COMMUNITY NEWS

What's new in Comics & Cartoons

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COMIC NEWS

Happenings in comics worldwide

Bolzano Comics 2009 calls for entries in a No Words contest. Deadline: August 15.
Interview with JIm Ottaviani from GT Labs, award-winning writer of comics about scientists.
The 2009 Russ Manning Award Nominees.
London Movies Comics Manga Expo took place on May 23-24.
In this Nicola Scott appreciation post, J. Caleb Mozocco takes a subjective but interesting look at one of the superhero industry's rare female comic artists. I highlight it because the way Caleb looks closely at the work and notes what makes its strength is exactly the way aspiring comic artists can learn from their rolemodels in the field.
Ecolobulles: Europe Écologie est un rassemblement de citoyen-nes né d'une ambition : celle de fédérer le « peuple écologiste » en vue des élections européennes du 7 juin 2009. Vous êtes dessinateur de BD, BD-blogger, savez manier un crayon ou votre logiciel de dessin favori ? Envoyez-nous vos planches, dessins et esquisses à ecolobulles@europeecologie.fr et nous les publierons ici !
The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival 2009 is on June 6-7 in NYC.
This insane post will be really helpful to anyone planning on attending San Diego Comic Con International in July (yes, start planning now!): 100 Tips For Attending San Diego's CCI 2009!

RESOURCES

Links to refine your craft

Very sound Tips for organizing your FTP for webcomickers with their own website!
This is a wonderful and thought-provoking roundtable discussion about Thought Balloons, and Other Abandoned Storytelling Techniquesbringing up many points about speech bubbles and lettering that should not be taken for granted.
And while we're at it, here's a useful glossary of lettering terms.
wants to help you! "We're a resource to help people who want to get into comics to help them by giving advice, critiques, and pointing them in the right direction when they want to make contacts in the comic book business. We also plan on posting tutorials on coloring for comics and other tutorials that will be helpful to those who want to get into the comic book business."

SPOTLIGHT

A closer look at one author, series, graphic novel or theme

This week's spotlight is on The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best.

I ordered this book based solely on a preview of the first 3 pages. I had not read any of Campbell's work, though I was aware he was a household name among comic critics for some reason. It turned out to be one of my most exciting discoveries in this field, a graphic novel that is not so much about the story being told but about the way a graphic novel tells a story. In that sense this is one of the "truest" graphic novels out there, one that could never be translated into any other medium. The margins, for instance, are used in ways that increasingly interact with the story, and the characters have a certain awareness that they are part of a story being told, and keep referring to "the next episode". Saying more on this matter would spoil the joy of the discovery. As for the story itself, it follows a troupe of circus artists through history and geography, from the French-Prussian war to the sinking of the Titanic. Monsieur Leotard actually passes away at the very beginning, leaving his nephew Etienne to replace him and pretend he is the legendary Leotard. This just to give a feel of the "color" of the story, as, again, all the interest and the pleasure is in the humorous and smart ways in which it is told. All this in wonderful watercolors that tighten up or unravel as needed, keeping the visuals in a sort of artistic blur that befits the ever-mobile world of the circus stage.
For anyone seeking insights into what makes the comic medium unique, this volume is an education unto itself.

[link] [link] [link] [link] [link]

_{The posting of the pages above for review purposes falls under Fair Use – please do not use them or repost them for other purposes.}

TROPE OF THE WEEK

Storytelling devices and how to use or NOT use them

Rule of Cool and Rule of Funny

If you've been a regular reader of this newsletter, you know that the tropes section focuses on instances of poor or problematic writing, the goal being to make writers (both young and seasoned) aware of such pitfalls and whether their own writing may fall into them. What I'd like to emphasize today is that it is almost always possible to turn a "bad writing" trope into something that works, provided you know what you're doing (and are willing to take a chance). In particular, every time you see me write "Don't do this", keep in mind the 2 major exceptions: the Rule of Cool and the Rule of Funny.

The Rule of Cool states that "the limit of the Willing Suspension Of Disbelief for a given element is directly proportional to its degree of coolness." Basically, if it's awesome enough, nobody will mind that it's impossible/stretched to breaking point/implausible/etc. However, different people will have different definitions for what is cool enough to pass muster, so the writer has to really know who his or her audience is and what will make it tick. No matter what, this remains a gamble, so it's mostly done by well-known writers with thick skin who have little to lose from the occasional stunt. Bear in mind that no matter how cool you think something is, there will always be someone that makes fun of it. If the writing is overall poor, they'll be right. If on the other hand you've written a strong piece and are only stretching it in select points, you can safely tell yourself they just don't get it

The Rule of Funny is similar, invoking instead the degree of hilariousness: anything is fine if the result is funny enough. This may not work in every context. Only a story that is in itself funny can bear a moment THAT funny; in a drama or serious action story, it would most likely come across as nonsensical. The Rule of Funny works even better for spoofs and stories that break the fourth wall, because a story that pokes fun at itself or something outside itself is justified in using even the very worst tropes in the book. It will always come across as poking fun at the trope itself.
Don't go and think comedy or parody are the refuge of a poor writer for this reason, though: all this comic potential can very well fall flat if not skillfully crafted.

_{Inspired by tvtropes.org}

BOOKMARK

Blogs and stuff to keep an eye on

I am a fan of Les Madeleines de Mady, a comic blog (in French) named after the cakes made famous by Proust (a bit of them brought memories flooding back to him, that would fill pages and pages): the author tells random moments of her life in a lovely, light style. Funny and touching, inspires emulation!
Comicsresearch.org primarily covers book-length works about comic books and comic strips, from "fannish" histories to academic monographs, providing detailed information and guidance on further research.
Bloomerland – the official C. Tyler website
Girl-wonder.org: "A collection of sites dedicated to female characters and creators in mainstream comics. Our goals are to foster an attentive, empowered audience community and to encourage respect and high-quality character depiction within the industry."

ALMOST-DDs

Deviations that didn't make it as DDs, but are still worth a look!

WILD CARD

What is she going to come up with this time?

ComicsML: A proposed simple markup language for online comics. Needless to say, this is for programming geeks.

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See you next week!
Your C&C Gallery Moderators,


_{Feedback and suggestions can be sent to ^Cedarseed}


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