Archive for January 22nd, 2007

SLUGGISH MONDAY

kidflash.jpg

Today was totally backwards for me– which is why today’s post is so late. I got up very early this morning to finish a page I had been working on over the weekend and hopefully get a jump on the next page for this week. Unfortunately, when I finished the page and then ate lunch, I became overwhelmingly sluggish and lethargic. My eyes got completely heavy and I felt like I needed more sleep. It’s a very cold day here– and my cat Charlie has been sleeping all day. He rarely– if ever– does that… he’s usually very rambunctious during the majority of the day. But the cold in the outside air seems to be permeating everything– even the inside of my house, although the heat’s on. It just sort of changed the atmosphere and we’ve both been in a fog all day. Charlie spent about an hour sleeping on my lap while I napped myself… in fact, I had to move him off so I could start sketching again. He’s STILL asleep now… it’s amazing.

Today’s sketch was like pulling teeth. I was planning on drawing a bunch of what are supposed to be young characters and write a commentary on how even teenaged characters in today’s comic books are drawn like steroid cases. To my eyes, even some of the youngest of heroes seem to be depicted as being in their late 20’s, when they’re supposed to be teens. I don’t know if it’s because the artists are not capable of drawing young characters as looking truly young– or if it’s because those artists have an instinctive knowledge that the fan base is so much older than they averaged in the past that it’s entirely possible they wouldn’t connect with characters drawn to look younger than they themselves are. Whatever the true reason– it feels as though that’s another strike against the potential for attracting new and younger readers to comic books. It’s one of the reasons why I like the TEEN TITANS and LEGION OF SUPERHEROES cartoons so much– the characters look like kids… which is cool, and as it should be.

OK… hopefully this sluggish feeling will go away as my body adjusts to this new cold snap running through our state. Hey… it’s not even THAT cold compared to the rest of the country– this is North Carolina, after all. But I’m spoiled. I’m used to very mild winters.

This is Entry 329.

Mike