What Makes A GORGEOUS COMIC? Day 8 of 31 Days of Comics!
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- čas přidán 18. 11. 2023
- Day 8 of 31 Days of Comics asks simply for a - any - gorgeous comic, but first I tackle what the word gorgeous means to me. Is it just me who attaches weird dimensions to words, often through false etymology?
If you've missed the earlier episodes, all previous days are collected in the 31 Days of Comics playlist here: • 31 Days of Comics
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#31DaysofComics - Zábava
A gorgeous comic: Blacksad. Incredible watercolors combined with strong, expressive linework. Look at the lighting in almost any panel. The color and depth. It's an absolute feast of a comic.
I have to say, sometimes the plot of Blacksad stories isn't as impressive, but the art really is the story in many ways. Lovely.
@@ftloc I couldn't disagree with you there. The art definitely does the heavy lifting.
Sandman: Overture (especially the absolute edition). JH Williams III's art is always special, but I feel like the amount of detail that went into the layouts and inking are mind-blowing. Even the uncoloured version looks phenomenal!
You know, I thought long and hard if I wanted to translate this category as 'a particular edition' or at least make the format/edition an aspect of this. I narrowly decided not to, but I am glad to see your parenthetical - I agree, and I agree wholeheartedly! I waffled for a long time on whether I wanted to get Overture or not, but I knew that if I did it would have to be the Aboslute 😁
- My favorite comic: Nausicaa of the valley of the wind by Hayao Miyazaki
- A comic to reccomend to anyone: Peanuts by Charles Schulz
- A great adaptation: 1984 by Fido Nesti
- A great love story: A taste of chlorine by Bastien Vivés
- My first comic pursued: Dampyr (various artists - italian comic series)
- Nonfiction comic: Pyongyang by Guy Delisle.
- Confort comic: Tin Tin by Hergé
- Gorgeous comic: Castle in the stars by Alex Alice
I discovered Alex Alice at the Lucca comics and I was immediately captured by the beauty of his watercolor pages. I also had the fortune to meet and chat with the artist 🙂
That's a series I need to get my hands on - everything I've seen shared from that comic has looked gorgeous!
I’m gonna have to go with Akira. Practically every page is gorgeous in its dense urban desolation the emotion on show on the characters faces and bodies, as well as the extremely detailed science fiction elements, its certainly gorgeous.
No argument here! There's a gorgeousness in starkness that I am intrigued by, and Akira is a prime example.
Akira looks stunning. I´d like to own it in black&white rather than in color. I´ve been too lazy to find out what type of options I have if I want to avoid color version - or if any.
@analogcomics Almost too easy a setup, but perhaps that was your intention.
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Shaolin Cowboy by Geof Darrow. He packs a lot into every page
I heartily agree! Shaolin Cowboy is unlike almost anything else I've read!
Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer Artist's Edition, for me seeing this art stripped back to its lines and shading is just a gorgeous thing to behold. The Artist edition is a perfect format for showcasing the art and blowing up the beauty on each page. For me gorgeous is something that is a treasure in my collection and this book holds a special place.
This is one of my favourite Artist Editions! Truly gorgeous!
Definitely anything Chris Ware did. Composition, color & typography all combined to offer an eye candy experience in every comic. The superlative of a comic storytelling and visual art in one package. Simply gorgeous to look and read.
Absolutely. And one of those people who create gorgeous pages instead of gorgeous panels, something I keep finding more to appreciate in every time I read his work!
For me, when I think of gorgeous comics, I think of the ink masters. Sergio Toppi, Alberto Breccia, Enrique Breccia (his son) all create such GORGEOUS art. For example, someone like Carl Barks (one of my favorites), I would not think of as gorgeous, it's just not going for that. Same way as Krazy Kat - though it's probably one of my favorite styles ever. I'm the same way as you.
So yeah, the argentinian/italian ink masters are the epitome of gorgeous to me. See Collected Toppi books in english, Perramus/Mort Cinder from Alberto Breccia, Alvar Mayor/Tex etc from Enrique Breccia.
And if you had to pick one comic from that ocean for this day?
@@ftloclol sorry, such an absurdly hard pick! If you haven't try Mort Cinder by Alberto Breccia.
