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comicsbeat · 7 years ago

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We’re into our fourth day of creator thoughts, inspirations and projects. As always, thanks to everyone who took the time to participate. As you can see, the biggest story of last year was definitely #metoo and the revelations of sexual harassment in the comics industry. We all have a lot of work to do to make our industry – and the ones around us – a safe, inclusive place for everyone.

Also, on a lighter note, the quality of creator portrait photos has vastly improved since I started doing this 14 years ago. Whether that’s a function of comics folks being better known in general or just the Instagraming of everything, I’ll leave you to judge.

Brandon Graham, cartoonist/editor

2018 Projects: I’m finishing up my Multiple Warheads book along with a Royalboiler art book and then a new new series.

What was the biggest story of 2017? This has been a bizarre year in that the world outside of comics I think affected the tone of readers and creators in ways that was certainly new to me.

I was disheartened by seeing things like Aubrey Sitterson, catch flack and seemingly lose the backing of his publisher over people being upset at (some fairly mild things said) his twitter. DC continues to plunge the depths of Watchmen for no good reason. & only seemed to care about dealing with a sexual harasser when the outside world started to take notice -While Marvel made some attempts at doing socially progressive comics while at the same time their chairman is funnelling money to the right wing.

It got me to the point where I was actively trying to distance my everday from looking at mainstream comics, spending more time reading work from publisher like Koyama, NoBrow, Fantagraphics and Peow — ( I read a lot of Image too but they’re who I work with so I’m biased)

Creatively I got a lot out of Connor Willumsen’s Anti-gone (Koyama)

What will be the biggest story of 2018? I’ve seen some really exciting work on the horizon. Sloane Leong’s Prism Stalker (Image comics) Dilraj Mann’s new Nobrow book, more from creators like Simon Roy, Farel Dalrymple, Grim Wilkins. & Emma Rios.

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: I’m dipping my toes into doing more artwork with the porn company Woodrocket, I dunno if there’s any guilt in that for me, but I wouldn’t wanna talk to my mom about it.

Who or what inspires you? Connor Willumsen really got me thinking with his work. & on a more personal level I spent a lot of time hanging out with Farel Dalrymple this year & seeing his process and the work he’s doing in inspiring.

Glenn Hauman, editor ComicMix

2018 Projects: Pushing “Mine!”, our anthology benefiting Planned Parenthood (even though it came out at the very end of 2017, most of the work hyping it is yet to come.)

What was the biggest story of 2017? I feel the biggest stories are the ones that haven’t been covered yet. Why did Axel Alonso leave Marvel so suddenly? What’s going to happen to BOOM! now that minority stakeholder Fox is merging with Disney, who already has Marvel?

Of the stories we know about, it’s obviously Bendis leaving Marvel, an event as big as Kirby leaving Marvel.

(I’m partial to the Ninth Circuit court ruling that you can’t trademark an illustration style, but that’s me.)

What will be the biggest story of 2018? Sadly, the one most people will care about isn’t even technically a comics story: how the Marvel Cinematic Universe will integrate the Marvel properties controlled by Fox. Will the FF pop in the post-credits sequence of Avengers: Infinity War?

Second place: who’s the next person to get fired over sexual harassment accusations?

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: A ruling from the Register of Copyrights.

Who or what inspires you? Neil Gaiman. His story for “Mine!” took what was one of the most painful moments of his life, ripped out his heart and turned it into artâ€” and turned it into art to help people who are going through the same sort of pain, and to explain to people who don’t understand how painful that can be.

Neil Kleid, writer

2018 Projects: Several anthology stories, including “Babel” with my KINGS AND CANVAS partners, Jake Allen and Frank Reynoso, for the second volume of the Jewish Comix Anthology; mostly a creative/building year for me, working on a novel, a TV pilot and several pitches/projects yet to be announced.

What was the biggest story of 2017? Hands down the last-straw, breaking of the dam, simply not going to take it public airing and (in some cases) termination of known sexual predators in comics . In addition to that, the further discussion as regards diversity and women in comics and the empowerment/need for both on creative and editorial levels.

