Thursday 29 December 2011

A poor worker blames his tools

A poor worker blames his tools


Is what “he who hunts alone” appears to be doing in the next completed page of 2001:-





As he observes that “this club has failed me”


But wait a minute here – previously “he who hunts alone” had just taken down a Proclameus (a neo-camel) and then “the others” wanted to join in for the kill - rather than do that and have everyone benefit (the whole point in hunting in a tribe, which “he who hunts alone” most assuredly does not) he chose to beat off “the others” with fist and club


So losing the kill is a consequence of this, right – not due to any lack of tool – “he who hunts alone” a victim of his own bullying and prejudice --- or?


Let’s reserve judgement for now and see how that works out as the story goes on


So the thing to focus on this time is how “he who hunts alone” makes 2 very good observations – 


1) if he had killed or injured the Proclameus seriously enough with his first strike he wouldn’t still be hungry right now and 


2) that a long sharp tooth would be a great killing tool as he has seen a saber tooth tiger use one very successfully


Both of those indicate developing  intelligence in the battle for survival and indicates that “he who hunts alone” has a positive future


But we have to hold in our minds that for reasons still not yet disclosed that only “he who hunts alone” is the recipient of the monoliths influence and thus the development shown does not apply to “the others” and there is the whole question as to why that would be particularly – even more so given that hunting in a group succeeds in a higher kill rate


There is also a slight but telling development in “he who hunts alone” wanting to ask the monolith for a sharp tooth, there is a degree of dependency here – he already knows where he can get a tooth so why does he even need to ask?


Meanwhile “the others” drag themselves off the ground and determine that they need to visit the Monolith, perceiving both it and “he who hunts alone” as a threat to their survival and who can blame them giving the beating they have just been given


It’s an interspecies evolutional race to survival and in a Darwinian world only the fastest and strongest survive – right?


I mean hopefully we all have heard the one about “What did the last Neanderthal say to the first Cro-Magnon”


Well that’s another question that the next few pages will hopefully answer


But we will see…


New Years Resolutions
It has been a very good year for Images Degrading Forever at least from my point of view. I am still constantly surprised that people visit the blog and actually read it!


Hopefully I have developed somewhat over the last 12 months both in terms of trying to draw and trying to write, but as ever I will leave that for you readers to decide (and comment or email me on)


One thing is certain I am actually willing to look and plan ahead, which is one thing I normally do not like doing, so I must have a reached a certain comfort level to do this


With that in mind I think I will base the Images Degrading resolutions on things I hope to achieve as that basically what New years resolutions are all about


I purposely have not provided much detail as I don’t intend on spoiling anything, particularly when it’s still only an outline idea and yes some of these things have already started


IDF Resolutions


The Blog will have at least one thing unique that is not available in any other medium
Anything published (Like the “fanzine” Images Degrading Forever Weekly) will also have at least one thing unique that is not available in any other medium

I will try and publish one thing and only one thing a month and spend that month focused on let you all know about that one thing

I will try and keep a free “fanzine” (Like Images Degrading Forever Weekly) going for as long as demand continues

I will attend more comics based events and give away as many free fanzines as I can manage to get more readers

I will try and encourage more feedback – I will try and giveaway some items to anyone contributing

I will try and generate more material both drawings and text items

I will try and do some more “concept” based drawings


Images Degrading Forever Weekly
We are up to issue 15 of the Frank Miller / Klaus Janson Daredevil run in which i contemplate the differences / similarities between The Kingpin and the TV show The Apprentice. 


IDFW as ever is a FREE digital publication, just send me a email and I will send you a copy every week


Next week
January is Images Degrading Forever Collected Edition Volume 1 month – join me then !

Thursday 22 December 2011

Can we join your club?

Is a question on the minds of “The Others” in this next completed page of Jack Kirby’s 2001




Picking up from last week “He who hunts alone” has managed to bring down a Procamleus (A proto Camel) ready for the kill by pouncing from tree height and grabbing onto the distant relative of Joe for dear life


At which point “the others” join in clearly stating their own hunger and demanding their own slice of Camel


And the response is rather telling and deserving of some thought and analysis as “he who hunts alone” unleashes a awesome rage and attack on the others with all the focus suddenly shifted to brutalising the others from the scene, yelling “begone” before ramping up to a blood curdling scream ploughing into them with fist and club all the while


It’s an interesting sequence in the art – pretty close to a Kirbyesque super hero fight in the posing and arrangement of the figures


But man’s savagery is well known right? People still disdain other types of people even to this day, so what is different or unique here that can’t be explained by it being more savage as a result of when it is happening?