@@Diraldir Mort Cinder will be in my 31 choices too. no way around it.
These Savage Shores. Intriguing storytelling by Ram V and fabulous illustration by Sumit Kumar, colorist Vittorio Astone and sublimely lettered by Aditya Bidikar
The art in the comic is terrific in so many different ways!
The many deaths of laila starr
The art really sets up the atmosphere of this book whether it be joyous or sad.
A very popular choice, with good reason!
I'd say that gorgeous comic for me is the one that gives me feeling of almost euphoric delight by its complex artistic beauty (not only visual). So I'll pick The Many Deaths of Laila Starr as a beautifully told vivid, sad at times but incredibly warm story about death and ode for life.
Yes, the banquet can be within the reader, so even without an art-oriented interpretation, the complexity would be the feast!
Pretty Deadly is what comes to mind. Most times color in comics at best have a function, serve a purpose. Here color is the absolute cherry on top and then some!
The Coloring, Jodie Bellaire.... I can't.
Drop dead gorgeous... so yeah, Pretty Deadly indeed.
Jordie Bellaire deserves all the praise, from whatever I have seen!
Harrow County - art and story telling - GORGEOUS
Do you know any other work by Crook you would recommend checking out?
What an interesting start to your video. Since English isn't my first language, I hadn't really paid much conscious thought to the way "gorgeous" can differ from regular "beautiful". I like your take on it being more visual, but after giiving it some thought, I think in my mind "gorgeous" is related to what's pleasing, to things that have a kind of beauty that gives you pleasure in a positive way. That may sound weird, but let's consider for a moment that melancholic, even sad things can be beautiful too. If we're beign honest, even horrifying things have many times a certian beauty to them. The very notion of "awe" (that you so fittingly brought up) is a kind of beauty (even visual) that actually overwhelms you more than pleases you. So, yeah, I'd say gorgeousness (at least in my mind) has a lot to do with pleasure; a wellcoming kind of beauty that makes you feel predominantly "good". That actually connects very well with your idea of "gorging" on it... it's the beauty that can be a bit like a drug, since it feeds into a pleasure loop (I wonder if that's why so many people in human history have even ruined their lives pursuing this kind of beauty in different places, and even in other people).
I think this, however, presents somewhat of a tricky aspect to comics. While an illustration, or a cover pucture, is a piece that is self-contained and "reads" in a single moment (i don't know if I explain myself there), a comic is a longer thing that by its very nature fluctuates, presents contrasts, changes and variety. When I think, for example, about a comic like Akira, there are, no doubt, gorgeous panels in it; but I hesitate to call the work as a whole gorgeous. Beatifull, no doubt... but maybe not gorgeous. It's an interesting thing to consider how much of a comic has to be gorgeous to give you the "final" feeling that the work as a whole is gorgeous (but let's better not fall into the trap of cuantifying these things).
Sorry for the ruminations... hahaha... now back to your challenge. This is a really difficult category. There are SO MANY gorgeous comics to pick from. We live in a wonderful time to be a comic reader for shure. I fully agree with your pick of Bride Stories. What an incredible piece of comic. I probably would also consider Chuck Dixon and Danvid Wenzel's adaptation of The Hobbit for its lush, vibrant watercolour rendition of Tolkien's world that just sucks you in and populates your immagination. Another pick would be The Sandman Overture, which just explodes into your senses an surprises you at every page turn by upping its own aesthetic game. Of course, Balcksad needs to be here as well. I think no one can deny the gorgeousness of those pages. And finally, even though it doesn't always focuses on "pleasing" bauty (sometimes it hits you like a sledgehammer of awe and melancholia), I'd include Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
great ruminations! thank you for sharing!! 😆
What a gorgeous comment! 😁
You are absolutely right - gorgeous is not restricted to visual beauty, and especially not 'just' beauty of individual pieces or panels. And I fully agree with you that the beauty of a story is in its flow, and its entirety. So a beautiful comic could be any comic that beautifully does what it wants to do, incorporating everything at its disposal.
Having said that, there are 31 Days in this game, and I just went for a particular kind of 'narrowing down' to visual beauty and richness of detail so that each day can have a loose focus.
