Creator documents the financial struggles of making comics

Chris Wisnia’s ‘Diary of a Struggling Comics Artist’ features interviews with a huge list of creators about working in the industry.

For almost a decade Chris Wisnia has been conducting interviews with comics creators for a documentary he’s working on titled Diary of a Struggling Comics Artist. And now via his Patreon, he has begun releasing sneak previews of some of those interviews.

“In 2010 I was thinking about how difficult it is, in so many ways, to try to make a living in comics,” Wisnia said. “Trying to get into the industry, the stress of needing to find new work every month to pay rent, to not have benefits or insurance, the shrinking state of the industry and general public lack of interest in comics, getting your work made into films and other media, decisions about taking work-for-hire in which you get a paycheck but own nothing you create vs. ownership but no guaranteed income and having to promote yourself and your product that no one has ever heard of… Regardless of the level you’re at, it comes with struggles.”

Continue reading “Creator documents the financial struggles of making comics”

Spider-Man, Doctor Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, 90, passes away

The pioneer of psychedelic surreal comic book art impacted culture like no other.

by Stephanie Chan and James Vicari

Legendary comic book artist Stephen J. Ditko has passed away at his home at the age of 90. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, the New York Police Department said that Ditko’s body was found on June 29th. The cause of death has not been released, but it is believed that he passed away two days prior to being discovered.

Continue reading “Spider-Man, Doctor Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, 90, passes away”

Geoff Johns steps down at CCO of DC Entertainment as Jim Lee steps up

Johns signs exclusive with Warner Bros./DC Entertainment to create films, TV and comic books, including a pop-up imprint at DC Comics called ‘The Killing Zone’ and a new Shazam! comics series.

DC Entertainment announced today that Geoff Johns will leave his executive position as president and chief creative officer to focus on the “hands-on” creative side, as he launches Mad Ghost Productions and signs an exclusive deal with the company to create comics, TV shows and films full time. Jim Lee’s duties will now include those of the Chief Creative Officer, in addition to his co-publisher role at DC Comics with Dan DiDio.

“I took on a role at DCE because I love the characters and this universe more than anything. But, I want to spend my days writing and on set. I’m thrilled to get back to a more hands-on creative role. It’s a dream job on dream projects, reaching even deeper into DC’s vast pantheon of characters,” Johns said in a statement. “I’m also excited to continue to work with the amazing team at DCE and my colleagues at Warner Bros.”

Johns took on his CCO role in 2010, and they added “president” to his title in 2016. The change follows the departure of Johns’ boss, Diane Nelson, who left the company last week.

Continue reading “Geoff Johns steps down at CCO of DC Entertainment as Jim Lee steps up”

Celebrating local comic creators is the best thing to do today

From Eisner winning heavyweight Fiona Staples to industry newbie H.C. Gislason, Panel One’s Comic Creator Festival spotlights local talent.

In the age of Hollywood-driven mega-cons, the Panel One Comic Creator Festival promises to bring the spotlight of comic conventions back to (gasp!) comics! Now in its third year, the Festival, which is held in Calgary, seems small and humble, but truly packs a punch for local creators, that feel lost and forgotten at the big shows. In its short life, the Panel One Comic Creator Festival has been renowned as “THE” place for creators to sell comics, some noting they have larger sales at this tiny festival as opposed to the 100,000 people attended monolith cons. This isn’t Artist Alley, so you won’t find fanart here, but this is the perfect market for the curious and the diehard comic fan to discover and buy new comic books.

Continue reading “Celebrating local comic creators is the best thing to do today”

Check out André Lima Araújo’s unused ‘Old Man Peter Parker’ pitch

The ‘Avengers A.I.’ and ‘Generation Gone’ artist once pitched a series where an older Spider-Man took on King Venom in the ruins of New York.

Here’s a fun “what might have been” item: On Tumblr, Generation Gone and Black Panther: Long Live the King artist André Lima Araújo shares a pitch he once created while working on Avengers A.I. “Old Man Peter Parker” would have been a story in the vein of “Old Man Logan,” showing a future Spider-Man in a setting where the villains won.

Continue reading “Check out André Lima Araújo’s unused ‘Old Man Peter Parker’ pitch”

Francesco Francavilla celebrates Black History Month

The comics creator shares portraits of Jack Johnson, Alice Coachman and many more.

In honor of Black History Month, artist Francesco Francavilla has been sharing portraits he’s done of various Black athletes, including Jack Johnson, Wally Triplett and Alice Coachman. He’s been sharing them on both his Tumblr and his Twitter feeds.

Continue reading “Francesco Francavilla celebrates Black History Month”

DC announces Bendis plans: Superman, new imprint, sampler comic

Bendis takes over all the Supermans as Jinxworld moves to DC and a “curated” imprint from the writer looms.

