NOCC: Comics Year in Review
Company: Wizard World Product: New Orleans Comic Con 2012 Coverage
Between DC rebooting its entire line with the "New 52," Marvel killing Peter Parker in Ultimate Spider-Man, and the advent of day-to-date digital books from both publishers, 2011 was big year for the comic book industry. During one of the first panels at New Orleans Comic Con, artists Norm Breyfogle (Batman Beyond, Superman), Alex Saviuk (Spider-Man, The Flash), and Mike McKone (X-Men, Avengers) sat down to discuss the year that was, and what fans might expect out of the industry in 2012. All three panelists agreed one of the biggest shifts in the industry would come from creator-owned comics. The idea has been around for years, but has recently managed to pick up steam thanks to the Internet and digital publishing. Both have made the process of creating something and distributing it easier, though some still see a few roadblocks standing in the way of it becoming the norm. While artists could make money off self-published work, the road between publishing your own stuff and seeing a profit is a rough one. Artists still want a steady paycheck, so betting everything on a self-published book is a risky gamble, especially when the bigger publishers want to pay you, or even offer an exclusive deal to work on a big name book. As McKone put it, "There's something flattering when Marvel or DC wants you to work for them."
The discussion then veered towards DC's "New 52" and the idea of attracting new readers. All three agreed the concept is an editorial decision and not something decided on an artist's level. While they had their opinions on the topic, all agreed it was something handled in marketing and, whether fans knew it or not, something that is always being discussed. None have ever been asked directly about trying to reach new readers. Of particular interest, some artists aren't completely sure where certain books fall in the "New 52" concept. While a number of books are clearly there, others, like Batman Beyond, are in a nebulous space. Breyfogle, who works on the book, has always seen it as something detached from the rest of DC continuity. It's not necessarily the future of the DC universe, but just one possible outcome. Breyfogle likes where the book is; it's connected to the Bat-family of books, but he has enough freedom to play around with new villains or re-imagining old ones. The impact of digital comics was also a major point of discussion, in particular, the rise of tablets like the iPad or Kindle Fire. The concept is still developing and artists are still trying to figure out how to best transcribe their art into the new format. The greatest challenge, according to McKone, is adapting to the iPad's shape. Although Marvel and DC have both found ways to make things work, such as panel guides that move the action from panel-to-panel each time the reader taps the screen, there is still a lot of trial-and-error before someone figures things out. One audience member mentioned the return to four-panel layouts, which the panel said is a possibility, though it doesn't solve the problem of using double-page spreads.
The panel also mentioned using computers as opposed to pencils and ink. As in other panels, all three said artists should just go with what is more comfortable for them. McKone said he has recently been getting into using Photoshop to do his pencils. It's the same skill set, only in a new medium. Although it started as "a toy," he's noticed that he's doing things almost exclusively in Photoshop. In some ways it has made his job easier since he can use shortcuts, such as saving certain aspects of a character on a layer and dropping it in whenever he wants. As an example, he mentioned drawing an X-Men issue where numerous characters wore Juggernaut's helmet. He was able to save the image and layer it on when he needed it. For McKone, it's a great way to deal with tight deadlines. Finally, the group discussed the idea of 3D in comics. All three said they were less-than-impressed with 3D and weren't fans. However, they also agreed that if companies think they can make money off of it, they would try it. In that case, it's up to the artists to figure out a way to use it as a tool to increase emotional involvement in storytelling. Breyfogle did see some potential with comics since the only time he's every been impressed with 3D is when it is used with traditional animation. The panel closed with Saviuk mentioning his latest work, a "reality comic" he's doing with Stan Lee. In the book, Stan Lee discovers a group of aliens in the desert and decides to turn the group into a superhero team, the Mighty Seven.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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