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The iPad Pro—a larger tablet that with added keyboard and pressure sensitive pen becomes a mini computer/Wacom—is shipping out to artists and comics readers everywhere. The Beat’s own mother is experimenting with one right now and will hopefully have a review soon. But in the meantime, artist James Jean has one and it turns out […]

After some well publicized difficulties, artist James Jean has been back making great art for a while now. And better than ever, as this already sold out print Seasons may indicate.

§ Congrats to Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth for winning the Stranger’s Genius Award for Literature. Many would say Gary is strange, many a genius so it all cosmically came together. The Stranger is Seattle’s resident culture paper, and each year it gives out its Genius Awards. Groth prevailed over Ms. Marvel’s G. Willow Wilson and poet Shin Yu Pai.

§ Retailer Brian Hibbs is fretting over the standard attrition that Big Two events are subject to

As this market has shown again and again over the decades, consumer interest in “events” is a fickle thing. Sooner or later every publisher hits a few foul balls, or the public gets tired of oversaturation, or the story just doesn’t work, or whichever of the myriad of reasons… and the retailer is the one left holding the bag. It used to be that when, say, “Secret Wars II” turned out to be a pile of lox, we weren’t that over-extended with orders in the pipeline — 2-3 issues out, sure, but that’s very different from “order forty-six different comics and tie-ins before you’ve had any real amount of time to judge how the first one did.”

People have been saying events are done for as long as there have been events. This also applies to variant covers. Normally I would just say it was ever thus and move on, but this is a changing industry. Where are we going? Damned if I know.

§ Zainab Akhtar and Steve Morris both went to the Lakes Festival this weekend, and they both blogged about it. I understand The Lakes is held in a small picturesque town and the goal is to make it a sort of Angouleme type fest were comics take over the town. I sounds adorable, but read on. Steve had A Quick Nip Round The Lakes Comic Art Festival and noted the many comics themed displays around the town:

Having captured several strongpoints across the city centre, the Festival had not only won a battle of occupation – but one of propaganda. Everywhere you walk (not that there are MANY places to walk in Kendal, which is a teeny tiny nice little place) the shops had transformed themselves

Zainab had a more mixed time:

Foremostly, my whole experience was coloured by people’s reaction toward me. Kendal, and the Lake District by large, is a very white, very middle class region. We saw -I think- maybe 6 people of colour in the time we were there (yes, I counted), and the festival, being located in the town center, on a Saturday with bright, dry weather- was busy, as was the surrounding area. I got stared at a LOT, and if you’re visibly ethnic minority, you will instantly understand the hostile, open up-and-down hard stares of which I speak although some people prefer a eye-contact off. We went into a fish and chip shop for lunch at one point, and people turned their chairs around to simply gawp/glower. As far as I could tell, it seemed to be the headscarf and being overtly Muslim, because the few poc I did briefly pass didn’t seem to be under the same scrutiny, but I could easily be wrong about that. It was deeply unpleasant.

The comics part of the visit was welcoming and tolerant, she notes, but she doesn’t plan to go back either.

§ Grant Morrison was interviewed for Interview magazine and said many Grant Morrison like things.

§ R. Orion Martin has a look at another facet of the vast and unknowable world of comcis culture with a history of Lianhuanhua: China’s Pulp Comics. You probably didn’t know that China had a comics culture but of course, they do.

In 1985, there were 8.1 billion pulp comics (lianhuanhua) printed in mainland China. Most lianhuanhua were black and white paperbacks with a single illustration and a few lines of text on each page. They looked similar to the Big Little Books published in the United States from the 1930s to 1950s, but they were published in quantities that make the US comics market look tiny. Brian Hibbs analyzed the 2012 BookScan report and found that there were about 9.5 million comics sold in the US throughout the year. In the mid-80s, some lianhuanhua titles had single printing runs of more than 1 million copies. We usually don’t think of China as having a rich tradition of making comics, and discussions of Chinese comics focus on manhua, the Chinese comics that were inspired by Japanese manga. While it’s true that most of the comics being produced now are manhua, this was not the case for much of the 20th century. From their beginnings in the 1920s until their popularity bottomed out in the 1990s, lianhuanhua were some of the most widely read literature in the country.

§ Speaking of world comics, someone sent me this link, which is in Turkish, but Google Translate tells me it’s about the Turkish comics festival being held in December.

§ Okay cleaning up the last bits of New York Comic-Con here. You can not get a more overview-like overview of ay event than those written by Augie DeBlieck. Here’s a profile of Lance Fensterman. And a survey of expensive things you could have bought at the con. And here are photos from the Multiveristy/Image party. BTW in case yu didn’t figure it out, the parties a this year’s NYCC were as packed, vibrant and friend filled as other years. So much so that it’s taken me week to be able to sit upright again.

