Jun 6th 2012 08:22 am Advice free
I ran across this old cartoon from the 1996 archives, which I’ve been mining lately, and given the A&J comic strip running in newspapers today I couldn’t resist using it.
I was going to talk more about color. Surprise, surprise: I’ve always belonged to the old school on this one. I’d just as soon not have the daily cartoons, those appearing Monday-Saturday, colored at all. I’d prefer they be shown, on the Web and in newspapers, in black and white. When I concieve an idea, I see it in black and white, and, since I’m the cartoonist, I think you should see it in black and white, too, as I do. Having said that, I have always accepted colorization as a fact of life. First, it was for the United Media Web site; then, those same colored versions were made available to newspapers, many of which eschewed this option early on and continued to print the comics in traditional form. Increasingly, however, more and more newspapers want and expect color. I understand this. I suppose if I am to undergo a change in attitude about color, it would be from passive acceptance to active participation, to regard color not as a necessary evil best left to others but as a creative tool in my own pencil box. I’m not making any promises.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
54 Responses to “Advice free”
Whistling Rufus on 06 Jun 2012 at 8:41 am #
I sorely wish I had listened more to my own dad. Too late now, but I do think he would be pleased with how it all turned out. But, I still wish..
Mindy on 06 Jun 2012 at 8:42 am #
As a fairly good amateur photographer, Jimmy, I believe I understand what you’re saying about color. The best, most powerful photographs I’ve ever seen have been black and white, as have been the ones I’ve taken that I consider to be my best. It’s a difficult concept to explain, I’ve noticed, since “truth” is always in the eyes of the beholder. About the only thing I can think of right off hand that is best in full color would be oil paintings and I still have a soft spot in my head [don't you dare, John!]for pen-and-ink drawings.
That having been said, I have to ask, “At what point in life did you decide you wanted to be a cartoonist?”
Neal in Bahstawn on 06 Jun 2012 at 8:58 am #
Two daughters?
Judy in Conroe on 06 Jun 2012 at 9:23 am #
I am a fairly useless amateur photographer, so feel free to ignore my opinions. I like to have photographs and occasionally some of those I take turn out pretty nice, especially those of my grandchildren – but they are so cute it is difficult to take a “bad” photo. However, I often get so wrapped up in the experience that I forget to bring out the camera, and I am grateful to my daughter (who is a fairly good amateur photographer) and others who don’t forget. I can appreciate the art and line of black and white photos, but when my daughter gives me a choice between the black and white and the color, I invariably choose the color. I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s the emotion and vibrancy that color adds. Maybe I just like color. Maybe I’d better shut up and let the artists do what they do best and be content to appreciate the result.
Judy in Conroe on 06 Jun 2012 at 9:26 am #
I can understand why newspapers would prefer black and white, because it is less expensive to print. That probably explains my preference. It seems that whenever I have a choice between two things, the one I prefer turns out to be more expensive. Sigh.
Burns on 06 Jun 2012 at 9:37 am #
Interesting note: The Boston Globe prints the weekday comics in a separate “magazine” called “G” (along with the TV and movie listings, puzzles, and a few small Parade-sized stories). The odd thing is that on Monday and Tuesday (maybe Wednesday…have not picked it up yet) they print them in B&W. On the rest of the weekdays, they print them in color. I’m sure B&W is cheaper, but I wonder why the beginning of the week is chosen for that cheap treatment?
Mike From Hartland on 06 Jun 2012 at 9:49 am #
The The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus still prints the daily in black and white. I don’t like the colorization of movies either.
Mark in TTown on 06 Jun 2012 at 10:18 am #
Sorry to change topics, but it has just been announced that Ray Bradbury has died at age 91. I will miss his work, and have enjoyed his material since I got old enough to pick my own reading material.
Dan McD on 06 Jun 2012 at 10:27 am #
Score me as another purist who prefers comics in the original form that the artist created them. I’m sure the colorists at the syndicate are careful professionals, but they never seem to look quite “right.”
That said – please consider sharing any future experiments in coloring your own work here!
Peace,
-McD
sideburns on 06 Jun 2012 at 10:33 am #
Judy, a friend of mine once pointed out that it doesn’t matter how good your camera is if you left it at home. Modern digital cameras are small enough to carry in your pocket or purse, just in case you need it. I don’t take many pictures, but I’ve found that keeping it in my pocket at all times has come in handy, several times. Not only have I gotten some neat pictures, I’ve also gotten shots of accident damage. Not for my own car, but for a friend. Then, after downloading them onto my computer, it’s but the work of a moment to pass them on by email.
