February 22, 2008
Quoted For Truth
"...in postmodern America, whatever institution you serve or are served by-a police department or a newspaper, a political party or a church, Enron or Worldcom-you will eventually be betrayed."
From 'Homicide' by David Simon
God damned if that doesn't encapsulate 2007 for me.
Posted by Schamberger at 04:07 PM
June 25, 2007
Chris Benoit RIP
Some days just don't go right. Some days your sense of routine just gets swept away and you're left having to sort things out from scratch. I'm having that day today.
I just read that one of my very favorite wrestlers, Chris Benoit, was found dead in his home along with the rest of his family. This is an official announcement from WWE, not a fabricated story like what they've been doing with Vince, which is incidentally being scrapped now. My friends and I have been enjoying Chris Benoit's matches for several years now, and we all have great memories associated with watching him in the ring.
I'm...out of sorts, from hearing this. Obviously, the news is coupling with my more direct and personal crisis that originated this morning, but I know that I'd still be overcome by this, as I was with the passing of Eddie Guerrero.
Some days just don't go right.
My thoughts and sympathies to the family and friends of those affected by this horrific tragedy.
EDIT: I drew this while watching the show tonight.
The latest I've read is that it's being investigated as a murder/suicide. Fuck.
EDIT 2: ...and it's now being reported that he was the perpetrator. Some days just don't go right.
Posted by Schamberger at 05:22 PM
June 07, 2007
WordPress
I'm contemplating switching from MovableType to WordPress for my blog software. Anything I should know? I've only heard good things about it.
Posted by Schamberger at 08:52 AM
March 06, 2007
So, what next?
So. I'm through with the major production on my first graphic novel. What do I want to do next?
I'd love to do a series with another artist, but that always seems to become problematic for me. I'm not at the point yet where I can do it all myself on a monthly basis, so the need for collaboration is definitely still there. Plus, I honestly do enjoy working in that manner. It works a different part of my creativity, and a lot of times it can create something I definitely couldn't have done on my own.
I've got a couple of series ideas I'd like to do some day soon. Both have legs to them. Hopefully my profile will be raised enough to get some folks willing to pitch with me.
I think for any of my longform work, for now at least, I'll be doing so with another artist. I mean, it'd be cool to do a one-man anthology like Ash Wood's doing with D'Arain Aventure, but is there really a market for ME to do that? No, not now.
I'm planning out the next two graphic novels I want to do. I think it'd be fruitful to have more than one major project going, to work different areas of my creativity.
One is a memoir telling of the two bank robberies I was held hostage in. It's a story I really want to tell, and that I think folks will get something out of reading. I've also got a narrative device I came up with that I think will be something pretty special.
The other is the next Black Chamber book. I think this'll wind up being a three to five volume series, and I've got a lot of story to tell with this. Hopefully the first does well enough to warrant more books.
EDIT: It hit me, at this phase in my life, I seem to be Starting things. I used to be all about Quitting things. Quitting smoking, quitting pot, quitting caffeine, quitting hard alcohol, etc. That's a nice change.
Posted by Schamberger at 10:47 AM
September 27, 2006
I really need to update the content on this site
I'm sure I'll get around to that one of these months. The art I've got up is borderline embarassing anymore.
Posted by Schamberger at 08:58 PM
August 10, 2006
On My Mind
I'm reading through this interview between Chip Zdarsky and Matt Fraction, and I have this total 'A HA' moment, about why I haven't been actually making any comix for the last month or two:
I'm not desperate for money anymore.
In fact, if I were to become a professional comix creator at this point in my life, I'd be taking a serious pay cut. Like, capital 'S' Serious. I think I'd lost my nerve or something, eh? But, when I leave the day job, I leave it. And I can spend all night and all weekend writing and drawing. And I don't have to give a fuck about paying the rent anymore.
And...I feel so free now. The weight's off the shoulders. I'm making comix because I WANT to. I could give a fuck if I make any money on them at this point. I could give a fuck if its commercially viable. I could give a fuck if anyone reads them.
I'm making them for me, and to satisfy my own creative desires.
GOD DAMN IT!
Why did it take me eighteen years (how long I've actually been making them) to realize this truth about myself? IDIOT!
Off-topic: I spent two hours pencilling up my next ink-wash illustration, went to start inking it, and dumped my ink bottle all over the piece. Fuck a duck! First time I've ever done that, though, so it was bound to happen eventually. Still...
Posted by Schamberger at 09:10 PM
July 12, 2006
Some General Things
* I think I'm going to do a series of pieces akin to The Shadow one of different pulp-era heroes. Maybe Tarzan tonight. I'm in the mood for foliage.
* Whenever I tell people I'm a professional artist, they always ask me, "Do you actually make money off of that?" Yes, asshole, by nature of being a 'professional', I get paid. Thanks for the insinuation that my work's not worth it, or that artists in general shouldn't get paid.
* Whenever I show people my work, they inevitably say "I don't have an artistic bone in my body." I just always furrow my brow at them and don't say anything. What the hell am I supposed to say? "It's more in the muscles, organs and nerves than the bones, actually." WTF?
* Our friend Andy "Sasquatch" Denzer has sired an offspring. His mate popped 'er out last night, presumably during some sort of ritual where people were circled around them wearing black robes and chanting "Yog Sothoth! Yog! Sothoth!" Here's a picture of the lovely lady:
* The plot thickens during the next scene of Reckon. Steel yourselves.
* The Wonder Years is a great show.
* I'm seeing myself getting really tired of telling people that I don't work in the way "A Scanner Darkly" was done anymore, and that I haven't in used that style for about a year now. I did pick up the graphic novel adaptation today, which looks very pretty (with adaptation work by our man Harvey Pekar, to boot!).
