Eagle Nebula
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Research
via tumblrTags: nebula, pantscrappery, teh awesome
Tweetworth 4.29.10
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Trash
If der tamting twange…
in da neighborhood…
watchuwatchucall…
Tags: ghostbusters, humming, i am bored
80s Nostalgia Dream Teams
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Trash
It’s close to midnight, I just finished prelim pencils for a page, and I need to let the fanboy out to play for a bit before I bust out the inks. My first list was flawed in that I pretty much chose the slowest artists ever, but hey… I figure that covers the wish aspect of it. This time around, instead of comics, I figured I’d do something a little different and picked only 80′s cartoons.
1.) Silverhawks – Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke
2.) Thundercats – Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
3.) Tigersharks – Tony Bedard and Andy Clarke
4.) Centurions – Mark Millar and Stuart Immonen
5.) Dino-Riders – Jeph Loeb and Arthur Adams
6.) Ninja Turtles – Matt Fraction and Jerome Opena
7.) He-Man – Ed Brubaker and Frank Cho
8.) Ghostbusters – Rick Remender and Tony Moore
9.) Inhumanoids – Mark Waid and Ryan Ottley
10.) Visionaries – Grant Morrison and Carlos Pacheco
Tags: 80s cartoons, centurions, dino riders, fanboy, geek, ghostbusters, he-man, inhumanoids, ninja turtles, silverhawks, Thundercats, tigersharks, visionaries
Reading: Blacksad
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Research
My favorite thing about European comics is that a collection of books isn’t called a series, but rather an album. And with that simple twist of terminology, each bit of story becomes less of a book and more of a song. Oh how gloriously artsy.
Blacksad was created by Spanish talents Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), under French publisher Dargaud. It features crime noir fiction with anthropomorphic characters playing out the drama. Think Dick Tracy meets Animal Farm. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was the term “furry”… with “furry sex” not far behind, given that the stories have adult themes. But that blunt expectation fell away three pages in.
The three books that comprise Blacksad boast intricate stories nicely rendered in this rough watercolor atmosphere that a lot of my favorite Euro books share. The characters all have an effective depth, so much so that five pages into any arc, the superficiality vanishes and you start to forget that these are animals acting things out. And I like this same logic when it was used by Quesada and Middleton in NYX, where a fairly dark story was being played out by whimsically rendered characters, making the grit of the tale much more accessible.
Despite the use of lighthearted artwork to veil dark themes, there’s also nothing fake about how Guarnido brilliantly takes full advantage of the animal qualities of each character to help define personalities — Of course the police chief is a German Shepherd; What better fit is there for the cold-blooded hitman than a reptile? And how else could you portray the singular pederast than as a polar bear?
From layered comedy to in-your-face drama, Blacksad is a rich tale of crime and romance that any comic lover worth his salt just has to check out. And true to the European nomenclature, the full album does a wonderful job of evoking 50s blues in a mere three books. Here’s hoping that rumored fourth one really does come out eventually.
Tags: anthropomorphic, Blacksad, comics, crime drama, crime noir, detective story, Dirgaud, Juan Diaz Canales, Juanjo Guarnido
Umbilicus
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Rants
The funny thing about being a comic artist for a living is that even though enjoying the medium is definitely escapism… the act of actually making the comics is very often not. In fact, it’s the furthest thing from it.
You may be drawing images of fantasy, and the creative potential in that is near limitless, but I find it difficult to allow myself to get lost in that frame of mind when things are rough in the real world. Of course, I may just be one of these overly dramatic types who can’t separate their lives from their livelihood, but consider this — how safe would you feel jumping into the deep blue depths if you weren’t sure you’d have a boat to swim back up to?
There is no spacewalk to fix the Hubble if the shuttle is not in place.
Tags: Art, escapism, making comics, professionalism, work ethic
Eyjafjalla… Galactus
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Research
Tags: Eyjafjallajokull, lightning, volcano
Three Doors
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Art, Work
Just posting a panel from a page I’m working on this evening. It’s a relatively small one from the page, but I feel pretty good about the mood of it. My style most often gets me some pretty light-hearted projects, so I don’t get to play with heavy shadows as often as I want. So yeah. Looky.
Tags: Art, mood, noir, pen and ink, shadow
Tweetworth 4.11.10
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Trash
Weekend! That was a command.
—————————————–
Yes sir.
Tags: human, jesus, me, ultimatum
The Lighthouse
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Photos
My closest friends, family, and attentive twitter followers most probably already know this, but Jad and I are engaged and are currently planning our wedding. And I thought making comics was tough. It’s going to be a challenging next few months, but I wouldn’t have anyone else by my side.
My best friend, worst enemy, biggest fan, and truest idol.
And to remove all doubt that I am in fact a sentimental sap, I’m going to quote Josh Pyke in one of his recent songs.
So we are moving to a lighthouse, you and I
While seas drown sailors, we’ll be locked up safe and dry
And though our doors may knock and rattle in the wind
I’ll just hold you tight and we’ll not let those fuckers in.
Tags: jad montenegro, john amor
Reign of the Ripper
Posted by johnamor | Filed under Work
For over a year now, I’ve been working with Wolfgang Parker to craft a story of Victorian horror worthy of the legend of Jack the Ripper. 1888 is a unique take on the White Chapel mythos that I believe draws in Hellboy fans, Classic Horror aficionados, and Crime Noir enthusiasts. The project is currently on kickstarter.com, as we are welcoming pledges and participants in the sharing of the creative process. I’ll let Wolfgang tell you more, as he is slightly prettier than me. but only by a little bit.
Tags: 1888, comic, crime noir, horror, jack the ripper, john amor, kickstarter, london, serial killer, white chapel, wolfgang parker