Sam in Alabam(a) on 06 Jun 2012 at 10:50 am #
Yep, Mark. Bradbury now joins the other two in the big three of my teenage years: Heinlein and Asimov. Haven’t read much science fiction in recent years, however.
Neal in Bahstawn on 06 Jun 2012 at 10:54 am #
Anyone who has not read ‘Dandelion Wine’ has missed a wonderful book. No, it’s not science fiction. It is a thinly fictionalized memoir of Bradbury at age 10 in the summer of 1929.
And I still ask the question: “two daughters”?
HC on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:04 am #
There is this quote (in French) of someone whose name I forgot :
« when I was fifteen, my Dad was a complete idiot, when I became twenty-five, he made a lot of progress »
(I hope my translation is understandable)
Dave in MA on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:29 am #
Bradbury was one of my favorite authors too. Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorite books.
HC, your translation is very understandable.
Neal, two daughters, perhaps he means the boat is the other one.
Boise Ed on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:29 am #
Burns: My bet is that they have advertisers from Wednesday on, who pay for colored ads. Monday and Tuesday, they don’t. Once you’re doing a color run, it costs little to add more colored content on those pages.
Greg in Hull (on the beach) on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:44 am #
Burns: The Boston Globe explained why color on some days and not others when they first started doing it…it had something to do with the availability of the color printing press but I forget the details.
I too will miss Ray Bradbury. As a teacher, I’ve taught “Fahrenheit 451″ and really enjoyed the discussions he provoked.
Judy in Conroe on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:49 am #
Neal? Two daughters? Where’d that come from? I guess I haven’t read all the entries. (I only have one daughter).
Mark – I am so sorry to hear about Ray Bradbury. He was not one of my favorite reads because his writing was more emotional than scientific, but literature teachers loved him for that. He was a great man. Heinlein was always a fun read for his ideas and his characters – you might not agree with him but you always knew where he stood. Asimov was my hero – his nonfiction was prolific and informative and my favorite part of the “Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine” was his science article with the introductory paragraph that was a slice of his life.
sideburns – your idea sounds like a good one. I already have a nice small digital camera if I could only remember where I put it (no doubt some nice safe place). I’m better at forming bad habits than good ones, but it’s worth a try.
Now I’m off to read about Ray Bradbury.
Judy in Conroe on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:53 am #
Ohhhh – two daughters for Gus! I just assumed Mary Lou had an older sister – didn’t even think twice about it. Tch tch – you know what they say about assuming . . .
Ghost Rider 6 on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:54 am #
ML mentioned, on at least one occasion, having a sister. But I think that’s about we know about Gus’s other daughter.
Ghost Rider 6 on 06 Jun 2012 at 11:55 am #
“all we know”
MWL on 06 Jun 2012 at 12:58 pm #
Yes mary Lou mentioned her older sister in one of the very first meetings with Gene on the beach. A day or two prior to the first “almost” kiss. IIRC.
I liked the old science fiction as well. I agree about the top three authors. Many hours of enjoyment that I took for granted. I also really enjoyed Herbert’s Dune series. Seems like everything else he wrote was difficult to read. I always felt like an idiot as I tried to grasp his ideas in his other work.
Mindy on 06 Jun 2012 at 1:19 pm #
Sam in Alabama, don’t forget Arthur C. Clarke. At least IMHO.
Nodak Wayne on 06 Jun 2012 at 1:34 pm #
Well, I just spent a couple hours looking for Mary Lou’s referance to a sister. Couldn’t go back past ’96
Bob, near Mark on 06 Jun 2012 at 2:32 pm #
In 7/6/1993′s strip, Mary Lou says to a young Gene, “I’ve kissed a boy. Two, in fact! My big sister and her boyfriend kiss ALL the time! On the lips! For a long time!” Gene replies, “Gosh, I wonder what it feels…. like.”
Dave in Seattle on 06 Jun 2012 at 3:37 pm #
Bob, near Mark,
Where did you go to find archives of A & J that far back ?
Dave in Seattle on 06 Jun 2012 at 3:42 pm #
I’m still mourning the loss of Heinlein and Asimov, Not to take anything away from Bradbury.
I suppose when you consider that I grew up reading their work and the fact that I’m now mid sixties, It’s not really surprising that we are losing them. Just a bit depressing.
Jerry in Fl on 06 Jun 2012 at 3:59 pm #
I’ve seen original artwork for strips and they are not small. That got me thinking-if you draw a strip for years and kept all or even most of the originals you would have to have a very large storage area. I would hate to see all of that fine original work thrown in the trash however. Any comment JJ?
