Adding Monsters to Thrift Store Paintings

This is just great:

http://twistedsifter.com/2012/04/adding-monsters-to-thrift-store-paintings/

Artist Page:  Chris McMahon

Artist Page:  Thyresa Segal

New Links to Add

It was a major oversight that I did not include Hyperbole and a Half and The Oatmeal in my initial link dump.  Doctor cat I just found, and it is so stupidly adorable, I just had to share.

http://bizarrocomics.com


http://autistscorner.blogspot.com/2010/04/things-you-dont-see-every-day.html
The Autists Corner.  Blog about Autism, Feminism and Literature.  This post is about a feminist comic short featuring hte hellfire club.

Zen Pencils

I just got turned on to this website: Zen Pencils, where the cartoonist, Gavin Aung, takes inspirational quotes and draws cartoons based on them.  I think this is a fantastic idea, and he pulls it off well.  I was originally linked to this based on his Bill Watterson comic.

Calvin and Hobbes is very likely the best newspaper comic ever and I recommend you check out the Bill Watterson comic.

Dinosaur Comics

No other strip makes me laugh out loud as consistently as does Dinosaur Comics.  For a good example, take a sample - of comics with the word 'frig' in them. 

Dinosaur Comics is also incredibly prolific.  Thousands of comics, easily winning the race for quantity, in terms of funny comics and in terms of total comics.  I also think it may still win the prize for comedic density;  despite its great volume, Dinosaur comics are frequently hilarious.

Zany is a word I would use to describe Dinosaur comics.  I'd also use the words 'educational,' 'clever'  and 'funny.'  How's that for a word combination? 

Also, the products, oh the products.  There have been some great T-shirts available. But recently, the most incredible innovations in Dinosaur Comics products have appeared.  One is the Dinosaur comics, Panel 2 sticky notes.  Never before has there been a more appropriate product for a comic strip. 

However, this wonderfully clever and thoroughly awesome product may have been eclipsed by the even closer to perfect: Dinosaur Comics White Board!  WOW!  What a brilliant product, and I want three for myself, and one for everyone I know who has an awesome sense of humor. 

I don't often like to hock the merchandise of others, but Ryan North is a funny, funny man, and I thank him for all of the many free comics, and the laughs and thoughts contained therein.  The least I can do is to purchase and promote his comics. 

This post will be revised to include pictures and links when I am no longer at work.  Updated:  Nevermind, I just went ahead and put the pictures and links in while I'm here at work. Hah! 

I encourage you to click all the links I provided.  I can almost guarantee you will increase your happiness index if you do so.

-D


7/10/2013 Update:  Another really great search to do is for the word 'balls.'  And hilarity ensues...

Zebra Girl

Zebra Girl is the first serialized webcomic I ever got into.  I was going to call it a 'serious' webcomic, but it started out being quite silly.  It is an old comic (started in May, 2000) and over the years it has evolved into a more generally serious tone, with a refined art style and a lush mythos.

When I first got into Zebra Girl, I marathoned the first five or so years of comics.  It doesn't take long to get going, and there is plenty of content when you start from the beginning.  I recommend giving it a go.  If you like it at all, please know that it only gets better.

The tragedy of Zebra Girl is that, for all its quality illustration and blooming storyline, the creator, Joe England, has had less and less time to keep it updated.  He has also made it clear that he doesn't make a dime off of his work with Zebra Girl.   For these reasons I would like to promote Zebra Girl more than any other comic.  I think that Joe has real storytelling talent, and I'd like him to get more recognition for his work.

Strip Search: Revisited

The show is drawing to a close, and I find myself deeply enmeshed in the drama and excitement.  I really have to hand it to the Penny Arcade crew and all of the artists.  Everyone comes across so well.  The crew seems to be editing to their benefit, rather than to play up drama, backstabbing and all other trashy tropes that reality TV is well known for.  Kudos and Bravo.