And although today I can consider myself fluent, I am also someone who learned English as a secondary or tertiary language, so please do not take my fake etymology seriously, that was just me expressing a personal quirk! 😁
@@ftloc Oh, no! Your "fake" etymology is perfect! It's exactly the kind of interesting invitation we all constantly need to not take things for granted. I'm loving your challenge so far!
Reading your answer and going back over the issue of beauty and, like you said, how beauty can come from a piece of art doing what it sets out to do in an elegant way, I think there's a quality that's often overlooked when dealing with comics. Beauty, even gorgeousness, narrative, elegance, technical prowess, etc. are all categories we are more or less familiar with and apply to our reading experience... but what about thar vague, but very real sort of mesmerizing quality some comics have? Comics that suck you in, that populate you immagination long before you read them and long after you (think) you're done with them. Comics that you sometimes dream about... a bit eerie, a bit comforting. I'm not shure I explain myself. Have you ever come accross comics like that?
I want to read that series!!! I saw it in the Bookstore and loved the art, almost bought it on the spot.
My gorgeous comic would be Requiem: Chevalier Vampire or anything drawn by Olivier Ledroit, I don't know much French but I've bought quite a few of his work that I can't read.
"Habibi" by Craig Thompson....Gorgeous 😍
The art there is really astonishing!
is less about the art and more about how an author express emotions using art
Ideally, absolutely.
But I can see someone creating something gorgeous but still not quite succeeding in expressing emotions, and the other way around too.
@@ftloc that was the point, I was trying to make. Some a lot of times something perfect looks artificial and fake. Other times imperfections makes it more human.
You made me want to read "Bride's story" now! I also like the gorge in gorgeous, so if I had to pick a comic based on overall beauty (in drawings and storytelling) plus how easily I devoured it, I would pick two: "My favorite thing is monsters" (that you shown briefly on the video too!) and "Blade of the immortal"
Thank you for your enjoyable videos!
If you do check out Bride's Story, I'd love to know what you think of it! Thank you so much; I'm thrilled you've enjoyed the videos!
8 - gorgeous comic : Tales from the Inner City - Shaun Tan
7 - comfort comic : Sempé in New York by Sempé
6 - nonfiction comic to recommend to people who don't do nonfiction : Springtime in Chernobyl by Emmanuel Lepage
5 - first comic serie pursued : Blast by Manu Larcenet
4 - great love story : A sea of love by Lupano & Panaccione
3 - great adaptation from another medium : 1984 by Xavier Coste
2 - comic to recommend to anyone : The arab of the future by Riad Sattouf
1 - favorite comic : Rules of summer by Shaun Tan
gorgeous because of the colors, the lights, the landscape, because of the poetical, the metaphorical, the oneiric character.
I also could have said "Kililana song" by Benjamin Flao for the colors, for the sea, for the lights.
I don't know Song, but no Shaun Tan ever gets any disagreement from me! 😁
@@ftloc Benjamin Flao has recently published the graphic novel based on the best seller book "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wolhlleben (available in French & German).
I nominate Jean-Claude Gal's _Armies_ trilogy, which he spent *13 years* on ( T1: Conquering Armies, T2: Arn's Revenge, T3: The Triumph of Arn ). One of the most visually stunning graphic work I have seen, and stylistically closely related to Richard Corben's - another Heavy Metal alumnus - but with even more texture and polish; it's so good, each frame is worthy of being its own stand-alone illustration ( note: many of the plates from the series have been sold at auction for $4000 to $6000 a piece, at Christie's )! Second nomination goes to Don Lawrence's breathtaking _Storm_ series.
Is the Armies trilogy available in English? I'd love to take a look!
Krishna by Abhishek Singh is one beautiful book. You cannot take your eyes off the beautiful art and the poetic text.
Every single thing I've seen by Abhishek Singh has been gorgeous. Is Krishna a comic per se or a series of illustrations?
@@ftloc it has a narrative, unlike Namaha, which is more a coffee table book of pictures.
I would say Witch Hat Atelier. I would recommend it since you enjoyed a brides story. Its about magic and what really makes it gorgeous is definitely the art. The story has this sense of wonder as you follow the protagonist journey through this very interesting world and its unique magic system that has very philosophical implications. Just like a brides story the attention to detail is bar none when it comes to the various outfits and landscapes.
