February 2010

Meanwhile – Jason Shiga

A choose-your-own adventure style comic from one of the form’s lesser known young visionaries.

Here is a PDF of the booklet from Thursday night: classtwo-slideshow.pdf

I’ve left the file size large so that you can actually read the comics in there

The GCD is an amazing research tool, cataloging thousands of comic book issues.

Although it’s becoming rarer and rarer these days, comic books used to come out as single periodicals every month or so. The GCD lets you search through all those mountains of pamphlets to find information like the artists responsible, the original date of publication, what the cover looked like, and sometimes a little description of what actually happened in the issue.

BodyWorld – Dash Shaw

Arguably a webcomics masterwork by a young artist who has quickly become the star of art comics. BodyWorld tells what happens to the future suburb of Boney Borough when gonzo botanist Paulie Panther comes to research his book on hallucinogenic plant life. The discovery of a plant that grants telepathic abilities starts to break down the barriers between the self-loathing Paulie’s psyche and the rest of the town.

BodyWorld will be released in printed form this spring, although it seems Dash will leave the comic online as well. This is a long, strange, trippy kind of comic, so be warned. As Shaw describes on his website, “the online version is best if you followed it weekly as it was serialized, or if you want to read it in short bursts online for free.”

Hey everyone,

Thanks for a great first class! I’m really looking forward to working with each of you over the next 7 weeks. I’m really grateful for this opportunity.

Here is a PDF of the first slide show from Thursday night: classone-slideshow.pdf

I’ve left the file size large so that you can actually read the comics in there

Here is a list of local art supply stores where you can get pretty much anything on your materials list. Prizm is maybe the most recommended, having one of the larger selections and cheaper prices.

Prizm

5690 Mayfield Road Lyndhurst, OH 44124 440-605-9434

Utrecht

2768 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44106 216-371-3500‎

Michaels

Locations

Pat Catan’s

Locations

Persimmon Cup – Nick Bertozzi

A very interesting comic strip, Persimmon Cup is a Suessical fantasy that is essentially a story about unrequited love across the rigid boundaries of class.

Garo’s forbidden love of Persimmon causes nothing but trouble when he sneaks her a mysterious but dangerous gift. A very different kind of comics, but really engrossing, pulling all the right heart strings.

News site Comic Book Resources began this year with a feature where they will take an in-depth look at a note-worthy comic for each of the 364 days in 2010.

Definitely deserves taking a look through for good recommendations of reading material!

Year of Cool Comics

Lambiek.net’s Comiclopedia is a great resource for learning more about the many international artists who have contributed to the comics medium.

Had you an inkling?: Lambiek.net is the website for Dutch comic book store of the same name. It was the first comic book store in Europe (opened in 1968) and is world renown for its selection and comics art gallery.