* Buying that book gave me the opportunity to shout out in front of a store full of people, "I love Dick!"
Posted by Schamberger at 12:47 PM
June 30, 2006
Inspiration Friday: David Bowie's Space Oddity (live at the Ivor Novello Awards May 10, 1970)
I've spoken at length in the past of my adoration towards the music of David Bowie, but I thought I'd single out one of his songs as one that really inspired me early on. Yes, I know, it's a really cliche song to pick, and honestly, the Ziggy Stardust album I hold in higher regard, and 'Conversation Piece' is actually my favorite of his songs, but for initial inspiration and being the seed crystal for my fascination towards sci fi rock, Space Oddity really stands out.
The story in the lyrics are what keeps me coming back to it, and what keeps me interested in hearing Bowie's many different interpretations of the song. Its had a sequel even, in 'Ashes to Ashes', and a hat trick in the upcoming soundtrack for 'The Fountain' (although I still hold that 'Hallo Spaceboy' is also a Major Tom song, but hey), where Bowie will wrap up the saga of the terestrially estranged Major Tom.
But, I'll let you all enjoy it in your own ways, because I imagine this song has a personal attachment to each and every one of you, bringing up some certain memory or another from your pasts, but here is a rare video of him performing it live in 1970:
Posted by Schamberger at 09:05 PM
June 25, 2006
Inspiration Sunday: Radio 4's Stealing of a Nation album art
While not my favorite of their albums (the new one, 'Enemies Like This', is just damned amazing), 'Stealing of a Nation' is still a solid album of this post-punk-inspired group from my absolute favorite label, Astralwerks.
This is one of the few cases of 'judging a book by its cover' (and yes, I know this is a CD and not a book, genius) that actually holds true. The album is one of those post-Homeland Security statements, and the creepy art just holds true to that Big Brother Mentality so prevalent in the lyrics. What really struck me by the art, though, was that it's actually sequential art. Each image leads into the next one, telling a story through a series of shots of scenery.
The graphics were done by 'Howard at U-G-S.com', which is Unknown Graphic Services, who apparently looking through their site have done a number of my other favorite album covers.
Click on each image for a larger view:
Posted by Schamberger at 10:04 AM
June 20, 2006
More Thoughts On 'Reckon'
Or, "More Reckoning on 'Reckon'"
This is the most fun I've had writing and drawing a comic. I'm still sticking to my idea that this is my sketchbook, and I'm trying out all kinds of different styles and techniques and studying what makes several of my favorite artists work. Plus, I had a good discussion with J about where I want to go with the story, and as always he's proven to be a great sounding board. I've got a good long story that will work with the differing styles and approaches.
The first chapter, the Western one, I just wrote as I went, more focused on what I was attempting with the art. It feels that way, too, upon reading it as a whole, but I actually managed to lay down a lot of the core concepts that the rest of the story will be addressing. I'll also be going back to revisit Blackwalk Jackson and the man who hunted him in a couple more chapters, the prose/comix one. I thought it'd be interesting to utilize some of the temporal aspects of the story in discussing the backstory and loose threads left from each chapter. The climax of the current chapter will really explode what I'm going to do with the whole story, though, as Jackson Trask investigates the disappearance of Mr Stanton. This chapter's been a hella lotta fun. I'm scripting it as just exchanges of dialogue, and then working the sequentials around that. The next chapter will more than likely be scripted fully and then illustrated, as there's some really delicate strands that need to be laid just right to get the right effect. The next chapter's going to be all about setting.
Fun stuff ahead (and, I think, currently).
Posted by Schamberger at 11:46 AM
June 18, 2006
Inspiration Sunday: How Superman Would End the War (Look Magazine, 1940)
This, to me, is THE Superman story. I ran across it in one of those History of DC Comics books, and it just totally blew my mind. This was a Superman I'd never seen before: Actually changing the world, and not the fictional DC universe, but OUR world, with OUR threats. It just totally altered the way I viewed how I would want to make not just superhero comics, but any story. All that in just two pages!
Click on each image for a larger view:
Posted by Schamberger at 09:25 AM
June 16, 2006
I've Got a Hankering
To start writing some prose. I haven't really done that in any sort of serious way in I don't know how long. I'm reading Vonnegut's 'Timequake' right now and I just adore the narrative devices that he uses in there, and how it really works best for prose. I've also had an interest to do something along the lines of Umberto Eco's 'Queen Loana' for an upcoming chapter of 'Reckon', mixing prose and comix.
But I want to write a novel. 'House of Glass'. Probably start this weekend on it.
Posted by Schamberger at 10:19 AM
Roots Culture
I've been noticing lately the emergence of what I'm calling (and someone else smarter probably already has) 'Roots Culture'. There seems to be a shift in the general interest towards the originators of different forms of entertainment, and bringing them back to the gaze of the public eye. It's not a mainstream thing yet, but it does seem to be gaining in momentum.
The crystallization of this concept really hit me yesterday when I picked up The Black Keys' new album, 'Chulahoma', which is a collection of them performing the songs of Junior Kimbrough (it rocks, too, by the by). Here's two kids about my age taking more interest in roots blues music than the generations before us. The North Mississippi Allstars are all about this sort of thing, too. Check out their live 'Hill Country Revue' to see what I'm talking about: RL Burnside, Otha Turner, and others. They're only in their early thirties, too, I believe.
Eric Clapton's been performing Robert Johnson songs for quite a while now, and recently put out a whole album of him covering Johnson's songs.
