Saturday, April 23, 2005

Here's another sketch from the Emerald City Comicon 2005. Go easy on this artist, as she's a representative of the Madison Middle School Cartoonists. Her Aquaman is more of an Aqua-critter, as she was into drawing funny animals.

AQUAMAN
by Bryonne K Langlois
6 February 2005
(permission to post given 6 February 2005)

As a reminder: Almost every sketch in my sketchbook was non-commissioned and done on the floor of a con. These are not the best works of the artists. These are only representative of what the artist can do under pressure in a loud, crowded, and often stressed-out environment. Most of them were done as quickly as possible, to prevent huge lines from forming. Don't judge any of these artists negatively by the artwork you see, instead be as impressed as I am by what they accomplished in far-from-ideal conditions.

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me. Click for a random Aquaman sketch.

The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "B", "L" and the number "27", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book.

by Tegan at 9:55 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Friday, April 22, 2005

Planetes (Vol 3) by Makoto Yukimura. This volume was a bit of a letdown after the first two. It mostly deals with Hachi's inner journey, although there's a bit about Tanabe's past as well. Yuri and Fee are hardly in this one at all. It's not bad, but the pace is much slower.

Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (Perfect Collection 4) by Hayao Miyazaki. Ah, this is definitely the final volume. And so, looking back at the series overall, I think the pacing was a little slow. But then, Miyazaki does seem fond of slow and majestic. And this is a pretty big story he's telling. I figured out what was happening in one of the earlier books, and it was all confirmed in this one. That made this one a little less exciting than it could have been. It was still a very good book, but just not as thrilling as I'd hoped. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

Paradise Kiss (Vol 3) by Ai Yazawa. Oh. My. Hrm. Ok, this one is officially off my "ok for kids" list. I'd be talking with any teen o' mine that read it, too. I'm still amused by the way it breaks the fourth wall, including the way one character chides another for ... um... the events. On the other hand, some of the other events were very... um... right. I'm not even going to try anymore. Let's just say that I've got really mixed feelings about this one.

by Tegan at 9:26 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Happy day to you and your handsome lug! I hope Eric and I can wander on down and see you soon.

by Tegan at 9:24 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Thursday, April 21, 2005

I suppose I ought to direct you to the Eisner Nominees since I mentioned that Phil "Girl Genius" Foglio got a nomination.

Here's what I've read from the list. This is going to be pathetically short...

2005 Eisner Nominees

BEST SHORT STORY

"Where Monsters Dine," by Troy Hickman, Angel Medina, and Jon Holdredge, in Common Grounds #5 (Top Cow/Image)

BEST SINGLE ISSUE (or ONE-SHOT)

Demo #7: "One Shot, Don’t Miss," by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (AiT/Planet Lar)

BEST LIMITED SERIES

DC: The New Frontier, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
Demo, by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan (AiT/Planet Lar)

BEST PUBLICATION FOR A YOUNGER AUDIENCE

Amelia Rules!, (Renaissance Press) and Amelia Rules! What Makes You Happy (iBooks) by Jimmy Gownley
Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)

BEST HUMOR PUBLICATION

Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Common Grounds, by Troy Hickman and others, edited by Jim McLauchlin (Top Cow/Image)
Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, edited by Diana Schutz and David Land (Dark Horse)

BEST DIGITAL COMIC

Mom's Cancer, by Brian Fies www.momscancer.com/eisner.htm

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM-NEW

It’s a Bird . . ., by Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen (Vertigo/DC)
The Originals, by Dave Gibbons (Vertigo/DC)

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM-REPRINT

Age of Bronze: Sacrifice, by Eric Shanower (Image)
Bone One Volume Edition, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)

BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT

The Complete Peanuts, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

BEST U.S. EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon)

BEST WRITER

Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC); Runaways (Marvel)

BEST WRITER/ARTIST

Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)

BEST WRITER/ARTIST-HUMOR

Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); Kyle Baker, Cartoonist (Kyle Baker Publishing)
Phil Foglio, Girl Genius (Airship Entertainment)
Scott Kurtz, PvP (Image)

BEST PENCILLER/INKER or PENCILLER/INKER TEAM

Cary Nord/Thomas Yeates, Conan (Dark Horse)

BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART)

Teddy Kristiansen, It’s a Bird . . . (Vertigo/DC)

BEST COLORING

Dave Stewart, Daredevil, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Six, Captain America (Marvel); Conan, BPRD (Dark Horse)l DC: The New Frontier (DC)

BEST LETTERING

Todd Klein, Promethea; Tom Strong; Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales (ABC); Wonder Woman (DC); Books of Magick: Life During Wartime; Fables; WE3 (Vertigo/DC); Creatures of the Night (Dark Horse)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)

BEST COVER ARTIST

James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); Green Arrow, Batgirl (DC)
Michael Turner, Identity Crisis (DC)

BEST COMICS-RELATED BOOK

The Art of Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse Books)

BEST PUBLICATION DESIGN

The Art of Usagi Yojimbo, designed by Cary Grazzini (Dark Horse Books)
The Complete Peanuts, designed by Seth (Fantagraphics)

And lastly, here's my only bit of opinion, the four I want in the Hall of Fame:
Wayne Boring
Nick Cardy
Gene Colan
William Moulton Marston

And, frankly, the only one I really am rooting for is Nick Cardy.

by Tegan at 8:30 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

I think Call Waiting is the most obnoxious, most annoying, the most rude "feature" ever invented for phones. If I knew how to disable it off my phone, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

by Tegan at 8:11 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

I'm finally fully on track to walk the 3-Day Walk in Seattle. My only real worry now is getting the minimum amount of donations to be allowed to walk in the event. I'm not yet a quarter of the way there, and I've got less than 14 weeks to go. So I'm going to make another plea here on my blog...

I get close to 200 visitors a day. If half of you were to donate just $15, I would probably make it. $15. At least 80% of the money goes directly into breast cancer research and support funds. $15... I can't promise much in return, except that you'll have contributed to a great cause and helped me along with my goals. I will promise to audioblog from the event (if audioblogger allows) and take pictures for posting when I get back and tell you all about it. Let's face it, I'm doing the hard part: walking 60 miles in three days.

So please consider it. If you've got $15, send it along to the 3-Day for me, and help me get into The Walk. And if you haven't got $15 to spare, I hope that life treats you better in the future.

by Tegan at 8:05 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

I don't remember the last time a Pope was elected, so watching the excitement over puffs of smoke coming out of a chimney was a new experience for me. As was watching a crowd that could have been at a football game, except instead of foam #1 hands they were holding crucifixes, waving flags from around the world.

I gather that the pick of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was not unexpected, though I heard that he's even more conservative than John Paul II... We'll have to see what this means for the world.

by Tegan at 10:01 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Monday, April 18, 2005

Don't forget to check out Girl Genius Online today for a new page, starting where issue #13 left off. Or you can read an earlier issue in the 101 Class.

by Tegan at 7:08 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Very odd sound in the background of this one. I kept it really short. Yes, I will be reviewing the new Doctor Who at some point. I've just been busy lately, that's all.

And, since Jack asked last week in the comments, I'll repeat my answer here. No, I don't think audioblogs are the wave of the future, but it's a nice thing to compliment a regular blog. I think some of us, myself included, just don't have the kind of voice for an audio-only medium. I have a voice that's perfect for the written word. So... fun for a once a week thing, or for blogging when I have no access to my computer, but not something I'd want as a full blog.

by Tegan at 5:26 PM Seattle time - Permalink