What's in the Little Blue Bag? Week of Nov. 4, 2009

It's been a rough time for comic blogging lately. For one, I'd begun to notice that after I review a few issues in a series or a few series by an author/artist, I'm just repeating stuff I've already written. I mean, just look at my Mike Mignola reviews; I'm basically just saying "Mignola pwns!" over and over again! This is not only no way to review comics, but it doesn't really exercise my writing. Now, take something like the Scott Pilgrim series; it has it's ups and downs, and I feel like I represented them pretty well, critiquing them fairly. But I didn't bother with the fifth book because I would have just reiterated my previous positive points. To that end, I decided I should start doing the same with the floppies I buy. Not only will this keep my critical eye keen, but it encourages me to buy into some new series.

So I've kept this new attitude in mind during my last few comic store visits. Trouble there is that I just haven't had time to read and write about what I've been reading. So here's the stuff from my latest visit. There's mostly new (to me)...but I had to include some Mignola :-)

Abe Sapien: The Haunted Boy by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Patric Reynolds:

I know what I was saying before about not just continually writing "Mignola FTW!" but I have to write about the Abe Sapien one-shot, if only because as a character who's essentially Hellboy's partner (read sidekick) it's nice when Mignola gives him special attention. Aside from The Drowning, this is only time he's really taken on a challenge by himself. And it's always good to see a hero get their sea-legs.

The story here follows untested Abe on a mission to investigate reports of a spirit boy haunting the pond where he drowned though his best friend lived. I won't go into too much more detail, so as not to give anything away, but this really reminds me of classic paranormal stories--The Exorcist, Poltergeist, etc.--while drawing inspiration (as always) from ancient mythology. Mignola, of course, paces a great story, but a lot of the credit here has to go to newbie comics artist (and fresh Savannah College of Art and Design, comics program graduate) Patric Reynolds' striking visuals--really creepy stuff. I also found that this departure from Mignola's regular style (which artists usually try to mimic when he's only writing) helps to really solidify this as Abe's story. I hope to see more like it.

Beasts of Burden: The Gathering Storm #1 by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson:
This is a brand new paranormal series from Dark Horse...starring talking dogs and cats. Now I know what you're thinking, 'cause I was thinking the same thing too. Rest assured, this isn't Scooby Doo or Jabberjaw. This is more like 101 Dalmations where Pongo and Purdy hunt down Cruella De Ville themselves, instead of leaving her to the police. That's not to say it's an ultra-violent, or even an "adult" comic. The pooches aren't dark heroes and the cats aren't manipulative tricksters (well, not the good ones).

The story follows a pack of suburban pets finding themselves rained on by toads who eat each other and grow, until only a loan, giant frog remains. Calling for help from the Wise One, an old dog with knowledge of the spiritual world, leads the team to take on the ancient demon. But a few don't return--which surprised me for a couple of reasons. For one thing...the writers KILLED cute animals, and not even like Old Yeller or Marley and Me (though the cover does kind of remind of those "boys best friend" novels I used to read in grade school), but by having a giant frog shoot its sticky tongue out and gobble them up! For another, the cute animals didn't come back to life when they cause the giant frog to regurgitate all the smaller frogs giving him his power!

Nevertheless, I loved this story so much that when, at the end, the editors explained how this series came to be (it started as three shorts in Dark Horse's annual anthologies) AND that I could read them online, I didn't hesitate. These are just as excellent and feature the ghost of a lost dog, a brood of witches' black cats, and of course, undead dogs from a pet cemetery. Good stuff here--I look forward to the rest of this series.

The Unwritten #7 by Mike Carey and Peter Gross:
When I first reviewed this series I made no hesitations about how I felt--a promising story and authors promising too much. And while I still don't think this is "the story behind all stories," I've come around, especially in this and last issue. Yes, it's a good fantasy story about a fictional character become real, but what I really like is how much this comic is steeped in literary awesomeness. Stories like that of the creation of Frankenstein and its relation to Dante's Inferno trip me out (in a good way), just like the cross-over of literary characters similar to what Moore does in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. And this series has both.

Cowboy Ninja Viking #1 by AJ Lieberman and Riley Rossmo:
I had heard this was a good series, but truthfully, I picked it because of how ridiculous the cover is. What's behind the over is pretty ridiculous too, but it's a good story. Similar to the Jason Bourne series, we have an expertly trained assassin with no memory. The difference is that this guy has multiple-personality disorder, which manifests itself in the form of a cowboy, a ninja, and a viking. It's actually more clever than it sounds, doing interesting things with panels and speech balloons--depending on which personality is speaking, the balloon is overlaid with either a revolver, a katana, or an axe. But what really gets me is the art. Reading the bylines, I noticed "Art and Tones by Riley Rossmo." This is pretty cool. The comic is essentially black and white with tones of colour; this isn't essentially the same thing as shading, but more of an emphasis device. My drawing teacher would trip out, and I haven't seen this in comics before. And to play to this, the pages of this comic are just a little wider than average, which means you can really pay attention to the details. All that said, I'm not sure the story is worth continuing.