It’s the Monolith that is the fly in the ointment as ever, the inferences being that “he who hunts alone”'s behaviour is unique (as the others are clearly a group or tribe and hunt together) and that is at least in part down to the Monolith as “he who hunts alone” is the only one who has had the monoliths influences in this story.


I have to wonder if at least in part this is Kirby saying that he believes that a lot of man’s savagery or most specifically the need to kill came as a result of the monoliths influence in the movie


If we look at this part of kirbys movie adaption this does indeed get reinforced as Kirby suggests the apes was just making noise at each other pre monolith just to “satisfy honour” but post monolith it was kill or be killed


Which is not what the movie actually shows at all- which is understandable as the 2001 movie is entirely down to individual perceptions as to what it meant or was saying


Neither however does it actually have much baring on reality which is less understandable


Man is an animal and all animals have the instinct for survival and the need to kill for food to survive, what the movie showed was that without the tools necessary man would not progress to be a force enough to not only survive but reckoned with and the monolith provided the idea to use tools


What happens in the comics seems to suggest in both cases is that man was a lot more passive until the monolith came along, an entirely different and a more than somewhat romanticised ideal, which could actually almost be enough to distance the reader from accepting these characters as being that real


This is brought into sharp relief by isolating just one individual as opposed to an entire race for the following stage of monolith lead evolution shown in this issue which appears to be brutality against his fellows – what reason could there be for that?


And will “he who hunts alone” get any food having distracted himself in a battle with the others?


Find out as we progress next week


Comix Changed my Life


If you have been following this blog for the last few weeks you will already know that Last Saturday I attended a comic event, so I thought I would share some of the experience I had


Firstly though let’s be clear, at the moment I only mostly publish a weekly fanzine (Images Degrading Forever) which is a free giveaway.  The print edition is only normally available in just one shop and I normally manage to shift at least 15 -20 of the batch of 20 I get copied, so it’s still very early days in terms of people even knowing that I do anything


This event also marked the first occasion I attempted to sell anything. I deliberately kept the number of items small (just 2 of each thing) but I did try and include a reasonable variety of what it looked like by the blog stats would possibly be popular


Apart from on this blog there was no other form of advertising or promotion for what I was doing, which was intentional to a degree.


The event itself was really fun and there was a good range of all kinds of things and different styles of comics on offer and at least I thought it was a very well attended event


It kicked off very positively with myself staring off hand lettering a sign which was joined in with 3 other creators who arrived a bit later Kathryn Newman, (http://www.kathryn-newman.co.uk/) her companion (who's name i didn't get - sorry!) and Justine who all added their unique touches and doodles to my crude attempt at lettering


This is the finished result





After that I set up my table which was admittedly possibly a bit cluttered initially but after a rethink this is how my table looked





I had a number of interesting conversations with people visiting and some of the creators themselves (Some of these conversations will  be appearing in print later on)


I was lucky enough to sit next to Joe Decie – the creator of the excellent “the accidental salad” who was willing to indulge some of my more unusual (and probably annoying) strands of conversation


http://www.joedecie.com/


But for the most part it was almost nonstop myself offering 2 free consecutive issues of IDFW (issues 12 and 13) to anyone walking by.  I managed to shift all 40 copies of each issue that I had set aside, plus whatever few remainders I had left from previous issues, which I was very happy about


So I am hoping that out of those 40 + people, maybe I have picked up a few new readers, if so please I would love to hear from you, just email me or post a comment to the blog


I managed to shift 1 copy of Doubtland which I did as a trade with the guy responsible / representing Monster Emporium Press (http://www.monsteremporiumpress.co.uk)  who gave me a number of interesting titles in exchange, but I didn’t actually sell anything


A few people picked up both the Images Degrading Forever Collected Edition or Doubtland and had a read through or a flick. 


Doubtland seemed to draw the most questions as to what it was exactly – most people didn’t seem to know that Steranko had even done the original to start off with but none of this lead to an actual sale unless you count the 1 copy trade I did.


I left very happy that there was a chance at least I had picked up some new readers, as that exactly what I need to be doing right now.