What will be the biggest story of 2018? The growing move by established creators away from comics and into alternative mediums that pay well. I believe the moves being made in Washington by the Orange Skull will result in many a creator being unable to pay their bills or write of expenses, forcing the need for either a shift to better paying work in the arts or having to embolden their bank accounts with day jobs, in some cases. Without enough paying work to go around and a potential hurt coming in terms of taxes and available healthcare, you’re going to see a lot of creators making tricky decisions in the coming years.

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: Well, I’m addicted to the CW DC TV shows and just devoured NBC’s THE GOOD PLACE, but the kids and I are really looking forward to the eighth volume of Kazu Kibuishi’s AMULET series

Who or what inspires you? I spent a lot of my year re-reading old Joe Kubert comics and books – RAGMAN, SGT ROCK, JEW GANGSTER – as well as a bulk of Will Eisner’s original graphic novel library. Something about immersing one’s self into a master class of sequential storytelling always helps stir the creative juices.

You can read previous installments of the survey here.

Ronald Wimberly, cartoonist

2018 Projects: LAAB, Sunset Park

What was the biggest story of 2017? I got a decent check from Prince of Cats and Black History in its Own Words

What will be the biggest story of 2018? LAAB and Sunset Park

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: Hopefully traveling back to see my friends in Japan or France.

Who or what inspires you?

Jose Muñoz

Brandon Schatz, retailer

2018 Projects: What was the biggest story of 2017? The gradual and continual collapse of Marvel.

What will be the biggest story of 2018? The slow refocus of the comic book industry outside of the direct market.

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: Whatever Marvel comes up with next for their line. Partly because it will be a “make or break/mission statement” moment for sure. And admittedly, they have my favourite characters, despite my current apathy for much of their line that didn’t just get cancelled.

Who or what inspires you? Shelley Bond. Her curation of a line true to her roots, but with an eye to the future made for an interesting mission statement. Marry old creators with fresh voices so they can “learn from each other”, instead of using the old ways as the de facto guide.

Mike Zagari, cartoonist/SVP-Aftershock

2018 Projects: AfterShock Comics: Overseeing the Brand, Marketing, Promotional, Digital + Various Creative Aspects of titles such as ANIMOSITY, ALTERS, PESTILENCE, BABYTEETH, JIMMYâ€™S BASTARDS, DARK ARK, ROUGH RIDERS and more.

What was the biggest story of 2017? There were so many big stories in the industry in 2017, but I believe the most shocking aspect was how divisive the opinions to the major topics were.

What will be the biggest story of 2018? Making the single issue comic a more anticipated experience than anything on TV or Film.

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: The Avengers: Infinity War film. They did a great job juggling all the characters in Captain America: Civil War. This looks like it’s doubled the cast.

Who or what inspires you? In no particular order, I enjoyed the art of Terry Dodson, James Jean, Babs Tarr, and Ben Caldwell.

Jason Leivian, retailer/editor

2018 Projects: Publishing Coredoor with Brandon Graham and Emma Rios. A follow-up/evolution to their popular Island magazine.

What was the biggest story of 2017? #visiblewomen was a powerful, inspiring project and the internet was a nicer place for a few days.

What will be the biggest story of 2018? Comic Aht? magazine from Domino Books

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: Fiffe’s Bloodstrike

Who or what inspires you? I had a recharging Fall con season, between SPX, Short Run, and CABF. Meeting kindred spirits and making new friends like Jon-Michael Frank, Charlene Man, and Orion Martin.

Taimur Dar, journalist

What was the biggest story of 2017? CB Cebulski replacing Axel Alonso as Marvel EiC

What will be the biggest story of 2018? Probably whatever the latest Marvel blunder will be

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: Whatever Brian Michael Bendis’ DC Comics project will be

Who or what inspires you? Late/Great Dwayne McDuffie

Thomas Ragon, editor, Dargaud

2018 Projects: From the USA, here are some of the projects that are official.

After “Musnet”, There will be another project by Kickliy. A western. Two books.

« Sir Alfred #3 », © Tim Hensley, Editions Dargaud.

Tim Hensley’s “Sir Alfred #3” will be released in August or September, with additional material by the author. This will be a 24×32 cm hardcover. Here’s the exclusive new endpaper.