There's been interest of this sort rising in cinema recently, too, due in large part to affordably-priced DVD's and the more extravagant Criterion Collection offerings. A lot of films that have been out of print since the heyday of VHS are back now and selling fairly well. I still want to get that Garbo collection something fierce.
The DVD collections are bringing back interest in old television, as well. A lot of forgotten classics are back with a bang now, thanks to these offerings.
Comix are really seeing it in force right now, too. A ton of forgotten newspaper strips are getting lush collections thanks to publishers like Fantagraphics and Dark Horse, or cheaply priced ones thanks to Checker Publishing. I'm noticing some of these long-unused techniques from the old masters starting to show up again in current creators' works, too. I know I'm currently more heavily influenced by Milt Caniff, Roy Crane, Alex Toth and Will Eisner than most anyone else right now.
I don't know what this says about society. Maybe the beginnings of a shift away from instant trash culture? People would stop putting these things out if they weren't making money off of them, y'know? Or at least a larger appreciation of where we come from, than any sort of cultural shift. It doesn't seem to be a desire to stop moving forward, but rather learning from the past to make decisions about the future.
Posted by Schamberger at 07:40 AM
May 30, 2006
I'm Curious...
The day after a long concert, is William Hung...Hoarse like a Hung?
Posted by Schamberger at 08:38 PM
May 28, 2006
Inspiration Sunday: Conan the Adventurer #1
This book is another one of those forgotten gems from the 90's glut. Written by Conan mainstay Roy Thomas and illustrated by Rafael Kayanan, this book hit my 14 year old head like a steel chair, due in large part to Kayanan's violently detailed art.
The coloring on this is, for the most part, hideous, but it still does a decent job of separating shapes. I'd love to see Kayanan's black and whites on this, though. Or better yet, maybe some day down the line Dark Horse will reprint these with new coloring, collecting all of the issues into one nice big graphic novel.
On to the art:
Click on each image for a larger view:
Posted by Schamberger at 09:24 AM
May 27, 2006
In Memory of Alex Toth
There's probably five artists that I'll always buy anything of theirs. Wally Wood, Will Eisner, but the one that's really been getting my attention lately has been Alex Toth. Apparently, Mr. Toth passed away this morning.
I'd been hearing that he had been in the hospital for a while now, so this isn't exactly coming as a surprise, but it is still shocking.
The cartoon that first got me interested in superheroes, and through that comic books, was Super Friends, which happened to have been designed by Toth. Once I was really into comix, and really started studying them, it became impossible to do so without coming across Toth.
His work was the embodiment of 'deceptively simple', being able to convey so much with so few lines. Some spots of black, some outlines, and blammo, you've got another Toth masterpiece.
The life of the man may now be extinguished, but the life of his work will continue to live on, to be amazing and inspiring. Thank you, Mister Toth, for the impact that your work has had on me.
Posted by Schamberger at 09:24 PM
May 21, 2006
Inspiration Sunday: Batman Movie Adaptation (1989)
I've been meaning to start up this feature for awhile now, after seeing the fantastic Inspiration Grab-Bag.
So, here is what was probably one of my most influential comics I read as a kid, being a 9 year old firmly swept up by Batmania II, the adaptation of the smash hit Batman movie, by Denny O'Neil, Jerry Ordway, and Steve Oliff. I just dug this out of my parents' basement a couple weeks back, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was illustrated by Da Ordster. For some reason, that never clicked in my brain before.
And god damn, but Ordway illustrated the hell out of this book, as the following pages show. This may be the best movie adaptation comic ever. The storytelling, the panel layouts, the draftsmanship, the inking, the coloring...yeah, looking at it now, this book totally set me on my way to being the comix creator I am today. Looking at the state of wear my copy's in, I can easily say I've gone through this book over a hundred times.
(Click on each image for a larger view)
Posted by Schamberger at 10:23 AM
May 03, 2006
Some Blasts From the Past
Devil Joe and the Love Beyond (a 24 hour comic)
Things perhaps better left forgotten, I suppose.
Posted by Schamberger at 07:53 AM
April 27, 2006
Watch The Skies On May 4th!
Posted by Schamberger at 05:06 AM
April 09, 2006
Sanity Project
Just got done flipping through that House of Mystery collection, Lorenzo Mattotti's 'Chimera' and Dave McKean's 'Cages' (yeah, those're enough to make you want to throw a brick at your art table, huh?), and it got me to thinking...
I would love to have one of those side projects, that I do just to scratch a creative itch, but that I can collect together at the end and hopefully have it stand as its own body of work. Play with just whatever style I want and have it work with the narrative. McKean did that brilliantly with 'Cages'. Lots of ink drawings with a splash of monochromatic color splotched in to help shape the figures or make the page layout work smarter, but then the occasional photo manip or painted work as the story goes. But all very smart and useful.
Or look at that Neal Adams HoM story, 'Games'. Adams obviously didn't have the time to do a whole Batman story in drybrush, but he was able to whip out a short story like that, just to play with the technique. I want that.
Or Mattotti, a very accomplished painter, doing a black and white ink-sketch book. Thirty pages done to meet a creative desire. Fanfuckingtastic.
So. This is what I want to do, and why. Now I just need to figure out 'how'. Story.
Posted by Schamberger at 01:31 PM
April 08, 2006
Excited Again
Maybe it's just brain chemistry. Maybe it's all of the exciting stuff DC's doing right now (Infinite Crisis, 52, Aquaman(!), Simonson and Chaykin on Hawkgirl, Jonah Hex, Joe Kubert doing all of the work on Sgt Rock, Warlord, and Batman and Superman being good again, etc.), maybe it's a great few graphic novels I've read recently, or still pouring over that House of Mystery Showcase book, maybe it's seeing my bud's getting their Gearhead book going, maybe it's seeing Arnett still going with Risers, maybe it's just the season, maybe it's Act-I-Vate Wave 2, or maybe some great new music. I don't know what it is, but I'm excited about making comix again (like I ever stopped, but you know).