Of course, another trope of reality TV is that as a viewer, I have to resist the feeling that I *know* the artists, based on their performances on the show.  I am always gripped with this feeling after I watch a couple episodes.  I think this is normal, after all, how well adapted to watching people move around on a glowing box can I expect myself to be?  Our chromosomes are the product of millions of years of evolution, as our human instincts.  Motion pictures have only been around for a hundred years or so.  But I digress.

the purpose of this rationalization is that it helps me to control my behavior so that I don't turn into a weird stalkery fan guy thing that I fear these artists are now plagued by.  However, I do want to give a little feedback, a vote of confidence and otherwise.  Though I suppose the best thing to do in that case would be to buy some shit from each of the artists stores... Yes, I suppose that is the best vote of confidence.

So, without further ado, here are select products from each artist:

Tavis:

 http://thunderskullpress.storenvy.com/products/1168196-i-expect-you-to-die

Monica:

http://phuzzycomics.storenvy.com/products/340975-3-buttons-for-5

Erika:

http://erikamoen.myshopify.com/products/dar-volume-one

Amy:

http://cardiganweather.com/2013/05/09/no-big-deal-part-1/

http://amytfalcone.com/about/

She doesn't appear to have any products, so here's a link to her strip.  And a link to her artist page.

------------------------------

Alright, that's all I have time for right now.  Consider the above products my 'wishlist' like if it was all on Amazon or something.

-D

Erika Moen

I am way overdue for a post about Erika Moen.  She is one of the stars of Penny Arcade's Strip Search, and was my first favorite pick.  She is queer, sex positive, funny and proud.  She beams brightly all through the show, and the personality I see in her art matches wonderfully with what she shows on Penny Arcade.  I like to think of her as a happy resident of the house the Bechdel built.

Her comics are delightful.  Here's a nice little gender identity piece:

http://www.erikamoen.com/comics-portfolio/check-one/


Here's a selection of other comics

http://www.erikamoen.com/comics/


Erika also has a brand- new webcomic:

http://www.ohjoysextoy.com/introduction/


Also, here is Amy Falcone's tribute comic to Strip Search.  I'm throwing it in because they're buds.  I will do a post about Amy at some point as well.  I find her Cardigan Weather comic to be excellent.

http://cardiganweather.com/2013/04/25/thats-a-wrap/

Favorites from the Miriam-Webster Dictionary App

I have a free App on my phone called the Miriam-Webster Dictionary App.  It seemed like a no-brainer to have a dictionary on my phone.  Like a calculator, it seems like something that should be part of the basic software.

My favorite part of this app though, is the 'word of the day' choice.  This one can be a lot of fun.  It includes a random word, it's definition, examples and a little bit about the etymology.  I wasn't previously all that interested in etymology, but this App has changed that.  English is just the marriage of Latin, Greek and Auld English, it seems. 

Anyway, I've begun collecting my favorite Words of the Days, and I'm going to be reposting them here.  I hope that Miriam Webster considers this free advertising for their app, and not theft. 

Without further ado, here's the word of the day 5/12/2013:


-------------
sesquipedalian - \sess-kwuh-puh-DAIL-yun\ - adjective 1: having many syllables : long 2 : using long words

Examples:
Jacob's editor advised him to do away with much of the sesquipedalian prose he favored and opt for simpler word that would reach readers of all ages and backgrounds.

"You just don't see that many sesquipedalian writers like William F. Buckley Jr. in the media anymore,' said a colleague to whom I mentioned this topic." -- From an article by Mary Schmich in the Chicago Tribune, December 5, 2012. 

Did you know?
Horace, the Roman poet known for his satire, was merely being gently ironic when he cautioned young poets against using "sesquipedalia verba"--"words a foot and a half long"--in his book Ars poetica, a collection of Maxims about writing.  But in the 17th century, English literary critics decided the word "sesquipedalian" could be very useful for lambasting writers using unnecessarily long words.  Robert Southey used it to make two jibes at once when he wrote "The verses of [16th century English poet] Stephen Hawes are as full of barbarous sesquipedalian Latinisms, as the prose of [the 18th-century periodical] the Rambler."
The Latin prefix "sesqui-" is used in modern English to mean "one and a half times," as in "sesquicentennial" (a 150th anniversary). 
--------------

The text of above is quoted verbatim from the Miriam-Webster Dictionary App.  What I like the most about this word is its irony.  The word sesquipedalian is itself sesquipedalian - unnecessarily long and fully of syllables.  This cracks me up.  It also makes me laugh that the words more literal translation is 'a foot and a half long'  - that this word, which has all the makings of a pretentious nerd-word, has exaggeration in its definition.  Cracks me up. 