Then, the French edition of Hartley Lin’s “Young Frances”. I’m proud to be working soon on this one, “Pope Hats” quite impressed me by the maturity at work.

« Salem », © Thomas Gilbert, Editions Dargaud.

From the French scene, Thomas Gilbert’s take on the Witches of Salem case should not come out without being noticed.

H.M.S. Beagle, aux origines de Darwin », © Fabien Grolleau, Jérémie Royer, Editions Dargaud

After “Audubon” (published in English by Nobrow), Fabien Grolleau and Jeremie Royer will be back with “H.M.S. Beagle, les origines de Darwin”.

Art : Jérémie Royer, Writer : Fabien Grolleau.

“Renaissance”, © Duval, Blanchard, Emem, Editions Dargaud

“Renaissance”, is a very strong science fiction series by Fred Duval, Fred Blanchard and Emem. Art : Emem & Fred Blanchard ; Writer : Fred Duval.

Lucas Varela and Diego Agrimbau join us for “Le Roi de la forat”, another science fiction book, with a completely different approach.

What was the biggest story of 2017? In France, I would say the tremendous success of humor comics. More precisely, non-fiction treated with humor, “L’Arabe du Futur”, “Dans la combi de Thomas Pesquet”, or plain humor comics like “Les Vieux Fourneaux” (more than one million copies sold with four books in four years).

Guilty Pleasure of 2018: Attending Napoli Comicon, in May.

Who or what inspires you? Blutch literally saved my professional life, in 2017, with his “Variations”. He’s so dedicated to his work and art, always trying to move forward, to try new things, to be working, whatever the difficulties are. He’s so talented, of course. And friendly. A real inspiration. Thank you, Blutch.

Reilly Brown, cartoonist

2018 Projects: Outrage at Line Webtoon and Dash Hudson at GhostekProducts.com/Dash

What was the biggest story of 2017? CB Cebulski taking over at Marvel

What will be the biggest story of 2018? Non-Marvel/DC publishers (such as Webtoon) signing deals with Marvel and DC creators, and rivaling their readership.

Who or what inspires you? Sanford Greene

Dave Elliott, editor

2018 Projects: MEND and CLICK. First two graphic novels that I am editing for Zuiker Press. Zuiker Press is a new publishing company founded by Anthony Zuiker (creator of CSI) and his wife Michelle. I’m the editor. Graphic novels based on true stories of kids that have gone through something traumatic. First books are Divorce (Mend) and Cyberbullying (Click). Currently in production are books on racial prejudice, body dysmorphia, and autism.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2017? Mark Millar/Netflix.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2018? Maybe someone starts producing mass market comics again?

Guilty Pleasure: Black Panther movie!!!!

Who or what Inspires you: Rick Remender, only because Seven to Eternity is the only comic I look forward to these days.

Erica Schultz, writer

2018 Projects: Twelve Devils Dancing (Writer) with Dave Acosta and Andrew Covalt, Bingo Love (Editor) with Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge, and Joy San, I have a back up story with Natasha Alterici (Heathen) in Destiny NY Vol. 2 from Space Between Entertainment, I’m also working on the Corpus anthology, as well as Where We Live, the anthology benefitting the victims of the Las Vegas shooting drawn by Liana Kangas (Blackout).

What was the biggest story in comics in 2017? I’d say Bingo Love getting picked up by Image Comics is a big story, seeing as it’s the first time Image would be publishing a graphic novel by an African American woman.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2018? The launch of books from Black Crown and Berger Books, two new imprints will be exciting. Emma Beeby and Ariela Kristantina have a great book about Mata Hari coming out. Also, several comics properties have been optioned lately, so it’d be interesting to see how far that goes in 2018, especially with platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. looking for content.

Guilty Plesaure: Hmm…Maybe a new season of Sarah and Duck?

Who or what inspires you? There are so many incredibly talented creators out there, I don’t know if I could narrow it down to a few. I adore Tee Franklin (Bingo Love), Meredith Finch (Rose), Emma Beeby (Mata Hari), Eric Palicki (No Angel), Vita Ayala (The Wilds), Natasha Alterici (Heathen), Emily Pearson (The Wilds), Liana Kangas (Blackout), Erik Burnham (Ghostbusters), and so many others. I’m very inspired by my peers who challenge me and push me to do better.

