Well I felt so alone, so insecure, I blamed you instead made sure I was heard, And they tried to warn me of my evil ways, But I couldn’t hear what they had to say. I was wrong, Self destruction’s got me again, I was wrong, I realize now that I was wrong – my shattered confidence
Originally I was set to vent again on that stupid pocast review of I’m Famous! that continues to haunt me. In fact I had every intention of taken things to an uncivil level and going on one of my anger fueled rants. But I won’t. I’ll just say this, I’m still not too happy about it, but it’s done, this is the internet, everyone is entitled to their opinions and has an easy format to spread them. I don’t agree with most of what was said or how I was judged, but that’s what happens you open yourself and your work up to public scrutiny.
All that being said, I had a hell of a time drawing this comic, which should have been simple. For one, I took Jason’s advice and went through the process of finding a new font. I like this one, it’s a classic comic font called Marooned On Mars. Seeing it condensed here for the web I’ll make it a size or two larger next time, and have to paste the individual lines separately so there isn’t such a large gap. I also tried these rounded word bubbles, which were a great challenge for me. But I learned some things that should make it easier next time. And I will admit that this does look a lot better and more professional.
The largest challenge was that my confidence was gone. I questioned almost every line and redrew almost each about 3 times, maybe more. I felt like I was starting from scratch and had to relearn how to draw because my previous efforts were no good. It was awful. Hopefully that won’t last long.
I also tried a new coloring technique, something I did for my guest art work, but is much more time consuming then my normal way. Basically I normally draw everything on one layer in the black outlines, then I duplicate that layer. From there I color the bottom layer in by using the fill feature, but because my tablet causes the lines to be somewhat feathered there is a gap between the filled in color and the black line. So I do a fill of all the black on the top layer, which fills the gap but also makes my lines larger, and sometimes less smooth. So the change I did here was to not do that black fill on the top layer, and instead fill in all those gaps in the bottom layer by hand with my stylus. So it takes a lot longer. Is it worth it because it increases the quality so much? I haven’t decided yet.
So basically my confidence in my talent was quite shaken, as I’ve always been quite insecure about my art. Finishing a comic did help me get some of that back, and hopefully returning the comfort and familiarity of I’m Famous! next will help as well.
I declare I don’t care no more, I’m burning up and out and Growing bored, In my smoked out boring room, My hair is shagging in my eyes, Dragging my feet to hit the street tonight, To drive along these shit town lights, I’m not growing up, I’m just burning out, And I stepped in line to walk amongst the dead – My Mental State
I don’t usually take criticism well. I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m a bit of a reactionary hot head, and I let stuff get to me. Character flaws I should work on improving.
If you’ve been following my comments on the Facebook page then your likely aware of my frustrations over a recent scathing podcast review of I’m Famous! from Digital Strips. You can listen to it here. http://blacksnowcomic.com/digital-strips.html
I’ve already discussed this a lot on Facebook, and let it take up too much of my time, so I’ll try to be brief here. Listening to this really pissed me off. It put me in a foul mood, caused me to stop in the middle of drawing Black Power, got me fighting with Alex, and led to me seeking out a back and forth email exchange with Jason Sigler (one of the two men speaking in the podcast). It also caused me to spend almost every minute of my free time for the last two and a half days completely redesigning the website like a man possessed. BTW, go check it out and send me any feedback.
Well, I’ll just fill you in on the follow up I got from Jason. First off, I don’t know these guys at all, as I submitted the comic to any review source I could find. So I truly have no idea what their credentials are. But here’s what I learned: they only read the first few pages of the comic, didn’t read anything else about it, and based their criticism solely on the art they saw in that. That is insane, and totally irresponsible. It shows a complete lack of professionalism and integrity. Oh yeah, most things are WORSE IN THE BEGINNING! As Alex brought up to me, it’s like judging The Simpsons, Seinfeld or any other number of similar shows based on only the first few episodes, instead of their whole catalog. Things take time to improve, and you’re always going to get some growing pains in the beginning.
So that right there tells me all I really need to know about these guys who feel they can pass judgement on me and all my hard work. It’s just internet stupidity at its finest. You know what they say about opinions.