This is one of those manga that I got the first volume for really cheap but was unable to find later volumes (or reasonably priced ones). It was truly lovely to look at and I was definitely ready to read more! I should go on the hunt again now that some time has passed!
A little late to the party here, and I have no excuses! This was a fun one, and you as per usual did not disappoint in spending a third of the video setting the scope and cementing the definitions :D I think your pick is very nice, I also happen to have never heard of that book before, so yet again my interest has been piqued.
All the while listening to your reasoning behind this there was one comic that just popped into my head and basically stayed there, letting nothing else into the spotlight, and that series was Blacksad. Like you said, maybe not he *most* gorgeous comic of all time, but to me still quite astonishing and the style of mixing Disney style art with watercolor and a noir story really gives it that something extra that for me easily pushes it into gorgeousness.
Lovely to see you back and chipping away at this list, I'm sure we shall have another encounter at a similar venue in the future :)
So great to see you again! And colour me not at all surprised with your pick! As I said elsewhere in these very comments, while I may have my reservations about the writing, there is no doubt that the art of Blacksad is drop dead gorgeous.
There's several ways I could go with this, but my gut is saying Monstress by Sana Takeda and Marjorie Liu. 'Gorgeous' is exactly the right word to describe the art in that book, which is in contrast to a lot of the horrors and politics going on in the story.
Did you catch its cameo in this video? 😁
Haha, I didn't realise, but maybe you planted the idea subliminally in my head!
Gorgeous Comics ? for me it's Raymond's Flash Gordon Sundays. Second to none.
Terrific pick!
This will be an unconventional answer but I find the Madman universe by Allred to be gorgeous. It's so colorful and nostalgic while also being forward looking. I can stare at the art without even reading the book and still enjoy myself.
I have only read the first collected deluxe, but I completely agree with you on the sheer uniqueness of the art style-colours combo!
Dammit, Bride's Story is my pick for this as well. A visual feast, as you mentioned.
If I had to pick a different one (grumble grumble) I'll have to go with Colleen Doran's adaptation of Gaiman's Snow Glass Apples: an intricate tapestry of fables twisted on their heads.
That book seems to get better with every read. And by the way, my wife picked Snow, Glass, Apples (tied with Lost Girls)!
I just read Snow Glass Apples first time yesterday evening! Very beautiful. I found myself staring at the art so long I had to read the texts many times from each page. Story was also very much what I like about Gaiman.
That's the only 'gripe' I can make about gorgeous works. As comics, if I am meant to be reading on, stopping and staring seems counter somehow. But there are many great comics who use that pacing perfectly.
I think this dilemma of great graphics also highlights how comics are so delightfully re-readable. We just have to re-read the beautiful comic until we can withstand the seiren call and focus on fluent reading. Or we can just stop to that point and continue when ready. This stopping is not parctical with songs or movies for example. Even the perfect note in a song cannot be stopped to dwell in it. But comics allow that. But as you said it´s only a gripe with quotation marks:)@@ftloc
Once again I am feeling torn between choices. Greg Smallwood's art on Humant Target can only be described as gorgeous as has the art on many romance british comics (the A Very British Affair collection is a great example of that). The same could be said on books by Richard Sala or Brian Bolland (Camelot 3000 pops to mind). But going through my library I decided that my selection is the Acme Novelty Library HC (The collection of the two large Book of Jokes issues- plus other stuff). It isnt only the gorgeous (duh!) art, or the amazing layout or the beauty of the letters or the magnificent colours but also the gorgeousness of the book as a physical object which made it be my choice. Flipping through it I got mesmerized once more by its beauty.
8 - gorgeous comic : Acme Novelty Library HC - Chris Ware
7 - comfort comic : Peanuts - Charles Schultz
6 - nonfiction comic to recommend to people who don't do nonfiction : Andre The Giant: Life and Legend - Box Brown
5 - first comic serie pursued : Asterix
4 - great love story : Ethel and Ernest - Raymond Briggs
3 - great adaptation from another medium : City of Glass - David Mazzucchelli and Paul Karasik
2 - comic to recommend to anyone : Fred The Clown - Roger Langridge
1 - favorite comic : 2000AD
apologies but I cant stop thinking about "honorable mentions" :)
The no honorable mentions rule is wreaking havoc on me! 😁 At least in this category I can keep changing my answer every time I play!
