Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • What Comic Book Taboos Are Left?

      Beau Smith
      October 28, 2003
      The Panel
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • What Looks Good for 12/2/15: Marvel and DC

      Beau Smith
      November 30, 2015
      Big Two, What Looks Good
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • 3.5

      Review: ADVENTUREMAN #1 is A Love Letter to Pulp

      Beau Smith
      June 15, 2020
      Image, Reviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 3.5

      One Year Later: Aquaman

      Beau Smith
      September 3, 2012
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Interview: Mike Royer Talks Classic Cartoons, Jack Kirby and Much More

      Beau Smith
      January 30, 2015
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Don McGregor on "Killraven,” Part Two: The Surreal Life of a Comics Writer

      Beau Smith
      February 19, 2013
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Valiant Relaunches DOCTOR MIRAGE This Summer

      Beau Smith
      May 9, 2019
      News, Press Release, Valiant
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • "THE BEST OF WITZEND" is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Beau Smith
      September 15, 2018
      Books, Classic Comics, Fantagraphics, Reviews
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: If I win Powerball, I will buy Amazing Fantasy 15
  • DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Columns
Busted Knuckles

Creating Comic Books: The Director's Cut

Beau Smith
January 18, 2011
Busted Knuckles, Columns

I was watching a DVD the other day – LOST: The Final Season – going through the special features and axtras. Most of the time I enjoy the extra features and director’s cuts on DVDs. Some of the bonus features are very informative and others are just flat out fun. The worst a special feature can be is boring.

While watching the DVD I related it to comic books and how occasionally there are extra features when a series is collected or when a new original graphic novel is produced. I usually enjoy those as much as the main content itself when done right. Most of the time you get to see some unpublished art, so prelim stuff and a few times they throw in the writer’s original script. It’s always fun and educational to see another writer’s script and the format they use. I know when I was a budding writer, I would’ve loved to have had access to published writer’s scripts. After all, I learned from reading the Robert Kanigher scripts he sent me from Sgt. Rock, Metal Men and some Batman stories. His scripts were a major influence on my script formatting and timing. I will always be in Bob’s debt for that.

What I would like to suggest is that Marvel Comics and DC Comics produce an oversized book reprinting a classic story like Fantastic Four#48 or Green Lantern #59 for example, and not only show the story with some behind the scenes art, but also break down each page as far as storytelling, reasons for editing, explaining the art, pacing and other angles of the story. 

I’m not talking about having the original writers and artists detail it. Some of them are not with us today, so that would be impossible. But it would be amazing to have truly iconic and educated creators or editors like Denny O’Neil, Walt Simonson, Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, Dick Ayers and others talk about and point out what made these stories great. Guys like them have worked on comics from all sides. They have worked on comics from as far back as the Golden Age, like Dick Ayers, through the Silver Age, like Denny O’Neil, through the Bronze Age, and even through today. I know this kind of bonus content would thrill those wanting to create comics, folks that read comics and creators that have been making comics for decades. 

That’s just the germ of the idea, but I think you can see what I’m thinking about. I think an oversized format would be a perfect way to not only show the story, but to breakdown and point out how the story is told panel to panel, page to page. Speaking from my 24 years of marketing and writing comics, I can tell you that in this format, there are a lot of people that would not only pony up the money for such a book, but would also request more giving other milestone comics this important treatment. All eras of comics could be covered, from the Golden Age to the comics on the shelves right now. 

It’s something to think about. I hope that I’ve planted a seed in your head. Next time you’re at a convention and see Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Joe Quesada, Axel Alonzo or Dan DiDio, suggest it to them. Send them an email, write them a letter, post up on their site. 

Tell ’em Beau sent you.

 


 


Busted Knuckles Manly Cover of the Week: Giant Classic King Kong
Whitman/Gold Key Comics 
1968
Painted Art by George Wilson

What kid of any age doesn’t love giant apes? I know as a kind when I saw this cover I thought this was the moment when my pointy little head would explode in the aisle of the drug store and splatter my immature brain matter all over some blue haired old lady that was sadly in my childish line of fire. 

The great artist George Wilson did a bang-up job taking inspiration from the original King Kong movie to make this cover his own and still tribute the great film, if you ever see this comic or Whitman version at a convention, in a store or online, then snap it up, read it and then frame the cover. Maybe your head will explode as well.


