Sunday 28 May 2017

Jim Steranko is a Publisher's Nightmare!

Jim Steranko,
what an amazing legacy to leave behind.

There is absolutely no doubt, that he is one of the people who changed the face of comic book art.

 But these days, he is the equivalent of a human roadblock, to any publishing venture, insane enough to work with him!


The second volume, of his IDW sponsored, Artists Editions, has been pushed back, yet again, to December 2017.
Considering that the youngest pages of art, being reproduced in this volume, are almost 50 years old... one can only wonder at the holdup and attribute it to Steranko's involvement in the "design" of the book.

As Scott Dunbier says, we were actually very lucky, to get even one volume of his old works, into print!

It is my belief, that in keeping with several other Steranko projects, this volume will never see the light of day... or, if it does, 
it will be published as a commemorative, after Steranko's demise.

Tangents in Comic Book Art

Tangents, in adjacent comic book panels, can often cause unintended confusion as this educational comic strip,
by Brandon Graham and Adam Warren,
clearly shows.


As a student of all things comic book art related, 
I found this to be a succinct encapsulation of the issue.

Brandon Graham and Adam Warren are both very talented guys and it is enlightening to see them argue the point out.

I am in awe of the minds behind the hands and the amount of craft that went into this, essentially, "throw-away", page of art instruction!

The Silver Snail at 41 Years Old!

The Silver Snail
41st Anniversary Poster


What can I say?

For me, this has to be one of the weakest and oddest images,
that the store has ever used to try and promote it's self.

Looking back over the previous examples,
there is a distinct disconnect, from the often Science Fiction themed
images, of many of it's predecessors.

Intentionally or not, the Horror or Vampire theme, strikes the wrong chord, in my opinion because I have never really associated The Silver Snail with a Horror vibe!

Maybe I am simply showing my age and spouting off, like the old geezer that I am because, at the end of the day, truthfully, the fact that the store still exists, is amazing.

Congratulations and I hope that you guys get to survive another year but with our insane, Toronto commercial space rents,
 who knows?