Barry Windsor-Smith's Monsters Review

Greetings friends,

I have something a little different for the podcast today. Instead of a creator interview, I review Barry Windsor-Smith’s first published book in 16 years, Monsters. For those that don’t know, Monsters began as an idea in the mid 1980’s for The Incredible Hulk that ultimately did not materialize. The idea stuck with Windsor-Smith and he turned it into an epic 365 page graphic novel that worked on over the span of 30 years.

Check out the video review here. You will notice that the video has been heavily edited and the reasons for that are two fold. First, this was an impromptu, somewhat improvisational review. It was not written beforehand and I was mostly just riffing on my thoughts after having recently finished reading the book without getting into any of the story or plot details. Second, I am still getting over Covid and have retained a bit of a cough that kept interrupting my speech and had to be edited out for obvious reasons.

I’m a big fan of Barry Windsor-Smith and it’s a true tragedy that he has such a relatively small bibliography of original work considering he started drawing comics professionally in 1969. So, I was very excited to see Monsters finally released. If you don’t want to watch the video, I would sum up my opinion in this sentence: I enjoyed the book a great deal, though it does feel a little dated.

This is one of those books that is going to sit on a lot of comic artists’ shelves based purely on Windsor-Smith’s reputation. I don’t think it’s going to rock the comic industry, but it is a very thoughtful and somber tale of tragedy that lives up to Windsor-Smith’s well earned prestige.

Thanks for reading,
-Aaron Walther

Coloring Comics with Paul Little

Greetings friends,

On the newest episode of Aaron’s Indie View I chat with professional comic colorist Paul Little. Paul has been working professionally in the comic book industry since 2007 and has a long list of credits from publishers such as Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, IDW, Joe Books, and more.

Paul also colored one issue of my own comic series, Zero’s Heroes, which appears in Zero’s Heroes Volume Three! He also colored the cover of the trade paperback!

We have a nice conversation about the advancements in comic book coloring technology, how comic art has changed due to the technological advancements, and the recent trend in recoloring older comic books. Check it out here!

I am very strongly against recoloring older comic books, not necessarily for “moral artistic purity” reasons, but because I think every example I’ve seen just looks worse to my eye than the original. Are there any examples of a comic book being recolored that looks better than the original? I’m asking genuinely, because if there are, I haven’t seen them.

Also, don’t forget, The Uncontrollable Wreck-Lass is updating with new pages every Tuesday. Check it out here!

Thanks for reading,
-Aaron

Turning Nightmares into Art with Krisofor Harris

Greetings Friends,

I’m back with another episode of Aaron’s Indie View. This week I talk with Kansas City based artist, Kristofor Harris. We talk about the origins of his becoming an artist and he tells a story about how he learned to cope with intense nightmares through art. We also discuss how to develop your artistic skills through (surprise surprise) constant practice and discipline. Check it out here!

I don’t have a whole lot of other things to talk about this week. Uncontrollable Wreck-Lass is on a short hiatus while we prepare for the final chapter (starts again on April 27). But in the meantime, Sara and I took questions from our readers and illustrated the answers. Check it out over at wrecklasscomic.com/

Next week, I chat with another Kansas City artist (though, not one named Chris), Buster Moody! Buster is one of my favorite indie artists and I hope you’re all looking forward to the conversation as much as I am.

Thanks for reading,

-Aaron Walther

Film making before and after a pandemic wtih Christopher Ochs

Greetings friends,

On the newest episode of Aaron’s Indie View, I chat with indie artist and film maker Christopher Ochs. Christopher is a funny and interesting guy. We discuss productivity in a time of uncertainty, the importance of setting schedules, learning to be creatively self reliant, and film making before and after a pandemic.

We also chat about Godzilla movies both new and old. Christopher might be the only person I’ve met that didn’t like Shin Godzilla. Then again, I’ve only ever talked to like, three people who have seen it so I may just need to get out more.

Before the pandemic hit in 2020, Christopher was filming a horror comedy movie called BloodFuck: The Legend of Manglin’ Murphy. You can watch the trailer on YouTube. If you like B movies shot on VHS (yes, we exist), then I recommend giving it a watch. It’s pretty funny.

Next week I chat with Kansas City artist, Kristofor Harris. That’s right, THREE Chris’ in a row!

Also, just a reminder that you can get a FREE digital download of my latest graphic novel, The Amoral Stingray, by signing up to the Second Thought Comics Newsletter here!

Thanks for reading!
-Aaron

Working Conventions and Metting Your Heroes with Chris McJunkin

On the newest episode of Aaron’s Indie View I chat with my longtime collaborator and friend, Chris McJunkin. He shares the thee secrets he learned to survive as a professional artist and a variety of things he learned working comic conventions.

We also discuss the recent Justice League Snyder Cut film and the animated Invincible adaptation. We each share stories of the time we met Robert Kirkman (creator of Walking Dead and Invincible). I did not go into too much detail in the conversation, but I’ll elaborate a little further here.

As I say in the podcast, Robert Kirkman was the first professional comic writer I ever met and I was incredibly nervous to meet him. I met him and artist Ryan Ottley in the mid 00’s at a comic book shop where they were doing a book tour to promote their comics. This was before I had started to seriously try to write and produce anything. I would not go so far as to say that Kirkman was a large influence over my writing (not as large as many others, at least), but he was a large inspiration for me to stat writing my own comics.

I am a believer in the maxim “Never meet your heroes” and while Kirkman was nothing but professional and friendly, it was still a short and awkward meeting

Next week, I chat with Christopher J. Ochs, where we discuss filmmaking before and after the pandemic.

