Fool's Errand

April Fool's Day: a day to commemorate Christians mocking pagans for celebrating the new year on a different, mostly-trivial point in the Earth's orbit around the sun. Also, unfunny people trying to pull pranks.
I'm not a grump. OK, I am, but really the attempts at being funny by people who aren't funny... it's just tedious. A good prank is both believable and ridiculous. Convincing people that Bathesda is working on Fallout 4, is not a prank. Convincing people that Bathesda decided to make it a point and click adventure game or a mobile game, would be a prank. The first thing is completely believable, but has no punchline. It's just a lie, there's no element of being fooled. Why wouldn't Bathesda be working on Fallout 4?
The key, really, is not believing a lie, the key is getting people to believe a really stupid lie. [Make your own religious joke here]

Ms Male Character

So, Anita Sarkeesian has put out a new video in her Tropes Vs Women series, this one starting a new topic: The Ms. Male Character.



What's fascinatingly disturbing is the kind of responses this stuff gets. Right off, there was a "featured" video response with a subtitle of "Even when it's equal it's sexist." Which makes me think he didn't watch, or didn't understand, the video, judging by his title. The Tropes video is specifically about taking male characters and gender flopping them (not to be confused with Rule 63) and having their defining characteristic being female version of a male character. A good example, I think, is Silver Age Batman. His first sidekick, male, is Robin. Robin gets a distinct name, costume, and backstory. While his origin shares qualities with Batman's, it's still Robin's own and isn't dependent on any established characters. Robin is original. Batgirl on the other hand, shares her name and costume with Batman and her origin is tied to an established male character, Commissioner Gordon.

Then there's this shit.

Wonder Woman (since I'm using DC), on the other hand, is her own, unique character, with her own back story, costume, and powers. She isn't just a gender flopped version of a male character. And let's face it, there aren't too many of those, still.

And here's the thing, when your published materials are more inclusive, that's going to help your sales. When you're driving away half the population, you're only hurting yourself.

That's not to say there's not a place for niche stuff, but it shouldn't be the dominant force in your medium.

A word of caution, however. Most of us can tell the difference between genuine sensitivity and pandering, and we don't care for the latter. My rule of thumb is, character first, gender second, and race/ethnicity third.

Cripple Crux

The other night, I was watching The Burn, which is Jeffery Ross' new show on Comedy Central. It's pretty funny, though some of it depends on his guests, but the bits are usually pretty good. One bit is called Public Enemies, dedicated to mocking the annoying to the their face, in public. One episodes, it was bouncer, but on this particular episode, it Spot Snatchers: able bodied people who take the handicap parking spots. Here's the clip on Comedy Central's site.
This is not a new concept, we've seen comedy situations where spot snatchers receive some sort of ironic punishment for their actions, but I don't think we've ever seen anyone confront the actual people, certainly not on a mobile roast podium, and not simply an avatar, portrayed by an actor.
After watching this, I found Ross on Twitter and sent him a little thank you tweet, "From a cripple, thank you for that bit #SpotSnatchers". Obviously, this pleased Jeffery Ross, as he retweeted it and it got a handful of replies.
Now, I am a cripple, I walk with a cane, and I'm pleased as punch to get some attention, the whole reason I joined Twitter was to get some attention for my comic that would hopefully translate into sales. However, this seems to have gotten a different kind of attention. I've gained a new follower, a lady in a wheelchair who is an actor. Her "gimmick" if you will, is a series of short films on YouTube based, in part, on her life as an actor in a wheelchair. More power to her. But, I'm concerned she might think I'm some sort of advocate that uses Twitter and my art as a platform for handicapped and disabled issues. I don't.
I might put a character in there, just as I might put transgender, gay, and atheist characters in something, as those are my "pet issues". I have no idea what it's like to be in a wheelchair. I don't think I'm the right person to be an advocate for The Cripples.
And yes, I call myself a cripple, but that's our word, you able-bodies don't get to use it.

Female Faces

Ugh, every time I get used to something's layout, it gets changed. Google/Blogger has changed the layout, so now I'm probably going to screw up, on this post. Enough bitching, for now...

Most comic artists are men. Most men, kinda suck at drawing women. Obviously, I'm not the first to make this observation. One of the theories as to why, is men try to make their female figures too perfect. You'll see a wide variety in the male figures, generally. While there is a standard heroic male body type, these guys clutter their universe with women that all look like centerfolds. On the rare occasion that they are asked to specifically draw a woman who isn't of that body type, the guys typically screw up.
Learning the three basic human body types is a helpful tool. Look at real people and you'll see plenty of examples of the endomorph, some of the ectomorph, but rarely the mesomorph. If you're not familiar with those terms, just have a quick search, because right now, I want to focus on faces.

Too many artists just draw the same handful (if that) of faces with different hair and maybe some scars or something, over and over. This is particularly true of women's faces.
It takes practice to draw faces. It takes even more practice to draw faces that look different. And, it takes a lot more to draw faces that are attractive, yet still have unique features.
Scarlett has a pointy chin. Sofia has big eyebrows. Laverne has a bulbous nose. Lindsay has a cleft chin. Lucy has a tiny chin. Thora has deep set eyes.
These features jump out at you. None of them are "perfect", but does it make them any less attractive?

