Clattertron

[dc]I[/dc] love listening to comic creators talk. Stories about their influences, how and when they started making comics, their creative routines—I love hearing them all. That’s why I always look forward to the MSU Comics Forum Keynote Address.

The event allows a comic creator a venue to share such stories, and in a casual setting. I went to a Keynote Address for the first time two years ago (Nick Bertozzi) and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Exuberance, Confusion, and Anger

This year’s MSU Comics Forum Keynote Address let cartoonist Tom Hart (Hutch Owen) take the stage. Hart talked about his own comic journey, starting with how Peanuts comics influenced him as a child, to his current projects, and founding the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW)¹.

A main theme of Hart’s keynote was emotion—both with drawings and stories. He showed examples of old Peanuts comic strips with characters showing emotions like exuberance, confusion, and anger (also yelling, punching, and kicking). Hart compared these examples to his own work, showing where he did the same with his own characters.

Emotion is something I always try to improve upon with my drawing. You can do a lot with body language and expressions, as it is better to show a character looking sad than have them say “I’m sad”².

Emotion was a subject discussed by Scott McCloud during his talk last week as well. I began reading McCloud’s The Sculptor last night, and while I’m only a few pages in, I can tell it’s going to have plenty of emotion throughout its many pages.

Serious Storytelling

While Hart made plenty of humor comics (such as Hutch Owen), he also makes some very serious comics. Hart’s Rosalie Lightning series chronicles the loss of his two-year old daughter and the grief which followed. I read the first two Rosalie Lightning books on Hart’s site, and I can’t remember another time a comic caused me to have such an emotional reaction.They are powerful and beautiful.

And that’s what Hart was talking about: emotions. Connection and reaction from the reader. It’s something I think every creator, no matter the medium, hopes for, I think.

Write It Down

I really enjoyed Hart’s photos of his prolific note taking. We saw photos of note paper going back years, thumbnails of comics, and note cards stuffed inside recipe boxes.

I’m always writing random ideas and thoughts down. It’s why I carry a field sketchbook with me when possible.

The Most Important Question

The Q & A segment came around and I knew the question I had to ask. It was the same question I asked Scott McCloud earlier in the week: What’s your least favorite thing to draw?

Hart’s answer: Cars.

I’m learning this question leads to a fun, interesting chat. McCloud said bikes and Hart said cars: both are forms of transportation.

Maybe the next artist I ask will say “airplanes,” or better still “dirigibles.”

–

¹ If I could afford the time and cost, I would love to go to SAW, even if only for one of their week-long workshops.

² The old, “Show don’t tell.”