The Bane of Comic Book Production…
…is the dreaded “Crossbar I.” A convention in comic book lettering is to only use the “crossbar” version of the letter “i” when it is used as the personal pronoun “I” - such as if the above character were to be saying “I would like to speak with the Batman at his earliest convenience.” Any other words which contain the letter “i” should be lettered to use only the straight vertical version of the letter, sans crossbar.
Adhering to this convention is a lot trickier than it seems. Most comic book lettering is done in ALL-CAPS, and the crossbar “i” is usually the capitalized version of the letter, so, whenever a comic is being lettered, removing the crossbar-i’s is quite the painstaking task. I’ve shared previews of entire comics with fellow creators specifically to help root out and find any lingering crossbar-i’s that were missed in the lettering and editing phases, and you might be surprised how many fall through the cracks. I’ve just wrapped up the final proof on “Thompson Heller: Detective Interstellar” issue #1, and there were still a number of instances that were caught in the final pass. And yes, that pesky “i” in “Interstellar” ended up being one of the many culprits. Many thanks to our editor, Paul Allor, for catching the last batch of them!
Radar pings
The Half of It is a smart contemporary remix of the Cyrano de Bergerac romantic comedy template filled with delightful performances, especially with the breakout turn from its lead actor Leah Lewis. (Netflix)
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine is a collection of biographical fragments of an acclaimed graphic novelist - Tomine shares a litany of disappointments and cringe-inducing moments from a life in comics. (Drawn and Quarterly)
Bill and Ted Face the Music was exactly what it needed to be: contrasting the sweetness of Bill S. Preston, Esq., and Ted “Theodore” Logan with the ennui of a mid-life crisis. William Sadler once again delivers a hilarious turn as Death, and the eponymous duo bring back the zany joy of those air-guitaring metalheads.
🚨🚨🚨🚨West Wing Reunion!! Actor Bradley Whitford tweeted out the news late one night last week, and I couldn’t sleep! So excited for this.
Tweet of the Week
In Tribute to Chadwick Boseman
(art by David Mack)
Like many of us throughout the world who were shocked and saddened by the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman, I’ve been watching and rewatching a number of his films, still overwhelmed by the tragic news. He was the perfect T’Challa for the MCU: elegant, fierce, brilliant, quick, athletic, graceful. There are so many moments from his iconic portrayal of Black Panther but I’ll single out three of my favorites:
First, the scene in which he confronts Helmut Zemo. In the early moments of the scene, he approaches Helmut - like a panther approaching its prey - and poised to strike. As the audience, we are anticipating that moment of righteous revenge to unleash at any second. But as the scene progresses, we see Boseman as the Panther doing the most important thing a leader can do: listening and learning. He delivers these lines: “Vengance has consumed you. It’s consuming them. I am done letting it consume me” - and as he progresses through those words, you see him absorb the psychic turmoil and release the burden.
Second, the moment where Black Panther is obliterated by the Thanos Snap. The audience I saw Avengers: Infinity War with were stunned by this development - gasps, shrieks, and reflexive bursts of disbelief. That was the moment when the full magnitude of Thanos’s victory truly sunk in. Audiences around the world learned that the MCU don’t mess around, and Boseman’s elegant simplicity in that moment helped give the shock its full impact.
And last, the moment where Black Panther emerges from the spiral of energy, returning to the field of battle. Boseman brilliantly underplays it - he strides with a calm confidence that nevertheless conveys so much of what he brings to the role: a regal bearing, a heroic confidence, and a sense of style and cool and swagger. It’s one of the top moments of collective joy I’ve ever experienced in a cinema.
Beyond T’Challa…
It’s also such a profound loss to cinema, the decades of work from Boseman that we will never get to see. His range as a performer - from the understated moral dignity and courage of his Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall”, to the unrelenting funk-velocity of his James Brown in “Get on Up.” Boseman has one more screen performance to give us, in the Netflix film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which was completed before his death.
Comic Pulls of the Week
No Heroine #2
Bitter Root #10
Die #13
On the Stump #5
Inkblot #1
Broken Gargoyles #1
This Week on the Podcast
Gamal Hennessy is on the pod this week. He is an experienced entertainment transactions attorney with an expertise in comic book publishing and IP licensing. He talks about his new book, The Business of Independent Comic Book Publishing, a comprehensive and easy-to-understand overview of the business of comic book publishing.