Design Context Book Finished

Open publication - Free publishing - More comic book

DC - Spreads So Far

32 page book, 17 spreads.
8 down, 9 to go.

(Will be updated when all the content is in/page numbers)

(Back Cover - Not finished)

Yeah, yeah, types not my strong point. But the interviewees took the time to write me those answers and they where great answers at that. It would have been such a waste not to use them.

I've really enjoyed doing this project so far. It's not as "intense" as the other briefs and I'm having fun with doing what I want to do.

Front Cover - Figure

I guess I shamelessly wanted myself on the cover as it's my own exploration of comic books and character design. It's about highlighting the bits of me that aren't real like the mask and the cape to show that comic books have been a big part of my life.

Front Cover - BG

Made the lightning and the background for the basis of my cover. I'm not keen on the 'cape crusader' bit of the text and I'm thinking of dropping it as a whole.

Homage

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is a four-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Frank Miller, originally published by DC Comics under the title Batman: The Dark Knight in 1986. When the issues were released in a collected edition later that year, the story title for the first issue was applied to the series as a whole. The Dark Knight Returns tells the story of a middle-aged Batman who comes out of retirement to fight crime, only to face opposition from the Gotham City police force and the United States government.

Though I don't like most of Millers work (His irritating way of bolding every other word and his matra that all women are whores and not to be trusted are rather off putting) but the Dark Knight Returns changed the face of comics and how modern comics in general are viewed.

DC published the issues of The Dark Knight Returns in packaging that included extra pages, square binding, and glossy paper to highlight the watercolor coloring by colorist Lynn Varley. The success of this work led to the establishment of the format, and it is now used generally to showcase works by big name creators or to spotlight significant story lines.




The cover is one of the iconic of the modern era and so I want to play homage to it with my own design context book. I would also include a piece about the cover inside-minus the bit about whores.

Design Context Book; Roughs

A very, very rough idea for the design context book. Subject to change of course. (and this way I can defuddle my mind try to somewhat organise what I'm doing.)

The concept is simple enough; a walk-through of my design heroes posing them questions in a narrative context on the subject of character design and comics. In the form of some kind of 'Leigh' character.

Comic Book Comics

This was loaned to me when I worked at OK comics. They're up to issue 5 now but I'm hoping to wait it out until a possible tradeback becomes available before I buy it myself. (Cheap skate, I know. But I'd rather have it for a reference text than lost in the horror that is my collection of long boxes.)

COMIC BOOK COMICS is the follow-up project that Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey are doing now that they have completed Action Philosophers. This is the cover to the first issue, which came out March 2008.

"You only THINK you know comics history! The epic -- and insane! -- story of comic books, manga, and graphic novels, told as a comic, in the inimitable, irreverent, and award-winning Action Philosophers style, begins here! In this hilarious first issue: Before there could be comics, there had to be newspaper strips, animated cartoons, and pulp magazines. Thrill to publishing giants William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer duking it out over The Yellow Kid! Tremble at the war between Walt Disney and Max Fleischer for animation domination! Follow the bizarre trail of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's first superhero from sci-fi pulp to comic strip to the birth of a new medium! Plus: The early years of Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Winsor McCay and Joe Simon!"

I was silly enough to forget not to photograph the first 3 issues when I had them, so you'll have to do with some watermarked (and some not) images I pulled from the google.

Women In Refrigerators. Truer words have never been spoken.

(Oh dissertation, you come back to haunt me I see)

What I find great about this series is that it doesn't take it self too seriously. It knows how silly the feuds are and how ridiculous (but awesome) men look in tights.

This is route I want to go with my design context book in a sense. Using narraive to pose questions and explore history. A perfect example (and a great read if you ever get the chance to buy it.)

Design Context Book; Initial Idea

When we had the design context tutorials last week (and when It came to be my turn) I changed my idea at the last possible second. But that's ok, because it's now more intune with my design practice. I was aiming to make a series of little books, each one posing a question such as "what materials do you use" and then arrange the answers on each page. Then I decided that was boring and not at all what I had in mind.

SO. My idea is to create a comic. (don't worry, it's just comic format. I'm not that insane to think I can create a whole comic) One that explores character design in a narrative context. Sort of a walk through, if you will, of me through the comic posing questions and using the answers I have received from professionals gracious enough to read through my rambling query's.