 


 


Busted Knuckles Babe of the Week: Brooklyn Decker
Actress/Model

Brooklyn Decker…yeah, be still my rusty old heart. You can’t tell me that you haven’t seen the trailers for Adam Sandler’s new movie Just Go with It and haven’t felt your eyeballs pop out a little when Brooklyn Decker is shown on the screen. While watching The Chicago Bears defeat the Seattle Seahawks this past weekend at my son’s house, the trailer came up during a break in the game and I saw my son and his buddies all let their tongues collectively hit the hardwood floor at the same time followed by the kinds of groans and moans of the hormonal nature that all young men in their 20s make. Of course through my vast maturity I was able to contain my carnal thoughts under the radar so not to hear the chants of “Gee Dad, You perv, she’s young enough to be your daughter!” Kids just don’t understand that every man remains 16 years old in his own mind. They’ll learn. They’ll be old like me one day.

Brooklyn has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and in such movies and TV shows as Chuck, Royal Pains and the upcoming Battleship. Maybe she would like to star as Wynonna Earp! Enjoy!




 


 


The Roundup

Yeah, it’s still winter here in the Mountain State of West Virginia. We’ve had a couple of days where the snow wasn’t covering the frozen ground, but never fear. A day later it comes back and everything turns white again.

I’m still out spending my fair share of time in the elements. I get out and do a couple of miles in the morning
and then let the dogs drag me around in the afternoon. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger and more stupid.

One good thing about the winter weather is that I’ve got to dig in to some really interesting books. I know that every week I get email from “Knuckleheads” asking what I’m reading or what I suggest they read, so I thought I’d list a few that I’ve got going or have read recently. Maybe you look ’em up and find something you like. Here ya go:

  • Devils, Not Men: The History Of The French Foreign Legion by Roy C. Anderson
  • The Day We Lost The H-Bomb: Cold War, Hot Nukes and the Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster In Historyby Barbara Moran.
  • Deadly Kingdom: The Book of Dangerous Animals by Gordon Grice
  • K Blows Top: A Cold War Comic Interlude, Starring Nikita Khrushchev, America’s Most Unlikely Tourist by Peter Carlson
  • Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin
  • The Athena Project by Brad Thor
  • The Gilded Dinosaur: The Fossil War Between E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh and the Rise Of American Science by Mark Jaffe
  • In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks by Adam Corolla
  • Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
  • American Assassin by Vince Flynn
  • Seized: Battling Scoundrels and Pirates While Recovering Stolen Ships in the World’s Most Dangerous Waters by Max Hardberger
  • Armageddon Science: The Science of Mass Destruction by Brian Clegg
  • The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & The Fire that Saved America by Timothy Eagan
  • Beneath The Dark Ice: A Novel by Greig Beck
  • Ancestor by Scott Sigler
  • Atomic Awakening: A New Look at the History and Future of Nuclear Power by James Mahaffey
  • KOOK: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life and Catching the Perfect Wave by Peter Heller
  • Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age by Joel Shurkin
  • Manthropology: The Science of Why the Modern Male is not the Man He Used to Be by Peter McAllister
  • Deeper: A Novel by James A. Moore
  • Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks and Big Pharma Flacks by Ben Goldacre
  • Tough Guy: My Life on the Ice by Bob Probert
  • The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogue Freaks by Susan Casey
  • Abominable: A Novel by William Meikle

Okay, I hope you find something good to read. Keep your nose clean and out of other people’s business.


Your bookworm buddy,

Beau Smith
The Flying Fist Ranch
www.flyingfistranch.com

Beau SmithBusted Knuckles

Share On:
Tweet
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Gods #1
28 Days Later #19

About The Author

<a href="http://comicsbulletin.com/byline/beau-smith/" rel="tag">Beau Smith</a>
Beau Smith

Beau Smith is a writer for Comics Bulletin

Related Posts

  • What We Said Then: Five Manly Questions With… Mark Millar

    Beau Smith
    March 22, 2015
  • Batman or Superman, Betty or Veronica, Ginger or Mary Ann?

    Beau Smith
    April 23, 2013
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders