Month: February 2013

Here’s a compositional secret. It’s so obvious and simple, you’ll say to yourself, “This man is bullshitting me.” I am not. This is one of the most fundamental things in all theatrical movie composition and yet magicians know nothing of it. Ready?

Surprise me.

That’s it. Place 2 and 2 right in front of my nose, but make me think I’m seeing 5. Then reveal the truth, 4!, and surprise me.

Now, don’t underestimate me, like the rest of the magicians of the world. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that I’ve never seen a set of linking rings before and I’ll be oh-so-stunned because you can “link” them. Bullshit.

Here’s how surprise works. While holding my attention, you withold basic plot information. Feed it to me little by little. Make me try and figure out what’s going on. Tease me in one direction. Throw in a false ending. Then turn it around and flip me over.

via Brian Brushwood – Bizarre Magic: America’s #1 College Magic Show – News (Updated Daily) – 14 years ago: the day Teller gave me the secret to my career in magic..

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/appoint-randall-munroe-xkcd-be-new-secretary-energy-less-straw-men-more-stick-figures/DKGRQ0qh?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl

The White House has a petition to appoint Randall Munroe, creator of xkcd, to be the new Secretary of Energy. The petition explains that Randall Munroe has displayed the ability to explain complex topics in a wry, easily digestible fashion to millions of people 3 days/week in his web comic. As Secretary of Energy, he will be able to have an even larger platform for this purpose, and probably more importantly, the ear of the President of the United States.

Better hurry, though– the petition ends March 3 and he needs 99,000 more signatures.

Seen originally on

http://badassdigest.com/2013/02/26/marvel-comics-writer-explains-whos-to-blame-for-lack-of-female-superheroes/

Spoiler: it’s you. And the publishers, because they don’t make it easy for new readers.

Seen originally on

Yes, it’s that time of year again, where we take the best webcomics and put them head to head to highlight the incredible diversity of work out in the comics world, to raise money for various comics charities, and to have fun while doing it– time for the Mix March Madness Webcomics Tournament!

As usual, we always think we’ve gotten a good list together of webcomics– our directory lists three hundred webcomics right now which are going to the seeding round– but we always seem to miss a few newcomers, or strips that have just fallen under our radar for whatever reason. So we’re asking you: what strips have we missed? Just add them in comments below with links to the site.

Our criteria for including them in the contest are pretty simple and broad:

• They have to be currently in production, by which we mean “has come out with at least one new installment since the new year”. Surprisingly, this knocks out a lot of comics.
• No paywalls. You gotta be able to read it to compare and contrast.
• No adult webcomics. We do May Mayhem for the R and X rated comics, this is for family safe material.

Get your nominations in quick, we’re closing the window at midnight Pacific Time on Thursday night and starting the seeding voting on Friday. And please, share this post far and wide so we don’t miss anyone!

Seen originally on

Seen originally on

http://www.tcj.com/campbells-rules-of-comprehension/

Reading comprehension for comics, using Bryan Talbot and Bernard Krigstein as examples. From The Comics Journal.

Originally published on ComicMix as Eddie Campbell’s Rules of Comics Comprehension

Seen originally on

http://techland.time.com/2013/02/11/dick-tracys-watch-the-most-indestructible-meme-in-tech-journalism/

The newspaper-comics cop got his smartwatch in 1946. We’re still waiting for ours. Joe Staton, get right on this!

Originally published on ComicMix as Dick Tracy’s Watch: The Most Indestructible Meme in Tech Journalism

Seen originally on

Ball State University offers “Gender Through Comics: A Super MOOC”, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Spring that examines how comic books can be used to explore questions of gender identity, stereotypes, and roles.:

Originally published on ComicMix as Gender Through Comic Books | Canvas Network

Seen originally on

Catholic priest Humberto Alvarez from the village of Ojo de Agua in Saltillo, Mexico, wanted to reach the children of the community, and found a unique way to do so– by wearing tunics with pictures of Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man on them.

In an interview for the magazine “Zocalo” in Saltillo, the pastor told he made ​​the decision during a Mass at the Cathedral of Santiago in 2012. His decision was supported by the Bishop, but not by many faithful who decided to retire because they did not accept comic characters on a sacred site. This has not overshadowed his success.

His outfit comes complete with a water pistol filled with holy water, with which he shoots “jet blessings” to the faithful children.

While religious comics have been around for a long time for a variety of denominations, this is a new one on us.

The original article is at La Informacion , which has more photos of his outfits. We, of course, will be patiently waiting for DC and Marvel to send cease-and-desist letters.

Originally published on ComicMix as Superheroes in your Sunday services?

Seen originally on

Originally published on ComicMix as Happy Valentine’s Day!

Seen originally on