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Son of Only in the Comics: What Cartooning Can Do That No Other Medium Can by R.C. Harvey

Posted by admin on March 3rd, 2011 at 12:19 PM

Excellent, excellent, excellent.

The Black Panel SDCC ’08, feat. Dwayne McDuffie, Method Man, Faith Cheltenham, Rusty Cundieff, John Dokes, Reginald Hudlin & Denys Cowan

Posted by admin on February 23rd, 2011 at 6:01 PM

In the event of comics creator Dwayne McDuffie’s passing, tcj.com is posting the Black Panel from the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con from its audio archives. Fellow panel participants were rapper Method Man, poet Faith Cheltenham, director Rusty Cundieff, John Dokes (Marvel) and BET’s Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan.

David Robertson: An Interview with John Ridgway (Part Two of Two)

Posted by admin on February 23rd, 2011 at 9:00 AM

“Summer Magic’ in 2000 AD #576, May 28, 1988, written by Alan McKenzie. ©Fleetway Publications. Click to view larger image

In the conclusion of this interview, John Ridgeway talks about craft and computers, his preferred modes of horror, monopoly and distribution, creator’s rights and venturing into creator-owned work.

Pages: 1 2 3

David Roberston: An Interview with John Ridgway (Part One of Two)

Posted by admin on February 22nd, 2011 at 9:00 AM

John Ridgway’s art confused me when I was a child. His old-school, scratchy ink lines look almost as if they are not strong enough to support the characters and environments they portray, as if they are about to cave in on themselves. When his art was trailed in the “Next Issue …” blurb in issue #8 of Marvel U.K.’s Transformers, I thought it looked pretty weak. Up to this point, the comic had been reprinting the bombastic artwork from the U.S. comic, all crash bang wallop. This Ridgway panel showed a subdued image of a robot … strolling out from under a tree. His work should be the least suited to depicting the science-fiction worlds of Doctor Who, Transformers or Zoids, but inexplicably it works — perfectly.

Before I became aware of his work in these comics, Ridgway had already been drawing for more than a decade on titles such as Warrior and Commando. (His work continues to appear in the latter to this day.) With his expertise in creating atmospheres to the fore, his style also lends itself to fantasy tales, such as Summer Magic (a proto-Harry Potter type story published in the 1980s). His unique take on Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk, and establishing the template for DC’s Hellblazer made his reputation in American comics.

I found Ridgway extremely open as an interviewee. He surprised me on a few occasions with his opinions and how forthright he was with them. It made for an interesting chat.

David Robertson

Pages: 1 2 3

Next Week On tcj.com

Posted by admin on February 18th, 2011 at 6:00 PM

Shaun Partridge and Josh Simmons talk about The White Rhinoceros and getting arrested at a David Cassidy concert. John Ridgway talks about his four decades in comics, from Commando and Doctor Who to Hellblazer and The Hulk. R.C. Harvey selects the best editorial cartoons of 2010. Reviewed: Grant Morrison’s The Return of Bruce Wayne, Tezuka’s Ayoko, Tim Kreider’s Twilight of the Assholes, Robert Venditti’s Homeland Directive, editor Neil Gaiman’s The Best American Comics 2010, Metaphrog’s Louis: Night Salad, Matt Fraction’s Casanova, Desmond Reed’s minis and the latest entries in Fantagraphics’ Ignatz line ... And much more!

Image from “The Evil that Men Do!” written by Peter David and drawn by John Ridgeway, collected in The Incredible Hulk #335 (September 1987) [© Marvel Characters, Inc.]

tcj.com links Feb. 12-Feb. 18

Posted by admin on February 18th, 2011 at 5:59 PM

Rob Clough’s series on Comics as Poetry, Part One, Part Two.

Mathhias Wivel took in the Moebius exhibit.

Sean Michael Robinson interviewed Cerebus‘ Gerhard gave about craft and technique: Part One, Part Two, Part Three.

R. C. Harvey on virtuosity in cartooning.

Rob Clough got The Broadcast.

R.C. Harvey had the poop on poop in the funny pages.

Shaenon Garrity looked back at City of Glass.

Kristian Williams examined a field guide for use during a zombie attack.

Gavin Lees wants you to help him figure out what’s going on in a panel in Oji Suzuki’s A Single Match.

R.C. Harvey explained how editorial cartoons handled the censorship of Huckleberry Finn.

Rich Kreiner was a good boy this year and got a copy of The Simpsons episode guide as a gift.

Nathan Wilson looked at Liar’s Kiss.

R. C. Harvey pondered the connection between stand-up comedy and comic strips.

An HU brawl about Ebony White spilled over to tcj.com via Tom Crippen.

Belgian Bart Croonenborghs told us about The Girl and the Gorilla.

Jesse Tangen-Mills began an examination of blackface in comics south of the border.

Marco Pellitteri noted the Lucca comics festival mirrored the state of Italian comics.

Sean Michael Robinson: The Craft Behind Cerebus: An Interview with Gerhard (Part One of Three)

Posted by admin on February 14th, 2011 at 2:00 PM

In Part One (of Three) of a craft-oriented interview, Gerhard talks to Sean Michael Robinson about his learning curve on Cerebus.

Pages: 1 2 3

Next Week On tcj.com

Posted by admin on February 11th, 2011 at 5:01 PM

Gerhard speaks: an epic interview on the craft behind Cerebus; Matthias Wivel attends the mammoth Moebius retrospective in Paris; Rob Clough begins a series on comics as poetry and reviews The Broadcast; Gavin Lees reviews Oji Suzuki’s A Single Match anthology; and Rick Kreiner immerses himself in The Simpsons Ultimate Episode Guide.

tcj.com links Feb. 4-Feb. 11

Posted by admin on February 11th, 2011 at 5:00 PM

Rob Clough concluded his look at Drawn & Quarterly’s reprints of classic comic books and strips with Doug Wright’s Nipper (1963-1964).

Geoff Johns talked to Nathan Wilson about his craft and career: Part One, Part Two.

Rob Clough rounded up and reviewed Candy Or Medicine, Devil’s Lake, Desmond Reed minis, Dina Kelberman, The Cornelia Collection.

Minis Monday: Rich Kreiner looked at Ophestios, 1890.

R.C. Harvey remarked on Dick Locher’s retirement from the Dick Tracy strip, and Joe Staton as his replacement.

Shaenon Garrity drew readers’ attention to exhibits at the Cartoon Art Museum.

Kristian Williams reviewed Audrey Niffenegger’s The Night Bookmobile.

Rob Clough reviewed the 26th issue of the comics zine Mineshaft, edited by Everett Rand and Gioia Palmieri.

R.C. Harvey examined The Wolverton Bible.

Donald Phelps wrote an essay on plotting in Billy De Beck’s Barney Google.

R.C. Harvey looked at how U.S. editorial cartoons depicted the Egyptian conflict.

Kent Worcester bids farewell.

Nathan Wilson: An Interview with Geoff Johns Part 2

Posted by admin on February 8th, 2011 at 12:01 AM

In Part Two (of Two), Geoff Johns talks about how he reads by writer rather than by character, how Grant Morrison is his favorite writer, engineering cross-overs and more.