Vibing with Rae

I've had my head down this week just running through a to-do list. Hill and I wrapped a draft of Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box #05 and I finished a short project I can't talk about. Other than that it's about getting ahead and lining up work. I've also had a bug planted in my ear (courtesy of Hill) about turning my stagnant (abandoned?) LYP screenplay into a novel. I'm giving it some very serious thought, especially with iBooks on the way.

Anyhow, not much to add right now, so I present this Raekwon video that got my morning started right:

2009's Best Film Posters

I'm a big design and typography guy. I can't design for the life of me, but I know what's great when I see it, and great design speaks to me as much as stunning imagery. Here's one man's list of the Best Film Posters of 2009. Not saying he didn't miss anything, but it's a good list.

Here are a few samples for you to make sure you click:

2009

J-Smoove - That's What He Does

I'm still thinking about the best final play I've seen in basketball since the last time Kobe hit a ridiculous game-winner at the buzzer. But this one happened as my Hawks beat their division rival (and #2 seed in the East) Orlando Magic.

It's nasty. Josh Smith is nasty.

I am a Great Editor

Anyone who has talked to me for more than five minutes knows that I talk about myself incessantly and give myself the mad props I so richly deserve. Then I lament my unemployed (aka freelance) predicament and why there's never enough work coming my way. How can the best writer of 2013 be stuck in the struggle when he's also the most amazing editor working today.

If you need proof of the latter, please check out the following reviews of the Days Missing HC:

"I generally don’t extend congratulations to editors, but Rob Levin deserves a patented Optimous Douche Reach Around™ for the cohesion he brought to this title." - AICN

"The editorial team on this series was clearly tightly knit and ensured that all involved stuck to their notes and had open lines of communication, resulting in a collaborative effort with a focused vision." - CraveOnline.com

Days Missing was by no means an easy project. There are a bevvy of reasons for that, but imagine if you will the launch of a new property. Now imagine that the world is only partially defined so as to leave it open to interpretation by the writer. Now add in four creative teams across five issues and two different companies, and you'll get a wee idea about what it took to make DM what it became.

I'm not claiming to be the G.O.A.T., not by a long shot. But if you give me lemons, I'll make Captain Morgan. And if you give me silk, I'll spin it into gold. That's what I do.

C.B. Cebulski Talks Doing Covers Right

C.B. Cebulski is much smarter and more lovable than me. Let's just get that out of the way. He's also an amazing source of knowledge and insight when it comes to the finer points of making comics. Today he offered a mini lesson about covers and I felt the information merited being preserved here rather than lost in the twitter stream.

C.B. says:

After looking over certain June solicits, I feel like going on a cover rant again, but will instead offer advice on creating cover art.

A cover is the most important piece of art you'll create for your comic. It's what will sell the book. Especially in today's direct market.

This is even more true for indy/self/small press comics as you don't have recognizable characters to grab a reader's attention on the shelf.

You need a simple, bold, striking piece that should immediately standout & distinguish your book from the rest of the comics surrounding it.

Don't get overly-complicated or designy. Don't overthink your cover. Don't get too cerebral. Simply give readers a taste of what's inside.

These are simple, basic cover "rules," I know, but I'm always surprised how often they're forgotten. Especially by the bigger publishers.

Gold.

Stealing is Authentic

(via Ivan Brandon)