What I am doing is not necessarily that immediately accessible, it is a reasonably simple premise but trying to define what about it is compelling for someone else to actually read or be interested in is difficult


This is yet another reason why I would like feedback as is people prefer something particular than I can adapt or adjust what I am doing as I see fit


At the moment I suppose I see myself as a very new alt-rock / punk band who has just done their first gig, in order to gain momentum I feel I have to do the a number of similar events to get myself out there and get more readers


I am hoping that at least what I am producing is of a good enough quality to be something people will like


So moving forwards I guess I will try and do a tour of sorts of any similar events – especially ones that are fanzine based in the new year


The Virtual show


Also I decided to try and sell a few items on ebay to see how well that would work


Well Christmas came early for me!


As all the auctions have now finished and i have 7 items sold


There was a number of last minute bids on a number of items,


I have sold:-


Jim Steranko IDF redrawn original "Sha-Ka-Ree" 1 of 2


Jim Steranko IDF redrawn original "Sha-Ka-Ree" 2 of 2


IDF original "Matt? Is something wrong?" Print 1 of 2


David Lloyd IDF redrawn "Night Raven" Print 1 of 2


David Lloyd IDF redrawn "Night Raven" Print 2 of 2


Steranko redrawn "Doubtland" First Print Issue 1 -1 of 2


Steranko redrawn "Doubtland" First Print Issue 1 -2 of 2


So I think considering everything I have been extremely lucky! A big thank you to anyone who bid on any of these items, I hope you like them!


Images Degrading Forever Weekly
In issue 14 We find out the connection between Paul McCartney and a lead pipe - and my mini essay on "The Beauty of Handwriting" concludes


Do not forget this is FREE to anyone - just send me a email to robin.barnard@ymail.com and I will send you a digital copy every week!


That's it for this week - have a great holiday season

Thursday 15 December 2011

He who doth Procamelus / IDF “for sale”

That is what “The one who hunts alone” does in this next completed page of Jack Kirby's 2001:-


But wait a moment lets do a “Wakipedia” test -


“Procamelus is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore the family Camelidae, endemic to North America from the Oligocene through Miocene 20.6—4.9 mya, existing for approximately 15.7 million years”


So I suppose Promacmelus at least lived in North America, that’s got to count for something?


It would obviously be a quite a few years before his distant ancestors would turn out to be the misappropriated idol of “cool” for teenagers in the form of Joe Camel... and some how get all the way over to egypt...


But before you all accuse me of “blowing smoke”, let’s go back to the start of the page - over half of which is devoted to “he who hunts alone’s” ruminations about “The Others” (several million years before “Lost”!)


“He who hunts alone” is on the look out for “the others” to be sure they are not around as they consider him to be “in union with a evil spirt that lives in stone” while “he who hunts alone” hates “the others” as they “can not hear it’s (the monolith’s) voice”


This is important to consider here, as we have one lone person set aside an outsider, who thinks and acts different due to the Monolith, but we the reader already know he is not the first person to meet the Monolith and previously (in the 2001 movie adaptation) the Monolith inspired a whole tribe of man-apes to use tools


Are we going to see any reasoning for this change in the monoliths actions as the comic goes on?


Picking his moment very carefully “He who hunt’s alone” jumps down from his perch onto the nearest neo camel who makes a run for it taking “He who hunt’s alone” for the ride


I will pause here a moment to have a closer look at the face in the first panel and admire the work of Jack Kirby and Mike Royer here.  Here we have a neo man, ragged rough with the protruding eyebrow, muscular and dangerous, yet at the same time clearly able to contemplate his situation and think deeper, a combination of thought and barely held back savage are combined into his expression as “he who hunts alone” disdains “the others”.


I liked this so much I have taken my redrawn version of this into this piece which I have recently made as a desktop background, maybe you will like this as well?






It all just came together so well in my view it kind of bordered on surreal, there are three words used to describe and now finally three drawings from three different projects to cover each word


But enough of that! Will “he who hunts alone” end up chowing down on Camel?


Find out - Next week


Comics changed my life




It is now just a few days until Saturday 17th December where I will be taking my first turn behind the table at a comics event since this blog started!


For those who can make it 2 copies of all the following will be on sale plus there will be free print copies of issues 12 and 13 of Images Degrading Forever and you can also unfortunately see me in person


For all of you who will not be able to make it on the day I am offering all the following items for sale via eBay (links follow each item) all items will be starting from just £1 and all proceeds will go 100% to Macmillan.


I will be trying to twitter events  as the day goes along - so follow me  @imagesdegrading on Saturday 17th December to get the “full SP”


Items for sale


A very limited edition print run 2 copies of IDFW Collected Volume 1 this will contain issues 1 -12 of Images Degrading Weekly, the first half of the Frank Miller / Klaus Jason run these will be signed and numbered.


