Lists and stuff and things!
WHOOOO! This Friday has turned out to be pretty damn awesome. For one thing, something I thought was going on tonight is actually next week so I don't have to leave the house again tonight and for another FREE BUS RIDING DAY! Happy October! My trip is tomorrow!
7) Alison Bechel, Craig Thompson, Berke Breathed, and Bruce Timm
I'm grouping these three together to make room on my list and because I've kind of discovered them all at the same time.
Alison Bechel: I discovered her when I read her graphic novel "Fun Home" which is about her relationship with her dad. It's a very beautiful story with wonderful art and moments of humor piercing through the overall seriousness of the story. It was the first comic I'd ever encountered that told an entirely true story. Writing about real life isn't something I enjoy doing, but I look at Bechel and "Fun Home" in particular and wonder if I could.
Craig Thompson: Some time after "Fun Home" I discovered "Blankets" and I have to say I LOVE that graphic novel. It's thick and full of very simplistic, but beautiful images! You don't have to portray the world in an entirely realistic fashion, which I'll get into more with Timm, and the same thing applies to memory. "Blankets" is about the first time Craig fell in love/had a relationship. It's also about his childhood and his struggle with faith. While that doesn't sound great, believe me it is. It doesn't have a bitter tone to it all, it's just reflective.
Berke Breathed: For those of you who aren't obsessive like I am, Breathed is the character of "Opus", "Bloom County", and "Outland." "Bloom County" is a hilarious comic with wonderful character designs.
Bruce Timm: I've actually been a Timm fan for years. I just didn't know it until very, very recently. XD Growing up I loved Animated Batman (from the 90's) and I really liked Animated Justice League (or DCAU as it's called). A big part of what kept me away from American Superhero comics is the animosity between this fandom and anime fandom. A lot of comics fans claim that anime isn't "realistic" style was and thus is inferior to comics style. Bruce Timm isn't of this mentality thankfully and while his work is very stylized it's also really nice to look at. It's almost as if a stylized piece of work is just as worthy of being appreciated as realism.
6) Silent Hill (click links at your own risk)
Many years ago some folks at a Japanese game making studio saw the movie "Jacob's Ladder" and decided to rip it off for a horror video game. Seriously, the sounds and visuals of that movie are exactly the same as they are in the game. It's kind of funny in a weird way. However, the games were a huge hit and built up their own stories with multiple endings.
These games are wonderfully atmospheric and while the monsters in the games are grotesgue there isn't a whole lot of actual gore in the games. Hell, you don't even fight off that many monsters at a time. In "Shattered Memories" you can't even fight at all, which a lot of people think is stupid, but hey. The Nightmare World you slip in and out of in the games is fascinating, the puzzles that you need to solve in order to advance forward are...weird, and the games generally have a lot of female characters. In fact, "Silent Hill 3" has a female as the main protagonist. I guess you can have creatures with vaginas in a body of work and still have it be successful. Who knew?
Also, the music for these games is phenominal! I particularly like the soundtracks for "Silent Hill 3" and " Origins."Adds to the atmostphere of the games.
5) The Less than Epic Adventres of TJ and Amal
This comic is hilarious and so simple it makes my head spin a little. It's like "Fun Home" and "Blankets" in a way, but with geeks on a road trip! I've been following this story since sophmore year of highschool and it fills me with hope to know that a woman at 30 is getting this comic going and that's taken her literally several years to get to the point where she can finally get the story told. I've looked at her sketches and listened to new music because of her and her comic.
4) Good Omens
I'm not a good reader. At all. It shames me to say that, but it's true. However, I have read Good Omens a total of three times. Humor is a running theme for what inspires me and this book is no exception.
What amazes me the most is how the styles of the two authors blends so seamlessly together. The fandom also has a really fantastic fanartist. (Not to say that there aren't others, but she's my favorite.)
3) Music
GOOD GOD, this could be an entry all unto itself. I've in fact written about my thoughts on music before so I'll try to keep this briefish.
I love music, I'm almost constantly listening to it. And it isn't just the lyrics of songs, it's the way notes sound how they can pop out at you individually or flow together in a consistent string of sound.
From early on the two bands that influenced me the most were "barenaked ladies" and "Our Lady Peace." The first band has songs that are funny, sad, and flat out beautiful. The second band has a lead singer (Raine Maida) who sounds sad in a lot of songs. Also, I just like his name.
2) My good friend Gryphons_Egg
I suppose I could just put down all the names of teachers and college level art classes that have influenced what I've done, but I'll put down my best friend. Why? Because she's been like a mentor to me, she writes wonderful fic, and she's helped me become a better human being.
