A Funny Kind of Nostalgia

by David Shamah The Jerusalem Post, Friday, September 2, 2005

We love our current digs, as you hopefully do, but there are some things about the old country we still can't get over... like the quintessential Sunday morning experience of flavored coffee, bagels and lox... and the comics.

Okay, now you know. I used to read the News, not the Times (unless I was looking for a job or a house). But this has nothing to do with anti-intellectual snobbery. In a world gone crazy, you always knew that Blondie would figure out a way to pull one over on Dagwood, and that Andy Capp would have a witticism reflecting the wisdom of the ages.

The truth is, comics are more popular than ever, if numbers are any indication. The old, popular comics live on, while new artists come out with new strips on a regular basis. It's gotten so that some American Sunday newspapers come not only with their normal, 24 page color spread comics section – they also have a comics supplement for all the extra strips that don't fit!

Yes, of course they're a waste of time – but comics can be a very therapeutic way of dealing with the horrors chronicled by the news and opinion parts of the paper. Our own Post editors wisely understand this and include a full color comics page on Sundays, so if you're reading the paper only on Fridays, you're missing out on one of the things you need to stay sane in this country!

But some of us want more – lots more – and with the Internet, we can get some satisfaction for our comic ones. The most elegant comic downloader I've come across is called ComiX, available at (http://gravityfx.org/index. Click on the Projects link; for all Windows systems). From the pull down menu you select one of several dozen comics, and they magically appear in the program's window, putting you on a roll of non-stop chuckles. Unfortunately, though, the program is still in beta, and the author has not yet gotten all the necessary links on the menu yet (although he says they're on the way) – so any popular comic that starts with a letter of the alphabet beyond G is not yet available (which includes my personal favorite, Herman). There are plenty of other popular comics, though, and the price – free – certainly is right. Another free Windows comic downloader is simply called Comics (http://www.evan.org/Software/Comics.html; for all Windows systems), which lets you select hundreds of strips and assembles them into a single Web page for you.

Of course, you could avoid downloads altogether and just check out the mother lode of comics at http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics, the Web site of United Media (formerly United Features Syndicate, a name that should be familiar to comic lovers), which updates daily all the strips in its syndicate. You can also view back comics (going back for the last 30 days), view editorial cartoons, and, of course, buy comicky gifts like coffee mugs and t-shirts.

Laughing all the Way to the Bank

After a century and a half of free public education in the Western world, comics are more popular than ever before. Ironic? Maybe, but the worse education seems to get, the more popular comics are – and with the way funding for schools is being cut, comics are sure to remain a growth industry. Why not cash in?

It can't be that hard, based on some of the strips you'll view in the above programs and sites. All you need is a lame sense of humor and, of course, the ability to draw. And while that sense of humor can only be built up after years spent listening to Catskill comedians, the drawing part is a lot easier than you think. The Web has all sorts of guide and courses that will make you into a first class caricaturist, cartoonist and all around funny sketch artist. Of course, you could always buy a book or enroll in an art class (and if you're serious about drawing it might pay to do so), but you can learn some basic and even advanced techniques on the Web for free! A good site with useful links to free lessons is http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/cartooning.htm, a page called Cartooning for Kids, but useful for anybody interested. When you've gone through those links try http://members.ozemail.com.au/~denyss/lesson.htm and http://webhome.idirect.com/~cec/pics.htm.

But if you really want to make money you should consider Anime (also known as Manga) drawing – those funny looking figures in Japanese cartoons (like Pokemon and Dragonballz) that are all the rage. Anime is so popular that Yes has a channel dedicated to it! Some good sites to learn how to draw in this style are at http://www.bakaneko.com/howto, http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/tutorial.html, and http://members.tripod.com/~incomming. Of course these lessons can be applied to “regular” cartoon drawing as well – or even, believe it or not, “traditional” art (who said we ain't got no culture here?). For professional level Manga drawing guidance, check out Comicworks, a program used by Japanese anime artists. You can get a free trial of this real interesting program, which lets you easily create sophisticated compositions, at http://www.deleter.jp/eng/cw_english.

Putting it on Paper – or on Screen

Artists traditionally create on paper, but there's lots to be said for drawing on the computer monitor – after all, you can always print out your creation later. One complaint computer artists have, though, is that the traditional artistic tools don't translate well into computer format. True, drawing programs like Illustrator and photo/art editing applications like Photoshop have a full set of art-type tools, like knives and paintbrushes and buckets, but working with a mouse is obviously no substitute for having actual tools and actual paint or color in your hand. Of course, you also don't have to do a lot of hand washing, so you avoid the condition known as “prune hand,” but as far as many artists are concerned, that's a risk they're willing to take.

However, many have discovered that with a tablet and stylus – like the ones made by Wacom (http://www.wacom.com) – they can have their computer cake and eat it too. With a tablet, you get to feel the pressure on the page you want to apply, instead of just imagining it on the screen. The harder you press, the thicker the line and the darker the stroke, depending on the on-screen tool you're using. Some let you work cordlessly, and some have very large drawing surfaces – almost as large as the 17 or 19 inch screen you're using, to let you create just like you would on a piece of paper. Israeli price finder Zap (http://zap.co.il) lists tablets ranging from NIS 200 to in the thousands, with prices differences based on size and manufacturer (the one made by Wacom are the best and the most expensive). I'm sure “real” artists will disagree, but if you check out the digital art work at http://www.gfxartist.com – all made on a computer, mostly with the same programs you are already familiar with, with the addition of a Wacom-type tablet and stylus, I'll bet you can't tell the computer art from the “real” art – and you might just begin having visions of your name and creations in the Sunday comics section!

Ds@newzgeek.com