7/10/2013 Update:  It turns out a word that describes itself is called an 'autological' word.  Sesquipedalian is a fine example of one.  And, would you know it, I found out about autological words from an episode of Dinosaur Comics.

Penny Arcade - Strip Search

Rad fighting game poster-style pic of the cast of strip search taken from:  http://periscopestudio.com/category/ron-chan/

Penny Arcade is currently running an elimination-style reality show for Webcomic artists called Strip Search.  The artists compete in activities and win small prizes, all competing to win the ultimate prize which is a bundle of money and a job with Penny Arcade.

I'm not a follower of reality TV, but I enjoy this show because of the webcomic theme.  Everybody on the show seems really nice, and very talented, and the sub-prizes they come away with are often really great, including a T-shirt design sold on the Penny Arcade website, and some quality electronic tablets for artists.   The stress of the elimination challenges is cut by the playful banter of the two creators.  The creators seem to be genuinely invested in the artists and the field of comics.

One of the best features of the show is a listing of all of the artists with links to their own websites.  So everybody gets promoted, no matter how they do on the show.  In addition, there's a spoilers section, that summarizes the episodes, but more importantly, allows the you to view the art they created each day. 

Right now I'm rooting for all the artists that are around 30 years old.  I find this to be a simple criteria to weed out most of them, and narrow down my preference.  Actually, one of these artists, Maki, does the Sci-ence cartoon to which I have linked in the margin.  The others I had not read prior to seeing them on Strip Search, and I am slowly making my way through each of their websites. 

http://www.penny-arcade.com/strip-search/artists
link to artists list

http://www.penny-arcade.com/strip-search/archive
link to the episode archive

http://www.penny-arcade.com/strip-search/spoilers
link to spoilers

Simpsons Drawing Club

http://25.media.tumblr.com/90b8b986bca3d5f56fc325e2eea8a843/tumblr_mklckiiBhS1rhf9zpo1_500.jpg

The Simpsons Drawing Club is a tumblr page that collects together different Simpsons themed drawings from a group of different artists.  There is a wide variety of styles represented here, with a striking amount of abstract and even kind of icky art styles.  There are also narrative comics following Simpsons characters, often with rather strange themes, much heavier than what is found in the show itself.

As a longtime Simpsons fan, many of these images resonate with me, as do their differences from the franchise itself.  I think it's great to see how many different ways these artists present these well-loved and familiar characters.  Even if some of it is kind of sick.

There's a real brilliance to this page.  Particularly some of the darker contributions, having Simpsons characters drawn slightly differently goes a long way to set a different tone.  I have a soft spot for post apocalyptic narratives, so I really enjoy Jack Teagle's contributions.

http://simpsonsdrawingclub.tumblr.com/

A lot of really gross art here.  Still pretty cool.

http://jackteagle.tumblr.com/tagged/comics
this is the guy who does the post-apocolypse simpsons

Urban Empathy

Urban Empathy by Dian Killian and Mark Badger

Urban Empathy is a series of clever and sweet stories written by Dian Killian.  The stories are centered around experiences in Dian's life in which she uses Non-Violent Communication skills to resolve conflicts she encounters in her daily life.  The accompanying art for these stories is by Mark Badger.  The art can seem crude but is expressive,  and I think Badger's drawings illustrate well, the subtle differences in the conflicting emotions between characters in these stories.

I think that this comic is a good example of how the comics format can be used to tell all sorts of different stories.  The plots are all 'slice of life' stories, with some great comics-style artistic license.  By Artistic License, I mean that there are talking cockroaches, and expressive physical exaggerations.   The cast of characters includes Dian herself, members of her family, and chance encounters with random strangers.  Dian uses the tenants of Non Violent Communication to reach out to people, rather than to push them away.