I voiced these concerns to Jason, and he acknowledged some of their failings. Supposedly they will do some update on us in a future show, but who cares. They already peddled their unverified trash talk to whatever audience actually listens to this dribble, and they already lost my respect. What authority are they? What do I care if my art is up to their standards. Oh, it’s not in true perspective Jason? NO SHIT! That’s because I don’t want it to be! It’s a cartoon, and an experimental expressionist one at that. I don’t need to conform to their standards of webcomic, and I don’t want to.
“Oh hey, Van Gogh, that paintings all fucked up. Look, the perspectives wrong and your colors are weird.” “Yo, Steve Ditko, your art is imperfect, so you’re no good. Your scale is off, your posing is awkward, and your perspective is screwed.” Ridiculous! Not that I’d compare myself to either man, but just attempting to demonstrate the absurdity of some internet nerds trying to declare that all webcomics need to conform to and be judge by the same standards.
Oh, and Jason, if Jake the Evil Hare is definitive and quantifiable as a better webcomic why do we outrank them on virtually every voter site, by leaps and bounds? I’ve got nothing against Jake, but they are not better than us. It’s fairly derivative anime action that usually only has two or three huge panels on a page, very slowly showing drawn out fight scenes. I don’t even see why or how the two are comparable. What is this comparison based on?
Anyway. That’s my thoughts on that. Hopefully it’s time to forget and move on. It wasn’t a totally negative experience, as they did point me to some helpfully resources, get me to think about what I can improve on, draw my attention to odd minute details like font, and push me to redo the website (something I had been planning to do for awhile now).
So I do listen to criticism and take it seriously, just not when it’s unfounded. And I’m not afraid to confront someone about it.
If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning, I’d hammer in the evening, All over this land, I’d hammer out danger, I’d hammer out a warning, I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters, All over this land – Napoleon Bonaparte
What’s going on here you ask? Why is the Lone Wolf not at Starbucks, and instead interacting with an item from the Marvel Universe? Because, this is a two page entry into a contest where you had to feature Thor’s hammer, as a tie-in to the atrocious looking movie about to come out. I’ve never understood why Thor was a Marvel “superhero”, or why he’s part of the Avengers. Nothing about it makes sense to me, as he obviously doesn’t fit in.
Perhaps even more baffling is how Thor is apparently so popular. He needs his own movie? He has like 10 different titles on the shelves every time I go to the comic book store. Where are all these Thor fans?
Make no mistake, I like Greek mythology, and am fairly well versed in it (I did take an honors course on the subject in college), so I do like the source material. I just don’t understand Marvel’s (mis)use of it. Oh well.
So why did I enter a contest for Thor? Because I like contests, and thought this one sounded fun. Also, Alex was interested in it (as much as he mocks it, I think he secretly likes Thor). So that’s the story. I kind of came up with the initial idea that the Lone Wolf and Eric would just find Thor’s hammer and make fun of it, then Alex wrote it. I think he did a really good job. The jokes in this crack me up. I love the Lone Wolf’s overall irreverence for most everything, and that really shines here.
People have described our comic as having incredibly dry wit, and I think a lot of that is because Alex and I are pretty irreverent, especially when we get together and make fun of things. In many ways I’m Famous! is just an extension of the way Alex and I joke around together and mock virtually everything.
I drew these very quickly. I plotted them out at the same time as I worked on number 100, and I really cranked all three out in short succession. It was shockingly easy, really. Either I’m getting better, or just more complacent. Actually they weren’t super quick, and I put a lot of work into them, they just felt fast and didn’t really have too many problems. They didn’t take long though.
I hope you see I put some detail into capturing Thor’s hammer, like putting Marvel’s inscription on it and replicating the look. Also look at the title of the comics. In case you don’t know, that is the name of Thor’s hammer.
So worry not, the Lone Wolf’s journey at Starbucks will continue next, though I think I will draw the next Black Power first. So lots more for you silly fans to look forward to!
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot. Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho. – George W. Bush
Number 100! Quite an accomplishment, if I do say so. When I wrote this I had no idea it was going to be number 100. I’m glad it was though. It’s a good one, featuring one of my favorite actors, Mr. Johnny Depp. Our first major celebrity to appear in the comic (No offense to Mr. Mike Park). I also got to draw a pirate, and if you know me in person you’re likely aware that I have an affinity for pirates, and especially Pirates of the Caribbean(both the ride and films). So this was lots of fun to draw.
