Illuminating Reading

Hello folks! It's been a few days. I thought I'd do a few updates on what I've been doing at work, since that's part of why this Blog was started in the first place. It sort of depends on the day, but for the most part, I've done a combination of proofing, scanning, running covers and other materials, and mailing complimentary books to creators. Comps as we call them, is an ever present task, which depends mainly on the availability of appropriate packing and shipping materials, and the correct addresses of the recipients. However, this means that it fills in the gaps when there aren't other projects I'm needed on.
Running covers basically involves me running around the office getting signatures from various people. One things I've learned is that comics are a hugely collaborative effort. Everybody takes a look at these things. None of them are out of place, but it surprised me how many there are. After it leaves the office, the covers go an Editor or the Editor-in-Chief, Legal, Proofreading, Sales, and a few other people whose jobs I don't understand. Then it comes back to the office, and everyone looks at it again to make sure. And even then there can be mistakes, but they're pretty rare. It's always a little intimidating to ask the editors for signatures, but hey, face time with the movers and shakers is always a good thing.
Last Tuesday I had an awful lot of proofs today, partially because we had a lot, and partially because only one of my supervisors was in, so that limited what I was able to do. It's very difficult to look at a book without reading the words, but there's a specific zone of your brain that you can switch to that allows you to do it. This is actually a useful skill to develop, as recently I've been looking at panels with a more critical eye, and it really helps to not read the words. I've started doing this when I proof as well. Taking an extra second to just look at the page is worth it, since it allows me to see a lot of material in a short period of time.
Yesterday was that first day I did color proofing. This is the third type of proof I've been asked to do. The first two are similar, in that they are concerned primarily with layout, but this is concerned specifically with color. Not only making sure that color is appropriate (no purple carrots) but that it is also consistent. You don't people's clothes changing color. No sir! What was particularly interesting was that the proof was a re coloration of older material, so I was able to see two versions of the same line-work with older and modern coloring. Let me tell you, it can make a huge difference.
Though I don't have contact with much in the actual way of scripts, all of these steps apply to the production of the monthly comics as well, so it's still a very helpful endeavor. The more I can understand about the process in its entirety the better. After all, that's the whole point of this thing. Also free comics. *cough*
You may have determined that the picture I selected for today's entry is an illuminated manuscript. Today my copy of The Art of the Book: From Medieval Manuscript to Graphic Novel arrived, and I finished the first chapter on Illuminated Manuscripts! The book uses examples from the National Art Library at the Victoria & Albert Musuem in England to provide examples of the literal form of the book as it has developed over the years. We can't forget that form and content are inseparable, and I've already gained some interesting insights. The first of these is that Illumination was mainly concerned with structuring the document in a way that made it more readable. During the mid-1800's it became more valued for its artistry than it's practicality, but it fascinates me that some of the earliest pieces of literature we have demonstrate an understanding that the structure of a page, including visual media, can affect the way it is perceived by a reader. This is, of course, an idea that the Comics medium exploits, or should exploit, to convey its content.
I watched a 2 hour long special on the History Channel entitled "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed", which basically showed all of the connections that Star Wars has to ancient mythology and modern history. While they had some great commentators, including Stephen Colbert, Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith, one thing stood out to me very clearly. People give George Lucas WAY too much credit.
I also saw Batman again. Guess what? It still rocks. There was also a trailer for a movie coming out in 2009 called "Terminator: Salvation" starring Christian Bale as a grown up John Connor blasting the crap out of killer robots. He is quickly becoming a huge action star. Who else can say that they've fought Dragons, The Joker, Robots, and corrupt Newspaper Magnates? Christian Bale, we salute you.