Maybe it was that funny accidental mass email from Warren Ellis a little while back, saying, "Drama over with. Fucking artists." That one still cracks me up, having been there I don't know how many times.
I'm going to finish up Black Chamber, for better of for worse, and then keep plugging on whether it gets picked up or not. Arnett's been getting on me for years for not finishing projects, so I figured I'd shut him up for once and just do it. Sixty more pages and the sumbitch is complete. Go me.
So, what's exciting all of you? What's keeping you motivated? Read any good books lately?
On another note, I've had the itching to open a message board up, strictly for making and discussing comix, but classy-like, without mental patients or any of that jazz. I've got one right now I'm not using. Should I do it? Should I open up that can of worms? I would need one or two moderators, as I'm fairly well unavailable from 6AM to 5PM anymore. Have I gone nuts again that I'm even considering this?
Posted by Schamberger at 06:15 PM
March 28, 2006
ANDY! CALL ME! I DON'T KNOW YOUR CEL #!
There's a chance we can get backstage passes, yo!
Posted by Schamberger at 09:57 AM
March 27, 2006
Tuesday = Big Freaking Deal, Seriously
So, around nine o'clock tomorrow morning, I'm a gonna mosey on down to the Borders by my job and buy the brand spanking new Josh Rouse album, and love every second of it, as I've done with his other albums.
Then, I'm a gonna leave work early, around 2:30 or so, to go on out to Odessa and pick up my eleven year old bro, AJ. The reason I'm a gonna go pick him up? Rasslin'! Yup, we's a goin' to the doubleya doubleya E's Smackdown at that there Kemper Areeeenaaaa.
And so it was said, and so it was, and so it shall be. And it was good.
Posted by Schamberger at 08:23 PM
March 26, 2006
Another Scanning Question
Why does my scanner hate watercolors so badly?
Posted by Schamberger at 02:02 PM
March 19, 2006
Scanner Question
So, am I the only person in the world who didn't realize that his scanner distorts the height by ten percent? It only took me two years to figure this out.
Posted by Schamberger at 06:50 PM
January 13, 2006
8 Hour Comic
Anyone want to get together on the 22nd to do an 8 page comic in 8 hours? I've got an idea I want to do, and I think doing it in this fashion would be fun. We could get together at The Crave, drink some coffee, and make some comix. I'll be there regardless, for whoever wants to stop by and join in, or just stop by and shoot the shit.
UPDATE: I'll be there from 11 to 7 or 8. Whoever else wants to stop by, participate or whatever, that's when I'll be there.
Posted by Schamberger at 09:00 AM
January 07, 2006
Q&A With Warren Ellis
Warren's having an open session for questions and answers, and here were mine:
1. Do you think that with time, manga readers may become more interested in similarly-themed books but not drawn in the "Big Eye" style? As those readers get older, and the novelty of the foreign aspect wears off, I wonder whether they'll just move on to trying different types.
That's going to be the big question four years from now -- will the first mainstream American manga generation give up manga as it discovers booze, crack and bisexual encounters in nightclub toilets? Will it find or demand more adult work? Will it embrace other comics idioms?
I think that all these things will be true -- as in anything, the audience will fracture as it enters early adulthood. It can't be considered a whole thing.
2. Why such the push for "getting new readers", when maybe it should be "getting back the readers we lost"? That age group that largely stopped reading the books in the late 80's, early 90's are all now working professionals with disposable income. Is there a 'target rich environment' that's maybe getting ignored?
That's a thorny one that begs a few follow-ups. Like, how many of those unit sales were readers and how many were speculative orders? And how do you reach readers from 1990 when there are something like 7000 fewer outlets now? Further, is it possible that we do reach those readers -- but through bookstores, with TPBs, rather than comics stores with singles?
3. How big of a part is the online factor going to play in getting us past the distribution woes we currently face?
I vacillate on this almost daily. I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the big questions of this year.
Right now -- and I'll disagree with myself this time next week, I'm sure -- I think the best thing a lot of indie creators can do is assume that the direct market isn't going to carry their work, and look for a way to take thier stuff to the readers. Now, I'll be the first to admit that that's doing a disservice to the 300-ish progressive comics stores. But those 300 do not have a bottomless budget, and deserving people are going to be kicked to the wayside when those stores consult their runes and decide what they're going to roll the dice on each month. It's time -- way past time -- to start looking at new ways to do things.
4. What's your best advice for people just getting their feet in the industry?
Kill yourselves.
Seriously? Take in as much information as you can about the state of the medium today -- and then make your own decisions. The last thing we need is another creator coming in wanting to be another version of someone already working. Be yourself. Know your own mind. Ensure your opinions are informed, yes -- but think for yourself based on all the available data.
Posted by Schamberger at 04:48 PM
January 04, 2006
Wally Wood On His Worst Day Is...
Arnett's going along with throwing out 'Dangerous Ideas' for comix, so I figured I'd throw out the one that's been bugging me of late. One of those things that SHOULD be discussed.
The quality of story and art in the majority of, at least, American comix sucks. There's this level of acceptable mediocrity that seriously needs to be addressed.
About a month back a friend and I were discussing the artistic merits of Wally Wood (my personal artistic icon), and my friend pointed out that Wood had his real low points on some projects. I agreed, but noted that "Wally Wood on his worst day is still better than 95% of the folks working in the medium today." I stand by that.
Why is it that when I show off my Black Chamber pages that people are amazed that they can tell the story from just the art? Shouldn't clear storytelling just be a given with sequential art? Why is that special?
