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The DC Comics Style Guide, that long sought-after José Luis García-López masterpiece, arrived earlier. It's incredible, of course. This book immediately reaffirmed why I'm a DC kid through and through.

Looking back, DC as a merchandising juggernaut did a number on me. I had the toys, read the comics, the coloring books, and the pop-up books. I watched the cartoons, the movies, and the reruns. I wore their tank tops, ate their food, wanted to be them. The indoctrination was real. I know I'm not alone.

What, I was a 4 year old from Hialeah. Some of us outgrow our early obsessions, while others are perfectly happy with a hardcover honoring one of the masters. He not only articulated the brand, he transcended it.

It's a nice book.

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Gray Morrow

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Seiichi Hayashi, GARO No.99

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BOB PEPPER

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I had just wrapped up my second ZEGAS issue when I drew this. On top of self-publishing, I was pitching projects and submitting samples and exhausting every possible avenue for paying work. It was a time of desperate hunger amidst fierce competition. (When is it not?) I didn’t notice anyone doing anything with the Golden Age character Black Terror, so I came up with a proposal that allowed me to draw some blood and muscle. Nobody asked for it! Yet here it exists.

This drawing symbolizes the tension between subject matter and style. As an “indie” guy (ugh), superheroes weren’t *supposed* to be in my wheelhouse. I drew this anyway… and I had a ball doing so. Sure, it’s clunky, but the spirit is there.

The proposal was never officially submitted, as I was quickly consumed by another interest I had no business nurturing: the Suicide Squad.

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BEN SEARS

Some more original drawings from the last couple of months. Most of these are available in my webstore: https://bensears.bigcartel.com/category/original-art

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PAUL NEARY

Most examples from the collection of Reuben Willmott.

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RAW 7, where every top right corner of the cover was ripped off and taped to another random copy. Amazing, I love this, but it's gotta hurt the CGC rating

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Don Newton

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One step closer to the end: DEATH of COPRA issue TWO is officially available to order! It hits the shelves FEB 12th, and your LCS can still get the first one as well (from Image Comics) so ask for it by name.

Oh, and our "guest artist" variant cover features the inimitable Sam McKenzie, whose work I've loved for years. As for our "cover team-up" variant, it stars Malcolm from Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon.

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Come for the Kevin Nowlan cover, stay for the great & awkward panel by Gary Groth, Gil Kane, Howard Chaykin, and Walter Simonson:

GROTH: Mainstream comics are juvenile trash, recycled pap. Artists should do better

KANE: The art’s where the value lies but the stories are still subliterate. It’s the publishers’ fault. They should do better

CHAYKIN: I fall in between you two

SIMONSON: I’m sitting right here, guys

For the record, I’m into what everyone’s saying. Groth as a critic (and competitor) posits diversity in style & ideas; that has played out over time. Kane as a self-critical artist demands the same values of his peers. Chaykin’s American Flagg! leads the charge of making quality product. Simonson had every right to sound as defensive as he did. He was just a dude making a living by writing & drawing THOR. The subject of values seemed too broad to tackle in an hour, especially with one panelist maybe feeling attacked.

All in all, file under: Essential Reading

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I haven't read this article -- "How the great Golden Age Heroes might have appeared if drawn by today's comic standards." -- but C.C. Beck lampooning then-modern comic book styles is hilarious... and unintentionally cool in its own demented way.

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"Purism has such hopeless connotations (from high modernism) that's everything against what makes comics exciting." --Ben Katchor

As somebody who believes in Pure Comics, this is a super compelling angle to me, almost repellant at the same time! Definitely worth unpacking.

Anyway, I'm just now catching up with this talk. Beyond fandom, beyond comics... I completely missed it somehow. Don't make the same mistake. Watch it now: NY Comics Symposium with Gary Groth & Ben Katchor in conversation.

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I keep returning to this Ditko/Byrne essay because of its core tenet: stylization has more range. Though I don't *entirely* agree, I appreciate the discussion and like that it's even being talked about. Plus, this site's attention to detail is something to behold.

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Today marks twelve years since COPRA began. I took two of those years off, so it's been a solid decade of revenge comics. COPRA isn't old enough to join the military, but it can still score a pack of Camel Blue.

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John Sullivan, 1977

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COPRA: The Last Subscription! The limited edition Subscriber Variants are available exclusively via the Copra Press Shop. These are identical to the Image releases, except for the different covers. Supplies are boutique-level rare, so get 'em now while you can.