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[The Ghost Man]

Greetings CBP staff, I'd like to make a suggestion for a new category on the forum called "Golden Age Art School". This could be a place where artists and new students of the Platinum and Golden age styles can exchange educational references, old-school trade tools, techniques and resources to develop their craft. I have been studying for a few years the old classical methods of illustration and have discovered a few great resources that have helped me that I'd like to share. It's also a great opportunity to learn from others who want to bring the organic feel and invigorating vibrancy of those great comics back to life. In my opinion, current comic books have greatly departed from what they once were and can now be considered a dying medium racing to the grave. It is this way because they exist solely to turn a profit and do not much care what their customers want. Point simple is that main-stream comic conglomerates treat their customers more like hostages, and dictate agenda-driven content to them which is causing an unforeseen blowback for them.

I was reading many on-line comic reader's accounts of how they love the medium but hate the modern content which is a confusing morass of cookie-cutter stories, with heavily imposed corporatized standards, unimpressive, uniform art which seems to want to deliver minimal content at high prices. These readers are disgusted at this situation and greatly desire a better product at a fair price with great value and impactful content. One comic fan I noted in particular stated" I have the money in my pocket to spend and nothing to spend it on in the comic store". I know that they are not alone, as I too have this same experience when browsing the fare at the local comic book store. DCM and Comic Book Plus have been immeasurably phenomenal in hosting  these legendary classics, and without them we would have no other place to find genuine comic books. Without them, I could never experience and better my techniques with artistic teachers such as Reed Crandall, Lou Fine, Mac Raboy and others.

Siegel and Schuster got their start wanting something better, and galvanized their talents to deliver something fantastically new in the world. This came from the simple seed of an idea, which germinated in the fertile soil of their limitless imagination. It took root through the brilliance of their energy and established a legendary new world. They were driven to bring bring forth an iconic hero that challenged and fought all the things they felt powerless to change. Where is that heroic ideal today? Where is the man or woman who lives by an immutable code who rights the world's wrongs to bring light into the world and people's lives?

We don't have to accept this and have the ability to turn this around. There's a starving audience waiting for thrilling, memorable comics that move them and that they will support. I can tell you that with some grit, commitment and hard work, a bold new, exciting era can be launched. If we want better, we have to have to muster and deliver the will to change this around. I for one am studying illustration hard to accomplish this dream, and it is hard, lonely work that requires a strict discipline.

I can't be the only one and if we can collaborate on resources to bring this about, we can be the change we want to see. We don't have to wait on a profit-obsessed corporate kitchen to feed us whatever they want, we can feed ourselves and perhaps make the world a little bit better. WE... can be this change!

[Andrew999]

Sounds a great platform for change - gets my vote.

It's not only the art work in modern comic books that depresses me - but the mythos. The vast majority of comic books consist of lycra-clad vigilante superheroes - there's violence and conflict on almost every page - characterisation, plot, diversity of locale, genre all take a back seat.

Where are the crime, adventure, science fiction, jungle, pirate, romance and school-based stories of yesteryear - to name but a few of the things that are missing; the heroes who relied on wit, intelligence, disguise, jiujitsu.....

You get me drift.........All that remains is a narrow trivial world.....at least in the English-speaking world.

[misappear]

This is a great idea.  I don

[MarkWarner]

I am having BIG internet problems at home ... but when I get it sorted I'll have a look at this ...looks like there are a few takers ... so maybe we'll do something on a "use it or loose it" basis ... Give me a few days

[paw broon]

I agree with most of what you both have written, not that I have any kind of skill in creating comics - I just read them. We have a number of members who work in/ have worked in/ are or were connected in some way with the industry and it's the same on DCM so it would be good to do what you suggest, Ghost Man. 
Where I would slightly disagree with you is on the Superman thing. Certainly, my first sight of Superman was in the late '50's and I liked it, much as I liked the few other american heroes that I saw in the few foreign comics available here.  But when I was finally able to read reprints of the early, original Superman stories, I didn't particularly rate them very highly and I thought they didn't stack up well against The Phantom, whose stories seemed much more interesting and the art by Ray Moore much more professional.   
Aside from that, having been exposed to, and become addicted to British MMM and superheroes e.g. The Falcon; Ace Hart; Thunderbolt Jaxon, it was other American superheroes that tickled my fancy, and they still do.  I was intrigued by The Martian Manhunter, and loved all those obscure heroes who turned up in Superboy and Worlds Finest, and Plastic Man was and still is one of my favourites.  But these are from the '50's and '60's to me and it was later that I found reprints of GA heroes, becoming a life long fan.
You see, as the UK had MMM way before Superman or the greatest MMM, The Ghost Who Walks, discovering those was more important to me than Superman.
I find very little new stuff in comic shops that I want to read. 
However, I don't think your idea for, "a bold new, exciting era can be launched." is feasible, simply because most fans of classic old style comics are old themselves and I fear we are a dying breed. Kids don't seem to want comics and considering all the other stuff thrown at them, it's not surprising.  I'd love a return to newsprint comics at a reasonable price with great tales of pirates, private eyes, garishly garbed superheroes, I just don't think it can happen on any great scale.

[The Ghost Man]

Thanks Mark and everyone else who's responded with their support and insights on the idea. I truly hope something comes out of it and I for one am committed to this enterprise. I believe that if we build it, they will come. It may be an exercise in futility but one must believe in something bigger than themselves and at least give it a try. It will just take sustained lift to get this to take flight against the resistance to independent creativity and drag of negative force. I like many of you am not a young man, it is hoped that our collective wisdom and experience might spark the innovation of the next generation to preserve and turn this medium around. All I'm talking is a place where the tools reside and the seeds can be found to germinate in the fertile creative minds of those with a dream.