Or, on the writing side, my five favorite writers working right now are Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison, Ed Brubaker, Geoff Johns and Brian Wood. Morrison is a special quantity, and deserves the majority of his accolades. Ellis and Brubaker both have their shining moments, but also have produced some unremarkable works. Johns would fit in perfectly in 1960's DC, and if EC had made graphic novels, Wood would have fit in there. But, barring Morrison, shouldn't this level of writers be the norm? Shouldn't we always expect quality as a bare minimum?
Why is sub-par material considered to be acceptable? Is it that whole tree fort mentality, that, hey, at least they're making comix? So we should accept that?
Why is it considered to be revolutionary that I'm putting together an anthology where all of the creators are of a certain minimum quality level? I mean, come on people, I want it to sell.
Yes, this is a medium, a form of expression, but it's also a business. Treat it that way. At my day job, the words "Good Enough" are unacceptable, at least within the division I head. "Good Enough" didn't gross 3/4 of a million dollars in 2005. "The Best Possible Every Time" did that, and made us the second biggest in the industry. If our "Best Possible" weren't of that quality, we would flounder and eventually either improve or go out of business.
Quality. That's the elephant in the room no one's talking about. The other one being Honesty. If you think you're "Good Enough", brother, trust me when I tell you you're not. For those getting ready to throw tomatoes at me, no, I'm not either. But, I am my "Best Possible Every Time", and I'm honest with myself that that's not enough, so I need to continue to improve. I've learned enough to finally be able to identify my weaknesses.
Look at Will Eisner. He was constantly trying out new techniques and tools to improve his work. Arguably the greatest man to ever work in this medium, and he felt he still wasn't good enough. Hell, his very last book, "The Plot", used two techniques he never had used before. Look at Joe Kubert. He's been working in the industry literally since it was created, and he's still trying new things on that "Sgt Rock" book coming out soon.
Quality.
Honesty.
Two words that for the right reasons should go unsaid, but for too long, they've gone unsaid for the wrong reasons.
Posted by Schamberger at 07:30 PM
January 03, 2006
Will Eisner's Passing: One Year Later
This is what I wrote last year about Mr. Eisner:
Will Eisner probably understood sequential storytelling better than anyone else alive. His absence in our world will be sorely noticed.The first thing I did this morning, after the shock had worn off over his passing, was to draw. I don't think there's any way to better honor his memory than to make sure that the medium he so actively advocated will continue to thrive and prosper.
You know, the man finished his last work literally on his deathbed. That's a commitment to your art, and that's how I see myself going out.
But, going back to that quote, one year later, I think I'm off to a good start of honoring his memory, and in continuing to learn about who he was as a creator and as a man. What a Spirited Life for us all to learn from, and to enjoy.
Posted by Schamberger at 10:48 AM
December 30, 2005
On Lightning Rods
About a year ago, I was having some interpersonal problems at the dayjob. My boss, a really great guy who I respect immensely, pulls me into his office. I think, great, here it comes. Instead, he tells me:
"You're doing really well right now, Rob, and that's going to make people pay attention to you. There's going to be a lot of jealousy from some people, and that's something you're just going to have to get used to."
Those words have really stuck with me. It really put a lot of things in perspective for me that I just hadn't understood before. Every time in my life that I've excelled at something, I tended to get more sneers than cheers. People don't want to see you do well, because it makes them confront themselves.
It's one thing to react that way to folks who are just given something on a platter, but it's another when that person works hard and scrapes by to achieve.
I've run into that with my comix career very frequently as well. I work HARD at this stuff, folks. Lunchbreak at work? Drawing. Get home? Draw. Write. Correspond. Promote. Network. Facilitate. I live and breathe this medium. There's nothing I'm more passionate about in my life, sometimes to my own detriment, but god damn it, it's worth it. I love helping others to get their works done as well. I love raising the tide and allowing more boats to sail. That only helps me.
I got an email this morning, telling me that I'm unhealthy to be around. Well, then come on and catch my disease. I think the world would be a better place if it went pandemic.
We need more passionate people. We need more people striving for excellence. We need more people setting goals and achieving them. Catch it. Spread it.
Posted by Schamberger at 06:30 AM
December 29, 2005
More Anthology Thoughts
I think my favorite book coming out right now is DC's 'Solo', which just happens to be an anthology. It's an artist-driven book, coming in at 48+ pages, all by this one artist, sometimes writing their own stuff, sometimes working with a writer. Each issue spotlights a different artist. They've had Tim Sale, Howard Chaykin, Paul Pope, Darwyn Cooke, Richard Corben, Jordi Bernett, and the latest by Teddy Kristianson.
The book feels really eclectic, but still has a singular vision and feel that keeps it cohesive. It's spear-headed by editor Mark Chiarello, a fantastic artist in his own right (Batman/Houdini being a high spot, along with his covers for Terminal City), who decided to just go and find the very best creators working in the industry today and have them just cut loose. I think the only caveat is that at least one story has to feature a DC character.
So, for instance, in the Teddy Kristianson issue, you've got that one story featuring Deadman, written by Neil Gaiman(!), and then four other stories that really let Kristianson show his wares. A Tales From the Crypt-style shocker, a love story, an historical fiction story, and an I-haven't-read-it-yet-so-I-can't-tell-you-what-kind-of-story-it-is story.
So, my thinking on how to apply this to that anthology I've been pondering on:
With the caliber of creators who will be in the book, I don't feel the need to even have to worry about editorial oversight, with again just one caveat, that being that the stories all be self-contained, but each issue would have those characters or setting continue.
