BBC Video: Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures (2007)

Above: a 1979 issue of Jim Steranko's MEDIASCENE, with ALIEN concept art by Moebius.


Below is the complete BBC documentary, "Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures," filmed five years before Jean Giraud's death.

One of the most influential cartoonists of the 20th century, Jean Giraud, who also drew work as "Gir" and "Moebius," talks about his life and influences. Included are interviews with Alejandro Jodorowsky, Philippe Druillet, H.R. Giger, Stan Lee, Jim Lee and Mike Mignola. Some wonderful moments here, and so many terrific quotes from Moebius and his collaborators and admirers.

Sherm Cohen: How to Draw Cartoons…the Old-School Way

A big reason to love Sherm Cohen is that he not only has a lot of fascinating toys -- but he will also share them with us.

Case in point: his shelves full of vintage "how to draw cartoons" books. At Cartooning Classics, he shows us many of his terrific books that he's collected over the years. We're talking hi res scans here!

Now showing: Tack's Cartoon Tips for the Aspiring Cartoonist (1923):

Take a stroll through the site and you'll see some amazing books. Then, bookmark this trove of knowledge from this nice cartoonist who shares his cool toys. Thanks, Sherm!

A partial list:

“The Know-How of Cartooning” by Ken Hultgren
“Draw Cartoons — It’s Fun to Know How” edited and drawn by George Lichty
“Basic Shapes for Heads” by Jack N. Miller
How to Draw Cartoon Hands by Dick Ebbeson
“Popeye’s How to Draw Cartoons” by Joe Musial

Mark Anderson: Henry Martin - An Appreciation

My pal Mark Anderson shows us a bunch of gag cartoons by Henry Martin and tells us why he (Mark) likes his work so much.

I love write ups like this: dissections of why a cartoon works, both visually and funny-wise. Single panel gag cartoons are exacting. They need to work within a few seconds, and a good one depends very much on the cartooning and the writing. These are nothing but good ones.

If you haven't heard of Henry, then you know about Ann M. Martin, Henry's daughter. She wrote the Babysitter's Club series of books. She has cited her Dad's work ethic as inspiration for her success.

Winter Storm January 18, 2013

A winter storm, dropping about half a foot of snow, whipped up the coast this afternoon. We were up north, where it was cloudy but no snow. As we returned south, along the eastern edge of the White Mountains, the snow came down hard. We arrived to find about 3-4 inches of fresh powder.

Fortunately, the fire is going full blast in the wood stove.

Snow continues through the night. Looking forward to doing some snowshoing tomorrow.

William Shatner STAR TREK TOS Music Video: "Common People"

STAR TREK TOS clips cut to music of "Common People" by William Shatner from his album "Has Been."

Funny stuff, and wonderfully edited. Thanks LordRicco666.

Hat tip to Rob McGrath! He was right when he advise, "Go pee first!"

Writing Single Panel Cartoon Gags

I just had a gag writing session with John Klossner. John is a friend and a fellow cartoonist. You know his work from The New Yorker, Reader's Digest, Wall Street Journal, etc.

So … hmm. Now that I type that, it sure looks like what I'm saying about John is that he is my RIVAL … but he's also a pal. Unlike most rivals, cartoonists tend to be friendly souls who help each other. Yeah, I know. Go figure!

Case in point: gag writing.

We have done this a couple of times before and each time we've yielded some good gags. So, for the first time, I'll share the first part of the experience of writing gags with another person. The second bit (Do these gags sell?) has not happened as of yet, natch!

HOW WE DO IT

So, we sat down at a table at the local deli and within 90 minutes, I think we had about ten ideas that were workable cartoons. John came up with about five or six, and I came up with 5 myself. I would admit that half of that 90 minutes we talked shop about other stuff.

THE LIST

I need some more new business cartoons. So, my idea was to come up with some typical areas in a typical business. So, I wrote a list, on the back of a receipt that was in my jacket pocket. Thje deal is: you take a word from the list and develop a single panel gag cartoon.

Above is a shot of the list. John helped with this:

Elevator
Desk
Reception
Water Cooler
Snack Room
Entry Way
Security
Meeting Room
Mail Room
Presentation
Telecommuting
Office Art
Office Plants
Street Food
Security Cameras

THE PROCESS

We each took a few ideas and drew up gags in our sketchbooks. Then we exchanged sketchbooks and critiqued what we had done. Some ideas were fully formed, others were just silly drawings. More than once we each pointed at the other's sketchbook and said, "Oh, that's good. That'll sell."

Since we've known each other for some time, we were able to make critical comments without bruising an ego. We tried to flesh out each other's rougher ideas. And then we both went home to draw up the final versions.

SUCCESS PENDING

Well, like I said, the test of this will be in the sales.

So … this is just a half of a story for now. I'll check back in later and we'll see how many winners we got!

Above: five of the gags roughed out in my sketchbook.

RESOLVED

It helped enormously to be with a friend who does the same kind of stuff I do. Although we digressed for about half the time, talking about other cartoon-related topics, the session was productive and regardless of future sales from this, I thought we each walked away with some solid ideas.

About Ginger Meggs

GINGER MEGGS has been called "the PEANUTS of Australia."

Created in 1921 by James Charles "Jimmy" Bancks, the strip continues on, helmed now by Jason Chatfield.

If you are a non-Aussie (like me) and have ever wondered about the strip, The Oz Typewriter has a wonderful write up by Robert Messenger here.

Hat tip to Jason Chatfield for the link!

Digital vs. Analog with DILBERT's Scott Adams and PEARLS BEFORE SWINE's Stephan Pastis

Parody: SHERLOCK: THE MUSICAL Season 3

Question: Does Making a Living as a Cartoonist Get Easier and Easier?

Above: a cartoon of mine with a note of acceptance (and some notes for a redraw) from the Wall Street Journal.


QUESTION:

I don't know if you take question like this from strangers over email. If not, I apologize for bothering you. But I have been reading your blog for a long time now, and, honestly, I've learned more about the business (and the art) of cartooning from your site than I have from the library full of "how-to" books I've bought over the years.

I've only just really started to sell a few cartoons here and there and only to the most obscure, unknown magazines. They usually pay in the $15 to $35 range, I find. So, nothing like what you and your colleagues are doing, but that's what my question is about.

When you get to the level you guys are at, selling to magazines people have actually heard of it, have you reached a point where you know and can expect to sell a piece out of every or most of your submissions? All the how-to books say that 90 percent of the time you'll be rejected and to just continue sending out stuff in large quantities but does that still hold true for someone like you or Anderson or Glasbergen or Piccolo etc. or do you pretty much sell every time you send something out?

ANSWER:

Thanks for the kind words about my blog.

I get a lot of questions, so no worries.

First off, congrats on your sales. It tells you without doubt that you create content people will pay for.

The question you ask -- does it get easier? -- is a good one.

There is not a guarantee that you will sell 10 out of 100 -- but I don't think that that's what you're asking.

Is it a statistical likelihood that you will sell 10% of your output?

Yeah, well, sometimes it works out, sometimes no.

I have had editors that will buy my stuff a lot and others that might buy 1 out 200. So, it depends if you resonate with the client.

I augment my income with other kinds of cartoon work, so that helps. Look at Rina: 2 syndicated strips, gag cartoons in The New Yorker, Parade, Reader's Digest, etc. She is always working. Randy Glasbergen has been selling to national publications, publishers and businesses for years. My pal Mark Anderson has tons of cartoons for business clients and has sunk a lot of time and energy to sell his
cartoons automatically thru his extensive, searchable site. He also does custom cartoons.

As the print gag cartoon markets dwindle, it's important to diversify. Last year, I decided to helm, with my friend cartoonist John Klossner, a new self-published comic book titled RACONTEUR. Fellow gag cartoonists Jeff Pert and David Jacobson joined in. The comic was so successful that we did
4 issues. 

I think you have to keep trying new things; keep moving, you know -- like a shark.

I don't know if this helped. Hope so.

Alex Toth Critiques Steve Rude's Pencils on Jonny Quest Comic Book Art

From the 1980s: David Marshall shares a page by page, panel by panel critique of Steve Rude's pencils by Alex Toth.

Steve wanted to get Toth's feedback, so he faxed over (I told you this was the eighties!) his penciled JONNY QUEST comic book pages -- and Toth got very nitty- gritty.