Things They Don't Always Tell You In Books

There are a lot of how-to books for drawing and even making comics. I've read a few and most seem to be lacking in practical advice.  Things like,

Often, the oldest advice is the best.
If a book has been in print for 20, 50, 80 years, good bet it's what the newer books are based on. Norling's Perspective Made Easy, is a good example. I've flipped through a few books on perspective, and that one is best, in terms of comprehensive and easy to follow. I think some of these writers mistook themselves for Pythagoras.

When you're starting off, work cheap.
Those fancy comic boards with the measurements marked off and printed are nice, but they end up about a dollar a board. When you're starting off and just doing practice stuff, it's better to just go get a ream of 11x17 paper from the copy shop. The measurements on those pre-printed boards help a lot, so maybe get one pack and use them as guides, using masking tape to tape down a piece of the regular stuff. Or you can find some templates, online, to print out (like these http://elfkin.deviantart.com/art/Comic-template-kit-1-215257523 ). If you're planning to paint on it, then you'll want a book of watercolor paper (or something similar) and to use a lightbox.  Which brings me to the next thing...

Learn how to build your own lightbox.
A good lightbox costs a small fortune. But building one is not big deal, because it's really just a wooden box with a Plexiglas top and a light inside. If you're not secure in your construction skills, you can jerry rig one. A couple ways to do that: turn an empty fish tank on its side and stick a table lamp inside, or get a glass top drafting table and get a flat light to put under it (like the kind they put in fish tanks).

Kill your ego (and don't take it personally).
When someone offers you a constructive criticism, they aren't trying to make you feel bad, they saw some sort of potential there, and want to help you get to the next level. If your stuff is just that bad, they won't bother criticizing.  Sometimes, the only way to learn, is to fail. So if you failed, get over it, and don't do it again - learn from your mistakes. But when your failure isn't obvious, it takes someone with experience to see it. One of the biggest favors you can do yourself, is to kill your ego and listen to advice from someone who's been there, done that.

Don't be afraid of the pros.
They had to start somewhere, and if they see a talent, they may just latch onto it and try to guide it to the next level. That's what happened with Neal Adams and Frank Miller - Neal recognized the potential that Frank had, and tried to guide him, and eventually helped Frank get into the industry. And don't get discouraged because your favorite artist didn't respond. Often your favorite artist is a lot of people's favorite, and just doesn't have the time to take you under their wing. Most comics artists are really nice people and they'll help you, if they can, but they just don't have the time to go over everyone's portfolio and give them critiques.


Special thanks to Eric.

Church and State

Next time someone complains about Planned Parenthood, I'm going to bitch about the Catholic Church.

Catholic Charities is one of the nation’s most extensive social service networks, serving more than 10 million poor adults and children of many faiths across the country. It is made up of local affiliates that answer to local bishops and dioceses, but much of its revenue comes from the government. Catholic Charities affiliates received a total of nearly $2.9 billion a year from the government in 2010, about 62 percent of its annual revenue of $4.67 billion. Only 3 percent came from churches in the diocese (the rest came from in-kind contributions, investments, program fees and community donations).
In Illinois, Catholic Charities in five of the six state dioceses had grown dependent on foster care contracts, receiving 60 percent to 92 percent of their revenues from the state, according to affidavits by the charities’ directors.
- from a New York Times article 

 And don't think for a second that because it's a charity, doesn't mean it's religious. Ever been to one of those church-run free clinics? They make you pray for your medicine and send church officials around to harass you.
Also, those "many faiths" mentioned, excluded single, unwed, and gay parents.
You don't get to act like a private organization and a public one, whenever it suits your needs.

Bible Verses

Luke 14:26
'If anyone does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.'


Matthew 10:34
'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.'
'I have not come to bring peace but a sword.'
Luke 12:49
'I have come to bring fire to the earth.'
'And how I wish it were blazing already!'
Luke 12:51
'Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but hostility!


These are the words of Jesus.  These are taken from a modern-English translation of the Bible; meek and mild, indeed. Funny how those never end up in those illustrated bibles, for children.
From a literary perspective, I wonder if Jesus' character flaw were intended to make him easier to relate.

Small Minds, Big Mouths

I once told someone (on a blog post) that their entire argument was undercut by the fact that they failed at third grade English (the "classic" your/you're misuse, if you're wondering). Their response was to caps-lock-yell at me, that I failed at life.
I don't remember what the argument was, anymore, but the childish backlash stuck with me, because it kind of made my point.

When Aliens Attack

So, I'm watching a little of this National Geographic channel special, called When Aliens Attack, and it's really stupid. Let's suspend disbelief for a moment and imagine an advanced alien race capable of traveling the mind-numbing distances of space, in order to our Pale Blue Dot. The entire idea of an alien invasion being a ground war is just naive, at best. Honestly, if all they wanted was to obliterate humanity and claim the planet for themselves, couldn't they just do it from orbit? So, maybe they don't want to nuke the place because it would spoil any resources they may want to claim, OK, but a species capable of interstellar travel, you'd think, would have weapons capable of just blowing away all our major cities, which would pretty much be the end.
You see this again and again in movies, and it’s just retarded. An actual invasion by an alien race with vastly superior technology would be a lot more like the beginning of Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, simply put: bang, you’re dead. The idea of some guerrilla insurgence is laughable, human beings would be little more than a thorn in their side. There’s also the possibility that we wouldn’t even know they were there.
Oh yeah, this thing is also full of shitty CGI, bad editing, and worse acting.