If I ever get around to working on an ASTRO-ZOMBIES comic book I've already got the opening page and story title in the can. I'd received the commission from Geof Isherwood this week. Geof had been working on it off and on during the last six months.

The story title would be "AULD LANG SYNE" and told in flashback from the perspective of a human character. I'd want to start off the comic with an attention getting splash page so this is what it would be. Those of you who are EC fans will probably recognize the Wally Wood inspiration.

Here are some teaser images accompanying a few lines from the traditional Scotish song heard on New Years Eve.


































And here is the link to the entire commissioned page:
http://kingd.hypermart.net/MOTAZ/ALS.jpg

Wow, man. That's an excellent piece. Love all the work he put into the crowd shot.

That was one of my stipulations, based on the Wally Wood page, that no shortcuts be taken with the crowd. I didn't want anonymous ovals representing heads. I wanted the piece to become personal and horrific. It amplifies the lost of humanity by putting faces on the casualties.

For reference, here's the page that triggered the homage. As much as I like ECs, they fell into the same trap of using text to describe much of the picture.

http://kingd.hypermart.net/img/woodny.jpg

I've read quite a few EC comics, but that panel doesn't strike me as instantly familiar. He did a good job on catching the vibe of it, though.

Know what you're saying about describing the panels. Another one that really does that is the early Beck Captain Marvel comics. Like the rest of what's going on in the comics okay, but still find it hard to read some of them for that reason.

EC is a bit less stifling as some. Usually can still get into the stories without paying that aspect much attention.

After I read WATCHMEN I couldn't accept textual direct accounts of artwork. It seems such a waste of space and adds to the "inbred" reputation of comic books. Ideally, the artist should be able to carry more than 50% of the story even though the writer has to work twice as hard (the initial description of the visual and then playing off that visual).

I cringe whenever I see text echoing artwork needlessly. I look at stuff that I thought was great as a 12-year-old that now is unbearable. There's a splash page by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams in X-MEN #58 that just reeks! Sentinels are breaking through the wall and using metal tenticles to grab the Beast sitting next to Iceman. What does the text do? Word balloons, spoken by the Beast, describing what is happening using a halting voice! You'd think Bobby Drake was mentally challenged to need such a drawn out play-by-play account of events happening around him.

[EDITED TO ADD LINK TO X-MEN PAGE]

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=102171&GSub=3445

Some of it I think is just unawareness by the creators back then. Wasn't something that they probably considered as being redundant while they were doing it and it was still in common practice all around.

With that in mind I can let it slide some. As a product of the times I can't hold it against them, and they were just not sure about all the nuances of how to mesh the writing with the art. Not that they were always bad writers in every sense, but simply unsophisticated in how they approached it in this medium. These days I'd be a little more critical if I saw it happening, modern writers should certainly know better at this point. If you have to... do it for a real good reason and definitely be conscious of the fact. You know.

After WATCHMEN came out I saw current comic books begin to sink back in the comfy chair. Taking the easy route by having the text and art mimic each other. I just couldn't stand it anymore and I walked away from comics.

Years later I gave new comics a try (the trade collection of Bendis' DAREDEVIL: Out). The problem this time was the "decompressed storyline"! In my opinion, not much of an improvement. In fact, I think I'd rather have the echo instead of the pointless meandering!

Haven't read that, but I'm sure you're right. Somethings have gone in the opposite direction, just trying too hard and forgetting the point of having and telling a good all around story should come first. Gotta all be done well for a really good comic, not just certain parts. Lots of artists (in all fields) zero in on the things that caught their attentions and attracted them as an audience to their selected medium, try just for aptitude in those particular aspects, but they lose sight of the importance of the whole picture and its parts. Then they can't figure out they aren't up to muster with the guys and material that they aspire to be as good as. But yeah, a lot of the further disections and standards of excellence have driven striving creators to be chickenheaded in their approach. Think that's always been constant occurance with the arts, really. The things can change that people are after, but that imcomplete/faulty/deficient learning process still happens and is adopted. I'd say it's probably natural to learn that way for most everybody in the begining, but it needs to be rectified to achieve more substantial and goal oriented results (if that's what you're after, and most who are serious about it usually are).

I don't really blame anyone for not taking full advantage of the medium. A lot of it is toeing the company line and riding out proven successes from the past.

It is interesting that much of the experimental approach to comic book storytelling came from existing titles on the verge of cancellation:

O'Neill & Adams on GREEN LANTERN / GREEN ARROW

Miller on DAREDEVIL

Moore & Bissette on SWAMP THING

and in the case of a previously cancelled comic

Wein, Claremont, & Cockrum on UNCANNY X-MEN


It shows what the creators can do when unfettered by traditions and regulations.

They were going to cancel Daredevil?

It was getting in the "danger zone". The title had no real direction other than being a blind imitation of Spider-Man. Black Widow was added for awhile. Some science fiction storyline was being tried out (and never completed). The villains were all over the map in terms of throwing it at the wall and seeing what sticks. I don't think the editor felt like he had much to lose by letting a rookie artist take a shot at writing the title.

I worked at a comic shop pre-Miller on DAREDEVIL. That title was one of the lowest selling Marvel superhero titles (just above THOR). Sales shot up rather quickly and I recall being pissed because the shop owner was allowing customers to jump the queue when DD became hot. I was asked to wait for reorders and to give up my two copies even though I'd steadily bought DD prior to Miller's arrival on the title.