So, since all of the individual creators are going to retain all of their own rights, once they feel they've amassed enough content, they can then release their own Solo-esque collection of this work they're doing for the anthology. If we release quarterly, and set the individual creator page-count at eight pages, each creator by the end of the year would have a minimum of 32 pages they could collect. It'd be easy for them to add their own 16 pages of additional content and get a nice 48 page book out. If they'd be game, I'd like to release all of them as some sort of non-line. Some sort of thing that would let people know that it's a part of this whole thing. That'd be cool, wouldn't it?
If everyone's bringing their A-Game, branding all of these together would only strengthen the possibility of cross pollination of interest.
Your thoughts?
Posted by Schamberger at 12:18 PM
For Some Reason...
This image has been stuck in my head since yesterday:
EDIT: Not to be confused with this image:
Posted by Schamberger at 09:22 AM
December 23, 2005
Work Night Last Night
Had a great, productive evening. Mike Sullivan and Scott Hassler showed up, and we had several great conversations about technique, tools, creators, and preference between tall girls and short girls (Scott likes the petite ones, and I, like Don Johnson, am just "Looking For A Heartbeat").
I finished up a picture I'm doing for my little brother, and did some pencilling and inking on Black Chamber.
I gave Scott some ideas on costuming for one of the antagonists in his book, which will be funny. Mike and I plotted out our proposal for the Star's Previews section. It's going to be so cool. Mike came up with a great design for our lead character. Just dead on, really.
Then, we got stuck on what to put on the chest of his t-shirt, and that discussion ended up giving us our whole plot and the whole thrust of the story. This is going to be a rip-roaring good time.
Remember, these are now every other Thursday night, so keep your schedules open for January 5th.
Posted by Schamberger at 06:38 AM
December 22, 2005
thursday Thursday THURSDAY
ITEM! Work Night 2-night @ The Crave. Make comix, talk shop, and have an all-around good time.
ITEM! I got a new bed last night! Finally! I've been sleeping on a day-bed box and mattress for half a year now. Not. Comfortable. Best night's sleep I've had in a long, long time. Thanks, mom!
ITEM! My good friend Andy proved how awesome he is by getting me not only the Battle Royale movie, but also a Mexican toy Luchadore set. Pictures to come soon! Hopefully by now, Andy has deleted the footage he has of the New Year's where I was wearing a Luchadore mask and nothing else.
ITEM! Andy was saving that footage as counter-blackmail against a picture I had of him. Want to know how to get your friends to love and respect you? Okay, so I go to develop some film back in 2000, and find a picture Andy had taken of his own bare, hairy ass, mooning me. Got me good, the little jerk. So, since we were working at the same bank at the time, myself at the main location and he at a branch, I send the picture through inter-office delivery to his Assistant Branch Manager.
Apparently, it went down something like this:
"Oh my god, why did Rob send me a picture of his ass?!?"
"What? Oh, I'm gonna kill him."
And! I managed to get the picture back, for future fun. Good times, good times.
Posted by Schamberger at 06:46 AM
December 20, 2005
Hmmm...
http://www.barnraiser.org/aroundme/
Posted by Schamberger at 08:26 AM
December 19, 2005
On the Demise of the CCN
I believe that, with time, the bad things that caused the end of the Kansas City Comics Creators Network will largely be forgotten. Once the bad feelings have really passed, we'll be able to objectively look at exactly how those two or so years of the CCN's existance really altered the terrain of the KC comix scene.
I think what we'll find is that even though there's no real center anymore, there's still a large community of people here locally who are actively creating comix. It may have splintered off, but I believe that over time this will be viewed as a natural and good evolution. With more diverse voices, there's more room for new creators to find the 'right' group of people to gravitate towards.
There will still be that cross-polination, too, which will make everyone continue to grow in ways that they wouldn't have if they were strictly on their own. There will be more people collaborating that wouldn't have before, which is always exciting. Whether it's in a 'traditional' way such as one person writing, another drawing, or people banding together in an anthology, it will create the sense of an orchestra rather than a solo pianist.
Already for 2006 I'm planning on releasing a graphic novel done all by myself, an anthology with five folks very different from myself in their approach to the craft, and writing scripts for two artists that have different approaches to their art than I do. All of these people are locals, who I met through this community.
There's been a lot of negative talk about the 'CCN Stigma' (a phrase that I unfortunately coined, but is very apt), and I think that it's time that we move on to the next stage. Now that the discussion is open that, yes, the CCN is gone, we can move on to where we go now. That's much more exciting and energizing to me, personally.
We really have a much more rich comix community here in KC than most other metropolitan areas, and I believe that it's time we admit that, and be proud of it.
Posted by Schamberger at 09:01 AM
December 16, 2005
Work Night 12/22/05 6:30ish to Whenever
I'll be hanging out at The Crave Cafe Thursday the 22nd, working on Black Chamber, if anyone would like to come hang out, talk shop, and work on their own projects as well.
I'll have a special holiday gift there for everyone who shows up, as well. I'm just that kinda guy.
I think this'll be an every-other-week thing from here on out, until I get bored with it. Sound fun?
Posted by Schamberger at 08:25 AM
December 13, 2005
On Experimentation
I think it was at the last Writer's Workshop a few weeks back that Scott Hassler pointed out that I'm not using any of the Steranko-esque storytelling devices in The Black Chamber. You know, like splitting up a single scene with panel borders, or photo-statting one panel to repeat it into other panels, diagonal panel borders, etc.
He's right, and it was intentional.
I want my first 'major' work to be something very universal and accessible to new readers. I'm pretty much sticking to five panels a page, split between three tiers, or four panels creating four tiers. I'm not pulling any of my tricks out of my hat on this project, because the last thing I want is for my readers to get pulled out of the experience (the 'Comixperience', if you will...), simply so that I can show them how clever I am.