Neal in Bahstawn on 06 Jun 2012 at 4:03 pm #
Judy in Conroe, the “two sisters” reference is in today’s strip. To me, it’s like that gun you see on the wall in Act 1 of a play. You just know that it’s going to get used in Act III. In other words, JJ is setting us up for the introduction of Mary Lou’s older sister – the one who kissed all the boys on the lips.
Mary in Ohio on 06 Jun 2012 at 4:08 pm #
My Dad died in 1957. I have quite a few pictures of him, from boyhood on, but only 3 are in color. When my Mom died 30 years later, I had plenty of color pictures of her – voice recordings – videos. That’s where the technology went. Which is different from the amount of pictures of the firstborn, compared to seond-born, third, etc.
John in Virginia on 06 Jun 2012 at 4:08 pm #
Uh oh, Neal may be right. Is Gene on the cusp of temptation? Those triangles really cause problems, y’know!
Ruth Anne in Winter Park on 06 Jun 2012 at 4:13 pm #
Back to black and white vs. color photography for a moment – while they both have their place, artistic and otherwise, one thing that is clear is that black and white holds up better than color in most cases. I have photos of my grandmother as a young girl that are over 100 years old and look good. My wedding pictures from 1978 have faded terribly and the colors are not even close to the original. Digital cameras are certainly easy to keep with you all the time BUT – how long will the printed images last and will future generations be able to view the images that are not printed? Like the written letter vs. email/twitter/whatever’ssnext argument, how much of our history will we lose?
Mark in TTown on 06 Jun 2012 at 4:39 pm #
My own feeling on coloring newspaper comics is traditional, black/white daily and color Sundays. If they must be colored, I think the artist should have the decision on what colors. Can you imagine the Mona Lisa colored by an unknown, salaried worker instead of what we have? If the artist does not choose to provide color direction I’m fine with that.
My favorite Bradbury stories are of the Family, such as “The Homecoming”. When collected into a book, the cover art was by Charles Addams, perfectly matching the stories. Great work on the publisher’s part, putting them together.
Sam in Alabam(a) on 06 Jun 2012 at 4:54 pm #
Mark: The Bradbury short story that always sticks with me is “The Long Rain” from “The Illustrated Man.” As the unceasing rain on Venus (there’s a dated concept) gradually drove each of the astronauts mad, I felt my own sanity slipping a bit. I wanted to get to the end so that it would stop, as well.
James Pollock on 06 Jun 2012 at 5:03 pm #
Ruth Anne… digital photos are an improvement over photos on film. The reason is that, although the prints will fade just like photograph prints will, a copy of a digital file is EXACTLY as good as the original with no degradation… every copy is identical to the original. The dangers in digital photos are many… orphaned storage media (can you find a device to read your old storage media? The obvious example of this is 5.25″ floppy discs) and advancing technology (first-generation digital cameras had 640×480 resolution. Today, you’d have trouble giving away a camera that did only 640×480.)
Mark in Boston on 06 Jun 2012 at 5:42 pm #
Arthur: At times like this I wish I had listened to my mother!
Ford: Why, what did she say?
Arthur: I don’t know! I didn’t listen!
Bob, near Mark on 06 Jun 2012 at 6:25 pm #
Dave in Seattle,
I just happened to have saved about 500 A&J strips that were published between 1985 and 1995. For strips between January 1, 1996 and May 31, 2011, you can go to
http://tonyc.com/ajarchive/
phil in Missoula, MT on 06 Jun 2012 at 6:27 pm #
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote some good science fiction (Lucifer’s Hammer, Footfall, The Mote In God’s Eye) but I’d have to say that Julian May’s nine book series (Pleiocine Exile Series and the current/future series starting with Surveillance) get my vote for the best modern SF author.
Almost all science in science fiction is dated within 10 years. I remember a story from the 30s or 40s…might have be Doc Smith…wherein he parked a fleet of ships between the Earth and the Moon. Almost anyone who reads SF these days would snort and say “You can’t do that!” In Lucifer’s Hammer, I wondered where the PCs were until I noticed that it was written in the late 70s.
So…good, lasting science fiction has to depend on the interaction of people and events. Heinlein remarked on it in the Rolling Stones, when Roger Stone talked about stealing themes from Shakespeare and strapping rockets on them.
Bob, near Mark on 06 Jun 2012 at 6:33 pm #
Re the comments on digital storage media: Every time I get a new computer, I buy two of whatever format the newer external drives come in. I then back up every data file from the old computer to the new one and to the two external drives. And I back up every day. Once you get the initial backups on the new drives completed, it takes no time at all to do daily backups.