Mashable looked at some of the issues surrounding cosplay and harassment:

Partly, the issue is the characters themselves. Many of the revealing costumes are based off characters who were originally designed, at least in part, to be sexually provocative, for example, princesses, superheroes in spandex and sexualized anime school girls. As a result, many onlookers view them as the sexy characters they emulate rather than individuals wearing costumes, who should be treated with respect. But most real-life cosplayers are more concerned with the authenticity of the costume than sexual attention.

Hm. I’m not sure that de-sexualizing cosplay is any better than the reverse. It’s pretty obvious that many cosplayers (of all genders) are sexy and they know it. That doesn’t mean they should be touched, catcalled or made fun of, of course. I’m sure someone else has written way more wisely than myself about this, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

§ Matt D Wilson looks at how Southern Bastards captures its southern setting.

But, you might say, there are lots of crime comics out there. Heck, Jason Aaron, the writer of Southern Bastards, has penned a good many himself. Scalped and his Punisher run, to name a couple. Southern Bastards is something really special, though, because of the way Aaron and artist Jason Latour embrace its setting so deeply and wholeheartedly. Specifically, the book takes place in Craw County, Alabama, but it also serves as a deep dive into the culture of the South as a whole. There are aspects of the story that could only occur in a the setting of a small, Southern town. The creators, both Southerners themselves, do an amazing job of presenting a story that could be compelling to anyone but hit exactly the right notes for people who have lived in or near places like Craw County.

§ This gallery of Comics Journal covers brought back many memories.

§ Finally, James Jean does the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and you can buy the toys. Nuff said.

It’s the perfect storm! #Fridayreads and #BannedBooksWeek. You know all of us at Albert Whitman love books. Publishing them and reading them. Going forward, every #FridayReads we’re going to have one of our staffers talk about a book they’re currently reading. Today, we start off with our Director of Sales and Marketing Mike Spradlin:

I kind of chuckle to myself that ALA reports ever increasing challenges of comics and graphic novels in the last few years. Growing up, if it wasn’t for comics, I know I wouldn’t be the reader I am today. I read all of them I could get my hands on, and still do to this day. Right now I’m enjoying the Fables graphic novels by Bill Willingham, James Jean and Alex Maleev.

The story takes place in a contemporary world, where all of the characters from classic fables and fairy tales have been driven from their world, and forced to live among mankind. Many of them like Snow White and her ex-husband Prince Charming can pass as human, but many such, as the three little pigs, must keep to the shadows. All the ‘fables’ want is to unite and remove a mysterious, malevolent evil from their homelands that drove them into our world in the first place. But much like human beings, factions develop, trust issues abound and they find that even with a common enemy uniting is harder than first thought. It’s a great story, with terrific art and I highly recommend it.

Happy Friday and Happy Reading!

TweetFriday is art day! Friday is also the harbinger of the weekend, but who cares about that? Instead, take a look at all the pretty pictures I gathered for you from the shady, cob-webby corners of the Internet you dare not venture… (I can’t say more) FF by Mike Allred (you HAVE to click on this to [...]

Holy shit, James Jean.

His latest show of paintings is up at the Martha Otero gallery in Hollywood and it runs until April 30. We’re jealous of those who get to see it in person.

Jean has also just released this limited edition silk scarf which you can buy at the link. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE RED CROSS. THe scarf retails for $385. Only 50 were made. There is a B&W version as well, same price, same run.

davidhuyck:

Art is James Jean’s Crayon Eater, ink by amazingly talented Shawn Barber. I’ll post again once it has healed up.

Yowza! Our own David Huyck just got this fantastic James Jean tattoo. Like drawing much, David?

Just as a reminder, James Jean has an art blog. Above, a painting of musician Devendra Banhart.

I got a nice surprise in the mail this morning: An early release of Kindling - James Jean’s new set of art prints from Chronicle Books.

The 12 removable prints were selected from Jean’s NYC art show earlier this year. The set will be released in the fall. More photos of the new print set after the jump…

Also of interest:
Kindling: 12 Removable Prints (Amazon Link)

JohnRozum said, on 7/15/2009 3:22:00 PM

Those are beautiful.

jaytsacher said, on 7/15/2009 4:04:00 PM

I’m James’ editor over at Chronicle Books–thanks so much for posting–we’re hoping everyone else loves this book as much as we do.

For those folks going to Comic-Con next week, we’ll be selling advance copies of Kindling at the Chronicle Booth (# 1506), plus we’ll be hosting a signing in room AA8 on Saturday the 25th. Hope to see you there…

terrymaranda said, on 7/16/2009 5:59:00 AM

Consider this purchased, James Jean is one of the best illustrators alive and it’ll be awesome to see his newest work in print, web sometimes doesnt do it justice.

