As I go into the third week of our Featured series with the webcomic Sketch Comedy and its artist, Jackson Ferrell (Facebook, Twitter, Google+), I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Jackson’s artistic stylings.

One thing that I’ve always appreciated about Jackson’s work on Sketch Comedy and some of his other work is his use of detail and his use of simplicity. He has a real talent for keeping the design of his comic simple unless he needs it to be something more. To me, this is a skill of a true artist. Every moment that is supposed to be accentuated is. Like the clever usage of italics or even well placed ALL CAPS in a story, Jackson uses detailed frames quite well. It reminds me of (although it’s not quite as drastic) of the scenes from Ren and Stimpy or Rocko’s Modern Life where they would suddenly show a highly detailed depiction of something disgusting. I always loved that.

Not only that, but facial expressions. Oh, the facial expressions. The comic below is an excellent example. They’re perfectly exaggerated for hilarious results. And he does this well all the time. Jackson has a knack for finding the best face for each emotion.

Well, that’s enough talk. Here’s today’s comic from Sketch Comedy.

Overloads and Loads of Characters

Interview Part 3:

Q. What’s your favorite movie, and why?

Iron Man, because underneath all the slam-bang action (and there is some fantastic slam-bang action) you have this great redemption story. Here’s Tony Stark, boozing and womanizing and making a fortune from indiscriminately selling devastating weaponry, and then this thing happens to him that forces him to confront himself. He didn’t ask for it to happen, but it happens, and he comes out of the experience and starts making different choices because of what happened to him. Iron Man is the only superhero movie that has actually made me cry.

Honestly, I think The Avengers is a better continuation of Stark’s story than either of the two Iron Man sequels, because it builds on where he’s been by forcing him to play nice with other heroes. In IM 2 and 3, he doesn’t really grow as a character: it’s just Tony cracking wise, fighting against tyrants and building cool doodads.

Q. What would you say to a person wanting to make comics too?

Too much, probably. If I could only say one thing, I’d tell them to be honest with themselves about why they want to make comics. For years I had this gnawing discontent with my comics because I secretly hoped I’d make it big just by posting my stuff up online. In order for that to happen, it takes some combination of luck and being an absolute baller. The internet is a great avenue for sharing your comics with friends and strangers, but if you want to enjoy financial success from your cartooning, there’s got to be more to your game plan than “post stuff online.”

Written by Greg Erb and Jason Oremland
Art by Wook-Jin Clark
184 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press

With countless examples ranging from Peter Pan to The Chronicles of Narnia, we all know the story of kids being whisked away to a magical realm to fight some big bad guy. The Return of King Doug begs the question, what if the kid ran away from his “destiny”?

Silly and sarcastic, this story takes us on a wild ride. The story opens in the fantasy world of Valdonia, with newly-crowned, King Doug, being told of his destiny to charge into battle where his friends and he will likely die valiantly on the field of war… And he runs. Fast. The story picks back up with Doug as a divorced, unemployed, deadbeat dad taking his son out to the family summer home. Naturally (for the type of story it is), his son gets mixed up in Valdonia and Doug is once again thrust into his childhood nightmare.

There were a ton of one-liners throughout, sort of like if they had been writing this book as a webcomic and releasing it page by page, and while most of the jokes land, some don’t. What I really found funny was that they even used the timing captions (the “meanwhile” and “in the future” deals) as a running gag. They were sarcastic too, which as an author of a comic, I found quite funny. My other favorite part was that the characters in Valdonia have also fallen into disarray with Doug gone. The once mentor and friend, Feldspar (a mocking depiction, I believe, of Mr. Tumnus from the Narnia series) has become a crazed drunk, the centaur hero is fat and lazy, and so much more. And when they meet Doug again for the first time in 30 years… hilarious.

The bite of the dialogue and story was truly humorous, but what I really liked was the message the story showed. This was a true hero’s journey from selfish cowardice to eventual hero, the redemptive story is always nice to read even if it’s not the best of them.

The artwork is also quite fantastic throughout. Easy to follow and wonderful details made for a thrilling read! Clarks’ use of expressions throughout the book are great and often make a joke sing. One thing I would have liked to see was a bit more variation in the linework, though. Since it was black and white, I wanted to see the characters pop out a bit more from the background. But, like I said, it was still easy to follow along.