1 of 2






http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700776343#ht_560wt_1118


2 of 2






http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700778002 


2 x hand drawn “Sha-ka-ree” (from “Doubtland”) based on Steranko art , these will be signed, numbered and will be personalized with purchasers choice of dialogue in the speech balloon


1 of 2








http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700772494


2 of 2






http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700774253 


2 x hand drawn “Daredevil” based on Janson / Miller art, these will be signed, numbered and will be personalized with purchasers choice of dialogue in the thought balloon


1 of 2




http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700766707#ht_560wt_1118 


2 of 2






http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700769244 


A very limited edition print run 2 copies of issue one of “Doubtland” my redrawn and “reimagined” variation of Steranko’s Outland these will be signed and numbered - each copy of this will come with a free hand drawn “Sha-ka-ree” as above.


1 of 2






http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700790620#ht_560wt_1118 


2 of 2






http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700791552#ht_727wt_1069


A very limited edition print run 2 copies of “BOOM”, based on Steranko art, degraded by me and then painted by Matt Seneca - these will be signed and numbered






1 of 2


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700784670 


2 of 2


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700785804 


A very limited edition print run 2 copies of “Copyright”, based on David Lloyd art, degraded by me, complete with text story - these will be signed and numbered






1 of 2


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700787205#ht_727wt_1069 


2 of 2


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700787753 




And finally


A very limited edition print run 2 copies of “Matt? Is something wrong?”- these will be signed and numbered




1 of 2


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700781073 


2 of 2


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160700782307 




Images Degrading Forever Weekly


“Please sir can I have some more”?


Yes, absolutely! Hopefully no-one here is bothered by Triskaidekaphobia as issue 13 of Images Degrading Forever weekly features some brand-new material!


Starting this week is a new feature “Thoughts and meditations” - and what will its first subject be?


Well in another kind act on the part of lady serendipity, earlier this week I got asked the question the feature answers from none other than Ryan Cecil Smith, yes this Ryan Cecil Smith who’s SFSF2 was a sell out at the recent Brooklyn event!




Over to Ryan...


“If I could ask one question - you mentioned in your blog that for your Kirby reproduction (I think), you are hand lettering the pages from now on, which is different from your earlier projects. Why?? I think the computer lettering gives a feeling of distance between reader and artist.... which is not bad or good, just a consideration... Of course, many artists think about that topic but it's a different subject when you're acting as a mediator between Kirby and your readers, so how does that work for you?”


Well Ryan and hopefully everyone else  this is a 2 part essay which covers this called "The Beauty of Hand Lettering" in this and next weeks IDFW!!!


This plus the ongoing journey though Janson / Millers DareDevil crosses with the rock group Marillion as we find that “Lavender’s Blue”


IDFW is as always only easily available via FREE digital subscription via robin.barnard@ymail.com - get your copy in now! 


Thats it for next week, keep an eye on my twitter this Saturday!

Thursday 8 December 2011

Hysterical Inaccuracy!

Is an expression you could use to sum up the caption on this next completed page of Jack Kirby’s 2001...




Of course its Historical inaccuracy, but the quoted history is so far out, it’s quite funny (at least in my opinion)


But of course I was far from the only one to spot the rather glaring error - if we take a look at the letter page (“Monolith Mail”) from issue 4 of 2001 we see Gary Sanger was all over this way back in 1976!


Take it away Gary...


Gentlemen:


The Opening of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY in the New Orleans region of the Miocene period is geologically impossible.  The Miocene period - from 25 million to 13 million years ago - occurred long before the emergence of the earliest ancestors of man (circa 4 million years ago).  Therefore, “The one who hunts alone” belongs at least 11 million years later, in the Pleistocene period


So okay Jack was a few million years out, right? That’s not too bad ? Maybe, but then it gets worse... as Gary continues...


In addition, the New Orleans region was formed by the build up of the Mississippi delta.  Thus, there was no mountainous areas in that region at that time.”


Well, maybe the “New” in New Orleans could have been a hint but you know what they say about those who live in glass houses...


Anyways - whomever replied to this letter had this to say


...”it looks like you have got us dead to rights on the Miocene faux pas! We’ll head back to the books and try and keep our pre-history geology straight in the futurei


“a faux pas?”


oh pardon moi!