And no arguments here on the Ware pick! I guess I need to check out Human Target, I've been hearing a lot of good things.
Promethea by Alan Moore and JH Williams III is gorgeous. The artwork is thoughtful and thought-provoking. The colouring by Jeremy Cox is amazing.
Promethea got me to find as much JH Williams work that I could, and it is one of his highest achievements! Superb work!
I was torn about this one for a while. In recent years, especially in the Franco-Belgian comics sphere, digital tools have made lines so much sharper and colours so much more vibrant. That said, I can really enjoy the older artists who did it all by hand and made amazing drawings without any digital assistance. The same goes for manga: Akira Toriyama's old school style has influenced so many artists after it and is a seminal influence on the medium as a whole. In the end, my choice is:
"Douwe Dabbert" (by writer Thom Roep and artist Piet Wijn). A Dutch comic, published from 1975 to 2001, about a little bearded old man with a magical knapsack (some think he's a wizard, some think he's a gnome, some think he's merely a man) who travels a world inspired by medieval Europe (especially Germany and the Netherlands). Everything about this comic is absolutely gorgeous: the characters are realistic yet cartoony, the towns and architecture are fantastical but detailed, the clothes are Napoleonic, medieval and renaissance all at once. And the colours, oh the colours. Everything is bright and vibrant. This fairy tale comic is certainly one I will read to my future kids, because the comic is so VISUALLY stimulating and makes you feel happy. And good news: Since 2021, English translations of the books are being released as "Dusty Dabbert".
Another comic I have never heard of but now need to look up! Thanks so much for flagging the English translations - the absence of those is always a needle!
For me, a gorgeous comic is a comic that makes me feel guilty for turning the page. I've only been reading comics for a couple of years, so I have a limited pool to draw from. I'm going to submit Liam Sharp's "The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman". Every double-page spread is mesmerizing. I think Mr Sharp has great blend of that over-the-top art style from the 90s mixed with a lot of little line details.
What a great way to put it - I too feel bad about moving through something wonderful 'too fast', and feel sad when close to the end. The effect of the comic drawing me in to keep me there as long as possible is a lovely thing to try and gauge!
Angshuman good to see you back mate! My pick would be any of the works of Jean Pierre Gibrat ( bande dessine) i find his work truly breathtaking. Also would add Moebius in there in 2nd.:)
Good to be back! I hope you caught up with the episodes before and after this one 😁
The only Gibrat I have read is The Flight of the Raven, which was indeed gorgeous. I haven't found any others in English, but maybe I've overlooked something!
The quality of the artwork is often a reason why I buy comics, so it's difficult to make a choice. Knowing that some of my othe choices have already been mentioned, I would say 'Kingdom Come' by Waid and Ross is up there. Almost every page could have been cover art!
Not hard to see why Ross and covers go so well together!
Just the other day I reccomended Bride's story to a friend of mine who was looking for a visually impressive Manga to read.
Do you have their first impressions yet?
@@ftloc I do not! More probably than not, it will remain this way for some time because my friend seemed to be more interested in Berserk by the end of that conversation.
Also, thank you for making videos that that, in my experience, are some of the very best on this platform.
Haha, yes, quite on the opposite side of the spectrum from Berserk, although now I can think of several similarities as well...😁
Thank you so much for your kind words - so glad to hear that you are enjoying this little channel!
When i think if gorgepus my mind immediately jumps to hyper detail work, but a lot of the hyper detailed stuff i like is either or dark instead if beautiful. Going with Miracleman The Silver Age by Gaiman, Buckingham, and Bellaire. A beautiful comic redrawn by Buckingham woth wonderful coloring. This would make Pluto my favorite adaptation from another medium then.
Although I have not read the Gaiman/Buckingham/ Bellaire Miracleman, I've seen some pages and they looked great! And of course, Pluto is magnificent, it's just not from another medium! 😁
@ftloc Well by technicality then it's The Farheneit 451 adaptation I read a while back by Tim Hamilton. Surprisingly, don't have many to pull from and the others either slip my mind or I dont like them. I liked the Farhenheit one though
Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura or Breserk by Kentaro Miura ( for anybody whose read these manga and saw the art in them you know what I'm talking about)
I definitely understand what you mean about the art of Berserk!