Take care and thanks for reading,

Aaron Walther

Interview with David Branstetter

Greetings friends,

I hope you are doing well.  On this week's episode of Aaron's Indie View, I sit down with indie comic creator (and two time Beach Boys contest winner) David Branstetter.  David created the indie superhero comic, Straw Man, and has been self publishing on and off since 2004.  It ended up being a two hour conversation in which we discuss several creative problems such as Imposter Syndrome, finding your voice, self criticism, and the creative journey.  We also discuss his upcoming new comic, Horace and Buggie.

Check it out here!

I really enjoyed this conversation, and I think all you writer/artist/creative types will relate to our discussion of the various types of anxiety, neuroses, and frustration with creating the perfect piece of art. Buy Straw Man comics at Indy Planet!

Stay tuned for the next episode where I sit down with longtime friend and collaborator, Chris McJunkin.

And don't forget that my and Sara Rude-McCune's webcomic, The Uncontrollable Wreck-Lass is still updating with new pages!  It has both kid superheroes AND a giant cat supervillain.  What more could you want?!

-Aaron

New Podcast and Newsletter

Greetings friends!
I’ve started a Second Thought Comics Newsletter to deliver the most up to date information about my comics directly to your e-mail! I also decided to something totally crazy and give you a completely free digital copy of my latest graphic novel, The Amoral Stingray! All you have to do is sign up to the newsletter and you will receive a pdf of The Amoral Stintgray. Only available until May 1, 2021. Sign up here!

I am also starting a new podcast called Aaron’s Indie View, where I sit down and chat with other independent comic creators. For the first episode, I talk with Kevin LaPorte. Kevin is a writer, publisher, and founder of Inverse Press. In the 10 years since he started self publishing, he's run 50 successful Kickstarter campaigns! We talk about how much the comic industry has changed since we both started, navigating social media, and maintaining an audience.

Check it out on YouTube.

Book Review - Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf

Greetings, friends!

Last week, I made the decision to use this blog space to review/discuss/otherwise talk about comics that I have read and one of the first books I wanted to write about was KENT STATE: FOUR DEAD IN OHIO by DERF BACKDERF.

Kent State was probably the most anticipated book of 2020 for me. I’ve been a fan of Derf’s work since his first graphic novel, Punk Rock and Trailer Parks, but he’s undoubtedly more widely known for his autobiographical graphic novel, My Friend Dahmer, in which he tells the story of his teenage acquaintanceship with future serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. Following Dahmer, he produced a book called Trashed, which was a fictional story about garbagemen (inspired by his own experiences in the job) that doubled as a history of garbage management

Continuing in the style of a fictionalized narrative mixed with historical biography used for both Dahmer and Trashed, Kent State tells the tragic story of the 1970 Kent State Shootings. Specifically, he depicts the circumstances leading up to the horrific event by following the lives of the 4 students who were tragically killed by National Guard soldiers who had been on campus to quell political protests.

This book is heavy, both literally and figuratively. The story itself spans 251 pages and is followed by an additional 28 pages of acknowledgements and sources. Kent State was clearly meticulously researched in order to give the most detailed account of the event, right down to the routes and pathways the students walked around town to their school campus.

Granted, this may be a personally biased opinion, but I think that graphic novels are uniquely qualified to effectively depict a biographical story like Kent State, more so than prose writing or film. There can be a lot of power in the artistic imagery that helps to center the reader in the event, but without feeling as exploitative or manipulative the way a biopic, or even a documentary, can feel. In many ways, it allows the story to be simultaneously detached and intimate with the reader, a feeling Derf uses to great effect.

Aside from being a detailed chronicle of the historical event, Derf’s Kent State doubles as a poignant look into the personal lives of the 4 students that lost their lives in the shooting. Derf’s narrative rides the line between cold, clinical presentation of historical records and charmingly relatable depiction of the stress of young student life. Everything comes together in a powerfully moving climax in which we see the shooting explained in excruciatingly minute detail.

Derf’s artistic style has matured steadily and subtly with each new book, and Kent State is his best illustrated work yet. Derf’s art is recognizable by it’s use of black ink and stylized caricatures with pronounced cheek bones and exaggerated anatomy. In his older work, I think his figure posing fluctuates between awkwardly stiff or inhumanly fluid, which contributes to a surreal aesthetic that conjures images of Eastern European artwork smuggled out from behind the Iron Curtain back in the 80’s . It is not exactly pretty. Combine all that with heavy shadows and his characters can have a harsh ugliness that spins all the way around to attractive and uniquely striking.

With Kent State, Derf’s figures feel less exaggerated and more naturally grounded in their environment. Additionally, the pages feel fuller than his previous works. The panels are full of detailed backgrounds and there are many pages full of prose describing intimate historical details. Perhaps this was a conscious effort by Derf to do justice to this momentous and historically significant piece of work, or perhaps it’s just the natural evolution of a professional graphic story teller with decades of art under his belt perfecting his craft over time. Either way, Kent State is a visual masterpiece that cannot be experienced in any other artistic medium.

The events of Kent State happened 50 years ago, and there’s a sad irony that it was published in the year 2020, a year in which civil unrest and organized protests have again become the top headline of the day. Without speculating too much, I think the awful events of Kent State have left a deep scar on the American consciousness, the effects of which can been seen playing out in protests today.

If you are a fan of historical nonfiction, I highly recommend Kent State as a complete, detailed, and immersive description of one of the darkest days of American history.

If you are anxious about current events, I think Kent State is a sober reminder that the United States of America has a long, uncomfortable history of civil unrest. Nothing about this story is comforting, but it does help provide a grounded perspective of history, and in doing so, a grounded perspective of current events.

Give it a read.

-Aaron