These stories are interesting, original and peaceful, and I think that it's great to read them in comics form.  Comics have been dominated by superhero stories for nearly a century, and violent combat is a defining feature of that genre.   I applaud the writer and artist for producing stories of the navigation of conflict toward a peaceful resolution.  This book is an earnest and effective effort that comes in an easily digestible form of short picture stories.  

I would recommend this book to anyone.  I hope you read it and enjoy it.

http://www.amazon.com/Urban-Empathy-Adventures-Compassion-Streets/dp/097706171X
to purchase a copy from amazon

http://www.kripalu.org/presenter/V0004679/dian_killian
little blurb on the author

http://www.nvcworld.com/urban-empathy
nvc site with resources

http://markbadger.org/?page_id=3
More on Artist

http://markbadger.org/
Artist's website with writing and thoughts on comics art

Vattu/Rice Boy/Order of Tales

I think  it would be good to highlight Evan Dahm's Vattu/Order of Tales.  I like the writer's imagination and art style.  Not too flashy, and I enjoy that.  It strikes me as similar to Jim Henson productions. Anthropomorphisim as applied to animals, and some sort of vague, not quite real animals.  Good stuff.

I also like his sensibilities.  In order of tales, the idea of the power of story, and then with Vattu tribal vs civilization.  Even in a simplistic construction, I think these are good stories to tell.  Perhaps I should send an email to the author.

Also, I should probably read rice boy, so that I have a complete understanding.

There's a TV tropes page for Vattu.  Pretty delightful.

Sulk #1 by Jeffery Brown

This a little black and white comic by Jeffrey Brown, featuring mostly the adventures of a character named Bighead.  I picked this up comic on a lark at my local comic store "Big Brother Comics."  I was pleased with the results of my grab.

The comic is a superhero comic, but it is also satiricle.  I love satire.  It reminds me of the Tick and other such things.  What I love the most about Satire is it makes me laugh, makes me think, and in the best instances, it is at least as effective at portraying drama as the thing it is satirizing.

The adventures of bighead revisits several different superhero tropes, but does it in an often child-like fashion, that tends to deliberately point out what is going on.  It brings to light how shallow much of the writing is for classic superhero comics.  But it still reminds me that I love them, mostly through the art.

The art appears rudementary, but is actually pretty darn good.  While the lines are messy, and sometimes the character's faces are inconsistent,, I have heard Jeffery Brown's style described as 'charmingly crude' and I agree with that assessment.  I will chalk some of this up to Jeffery Brown likely making no money whatsoever for this comic.  What the art does have is a good sense of pacing and of place, of angle and emotion, so that my immersion is never broken.  I appreciate this, and I give Jeffery Brown a thumbs up.  I will be checking in on him again in the future.

More on Jeffery Brown:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/jeffrey-brown

Oh, hey, check it out: He was also featured on Inkstuds:
http://www.inkstuds.org/stumptown-panel-with-jeffrey-brown-and-brandon-graham/

Even more Comic(s)

http://www.shiftylook.com/comics/galaga/invasion-part-1
Galaga

This is a comic about the game Galaga, and it's written by Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics and illustrated by the guy who does Dr. McNinja and the guy who does Nedroid.  

Yes, a responsible blogger would actually find out their names, but for the time being, I'm the only one who reads this blog, and I'm just keeping the links here for my own purposes.  I'll go back and edit this post to give proper credit.

Christopher Hasting and Anthony Clark.   There, was that so hard?

More Comics

Here are a few more webcomics,

When I am King:
http://www.demian5.com/king/next.016.htm


Jason Turner Project:
http://www.jasonturnerproject.com/


Nowhere Girl:
http://www.nowheregirl.com/episode/01/03.html


The above links were taken from Making Comics - Chapter 5 1/2 by Scott McCloud:
http://www.scottmccloud.com/makingcomics/five_half/00.html

Sixes and Sevens

http://sixesandsevens.thecomicseries.com/

Here is a comic from Zelly of A Catchy Title fame.  She is the daughter of a family friend, and a great illustrator.  Check it out!

Emily Gravett

let's give a shout to Emily Gravett:

Great artist for children's books.  I think that picture books and comics are so closely related, so as to be the same thing.  More to follow.