100 bullets, 100 issues of greatness

How do I do describe Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's 100 Bullets to you ?

Hands down the best fucking non superhero books I've read to date. A product of DC comics's adult imprint Vertigo Comics. This book is for adults only and with good reason. Blood, Violence, Sex combine to make a hard boiled crime noir masterpiece. The plot starts like this : A mysterious old man visits people and hands them a brief case and an opportunity. Inside the brief case is redemption in the form of a gun and 100 untraceable bullets : Carte Blanche. Along side the gun and bullets are documents containing information about a person who as wronged you or ruined your life in the past or present. So do you accept the offer and take your revenge without any trouble from the cops? or do you decline ? Brian Azzarello is simply a genius and the plot doesn't stop there and as the series plays out the bigger picture of huge world controlling illuminati and their protectors are in the midst of war leaded by the mysterious man in the brief case.

100 bullets spans 100 issues and is in 12 collected graphic novels (13 and final to come in June).

100 Bullets epitomes the main messages of Saving Comics! This is comic is not for children and is not a superhero comic by any means, these "heroes" wear suits to work and to kill. The Characters of 100 bullets are dark, evil, greedy and stone cold killers.

This can by no means be missed.

Who Watches the Watchmen...or is reading it for that matter.

If you haven't heard of the Watchmen by now you live under a rock. The Watchmen is labelled by many as the "greatest graphic novel ever" and has now recently been transformed into a major motion picture. Originally written by the seemingly crazy but brilliant Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, From Hell, and Swamp Thing) the Watchmen was released in the 1986 to 1987 and was drawn by Dave Gibbons. 

I remember about 3 years ago when I was just getting into comics again after a hiatus when I had progressed out of my childhood and thought comics were a childish passtime. By this time I had already read The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and his rendition of Batman: Year One and was ready to expand my horizons even further beyond the typical superhero story and thats when the Watchmen was recommended to me by the owner of my local comic book store. But importantly he told me to read it more once. I remember getting the Watchmen for Christmas and reading it over the span of my christmas break from school but only the one time. My mind was so blown, I didn't even know what happened. The Watchmen is a complex and tightly interwoven masterpiece, that reading it only once would be a crime and I guess that makes me guilty. Almost anyone I've talked to says to re-read the Watchmen over and over and each time you unlock something different more hidden locked away in the narrative.

In the nutshell, the Watchmen brought humanity to comic book characters. Alan Moore gave his characters real problems, paranoia, impotency and obvious mental issues. Alan Moore showed comics can support just more then the average good vs. evil fight or superhero in tights and make intriguing stories about moral issues and characters who could be dealing with Freudian concepts of repression and psychoanalysis.

My only problem with the Watchmen now is that it seems alittle dated. This is the comic that unlocked the darkness and moral issues in comic book characters which has now been used and abused for close to 30 years in comics and TV. But I hope this doesn't stop you from taking up this adventure, it deserves to be read and is not your typical superhero book. The Watchmen is a comic to challenge your mind and perception of  the superhero genre and comics alike. Try not to let those shallow pop culture versions of superhero movies and cartoons hold you back.

Look out for V for Vendetta and From Hell reviews sometime soon as well as the Batman books mentioned. We're gonna keep trying to plug non superhero books so don't worry but there's just so many classics that transformed the genre which should not be missed.

Chris Stewart

Batman The Killing Joke: A Review

Let me start of by saying this comic is badass. But first, a bit of history. Picture yourself in the 1980’s. Comics such as Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Batman: Year One are selling more than ever before. You purchase one of these comics and you are immediately convinced that the genre is going through a reenergizing phase.

Characters were wilder, artistic direction was much more dedicated, and storylines were getting more complex. Then came Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. These two creative geniuses decided to work hand in hand, or writing and drawing if you will, and create the masterpiece that is now called Batman: The Killing Joke. I know what you are going to say: “But it’s still Batman, isn’t it all the same anyway?” The answer is simple, NO.

The Killing Joke was crafted at such a high level of artistic technique and rhetorical linguistics, that it deserved a category in itself. As you read through the comic, you will be astonished to find how easily and slyly Moore and Bolland create flashbacks. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I think flashbacks in comics are damn hard to do.

You, as a writer, have to think on how to effectively wrap up the whole story so that the flashback does not detriment or give away essential information. As an artist, you must figure out how to distinguish the flashback moments from the moments in the present. Tim Sale, fellow artist and co-worker, explained that “the biggest and most [thing] are the flashback sequences. Bolland washes out all the color in each one, but chooses to spotlight an object in each”.