I'm being deceptively subtle on the book, having all of my storytelling tricks imbeded in the art itself, moving the reader through the page, and giving them the information that they need to know what's going on, even without the text in there yet. So far, that seems to be working.
My next projects, though? Well, my next graphic novel is going to be one huge experiment, that will either turn out great or will fall on its face, but that's the thrill of exprimentation, isn't it? I'd love to clue y'all in on what I'll be doing with it, but that'd be telling. All that I can say is that it's something that's never been done before, and should make perfect sense once it's done.
My next serial, the thing I'm planning for the proposed anthology, I can go into a little more depth with. I'm not going to be experimenting as much with the art (although I am going to be doing this one all with ink and brush, which I'm excited about), but the story itself will be. Working title is "Crime Story", it will follow the entire story of a crime, from when it happened, when the perp gets arrested, all the way down to the prison sentence. I'd read about a TV show doing that, but I never saw it. Still, the concept really intrigued me, so I figured I'd play with that.
I figure it's something that will work really well for an anthology. It'll be an ongoing narrative, but each 8 page chapter will stand on its own, so that the reader doesn't feel cheated. Sounds fun, eh?
I totally love thinking about this sort of stuff when developing a project. Sometimes the story comes first, other times the storytelling device, sometimes I'll have that 'Eureka Moment' where the whole thing hits me at once, like the anthology story. I've got what I call a Dorkographic Memory. I've got over ten thousand comic books, hundreds of graphic novels, a shelf of comix theory books, and am constantly reading interviews and essays online about the form. I'm a real student of this, ya dig? But, see, I remember all of it. It's like a Rolodex, that as soon as my brain is presented with one of these obstacles, it immediately flips around to what I need.
Of course, there's also the adverse effect, in that I can tell you the superpower, civilian identity, and home world of every member of the (preboot (see, I even know what 'preboot' means)) Legion of Superheroes, but I only just found out this year that Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday.
Posted by Schamberger at 09:44 PM
On Definitions
I kill time at work every now and then, and one of my favorite places to do so is at The Engine.
For instance, yesterday I got involved in a little conversation about what to actually call 'comic books', as that name just doesn't really encapsulate what the form of expression really does.
I came into the discussion with:
"I think it brings us back to being the Form of Expression With No Name. Comic book? Comix? Graphic Novel? Sequential Art? Manga? Comic Strip? Fumetti? Graphic Album? It seems each one is its own thing, but all fall under the same umbrella.
"I went to a lecture by Art Spiegelman, and he spent a little while on how there's really no proper name for this form of expression. It's like we need to create a word for it, like Poetry, Music, Prose, etc.
"What word can we create that is suitable for "A sequence of images used to express an idea"? Anyone speak Latin? Klingon? Interlac? It should come from a dead language, I think. One of the near-dead Native American languages, maybe?"
to which Warren Ellis replied to my bit about the Klingons with:
"I hope a terrible accident happens to your balls today."
so I shot back:
"Oh come on, Warren, it'd be fucking great if your life's work ends up falling under a Klingon word. I'd take a ball injury for that bit of black humor.
"I personally just go with 'comix'. It fits for me."
and Ivan Brandon replied with:
"you can call them whatever you want, but when you show them the girl at the coffee shop, SHE'S going to call it a comic book.
"so that's what i call them."
which I mostly agreed with:
"I totally agree. It all depends on who the conversation is with.
"Although I've found that because of The OC, a lot of those girls at the coffee shops call them graphic novels. No lie. The girls here at my day job refer to what I do that way, actually.
"What's Klingon for "Graphic Novel"?"
to which I was a little disturbed by finding out from Ralf Haring that:
"I have no idea, but I just found this:
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/
And also this:
http://robots.org.uk/art/klingon%20che%20guevara.png"
which made my brain do this:
"nnnnnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNGGGGGGgggggggg!"
and then we finally got to the good stuff, thanks to Maddie Greene:
"Ghoch paq, or "destination book." The name of this unusual form of Klingon art echoes our term "sequential art," but on the Klingon homeworld historically refers to a triptych-like series of paintings depicting battles.
"...what?"
GHOCH PAQ! I love it. There you go, that's the name for comix from here on out. ROB SCHAMBERGER MAKES GHOCH PAQ!
Posted by Schamberger at 08:10 AM
December 06, 2005
Jar Jar Rob Say:
Meesa hate drawing fucking cars.
Posted by Schamberger at 06:54 PM
Discuss This
(Just in case no one noticed, when something falls under the 'Dialogue' Category, it's something that's up for general discourse)
A quarterly anthology with a mix of continuing and self-contained stories. Local creators, but the best of the best. Minicomic. Cheap. 24-48 pages. Produced on the cheap, but with a definite eye towards quality. Get our work seen. Have all profits go to a fund to turn it into a 'real' comic with higher production values. When it goes 'real', up the page count to around 100, price around ten bucks. Creates an outlet for writers and artists to raise their own bar of quality to make it in, thus enriching our comix community. Somebody other than just me helping to organize and run it. Ten artists doing ten pages every quarter isn't a very unrealistic goal.
Discuss.
Posted by Schamberger at 03:10 PM
December 04, 2005
On Influence
Just an informal poll here:
I'm curious, from looking at my art, who y'all think are my artistic influences. Please comment here and let me know what you think.