The Beat’s Annual Creator Survey, 2018 Edition, Part Four: Including some incredible preview art from Dargaud We're into our fourth day of creator thoughts, inspirations and projects. As always, thanks to everyone who took the time to participate.

#brandom graham #brandon schatz #creator survey 2018 #Dave Elliott #erica schultz #glenn hauman #jason leivian #mike zagari #neil kleid #Reilly Brown #ronald wimberley #taimur dar #thomas ragon

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houseofvans · 8 years ago

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ART SCHOOL | Q&A w/ Alex Chiu (PDX)

From hyper color drawings, doodles to wood cut outs and even full blown costumes, artist Alex Chiu brings to life some truly fun and imaginative creations. Not just one thing, Alex not only makes comics, animations and sculptures, but also worked as an art instructor at Walters Cultural as well as created a fun online show the MAZZY Show, where he cooks with his daughter Mazzy. We’ve excited to chat with Alex, who is getting ready to work on a mural for Portland Transit, and learn about his approach to drawing, his favorite medium, and about his upcoming project with Portland Transit.

Photographs courtesy of the artist.

Introduce yourself Hello! My name is Alex Chiu. I currently live in Portland, Oregon. I am an illustrator, arts educator, and stay at home dad. I’ve been doing art professionally for about 10 years now. My life has changed a ton since I had a baby a couple years back. I’m figuring out how to balance a lot of things now. For fun I tend to watch a lot of dumb internet videos. I get sucked into video threads and end up watching YouTube garbage. It’s my favorite thing to do.

When did you first start drawing? And what’s the earliest thing you remember making? I started drawing at a very young age. I remember drawing sharks and fish over and over. As an adult I’ve found notebooks with pages completely covered with shark and fish drawings. The notebooks were pretty dense and obsessive. I still love to draw for the sake of filling up blank space.

You have a true doodler/drawing style–your works fill up the space imaginative and organically. Can you tell folks what your art process is like? Do you sit with a blank sheet and just freestyle or do you find yourself adding stuff here and there? I started drawing all the time when I was around 19 or 20. Drawing was therapeutic for me and really helped me escape from the worries and stress of day to day life. I loved the freedom of letting the image develop on its own over time. I used to start with a blank page and just go at it with ink. Now a days I plan a lot more and think about composition and color scheme, but I still create work with the same sense of freedom.

From paintings, drawings, digital, sculptures, murals to comics, what’s your favorite medium that you’ve done so far? What’s been the most difficult medium you’ve tried? And, what’s a medium you’ve yet to try, and are dying too? Currently I really love stop motion clay animation. The process is very automatic and from the subconscious; very similar to my drawing/doodling process. I would love to convert my garage into a stop motion studio and create my own short films. The most difficult medium for me is comics. I’m not much of a writer, and it’s much more difficult to create stream of consciousness work in comics. I have started many comic pages and have left 80% of them unfinished.

One of our favorite mediums you do are the comic you draw. When did you start drawing your first comics? What is it about comics that you love so much? Comics are fun for me and I love reading them, but they are super challenging for me to create. I started focusing on comics when I moved to Portland. One of my first, full stories was published in a “free comic book day” compilation called Master P’s Theater. I drew a four page comic about a warrior rabbit called Butter Knives. It was published by Sparkplug / Teenage Dinosaurs/ Snakebomb Comics in 2013. I now regularly submit comic strips to Pork Magazine and one page stories to a comics newspaper called Vision Quest.

As a kid, I loved looking at comics for visual inspiration. I was always blown away at the skill of comic book artists. To this day, I don’t know how people do it. I view comics as a warrior’s art form. The energy, planning, and artistic ability it takes to write and draw comics and graphic novels is ridiculous. I look up to full time comics artists a lot.

Who are your favorite artists at the moment both past or contemporary? My favorite filmmaker is Alejandro Jodorowsky. He is my absolute favorite creative person on earth. I hope he lives forever. Theo Ellsworth is a comics artist that has also changed my life. I also hope that he lives forever. Shout outs to Skinner, Eatcho, Wishcandy, Anna Vo, and Tripper Dungan. I dig their work too.

