Square Comics

I've been frantically completing sample pages for,  'Tooth and Nail'. One of the decisions I made quite early on was to go for a square page . This is unusual for comics yet quite common in children's picture books. When it comes to laying out your page it throws up some challenges compared to a conventional  comics page. Some of my layouts weren't working as well as I'd have liked and a lot of solutions used your typical comic don't quite work.

I got some advice from Dan Berry and he suggested using a grid to figure out how to best use and layout the page. This worked wonders and solved the majority of the problems I was having. A couple of weeks back I resolved my media and am pleased with the result.

SO! After working none stop for a couple of months I gave myself a couple of days off. I popped down to my local comics shop and browsing for some inspiration found not one but two square comics sat happily staring at me from the shelf.

Both were a great read and I will be hunting down the rest as I came in a little late to both series. As far as the panel layouts go, I will be stealing from both of them. It's great trying something new and a real comfort when you find others are exploring similar territory. Here's to the square comic!

If your interested Davis Petersen creator of, 'Mouse Guard' has and interesting post here about the square comics format. I wish I'd seen that 3 months ago. Aieee!

Make It Then Tell Everybody

I spent last week working away to pod-casts at http://makeitthentelleverybody.com/ . They are excellent! Most of it is informative discussion about the process of making comics. The rest of it is just plain hilarious.
All interviews are by Dan Berry who has an informal approach and is very good at teasing information out of his interviewees. I've run out now because they are that good. I had a good old binge on pod-cast but now I have nothing left to listen too. Noooooo!!!

Something About Pirates

Quetsion: When is comic book not a comic book?
Answer:   When it's a picture book that is at heart a comic book? Hmmm!

I've been temping at a book shop over Christmas. I thought it would be a great opportunity to see how books are sold, who buys them and whether kids are there and influence the purchase. I've spent most of my time at the till so I've not seen much of the selection process, just the result, (Boo! Hoo!). The Pirate-Cruncher and The Pirates Next Door, passed me by during the day and I immediately recognised the artwork. Later I caught sight of the authors name and it was none other than author/artist Jonny Duddle. This set bells ringing and after work I put my generous staff discount to good use and bought both of his books.

Both of Jonny Duddle's picture books are exceptional and they are a great introduction to comic book language for children aged 4 -7 (and older). It is a blend of traditional picture book and comic book using panels and speech bubbles to assist in delivery of an exciting narrative. I thought it was a great blend of the two media and I'll be doing some of this in Tooth and Nail.

I was first introduced to Jonny's tips, tricks and skills as an illustrator in ImagineFX . I really like his style which is why I had to purchase both books and why I am eagerly awaiting The King of Space.  I'll be following it's progress very closely. Oh and his latest book The Pirates Next Door, has been winning all sorts of awards and prizes.

Korgi

Over the past few weeks I've been looking at the complexity of panel layout within children's comics and graphics novels. I found a real gem in Korgi Book 1 by Christian Slade. Its an all ages graphic novel told exclusively through image. I confess I would never have picked it up if it were not for research purposes, wink, wink,  but thankfully I did.

Christian's line work and composition are fantastic. What he excels at is his use of parallel lines to describe form and movement. This adds a real energy to every page. Nothing feels dead or static. More uniquely and more importantly to comics is his use of this technique to guide your eyes in reading the panels and moving your eye to the focal point within a frame or page. I have not seen this done before in comics in this way and found it quite exciting and fun. The pacing of the book is great as well. There's a full review here.

As mentioned previously I've been looking at some DFC strips compiled for graphic novels. I've also been reading Marvel's, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.What they all have in common is very simple panel layout. This is quite different to graphic novels aimed at a more mature comic reading audience. It's less playful and inventive but when it comes to communicating a story directly and with absolute clarity, quiet panel layout really cannot be beaten.

Connecting the Dots

I was re-reading  Frontier on the train during my twice weekly visit to Wales and something in the introduction caught my eye, The DFC. They have popped up at a number of things I have attended, read or looked at  recently. A couple of lines further and the pieces started to fall into place.

Frontier and Mezolith, both featured in The DFC, that up until Friday 27 March 2009 was producing a subscription only weekly comic for kids. When I say 'for kids,' Mezolith is definitely not just for kids, it's a great piece of sequential art. It is visually epic and cinematic in a way that I have not previously seen in a comic. It would translate perfectly to screen and would be ideal in that Sunday early evening slot that used to be filled by The Story Teller. You know that programme in the 80's by Henson with John Hurt and a big fluffy dog. Only in Mezolith the storytelling and stories are even better.

It follows the escapades of Poika, his tribe, their stories traditions and their way of life. There is something quite primal about the narrative and they feel like they're being passed onto you rather than being read. I really can't overstate the quality of the storytelling in which Ben Haggarty and Adam Brockbank truly excel.

Anyway DFC Library picked up where it's preprocessor left off reprinting Mezolith  in graphic novel format. Which is why I get to enjoy reading and re-reading it. I'm really looking forward to book 2.

Come on guys when's book 2 out?

Rise of the Phoenix

the PHOENIX is an amazing weekly comic for Kids. The core readership is 8 - 11 but can be enjoyed by younger children and also by adults. Whilst at Thought Bubble I got to chat to Neil Cameron and drool all over his portfolio, apologies if it's now dripping with saliva. Neil is one of the artists that works on my favourite strip in the weekly, The Pirates of Pangaea.

I also got chatting to Ross Fraser their marketing manager whilst purchasing a taster subscription as a Christmas present for my niece. He told me that the Phoenix is available in Waitrose and they are looking at more retail outlets for retail distribution. So it is very likely that if your in the UK they will soon be in a store near you. If your looking for a Christmas present for a child in that age bracket it is well worth a look.

Frontier: Dealing With Demons

Jason Cobley and Andrew Wildman have done a great job on this. It seems that the 2010's is going to produce a wealth of comics for Kids and shift away from the emphasis on gritty realism. Obviously there's a place for dark gritty comics, but your kids can't read over your shoulder whilst your flicking through the latest Spiderman featuring Aunt May getting raped by DR Octopus.

Frontier is a Western similar to Hellboy in that anything can happen. The artwork is beautiful clean and the palette makes the whole thing very easy on the eye. It's a collection of the strip that featured in The DFC, before they shut up shop.

Strip Magazine has a full review here. Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more from this duo.