyday Afghan citizens.  If not on American soil, comic books are recognized as educational tools, if only by a population that's never known them as entertainment.

Visit War Is Boring here.

Understanding Superheroes with Gail, Greg, and Kurt

Tomorrow, I'll be understanding superheroes just a little bit better, thanks to three of my favorite DC Comics writers. You’ll recognize their books and their names immediately and wish that you were me. Ha!

I saw Gail Simone on a Comic-Con panel Prism Comics was hosting at the 2006 (i think!) convention, but never in room smaller than an airplane hanger. Gail's been a supporter of and has given a voice to many important causes within the comics industry, from Women In Refrigerators to her championing writer John Ostrander's (Wasteland) campaign against blindness.

Simone's a strong lady, in many ways similar to the heroines of her two DC titles, both of them among my top monthly pics. Among my favorite five titles is Simone's Secret Six. With Six, the main characters are villains played as heroes, and the fine line that separates the two is a ultra-fine line indeed. Nicola Scott, one of the few female penciler's in comics, is Gail's co-creator on the book, and her artwork is just as impressive as Gail’s writing. [ And perhaps given the few women artists in comics, sometimes even more impressive.] Talk about a lady who knows how to make every character completely real and totally sexy at the same time!

Simone's other monthly, Wonder Woman, continues to bring depth and pathos to the Amazon, and since the title's restart three years ago, Simone's hands have proven the most capable. I'm truly looking forward to meeting her.

If I had to vote for my favorite Wonder Woman writer, I'd probably skip the polls all together. I mean, how can one really choose between Simone and Greg Rucka. Rucka is the comics world's Tom Clancy. He's a former WW scribe, the co-creator of Whiteout (the OGN on which last September's feature film was [poorly] based), Queen and Country, Gotham Central, as well as the current writer of DC’s longest running books: Action Comics and Detective Comics starring the new Batwoman. [Notice I didn't mention she's the lesbian character everybody talked about?]

Last but certainly not least is the one guy I've yet to see, hear, or shake hands with. Ironically, I've been reading his comics and have known his name far longer than Simone's or Rucka's. Heck, I've even met know one of his childhood friends, Scott McCloud. McCloud was one of the two professionals who taught the Comics Creation and Storytelling course I took four (five?) summers back at the University of California at Fresno. Actually, he's the reason I even enrolled in the course.

If not for Fresno, I'd never know that McCloud was the man who first put a comic book in Kurt Busiek's teen-aged hands. At least, that's how the legend goes. The picture it paints is a brave one, and I wish Dan Clowes would make a movie out of it.

Kurt Busiek's been at the helm of such notable works as the pivotal Marvels with Alex Ross, the brow-busting weekly DC series Trinity, as well as his creator-owned Astro City, for which Busiek's probably best known. In fact, he’ll be signing my copy of the newest Astro City mini -– Astra -- tomorrow; he just doesn't know it yet.

Busiek joins Simone and Rucka the University of Oregon’s Understanding Superheroes conference when it continues for its second and final day tomorrow, October 24th. All three writers will be present for a topical Q&A from 11am until about 12:15pm on the U of O campus. The presentation's aptly called Writing the Contemporary Superhero, and bar none, it's the highlight of my weekend.

I’ll post a more thorough review of the conference, or perhaps something less comprehensive but equally stimulating, on the blog by Sunday. But I'll say this now: For a guy who's been away from home for as long as I have, Understanding Superheroes came as a very unexpected but certainly welcome surprise. Even Springfield has a little magic, I must admit.

If you want to start Understanding Superheroes, go here. And for bios of all the conference's guest speakers, including Simone, Rucka, and Busiek -- the U of O has made available a downloadable PDF here. More to come.