Avengers Assemble!

Some exciting news passed along from the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum. Just in time for the release of the Avengers movie, they have put together an exhibit that should not be missed!

Avengers Assemble!Cartoon Art Museum Exhibition:  May 12 – October 21, 2012

San Francisco, CA:  "And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then—for now, the Avengers Assemble!"
The Cartoon Art Museum celebrates five decades of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with Avengers Assemble!, an exhibition featuring some of the most iconic characters in comic book history, including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Widow and The Incredible Hulk.  Artists featured in this retrospective include Jack Kirby, who co-created the series with writer Stan Lee in 1963; John Buscema, considered by many to be the definitive Avengers artist; and Neal Adams, whose photo-realistic style changed comics forever in the 1960s and 1970s.  Rarities from infrequent Avengers artists will also be featured, including works by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko; DC Comics Vice President Jim Lee; and Sal Buscema, one of Marvel’s most prolific pencilers.  Contemporary Avengers artists John Romita Jr. and Frank Cho will also be spotlighted.


This exhibition is sponsored in part by the Big Wow! ComicFest, which will feature an exhibition of original Avengers artwork at the San Jose Convention Center on May 19 & 20.  Highlights from this exhibition will be incorporated into Avengers Assemble! At the Cartoon Art Museum the following week.

Big Wow! ComicFest is the Bay Area’s largest comic convention this year, including dozens of special guests and exhibitors.  Featured guests include Jim Lee (Batman, Justice League of America), Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing, Heavy Metal), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), Travis Charest (Metabarons), Kevin Nowlan (Superman vs. Aliens), Sergio Aragonés (MAD, Sergio Aragonés Funnies), Bob Layton (Iron Man, Avengers), Frank Cho(Avengers, Liberty Meadows) and many, many more guests and special exhibitors!  Please visit Big Wow! ComicFest for a full list of exhibitors and programming.

Please visit the Cartoon Art Museum, for announcements regarding additional programming throughout the exhibition’s run.

Artist Interview: Charlie Harper, Creator of Crazy Normal, & Co-Creator of Ennui of the Dead

Part 4 of our 5 part Firetower Studios interview series. Action Lab has taken a big interest in this crew, and their fan base is getting bigger and bigger. This time around, we are talking to Charlie Harper about his two series Ennui of the Dead and Crazy Normal. He talks a lot about how his process has evolved, and some of the big creators that have influenced him.


CBotMP: What is your comics origin story? What’s the first comic you remember reading, and did it immediately make you put pencil to paper and start drawing?


Charlie Harper: I grew up in the country surrounded by fields and there were no comic books to be found. One of my mom and dad's old high school friends was moving to California and he was unloading a bunch of stuff and brought me a box of his old comics. I was probably 7 or 8. The first one I pulled out was Punisher. I remember thinking it was cool that he was all in black with the skull on his chest. Plus I was into G.I. Joe at the time so it clicked. There was a lot of Avengers and Justice League, all 80s, titles in there. I would say by far though, Iron Man and The Punisher were the ones I loved. I did draw them a lot. 

CBotMP: Being secluded from comics only to have this box of color and light dropped into your lap, that must have been pretty mind blowing. In our interview with Jeremy Whitley, he said that you invited him to your artist meet up, how long had you been holding these before he joined you? 

CH: Well Jason Strutz had actually started the art group via Craigslist. About 4 weeks after joining the group, I saw another Craigslist posting, by Jeremy, looking for someone who wanted to draw a comic with him. I answered it, and we met at the same coffee shop that the art group was meeting. Jeremy didn't live far from there, so I told him he should start coming to the group. I introduced him to Jason and those guys have created awesome work together.  

CBotMP: As an illustrator who are your major creative influences?

CH: It changes all the time. One constant however, is Marko Djurdjevic. And this is from ConceptArt.org back in the day before he dropped the X-Men work. His pencils and concept art is amazing. I own his CA.org DVD and I have always been a huge fan of his. Right now I have to say I am really into Rafael Albuquerque of American Vampire . I love the ink work he does with the gray washes.  As far as classic illustration Andrew Wyeth is my favorite. I am also a big fan of Nic KIein's work. His combo of different styles in the Viking books is fantastic. 

CBotMP: What sorts of subjects do you like drawing most? Is there a particular project you would love to draw?

CH: I love ghosts and the supernatural more than anything.  I am always saying to people that I love stories about the "intelligent dead". Not in the vampire sense, but in the "oh shit, I died and I now live in the underground as a ghoul" or something like that. I love the series Being Human on SyFy, to give you an idea. I am also a huge fan of Steve Niles. I have never read 30 Days of Night either. I am talking about Criminal Macabre, Doc Macabre, and his Ominibus book of short stories. 

