Today I share a loose confederation of thoughts that I’ve been kicking around about the dangers of focusing too much on the “definitive” body of your work, and how that notion is being challenged by the way content is distributed and consumed on the Internet.
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Thunder Punch Daily 102 – Definitive, Shmeninitive Read More »
It’s a wombo-sized episode of TPD today as I share my experiences in developing, practicing, and finally presenting my Ignite Ann Arbor and Ignite Chelsea talks! Thank you for making 100 episodes of Thunder Punch Daily possible, everybody!
You can listen to the talks on my YouTube channel. Ann Arbor: Comics Are Great! Chelsea: The 21st Century Cartoonist
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Thunder Punch Daily 100 – Ignite Read More »
Confronting fears to put a little steam in your stride is today’s topic. I share some thoughts on projects I’m taking on like Ignite Ann Arbor, Ignite Chelsea, and a new video series I’m developing for release next year. At least for me, taking on scary projects does a lot to make the job seem more worthwhile.
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Thunder Punch Daily 94 – The Cure for My Ennui Read More »
In prepping for my workshop at Specs Howard, I found myself ruminating on some of the wonderful storytelling techniques that can be found in Manga. I share a few of my favorites, highlighting how these aren’t exactly new to Western cartooning.
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Thunder Punch Daily 60 – Manga Advantages Read More »
Every once in a while we find ourselves looking upon the success of others as a sign that they’re made of something that we’re not, or we come up against a group of people who have bought into their own hype and like to throw that around a bit. Today I examine how participating that behavior actually works against critical thinking, one of the fundamental skills we need in order to be a better cartoonist. I also talk a little about the new Comics Are Great! project I launched this week.
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Thunder Punch Daily 58 – Critical Thinking & Hero Worship Read More »
Today I share some thoughts on the dark places we can find ourselves when we overly define our missions or take our works too seriously. In true Bob Newhart fashion I use a personal anecdote to demonstrate my point. I once honestly thought there was no such thing as a good story with ninjas in it. In learning about the value of ninjas, we can become more fully rounded artists who can better spot those moments where we’re taking ourselves too seriously.
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Thunder Punch Daily 49 – No Ninjas! Read More »
Today I share some thoughts on a topic that eats at me from time to time; namely, when people try to defuse a comics debate with the phrase “It’s just comics”. I think this phrase and the psychology behind it comes from a bit of a self-esteem issue the comics community has in general (in no small part thanks to Fredric Wertham), and if we can overcome this, we’ll all find that we all have plenty to say about our craft and will be able to speak to it more readily.
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Thunder Punch Daily 44 – Never Apologize Read More »
Today I answer a question from Rene van Belzen about how to keep the fires burning when working on a long-form comic. I share some of my personal experiences in letting old projects go until I found the story that made me say “…and it’s gonna be awesome!” Afterwards I share a few thoughts on the importance of taking on tons of small projects until you find that awesome story.
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Thunder Punch Daily 37 – Keeping The Fire Burning Read More »
Today I respond to a post in the forum by Jon David Guerra, which was essentially a question about how concerned we cartoonists should be about our style changing over time in a comics project. If you use the word “evolving” instead of “changing”, how does that alter our perception of the question? I share a few thoughts with my own experiences on the subject.
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Thunder Punch Daily 36 – Style Evolution Read More »
Today I share some thoughts about what keeps us going while working in obscurity and how it relates to the old joke where a spouse says to the other “If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you!”
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Thunder Punch Daily 31 – If You Don’t Know, I’m Not Going To Tell You! Read More »