Revised: I Feel Fine, But Man Is My Voice Ragged Today
No big, I just make my living by speaking all day, argh. Let’s do a roundup.
- I had a chance to talk to him about it a month back at the Dr McNinja Wrap Party, but as the announcement hadn’t been made, I told Christopher Hastings that I’d hold onto the news. But now the announcement is live and we can all enjoy the fact that Hastings is writing a Baby Groot series for Marvel, starting in May. It’s planned for a story arc that can extend depending on how well the early issues sell, and I both like to read Hastings’s stuff and want him to make a living¹, so make a note to order I Am Groot from your local comic shop.
- A two-fer from the Theorist Emeritus Of Comics, Scott McCloud: Firstly, a general announcement of his next book, which we won’t see for a couple of years. He told me about this one in the wake of The Sculptor, and it’s been on my mind ever since. Short form, he’s doing a book about how visual communication works, which means that he’s combining the philosophical thrusts of three of my favorite works: The Visual Display Of Quantitative Information by Tufte; The Elements Of Typographic Style by Bringhurst, and his own Understanding/Reinventing/Making Comics trilogy.
Speaking of the trilogy, McCloud also gave us a sneak peek at the new cover for Understanding Comics, with a promise of Reinventing and Making getting a similar redesign. I have great affection for the original covers and I’m not running out to replace them with the new, but I do like the strong design and statement the new cover(s) make(s). There’s a shift in emphasis from the comics to McCloud himself, with his cartoon avatar’s face too prominent to even entirely fit in the image.
The message is unmistakably clear — these glasses have seen some things, and behind those lenses there is wisdom waiting to be dropped. The medium isn’t the message any longer, the messenger is now the focus; in a few decades, cartoon!McCloud will be as iconic and indicative of the idea of comics as cityscape spelling out The Spirit or a superhero surrounded by Kirby crackle.
- Speaking of prophets, Jon Rosenberg² has been killing it on the editorial cartooning lately, with his Michael Flynn cartoon sneaking in mere hours before Flynn’s resignation. In today’s contribution at The Nib, he seeks to harness this power for good. Meanwhile, Tatsuya Ishida just cuts to the chase to say what we’re all feeling.
Spam of the day:
Hey man… hows it going I noticed the debt you are in and I’m here to help
Nice try. My debt-to-income ratio is negative. Those predatory banks owe me money, that’s how good I am at savings.
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¹ Also on the want list — in some future Marvel movie, I want to see his name listed in the credits for his work defining Gwenpool; for that matter, lets see Ryan North and Erica Henderson listed for their definitive work on Squirrel Girl in the same credits.
² Disclaimer: the guy that first prompted me to start this page, and my source for hosting.
Aw, man, that future Scott McCloud book promises to be great! My first thought indeed went to Tufte, as well. I hope he can have something about Powerpoint in there.
And get better soon, Gary. I myself only very occasionally have to present what I do to an audience, however I have family in education and in broadcast radio, and I understand that kind of stuff definitely is a pain.
By Pierre Lebeaupin on 02.16.17 6:21 pm
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