CBotMP: You should check out the first issue of Aleister Arcane by Neils. It's about a late night shlock horror movie host that seeks revenge against a town that killed him. The first issue is one of the best horror comics I've ever read, but it turns pretty quickly into a scare-fest that in no way lives up to the first issue. Also, you should check out DC's Showcase Presents House of Mystery Volume 3. There are some AMAZING artists in there and their work is truly chilling. 

On average, how long do you spend drawing each strip?

CH: It really depends on the family and how tired I am. 1.5 to 3 hours normally. This is sad to say. I should be more consistant with how I do the strip. Some weeks I do it 100% digitally in Manga Studio EX 4. Then some weeks I do it traditionally.  I have recently started doing the initial drawings and all the lettering up front in MSEX4, and then printing it out to do the final drawing and inking over blue line. I like this method best. Also in regards to color I have been toying with the idea of watercolor. I have just started introducing/LEARNING to do gray wash toning like my influences listed above. 

CBotMP: You can see a bit of Far Side influence in Crazy Normal, is that intentional? Or are there other people you admire in the one panel gag strip/political cartoon genre that have influenced you more?

CH: I own every Far Side collection book out there. Jeremy had the idea that I change to that format because he knows how tight my schedule is. Since then, I have enjoyed doing it and it makes coming up with ideas easier.  I lean on social issues for my ideas in general and sometimes those cross over into politics, but I do not want it to ever be just about politics. 


CBotMP: The first strip of Ennui of the Dead was in color, and it quickly shifted to only black and white. Was there a specific reason, or just timing?


CH: Well I simply wasn't happy with the result in color. It is one of MANY things I need to work on to be a better artist.  


CBotMP: Whose work (graphic novels or otherwise) have you read lately that you really enjoyed?


CH: Well, The Walking Dead is just fucking insane. I am reading the hell out of that series. Jeremy and Jason have been great at introducing me to some great Vertigo titles, which is by far my favorite label. Y the Last Man was great, but Preacher was amazing. Right now I am going back and reading Alan Moore's Swamp Thing in the late 80's on my Kindle Fire via Comixology. It is great and the art work is amazing too. The page design reminds me of Sandman where every page is a huge piece of art. And my wife got me the Star Wars comic art book at christmas and I have been through that thing a thousand times. 

CBotMP: Thank you so much for answering our questions. And we can't wait to see how Ennui of the Dead develops as it continues.

Charlie Harper posts new strips of Crazy Normal every other Tuesday and Ennui of the Dead on Thursdays at Firetowerstudios.com. 

Thank you to everyone for all your continued support. If you have the time, check out the store, and click on our sponsors. We hope you're having as much fun reading these books as we are!

Dr. Muscles Announces a New Series Format!

Bogus Publishing has announced that beginning with #4, Dr. Muscles will begin rotating art teams and stories.

From Bogus Publishing:

While Stefano Cardoselli finishes up DM #3, we've got the next four artists lined up for DM#4-8. Here's a preview of Ignacio Vega's version of DM for a 2-part story, issues #6-7. More news on the upcoming DM artists soon! (if you want to try your hand at drawing a Dr Muscles issue, send us a link to your portfolio)

~~Update~~
Bogus has announced Cecilia Latella will be the artist on issue #5. Check out her character sketch for Mickey.

 He looks a little more Disney, and loveable, but still perfectly happy to steal the shoes off your feet. Can't wait to see how she draws Dr. Muscles himself!

Dylan doesn't want to take credit for this, but he is very excited that the guys at Bogus have decided to take this route with such an awesomely iconic character.

Princeless & Vietnamerica are Eisner Nominees!

Princeless is up for not one, but TWO Eisner Awards this year!

Congratulations to Jeremy Whitley, M. Goodwin, Action Lab Entertainment, and Fire Tower Studios! We hope they win! If you haven't read it yet, this book deserves all the accolades it's getting. It's fun and exciting, all without talking down to younger readers. You can definitely expect us to review the first trade when it comes out.

And VIETNAMERICA is up for Best Reality-Based Work.

If you haven't read GB Tran's incredible graphic novel, you really owe it to yourself to read it. The crew spotted this book early on and have been shouting its praises from the rooftops! GB's style has an incredible flow between photorealism and cartoon that is nearly imperceptible while reading. His personal story of trying to relate to his expatriated Vietnamese family is easily one of the best graphic novels to come out in a long time. He has definitely earned this Eisner nomination.

For those people following us that are a little unfamiliar with the world of comics, the Eisner Awards are one of the top honors a creator can receive. A bit like the Oscars... They are named after Will Eisner, one of the mediums greatest early pioneers of the Golden Age of the 20s and 30s. Sited by many as the inventor of the Graphic Novel, and a firm believer that panels were unnecessary in storytelling, his cartoony but incredibly well rendered style easily makes him the Da Vinci of the comic book medium (with Kirby as its Michelangelo and Moebius as its De Chirico).
Eisner was the creator of the newspaper insert character The Spirit, and loved to find ways to insert the title into the scene in bizarre and different ways each issue. He enjoyed a long fruitful career up until his death in 2005.