Former Marvel stalwart Brian Michael Bendis’ first work for DC will be on Action Comics #1000, but it won’t be his last opportunity to tug on Superman’s cape.

DC Comics has announced the writer’s plans at his new home, which includes a whole lot of Superman, the return of his Jinxworld books and a brand-new “curated” imprint. They’ll also release a 25-cent sampler, called DC Nation #0, spotlighting not only Bendis’ work but that of his fellow writers Tom King and Scott Snyder.

Continue reading “DC announces Bendis plans: Superman, new imprint, sampler comic”

Annie Goetzinger, RIP

A brief remembrance of French comics creator Annie Goetzinger, who died unexpectedly last week

French comics writer and artist Annie Goetzinger died unexpectedly on December 20, at the age of 66. Goetzinger had a 40-year career in French comics, but her work was relatively new to English-speaking audiences: NBM published Girl in Dior in 2015, following it up with Marie Antoinette, Phantom Queen, in 2016; her biography of the French novelist Colette, The Provocative Colette, is due out next August.

I was slightly ahead of the game: When I was at Angouleme in 2014, I asked Philippe Osterman of Dargaud to point out some French titles that would be popular with American audiences. He handed me a half-dozen graphic novels, and Girl in Dior was the one that caught my eye immediately. So when NBM brought Goetzinger to the MoCCA Fest in April 2015, I arranged to interview her.

Continue reading “Annie Goetzinger, RIP”

Brian Michael Bendis signs exclusive deal with DC Comics

Creator leaves Marvel for a ‘multiyear, multi-faceted deal’ with DC.

After almost two decades of writing stories for Marvel, Brian Michael Bendis has signed a “multiyear, multi-faceted deal” with DC Comics.

The publisher announced the news on Twitter this morning:

Continue reading “Brian Michael Bendis signs exclusive deal with DC Comics”

Inktober spotlight: Skottie Young

The creator of ‘I Hate Fairyland’ turns his pen to Carrie, Freddy, Leatherface and more this October.

In addition to being the spookiest month, October is also Inktober, an art challenge where artists from all over the world create a different ink drawing every day of the month. While the official Inktober site provides a list of “prompts” to help inspire artists, many of them choose their own themes.

With many comic artists are participating this year — you can find a lot of them on Twitter or Tumblr using the #inktober hashtag, and we’ve been posting a bunch on our own Tumblr — we thought we’d spotlight a few of the “can’t miss” ones we’ve seen so far.

Skottie Young is an award-winning creator whose work includes I Hate Fairyland, Rocket Raccoon, Marvel’s Oz adaptations and Little Marvels. For Inktober, he’s been drawing horror icons in his unique style, including Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, Carrie and the not-so-scary Casper the Friendly Ghost. You can find some of them below, and see more on his Tumblr.

Continue reading “Inktober spotlight: Skottie Young”

Inktober spotlight: Francesco Francavilla’s movie monsters

The artist tackles Beetlejuice, Darkman and more, just in time for Halloween.

October is not only the scariest month, but it’s also Inktober, where artists from all over the world create a different ink drawing every day of the month. While the official Inktober site provides a list of “prompts” to help inspire artists, many of them choose their own themes.

With many comic artists are participating this year — you can find a lot of them on Twitter or Tumblr using the #inktober hashtag, and we’ve been posting a bunch on our own Tumblr — we thought we’d spotlight a few of the “can’t miss” ones we’ve seen so far.

Artist Francesco Francavilla is no stranger to horror, having worked on Archie Comics’ flagship horror title Afterlife with Archie. The artist celebrates both Halloween and Inktober with a series of sketches of movie monsters, from classics like the Bride of Frankenstein to more modern horrors like Beetlejuice. Check out some of them below, and you can see more of them on Twitter.

Continue reading “Inktober spotlight: Francesco Francavilla’s movie monsters”

Inktober spotlight: Nelson Daniel feels the force

The ‘Clue’ artist celebrates Inktober by tackling Star Wars and other pop culture drawings.

October is Inktober, an art challenge where artists from all over the world create a different ink drawing every day of the month. While the official Inktober site provides a list of “prompts” to help inspire artists, many of them choose their own themes.

With many comic artists participating this year — you can find a lot of them on Twitter or Tumblr using the #inktober hashtag, and we’ve been posting a bunch on our own Tumblr — we thought we’d spotlight a few of the “can’t miss” ones we’ve seen so far.

Nelson Daniel is the artist of IDW’s Clue, and has also worked on titles like The Cape, Judge Dredd and Dungeons & Dragons. For Inktober, he started out with several Star Wars pieces, but has since turned to other areas of pop culture, with drawings of the Iron Giant, Gorillaz, Thundercats and The Fifth Element. Check out his Tumblr and Twitter feeds to see more.

Continue reading “Inktober spotlight: Nelson Daniel feels the force”