jltopkis

[jltopkis]

hi neil !

i have to write a short story for the final assignment worth 90% of my creative writing uni module, it has to be 4k words. i’ve been putting it off for months because 1) i’ve been depressed and can’t find the motivation to do anything, 2) im deathly scared of it being bad because 3) graduating my course counts on the grade i’ll get for it. writing and reading has been a huge motivator to not give up on a future for myself. i am basically terrified of writing and submitting it. all the ideas i have feel bad, or i can’t execute them, or it’s not what the marker would be looking for. i’ve had the deadline extended into summer but i just can’t bring myself to write anything. how do you make yourself write when it matters so much? when something big rests on its quality, and it scares you?

thank you so much :)

There was a colourist I knew who wanted more than anything to colour a comic book I was writing. I got him pages early to start colouring, talked to him about what we were trying to achieve. He was really smart and brilliant and I knew he'd do a great job. The editor was waiting for his work to come in.

He may have started. He may not. I don't know. All I know is he was so obsessed with it being perfect that he never sent the pages in. The person who wound up colouring the comic got the job because we were out of time and our first choice had never sent anything to the editor.

The moral I took from this is that any work, no matter how bad, is better than no work, no matter how brilliant.

I pass this along to you, in the hope that it helps. Divide 4000 by how many days you have to go, and then double that. That's what you have to write each day to get 4K written, with enough time to revise it thoroughly on the other side. Get anything down in the first half of the time. Make it brilliant in the second half of the time.

Good luck.

[jltopkis]

Presenting CAUTIONARY TALE -- our new short film!

Starring Larkin Bell & Carlie Young

Writing/Directing/Shooting this reminded me why I love movies. I'm grateful to have been supported by this amazingly talented team:

Edited by Scott Morris, the best partner in crime one could have.

Music by Kush Mody, please for the love of gawd listen to his albums.

Produced by myself, with Marissa Cattel and Larkin

- who never stopped believing in this absurd project.

Sound by Jenna Di Quarto, my weapon of choice for all aural things.

With a cast that includes Colleen Bell, Michelle Matyja, Eric Seltenrich, Kenna Wright, Jacob Grodnik, and Hooks Morgann.

VFX by Auston Ricketts and Colton Medlin, with glitch art by Corey Topkis and myself.

Color by Marc Van Osdale.

Thank you for watching!

[jltopkis]

Misunderstanding

I received a note from someone who was upset I “failed to cite Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics” in my research for my work on Neil Gaiman's Chivalry and the essays I wrote about it. 

I really appreciate that people want to make sure credit goes where it's due, and I have a lot of respect for Scott McCloud's accomplishment with his wonderful book.  

I haven't read it myself in some years, and didn't cite it in my articles because I didn't reference it. I don't even know where my copy is so I don't know what McCloud referenced, either. 

The information in my articles re: illuminated manuscripts and the Bayeux Tapestry, as well as other theories about the development of sequential art from prehistory, not only predate McCloud's work (and in fact, predate McCloud's birth,) but they are so common and so well known in comics circles that asking me to cite them seems as weird to me as asking me to cite the information that George Washington was the first President of the United States.

A part of me wonders if someone is trying to play, "Let's you and him fight." 

No.

But I’m happy to bring to your attention some reading material.

Stephen Becker in his 1959 work Comic Art in America: A Social History of the Funnies, the Political Cartoons, Magazine Humor, Sporting Cartoons, and Animated Cartoons was among the first to discuss the Bayeux Tapestry as comic art. I read that book sometime in the 1980’s. I think a lot of people assume the Bayeux tapestry as comic art was McCloud’s idea, but we don’t all walk around with a reference library in our heads, so there you go. I can’t find my copy of Becker’s work to quote, but I did find an article by Arthur Asa Berger with a mention of the Bayeux Tapestry as comic art in the summer 1978 issue of The Wilson Quarterly.

My first exposure to the idea of comics as descendant of fine art was Maurice Horn’s 1976 The World Encyclopedia of Comics which was my first read re: comics history. I still have my tattered 1976 edition. 

While Horn scorned the idea that tapestries and manuscripts could be comic art (see, it was a matter of discussion way back then, so much so that authors were writing snarky asides to one another about it,) he believed the origin of sequential art was in the Renaissance sketches of Leonardo da Vinci - which I think everyone now agrees is kind of a bonkers idea.

I think Horn was just intent on elevating the comic art form by hooking up with da Vinci.

You go, boi.

Comics as descendant of art on scrolls is a very common theory, the easiest to trace being in Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Fred Schodt published in 1983 when I was still a teenager. I can't find my copy to show examples, but this text is still in print and you can go read it for yourself. 

I was introduced to manga by cartoonist Leslie Sternbergh and bought Schodt’s book at Books Kinokuniya on (I think) a trip to New York around the time of first publication of Schodt’s work. And years later took a trip to Japan with Fred Schodt and a group of cartoonists including Jeff Smith and Jules Fieffer, Nicole Hollander, and Denys Cowan as the guests of Tezuka Productions.

Here we all are.

So, I’m familiar with manga, see.

As for comics as descendant of cave paintings, hieroglyphics and ancient art in general, Will Eisner’s 1985 Comics and Sequential Art not only made all of those points, but made those points with comic art examples. Like these.

And this.

And this.

And more than a few words on this:

I find it amusing that someone is questioning why I didn’t cite McCloud when what you should probably be questioning is why more people don’t cite Eisner who produced his book eight years before McCloud published his and who is well known to have influenced McCloud.

