Yay Comics!
Today is 24 hour Comics Day. I'm a bit of a hypocrite because I'm not doing it myself - I have a novella to finish writing and I've been feeling inspired lately, plus I had to do this. Anyway, I don't know why I'm making excuses for myself but I'm going to do it one of these years, one of these long years we have to grow old together, maybe. It's supposedly noon to noon, but you can start whenever today and just go for 24 hours or until you fall asleep. The goal is 24 pages in 24 hours.
This annual tradition was started by Scott McCloud, author of several important books on comics: Understanding Comics, Drawing Comics, and the controversial Reinventing Comics - controversial because of the epic debate that ensued between him and Gary Groth (esteemed comics publisher and journalist) about the sensitive relationship between the internet and comics.
McCloud calls for the democratization of the industry by the internet, and basically, Groth thinks the internet is a dangerous median for comics because it could lead to artists getting paid less, often not at all. Of course, this is totally true, but as Demian Vogler points out in the Salon.com article about this, the internet can get your art to a wider audience than otherwise possible.
I'm not saying McCloud won the argument - that remains to be seen - but Journalista now links to webcomics all the time, and a lot of them - most notably Achewood have made the leap to print.
Anyway, draw a comic today. Doesn't need to be 24 pages. Just draw something. It's fun.
When I am King
Demian Vogler's free webcomic is rad. As Salon.com points out, it uses the median really well. It's not that you can't do this on paper, but scrolling quickly gives you a bit of the effect of animation with the control in your own hands. There's hope, I think, for these to succeed as paid things. After all, Vogler himself has a paid comic (new ones are free) called Bloomdog, which is right above When I am King, which you should read. It reminds me a little of O. Soglow. (OMG, self linking again - funny that I had Au-Pairs in that mix too.)
I don't know, maybe people don't realize this, but this is a one hour radio show, for free. It will not be available next week. But will eventually be for sale on a DVD with the other 52 weeks of this year, 52 hours of music, curated by me. You will also, at some point, be able to buy all four issues of Candy & Cigarettes. Over two-hundred pages of comics and writing, also curated by me. And you will be able to buy them together, as well. That will be a day, probably in April or May of next year.
But for now, this is only available until next Saturday, at which point a new one will become available. You see how this works? So you click on that link below this, and it will take you to my little world.
1. Roger Rodier // Listen to these Chords I Play
2. Chrome // Zombie Warfare (Can't Let You Down)
3. The Leather Nun // Summer's So Short
4. King Tuff // Dancing On You
5. The Crystals // He Hit Me
6. Secret Dakota Ring // The Fade to Black
7. Virgin Prunes // Twenty Tens
8. Au-Pairs // Pair Armagh
9. David Axelrod // Miles Away
10. John Zorn // Slobodan Milosevic and Kenny G
11. Throbbing Gristle // 20 Jazz Funk Greats
12. Samamidon // Saro
13. Mates of State // My Only Offer
14. Koufax // Roll the Dice
15. The Presidents of the United States // Peaches
16. The Pin Group // The Power
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