1) Shelby Dorr
I've known my girlfriend almost all my life. We met when we were toddlers and have stuck together ever since. We started dating in 2005 (June 25 is our anniversary~) and we've been drawing together for as long as I can remember, which I admit isn't that long. XD
I bounce ideas off her, I don't feel self concious sharing ideas with her, and her art makes me smile. I can't imagine myself loving anyone or being inspired by anyone as much as her. <3
7) Alison Bechel, Craig Thompson, Berke Breathed, and Bruce Timm
I'm grouping these three together to make room on my list and because I've kind of discovered them all at the same time.
Alison Bechel: I discovered her when I read her graphic novel "Fun Home" which is about her relationship with her dad. It's a very beautiful story with wonderful art and moments of humor piercing through the overall seriousness of the story. It was the first comic I'd ever encountered that told an entirely true story. Writing about real life isn't something I enjoy doing, but I look at Bechel and "Fun Home" in particular and wonder if I could.
Craig Thompson: Some time after "Fun Home" I discovered "Blankets" and I have to say I LOVE that graphic novel. It's thick and full of very simplistic, but beautiful images! You don't have to portray the world in an entirely realistic fashion, which I'll get into more with Timm, and the same thing applies to memory. "Blankets" is about the first time Craig fell in love/had a relationship. It's also about his childhood and his struggle with faith. While that doesn't sound great, believe me it is. It doesn't have a bitter tone to it all, it's just reflective.
Berke Breathed: For those of you who aren't obsessive like I am, Breathed is the character of "Opus", "Bloom County", and "Outland." "Bloom County" is a hilarious comic with wonderful character designs.
Bruce Timm: I've actually been a Timm fan for years. I just didn't know it until very, very recently. XD Growing up I loved Animated Batman (from the 90's) and I really liked Animated Justice League (or DCAU as it's called). A big part of what kept me away from American Superhero comics is the animosity between this fandom and anime fandom. A lot of comics fans claim that anime isn't "realistic" style was and thus is inferior to comics style. Bruce Timm isn't of this mentality thankfully and while his work is very stylized it's also really nice to look at. It's almost as if a stylized piece of work is just as worthy of being appreciated as realism.
6) Silent Hill (click links at your own risk)
Many years ago some folks at a Japanese game making studio saw the movie "Jacob's Ladder" and decided to rip it off for a horror video game. Seriously, the sounds and visuals of that movie are exactly the same as they are in the game. It's kind of funny in a weird way. However, the games were a huge hit and built up their own stories with multiple endings.
These games are wonderfully atmospheric and while the monsters in the games are grotesgue there isn't a whole lot of actual gore in the games. Hell, you don't even fight off that many monsters at a time. In "Shattered Memories" you can't even fight at all, which a lot of people think is stupid, but hey. The Nightmare World you slip in and out of in the games is fascinating, the puzzles that you need to solve in order to advance forward are...weird, and the games generally have a lot of female characters. In fact, "Silent Hill 3" has a female as the main protagonist. I guess you can have creatures with vaginas in a body of work and still have it be successful. Who knew?
Also, the music for these games is phenominal! I particularly like the soundtracks for "Silent Hill 3" and " Origins."Adds to the atmostphere of the games.
5) The Less than Epic Adventres of TJ and Amal
This comic is hilarious and so simple it makes my head spin a little. It's like "Fun Home" and "Blankets" in a way, but with geeks on a road trip! I've been following this story since sophmore year of highschool and it fills me with hope to know that a woman at 30 is getting this comic going and that's taken her literally several years to get to the point where she can finally get the story told. I've looked at her sketches and listened to new music because of her and her comic.
4) Good Omens
I'm not a good reader. At all. It shames me to say that, but it's true. However, I have read Good Omens a total of three times. Humor is a running theme for what inspires me and this book is no exception.
What amazes me the most is how the styles of the two authors blends so seamlessly together. The fandom also has a really fantastic fanartist. (Not to say that there aren't others, but she's my favorite.)
3) Music
GOOD GOD, this could be an entry all unto itself. I've in fact written about my thoughts on music before so I'll try to keep this briefish.
I love music, I'm almost constantly listening to it. And it isn't just the lyrics of songs, it's the way notes sound how they can pop out at you individually or flow together in a consistent string of sound.
From early on the two bands that influenced me the most were "barenaked ladies" and "Our Lady Peace." The first band has songs that are funny, sad, and flat out beautiful. The second band has a lead singer (Raine Maida) who sounds sad in a lot of songs. Also, I just like his name.
2) My good friend Gryphons_Egg
I suppose I could just put down all the names of teachers and college level art classes that have influenced what I've done, but I'll put down my best friend. Why? Because she's been like a mentor to me, she writes wonderful fic, and she's helped me become a better human being.
1) Shelby Dorr
I've known my girlfriend almost all my life. We met when we were toddlers and have stuck together ever since. We started dating in 2005 (June 25 is our anniversary~) and we've been drawing together for as long as I can remember, which I admit isn't that long. XD
I bounce ideas off her, I don't feel self concious sharing ideas with her, and her art makes me smile. I can't imagine myself loving anyone or being inspired by anyone as much as her. <3