Not just a beer: Samuel Adams...

In the continuing of my mentioning various American heroes, legends, and patriots, I’ve decided to post some words from founding father Samuel Adams who (even during his own lifetime) was known as "The Father of the American Revolution."

Samuel Adams led the Boston Tea Party, signed the Declaration of Independence, served as a member of the Continental Congress, helped draft the Articles of Confederation, and was an outspoken opponent of slavery.

After the battle(s) of Saratoga, Samuel Adams called for a day of Thanksgiving (November 1, 1777):

Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to Him for benefits received and to implore such farther blessings as they stand in need of…to offer humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot of remembrance…and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consiseth in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

Don’t forget! Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday!

You can even download previews at the Free Comic Book Day website.

Here’s what I wanna pick up:

"Professor Al"

Above: A flyer promoting the workshop/lecture for Sequential Art: Comics Illustration. Go here to see a larger view of the flyer.

This Fall, at Orange County Community College, I will be teaching a new course called Sequential Art: Comics Illustration. The class is described thusly:

Sequential Art offers instruction in the creation of comic books and comic strips as well as topical discussion on the operation of the comic book industry. Students learn about the pitfalls of working in comics, their rights as creators, and how to approach publishers. Course material includes the design of comic book characters, comics illustration and storytelling, self-publishing, submitting work to editors, comic book Creator’s Rights, webcomics, and strong emphasis on comic book inking. Prerequisite: ART 103 or Permission of Instructor 3 credits (2 lecture, 2 lab).

On Tuesday (April 27th), I will be giving a workshop/lecture at the college about Sequential Art: Comics Illustration. I’ll be discussing the course, and the art of creating comics.

My 2010 Harvey Awards nomination ballot...

Well, I just sent in my 2010 Harvey Awards nomination ballot. The Harvey Awards are one of two fancy-schmancy awards given out in the comic book industry which are voted upon by comic book professionals.

If ya work in comics, then fill out a ballot. The deadline is Friday.

I hope this doesn’t seem too tacky, but here’s the list of my nominations:

HARVEY AWARD VOTING CATEGORIES

BEST WRITER
1.Robert Kirkman INVINCIBLE
2.Paul Grist JACK STAFF
3.Greg Hyland LETHARGIC LAD
4.Brian Clevinger ATOMIC ROBO
5.Mike Mignola HELLBOY

BEST ARTIST
1.Ryan Ottly INVINCIBLE
2.Alan Davis DARK REIGN THE LIST: UNCANNY X-MEN
3.Paul Grist JACK STAFF
4.Greg Hyland LETHARGIC LAD
5.Scott Wegener ATOMIC ROBO

BEST CARTOONIST
1.Greg Hyland LETHARGIC LAD
2.Les McClaine LIFE WITH LESLIE
3.Terry Moore ECHO
4.Paul Grist JACK STAFF
5.Stephen Scanlon PIPE DREAMS

BEST LETTERER
1.Dave Sim GlamourPuss
2.Greg Hyland LETHARGIC LAD 2008
3.Jeff Powell ATOMIC ROBO

BEST INKER
1.Mark Farmer DARK REIGN THE LIST: UNCANNY X-MEN
2.Greg Hyland LETHARGIC LAD 2008
3.Terry Moore ECHO
4.Andy Owens BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
5.Cliff Rathburn INVINCIBLE

BEST COLORIST
1.FCO Plascencia INVINCIBLE
2.Paul Mounts POWER GIRL
3.Greg Hyland LETHARGIC LAD 2008

BEST COVER ARTIST
1.Adam Hughes POWER GIRL
2.Amanda Conner POWER GIRL
3.Jo Chen BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

BEST NEW SERIES
1.THE TICK NEW SERIES New England Comics Press

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES
1.INVINCIBLE Image Comics
2.JACK STAFF Image Comics
3.ATOMIC ROBO Red Five Comics
4.POWER GIRL DC Comics
5.LETHARGIC LAD Lethargic Comics International

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL
1. GET FUZZY

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY
1.INVINCIBLE #61-65 "Conquest" Image Comics
2.ATOMIC ROBO AND THE SHADOW BEYOND TIME #1-5 Red Five Comics

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT
1.TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES COLLECTED BOOK: VOLUME 1 Mirage Studios

BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK
1.LETHARGIC LAD http://www.lethargiclad.com/
2.LIFE WITH LESLIE http://www.evilspacerobot.com/lifewithleslie/
3.YIRMUMAH http://yirmumah.com/
4.PIPE DREAMS http://scanscorner.blogspot.com/
5.ATOMIC ROBO:"The Yonkers Devil" http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/09/28/the-yonkers-devil-1-of-7/

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS
1.Stephen Scanlon PIPE DREAMS
2.Greg Hyland LETHARGIC LAD
3.D.J. Coffman YIRMUMAH
4.Josh Alves THE ADVENTURES OF THE ARAKNID KID #1
5.Benito Cereno/Les McClaine THE TICK NEW SERIES

