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Archive for ‘February, 2009’
39 results.
This is from the blog Topics For All, posted on February 10, 2009. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the author’s name, even if I like what he says:
Johnny Saturn
Designed by Benita and Scott Story, Johnny Saturn gave a new definition to the concept of web comic. There is a main super-hero tale at the core with a mystery man that’s been through lots of challenges in a life where there is an eternal battle between the forces of good and evil.
Hence, the typology of the characters animating the world of Johnny Saturn is close to any Romantic plot with legends, angels, demons and lots of fights between them. But there are also mad scientists and demigods as well as all sorts of conceptual beings, making up the puzzle world that is the very charm of the Johnny Saturn comic.
Basically, Johnny Saturn represents both a web comic and a superhero and fantasy book; yet, many fans consider it as the figurative representation of the way our life goes in or away from the acts of justice. On top of these all, good seems to spring from questionable deeds too, not only out of purity.
Johnny Saturn is who faces the evil Dr. Synn and his schemes. We will not consider Johnny Saturn a real hero, since he lacks the powers and the personal history that would make him one: he is the average man caught up inuncommon circumstances who has to do what he has to do. As the story in the comic {moves on|evolves, Johnny Saturn gets to other inspirational life knots: he shows the sacrifice of a savior and the determination of a leader.
The creators of the Johnny Saturn comic got something more than fame and success with their ongoing story of the character. The Storys manage to be witty and interesting in creating moods, profound messages and lots of complexity without assaulting the reader with visual tricks.
Mondays and Wednesdays are the regular days when new episodes from Johnny Saturn are uploaded; four years have passed since the release of the strip, and it still enjoys an ongoing success as thousands and thousands of fans get on the Storys’ official site every day.
Johnny Saturn is imbued with the concepts, issues and taboos of our world: yes there is drug addiction, depression, suicide, anger, grief and lots of others, but they are all approached in a very straight-forward manner without dramatizing. Even political themes become manifest in the story of Johnny Saturn, but the advantage here is that a comic leaves freedom enough for allegories without hinting directly at people and events from real life.
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This is my first drawing of Lieutenant Brezneski, or “The Brez,” Detective Buchanan’s kind-hearted boss. I wanted the Brez to look sloppy, disheveled, and a little run-down. I don’t know if his appearance compliments his good-hearted nature and role as a mentor; maybe it does, or maybe not. Truth is, after Benita made up his name, his appearance came to me in whole in one shot.
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Hi, Folks:
Item: A few typos were pointed out to us in today’s comic. Thanks to Jason and SCAScott for being so attentive—your help is truly appreciated!
Item: Beginning today, we are offering the Johnny Saturn wallpapers on Webcomic Wallpapers, a new site for free or premium wallpapers. Our wallpapers are free there, and available in a wide assortment of sizes. The wallpapers will also continue to be free here, on this site.
Item: I’ve been listening to Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and sometimes Young for several days. This music is intensely earnest and beautiful, and it reminds me that I was born in the wrong time period. I would have loved to have been part of that scene.
Item: I just watched “Blow,” starring Johnny Depp and other great actors such as Paul Reubens. While I was struck by the similarities to the movie “Lord of War,” I was not as similarly affected by “Blow.” It was a good movie, and I’m glad I saw it, if nothing else for the kick-ass soundtrack. Depp’s acting was, as usually, A++ material. As actors go, I’m convinced he’s magic.
Item: As you might remember from last week’s blog entries, this past weekend Benita and I attended the Indiana Horror Writers Retreat in Converse Indiana at the historic Woodcarver’s building. In some ways, it did not work out the way we expected; in other ways, it was a truly eye-opening experience. There was a paranormal investigation being held in concert with the retreat, and three different ghost hunting groups and one wizard. (I’m not being facetious—this wizard is the real deal). Benita and I are both former ghost-experiencers, but the things we saw this weekend where still outstanding.
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I’m really pleased with this character design, and I look forward to having Celerity show up more often in the future. My favorite feature of her headdress is that it radiates from her face when she’s still, and folds over behind her when she’s running.
