All Work and No Play (originally published August 2007)

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I've been thinking about bringing back some old posts from the distant blogging past but today I've decided to start. Not because this is necessarily a top-tenner or anything (though it is one of my personal favorites with one of my most-reproduced drawings, including by me here), but because Photobucket doesn't allow the images to just show up anymore. (Meaning the images are once again visible and without watermark. I also removed one dated inside joke, and the once-rollover captions now appear below the images.) One change you'll notice that once-invisible differences in, for instance, shades of white, are glaring today. I chose not to fix those. Apologies. But it's your fault for getting a better screen.

This repub is also timely because the latest issue of Irreantum includes some illustrations of mine with one of the stories. So let's talk me and drawing, shall we?

Thus, without further ado:

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It's a little known fact that in my spare time I do some freelance magazine illustration. Dr. M. A. Malien is starting a breastfeeding column for one of those ubiquitous new-parent magazines and I was offered the job of illustration. Then they decided to go with well lit but generic photographs of pretty babies with pretty mommies lounging on brightly colored furniture and I got a kill fee in the mail.

Anyway, I had already done all the work on the first three months' columns, and while I lack the medical school credentials, perhaps if you, like Lady Steed, are a nursing mother known to complain that your “b**bs” hurt, maybe there will be something in it for you.

Dr. Malien's main thesis, however, I have already given the observant. Did you catch it?

"Yep, b**bs. That's what we're talkin' about."



"First, back to basics: Men and Women."



"Remember this?!?!"

 

"What did you expect when you adopted a tiger?!?!"

 
"Now remember when you were all about the recreation?"

 

"Grrrrrrr."

 

"Well OF COURSE if you're breastfeeding a CROCODILE! Let alone a small army!"



"Massage, ladies. Like this. Do I have to do it for you?"



"Guess what? Breast pumps are fun too!"

 

"Can you tell what I'm holding? Because I have no idea."



"Now take this cow for instance....."

 

"I like it with chocolate, myself."

 

"Interesting arrangement...."



"No No No No NO!"



"Breastfeeding! Yes! Breastfeeding!"

sources of scrap

the George Booth illustrations
the album cover
all other images

Blue Beetle: then and now

 

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So the trailer for the Blue Beetle movie dropped today:

 I’m happy they chose Jaime as the Blue Beetle to make a movie about and, while the movie looks, as one observer put it, “disney channel coded,” I’m choosing to be optimistic. I mean—the George Lopez character looks particularly promising.

With that in mind, I’m republishing a couple ancient posts from back when I read Jaime’s adventures. Thinking maybe I should pick them back up before the movie.

Blue Beetle: Too early to survive into the future?

Monday, March 23, 2009

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With newspapers swiftly giving up the ghost and book publishers heading down the same road, ereaders can't really get here soon enough. Really, they ought to be giving them away because, while few people are willing to plunk down the money, those who have them seem to love them.

I believe that within a decade ereaders will be in most serious readers' hands. And I also believe that this will, over all, be good for content. And I also believe that, while good for print, it will be even better for comics.

Piggybacking on what Ben said last month, comics may in fact save comics. I'm thinking specifically of Blue Beetle.

Ben's been lending me his BB trades and really, even ignoring the fact that the writing and art and story are all good (really good), this book should be a homerun.

Check it out: The hero's a teenage boy. It's mostly about him and his friends. And occasionally Batman. He's got cool powers but normal kid problems too.

Blue Beetle is the modern equivalent to Spider-Man. Teenage kid falls into superpowers and must adapt.

Traditional superhero comics' main target audience is still adolescents, right? Blue Beetle is one of their own and hella cool. He's got a strong girl friend (note the space) so girl comics readers should be into it too.

In other words, this book is the perfect comic book. Commercially, it's covered in kevlar.

But it's been canceled.

Why?

I assume it's because the cost of comics is just too dang high.

And moving comics into an ereader? You can cut the price as low as you want, really, and still make a profit. You can, as Ben said, increase the total amount of comics sold severalfold.

And this is just a DC project I'm talking about.

I'm the indie guy here so let's pause for a minute and think what widely available ecomics can do for traditional print (ie, nonweb) guys. With e-ink and the nearpaper experience offered by new ereaders, the huge expenses involved in getting work in print will dramatically fall and more indie artists will have a shot at making a living. Or something close to a living.

This is a boon. And as popularity increases, we'll see color arrive and the future will be here.

I just hope Jaime makes it that long....

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from Fifth Five Books of 2009

Friday, April 3, 2009

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Excellent. This may be the best mainstream, action, superhero comic I've ever read. It was genuinely exciting and emotionally involving and it even made me tear up. The moment where Jaime said Blue Beetles don't need superpowers, for instance, and some of the family moments. Then the nearly-all-in-Spanish issue was great too, even for a gringo like me. The postscripted translation was nice but not necessary.

HOWEVER. If I have attracted your interest and you're now thinking "Okay. This is the one I will read." you are making a mistake. This book will not work fully without having read the first three first.

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If this makes you, like me, think it’s time to meet (or remeet) ol’ Jaime, here’s some affiliate links to what I think is the book I was talking about: Amazon | Bookshop