your input

[chris stevens]

over the course of the next few months i'm going to be putting together a documentary i thought you folks might be interested in and i wanted to open up a thread to get your feedback/suggestions/thoughts while the project is still in its developmental stages...

some things i know...

basically i'll be writing and producing a made-for-dvd doc focusing on john workman. the core of the thing is filming john hand-lettering a short story i did with jae lee. one afternoon. 81 words.

incorporated into that is a look at old school/new school lettering; an overview of john and his place in comics history; video and phone interviews with artists farel dalrymple, jae lee, walt simonson, paul pope, and others; commentary from letterers todd klein and john costanza.

this is a labor of love which i'll be undertaking with the generous assistance and guidance of documentarian/cartoonist rich henn.

for me, as a writer, the letterer is much, much more than the guy filling in the balloons; he's my 'voice' on the page.

i expect to pick up full-steam on this after the new year so anything you guys throw at me now will help fuel the fire. i know that my home state of nj seems to house a disproportionate number of wonderful letterers so i'm hoping you natives lend a voice here, and, down the road, maybe an hour or so of your time. everyone else, pro or newcomer, let me know what you'd like to see covered/think is pertinent to the subject.

thanks guys! i look forward to your input.

[eltonpruitt]

At the moment, the lettering thing that I am most intrigued by is Rob Leigh's work on Jonah Hex.

They've gone through a succession of artists over the last several months, and the consistency in his lettering (and the colors, too, but that's off-topic) has, for me, played a hugely important role in keeping some sense of visual continuity and consistency from month to month.

Then in the last issue, which was not too long after I finally realized what was going on there with the consistency of his lettering, he pulled a total 180 and went with a radically different font and balloon style -- I would've sworn it was all hand-lettered by the appearance of it, although I doubt it actually was -- for the sake (I imagine) of keeping in tune with the this issue's artist's style, which is a very loose, rough style.

Anyways, to me, that's just fascinating stuff. I'd love to hear Rob talk about that and how he arrived at that decision. And I'll be curious to see where he goes next month with it.

[Jason Arthur]

You should shoot me an email Chris, I know a couple of people you'd be interested in talking to.

Workman is a master of the craft and he deserves to be honored like this. Let me know if you need anything from me personally Chris and I'll do whatever I can to help.

best,

-- J

[JacoNB]

OH, that would be so awesome to see!!

Keep us updated on this, would ya? I'm VERY interested in seeing it. :)

Thanks!
- J

[chris stevens]

elton, the stuff you talked about was the kind of stuff i'm looking for.

jason, i'll be sending you an email tonight or tomorrow.

hi, jaco. looking forward to any thoughts/suggestions/ideas you'd like to throw at me!

[Clem Robins]

i love john workman's stuff, i'm glad you're doing this.

[augiedb]

I know I belong on this board every time I see sample pages from the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG comic and smile at the lettering -- it's John Workman's.

Looking forward to this project!

-Augie

[chris stevens]

had a wonderful conversation with john last night...they're all wonderful due to the man's sweetness of being but last night was sprinkled with magical nuggets of wisdom and comix lore...like john recalling watching a certain letterer attempting his very first pro page and starting over 3 or 4 times. some guy named todd klein.

he spoke highly of you, clem. my pal jason arthur told me he could put us in touch, i look forward to talking with you after the holidays!

jaco, i'd like to get your input as well, as a younger letterer coming up. cool with you if i get your contact info from jason rodriguez?

augie, thanks. i'll contact you come the end of january, keep you abreast of the project, hopefully when the time comes you can help get the word out!

[Clem Robins]

john spoke highly of me? i'm flattered. i don't think we've ever met.

he draws quite well, too.