Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Thoughts on Comics?

Waxed on my Zyn Dweomer blog:

"One thing is for certain. The time you spend on a page does not equal the “quality” of that page. Some artists I’ve admired over the years have made what I think is a mistake in thinking. Tim Vigil once criticized other artists for cranking out a couple pages a day instead of spending a couple days on a page. His meaning was that you ought to labor over each and every line and make the pages as lush as possible. Richard Corben once said that the artwork was far more important than the story. Well, maybe for the comics he makes that is true. I buy his work for his art, not his stories.

But I think these guys are getting it wrong on a fundamental level. The visuals, the writing, everything that goes into making a comic is a package deal. It is not accurate to say that one is more important than another. Also, it is not accurate to assume that more time spent on a page will make that page better. Or, perhaps more to the point, it won’t necessarily make the comic better. What makes a comic better is doing it right from top to bottom. And in some cases that means simpler art or simpler stories – not more lush or more complex."

That isn't to say I devalue what Corben or Vigil have done. Actually, these are two of my favorites from their time or all time. The point is I think this fundamental concept that visuals trump story is a flawed idea.

Now back to your regularly scheduled internet browsing.