Bought/Thought 3/26

[Egotastic]

if thats the case then im curious as to why they keep giving him work

Whenever you wonder about something like that, just remember this word: MONEY.

 

[Ion Kenshin]

^^ this is true

 

[kguillou]

I'm just surprised that Mack was able to look at that chick from Flaunt magazine and be like "hmmm, you know, she reminds of echo, she'd be perfect for the new new avengers cover!". Lol.

 

[FatalEnergy]

Well, for starters, it's not just this cover or even this book. A lot of people did some digging after this and it turns out that Mack swipes quite a bit. That's sad in more ways than one.

 

[Egotastic]

And there you have it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Such a disappointment. I guess you can at least say that Mack still paints pretty well. He just needs to paint things he's come up with on his own.

Oddly, Mike Oeming turned up to defend Mack at Newsarama, where this first came up. He proceeded to show a bunch of pictures he took of himself to use as references. I don't really get what he was trying to prove, since the odious part is that Mack is ripping off other people's work wholesale and just inserting it as needed, whereas Oeming's example was just him using references to refine ideas he'd already come up with.

 

[Ion Kenshin]

wow fatal...those are some serious findings

 

[Egotastic]

Such a disappointment. I guess you can at least say that Mack still paints pretty well. He just needs to paint things he's come up with on his own.

Oddly, Mike Oeming turned up to defend Mack at Newsarama, where this first came up. He proceeded to show a bunch of pictures he took of himself to use as references. I don't really get what he was trying to prove, since the odious part is that Mack is ripping off other people's work wholesale and just inserting it as needed, whereas Oeming's example was just him using references to refine ideas he'd already come up with.

I made a post over at Newsarama replying to Oeming's. I just feel bad for him. I mean, of course he's going to try to defend his buddy, but damn. Those are some pretty undefensible swipes.

The fact that it spans Mack's entire career is such a disappointment. I've been to gallery showings and guest lectures of his, and this stuff just makes me sad.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I just don't understand how Oeming could look at it as a normal part of an artist's "bag of tricks." There's a very clear and fundamental difference between conceiving of a layout, poses, etc. and then using pictures as references to iron out little complexities like lighting and perspective, and literally just conceiving of a loose idea of how the page should look, then adapting it to fit whatever photographs or other existing art you can find. I guess it all does just come down to defending his friend, really.

 

[Egotastic]

Yeah, there's no way Oeming looks at his own referencing of himself and what Mack does, and thinks it's the same thing. And if he does, he's kidding himself. He's just trying to help his friend out the hole that he dug for himself.

 

[iloveclones]

I kind of agree with Oeming (well, at least what I've read here.) I don't have a problem as "art", people using photos, either in a collage, or how Mack is using them.

My problem with it is that whether it's tracing from models like Ross does, or outright using photos, I feel it sucks any dynamic quality out of a comic story. The one strength comic storytelling has over other mediums is that it can stretch and exaggerate the emotions of any situation, visually. You can't do that with a model.

 

[Egotastic]

You don't think taking something an artist did, lightboxing it and passing it off as your own work is morally and ethically wrong?

 

[yenaled]

A ludicrously small week for me, bought-wise, but man...what a week.

Blue Beetle #25
"...We never stood a chance."

By the time I got to the end of this issue, I was crying from how good it was. I sht you not. It's not just made out of win; win is made out of this book. This has been the single best comic series of at least the entirety of the past...two years. A series that sets up the very best stories it could possibly set up and pays off in every single conceivable way. It beats out Checkmate, and Checkmate is unbeatable. Sometime this week I'm going to go and buy every single trade of this series even though I have nearly every single issue already. Someone stop me before I do this! Don't stop me. Don't ever stop me. This is why I read comics. This is why I simply do not tolerate mediocrity, there is simply no excuse for it when something like this could exist. How is it that a complete n00b comic writer could come onto the conflagration that is DC and just make veteran writers seem like they have no freaking idea what they're doing by comparison?

And because the universe truly and unfailingly hates me, of course it's ending. Rogers is taking a..."break"...while other writers attempt to tackle his shoes. I'm sorry, I know Pfeifer apparently should be known for better things than the single worst and most offensive DC miniseres of recent memory, but I just cannot look forward to his work here in any way, shape, or form. But, still, I'll try to consider that if he does even half as good a job as Rogers has done, it'll be worth it.

(10 out of 10)
(10 out of 10 for the arc)
(10 out of 10 for the entire run)

Blue Beetle #25 was so goddamn awesome. This is the way to be nostalgic, DC. You don't upturn the entire universe to reinstate tired old Silver Age bull****. You progress the characters' overall arcs and legacies while paying homage to the past. I loved how cheery Ice was in the middle of a big fight with the Reach. "Hey, Bea's here! Neat! Hi, Bea!" I gotta pick up some JLI trades and get better acquainted with her. And Guy has one of the most unquestionably badass intros ever, too. "Yeah, baby girl. I'm the crazy one." Then there's the scarab and Jaime's awesomeness. God, so many great moments. I'm really, really gonna miss Rogers. I hope he comes back soon. In the meantime, the characters are good enough that I'll continue to read it in spite of his absence. Looking forward to more Traci in the next issue.

QFT.

I'm praying to Gods I don't believe in that Pfeifer is on the same form that we saw with "Planet Heist" and "Captain Atom: Armageddon" if he is then I'm sure the book will be in safe hands till Rogers is ready to return.

If not then

 

[Egotastic]

Man, you guys are turning a great book into a horribly overrated book. It's not the Second Coming.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Jamal Igle was also defending Mack on Newsarama for some reason.

 

[Darthphere]

Man, you guys are turning a great book into a horribly overrated book. It's not the Second Coming.

You mean like Invincible.


Also, I still support Mack.

 

[Egotastic]

Jamal Igle was also defending Mack on Newsarama for some reason.

Yeah, Igle's kind of a turd.

You mean like Invincible.

Exactly like Invincible.

Also, I still support Mack.

I don't even know how that's possible, unless you have some kind of vested interest in his reputation and success.

 

[Blader5489]

How can anyone defend Mack? He plagiarized. And pretty blatantly, at that. Maybe you don't care he plagiarized, but you can't possibly justify it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Man, you guys are turning a great book into a horribly overrated book. It's not the Second Coming.

It is a great, fun superhero comic, though. That's a rare thing at DC lately.

 

[Egotastic]

It is a great, fun superhero comic, though. That's a rare thing at DC lately.

I agree with that. But there are lots of great, fun superhero comics in general. Just because of the fact that it's a small fish in DC's sea of mediocrity, shouldn't contribute to it's quality.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Meh, it gets me excited. No small feat, so I praise it accordingly.

 

[Darthphere]

I don't even know how that's possible, unless you have some kind of vested interest in his reputation and success.

Very possible. I mean, we're talking about a percentage point of all his works. Now, if you want to go through all his work, every single page or panel he's ever drawn and try to find swipes, go ahead. But for the most part, he's a still a talented artist who has done something really below his talent level for what I don't know. To meet a deadline? He got lazy? Didn't care enough? Doesn't matter, I'm not condoning swiping, it's stupid, lazy and irresponsible in some cases. If we can all forgive OJ, then I can forgive David Mack.

How can anyone defend Mack? He plagiarized. And pretty blatantly, at that. Maybe you don't care he plagiarized, but you can't possibly justify it.

I never was or tried to justify it, all I said was I support David Mack. Does he deserve the **** storm on him right now? Sure. But I'll still buy one of his comics.

 

[Egotastic]

Meh, it gets me excited. No small feat, so I praise it accordingly.

If you like books like that, you should check out (if you don't already) Invincible, Firebreather and Dynamo 5.

 

[iloveclones]

How can anyone defend Mack? He plagiarized. And pretty blatantly, at that. Maybe you don't care he plagiarized, but you can't possibly justify it.

Of course I can. It's art, just like anything else. Artists use all kinds of materials, including photos, to make something new. If that's his schtick, I'm allright with it. I don't think it makes for good comic art, but as far as "art" goes, I'm allright with it.

Do any of you know whether or not he has permission from the magazine to have used this. Because, if he does, it's all a moot point.

 

[Darthphere]

Meh, it gets me excited. No small feat, so I praise it accordingly.

Why are you even bothering to explain yourself to Egotastic?