#FourComics

Jan26
by on 26 January 2015

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There has been a fascinating meme going around the internet during the last week called ‪#‎fourcomics‬. Started by prolific comic writer, Jim Zub, on Twitter, he asks creators and fans to post the four comics that really inspired them in their youth. With such an interesting premise, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. However, narrowing down the influential comics in my life to a mere four was a bit more trying than initially expected. However, when thinking about which comics were inspiring only as a youth, four comics did, eventually, rise to the fore. Though I can’t necessarily vouch for their current impact or importance, there is no doubt that young comic-reader Dan was pushed into the realm of story-creation and drawing by the four comics below.

X-Men #1 (1991): This was the first comic I ever purchased and was hooked from the get-go. It was, it could be argued, a signal flare that helped to ignite everything that went wrong with comics in the ’90s, but I hold onto it because of its incredible nostalgic value.

One of 5 different, interlocking covers released for X-Men #1 in 1991. Art by Jim Lee.

One of five different, interlocking covers released for X-Men #1 in 1991. Art by Jim Lee & Scott Williams.

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White Noise: Dawnbringer’s “Nucleus”

Jan07
by on 7 January 2015

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When I look back at “Sunza,” one of my thoughts is, “Yeah, that’s pretty metal.” There is literally a woman wearing a skull mask within the first ten pages, after all. You can all but hear the rolling gallop of reverberated power chords fading in at the last page where Long John says, “Sunza bitches,” a smoking gun still in his hand. Pretty metal, indeed.

As much as I’ve tried otherwise, I’m a person that must work in complete silence. When it comes to the writing of a comic––including but not limited to brainstorming, scripting, layouts, pencils, or lettering––I need to be absolutely focused because, I’ve learned, I can be easily distracted or discouraged. However, when I’m inking or coloring (which, luckily, take a long time), I tend to get a lot of podcast-listening done or, when I’ve heard enough talking for one day, music-listening. I’ve heard a lot of writers describe a playlist that they wrote a book to and, though I can’t have specific, you know, sounds while I’m writing, music ended up being very present during the creation of Long John.

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Humble Beginnings – Josh Tobey Talk, Part 2

Dec26
by on 26 December 2014

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After many weeks, I bring you the second part of the discussion that was recorded with Josh Tobey––Symbolist painter, old friend, and Long John collaborator on the short, “Save the Bones.” In this discussion (attached to the player at the bottom of the post), we mostly talk about Josh’s beginning as an artist in elementary school and how those early inspirations have extended through to today.

It has been said before somewhere on this site (and it’s definitely mentioned in this interview) that Josh and I met in sixth grade. I first learned of his artistic ability through the mandatory folders all the students in this class had to keep and maintain. Ever the rebel, Josh covered his folder in accurate drawings of baby animals copied from a “How to Draw Baby Animals” book and then covered them with ordnance. Somehow, I was able to procure one of these folders and hold onto it for these twenty-three years.

Josh's 6th Grade Folder, presented here in the interest of embarrassing Josh.

Josh’s 6th Grade Folder, presented here solely to embarrass him.

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