Also, since I know I have some parents out there who are awesome and want to give their kids graphic novels to read… The Return of King Doug has some language and adult humor in there, so be wary. It’s really not that bad, but just wanted to give the heads up.

If you’re looking for something with jokes written on it’s bones, and is different from the usual kid sucked into a fantasy world trope, then The Return of King Doug is a book for you!

Get a copy today!

As an interesting note: While looking up the book on Google, I found that Ben Stiller had actually been attached to a film adaptation of this (he would be perfect for it too) but that was from 2008… I would totally watch this with Ben Stiller as lead. Hollywood, I’m just sayin’.

Now, this isn’t the first time that Kanye West has gone on record saying that he’s something ridiculous. It wasn’t too long ago that he thought he would have been in the Bible.

Now, Imma let him finish, but first… Steve Jobs? Really? Sounds like somebody needs a taste of Tywin Lannister’s wisdom. Anywho… here’s the full quote and a link:

“I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means,” he says. “I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump.” (source)

For all of you creative people out there looking to make it big: a little humility goes a long way. Just keep that in mind.

And now it’s time for more Sketch Comedy by Jackson Ferrell (Facebook, Twitter, Google+).

I mentioned before that one thing I always liked about Sketch Comedy was the breaking of the fourth wall, but I feel like he goes beyond that. There is no fourth wall here. The Jackson in the comics is also the author of the comics but still a character that the true author has created. Try wrapping your brain around that.

The best part about this technique is that the other characters act as a voice of reason in the midst of chaos. If this was an ancient Greek play, the other characters would be the chorus. Filling in the gaps, functioning as the voice of the audience. It often leads to very funny, cathartic moments (like in the comic below).

In Sketch Comedy, Jackson Ferrell goes beyond what I used to do with The Underfold. There really is no wall. No boundary. But somehow, he manages to really make it work. It’s hilarious, occasionally poignant, and always weird. I love it.

Appeal

Interview Part 2:

Q. Where do you get inspiration for your comics?

Where don’t I get inspiration for my comics? I feel like there’s this whole world outside myself where anything can inspire a comic if I look at it the right way. Sometimes I use my comic to share a funny story or something that happened to me, or to comment on music or media or video games. Sometimes I use my characters to tell stories. Sometimes I make references to other webcomics. It’s all a matter of getting outside yourself and exploring the world, and sharing your findings in the space of four frames.

At least, that’s how it’s supposed to go. You know how you go into a barbershop, and there you are in the mirrors, infinitely reflected as far as the eye can see? Sometimes it’s like that with Sketch Comedy. The metacomic thing feeds on itself until it turns into one giant incestuous mishmash.

Q. Are you a writer or an artist first? And how does that affect your process?

Chronologically, I’m a writer first; I always start with a written script. That’s not necessarily a good thing, though! I could probably stand to be more visual in my approach. Still, I do try to form a clear mental image of each panel’s composition and staging as I write. I tighten up my concept in the penciling and inking phases.

One advantage of the strip format is that I can skip the thumbnailing. #lazycartoonist

Tune in next Wednesday for more from Sketch Comedy and creator, Jackson Ferrell!

I’m always up for a good Bigfoot story, and Flink by Doug TenNapel does not disappoint.

The story starts off as many all-ages comics do, with young kid who’s disconnected from his parent, in this case, his father.

But they’re on a hunting trip to rekindle a relationship. Trouble’s afoot when the plane crashes in the woods! The young boy is left all alone… until a sympathetic sasquatch comes to his rescue.

One thing that really intrigues me about TenNapel’s view of Bigfoot is that he really expands on the mythology of the sightings and puts his own spin on it. What’s fun is that he doesn’t spell it all out, but we get a snapshot into the life of a Sasquatch, and that’s what got me hooked.

Heartfelt, action-packed, and rather smile-inducing, Flink is an inventive and enjoyable take on the plane-crash-survivor trope that I would love to see as an animated short someday. (Any animators out there? :D)

Anyway, the book is great!

Get a copy today!