Groo: The Hogs of Horder #1 by Sergio Aragonés:
My buddy Andy Wales over at Panel Discussion has recommended both this long-running series and it's writer. So when I saw this first issue in a new arc of the series on the shelves, I picked it up. Now, I had know real knowledge of this series when I started reading about a for-hire klutz causing massive destruction in his wake where ever he goes, I felt like I was reading the longest Beetle Bailey strip in history.

But then I noticed the subtle analogies to the current state of the economy. First, a nation goes to war on principle then concedes for monetary gains, while its citizens work for pitance. And when several industries collapse, they turn to the rich banks for saving. I've seen social commentary in comics before, but not like this. It's laced in comedy as the unwitting Groo bumbles along, unaware of the great changes occuring around him--perhaps analgous for the general citizenry. It's the first in a series of four, and I plan to continue it.

Questions? Quibbles? Controversies?

Trying to Draw

Note: This was a recent response to a homework assignment from my Drawing 1 class. I feel it captures my feelings on the subject pretty well. And hopefully, posting it here will keep me accountable for what I've expressed herein--especially where he asked what he could do to challenge us more, since I can just as easily challenge myself in those areas. Also, I stress the lack of colour in my work because I'm partially colour blind :-)

Drawing to me is the act of visual creation through line. I’ve actually thought a lot about this definition from last year and the whole “collage as drawing” assignment. I had similar thoughts when carving my Superman-S for the Drive by Press T-shirts and carving the sand mold for the Out of the Ashes iron pour. To me, they all seem to be methods of drawing (at least in their initial phases--print, mold, etc.), and I feel this definition encapsulate them all. To draw is to engage in any of these activities—recreationally, professionally, even absent mindedly (like doodling).

At this point, I think being able to draw realistically is more important than being able to draw expressively. In my mind, the later comes from mastery of the former—you have to know the rules before you can break them. How can I draw a person expressively if I don’t know how to express them? Honestly, though, I suppose it’s possible. For my own learning, however, I need to learn the one before the other.

Of course then, I’m not quite happy with my level of ability when it comes to drawing realistically. I feel I need to study form and shapes more in the context of what I’m drawing. For example, my bottle drawings earlier this semester turned out way better than those of last year, and I feel I have cylinders down in that regard. But drawings arms, legs, or other cylindrically shaped objects definitely give me some trouble. As another example, I wasn’t too happy with the way the bones in my Dia de los Muertos drawing came out. In this way, if I learn how to represent the shape of something better, hopefully, I’ll then be able to create it more expressively—but maybe that’s just my amateur view of it.

In the remaining weeks of the semester, I’d, of course, like to continue refining this, but I’m looking forward to drawing with/in some of the other styles/mediums we have yet to get into (again, collage as drawing, but also pen and ink). I really like working with ink (in part, I think, due to my love of comics and their generally heavy inking), and I look forward to trying my hand at it again. I should also work more with colour from here on out. I hate working with colour (I spend half my time trying to figure out what colour to use and then whether or not it achieves the purpose I wanted), but it’s not something I want to shy away from. Once I do, I know a return will be very difficult. To this end, I plan on continuing my work on my midterm drawing, really trying to make the colours stand out. If I can do it, it should serve as a good inspiration to keep working with colour.

I think that if I also play to my strengths I can continue this work. I definitely feel like I have a much better grasp of space than I did last year. It really makes me feel confident when I know things are where “they’re supposed to be”—I suppose that’s just my OCD, though. If I can continue to build on this, I should be able to tackle any challenge.

And as far as challenges go, make me use colour! And make me draw! If I stop drawing in class then it’s probably because I’m looking too hard at it or have zoned out thinking about other stuff. Throw something at me! Snap me out of it, and I’ll get back on task. That will help, in class. Out of class, you could make sure I’m drawing and researching more. Check my sketchbook and research binder more frequently; that’ll keep me on those tasks!

As for my own challenging, I think I’m definitely challenging myself more this semester than last year. Last year I took the class with Veronica, and I was only auditing it. As such, I relied on her help too much, and didn’t stress a great deal if I missed a class or didn’t make time to sketch. Without being able to bug her and knowing a grade is at stake, I’m definitely working harder. Also, looking at my peers’ drawings, I notice I’m picking compositions that have a lot of action to them, and I feel this is a good challenge, as well—where perhaps before, I would have chosen still lifes because they generally require less focus from me. Action sequences make me pay more attention to the spaces, and I feel this takes more concentration from me. I can shoot out a still life and not really be too concerned with what it looks like. But if I take a scene, I’m much more fastidious about representing that scene accurately. Again, I think this comes from reading too many comics.

