John Barber
2004 WCCA Winners Announced
Submitted by Dedos on July 27, 2004 - 11:53
The 2004 Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards were announced July 25th. Big congratulations are in order for newcomer Adrian Ramos who picked up 6 awards for Count Your Sheep. Penny Arcade remains a favorite with 5 more awards to put on their mantle, including Outstanding Website Design. Both these titles share the coveted Outstanding Comic award this year.
The full list of categories and winners follows below:
Form Is Function by John Barber
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Collaboration of One?
The Comics medium is often a collaborative medium. This is particularly true in "mainstream" American and European comics, but a lot of independent or alternative comics are also produced in a collaborative setting.
I've been writing the last couple of these columns about comics scriptwriting, with the implication that I'm talking about comics created by several hands. I've been referring to the writer and the artist as though these are two separate entities, but the things I've been writing about hold true (in as much as they hold true at all) for a single creator, as well.
Form is Function by John Barber
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Mean What You Say, but Never Say What You Mean
Continuing down last month's David Mamet trek towards an aesthetic of creating comics....
Brian Michael Bendis is a big Mamet fan. When I read a Bendis script a little while back, I was really impressed; I liked it because it read like a script to a comic, not like he was trying to impress anybody. It wasn't full of witticisms and fancy descriptions, it was bare-bones writing that provided a structure which could be turned into a comic.
What I liked about Bendis' script was that it was made up of panel descriptions like: "Shot of guy's face." And "Same as 2." "Same as 2, closer."
At first, every growing-up-thinking-comics-scripts-should-look-like-Alan-Moore-scripts bone in my body reacted against this. Wait, I thought, shouldn't Bendis be saying what the face looks like?
Writer's Best Friend? The Editor's Role in Webcomics by Alexander Danner
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As everyone knows, chief among the benefits of producing an independent webcomic is the freedom from any sort of editorial input or criticism. In the absence of the editor's stifling presence, a comics creator can maintain a pure artistic vision, and is thereby free to reach his or her full potential.
That seems to be the prevailing opinion, anyway. That editors might actually have useful skills and services to offer is a little-considered possibility.
Damonkey Business by Damonk
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Eggheads Anonymous
We've all become eggheads.
Week 4 of the XXX Issue is Up
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on May 31, 2004 - 21:16
Week 4 leaps cat-like from the rooftop, landing behind its intended victim with a soft NC-17 Webcartoonist List sound. Without a word, it pulls out a long, sharp interview with Partially Clips' Rob Balder, and thrusts it expertly through The Heart of Abracax review.
Witnessing the whole event, all Meaghan Quinn and John Barber's columns can do is scream.
Week 4 is coming for them next. Then for YOU.
Form Is Function by John Barber
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Taking a look at my bookshelf, I find the two best books ever on the subjects of writing and drawing comics. Both are written by director/screenwriter/playwright David Mamet.
The books are On Directing Film (which is about writing comics) and True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor (which is about drawing comics). I don’t know why the titles make them sound like they’re about directing films and acting in plays; maybe the publishers figured they could sell more copies that way. Whatever. They’re about making comics.
New Webcomic Review Website from Joe Zabel
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on May 22, 2004 - 14:26
Joe Zabel mentioned a couple of upcoming projects on his blog recently: one being The Webcomics Examiner which "will be dedicated to reviews and critical essays on the best 'fine art' webcomics." Zabel promised more details on the project this coming Monday.
Second he's working with John Barber and Steven Withrow on their upcoming book, a follow-up to Withrow's Toon Art. The new book will focus on new techniques for creating comics and cartoon art, and Zabel will be contributing a section on the techniques of Poser-rendered comics.
John Barber to Work at Marvel
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on April 7, 2004 - 17:54
Joey Manley notes that John Barber has accepted an entry-level editorial position at Marvel.
Barber is also a monthly columnist here at Comixpedia. Be sure to catch Form Is Function.
Form is Function by John Barber
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One of the interesting things about webcomics is that people come into the medium from different places, both physically and psychologically.
Presumably, all of the first people to make comics for the web had an interest (of some kind) in printed comics (of some kind). Nowadays, that isn't necessarily the case – a creator's interest in comics could be purely digital.