I'll need to read some Vinland Saga but first I need to find the books at a reasonable price!
Even though I can think 10 names will go with Gantz for this.
I need to check out Gantz
I would have to go with Frank Miller's Sin city! Apart from the visual aspect, I must say that the production quality would also help ascertain what would be categorized as gorgeous.
Great point! I almost went with a particular edition as a pick, and another reader has picked the Absolute Edition of Sandman Overture. A "gorgeous edition" is a phrase we all like to use! 😁
As always thanks my man! ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
Thank YOU! 🙂
Excellent choice. TY.
I think Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue has some visually gorgeous art
Ive only seen some pages,, but what I've seen has been great!
since last week, you can also take into consideration "The road" by Manu Larcenet, adaptation of the novel "The road" by Cormac McCarthy.
if you loved the novel (or the movie with Viggo Mortensen) you will love the graphic novel by Manu Larcenet.
and if you loved the graphic novel "Blast" by Manu Larcenet, the chances are high you will love "The road".
how high are the chances that we get a new video from you in April? all the best to you and your family!
I am going to have to check this out, although Larcenet books have been hard to get my hands on here!
And I'm getting back into the swing of things and hope to have a new video very soon! I really appreciate the cheers and the recommendation! 😁
Bride's Story is such a fantastic series. An absolute joy to read.
Hear hear! I better get on to those next volumes!
Chivalry by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Colleen Doran is a gorgeous comic and a really good short story, highly recommended.
I have been handed that book by my wife to read right now! 😁
Again really not easy question. I love a lot of art styles and in each one I have many favorites. I saw here in discussion very good example of georgious comics - Sandman: Overture. That one is really amazing. But I'll go with another one. When I read it I was really happy that I have it in oversized edition. The art perfectly fit to the pulp style of the story. It's Black Science.
I have not read Black Science but I have heard a lot about the art. Is that Matteo Scalera or am I mixing it up with a different series? And I love the art of JH Williams!
@@ftloc Yes, it's Matteo Scalera.
Soooo this one is actually a little tricky. There are so many comics where the art is gorgeous and I very nearly landed on Lawless by Dan Abnett and Phil Winslade due to Winslade's devine art BUT the art carries the heat and dust of the 'western' environment the story is set in. The hardship of this town on the edges of Judge Dredd's universe shape what the lush art portrays and so the beauty felt too set in a hard exterior to meet what I think you are after and so with this many of the ideas I had also fell away.
And with that the answer finally became obvious Concrete by Paul Chadwick. The art is supreme and while the story deals with many difficult and complex issues it also has many moments when Concrete's enhanced vision allows him and us to see the beauty of the natural world. In direct moments when he examples the world, this satisfies gorgeous to me, and Chadwick's art is certainly a feast of the eyes.
Lovely writeup and hooray for Concrete, a truly magnificent comic that many no longer talk about, sadly.
Prince Valiant is my pick. I don’t need all 20 volumes but I have the first three
I agree! I too have some earlier volumes and wouldn't mind a few later ones to see the evolution of the style!
I could go for Delicate creatures by Michael Zulli or Saga by Fiona Staples but everytime I see an Alex Ross comic I get sucked into all the details of it. And then I would go for Marvels miniserie.
Marvels is gorgeous, no doubt about it!
The "Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?" by Eric Powell and Harold Schechter is gorgeous. Yes, it depicts horrible things, but the book and the art are sublime. It helps that the writing is on par.
How interesting! I wondered about Powell (and Backderf and Sacco, among others) and if people would use gorgeous for their dense, affecting but not traditionally 'beautiful' work.
I'd definitely agree that they pack a punch!
Ram V's The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is my pick. The feeling of reading that story, the art everything is just Gorgeous. The only way I can describe that comic - Gorgeous.
And you're not the only one to name it in the comments!
I don't usually promote new books, but ... Petrol Head😍😍😍😍 visual feast included!!!