Bob, near Mark on 06 Jun 2012 at 6:36 pm #
That last post reminded me of an old (well 10 or 15 years old, anyway) joke about a word processing contest between Jesus and the Devil. They sped through their required tasks with the Devil slightly ahead. Just before the Devil completed his work, there was a power outage and all of his work was lost. The power came back on, and Jesus finished the contest and won. The moral of the story is “Jesus saves!”
James Pollock on 06 Jun 2012 at 6:56 pm #
“I remember a story from the 30s or 40s…might have be Doc Smith…wherein he parked a fleet of ships between the Earth and the Moon. Almost anyone who reads SF these days would snort and say “You can’t do that!””
Then some smart-aleck would point to the Lagrange-1 point of orbital stability, which have been known since the 18th century. If you’re thinking “but parking there would block traffic!”, the answer is no, it wouldn’t because of parabolic orbits (similar to the way an airplane flying from Los Angeles to Miami doesn’t fly over Texas unless it has a stop there).
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 06 Jun 2012 at 7:34 pm #
Bob, Near Mark:
My favorite Jesus Saves incident was a car that had a Jesus Saves bumber sticker…with another that said Esposito scores on the rebound.
For those of you who do not know Esposito, he was a hockey player that played for the New York Rangers.
jp on 06 Jun 2012 at 7:43 pm #
@HC:
I believe the original quote (in English) is from Mark Twain:
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand
to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was
astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
jp on 06 Jun 2012 at 7:51 pm #
@Steve from Royal Oak:
> For those of you who do not know Esposito, he was a hockey player that played for the New York Rangers.
*Ahem* Phil Esposito played for the Boston Bruins when the “Jesus Saves” bumper stickers first showed up.
New York Rangers? As if…
-jp
jp on 06 Jun 2012 at 7:55 pm #
Re: Colorization
I never saw a purple cat.
I never hope to see one.
But I can tell you anyhow
I’d rather see than be one.
-jp
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 06 Jun 2012 at 8:24 pm #
jp:
I have NO idea how I typed Rangers in my post. I can see Phil in his Bruin jersey. Leave it to the end of a very hectic, long day.
sideburns on 06 Jun 2012 at 9:08 pm #
Phil, Jerry Pournelle often mentions on his site that he’s been busy because Larry Niven came over so they could do some plotting on their next collaboration. I’d love to know what they’re working on, but it just wouldn’t feel right to ask Jerry. Like the rest of us, I’ll find out when it gets published.
Mindy on 06 Jun 2012 at 9:51 pm #
I thought Phil Esposito was a jockey?
Having just seen John’s “cusp” comment about a possible “triangle,” and how they “really cause problems, y’know,” would someone remind me to ask him just “how” he knows? Specifically, if it’s knowledge painfully won through personal experience…three o’clock in the morning seems the perfect time to wake him and ask, no?
Mark in TTown on 06 Jun 2012 at 10:41 pm #
L. Sprague DeCamp, H. Beam Piper, James Schmitz, Keith Laumer, Manly Wade Wellman, Ron Goulart.
More recently: David Weber, John Ringo, Tom Kratman, Charles Stross, Simon Green, David Butcher, David Drake, Anne McCaffrey, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Hey, some are “fantasy” authors but it’s my list and I like them all. Maybe not everything they are writing, but enough to make it worth my while to look for them.
HC on 07 Jun 2012 at 2:33 am #
@jp : thank you !
Sam O'Vartea on 07 Jun 2012 at 6:50 am #
Speaking of coloring, in the June 7 strip they have lovingly rendered both the sail and the ground behind it in beautiful sky blue.
Burns on 07 Jun 2012 at 9:25 am #
Thanks for the comments about the Boston Globe color. I remember being away (with paper stopped) and coming back and finding things changed around. That may be when the explained the color weirdness.
Dennis Ewing on 07 Jun 2012 at 11:08 am #
You have to put Terry Pratchett on the list even though it is fantasy. And do yourself a favor, I just found the Tales of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro. Well written fun stuff.
Lost in A**2 on 07 Jun 2012 at 6:47 pm #
The sails aren’t raised. So that is sky we are seeing above the booms.
I recently read Drake’s multi-volume “The Complete Hammer’s Slammers” collection. I remember reading the first one in an SF magazine way back when. Always did want more.
I will add Dave Duncan and Stephen Brust to the list, too.
Mark in Boston on 07 Jun 2012 at 8:08 pm #
I can’t help but improve the Purple Cow parody just a little bit:
I never saw a purple cat.
I never hope to see one.
But let me tell you about that:
I’d rather see than be one.