Fast work. A few thoughts: 1. I like a lot of Bliss's stuff but this gag would be weak even without the swipe. A ghostly image in the sky has been comics shorthand for whatever the characters are thinking or talking about since forever, so where's the joke? The way the face is looking right at them? Or is it a pun: "in the picture" vs. "in the comics panel"? 2. Thanks for the animated gif! It shows how hard it is to follow a master. Compared to the original Bliss's figure actually looks rather benevolent. 3. The saddest thing is that Bliss's editor evidently doesn't recognize the style of one of the most distinctive and influential cartoonists in the world, or else didn't feel that this was in any way shady. 4. Am I right in guessing that Bliss is paid more for a one panel gag than Ditko ever made for a 22 page comic?
Had a lot of fun putting that animation together. I have to say, I think Bliss lost something when he got rid of the hat, which weakened the drawing. And he definitely lost something around the eyes.
I'm a bit surprised that, given I think they eventually amended the credit on last year's Kirby swipe to include Kirby's name, that just over a year later we get another one. I don't read THE NEW YORKER, do they have any separate credits outside the cartoon, if anyone has the print edition?
Fast work. A few thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. I like a lot of Bliss's stuff but this gag would be weak even without the swipe. A ghostly image in the sky has been comics shorthand for whatever the characters are thinking or talking about since forever, so where's the joke? The way the face is looking right at them? Or is it a pun: "in the picture" vs. "in the comics panel"?
2. Thanks for the animated gif! It shows how hard it is to follow a master. Compared to the original Bliss's figure actually looks rather benevolent.
3. The saddest thing is that Bliss's editor evidently doesn't recognize the style of one of the most distinctive and influential cartoonists in the world, or else didn't feel that this was in any way shady.
4. Am I right in guessing that Bliss is paid more for a one panel gag than Ditko ever made for a 22 page comic?
Yeah, the joke doesn't really work, swipe or not.
ReplyDeleteHad a lot of fun putting that animation together. I have to say, I think Bliss lost something when he got rid of the hat, which weakened the drawing. And he definitely lost something around the eyes.
I'm a bit surprised that, given I think they eventually amended the credit on last year's Kirby swipe to include Kirby's name, that just over a year later we get another one. I don't read THE NEW YORKER, do they have any separate credits outside the cartoon, if anyone has the print edition?