Why do I feel like quoting parts of the infamous “french taunter” scene from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail?!


Something to do with “your father smelling of elderberries” or some such?





Gee, next I will be asking Siri about the weight of a unladen swallow..


Ah, there’s the hysteria! I knew it was around here someplace...


Anyways slightly farcical history aside there are a number of points which I pick up from last week


Firstly, as you might have seen above the lead (and so far only) character is called “The one who hunts alone” - as alluded to last week there is no character actually called "Beast Killer” - the nomenclature chosen instead though suggests to me native American indian / tribal naming though - a rough analogue for the reality- one could possibly suggest that speech should not be that developed in this character even if he was in the Pleistocene period where he belongs.


But wait a minute who said this story was actually set in reality?  This is a universe that features the Monolith which by implication not only clearly defines this as fantasy but also suggests that the presence of the Monolith could have resulted in a completely different pre history


I don't think there was ever a claim that 2001 the movie was an actually literal retelling of pre history as there is even inaccuracies in the “dawn of man” sequence (such as the use of animals that wouldn't have existed in the same time period)


Maybe Jack Kirby was trying to make it really clear the comic was not a historically accurate story at all but a parallel universe shaped by and molded by the Monolith


So where does that leave the reply to the letter or its printing in the first place, like the very large wooly mammoth in the drawing, its all just a oversized shaggy dog story (sorry couldn't resist that..)


One thing we can take from this page is the definition of the “the one who hunts alone” quest in pursuit of bigger, swifter beasts


Which is where we will pick up next week...

Comics changed my life






It is now just over one week until Saturday 17th December where I will be taking my first turn behind the table at a comics event since this blog started!


As last weeks blog entry was rather long and a bit confusing - here is a quick refresh


For all of you who will not be able to make it on the day I am offering all the following items for sale via eBay starting next Thursday 15th December - all items will be starting from just $1 and all proceeds will go 100% to Macmillan.




A very limited edition print run 2 copies of IDFW Collected Volume 1 this will contain issues 1 -12 of Images Degrading Weekly, the first half of the Frank Miller / Klaus Jason run these will be signed and numbered.


This is what Matt Seneca had to say about this blog:-


"The guy's an incredible blogger too: his process posts are in-depth and absorbing, and the odd little non sequiturs and ideas he throws into almost every sentence he writes stick in the brain like velcro made of thought."





2 x hand drawn “Sha-ka-ree” (from “Doubtland”) based on Steranko art , these will be signed, numbered and will be personalized with purchasers choice of dialogue in the speech balloon




2 x hand drawn “Daredevil” based on Janson / Miller art, these will be signed, numbered and will be personalized with purchasers choice of dialogue in the thought balloon







A very limited edition print run 2 copies of issue one of “Doubtland” my redrawn and “reimagined” variation of Steranko’s Outland these will be signed and numbered (yes this is real it does exist and is completed) - each copy of this will come with a free hand drawn “Sha-ka-ree” as above.

This is what Matt Seneca had to say about the drawings :-

"...the real thrill of Doubtland for me is the bald conceptual straightforwardness of it all, the uncertainty around who the artist of the project really is, the guts that go into planting a flag squarely in the middle of the flawed territory that is this work..."


"seeing him change Outland -- evolve it, even -- like it's melted plastic being poured out of its mold is exciting me more than anything else in comics right now."




A very limited edition print run 2 copies of “BOOM”, based on Steranko art, degraded by me and then painted by Matt Seneca - these will be signed and numbered




A very limited edition print run 2 copies of “Copyright”, based on David Lloyd art, degraded by me, complete with text story - these will be signed and numbered




And finally


A very limited edition print run 2 copies of “Matt? Is something wrong?”- these will be signed and numbered





Items on eBay will be on an open auction for one week and all will start from $1, I will let you all decide how much any of this is worth!


For those who can make it 2 copies of all the above will be on sale at UK prices plus there will be free print copies of issues 12 and 13 of Images Degrading Forever and due you can also unfortunately see me in person, oh well it cant all be sunshine and roses, eh?


There will be more on “comics changed my life” next week for sure!


Images Degrading Forever Weekly


This week we have issue 12 – “Is something wrong“ where Foggy gets some sympathy for Matt Murdock, while I have little sympathy for Marvels work-for-hire policies and the return of the Alex Hunt Interview


It's available via digital subscription, just send me a email to robin.barnard@ymail.com and this is yours absolutely FREE

That is it for this week, join me next week along with a Procamelus!

