Today I'm amused by digital comics. I just bought 'The Whole Armor' by Chivas (I owe you a review, having trouble with the Kindle viewer, not the book), 'An act of Faith 1-4', and tonight I plan to finally buy 'LightWeightz 2' (sorry I'm so late Justin, been away for a bit).
Anyways I just realized that for all that, I won't have a single sheet of paper or ink, ha ha ha! Times sure have changed. On the one hand I'm happy because the weather in Hawaii is brutal on comic book paper. On the other, when this computer goes down, I'll loose a lot of books. But oh well, they are very affordable:)
How do the rest of you feel about Digital only Comics?
Comments
I love Keith, but he's a classic sourpuss. I once told him, "Don't let me spoil your bad mood." He claims that he's been ripped off or maltreated so much in comics that the only one who did right by him was Rob Liefeld(!). In the past he's been so contentious that DC had to put a gag order on him to not badmouth the company in interviews (for those who don't know Keith Giffen is an artist-writer who created the Lobo character). On the other hand, I reminded him about the AMBUSH BUG comic wherein he traced 118 panels of Jose Munoz' ALACK SINNER comic, and was taken to court by Munoz and Fantagraphics (the U.S. printer of the title---I believe Toutain published them in Spain). Giffen fumbled for a moment, then responded, "I was just experimenting."
Wowsers!
I just sent Fernando an e-mail. A few years back, Fernando and I worked on a Nemish-Man (when he was still called "Nihilist-Man") story together titled "Nihilist-Man and Kid-Cockroach":
http://albert.nickerson.tripod.com/nmimagepage1a.html
http://albert.nickerson.tripod.com/nmimagepage2.html
As far as editors go, here’s what Keith Giffen said in an interview with Komikwerk: "Yes, the editor is taking more creative control, but I would say that maybe one out of every ten editors is capable of actually doing it. Now, I'm not going to name any names, but I work with some talented people, and then I work with some people if given a chance, I'd push into traffic."
Al Nickerson wrote: "Nor do we have an editor telling us how to write and draw our comics."
A good editor is worth his weight in gold! Back in 1983 when I was 18 and showing my work around at cons I received some of the best, most insightful criticism from writer-editor Archie Goodwin. Two years later I was selling stories & art to Fantagraphics, and did a painted cover for a (then-)new anthology of theirs. In the '90s one of the best editors I worked with was Andrew Helfer at DC's Paradox Press imprint. He very well understood the language of comics storytelling, and his requests for (minor) revisions in my work were spot-on. A seasoned pro will help take your work to the next level.
In years past Alex Toth used to give lengthy criticisms to both aspiring and working cartoonists if they mailed him work to review, and his thorough, sometimes tough criticisms were absolutely on target (read his review of Steve Rude's 1986 "Jonny Quest" comics job, scanned and available online).
Blessings,
Alec
@ Al I would LOVE to be able to read your comic on ComixCology. So much so I would get a subscription if it were available that way. Being a believer that puts his money where his mouth is, I am willing (if you are willing) to work with you to get the bugs out of your digital process so it can be able to be accepted on ComixCology. If you send me a sample few pages in the format you use presently then I can try to see what format they need. Heck that is what TRUE fans do for the projects they support!
friends brothers and family be in prayer for Al over his comic and make his comic prosper! allow for him to have the fame and interest needed to push the comic to the higher level!
@ Al Nickerson
Why isn't Comixology willing to accommodate you? Fernando Ruiz (whom you know from Archie Comics) has an anthology comic in both hardcopy and digitally through them. Perhaps you might speak to him about how it worked out with his title.
It would be nice if ComiXology distributed AN ACT OF FAITH. I e-mailed several of the head muckety-mucks at ComiXology. Sadly, I couldn’t work out a way to submit my comic. If ComiXology would let me just mail them a disc with AN ACT OF FAITH, then my comic would be sold through ComiXology, as well. iVerse Media has been far more accommodating to my comic and me.
I pretty much only read digital comics. More so now since comixcology now allows indie titles. I use Comics plus but only because Act Of Faith was on it. I hope Act of Faith goes to comixcology. Comics are easier to read on Comixcology. But with the new innovations in HTML5 you will no longer need a reader to view comics in the guided view format! Look for The Soul of a Hero to go that route around issue/episode 3.
Pretty cool. If you have a chip for storing them on, the computer can't take them when it dies.