Comments on: Kiskaloo by Chris Sanders

By: John Paul Cassidy

John Paul Cassidy — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:47:35 +0000

As a struggling cartoonist, I must say, no visual storytelling medium is more personal than comics. When one person both writes and draws, they are creating something creatively personal, moreso than movies or TV, where you get so much compromise. (Since I’m also an aspiring filmmaker, I should know this, also!) The reader has total imagination when reading a comic, picturing his own voices, sounds and music in his head.

Matt Sullivan makes a good point, though. There are tons of personal creative works out there, but *how many are any good?* Like comics in general, even webcomics cannot escape from Sturgeon’s Law: 90% of everything is crud.

And furthermore, how many artists, besides Chris Sanders, have their own vision, their own universes, and their own characters they wanted to express? In many free art forums, we see more adolescent “anime/manga” ripoffs (usually from the “Hot Topic” crowd), as well as “mature” versions of popular cartoon characters. (Kind of like why FAMILY GUY is so successful.) And many good original works fall on deaf ears. (I’ve been largely ignored as well, but my case is understandable, because my own labor of love is still a WIP. So I may have my chance in the spotlight later.)

As for KISKALOO, there definitely IS a Watterson vibe! But Chris Sanders is inspired by the best, and it’s a very beautiful strip. As Jack Kirby, IIRC, once said, “one artist is another artist’s school.”

By: Conner

Conner — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:47:37 +0000

No, it was Sally. She said she felt like an advertisement for mens shirts:

http://boingboing.net/images/securityisaneyepatch.gif

http://www.ciadvertising.org/SA/fall_02/adv382j/dnathan/Project2/sitehtml_files/image021.jpg

http://www.iconocast.com/img/Hathaway3.jpg

By: Larry Levine

Larry Levine — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:12:29 +0000

“The comment section has allowed me to have instant feedback from my readers so that I know what works and what doesnâ€™t. I can fine tune the strip in front of a small audience so that when I try to take it to the big leagues, Iâ€™ll be confident in the material.”

Exactly! When I my strip began running online two years ago, it was mainly about Dewey vs his sister’s cat. Li’l Lynne was a minor character who appeared once or twice a week. One week I made her the focus of this Sunday page:

http://awprunes.blogspot.com/2007/02/raw-deal.html

After posting this, I received very positive reader response & requests to use her more often. Two syndicated cartoonists told me the heart of the strip is Dewey & Li’l Lynne’s friendship and to focus more on them & less on the cat. The internet connects the strip with an incredible audience whose feedback really helps us web cartoonists.

By: Larry Levine

Larry Levine — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:15:17 +0000

“Wasnâ€™t it Linus with the eyepatch?”

It was definitely Sally who wore the eyepatch, she noted feeling like a pirate. Linus wore glasses for a brief period in the 60s.

By: Christian

Christian — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:45:20 +0000

“To say nothing of the design bearing a strong resemblance to Schulz’ Sally Brown during her ‘eyepatch’ storyline in the mid 60’s.”

Wasn’t it Linus with the eyepatch?

By: Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:41:07 +0000

That’s actually the reason i never felt compelled to start a webcomic. People would always refer me to “a really cool webcomic” and all were lousy. I know there are cool ones out there…just…don’t know where to find them.

By: John Sanford

John Sanford — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:29:49 +0000

Oh, and my webcomic is :
http://chippyandloopus.typepad.com/

By: John Sanford

John Sanford — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:42:47 +0000

I agree with Larry. I’ve done my webcomic for 2 years, publishing it through my blog. Doing my comic this way has given my absolute freedom to do whatever I want with no censorship, and allowed me to develop a style and a cast of characters. The comment section has allowed me to have instant feedback from my readers so that I know what works and what doesn’t. I can fine tune the strip in front of a small audience so that when I try to take it to the big leagues, I’ll be confident in the material.