Posted by Schamberger at 05:54 PM
December 03, 2005
Ideological Tachyons
I finished reading 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' today. I had seen the movie a month or two back, and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was definitely intersting to go and read the source material after having seen the film adaptation, to see where there were common elements and to also see where the two drifted from each other. Ultimately, they're different beasts, but both quite interesting. Maybe it's like they're half-brothers, you know, but with different mothers, raised seperately. Obviously related, but very different at their spiritual cores.
I wonder if anyone went up to Tevis, the author of the book, and asked them if Nick Roeg, the director of the movie, had ruined his book. I'm sure he'd do like Chandler did when asked about 'The Big Sleep', and go over to his book shelf, pull the book out, flip through it, then look over at the interviewer and say, "Looks like my book's just fine." Like, would anyone ask Tevis if Bowie's album 'Low' ruined his book? It's the unused soundtrack to the film, which was adapted from the book. Well, I'm listening to it as I type this, and, no, I still enjoy what I read from the book.
I went to see the film adaptation of 'Aeon Flux' today. I enjoyed it in a Barbarella/Danger: Diabolik way. Good pop-y fun. Was it anything like the original cartoon, or even the new Dark Horse comic? Just in that half-sister way, really. But, you know, if I want to watch the cartoons again, I'll go buy the DVD set. I wanted to see the film, and that's what I got.
See, to me, ideas are like tachyons. Tachyons, for those who don't know, exist as both particles and waves. I believe that an idea, like the ideas in 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', can really exist in different forms, but still inherently be within their nature. That idea really works well as a novel, a film, and an album. If I weren't so tied up in my own projects, I'd love to do a graphic novel of it. And, really, would my graphic novel destroy 'Low'? Shyeah, right.
That's what bugs me about folks who complain about a film not being like the source book, or TV show, or whatever. Of course it's not. Each form has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the concept needs to be tailored to suit that. Also, each form has its own type of audience, so the story needs to be altered to suit that as well. I'm pretty sure that most of the people sitting in the audience for Aeon Flux never saw the cartoon. Until they were into filming the movie, Bowie had not read 'The Man Who Fell To Earth'. And, I'm sure except for Max Allan Collins, no one complained about Sam Mendes changing the ending of 'Road to Perdition'.
Don't go into a movie expecting it to be just like the source material which you're already familiar with. If you want that, just read/watch/listen to it again.
Posted by Schamberger at 09:12 PM
November 29, 2005
Some Folks Worth Watching
There's a few of my contemporaries here in the area that I really feel are worth your time to check out:
I've already talked about Jason Arnett at length. He's a good guy, a good friend, and serious about making comix. He's always intelligent and entertaining. I'm excited that he's drawing again.
Parrish Baker's one of those quirky entities that every metropolitan area has, and is always that community's best-kept secret. Parrish sits at the Broadway Cafe and draws his comix, and leaves photocopies of them there for people to take for free. He's a legend at UMKC, as a lot of those students hang out at the cafe, none suspecting that he's sitting right there watching them read his stuff. He's infamous among the city's counter-culture and hipsters, but very few have actually met him. Oh, and his work is very genuine, very heart-felt (especially his latest, where he's working out the emotions over the death of his father), and deceptively simple. As far as I know, he doesn't really have any visions of grandeur, and would be content to keep going the way he has been.
Chris Garrett is going to be internationally acclaimed some day. I totally see him becoming the next generation to fill Dave Sim's shoes, as far as epic storytelling goes. His recent major project, The Flood, makes you just want to throw a brick through your own drawing table. He does it all very well and makes it look easy. His work ethic and level of craft makes him a real role model to me.
'Heavy Water', whose name I will some day discover, and will also meet in person eventually, just kind of exploded onto the scene a few months back. His work is very mature in its craft, and carries a sexiness and whimsical humor that make his figures really come alive. He's one big project away from going to the major leagues. I'd love to write a book for him, like a sci-fi thing, some day, but I'd probably have to beat Dennis Hopeless, his frequent collaborator, in a steel cage match or something.
Dan Spottswood is an enigma of sorts. It's funny, I actually know all of his brothers, from years before I even knew he made comix, and I was actually the manager at a gas station where one of his best friends and collaborators worked for me. But, it was only a couple years back where I finally actually met him. You know that episode of Star Trek where they go into that mirror universe where Spock has a goatee? That's Dan and I. We travel in the same circles but hardly ever meet or interact, but when we do, it's like we've known each other all our lives. Dan shares with me the same passion for the art of making comix, but we seem to have gone in completely different directions with what sort of comix we want to make. But, there's no denying that he's a hell of an artist, innovator, and writer. Hopefully some day he'll get over his own self-doubt and start shopping his Disquiet stuff around to some publishing houses, but for now you can catch him every Thursday in the Kansas City Star.
If Jason Arnett's my best friend in comix that I never get to see, then Mike Sullivan's my best friend in comix that I get to see fairly often. Mike, like Parrish, is content to keep doing what he's been doing with his work, and I think that's totally awesome. Everyone wants to dog on folks who want to do superhero stories, but I think Mike does them very well, and captures what it is about superhero stories that makes them work. His books are fun, adventurous, dangerous, well-drawn and worth every penny. He's also putting together an anthology that I think will be pretty cool once it's all said and done.
Posted by Schamberger at 06:40 AM
November 23, 2005
On Kansas City Comix
So, what does everyone think will be the next iteration of the KC Comix Scene?
I'll start the discussion off here with my thoughts:
I see a wave of do-it-yourselfer's, making their comix on their own, but getting together every now and then to talk shop and get a social atmosphere. I think that's the most positive thing to come out of the now-defunct CCN - that desire to be working on something with someone else in the room to talk shop with. I think that's a healthy environment, but I think it's all that our 'scene' can sustain right now, and more importantly, all that it really needs.
Posted by Schamberger at 01:09 PM