Tell us about your work as an art instructor? What did you teach and how was that experience? What would you say to folks looking to follow a path as an art instructor? I have been an art instructor for about 5 or 6 years. I teach kids and retired folks at art centers all over Portland and surrounding cities. Some of the classes I’ve taught include basic drawing, comics, animation, zine-making, and print making.

Just because an artist is good at art doesn’t make them a good teacher. Over the years I’ve learned that teaching and art making are two very different things. It definitely took time to break things down so people could learn. Teaching has more to do with communication and understanding how people work. The key is to recognize the different ways that people approach art making and learn to help them steer rather than telling them what to do.

You’re currently working on a mural for Portland Transit? How did you get involved with Portland Transit, and tell us about your mural? I was recently hired by Portland Trimet to paint a mural. The Regional Arts and Culture Council were the ones that put me in touch with Trimet. I was accepted onto the local Portland muralist roster in 2016 based on indoor murals that I have done in the past.

This mural is going to be done in a very different style than I normally do. I have been using photo reference for this entire process and will be depicting things in a much more realistic style. The space that I am painting has very long sections of low walls. I’m choosing to handle each section as a panel in a comic. I will be painting a storybook-like narrative about a day in the life of my 2 year old daughter as she interacts with members of her community. I’m deliberately highlighting the cultural diversity and community interaction as the central themes of this project.

Having recently moved to Portland, how did you go about finding illustration work? Do you find social media helpful for that or do you have a different approach? Before I moved to Portland, I had met a number of people through the comics and art conventions. I had shown work at Grasshut Gallery, owned by Bwana Spoons and had been acquainted with people like Jason Leivian, owner of Floating World Comics, and Scrappers, who was the arts editor of the Mercury at the time. Portland was a very welcoming city and I was accepted into the arts and comics community very quickly. I’ve been able to work on a ton of fun projects, with super talented people. One project always seems to lead to another. I’ve yet to experience a lull in creative opportunities and inspiration. Portland is a great city to be an artist.

Yes, social media is great when it comes to sharing your artwork. I enjoy the instant feedback I get from posting something online. Occasionally, I get fun and interesting opportunities from requests on social media platforms. I’ve built relationships with artist and fans from around the world with social media. I love it. I still miss MySpace.

Favorite Vans? VW Bus, Eurovan, Toyota Previa

You also have an awesome family as well as super cool daughter Mazzy who you cook with and stars in your videos called the MAZZY SHOW. These cooking videos with Mazzy have blown up all over the internet and are really adorable. Was this just something you did because you were cooking with her a lot? Or was it just something creative for you to work on while you’re on dad duty? I started doing the Mazzy Show to make being a stay at home dad more fun. It’s been a dream of mine to start a YouTube Channel, so I thought I’d start one with my daughter so I could do something creative with her. Our first video was a pizza making video and the cooking theme just stuck. I don’t normally cook a ton, but this project has taught me a lot of new recipes and sparked a growing interest in cooking. People tend to like the Asian recipes that we do. Some of our most popular videos include bubble milk tea, BBQ pork steamed buns, and mochi.

What would you tell someone who is looking to follow in your footsteps? What is some of the best and worst advice you’ve gotten that you’d like to share? My best advice is to keep creating and have fun with your art. If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, do something else. The worst thing that you can do is turn art making into a burden. Also, don’t feel pressured to be a “professional” artist. The key is to keep making art, be a part of the creative community, and enjoy life.

What’s coming up for you the rest of 2017? What about MAZZY :)? Life is totally unpredictable for me. At this moment I am preparing for my mural project. We’ve taken a break from The Mazzy Show for the past month or so because I’ve become busier. I hope to keep making more videos with her. Maybe we’ll do something different from cooking. I’ve been wanting to work on more animated videos. I’ve also been wanting to make music. Maybe Mazzy and I will start a band or something.

Follow Alex Chiu Instagram | @artbyalexchiu Website | Alex Chiu

#Art #vansart #alex chiu #drawing #interview #art school #portland #comic #inspiration

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