Moore and Bolland worked creatively and thus, released a timeless classic. To this day, more than 20 years after it’s first public debut, it is still one of the most popular comics on the market. The reason why this comic is considered one of the cornerstones of modern comics is because of the talent, fanaticism, care, and expressiveness both Moore and Bolland portrayed in their work.

The work is never bland, never boring. It brings chills to your spine examining the Joker’s face.
All the detail, all the madness behind those eyes.
You can feel it, trust me.
Read it and feel it for yourself.

Blankets: A Review

I must admit, I was one of those skeptical people. I saw comics as a medium by which artist could only express the typical good guy bad guy plot. And don’t get me wrong, some are extremely creative and original. But, being the seeker of romance, I wanted a comic that told a love story. Maybe not a love story, but something more in the lines of a novel.

It was then that I came face to face with what I was yearning to find: a graphic novel. Now, a graphic novel is not short and does not have multiple issues and volumes like a comic series does. However, it has a nuance of the rhetoric usually found in text-based novels. My favourite to this day is Blankets by Craig Thompson.

Blankets is a memoir that takes the reader through the wonderment and hardships of first-love stories. It reminds you of what falling in love feels like, and I believe that is the key to its success. It brings forth all these emotions that you might or might not have experienced yet. Through the use of motifs and symbolisms such as snow, quilts, and of course blankets, Thompson gives the reader a physical taste of what it feels like to be in his shoes. As you read the graphic novel and immerse yourself in the beautifully drawn graphics, you can actually feel yourself get cold, or be safe in the warmth of a blanket.

The reason why this graphic novel is of importance to the advancement of comics and graphic novels as a whole is that Blankets was able to translate feelings and thoughts of poetry into a few words and a very detailed image. This transition of linguistics into the pictorial realm is most notable in the work of Thompson.

Now that summer is approaching, check the book out.
We all love a bit of romance and mushy feelings every now and then.

If We Can Do It, So Can You.

As a viewer of this blog, we invite you to create your own comic. We have already posted Scott McCloud's comic on how to create a webcomic so what are you waiting for!?

As a part of a project, Chris and I decided to create a comic that allows you to choose the path the hero was going to take. This comic breaks the boundaries of the 4th wall, and invites you to participate in the story.

Have a look at it, we named it Escaping Attrition

As our world becomes more technological, we must keep in mind that in the future comics will be enjoyed on the computer. Escaping Attrition is our first attempt as artists to display our work and shared theories to the public.

Enjoy.

If You Want to Buy a Book

KRAZY!: The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art

by Bruce Greenville

This is a great book on the importance of comics and graphic art in pop culture. More and more frequently nowadays, we are faced with pictorial images instead of text. We must learn how to decode them in order to grasp the contextual meaning of the sign.

This book, as silly as it is, successfully explains on a light note the uniqueness of the forms of comics in pop art while considering the ways they interconnect.

According to Barnes and Noble,

The energy and intensity of the images leap off every page, and the full experience of the exhibit itself comes alive in behind-the-scenes commentary by the contributors. KRAZY! is a dizzying introduction to the art forms that will dominate the new century.

Check it out!

I Know It's Lots of Reading, but...

You have to check this out.

When flipping through comics, don't you ever wonder about the semiotic relationship the words

BANG! ZOOM! ZIP! CRASH! CLICK!

have on the real world. It is distinctively not a sound, but we make it a sound. Pretty interesting, huh? We have to be aware of what the sign means, and how it reacts in the real world for us to be able to recreate it in our own minds within the context of the comic.

Read Cohn's Eye Semiosis essay, it perfectly answers the question you probably have right now, it is a sound or not?

"They are just images placed randomly together"

This is a false statement.

Neil Cohn, comic theorist, was so intrigued by comics that he decided to write his undergraduate honors thesis regarding this subject.

According to Cohn,

Most people believe that the reading of comic pages moves along the same order as text: the "z-path" of left-to-right and down. However, what happens when layouts are more complicated than simple grids? This paper reports the findings of a psychology experiment which found that readers follow a far more complex process of page layout navigation than the z-path.
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/NeilCohn/theory/series.php

Comics not only interest your 8 year-old cousin, you know?

Graphic Art always has a purpose. It might seem like it is a convoluted mess, but it's work of a genius. Check out Navigating Comics and read what Cohn has to say about the highly structural method of formatting comics. If you don't believe comics are an art medium, you will after you read Cohn's essay.