This episode surprised me in two ways. First, you didn´t put us in as miserable inner conflict as usual. The "a" instead of "the" before gorgeous makes this strangely a more soothing task. Of course it doesn´t mean that "Just pick one" wouldn´t cause any stress - as can already be seen in the honorable mentions so many slipped in😄
The second surprise was my own choice. I walked to my comics shelves pretty certain I´d choose some very detailed and lush Hi-Fi style which I love. I´m making a conscious effort to not name any of them😰Not even my favorite artist.
However when I laid my eyes on Tsutomu Niheis Blame! I just knew it had to be it. Art is far from highly detailed but I was mesmerized by it from the start. Blame! has very little words anyway. For me the main character in Blame! is the place, the never ending and always expanding city. And the city is the graphics. It evokes loneliness and vastness unlike I´ve ever experienced in comics. I also must mention the hordes of Safeguard robots that keep piling on Killy with faceplates that has a look of almost empathic sadness. And of course all the boss level enemies! All designs in this story are gorgeus.
I'm glad you shared my enjoyment of the soothing aspects of this category before we dived in! And yes, of course the 'feast' idea I talk about here may most easily be attached to details, but the variety and opulence of a feast can come from not just variety, but complexity, sophistication and resonance, all of which mean that a gorgeous comic can truly be anything that we find almost unbearably beautiful.
But I had to try and narrow the focus a little bit for myself, and also keep in mind there are other Days of Comics for yet more focusing 😁
I may have made this decision easier for myself by not choosing from detailed art. I already had four fiercely competing comics there. I also have to admit that there is a little bit of playing-the-game in my choices. So many days still to go and I feel like I´ve already put too many good comics on the table that I would really want to use in later episodes😅. I keep thanking you for this series. It keeps sending me back to my collection to look at it from perspectives I probably would not do by myself. @@ftloc
Daniel Brereton's The Nocturnals. The art is delicious, every panel is painted, his style is uniquely his own .. gothic noir pulp, his use of colour and character expression is a delight, of all his work and his creations its his spooky monster family I love returning too, the mermaid, the ghost, the undead gunslinger, the creepy child and her haunted toys, and her father the mad scientist in a wonderful b-movie pulp noir fun horror setting populated with gangsters, vampires, magic, cosmic horrors, and science run amock.
A pleasing prettiness or beauty that really leaves a lasting impression is how I'd describe gorgeous. Since first seeing Brereton's art I wanted to know what he'd done, what more I could find. The Nocturnals art has a lot to drink in, its pretty in a strange otherworldly way, its not right but it is, and then theres some images which trap you and you fall in like paintings in a gallery. Needless to say I was over the moon when Dark Horse reissued absolute sized omnibus volumes collecting the comics.
Gorgeous comics, nice choice for day 8, eye candy in a visual medium.
Glad you enjoyed the video and wow, you really have made me very curious to take a look at The Nocturnals! I love what you say about the 'impression' = gorgeousness does indeed have that element of indelibility, as if something got painted on to your brain and is going to take a lot of time to wash away, if it ever does at all!
@@ftloc The Nocturnals Omnibus is one of the best value for money books on the market, considering its a high quality thick hardback the size of an absolute and cheaper than an epic collection paperback, bargain. See if you like the art, treat yourself if you do. The best material is in volume one, the second volume is mostly what I'd consider as a book for the fan who wants it all, not as good but still full of lovely eye candy.
Man I just discovered your channel and am overjoyed. I picked up an interest in comics and graphic novel not too long ago but was always wanting to discover indians who are into it too. Your channel is a goldmine and you are appreciated, good sir. Do let us know if you ever plan a meetup. Would love to meet you and know about how you started your journey. It's a not so inexpensive interest in India hence would love to chat with you about this.
sure it is a goldmine. I was as happy as you are when I discovered this channel!🤩🤩🤩
Thank you so much, and so glad to hear you're enjoying this little channel! Long may your enjoyment continue!
And yes, I love chatting about the 'hobby', especially on my livestreams.
I have seen your last video on your 6 picks of Asterix comics. Is there any changes in your picks?
Hmm, definitely not in the top pick! 😁
I would like to know about your pick though.
So many good suggestions in the comments, which may end up making my wallet cry!
Mission accomplished then! I love the idea of all these comments sections just being one huge ocean of curated recommendations!
