Comments on: 365 Reasons to Love Comics #261

By: Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #358

Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #358 — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 01:21:28 +0000

[...] Walt’s art was fantastic as well, and quite different from his later work. I’d say the pencils are tighter and “tougher,” in a way– more lines, more grit. The storytelling is incredibly well done, and the page layouts– my God! Dense, elaborate, and beautiful. These are super-compressed stories, fitting 20 pages of material into 8 or 9 page, cramming information into every available spot. It makes for a very nice page aesthetic, and also a brilliant lesson in story compression. The guys doing Slimline titles for Image could learn a lot– I know I did. [...]

By: Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #330

Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #330 — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:48:52 +0000

[...] It also serves as the first example of a new comics format Warren Ellis proposed: that of the “Slimline” book. Each issue’s only two bucks, chump change in comparison to most comics, and the 16 pages of story are denser than your average comic. With the included backmatter– sketches, articles, letters, authorial rambling– it makes a great package. The collected edition doesn’t include backmatter, though, so snatch up the singles while you can! [...]

By: Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #329

Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics #329 — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:06:34 +0000

[...] No one thinks more about the comics form than Warren Ellis– of that I’m convinced. He’s constantly thinking of new techniques and formats to bring to comics– hell, he invented the Slimline format. He rose to the fore on both decompression and supercompression, and most people give him credit for inventing the “widescreen” comic. [...]

By: Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics Archive

Comics Should Be Good! » 365 Reasons to Love Comics Archive — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 21:22:44 +0000

[...] 261. Image Slimline [...]

By: J to the AAP

J to the AAP — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:56:34 +0000

Ummm maybe you could tell us exactly what â€œslimlineâ€ is? I like to think Iâ€™m pretty knowledgable about comics but Iâ€™ve no idea what this is.

A line of 2 dollar 16 page comics published by Image. You can pretty much derive that from the column. I know because that’s what I did.

By: Mike Loughlin

Mike Loughlin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:49:37 +0000

I can’t remember who has been covered, but I would love to write about:

Gene Colan
David Mack
The Maxx and/or Sam Kieth
Concrete and/or Paul Chadwick
Palomar (I would say Gilbert Hernandez, but I’m not caught up on his current work)

Thank you!

By: jccalhoun

jccalhoun — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:32:08 +0000

Ummm maybe you could tell us exactly what “slimline” is? I like to think I’m pretty knowledgable about comics but I’ve no idea what this is.

By: Kris Bather

Kris Bather — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:42:21 +0000

Bill, I’m sure many people here would love to see their name in lights on this site. I know I would! You’ll find many helping hands for sure.
As for Reasons, I’d suggest a few off the top of my head :

Letters pages (bring ‘em back I say!)
Female creators
2000 AD / European comics
One-shots
Conventions
TPBs
Even glossy paper! (I know, but as I look back at my comics from the ’80s, I’m glad today’s stuff holds up well)
Classics Illustrated?
Biographical comics?
Blankets/Craig Thompson!!!
Scott McCloud
Novelist/ celebrity fanboys now working in comics
And lastly, College courses in comics. We don’t have those here in Oz. I’m sooo jealous!
That’ll do. For now.

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:57:24 +0000

If youâ€™re looking for reasons to love comics, Iâ€™d go with the nine-panel grid.
……
It condenses the comic,making it longer to read

You are right, but at the time I first read Watchmen I thought that Watchmen’s nine panel grid was positively spacious after The Dark Knight Returns’s 16 panel grid.

By: Graham Vingoe

Graham Vingoe — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:34:43 +0000

I like the challenge of doing a column like this. If you want a column on, for example, Jack Knight/Starman, or my favourite series of all-time, Master of Kung Fu, then I’d love to have a bash.

By: Dan (other Dan)

Dan (other Dan) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:57:29 +0000

Great entry, I love the slimline comics. Has Fell #9 come out yet?

Speaking of price, a great reason to love comics is the discount bin. Most of my comics spent their formative years waiting patiently in the cheap boxes to give me a 50 cent burst of joy. I love how discount bins make me laugh at price guides. They deserve a place in the 365 reasons (As might Joe Casey!).

By: acespot

acespot — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:56:04 +0000

RICHARD STARKINGS!!!

By: Tobey Cook

Tobey Cook — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 04:26:31 +0000

I’d like to do one on Joe Kubert, given it’s his 81st Birthday today, and you haven’t done one yet, I think it would be a great idea.

By: FunkyGreenJerusalem

FunkyGreenJerusalem — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:52:11 +0000

If you’re looking for reasons to love comics, I’d go with the nine-panel grid.
When done right, it is the ultimate narrative tool.
Moore is the undisputed master of it, but many others do it well too (Gerber does a great job in Tales Of The Zombie).
It condenses the comic,making it longer to read, yet it can also provide the perfect pacing – as all panels are the same shape/size, the writer and artist can control how long you spend on each panel by the amount of text or detail given to a panel.
Why it’s not used that much these days, I don’t know – I just assume to many creators these days are too scared to use it because they are girly men who prefer to frag ideas out.
(Of note: both the slimline books mentioned today have used it, particularly Fell.)

Also, spinning from Cassanova, is panels between panels, with just text and a single illustration – I love that technique.
Cassanova usually uses it to let you see what a character is thinking about the action, but it used to be used all the time.