Thanks to all the great students who came out for this weekend’s workshop at LAAFA! You guys were a joy to work with.

A couple of benefit comics out there this week: Panels for Primates (promoting primaterescue.org) and this call for submissions for an anthology to help promote anti-bullying awareness.

I like this handy round-up of UK artists. Anyone want to attempt it with other countries and create single portal?

This is medical wrap-up week, with two or three procedures planned to hopefully put both my kidney stone and arterial fall-out to rest. Wish me luck.

While getting ready for this weekend’s Los Angeles workshop, I came across this elegant rotoscope-based video (via Jim & Misty) that reminded me how beautiful the human form is—and how far I still have to go, after all these years, to capture it on paper.

There are no shortcuts. Yes, comics is about much more than figure drawing, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth your time to practice, practice, practice.

Do the hard work long enough, and maybe, someday, you can make it look easy.

[Edit to add: For those attending this weekend’s workshop, though, don’t worry! Figure drawing won’t be the focus, and even stick figures will be most welcome. We’ll be focusing on the art of “writing with pictures,” not drawing virtuosity. :-]

Matt Madden sends word of his latest invention, the Tic Tac Toe Jam!

Anyone want to try it out and post links here?

Neil Cohn is looking for volunteers to, well… look at comics. You guys can do that, right?

He’s even offering a drawing for a prize, so go for it.

And while you’re at it, check out Neil’s other studies and essays at his Visual Linguist blog.

[link via Journalista]

Something about this three-part interview with Vancouver cartoonist Colin Upton made me very happy.

It’s encouraging to see a mini-comics rebel from my small press excursion days holding forth on a dozen topics and looking relatively healthy after recent bouts with diabetes and other challenges.

Upton’s interview reminded me of another recent YouTube find; a video interview with minicomics legend Steve Willis from Washington State. Both videos communicate an air of stubborn resistance to anything slick or mass-produced which makes me smile.

As I’ve mentioned here before, one of the things I loved about the small press scene of the ’80s and early ’90s was the freedom it gave cartoonists to pursue their own path regardless what the marketplace might have wanted from them.

A version of that freedom migrated to the Web, but even a technophile like me knows it’s not the same, and can still enjoy listening to a cartoonist explain his craft with a pencil in hand, sitting at a slanted table, surrounded by books, and hearing the sound of a northwest rain falling outside his window.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Next Weekend (December 11-12) is my Comics: Theory and Practice Two-Day Workshop at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art.

Due to a site update glitch, the workshop was listed as “Sold Out” for a week. That’s actually wrong. It’s ALMOST sold out, but if you’d still like to participate, there are just a few seats left. Sorry for the confusion.

In two very full days, it’ll be my pleasure to teach you everything I know about making comics. Now’s your last chance to sign up to join us.

…so here’s a picture of William Howard Taft:

Have a great weekend!

Why yes, I’m willing to link to porn comics.

If they’re funny, creative, and only slightly evil.

Especially liked this one.

[<-via]

…this sounds pretty interesting.

So, here’s a thought experiment: If you knew that the question of life on other worlds was about to be settled and you had to put money on Yes or No, which would you pick?

(I’m sure tomorrow’s announcement is nothing that conclusive or impressive, but it’s fun to dream).