fpb | (no subject)

I have a suspicion that comics have moved ahead and I have been left behind. The standard of drawing, and especially of finishing, seems scarily high these days.

I am having serious conceptual problems with Ricky Attanasio. The two stories I am working on use him almost as an excuse; the one is centred on his family, and their marriage links, the other on the discovery of a novel piece of magic and the introduction of a central character. The trouble is that, never having had children of my own, I am not very good at conceiving childish escapades and adventures. But on the other hand, if I just go for the easy option and write things that are comparatively easy for me, such as adult conflicts and magical bizarreness, I will be dodging the challenge I set myself.

I hope I live long enough to see the overthrow of the despicable legal authorization to murder the old and the sick (a.k.a. "right to die") that Britain's scum-on-top have just delivered,, and to see the jails filled with those who tried to encourage elderly and infirm burdens-on-society to hop it. Murder is murder, and the more despicable the more helpless the victim. Like babies, the old and the sick ought to rouse the protective feelings of a sane country, not a lust to put them out of our misery.

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Almost certainly; consider Crimson Dark:
http://www.davidcsimon.com/crimsondark/index.php?view=comic&strip_id=1
However, given the popularity of xkcd and Order of the Stick, I wouldn't let that worry you.
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Surely you were once a child?

Or failing that, perhaps you had brothers or sisters?
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The proponents of these schemes grow older every day; hopefully being on the receiving end of their own crimes will teach them something.

I would say Crimson Dark is really overreliant on Poser.

Poser is just the last of a number of tricks designed to make artists ignorant of anatomy or other drawing skills to look better than they otherwise could. They all share the end result of stiff anatomy (which is deadly to good comics drawing - comics will forgive any amount of anatomical mistakes, however crass, before they excuse one stiff posture) and ill-conceived composition. But I was looking at the work of the oldest of my friends, Franco Urru, who now draws Angel and Spike comics, and I was scared. People like him, Claudio Villa, Paolo Eleutieri Serpieri, or Travis Charest - to name only a few - have taken comics artwork to a level of skill that makes me feel rather crushed.

Hm, outside of (large commercial) superhero comics, I don't know that typical production values are really that high. It's a bit like comparing the production values of your own work as an individual filmmaker to summer blockbusters, or a musician to the production values of major pop albums. Of course, production values are different than artistic value.

As far as writing Ricky, I think the best thing to do is to speak to your friends who have children.

Crimson Dark is a Poser strip. I recognized the stiff poses and expressions even before I checked the FAQ.

Not telling you what to post on your LJ or anything, but just FYI: I won't comment on your fiction, art, etc., if I also have to engage with your political/religious views and the people on your F-list who share them. If you want my input, then separating the fan fiction posts from the polemics would be appreciated.

it is open to you to comment on any passage you wish - or not. But I would resent quite intensely any attempt to suggest what I can write in my own blog, or how.