These are all interesting subjects and the best thing about them- ask me in a year's time and ill have a different answer. Im going to go with my first thought- Isola by Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl. The story is great and the artwork is sumptuous
Yes, I love the fact that we can just keep giving different answers to this question throughout our lives, even at a single moment.
As for Isola, I haven't read it but the covers alone really show off some lovely art. Are the interior pages in the same style?
@@ftloc Yes. The artwork is great throughout.
adding to 'the list'!
I need to collect and read Bride's Story.
This is a tough one.
There are so many and even many more I'm yet to read.
There's Velvet by Brubaker, Epting.
There's Wonder Woman Historia by Jiminez.
There's Monsters by BWS.
Arrival by Shaun Tan.
Habibi by Craig Thompson.
These Savage Shores by Ram V and Sumit.
Snow, Glass, Apple by Gaiman and Dooran.
Harrow County.
Lady Killer.
There's Nausicaa by Miyazaki.
All of Jiro Taniguchi books.
Patric Reynolds' artwork in Joe Golem.
And many more... It's a tough choice.
I will go with Mirada The She Wolf by Claremont and John Bolton.
Haha, at least I know you're not playing by the 'no honorable mentions' rule! 😁
Anshuman my man if you ever get a chance , read "The Hunting Accident" its just so poetic and creative.😊
absolutely! "The hunting accident" is a great graphic novel. I love it. I recommend it to readers who love "my favorite thing is monster" by Emil Ferris. the artwork is in black and white. and this is a big book.
I completely agree 😁!
Here's a five-year-old video of mine that you may find interesting, especially the third 'award'! czcams.com/video/UgLNTyp1ioU/video.html
I am going with The Golden Age by Roxanne Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa, for me it's the perfect definition of a visual feast.
Was gonna say same. Story let me down in book 2, but it was def gorg overall. I would say anything by Cyril P fits the bill, like Portugal, is feast for the eyes.
The Golden Age's art and layouts are remarkable indeed! And I honestly think Three Shadows is one of the most wonderful comics I've read, and i considered it for this Day long and hard!
"The golden age" because of the strong colors. but the other books by Cyril Pedrosa are also gorgeous.
I would go with Vinland Saga. The art is very detailed and realistic (and has some amazing shots), which really suits the story it wants to tell in my opinion. I'm definitely not saying every comic should look like that, for example Guy Delisles style is not hyper-realistic, but I do like it and I think it fits the story. (A second pick, if I can double-dip here would be an artist, rather than a book: Federico Bertolucci's art (Brindille, Love: the Fox), wich is quite breathtaking in my opinion).
I'm very curious about Vinland Saga which looks terrific but intimidates me with the number of volumes to read.
The Love series, on the other hand, I can vouch for the beauty of first hand! 😁
@@ftloc And it's not even finished yet! (2-3 volumes to go in the english edition if I'm not mistaken). I haven't caught up with it just yet either!
Please review some Indian comics..
With a population of 1B you should have a lot of fantastic comics. I can't name even one comic from India. 😮
Gorgeous indeed is something visually attractive. But I also always detect a tinge of apology and helplessness when using the word gorgeous. Like you’re only looking at the superficial beauty whilst being aware that it’s not the most important thing you should be looking at. And a kind of helplessness, for not being able to look past it.
And comics that have had that effect on me are those that I have flicked through many times before I’ve read them. And also after I’ve read them. Just wanting to look at the illustrations without necessarily wanting to read the story.
The comic I’ve had that the strongest with is a manga I’ve coincidentally just finished reading: #DRCL issue 1
Such lucious drawings. So detailed. Every page a joy to behold. (and a spectacular story as well)
This mangaka is something else. I already know that I will buy everything of his that will be published in english.
For some reason, this comment was quarantined in the 'held for review' section. How dare you write such inflammatory things! 😁
I know what you mean about the 'gorgeous BUT...' phenomenon, where the visual beauty or technical artistic achievement is not matched in other areas. Like an apology, as you say, or a concession, in the face of a larger criticism.
But as your own pick proves, we can always find those comics that match and balance their elements in a way that the beauty of the art is a vital component in the beauty of the story, if a story is something the comic is interested in...