Guest Contributor
From Layouts to the Final Page: Eryk Donovan’s Art Process for ‘Cognetic’
Cognetic is the latest mind-bending sci-fi comic from the Memetic creative team of James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan, this time centering on the return to earth of a psychic hivemind with the power to control a huge swath of the world's population. It falls to one FBI employee to try to save civilization from... well, maybe from what it only thinks is itself?
Courtey of publisher Boom Studios, we've been given an exclusive look at Eryk Donovan's art process for the book, following him from initial layouts to final pages, with colors by Juan Manuel Tumburus. It's a fascinating insight into a process that fans don't often get to see. Check it out below.
Ba and Moon on the Making of ‘Two Brothers’, Part III: Drawing Manaus
Set in the vibrant port city of Manaus, Brazil, Two Brothers by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá is an intense tale of blood ties, love, loss, and estrangement, adapted from the novel Dois irmãos by Milton Hatoum. In anticipation of the book’s release this week, the brothers have shared with us an exclusive three-part look at the making of Two Brothers. In part one, they explained what drew them to the book. In part two, they talked about adapting the novel into a comics script. In part three, they discuss bringing the city of Manaus to life on the page.
Ba and Moon on the Making of ‘Two Brothers’, Part II: The Story of a Script
Set in the vibrant port city of Manaus, Brazil, Two Brothers by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá is an intense tale of blood ties, love, loss, and estrangement, adapted from the novel Dois irmãos by Milton Hatoum. In anticipation of the book’s release this week, the brothers have shared with us an exclusive three-part look at the making of Two Brothers. In part one, they explained what drew them to the book. In part two, they talk about adapting the novel into a comics script.
Ba and Moon on the Making of ‘Two Brothers’, Part I: Introduction
Set in the vibrant port city of Manaus, Brazil, Two Brothers by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, is an adaptation of the novel Dois irmãos by Milton Hatoum, telling the story of brothers Yaqub and Omar on the occasion of one brother's return home, five years after being sent away because of a violent encounter with the other brother.
It's an intense tale of blood ties, love, loss, and estrangement, brought brilliantly to life by real life brothers and master artists Moon and Bá. In anticipation of the book's release this week, the brothers have shared with us an exclusive three-part look at the making of Two Brothers, starting with an examination of why they chose to adapt this work.
Writer’s Commentary: Cavan Scott on ‘Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor’ Issue #3
With the fourth issue of Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor arriving in stores today, writer Cavan Scott continues his commentary on the five issue mini series with his notes on issue #3, exclusive to ComicsAlliance. Last time we met Glom the space octopus, visited the Temporal Bazaar with Captain Jack, and left the Doctor at the mercy of the Lect. Grab your copy of Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #3 and read along as the story continues!
Smart Reads: Gene Luen Yang Picks the Best Graphic Novels About Math & Science
With their new book, Secret Coders, writer Gene Luen Yang and illustrator Mike Holmes set out to do something many of us might consider near-impossible; turn the head-scratching world of computer coding into an adventure tale fit for a middle-grade audience. Yet by combining a mystery story with a series of compelling logic puzzles, the authors have actually succeeded in creating the sort of book that could inspire the next generation of computer geniuses.
And it turns out using comics to inspire young scientists and mathematicians is not at all impossible. Gene Luen Yang provided us with five more examples of excellent educational comics that turn potentially daunting topics into engaging comic book tales. Check them out below.
Anatomy of a Cover: Archaia’s ‘Americatown’ #1 by Mike Choi
Have you ever wondered how an artist settles on the right image to place on the cover of a comic? Which elements to include, what's important, and how to show it?
Americatown is a new Archaia series from The Americans screenwriter Bradford Winters, Borgias screenwriter Larry Cohen, and newcomer artist Daniel Irizarri, which tells the story of Americans fleeing a collapsed economy to build new lives in a Buenos Aires slum. It's a story about family, politics, and poverty, and the challenge of devising a single image to capture the mood and intent of that tale fell on cover artist Mike Choi. In this feature, Choi reveals his process in putting that cover together.
‘Wayward’ and the Weird Mythology of Japan
Jim Zub and Steve Cummings' Image series Wayward offers readers a fantastical tour of the imagined supernatural underworld of Tokyo, with a cast of young heroes all touched in different ways by mystical forces. It's a fantastically entertaining series that's rooted in the real mythology of Japan, thanks in part to the research of expert monster scholar Zack Davisson, who also provides back-up essays in every issue of Wayward that shed light on Japanese culture and superstitions.
Davisson has been kind enough to share with ComicsAlliance a series of slides detailing the mythological roots of Wayward's many monsters, describing where the monsters come from and showing how they've appeared in both traditional art and in the pages of Wayward. We'll let Davisson explain further, in his own words:
Writer’s Commentary: Cavan Scott on ‘Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor’ Issue #2
When Doctor Who made its triumphant return to television screens in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston in the role of the ninth Doctor, no-one could have guaranteed that the show would still be a hit ten years later. Yet Doctor Who endures, and with it comes the comic book spin-offs from Titan Comics that explore and expand the stories of the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Doctors.
Cavan Scott continues his writer’s commentary for the five issue Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor mini series with his notes on issue #2, exclusive to ComicsAlliance. Last month we met some stylish new alien races and left Rose Tyler in calamitous peril (oh, Rose). Grab your copy of Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #2 and read along as the story continues!
Fantastic Reads: The Creators of ‘The Divine’ Present their Fantasy Reading List
Artists Asaf Hanuka and Tomer Hanuka and writer Boaz Lavie have produced a stunning work of fantasy in their new book The Divine, which follows the story of a US military contractor who goes to a war-torn South East Asian country to exploit its resources, and learns that ancient gods, mystic warriors, and even a dragon have taken to the battlefield. It's a visually sumptuous work, run through with darkness and wonder.
To mark the book's upcoming release, we asked the authors to come up with a reading list of other works that they would recommend, covering similar themes of magical realism, engrossing fantasy, and wondrous horror. These books may have influenced or inspired the creators of The Divine, or they may just be excellent company for it on your bookshelf.