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The Contingent #1, created by Zack Kruse and Cameron Merkler, written by Zack Kruse, art by Zue, published by Mind Storm, (c) 2008
Reviewed by Benita Story http://johnnysaturn.com — www.basicallybenita.com
The story of The Contingent begins in Bolivia with the birth of a baby boy, resulting in the death of his mother. Jump forward 15 years later and this now teenage boy is playing soccer with others in what appears to be a very poverty stricken village. The arrival of two people from America change this boy’s life forever.
The art in this book is more polished that what you see in the majority of indy-comics, the coloring is top-notch, the writing clean and concise. But, unfortunately, the story itself is a rather blatant copy of Marvel/X-Men/Xavier School for the Gifted down to a girl with Cyclops powers, kids who can fly, levitate, make fire, etc. It would have been better for the writer to continue practicing his art in private until he was able to come up with a story line that was original. Taking an already well established idea and writing an already familiar story based on that is not truly creating as much as it is recreating, and the X-Men are far too popular for this story to seem other than what it is.
That being said, I do hope the writer and creators of this book continue to work. When they do come up with an original story idea, I will be happy to read it because there is talent here. Unfortunately, this story line has already been done to death by one of the big comic book companies.
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Hi, Folks:
Item: Today, I watched the movie Ultraviolet with the oh-so-impressive looking Milla Jovovich. From reviews I read, and from previews I’d seen, I expected very little from this film. As it turns out, it’s not great cinema, and some of the special effects were downright jarringly fake. Still, the sets and costumes were pretty damn amazing, and the martial arts were strikingly original. I’ve seen a lot of these films, and this was the most original use of martial arts I’d seen since the first Matrix movie. The tracking shot from pair of glasses to pair of glasses and back (with a bullet) was very impressive, for example. Should you bother to watch it? If you want some eye-candy, sure. If you want a deep plot and nuanced acting, no.
Item: There’s an online, or downloadable flash application called The Grimace Project, and it is a fascinating tool for coming up with facial expressions. There is an almost limitless combination of emotions you can put into play, such as combinations of joy and anger, or disgust and fear, etc. I downloaded this little app, but now I doubt I’ll ever use it. I too have a high tech way of getting exact expressions and emotions worked out, and I keep this tool near my drawing board: It’s called a mirror. I act out the expression I need, and then I apply it my drawings. This works pretty well for me.
Item: I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have been listening to the Crosby, Stills, and Nash boxed set. Nobody harmonizes like these guys. Well, I bring this up, because I’ve never been sure how I feel about Graham Nash’s music. A lot of it seems too light and sticky sweet to me, to be honest. Yet, among the four mega-talented songwriters in this group, Nash can sometimes write some intensely powerful, hard-hitting songs. I guess I should have been far more forgiving of him, because my favorite artists often produce grade B or C songs, but when the grade A ones come along, watch out! I can’t remember most of the songs on Neil Young’s “Stars & Bars” album, but then there’s “Like A Hurricane,” one of the great romantic guitar explorations of all time.
Item: Yeah, I mention music pretty often here. That’s because my heroes have almost always been musicians. In another world, an alternate life perhaps, I could have been a well-known musician myself. That’s not a path I pursued. I love playing music, but I’m not all that gifted at it. I started too late in life, I suspect. I have just enough experience to appreciate greatness in others.
Item: I’ve changed up my inking game lately. I’ve been doing all my line work with Windsor & Newton Series 7 no. 1 brush, and .1 and .05 technical markers. When you live with your lines day by day like I do, then the quality of your inks is a big deal. My answer was to turn to finer tools and get much more exacting with my lines.
Item: Free fonts! They’re so pretty! Plus, they’re free!
Item: I have a gallery on ImagineFX now. Check it out, and then hire me to draw and paint your next cover. Over the years, I’ve done CD covers, tabletop role-playing covers and interiors, novel covers, and lots of other stuff
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