Slightly Uncanny Art Expo

Watching Tv friday morning I came across a Tv show that highlighted an new art expo in Montreal. The Exhibit is titled "Slightly Uncanny" and information seems pretty scare right now.

 Ill be providing some links and instructions to watch the Tv show online for free at the end of this blog.

But basically, at the end of this episode there was a great interview about an art show involving Marvel Superhero Spiderman and Freudian concepts (Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis) of superhero's were discussed, citing how superheros generally are these alter-egos where repressed desires can be lived out for the characters of the comic but also the authors. Also important to mention is how these freudian concepts appear to get washed out in pop culture or movie adaptions.

We completely support this art expo and these academic discussions, it really helps to show the actual complex nature of comics, despite these examples being from the superhero genre.

The video is a pain in the butt to. 

First go to www.g4techtv.ca/ 

Then scroll down to the video player and select the Ep Daily Tab and watch Thursday March 26 2009 Episode and the video starts at the 18 minute mark.

Stay tuned for more info.

Do You Want To Make Your Own Comics?

Scott McCloud, comic creator and theorist, is one of the great legends of the comic cult. McClpoud is best known as a comics theorist, following the publication in 1993 of Understanding Comics, a wide-ranging exploration of the definition, history, vocabulary, and methods of the medium of comics, itself in comics form.

He followed in 2000 with Reinventing Comics (also in comics form), in which he outlined twelve "revolutions" that he argued would be keys to the growth and success of comics as a popular and creative medium.

Visit I Can't Stop Thinking #3 to read McCloud's Comic on "10 Suggestions for First-Time Web Comic Artists" In this online comic strip, McCloud gives you the 10 essential steps for you to be on your way to becoming one of the greatest web comic artists to have walked this Earth, oh yeah you can.

Three Things You Should Know About Comics

NUMBER ONE:

Comics aren’t just for kids.

NUMBER TWO:

Comics are a viable source of literature and are just not about superheroes.

NUMBER THREE:

Comics as a medium is a unique blend of visual narrative and linguistics with has plenty of potential, more than the general public are willing to admit.

Where You Come In...

By making comics, artists can send messages ranging from the growing number of violence to the current condition of our planet. These messages are often blurred with the growing number of negative stereotypes associated with comics. We will update it regularly to reach our measurable objective.
You can help us make this change. By visiting our blog, you will be feeding the online community invaluable information. By simply reading what we have to say you will be immersed in the goal of this project. And this is exactly what we want.
We want you to be the creators, messengers, critics, and fans of this blog.

Why We Decided To Do This

Superheroes. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonder woman, Iron Man, The Hulk. These are characters that millions of children for almost the last century have grown up with in their hearts and in their minds. Spawned from dreams and from myths, those illustrious superheroes listed above are human created representations of our deepest human desires and our most vivid imagines brought to a fictional world where our imagines can run rampant.
Yet, entrenched in the deep sweaty spandex of these beloved superhero comics is a deeper and darker evil, a kind of permanent stain that stinks and rots right through the stretchy fabric of a superhero’s attire and leaks into the entire heart of comics.
Comic books as have long been perceived and stereotyped as a more “childish” or infantile escapism, where the whole medium has been narrow casted to only represent those familiar spandex or even latex superheroes. Yet, while remaining more a niche market with the advent and ever growing shadow of technology the medium of comic books still remains an active and economically feasible producer in literature and content.
Not quite a novel, not quite a movie. Comics bend our minds visual and linguistically and for more then a century have delivered unique stylized concepts and ideas hidden with ink lines and word bubbles without all the superhero tights and spandex hogging the lime light.
That’s where we come in. Our goal is to expose and illuminate the hidden gems of the comics medium past and present. Our main goal is try and spread knowledge and interest of the non-superhero comics, which deserve to be valued and read as any other great film or novel does. At the same time, there are many superhero-based comics, which employ and push the boundaries of narrative and visual elements, we are going to inform you and the viewers about these too. We’re going to cover as much ground as possible with the comic’s medium and try and appeal to the most number of genres.
We’re going to vindicate comics and you’re all going to help us. We can’t do this alone.

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog!

This blog is for our community to remain connected!
We invite you to write in our blog.

Tell us what comics you like,
Show us comics that you have created,
Share with us information about the importance of comics in everyday life,
Comment on our website!

Together, we can create an online comics community like none other.

It all starts with you, so let's get started.