Thursday 1 December 2011

Beast killer and a beast of a blog post!

Here we go with the splash page from 2001 issue 1 “Beast Killer”:-


Regular readers will notice that I have attempted to hand letter all of the captions and dialogue, in a break with tradition.

I will be continuing this attempt for this entire project, as for why I have chosen to do that – there is more about this below see section “Thoughts and meditations”

But for the moment let’s focus on the art and what it is saying

It is a fantastic establishing shot of the character I guess the issue is in fact named after, even though that name is never used in context

The reason that name is not used in context is the dialogue of the characters themselves has been simplified to reflect the fact that they are somewhere between Stone Age and modern man and there is no word for beast or more importantly a need for a definition for killer. In the age depicted, to kill is purely and absolutely a question of survival, the only way to get food.

Which raises an interesting question which only just occurred to me, in the 2001 movie it’s established the ape-like creatures are trying to eat vegetables, moss / lichen stuff like that but are dying out, post monolith they are slaying boar and eating meat – so maybe it wasn’t just a case of learning to use tools, but also meat which was necessary for survival?

It does look like this is what Jack Kirby picks up on and runs with here in the next few pages –a few 100 thousand years (or so) later we have the next stage, a pre man who is specifically after harder to catch prey.

A pre man would not know that prey that is harder to catch would have richer meat as a result of having more developed muscle which would contain more protein and also as a result of the prey being a fierce killer in its own right, but here we have a character who is doing exactly that

I wonder what people who are vegetarians or similar would think to such conclusions? It would certainly make for a lively discussion, so feel free to comment below or send me a email

But the point is in this story back then all man knew about survival, not about the larger consequences, it would take many years before things like ethics would surface, something Jack Kirby makes very clear in this issue

The other clue that this issue is taking up where the movie left off with an ape using a bone as a club, is that “beast Killer” has a club of his own something much more obvious and pronounced and designed to a degree with its purpose in mind – but how effective is it?

Clearly Beast killer himself makes a significant impression in the drawing and is clearly determined and ready to pounce, a heard of creatures passing just below the tree he is perched on

We can all guess what happens next, right?

Well, let’s see – next week


Comics changed my life



In just over two weeks on Saturday 17th December I will be taking my first turn behind the table at a comics event since this blog started

I was surprised as anyone (possibly more so) that the organiser of this event readily agreed to give me a table and this was before I knew what distinguished company I would be in!

So I will be the odd one out and the table to politely (or otherwise) avoid but I will be there

So it will be a chance for a least people within a reasonable distance of Brighton to see me in person if they should so wish

Being me, I thought well I should at least try and get together something that would be worth having a table for but I felt that interest in what I was doing would be rather limited to say the least!

Interestingly enough I recently had the ever supportive Matt Seneca ask for a collected edition of the print version of Images Degrading Weekly which was a great gesture and good idea– also within days of that I got a request for some back issues.

Also I know by looking at this blog statistics that all of “aside” drawings I have done to date have been very popular

So with that all in mind this is what will be on offer on the day:-

20 FREE print copies of the Latest issue of Images Degrading Weekly (issue 12)

Unlimited FREE digital copies of any issue Images Degrading Weekly / free digital subscriptions

A very limited edition print run 4 copies of IDFW Collected Volume 1 this will contain issues 1 -11 of Images Degrading Weekly, the first half of the Frank Miller / Klaus Jason run these will be signed and numbered



4 x hand drawn “Sha-ka-ree” (from “Doubtland”) based on Steranko art , these will be signed, numbered and will be personalised with purchasers choice of dialogue in the speech balloon



4 x hand drawn “Daredevil” based on Janson / Miller art, these will be signed, numbered and will be personalised with purchasers choice of dialogue in the thought balloon



A very limited edition print run 4 copies of issue one of “Doubtland” my (very badly) redrawn and “reimagined” variation of Steranko’s Outland these will be signed and numbered (yes this is real it does exist and is completed) - each copy of this will come with a free hand drawn “Sha-ka-ree” as above


A very limited edition print run 4 copies of “BOOM”, based on Steranko art, degraded by me and then painted by Matt Seneca - these will be signed and numbered



A very limited edition print run 4 copies of “Copyright”, based on David Lloyd art, degraded by me, complete with text story - these will be signed and numbered



And finally

A very limited edition print run 4 copies of “Matt? Is something wrong?”- these will be signed and numbered



As most of you reading this will be unable to attend in person – I am dividing this lot in half (2 of everything) and offering these items to you online via ebay this will be apart from the print edition of the latest issue of IDFW or the unlimited free digital copies, anyone can get a digital copy of any issue or free subscription already just send me a email to robin.barnard@ymail.com

These items will be on sale this time next week and I will provide more details here at that time.

