Back in 2000, my buddy Todd Dezago and I had the thrill and honor of being flown over to France by the SEMIC, the publisher that was offering translated volumes of our TELLOS comic to the French and Belgian markets. We were there mainly to attend the massive ANGOULEME international comics festival– but we got to spend three fantastic days in Paris before we took the train out to Angouleme. Paris was absolutely amazing, I have to say, and I could go on forever about all the wonders of the place…. but for the purposes of this entry, I’m going to concentrate on the comics angle.

The thing that first struck me as remarkable was that there seemed to be window displays of comics (or ALBUMS– hardcover comics that run around 48 pages and are much larger than our comic books) on almost every corner. The wonderful thing about Europe (and France in particular) is that comics are a much more visible, accepted form of entertainment. And unlike here in the States, a great wide variety of art styles and subject matter are on display for all to enjoy. And they ARE enjoyed. Humor and funny animal comics stand proudly beside science fiction, fantasy and adventure comics. One of the most amazing experiences I had was when Todd and I went into a huge book store called FNAC, which reminded me of a Barnes and Noble here in the States– and turning a corner, our eyes were greeted by the sight of a GIGANTIC area where every recent comic album available were on display. It was such an awe inspiring sight. I could swear I heard a chorus above me and light split the ceiling to flood down on the displays. It was almost a religious experience, I was so stunned at what I was seeing! And there were so many people standing or sitting around reading these things. Young AND old. Little kids stood next to old men– middle aged women sat next to teen aged boys… all reading or browsing these comics. I could have spent the entire week we were there in that place alone. I looked through as much material as I could, and grabbed everything I could carry to buy. I don’t remember how much I spent, but I should have had the albums shipped home, because carrying them in my bags almost broke my shoulders on the way home after the festival.

So when I learned that there was going to be a thread about European comics characters over at SKETCHBOOKSESSIONS, well, I had to join in!! The two sketches here today are from two of my favorite European comics– the first is from the series “LES LUMIERES DE L’AMALOU illustrated by the great Claire Wendling. She’s an amazing artist, and I was able to get 4 of the books in the series. The second sketch is of the character ATALANTE from a series illustrated by the equally amazing Didier Crisse. Anyone who has read the TELLOS: MAIDEN VOYAGE one-shot knows how fantastic Crisse’s work is– and Todd and I are lucky to know and have worked with this talented guy.

I have a great love for the amazing works in comic art that come out of Europe (in particular France and Belgium), and I hope to be able to get my grubby mitts on a lot more of that stuff in the future. It’s hard to come by over here– so for now, I’ll just have to console myself with the handful of books I have right now.

Mike

We use terms like “master of the form” and “visionary” and “influential” and “genius” and “inspiration” too often to describe those in the comic book world who’s work we admire. But, really, Will Eisner is deserving of all those terms– and more.

I’ve been thinking about Eisner a lot the past several days since his passing– thinking back on the first time I discovered his work; some of my favorites from his massive life-long body of work. I was reading

Jeff Parker’s thoughts on Eisner the other day and he mentions rolling the tops of his gloves down like THE SPIRIT did when he was a kid after discovering Eisner’s seminal character in the old WARREN magazine reprints being published in the 70’s and early 80’s– and I remembered doing the EXACT SAME THING! It’s funny how universal some things are with kids. I can imagine a whole army of us back then rolling the tops of our gloves down to emulate THE SPIRIT.

There was something wonderful about that simple rumpled blue suit, gloves, black domino mask and fedora that comprised THE SPIRIT’S “costume” that just connected with me when I first saw that character. And Eisner’s art– I had never seen such vibrant, cartoony and yet utterly MOODY work before. Eisner was a master of lighting, staging, body language… and of course storytelling. His amazing– and at the time UNIQUE– work had a profound influence on so many folks through the years. From older artists like Jack Cole and Wally Wood who worked in Eisner’s studio decades ago to newer stars like Frank Miller– Eisner’s work touched so many. And fortunately for us all, he continued to work until the end. He’s left us all such a massive body of work to study and enjoy– he’ll be an influence for generations to come.

Eisner was a living link (one of the last, I think– if not THE last) to the beginnings of the comic book industry. He was there when they were born– he was a part of their birth. He was one of those young, energetic pioneers who worked for little pay and less recognition (back then) to create the industry we all love so much now. One of my favorite works of his beside THE SPIRIT is a graphic novel he did called THE DREAMER. It’s a heartfelt look back by an much older man– now a wealthy giant in his field (who, incidently, was smart enough to retain the rights to his character, the SPIRIT, at a time when all his contemporaries sold off their characters to the big companies and lived to regret it)– recounting personal experiences and shared anecdotes of the formation of this amazing art form. It’s a fascinating read and a MUST for anyone who cares about how we all got here to engage in this craft we all love (whether reading OR creating them).