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION
1.BACK ISSUE TwoMorrows Publishing
2.LETHARGIC LAD 2008 Lethargic Comics International
3.INVINCIBLE: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION, VOL. 4 Image Comics

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION (ANY BOOK, MAGAZINE, FILM, OR VIDEO THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF COMICS AS AN ARTFORM)
1.BACK ISSUE TwoMorrows Publishing
2.MODERN MASTERS TwoMorrows Publishing

BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC PUBLICATION FOR YOUNGER READERS
1.THE ADVENTURES OF THE ARAKNID KID #1 Crash Land Studio

LETHARGiC LAD 2009 to debut on Free Comic Book Day!

Above: Cover to Greg Hyland’s LETHARGiC LAD 2009.

Greg Hyland’s LETHARGiC LAD 2009 will debut this upcoming Free Comic Book Day (May 1st… if ya didn’t know).

From Lethargiclad.com:

The new limited edition full colour LETHARGiC LAD 2009 book will "premiere" at a Free Comic Book Day signing event held at Big B Comics in Hamilton, Ontario. The signing will coincidentally feature me, Lethargic Lad creator Greg Hyland.

Of course, I am excited about the announcement of the LETHARGiC LAD 2009 book. So, I just had to ask Greg some questions:

P.I.C. News: Congratulations on the tenth anniversary of LETHARGiC LAD being a webcomic. Ya know, it doesn’t seem that long since Lethargic Lad’s webcomic debut.

Greg Hyland: I agree. The anniversary actually snuck up on me, too. My original "goal" for the strip was to last 100 strips.

P.I.C. News: Do you feel as passionate about webcomics today as you did ten years ago?

Greg Hyland: I guess so. I mean, I keep doing them for some unknown reason!

P.I.C. News: There doesn’t seem as much a divide between webcomics and print comics creators like there once was. Now-a-days, many webcomics cartoonists collect their webcomics in a printed format. Years ago, you’ve even collected Lethargic Lad’s webcomics in printed form with your LETHARGICLAD.COM mini-comics. As I used to often say: "Comics is comics."

Greg Hyland: I think that putting comics up on the web and then collecting them for sale is the new comics "business model." And it's easier these days to do nice things in print thanks to better print-on-demand companies.

P.I.C. News: I really enjoyed your 2007 and 2008 LETHARGiC LAD books. I’m looking forward to the LETHARGiC LAD 2009 book. The widescreen, color format is a brilliant way to go.

Greg Hyland: Well, it was YOUR idea to do them this way!

P.I.C. News: What’s Lethargic Lad doing during his tenth anniversary webcomic debut?

Greg Hyland: Check out this week's comic (Lethargic Lad.com#120.2) to get an idea.

Gene Colan injured…

Above photo: Comic book artist and former SVA teacher, Gene Colan.

Clifford Meth is reporting that legendary cartoonist and former School of Visual Arts instructor, Gene Colan, has been injured:

Gene was injured last week and is now being cared for by his son and daughter. In addition, it appears that some of Gene’s artwork has disappeared, including pages from Nathanial Dusk and a Star Wars-related piece. The police are involved in the matter.



Above photo: Taken in a classroom at the School of Visual Arts. (Left to right) Mitch and (comic book legend and SVA instructor) Gene Colan. School year 1986-1987.

Update:

The Beat is reporting that Gene Colan was injured in his home, but that he was not mugged as first reported. Details are sketchy. I’m not sure if we’ll learn the whole story, and if this is indeed a private matter, then we shouldn’t. Please keep Gene in your prayers.

From The Beat:

I’ve been contacted by a reliable source stating that this is not the case. Colan was indeed injured in his house and art is missing, but it is not part of a mugging. Details of the injury and missing artwork are being kept vague to respect the Colan family’s privacy.

Colan is home and recuperating and expected to recover from the injury.

Covering BACK ISSUE...

Thanks to Ye Ed, Michael Eury, here’s some sneak-peeks to upcoming covers for BACK ISSUE magazine:



Above: The cover to BACK ISSUE #42, our "Wild West" issue, featuring Jonah Hex by Tony DeZuniga, with cover design by Michael Kronenberg.



Above: The cover to BACK ISSUE #43, our "Born To Be Wild" issue, featuring Shanna the She-Devil by Frank Cho, with colors by Glenn Whitmore and cover design by Michael Kronenberg.



Above: The cover to BACK ISSUE #44 by Bob Larkin, cover design by Michael Kronenberg.

For more on BACK ISSUE magazine, stop by TwoMorrow Publishing’s website.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Resurrection Day!

Matthew 28:2-10 (King James Version):

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, "Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you."

8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "All hail." And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10 Then said Jesus unto them, "Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me."