Fresh Ink is the part of the show where the lovely and talented Blair Butler gives new comics either props or smackdowns depending on their righteousness. Read her opinions below:
Ex Machina #16 -- If the West Wing starred a superhero, you’d get something similar to this engrossing look at the ups and downs of being a metahuman politician. Some fans complain that Brian K. Vaughan’s story arcs take way too long to unfold – as long as Tony Harris keeps penciling this gorgeous book, Vaughan can take as long as he damn well pleases – it’s worth every penny.
Loveless #2 – This western makes Deadwood look down right genteel in comparison. Dark, violent, and without any redeeming characters – the first panel of this issue alone is shockingly gratuitous -- the general message of this series is that people on both sides of the Civil War were VERY, VERY BAD. It’s hard to recommend, but it delivers a visceral, “I can’t believe they put that in a DC book” punch that’s impossible to dismiss. Still, if you’re looking for a cowboy fix, you might want to pass this up for the superb new “Jonah Hex” series. Unless, of course, you have a stomach made of cast iron.
Hate Annual #5 – Classic indie comic. Pick up an older issue for a proper introduction to the series. For an indication of why #5 is a bit of a letdown: my favorite part of it was a lovely essay about dive-bar gentrification. Yep.
Marvel Holiday Special– This represents everything I hate about mainstream comics. Disposable “themed” storytelling that exists to make a quick buck for publishers. I don’t care if it’s intended for kids – kids deserve better than this.
Comments
Displaying -19– of 4
GreyMouser
Another great and honest segment from Blair!!!
JMBilby
My name is Jacob and I have been drawing and writing since I could pick up a pencil. I have always enjoyed comics, the amazing art work and deep story lines in many comics have pushed me to bring my work to the masses by creating my own comic series. Comics like Death Dealer, Spawn, Lady Death,Heavy Metal, and the rare Ronin have helped me progress in my ability to bring the gruesome and dark to life and really allow my story telling to accelerate visually.
I know that the hardest part about being an artist is just getting your ideas started and published so that others can experience your story, so I would like any information available that would help me get my stories published and what it would take to get them looked at AOTS and Fresh Ink. I would like to know what would be the best course of action to take, should I start a web page showing my comic series, when and where I should show them. Any information would be much appreciated, thanks.
Jacob Michael
cutter20
Burn the comics! Burn them! The writing crackles and pops with incinedary wit.
Seriously, how about another b-word for "pass", like "boot", "bail", or "borrow"? Nobody wants to endorse book burning.
G4silentbutdeadly
Blair and other comics geeks - check this out:
http://www.slate.com/id/2131 269/
Displaying -19– of 4
Add a Comment