30 days of night Ben Templesmith

Just one more thing before I go, was looking through my blog and noticed some of the graphic novels I've been reading and noticed that I'd forgotten to mention the 30 days of night series by Ben Templesmith, (Illustrator) which In parts in excellent and suits the horror style perfectly, but at other times it grates on me as he will cut details in favor of half drawn sketchy child like sprawls during faster paced scenes, but his still shots, (pictured) are fantastico!

When I read graphic novels I can't imagine reading a standard book again, (although I read plenty of text only books) I just love the way they flow through your brain like little pulses of electricity, each snapshot being burned into your mind. (sorry the creative writing elective hasn't worn off yet!)

I also want to be a graphic novelist every time I read one, but I can't draw, well, no I can't actually, not in perspective at least.

however when I'm not reading a graphic novel I want to be a web designer, not that I find web pages particularly  interesting, I think it's my logical side telling me that's where the jobs are.

I'm starting to really like flash and can see myself creating interactive content using it for web pages, mobile phones etc. But my dream job would be making Title sequences for movies, I don't even know what it is about it that has always drawn me in, (that's what made me want to do Digital Media in the first place) I just think I have a natural talent for putting things together, sound with images, making image and text dance to the music as such etc etc. but of course I've never done anything advanced in this area, it's just a feeling I have based on my experimental stuff and what I've been told by my peers.

I will be looking into Title sequencing a bit more after speaking to Mike today about it, I never even realized there was much of a job-base for it in the UK, I will be looking into that a bit more at some point soon.

right it's almost midnight and I still have to watch the X files so night night!

Tank Girl!

Another series of Graphic novels that I just bought, having heard the name for quite a while here and there, (Tank girl has been around since the 80's) I decided to look it up one day! and I found that the strips had all been converted into full length graphic novels, (3 of them) and then there are 2 follow ups, odyssey and apocalypse, and in 2008 there has also been a new wave of Tank girl series written again by Alan Martin and Ashley wood.

It's funny how in some cases the illustrator takes most (or all) of the credit for a book, as in the case of Jamie Hewlett with Tank girl, ie: his name is the most commonly associated with the book, or there's Alan moore, writer of the watchmen, V for vendetta, swamp thing etc, who always takes the full credit for his novels, even though he does not illustrate them, which is fair enough, i just find it interesting how sometimes it is the artist that is most spoken about and sometimes it is the illustrator! (my previous post discusses the graphic novel "girls" written by and illustrated by Joshua Luna- which I find rather amazing! but of course there are also films that have been done single-handedly such as the Makoto Shinkai movies) 

Anyway Here is a picture of "Tank Girl" illustrated by Hewlett, (who then went on to create the band: "Gorillaz" with some other dude) anyone who knows of it will know it's absolutely mental, she's basically a beer swilling, bad-mouthed, kangaroo-shagging, (Is set in the out-back of Australia) tank driving maniac who with her half-man-kangaroo boyfriend "booga" go on an assortment of various missions- what I don't know as I've not got around to reading them yet! so my description of Tank girl may not be wholly accurate! but basically I thought it looked like a fun read, I liked the punky-vivien westwood- british pop culture type feel it had and just the total bizarreness! plus there are the elements of violence, anarchy and metafiction that just add to it's appeal and make for a very interesting and inspiring read! (I hope!) 

Tank girl was also made into a diabolically crap movie that the authors still to this day state: "killed tank girl" and that she will never be the same again because of... well we can always bypass the film, (as I am) and read through the comics that were written when I was probably about 8! so it's strangely nostalgic reading them now even though I never heard of them when I was younger but because I know it's from the years I was growing up as a child so it has alot of familiar 80's elements in it.

GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS!

Just thought I'd write about a recent Graphic novel I bought called "Girls" by Joshua Luna, One of the Luna brothers, (obviously!) They were both born in California and have been drawing sinse they were 5, they both went to the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated with BFA's in sequential art.

The hard back edition of Girls that I have is roughly A4 size and collects the entire series in 624 pages! It cost me around £50 but in my opinion it was worth every penny! from the supreme glossy finish, the incredible artwork, and the deluxe hardback casing and slip-case.

What I find remarkable is that Joshua single handedly wrote the entire series AND did the accompanying artwork! The story is amazing, It's about an alien attack on a small town, but the aliens all happen to be girls! however it is not as it sounds, the main focus here is the plot, the story line is tight and it works, it keeps you reading and reels you in, in fact the whole thing feels as though you are watching a movie, this could easily be adapted into a feature film and although there are plenty of alien invasion films this one does it differently, choosing to home in on human relationships, the way we interact with one another and how being in a crisis changes that, the characters have layers and inner conflicts, they are not simply "cardboard", and their actions are what shock you as the reader the most, the aliens are merely a side dish to the underlying themes that are explored.

I won't say anymore as I have more books and stuff to write about! plus I don't want to droan on too much as no one reads these posts as it is! 

well as my computer, (that I paid well over a grand for in september) has bloody had it! (I can't upload a dam thing! it's really pissing me off, we are meant to blog frequently but I can't flippin upload nothing!-oh well it's just let me upload that one! typical, still won't let me upload my other stuff though! grrrr) anyway here is a link to read the first issue of "Girls" for free!!

http://www.imagecomics.com/iconline.php?title=girls_001&page=cover