I’ve been talking about fantasy casting for Black Snow recently, but if an I’m Famous! movie were made I think Johnny Depp would make a fine Lone Wolf.
When I sat down to draw this comic it was actually funnier than I remembered, what with the Lone Wolf putting down the Pirates movies and offering Johnny Depp a role…as the Wolf Pack! I love that the Lone Wolf’s mood shifts in every panel here; reverence, to cockiness, to disdain, ending with inappropriate anger! Fantastic!
And in an interesting note, if you don’t know much about Johnny Depp he is known for being fairly weird in real life. He’s particularly known for living out his characters and having a hard time switching back to himself once a film is complete. So this bizarre scenario you’ve just read may have actually happened at some point in real life.
What’s next? Well, I have two more pages written, and I’m still not sure if Alex will be taking back over or if I’ll continue to carry the Famous torch. But before that we have a two part Thor special coming! This is being done for a contest on Comicracy for some Thor tickets to a preview in LA and a videogame. It would be rather fitting if Alex and I won the tickets and took a trip to LA. BTW, I’ve already started drawing it, and it’s funny.
I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show, A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes, Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain, And celluloid heroes never really die – Charlie Sheen
Recently I posted something on Facebook that got a lot of attention, and that was my dream casting for a Black Snow movie. This is not the Black Snow movie I plotted out with Alex last year, but something that would be closer to a more accurate representation of the comic. Now remember, I was a film major and probably spend more time thinking about movies than most people.
First off, the movie would’ve come out in the mid 80s. Why? Haven’t I gone on record saying that the comic book takes place in the late 90s? Because that was a boom period where comedies could be dark, dramatic, action packed and light hearted all at once. It seems like a perfect fit for the broad tone of the comic book. For instance my favorite action comedy, Midnight Run came out in 1988, and contained most if not all of these elements. Look at the tone of the original Batman movie in 1989. Even something as outrageous and comedic as Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure in 1985 had darker elements. We’ve been compared to Kurt Russel action comedies in review, and just take a look at Big Trouble in Little China from 1986 as a prime example. For that matter look at the entire Indiana Jones (1981-1989) and Back to the Future (1985-1990) trilogies. Not mention you’re coming off the Blues Brothers in 1980 and Stripes in 1981. You wanna dark a dark movie with all kinds of elements? Look no further than Less Than Zero from 1987.
My point, I think Black Snow’s story could’ve fit right in with this crowd and been accepted by mainstream audiences. So let’s talk about my dream cast.
Bill Murray as Black Snow
Bill Murray as Black Snow
There is no one who could’ve better embodied Black Snow than the mid 80s Bill Murray. Look at his work in Stripes (1981), epically the beginning of the film when his life is falling apart. Also look at his amazing show stealing performance Ghostbusters (1984), and for the hell of it Scrooged in 1988 and Groundhogs Day in 1993. Not only is he one of my favorite comedic actors, but he always has an edge to him. His characters are always deeply flawed and full of vice, yet somehow the likable underdog hero you root for because of his odd charm. Not to mention he is not the most handsome or impressive looking man. Put that all together and I think you have one hell of a Black Snow.
In fact Alex once revealed to me that a scene in the comic was directly inspired by Bill Murray’s performance in Ghostbusters. Which scene? I’ll give you a hint, it’s in Issue 2.
Andrew McCarthy as the Anti-Nazi
Andrew McCarthy as the Anti-Nazi
As far as I know Andrew McCarthy has never acted with Bill Murray as they ran with different crowds, McCarthy a peripheral member of the “Brat Pack” and Murray a part of the Harold Ramis crew, but I can just imagine the chemistry the two would have. I would love to see it. In the 80s McCarthy was appearing as a lovable nice, yet often misunderstood guy in movies like Pretty in Pink (1986), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), Mannequin (1987) and Less Than Zero also in 1987. He has a likable charm and comes off as an intellectual, yet is also someone that tends to get pushed around and taken for granted. He’s also fairly handsome, yet has a geeky, intimidating quality. I have no doubt he could’ve pulled off a compelling portrayal of Eric and given him the depth needed to portray the character properly.