You can bet we will cover one of his books on this podcast at some future date.

Indie Spotlight #3: Sci-Fi-Ish?

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Chris, Dylan, & Keith talk about a few Sci-Fi-ish comics. Both of the 2nd issues from Bogus Publishing, Kranburn from Down Under, and Brian K Vaughan's Saga! These books brought out a lot of discussion about Heavy Metal, and comics of yore. It's always nice for us to see people gathering influence from more unlikely sources. Keith returns to his position as the comics historian on this episode, although Dylan manages to list off pretty much all of the books Brian K Vaughan ever wrote. :cough: supernerd :cough:

"Stranger In a Strange Land" written & performed by Iron Maiden

This will be the last Indie Spotlight for a bit until some more books fall into our laps, so feel free to speed up the process and let us know about anything amazing you're reading.

The next featured book is Titanium Rain by Josh Finney and Kat Rocha, which we should be recording in the next couple weeks.

Action Labs Announces 200 Page Special For Free Comic Book Day!

For those that have been into comics for a while, there is a special day every year where their weekly trip to the comic book store ends up being a little bit heavier than others. I'm not talking about the latest summer event with twelve tie-in titles, or the release of some new hardcover omnibus (although those do have a similar effect). No, there is another day that is full of SWAG-y goodness and it doesn't even cost you a dime! This special day is known as Free Comic Book Day!

And this May 5th, the folks at Action Labs have something... a little different planned for us all. They are rolling out Action Lab Confidential; a 200 page Free Comic Book Day digital download on sites such as Graphicly, Comics+, Drive Thru Comics and many other digital comic stores.

The guys that brought us Princeless, Back in the Day, & Space Time Condominium and the soon to be released Double Jumpers want to give readers extended previews of their entire catalog of comics and original graphic novels, including some titles that haven't even been released yet!

This 200 page special is going to be a good primer for new-comers that are interested in seeing the shear range of books they have put together. From fantasy to horror, robots to ninjas, capes-n-tights to Superugly, from all-ages to mature readers. After reading this FREE 200 page monster you’ll want to rush to your local comic shop or digital tablet and demand for more Action Lab comics!

The following titles are featured in Action Lab Confidential:

Princeless – By Jeremy Whitley & Goodwin

Double Jumpers – By Dave Dwonch & Bill Blankenship

Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa – By Martheus Wade

Fracture – By Shawn Gabborin & Chad Cicconi

Globworld – By Jeremy Whitley & Andrew Charipar

Snowed In – By Shawn Gabborin & Rick Lundeen

Back In the Day – By Dave Dwonch & Daniel J Logan

Monsters Are Just Like Us – By Superugly

Exo-1 & the Rocksolid Steelbots – By Shawn Pryor, Adam Besenyodi & Daniel J Logan

Space Time Condominium – By Dave Dwonch

Jack Hammer – By Brandon Barrows & Ionic

It also features a front cover by the talented Rusty Shackles!

200 Pages. And it’s FREE!

So this Free Comic Book Day, before you even get out of bed (because your tablet probably sits on your night-stand, admit it, you've got a problem.), stop by Graphicly, Comics+, or the additional Action Lab Entertainment digital outlets and download your copy of Action Lab Confidential!

ABOUT ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT

Action Lab Entertainment was founded in 2010 by a group of indie-maverick comic creators with the sole intent to bring the world the most action packed, most thought-provoking, most entertaining comics available, thereby ushering in a new age of world peace under the dominating, yet benign control of the Action Lab. Action Lab Entertainment is the public front for all the activities of the Action Lab and its members. Although most of the Action Lab’s activities remain classified, Action Lab Entertainment can disclose that two of its many functions are the marketing of comic books through various sales outlets, and the expansion of their domination into other mediums.

Crazy Mary 12 Page Preview, Illustrated by JK Woodward

To promote the Crazy Mary campaign currently running on Kickstarter the

people at 01 Publishing have posted the first twelve pages of the

upcoming graphic novel entitled, “By Factory Smoke and Acetylene

Light”.  Written by Michael Colbert and illustrated by JK Woodward,

these preview pages offer a vivid glimpse of what's in store for

us, readers.

A FEW WORDS ON CRAZY MARY
Crazy Mary is the creation of author Michael Colbert.  The first
graphic novel “By Factory Smoke and Acetylene Light” will feature
stories illustrated by JK Woodward (Doctor Who, Fallen Angel, X-Men),
William Blankmanship (Double Jumpers) and Ryan Sergeant. The Crazy
Mary Kickstarter campaign will run until May 14, and include
incentives such as limited prints, sign editions of the book, original
page art by JK Woodward, William Blankmanship and Ryan Sargeant,
sketch commissions. 


These prints are VERY limited, so if you want one, better donate fast!

If you wish to support Crazy Mary, you can find their Kickstarter here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1164327580/crazy-mary-graphic-novel
 for more information visit: http://crazymarycomic.com/