Whatever. My book's autographed.

I also danced with Eisner. Eat your heart out.

Understanding Comics is a terrific work with huge advantages over every book (that I know of) about comics that came before: it taught comics entirely in the language of comics. 

But the discussion in it about the origins of comics and my work especially re: illuminated manuscripts/tapestries, did not originate with McCloud. I research illuminated manuscripts because it’s my hobby and it informs my art. 

I encourage everyone to read Understanding Comics because it is an outstanding work.

But it’s not the book that introduced me to the concepts of the development of comic art. It’s not even the point of origin of those concepts. So, there is no reason to cite it.

Also, shocking as it may seem, I occasionally come up with ideas on my own. While I'm younger than McCloud, I've actually been a comics pro longer than he has. So I've had plenty of opportunity to, you know, read things and toss things around, and decide for myself.

When I first read Chivalry and first begged Neil Gaiman to let me adapt it, my head full of the work of Alberto Sangorski and his art for Tennyson’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Understanding Comics hadn’t been published yet.

It's been a good twelve years since I last read McCloud's work, and I don't think I've spoken to him five times in the last three decades. But I'm pretty sure he never mentioned Sangorski.

I hope that clears everything up, and maybe introduces some of you to some works you might not be aware of.

Have a great day.

[jltopkis]

I’m excited to share this story with you. It reinvigorated the way I look at filmmaking. #CautionaryTaleFilm

[jltopkis]

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When your writing is rewriting. #STANDCLEAR (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLNrKNOp9sb/?igshid=1btmxn99o5kel

[jltopkis]

I’m thinking of @Jake.Borelli, who has been excellent on @greysabc. His show is one of the first to tackle storytelling in the COVID-19 era, which I think is a powerful responsibility. I’m so proud of him for being a part of it - and I can’t wait to work with him again one day. (Still from IN SEARCHING, streaming on Amazon Prime, and rentable most other places.) (at Park City, Utah) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIPrhDlpnDH/?igshid=khr9zy0vjs4v

[jltopkis]

#TBT to those moments when you get to watch a shot go up for the first time. (On the set of NIGHT WORE ON.) (at Heber City, Utah) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHyc5rOJEej/?igshid=lyxvkk3s5lj2

[jltopkis]

DAREDEVIL #230 Words: @frankmiller_official Art: David Mazzucchelli https://www.instagram.com/p/CFs1ZyKpND_/?igshid=1xrut1sie1vy8

[jltopkis]

“Today would have been #BreonnaTaylor birthday. She should be here. Instead she was murdered by police in what they’re calling a “clerical error.” They barged into her home without knocking and shot her in her sleep. She worked for us during the covid pandemic, she was an innocent civilian. SAY HER NAME. DEMAND JUSTICE ON HER BIRTHDAY. NO ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE. @govandybeshear @senatemajldr @drrandpaul @danieljaycameron MAKE THIS RIGHT. Post by @ju.niyah 🌸” Written by @Lizzobeeating The governor’s voicemail is full, but you can email governor@ky.gov. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBFAlm3JsrN/?igshid=k1ow4ic2xf0j

[jltopkis]

“People should not be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” - ALAN MOORE Police reform NOW. Time to reign in the biggest gang of thugs in this country. Artwork by @taxali. (at Black Lives Matter America) https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5zNvppE5K/?igshid=et11zmakezit

[jltopkis]

Make sure you’re not looking away. Clap back at any excuse. Pursue justice. (at Minneapolis, Minnesota) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAuUhA3pp_4/?igshid=ul126ekc2m5c

[jltopkis]

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#TBT — TIES (2010) starring @JacobGrodnik and @AlexanderGouldreal. The first film where I was able to bring my high school friends and college friends together on the same project! I loved working with @patpat682 on the story. The score by @sneakersinthepool blew my mind. (at Chester, Utah) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAMM5IxpiDd/?igshid=15lc3o35ep3bd

[jltopkis]

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Each week, @CTopkis and I add a new row to @THECAVEALLEGORY. Writing a story for this medium has been a thrill. Images we posted years ago will suddenly get ‘Liked’ in a flurry - and I know it means someone new has just taken the journey... 🟦 Thank you for spelunking. 🟦 https://www.instagram.com/p/B9grKAXpmyx/?igshid=1rzwhre4sj929

[jltopkis]

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#TBT to ESCAPISM (2008) Written/Directed/Edited by myself in high school. Starring @draxcat and @ctopkis (who also did the animation). Watching how the film made people smile unlocked something in me. I learned a lot on this project about the stories I want to tell, and how to make them. It’s the first film we took around to a bunch of festivals. (at Park City, Utah) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9FX3FrpATY/?igshid=1rgxo91veq5pz

[jltopkis]

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>>>🗣sound on📣<<< Stepa gonna step.🐾 (at Hollywood) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8TEbUPp_3S/?igshid=1qmu3b3arf93u

[jltopkis]

I’m at Sundance. You can tell because I’m posting this image of Sundance. It’s proof. #ThisIsNotAPipe (at Sundance) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7xvONyJ5gI/?igshid=1h4ptl1k1tyas

[jltopkis]

Ready to knock on more doors to help elect this guy. Vote on March 3rd. #Cenk2020.com Art by @CTopkis https://www.instagram.com/p/B7vEgTtpPRd/?igshid=ptif7bejbjl8