Tom Cruise as the Lone Wolf
Tom Cruise as the Lone Wolf
Before Tom Cruise was known for being a crazy Scientologist, he was a handsome cocky 80s actor. And to be clear I’m talking about the less wacky, more arrogant and intelligent Lone Wolf from Black Snow, versus the more insane cartoonish Lone Wolf of I’m Famous! Although I’ve never really cared for him, Tom Cruise in the 80s was the man, making movies like Risky Business and All the Right Moves in 1983, Top Gun in 1986, Rain Man as well as Cocktail in 1988. He was on fire in the 80s and played the cocky cool guy to the max. He could have a more overt jerkiness to him though. Rain Man is a prime example. Although he is physically small for the role, I think he would’ve nailed the portrayal of Black Snow’s brash, eccentric rival. Just think of the rather dumpy Bill Murray trading barbs with an ultra popular, handsome Tom Cruise. It would have been amazing!
John Candy as Elephant Boy
John Candy as Elephant Boy
Honestly, I was never a huge fan of John Candy. So why him? He’s fat. I would’ve gone with John Belushi, but he was already dead by the mid 80s. Actually, John Candy is probably a better choice as Elephant Boy is more mellow than Belushi would’ve played it, but he would’ve gotten the sloppiness better. John Candy was good at playing lovable losers, so he could’ve probably handled Elephant Boy without issue. Some of his better movies were Spaceballs and Planes, Trains and Automobiles in 1987, Uncle Buck in 1989, and The Great Outdoors in 1988. The more I think about it the more I’m confident John Candy would’ve done well with the role. Plus he had pretty good chemistry with Bill Murray, as seen in Stripes.
Anthony Michael Hall as Lightning Lad
Anthony Michael Hall as Lightning Lad
Another member of the “Brat Pack”, Anthony Michael Hall was always a good innocent dweeb, much like Lightning Lad. He could also be a bit irritating, again much like the characters. He was known for his roles in The Breakfast Club and Weird Science in 1985, Sixteen Candles in 1984 and National Lampoon’s Vacation in 1983. He is really a natural for the role, as it was very similar to what he was playing at the time. Imagine him annoying Bill Murray and following him around!
Kim Basinger as Angel
Kim Basinger as Angel
Kim Basinger as the slutty blonde unrequited love interest of Andrew McCarthy? Works for me. I know Kim Basinger more for her work in the 90s, but some of her 80s films include Batman in 1989, the Bond film Never Say Never Again in 1983, Nine 1/2 Weeks in 1986, and Blind Date in 1987. She was a big name is the 80s and worked with a lot of huge actors, and would make a fine addition to this all star cast.
Robert Downey Jr. as Hawaiian Mike
Robert Downey Jr. as Hawaiian Mike
Yet another peripheral member of the “Brat Pack”, Robert Downey Jr. played great, flamboyant characters, often with a mysterious or dark edge. Long before he was Iron Man he was in movies like Back to School in 1986, The Pick-up Artist in 1987, Johnny Be Good in 1988, and an amazing performance in Less Than Zero in 1987. He already had chemistry with Andrew McCarthy and Anthony Michael Hall, and it would’ve been interesting to see him play off of Bill Murray and Tom Cruise. He could’ve added some dimension to the character and handled the secret plans we have for the character’s future in the comic.
Robert De Niro as Brad
Robert De Niro as Brad
My favorite actor, period. He could probably handle any role, and you may think this role is too small for him, but reread the comics. Brad has a lot of face time and his own plot. And we have big plans for him in the future. De Niro could’ve brought the intensity needed for this role, and it would’ve been amazing to see him play the older brother of Bill Murray. Brad is a volatile, fairly complex character with a lot going on, and De Niro could’ve brought the dimension needed to the role. In the 80s De Niro was making movies like Raging Bull in 1980, The King of Comedy in 1982, We’re No Angels in 1989, Brazil in 1985, Angel Heart and The Untouchables in 1987 and the aforementioned Midnight Run in 1988. He would’ve rounded out this amazing cast!
I could list more characters, but those are the most important ones. So what’s all this dream casting mean? Maybe nothing. Maybe it will effect the way Alex and I write/draw things. It did give me an idea to possibly create a fake trailer for the movie, finding appropriate lines from each actor in that era. It also gave me an idea to draw the actors as the characters, or even make a short “movie” version of the comic. Who knows, but it was fun to think about.