I’m just grateful to Will Eisner for leaving us so much amazing work to enjoy. His spirit (as well as SPIRIT) will live on forever in those works. Anyone who creates comics can only aspire to have an IOTA of the impact on comic books that Eisner did.

I’d also like to take this time to congratulate Jeff Parker on the birth of his son, REID!!! Parker’s a two-time daddy now– one of each–a girl, and now a boy. Go check out his new cutie.

Mike

YOU WILL BE MISSED.

If there’s ANYTHING that living 41-plus years on this Earth has taught me, it’s that EVERY year is full of ups and downs. Life has it’s own way of making things interesting– and not always in the positive. But isn’t that, essentially, what life is all about…? Experiencing the lows WITH the highs– which gives us the insight to contrast the two… to learn and grow as individuals based on those very life experiences.

There have been a ton of great “BEST OF 2004” lists all over the “blogosphere” in the last couple of weeks, and with a little searching, you’ll be able to find them. So I’ll leave it to those other folks who are more insightful and articulate than myself to gauge what was the best of this past year in comics, movies, television, video games and everything else that vies for our entertainment-starved attention. We are most assuredly an ENTERTAINMENT BASED society, and I’m just thankful that there’s the variety out there to choose from, whether good or bad.

I think I’ll try to stick with stating a few resolutions for the NEW YEAR that I’d like to try to make happen. I’ve never been much of one for participating in that time-worn tradition– but for some reason, the numbers 2005 have a ring to them that makes me feel compelled to do so… I can’t really explain it any better. So, here are a few resolutions that have floated to the surface of my mind:

To take another step forward in my creative process. I feel as though I’ve been a bit stagnant for the past couple of years, art-wise. I’ve grown a bit in my actual DRAWING ability, I think– but I’d like to make an effort to expand my range in layout, pacing, storytelling– and yes, drawing as well. I’d like to perhaps experiment a bit more– and maybe get away from the traditional grid format I’ve worked in for so many years and add some design to my comics pages.

To try to make this blog more interesting and interactive. I’d like to add some “HOW TO” material on a regular basis. I’d like to show some examples of how I work out drawing the figure, how I see storytelling, how I convey motion, how I design a cover– things like that. I’d like to make this a blog that even MORE folks would make a regular visit on their daily (or weekly, depending on how frequent I can get things done for the site) web surf.

To find more time to draw for MYSELF. I’ve been so overwhelmed with my monthly deadlines in 2004, that I haven’t had any time to create for my own “inner child”–that child who still loves to draw his own stories and create his own characters. I’ve got a lot of ideas swirling in my head for stories/series/characters, and I’d like to start getting some of them down on paper.

To find more time to relax. I don’t get enough time away from the drawing board to rest my back (it’s in constant pain from hereditary back defects as well as the constant sitting at the drawing table). I’d LOVE to find the time to work on landscaping the yards– both front and back– of my home. It would be fun to be able to mold my rugged yards into something I could be proud of.

Well– those are just a few. I’m sure I could come up with a few more, but I’ve heard that it’s not good to have TOO MANY resolutions– it just makes it harder to follow through on ANY of them if they’re too numerous. So, to everyone who reads this– have a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION tonight, and a prosperous and joyful 2005!

Mike

This week’s trip down the childhood “memory lane” of the characters I created back then centers on my version of a BATMAN-type character I called THE UNCANNY OWL. The OWL character had one of those simple, cheesy origins that are the kinds of things that a kid dreams up. In his “civilian” life, the OWL was a scientist. One day, his family gets killed by gangsters (I don’t remember what prompted that killing)– and in a fit of grief, he creates a costume based on his pet owl to go out and hunt down these gangsters. That’s about all I remember– but I’m willing to bet there’s not much more than that to it.

So, here’s the childhood drawing of THE UNCANNY OWL….



And here’s the modern drawing of the character….



I also thought I’d throw out a sketch I did for the monthly jam thread going on over at SKETCHBOOKSESSIONS.COM. This month’s subject is X-MEN– which as anyone even remotely familiar with that group of books knows, leaves it wide open to so many different characters it boggles the mind. I can’t imagine any comic book franchise that has more characters than the X-MEN have. I chose the 70’s versions of CYCLOPS and JEAN GREY/MARVEL GIRL. I really liked the designs on these costumes back then. I guess I’m feeling nostalgic these days with all the looks back at my childhood characters and drawing X-MEN from the “good old days”. Either that, or I’m beginning a mid-life crisis– but if this is as far as it manifests itself, I’ll be doing OK…..

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone who celebrates that holiday…!

Mike