You may have noticed that most of the items are not free. I have been told that if I don’t place worth on what I am doing, then it will always be worth nothing; well okay let’s give that a try, but to satisfy myself all the proceeds will go 100% to Macmillan

Items on ebay will be on an open auction for one week and all will start from $1, I will let you all decide how much any of this is worth!

There will be more on “comics changed my life” next week and hopefully for a while to come

Images Degrading Forever Weekly

This week we have issue 11 – “Is something wrong“ where I rediscovered the passion in making something creative

It's available via digital subscription, just send me a email to robin.barnard@ymail.com and this (and any other issue) is yours absolutely FREE

Thoughts and meditations 

If you remember i said that there would be some all new material and this would only be appearing in images degrading weekly Starting in issue 13 which is due Saturday 17th December 2011 ?

To start of with, this will be a text feature called Thoughts and meditations

In this I will discuss various subjects and things that interest me or that I experience aside from the framework of my considering my current ongoing recreation

This will of course be focusing around creativity in all it's many forms

For example in the first instalment I will be responding to a question I recently got asked twice in the same day "why are the speech balloons left empty" as that is something I have done reasonably consistently so I feel that has to be an aside and then in the 2nd instalment I will be considering the difficulties inherit in releasing  any creative material from the point of view of how frightening this can be for a new creator and how overwhelming it can appear to be, what I describe as "the creative risk"

Anyway this will be a bit more open and free and hopefully interesting, so please either email me for a digital subscription or if you are very lucky you will find the print edition

After that I have a few ideas there's even a concept page I did but I don't know where I am going to go with that, it will probably get shuffled to the back of the pile as it requires me to draw and I am pretty busy in that area already!

That’s it for this week, see you next week

Thursday 24 November 2011

Jack Kirby's 2001 Starts Here!

Welcome to Images Degrading forever!

If you have not been to this blog before, this is an ideal jumping on point as this week I start work on a brand new project.

What I attempt to do with each project is to recreate the art entirely by hand one page (and one blog entry) a week and to examine the art, story, creators involved in the blog text as I go along.

I do also tend to include elements which I have been told are abstract and idiosyncratic as a way of introducing variety and I am hoping that is part of the appeal of following this blog

The attempt to recreate is a kind of like an comics anatomy lesson, I learn as I go along and hopefully you will join in for the ride.

What I hope to encourage from anyone reading the blog is to hopefully demonstrate that if I can try drawing then anyone can

Contributions and feedback are both very much welcomed and people who contribute typically will receive a hand done drawing of their choice from me for their efforts.

Looking through the list of creators of work I have previously done may give you an idea of that some of the intention is to try and be as diverse as possible.  I started with Dave Sim in Glamourpuss, moved onto Jim Steranko’s Outland and have just literally finished Frank Miller / Klaus Janson’s Daredevil (which if you want to see just email me robin.barnard@ymail.com for a free digital subscription for Images Degrading Forever Weekly).

The next artist who’s work I am going to look for is a touchstone and a point which any comic book artist be they aspiring or otherwise needs to visit, this is of course none other Jack “King” Kirby.

To attempt to summarise Jack Kirby would be an incredible disservice to the volume, range and diversity of his work, particularly in terms of how many creations both in terms of characters and comic book story telling techniques he personally developed so I am not even going to try.  Jack was called the King for a reason!

In terms of choosing which thing of Jacks to attempt to recreate, this was put to a vote quite a while ago and 2001 : A Space Odyssey  was the result.

A special thank you to Douglas noble for providing some inspiration here as well as Matt Seneca whose article on Sternako’s Outland and Kirby’s 2001 got the ball rolling to start with!

I will be working from 2001: A Space Odyssey issue 1. I thought this would be much better than looking at the actual movie adaptation (although that will crop up in the blog text) for quite a number of reasons but primarily as issue 1 is a retelling of the basic story from the movie honed down into a mere 18 pages, with space for Jack’s own ideas to be introduced and to define the framework for the issues that would follow, so I look on this as what Jack wanted to do, whereas i don't feel I could say the same about the movie adaptation .