For instance, here's Toth on the splash page:

I won't mince words! You're too good to be so bad! Right up front! Your 'Quest' splash is fake everything! From palm tree, camel (!?), tarp, supplies, 'copter, shack, pumps, incidental props! Terrain, etc. You could have researched the lot (since it was your story's setting) via photobooks, mags, like National Geographic, etc., etc., and your library or bookshop! The fakery's so obvious, in the most important splash, that it detracts from what follows — you cripple credibility at the start (yours! And the story's!) by sloughing off the setting and integrity of your depiction of it. Christ, man, you weren't asked to depict another planet! Just (what I assume to be) North Africa or the Middle East — (I can't read your copy!) — So why didn't you document the locale?! Authenticate it?! Or, fake it, one helluvalot better!

The whole thing is here.

Hat tip to David Campiti!

EDIT: My sincere thanks to John Platt for pointing out (very politely) that I had initially called this "Alex Toth Critiques Dave Stevens' Pencils on Jonny Quest Comic Book Art" when it was actually Steve Rude's pencils. I really must go and get more coffee now ….

Roger Corman's FANTASTIC FOUR Movie "Doomed" Documentary

It wasn't until I saw the preview for this new documentary that I realized that Roger Corman's version of THE FANTASTIC FOUR was now twenty years old.

If you were around way back then, maybe you saw a photo or two and an announcement that the movie was to be released on Labor Day weekend, 1993. If you went to see Roger Corman's CARNOSAUR, a low-budget dinosaur movie released two weeks before JURASSIC PARK, then you even saw a trailer for Corman's FANTASTIC FOUR.

Then the release date was pushed back to January 1994. And then … it was shelved. No release.

The new documentary DOOMED! THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROGER CORMAN'S THE FANTASTIC FOUR talks about the film's inception, production and then … its disappearance, and why.

Here's the trailer:

BIG NATE's Lincoln Peirce Returns to Hometown

Photo from Foster's Daily Democrat.

BIG NATE comic strip and graphic novel creator Lincoln Peirce returned to his hometown of Durham, NH this weekend to talk about cartooning.

The local paper, Foster's Daily Democrat, has the story, Big Nate artist, Durham native Peirce share his cartoons with hometown by Jennifer Puk, on its front page today.

On flip chart paper, Peirce revealed how he creates his characters, emphasizing that practice and repetition helps him succeed. He drew a large image of Big Nate’s face. He then drew his other characters chosen by the audience. Peirce gave these drawings to the Durham Public Library.

Afterward, Peirce invited the audience for questions. His young fans proved that they knew and loved his books as much as he did by asking specific questions about his books, such as, “Why is he called Big Nate when he is so short?” The answer: Big Nate has big ideas and he is destined for big things, explained Peirce.

This sure is the case. Big Nate chapter books’ popularity is rising. Peirce travels nationally giving similar talks to libraries and schools and now travels in a Big Nate tour bus created by his publishers, HarperCollins. The Adventure Theatre MTC in Maryland produced Big Nate: The Musical.

Mitch O'Connell's Photos of 1980s Times Square

Back when Mitch O'Connell was an aspiring artist, he would drop off his portfolio and go for a walk. Here are a bunch of 1980s photos of Times Square, still in its seedy days, that Mitch took one day while killing time.

Hat tip to Jim Keefe.

Vintage Behind the Scenes STAR WARS Photos by Peter Mayhew

Peter (Chewbacca) Mayhew tweets vintage behind the scene photos from the STAR WARS movies. They are collected here.

Video: Jim Rugg

Video: An Introduction to WORDLESS! Art Spiegelman's Intellectual Vaudeville Show

CBS Special Promo TV Bumper Spot

For some oddball reason, the music for this very short CBS promo popped in my head. I haven't heard it since I was a tot.

It's not really music you can hum; just some brass notes and some drumming, revving us up.

I remember seeing this when I was a kid before, for instance, a Christmas special, and getting that oh-boy-this-is-gonna-be-great feeling all over. Twas rarely the reality, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief and get excited time after time.

Harry Wayne, TV Cartoonist

Harry Wayne, a TV cartoonist. From an ad I saw for sale on eBay. 

Here he is in 1948, hawking some kind of pen. Never heard of him! Nothing on the Web! 

Hmm ….

How to Open a Bottle of Wine -- Without a Corkscrew

Finally, news you can use!

Via Mirabeau Wine: