Chatter: Tom Spurgeon

I like Superman movies. I have fond memories of seeing that first big-budget effort back when I was a young man, and I still enjoy the barrel-chested, gun-dodging performance of George Reeves on the television show whenever I see that one on cable. I'm sure there are a lot of others that are pretty good, too. 

I like Superman comics a lot more. 

I think Superman's primary value isn't as a global icon or some sort of universal licensing mechanism but as a comic book character in really good comic books. They're not my favorite comic books in the world, but I think a lot of the comic books with Superman in them are good, fun and affecting: the early Siegel-Shuster material; the increasingly obtuse and arch material of the 1950s; the wonderful Bizarro, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen stories; Jack Kirby's affecting use of the characters as a sideways element in his Fourth World stories; the well-meaning retrenching of the character and concept in the 1970s; some of what writers like Alan Moore and then later guys like Joe Casey have done in short bursts since.

-Tom Spurgeon

A Jason Mural in Oslo

I would like to go to there.

Process: Dash Shaw

Dash Shaw shares some process from his upcoming book New School:

A bar scene.  I shuffled things around and eventually tilted the angle to make the space feel more dynamic and crowded.  The first four photos are 18 X 24” sheets of paper, then the last (final) ink pages in the book are two 8.5 X 11” sheets —  but the color layer is still done 18 X 24”.  I draw things in stages, try to get fresh eyes on it somehow, sometimes one stage drawn a year after the stage before.

The Great American Comics Shop: Carmine Street Comics

My pal Jon Gorga at the register of Carmine Street Comics, his newly opened shop in NYC's West Village.

Process: Jeff Stokley

Jeff Stokley shares some pencils from the upcoming Six Gun Gorilla