* I've also created a poll on top of this topic to gauge interest for the creation of this category as well.

[The Australian Panther]

I've been thinking about this for a while, have not been sure how to respond. Most of us here, I'm sure agree in principle with your analysis. Your idea is an excellent one. But what you are proposing is a huge idea. This site exists as a repository for Golden Age creative works [Comics primarily but also newspapers of interest, magazines, and radio and even old movies of Comic book or Pulp characters.) Most of us here are amateurs and enthusiasts, although not all. I also think that many of us would have useful input into a dialogue of the type you propose.
But I am not convinced that starting another category here is the way to go.
You can start a new topic, and you have done that.
But what you propose is greater than either a topic or a category here can accommodate.
Start it and it will grow. Mark has a huge amount on his plate anyway, and most people who help out are volunteers and have other things on their plate which calls them away from time to time.     
I haven't ticked yes, for the reasons I've just outlined, although I am in favor of your project.
I would suggest that you start a separate blog. At the same time maintain the topic link on CB+ so we can keep up with what you are doing and post regularly on the topic link to bring your blog to the attention of newbies and lurkers. (No objection to lurkers, I am a professional lurker myself}
I'm sure there are some of us here who would be prepared to come in with you and be a part of it.
You would need to have a specific mission plan and a management plan if your were to create a blog with input from others.
I'm excited about the possibilities and would be interested in being involved.
Cheers!

         

[The Ghost Man]

Greetings Australian Panther, thanks for your response and sorry for getting back a bit late. You make great points and I agree, I'll do just that and create a blog shortly and get back to the forum. Having available time to devote to the creation and maintenance of a blog will be an endeavor due to work, writing and art studies. However this seems to be the way to go and once I commit to something I always see it through. If I say I'll do it, it's done. So I'll start working up a blog and come back to give with the details.

I, like you, am excited at this huge and challenging prospect and would love to see other's creativity, ideas and energy come to life in lifting this new medium off the ground. I believe that motivated independent artists, writers and colorists who believe in the old processes, style and power of the golden/platinum-age, can deliver their own brilliant content for those who are seeking it. I've already established my own company and have a rudimentary website for my own future products and creations. It's in it's primitive, development stages and I'm working diligently in the background to develop and professionalize my skills, to hone my craft for my future projects. I just shouted into the wilderness to see if there were others who either thought, wished, or fancied the idea of doing the same thing on their own too. Along my creative journey I uncovered many rare and priceless vintage resources that have helped me and I just wanted to share them with those on the same road or thinking about starting in on this path.

I'm not talking "trendy, flash-in-the-pan "Retro" here, what I am envisioning is harvesting and extracting, all the great things from pulps, old films, Platinum and Golden-age comics as well as strip comics, and creating something dynamically new from it all. Distilling the cleverness, organic style and bold, unfettered innovation of brilliant creators such as Fine, Raboy, Crandall, Eisner, Baker, Crane, Moore, Gould and many, many others and making it our own. All the tools necessary to do this we have, we just need to add the will, organization, commitment, sustained drive and vision to bring it into existence.

[The Australian Panther]

Excellent! I can almost smell your enthusiasm. Looking forward to hearing from you.
One thing I intend to do for CB+ ( as a Christmas Project) Is to update the Reference Links on the Reference Links Topic.I was just going to do a topic post, but now I think about it, rather than just a topic this could be a separate  section on the [Comic And Book Related] Page.  I'd be happy to look after this. Haven't asked Mark yet, because I have only just now thought it through.
Many of the current links are out of date and there are many new sites that are not listed.
This resource would obviously be of use to you in your project, and the information could maybe be duplicated (or linked to) on your blog.
Good times ahead, I think!
Cheers!   

[fate man]

Excellent! I can almost smell your enthusiasm. Looking forward to hearing from you.
One thing I intend to do for CB+ ( as a Christmas Project) Is to update the Reference Links on the Reference Links Topic.I was just going to do a topic post, but now I think about it, rather than just a topic this could be a separate  section on the [Comic And Book Related] Page.  I'd be happy to look after this. Haven't asked Mark yet, because I have only just now thought it through.
Many of the current links are out of date and there are many new sites that are not listed.
This resource would obviously be of use to you in your project, and the information could maybe be duplicated (or linked to) on your blog.
Good times ahead, I think!
Cheers!   

Count me in.,I Want to see a golden age art school category!

[The Ghost Man]

*Update* I am in the process of creating the blog. Stay tuned all, it's taking much longer to put together than I had envisioned and will be called The Vintage Inkwell Academy once completed.

[The Ghost Man]

Greetings all, I'm putting in the final touches on The Vintage Inkwell Academy blog which will debut on Thanksgiving Day (11/28/2019 for those global). It was a lot of intensely focused work that is happily nearly all done. I'm not a professional web designer or developer, so there was a sharp ramp up in skills that was required to put forth to the task. Looking forward to getting back on track with my drawing studies and training again. Stay tuned for the web address and thanks kindly to all who supported this endeavor.

[The Australian Panther]

Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing it! I take it you will post A link here tomorrow?
Oh! and to yourself and those who read this who are from the US of A, happy thanksgiving!

[Andrew999]

Count me in too, GMan - looking forward to the link when it's ready

[The Ghost Man]

Happy Holiday and greetings all, as promised, today is the debut of The Vintage Inkwell Academy the home of which is located here: https://tvia.ingenuityserials.com

I

[The Australian Panther]

I just put your site on Speed Dial. Looks great. won't comment until I've had a good look.
Cheers!

[paw broon]

I'll be looking in regularly.  You might want to add this to your links page:-
https://www.cartoonmuseum.org
Keep up the good work.