So over the next 17 or so weeks I will put up one page here a week and talk about it if you wanted a buzz word to throw around this - it would most definitely be “cosmic”!

Here is the cover redone by my hand:-


And who better to start this off than the King himself?! This is one of the few examples of a comic where Jack himself actually stated what it was all about from his own perspective inside the comic itself, so I thought it would be perfect to reproduce this below from 2001 issue 1 December 1976 - so enjoy!

Just to give Jack's artcile the correct context The New Seed is the name Jack gives to the “Star Child” which appears at the end of the 2001 movie (and this issue!)



We could probably spend quite some time just discussing Jack’s own words below, that’s completely up to you, please just either post a comment or email me, this blog is for you!

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THE NEW SEED


By and large, it is the creation of the New Seed which seems to be the basic, consistent thread running throughout the now-famous saga we call SPACE ODYSSEY.  The New Seed, in effect, emerges as the triumphant character at the the climax of this magazine.  It is this enigmatic little rascal for whom all the fuss and fury of the ages is first stirred up, and then laid to rest in a final bow to the future.


But who is the New Seed?  Or perhaps we should ask what is the New Seed?  Is It man in transition?  A testament to survival and continuance?  Some fantastic projection of our ultimate destiny?  Or is it the natural acceptance of what we expect to come after us?


None of these speculations may be correct, especially in view of the imposing appearance of that alien counterpoint, the Monolith.  That granite gremlin towers above these proceedings like an overpowering phantom, talking only to a chosen few when the destined time is at hand.  It is the Monolith which is the fly in our ointment when it comes to nailing down our opinions of the New Seed.


For if there is an alien power shaping the course of our evolution through the Monolith, then it is doing so for purposes beyond our understanding.  That power may well be injecting ingredients we are not aware of, changing a natural order to one of it’s own design.


Still, the Monolith is a fictional element in a very real process.  I believe that it is this process which intrigues us.  And it is this underlying thought which has made SPACE ODYSSEY such an immortal product in the cinema, in literature, and now - all willing - in comics.


“Now that we’re here...where are we going?”  That is the question posed by the Monolith, and it is a question which has enthralled man since the beginning.  Indeed, next to the more basic question of our individual  identities, this larger puzzle will continue to tease us to the end of our days. (And fortunately, it will remain a continuous boon to the workers of the editorial vineyards - us happy souls who make a living off our abilities to involve you in fantasies so necessary in providing the proper balance in your everyday joust with reality.)


Yes, the New Seed is the conquering hero in this latest Marvel Drama.  Why?  Because he has staying power, that’s why!  He will always be there in the story’s final moments to taunt us with the question we shall never answer.  The little shaver is, perhaps, the embodiment of our own hopes in a world which daily makes us more than a bit uneasy about the future.


Today man is fouling the air.  He is exterminating entire species of flora and fauna.  The oceans smell of foul odours, and there are disturbing rumours that we are destroying the life cycle of the very sea creatures which have provided us with the necessities for existence.


It can all start with very small things - like plankton, the lowest form of life in the pecking order.  Eliminate plankton, and a higher species dies out.  That causes the extinction of an even higher life form, and another and another, until the whole chain disintegrates and leaves the oceans barren. It could happen.  The world could go out with a whimper instead of a bang, and our every vision of the future could suddenly become highly academic.


This is the point, however, where our cute little champion, the New Seed, comes to the rescue.  In the meagre space devoted to his appearance, he brightens our hopes considerably.  He is a comforting visual - almost tangible - reminder that the future is not yet up for grabs.  And wherever his journey takes him matters not one whit to this writer.  This mere fact that the chances of his making it are still good is the comforting thought.


In short, the New Seed is no more than the spirit of our own self-belief, our own confidence in the stubborn rationale which has brought us from the caves to condominiums in the suburbs.  Somehow, at the very edge of group destruction, history gives evidence of a persistent proclivity on the part of human beings for keeping mind - and whatever else matters - on a even keel.


The New Seed merely says that we can still do it.  We can keep the environment and ourselves running into the distant future.  We can, someday, knock off our hostilities and concentrate together on the great mystery of the stars.


But until that day arrives, my advice to the reader is not to break the fantasy-cycle.  The excitement in store for you in Marvel’s SPACE ODYSSEY will be heightened by an awesome array of characters that are guaranteed to freak-out the faithful fan.  And in the vanguard will be the New Seed.  For it has been said of the converging cast... “A Little squirt shall lead them!”


- Jack Kirby