Using Sex to Sell English Education?

If I told you that within the top 25 most viewed YouTube channels of all time was a video series designated to the study of English philology (the study of language and linguistics) you'd probably doubt me. And if you're a grad student at NMHU, you're probably having flashbacks of History of the English Language, wondering how anyone could find the subject so interesting as to garner a quarter of a billion views. Yet such a channel exists. But if I added that the philologist recording these "lessons" was a funny, 20-something, could-be Russian supermodel, things would probably start to make a little more sense.



Undoubtedly, the thing I hated most about taking the SATs in high school was the etymology needed to understand the word-association problems and readings. Looking back, I can't help but feel that today's high school students, with their vocabulary building readings and course content designed to improve test scores, have it a bit easier. Last summer, I found out just how much luckier they have it when G4TV named philologist Marina Orlova as the "5th hottest woman on the net", for her website and YouTube video series, Hot for Words. I didn't pay too much attention initially--surely another internet vixen vying for attention in the guise of "Intelligence is Sexy." And with what passes for "intelligence" on that network, I was confident I was missing out on much. But then her name starting popping up more often. She was in my wife's Cosmo, listed as "one of the top 3 channels on YouTube." She had a regular spot on the O'Reilly Factor. And I couldn't but check out her site. And I was pretty surprised with what I found. Sure, it's the website of a generally scantily-clad woman exploiting her sex appeal. But it's also a website dedicated to the study of words--their origins and meanings. She holds two degrees in philology and taught high school English and World Literature in Russia before coming to the United States to pursue her PhD. Needless to say, she got a little lost along way. Still, I'd be lying if I didn't admit the immediate buzzing in my head, trying to figure out a practical application for the classroom.

This past summer she even published a book collecting a lot of the information from her videos. I'd be surprised if you haven't seen it. The two Borders in Santa Fe have kept it prominently on display at the entrance of their shops for the past three months. I'm actually surprised I haven't bought it on impulse. But then, the disconcerting looks of a wife are a strong deterent, especially when I shared my classroom-application idea. She wasn't sure it was a feasible idea, and without trying to appear to back-pedal, I'm not sure it is either. It's actually kind of funny, because I could see this video shown in English classes at my old high school, but then that school was also private, in Canada, and all boys (though, strangely, run by Jesuits). So I'm unsure of the reaction were I to show these videos in even the college classroom, and whether there would even be a real purpose.

But I'm a big believer in at least trying to embrace the culture of our students--I once made a great lesson connection by bringing the previous night's episode of America's Next Top Model (What? I can't watch TV with my wife?). And with attention from the likes of the above plus New Yorker Magazine, The New York Times, and (a random Google find) The University of Hawa'i's library workshop series, it seems Orlova's popularity and the popularity of those like her, will inevitably rise with time.

At the moment, my ideas for application are pretty basic. For example, anything that can lighten a dense subject is generally appreciated by the students. Undoubtedly, my Heroes, Villains, and Vampires students were sick of analyzing the discourse community of vampires as described by different authors, critics, etc. Orlova has a great video on the origin of the word "vampire" (or rather lack-there-of; check it out, it's kind of creepy). But my first idea involved our College Discourse classes. With their emphasis in grammar and basic socio-linguistics as a support class for Reading and Writing for College, these videos feel like they have some application, even if it's only vocabulary building--which is not a bad thing for remedial students.

So there you have it--sexy English education (though, arguably, all English education is sexy). But is there are place for it in our classrooms, or do our students need to learn the meaning of floccinaucinihilipilification on their own time?


Questions? Quibbles? Controversies?

¡Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

I didn't make a Halloween post, 'cause I didn't have much to post. We went to a couple of parties, ate lots of candy, and won our last game of the soccer season! But I've had a Dia de los Muertos post planned for a week, if only because of the themed project we had in my Drawing 1 class. I did some research and really took to the style of Jose Guadalupe Posada.

Now, despite my family heritage, Dia de los Muertos was never a holiday we celebrated. But it's one celebrated in my New Mexico home, and so in honour of today, I'm presenting my art work for the first time here at The Daily Pugle.

I know Dia de los Muertos art is traditionally more colourful, but I didn't have as much time for this project, and after the colouring nightmare that was my midterm--which I'll show here eventually--I decided to go straight-up charcoal, which I've grown sort of fond of.

I also went with some Posada images, reproducing them over an Alamo backround--one of my favorite places. The generic banner over the doors was a last minute addition when I started running out of time, and I'm not too happy with it. In general though, I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. My teacher seemed to be, as well, 'cause he put it up in the annual Dia de los Muertos show!