John Martz said, on 7/30/2009 2:39:00 PM

Beautiful choices of colour from Dutch illustrator Maaike Verwijs. See more of her work on DeviantART as KissMyShades, and also on Flickr.

(via Meathaus)

Patricia Storms said, on 7/30/2009 2:45:00 PM

Hello, it’s Patricia, and I’ve decided to come out from under my rock and actually make a post!

Confession: I hate cell phones. Don’t own one, and I plan on going to my grave never having purchased one. But – I do think it’s cool that one can create fabulous images with this contraption. Lately I’ve really been enjoying the iPhone art of a very talented Canadian artist, Matthew Watkins, who makes his home in Italy. I find his fantastical drawings intriguing and enchanting. The image above is a collage of some of my faves. I especially enjoy the drawings where he also adds a little story to go along with his image. Bellissimo!

Ok, back under my rock.

John Martz said, on 7/30/2009 3:53:00 PM

Browsing this wonderful Movie Title Stills Collection is like traversing a typographical timeline of graphic design. As a bonus, the site is beautifully designed as well.

Jaleen Grove said, on 8/2/2009 11:36:00 AM

The Architects Journal blog has a neat Top Ten list of cities in comics (posted by Rory Olcayto). Because it is obviously written for people who know nothing about comics, it probably doesn’t go in-depth enough for comics experts on Drawn, but it does provide some interesting extras like this pairing of Marlinspike Hall with its inspiration, from Herge’s classic Tintin series. There are also some amusing picky comments from architects in the comments: “Just to be pedantic – you are mixing up Aztec and Inca influences and how Herge used them,” writes Tintin buff Chris Tregenza, who made this map of Tintin’s voyages.

John Martz said, on 8/4/2009 8:27:00 AM

I love it when JibJab teams up with “Weird Al” Yankovic, and this video for his bizarre White-Stripes-inspired tribute to Charles Nelson Reilly is no exception. It’s also belongs to JibJab’s Starring You line of videos and ecards, so for a modest sum you can stick your friends’ faces into a Weird Al video, which I’m certain what they’ve always wanted.

John Martz said, on 8/4/2009 8:57:00 AM

I found this video of James Paterson drawing in a 3D tool called Rhonda to be completely hypnotic. The program, created by Amit Pitaru, allows for the creation of sculptural wireframe models. I’ve signed up to be notified when the software is available; it looks pretty fun.

(via Booooooom)

John Martz said, on 8/4/2009 10:02:00 AM

Juan Francisco Casas uses only ballpoint pens to create his photorealistic portraits. So think of that the next time you’re dropping hundreds of dollars on expensive art supplies.

John Martz said, on 8/5/2009 6:17:00 PM

Illustrator Bob Scott shares his collection of cardboard hang tags salvaged from shirts, jeans, and other retail clothing items.

John Martz said, on 8/5/2009 6:30:00 PM

To celebrate her 35th birthday, artist Somsara Rielly is creating a collage a day for 365 days: Art Design 3(6)5.

Matt Forsythe said, on 8/6/2009 9:38:00 AM

Jeu is one of my favourite animated shorts of the last few years. Paint-on-glass animation is a technique for animated films by manipulating slow-drying oil paints on sheets of glass.

This film is a series of nine animated cycles composed of 400 paintings that “destroy and reconstruct” themselves like a set of Russian matryoshka dolls. The director’s son, Louis Schwizgebel-Wang, performs the accompanying piano piece (Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto).

After the jump, you can watch an interview with Georges Schwizgebel where he talks about the techniques employed in his films.

“In Jeu I used a cycle of 6.5 seconds; then i thought, once we’ve completed a complete cycle, why not use that cycle to provide the detail in another cycle. The drawings are divided by nine. And when you see the whole thing it forms the ninth part of another drawing, and so on…”

(Disclosure: This is an NFB film and I work at the NFB).

via NFB’s 2009 Get Animated program where you can check out animation workshops with top animators in cities across Canada this fall.

Have you ever stumbled on something really cool and you can't believe you had never heard of it before? Something that seems tailored made for your interests? Sidebar Nation is like that for me.
Sidebar Nation is a website podcast all about art and comic books . It's two friends living in Atlanta Georgia, Swain hunt and Dwight Clark who share a love of this stuff and both have amazing taste. I had a short correspondence with Swain and he seemed like the nicest guy on the planet.
The best thing about Sidebar is the interviews they've had Jon Foster , Stephan Martiniere , James Jean and many more. These guys are amazing interviewers, they ask the exact questions you want to hear asked even if you didn't know you wanted hear it. And the site is lots of fun.