Just Megawatt

Happened across this web site while looking for some Junji Ito.
Great collection of horror manga!

http://www.justmegawatt.com/comics/horrorcomics.html

Nothing Dies On The Internet... Except Careers

No my friends, comics are not dead.

Back issues will go online and we will pay for them. Perhaps we'll even pay the original cover price. I would drop 35 cents to read Daredevil 158 online. Fifteen cents for House of Mystery 181, you bet! Or maybe a flat rate of $10 per month. It will happen.

How will this onslaught of old-time comics change the landscape?

One big change will be sales stats. Let's say DC puts their old Romance titles online and sales go through the roof. How long will it be before the New 52 includes 'Falling In Love' among its titles? Yes, they used to make comics for girls.

The second change (hopefully) would be education. Favorite artists emerge, lost genres re-appear, and an understanding of the art form blossoms from the shadows of digital media. Comic fans become comic connoisseurs!

I guess what I'm saying is that there has to be the next BIG thing. What iTunes did for music, what NetFlix did for movies, what Amazon did for books. Right now, old comics pretty much have blogs...

Nothing Dies On The Internet... Except Profits

When was the last time you purchased a brand new comic?
You know, the kind you hold in your hands.

How about a physical, music CD?
Was it a new artist or someone you used to listen to marked down?

The last new comic I bought was Detective Comics #854 after reading this review on Comic Book Resources in 2009. That was three years ago.* That's not to say I don't buy comics. I've spent hundreds of dollars on comics since 2009. They're all second-hand and usually cost 100 times their cover price from a dealer.

But what does a multimillion-dollar back-issue industry mean to the publisher?
I'm sure they're glad that people are still buying their comics, and maybe it keeps comic shops (who also sell new comics) in business. Beyond that...

Let's just say that I'm really glad that Hollywood is making these comic-book movies/television shows and showing $$$ profit. 'Cause I have the feeling that comic-book publishers are getting their teeth kicked in at the P n' L meetings based on comic sales alone. Comics still sell (thank God), they're just not as prolific. Explains the $4 price tag.

But I'm not hear to sound the death knell for the sequential art-form we call comics. One day all those back issues will be readily available. I just keep wondering if Netflix will do the same thing to my local comic shop as it did to Blockbuster...




* You can still buy a near-mint Detective #854 for its cover price by the way.
   J.H. Williams III is incredible!

Eufronio Reyes “E.R.” Cruz

One of the cool things about the appreciation of art is that it's timeless. We still admire paintings in galleries that are centuries old. For myself, I approach comics from the late 60's and early 70's with a fresh set of eyes and start to recognize some of the truly great works that were available during this time period.

One of the Filipino artists often overlooked from this period is Eufronio Reyes “E.R.” Cruz. I have already featured Mr. Cruz's stellar artwork in "The Haunted Mountain" from DC's 'Unexpected' issue 175. However, every time I read one of the tales featuring his work, my admiration only grows. Today, we look at another of Mr. Cruz's offerings, this time from "The Witching Hour", issue 36 entitled "Death Held The Goblet".

Mr. Cruz's realistic style has always reminded my of Seinen manga from Japan. Not surprising, considering the proximity of Japan and its influence of Filipino culture throughout the seventies. And yet, Mr. Cruz is a style onto himself, immediately recognizable and distinctive. His style even predates most Seinen manga. His use of various points of artistic view and scenes lend support to Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work. Mr. Cruz knows where to position the camera of the viewer's eye.

So, without further adieu, let us drink to the tragic tale of Helga the Magnificent only to learn that in the end, 'Death Held The Goblet'.

Click on image to open pdf.

Saying Goodbye to Tony DeZuniga

For those who may not know DeZuniga's work, do yourself a favor and pick up some early "Weird Western Tales" with Jonah Hex. They're fantastic. But DeZuniga did more than Westerns. He did romance, fantasy, superhero, and horror. And could he ink!

I was lucky enough to meet Mr. DeZuniga and his wife a couple of years ago and pick up this very affordable Red Sonja original pencil drawing.

(Still have to frame that.)

It's hard to measure the impact DeZuniga had a comics. Not only was he a prolific artist in the seventies for both DC and Marvel, he also was the harbinger of the Filipino invasion of artists in the 70's. On his recommendation, Joe Orlando and Carmine Infantino visited the Philippines in 1971 to recruit such talent as Alex Niño, Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo, Fred Carrillo, Vicatan, Gerry Talaoc and others.

This influx of artists was immediately evident in the art of comics. Let's compare early horror art to Alex Nino (who we in North America may never have heard of if not for DeZuniga):

Wow. That's why I love 70's comics.

Tony DeZuniga passed away on May 11, 2012.

Time To Practice My Inking...

Why yes, that is an original Berni Wrightson pencil sketch...

Sorry for the inactivity.
Working 80 to 100 hours a week doesn't leave much time to post.
I am going to the Calgary Comic Expo this weekend which will be GREAT.
Looking forward to meeting Berni Wrightson :)