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Richard Stevens
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1956
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:14am | IP Logged | 1
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That second panel is especially great. The tight crop makes Kurt's face a little unfamiliar to the reader, who is presumably used to him. Really gives us Kitty's point of view and helps us understand her discomfort.
So happy you're finding some enjoyment doing these pages. They're a delight to read.
Edited by Richard Stevens on 14 July 2018 at 8:15am
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133580
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:20am | IP Logged | 2
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That second panel is especially great. The tight crop makes Kurt's face a little unfamiliar to the reader, who is presumably used to him. Really gives us Kitty's point of view and helps us understand her discomfort.•• For that second panel, I went back to the first time we saw Nightcrawler, in GIANT-SIZED X-MEN 1.
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Joie Simmons
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 31 July 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 288
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:22am | IP Logged | 3
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Fun stuff. Love seeing these pages. If something were to
happen where JB gets to draw these X-Men again, let's hope
it's a situation where he can draw and go to sleep at night
with a smile on his face, and wake up wanting to work.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133580
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:31am | IP Logged | 4
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JB, maybe others have already asked this but would you consider videoing your penciling? I think some time-lapse videos of your drawing would be REALLY COOL and VERY INSTRUCTIVE.•• Honestly, I doubt it. After mumble mumble years in The Biz, my approach to the page has undergone a lot of evolution. The way I'm laying down and finishing these pages, for instance, has little to do with what I was doing back in 1977. I would not want a would-be artist to look at my current approach and think that was the way to do it. (Kind of goes back to the old joke. "How long did it take you to draw that page?" "Sixty-eight years.")
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 16001
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:43am | IP Logged | 5
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Seventh page, seventh heaven. This is the gift that keeps on giving!
There's something magical going on; you're making the X-Men seem fresh again, JB.
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Eric Ladd
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 August 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 4505
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:44am | IP Logged | 6
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I bucked the convention and my favorite character during your run was Nightcrawler. Feeling so nostalgic about page 7. That is a fantastic page and my fav of the bunch so far. Thanks, JB for posting these.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:47am | IP Logged | 7
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…you're making the X-Men seem fresh again, JB. •• Or as modern readers would say, "old".
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 8:56am | IP Logged | 8
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So happy you're finding some enjoyment doing these pages. •• That's been the First Rule for me, thru-out my career. When offered a project, I ask myself "Will it be FUN?" If yes, I take the job. Sadly, often circumstances beyond my control have deleted the fun aspect.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 9:03am | IP Logged | 9
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One of the things about Nightcrawler that I used to struggle with -- and to some extent still do -- is that Dave intended Kurt's face to look always as if it was being lit from below. As if an invisible flashlight was being held under his chin. Dave took plenty of liberties with the effect, but it sure was effective. I didn't seem to be able to quite get it right.However, back when I was "just" a reader, Chris and Dave introduced the idea (since abandoned) that Kurt was "invisible in shadow". Next time I saw Chris I asked him why Nightcrawler's face wasn't invisible. And why he wasn't invisible at night. Didn't really get an answer!
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Greg Kirkman
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Joined: 12 May 2006
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 9:45am | IP Logged | 10
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By the time I came to the book, Chris and Dave had pretty much abandoned any thought that Nightcrawler's appearance was supposed to be horrific. That people would be instinctively repulsed by this demonic looking creature with his blue skin, pointed ears, glowing eyes, malformed hands and feet and prehensile tail. Not to mention his habit of arriving in a smoky belch of sulphur and brimstone. No, he had instead become a bubbly, bouncy, "fuzzy elf".+++++++
Yeah, this is the same effect that gave us the Fozzie Bear-ification of the Thing. It’s always important to keep in mind the internal logic of these things, or you risk throwing out the potential for good drama. The series’ main characters and the readers may come to know and love “ugly” characters like Ben and Kurt, but the average person on the street would surely be freaked out upon encountering them in person.
I often find myself thinking of it as akin to encountering a severe burn victim or someone with a very noticeable birth defect/deformity/impairment. For friends and family of those people, it’s something they’re accustomed to. For strangers on the street, there are varying levels level of shock/discomfort at best, and fear/cruelty at worst.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 9:56am | IP Logged | 11
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Some may recall a panel I drew of the X-Men sitting around their kitchen making battle plans. To one side, perched on a counter in the same poses, and reacting to each other, are Nightcrawler and the visiting Beast. This was my "subtle" comment on how the differences between the two had been largely erased. (I simply do not understand the fascination -- especially sexual -- with "furry" characters. Beast, Tigra, Nightcrawler. I cannot help thinking an "intimate encounter" with one of them would be most uncomfortable. And I recall Kurt taking a bubble bath with his girlfriend. Wet fur! Yum!)
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Darren Taylor
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Joined: 22 April 2004
Location: Scotland
Posts: 6025
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| Posted: 14 July 2018 at 10:11am | IP Logged | 12
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I feel like someone is going to pinch me and I will wake up! This is more than could be wished for. Thanks JB.
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