I’ve brought up my high school newspaper strip, Sly Sirs, on this website before, and how it’s not in continuity. I’d completely forgot this It’s Walky! storyline had happened at the time of those earlier writings, but it culminates in one of the reasons why Sly Sirs isn’t in continuity — I rewrote one of its strips for this flashback, necessitating the original version of events couldn’t happen. It was originally a Valentine’s Day comic, but I purged the rewrite of that setting. I also purged it of the admittedly better heart-shaped panel where Sal and Danny smooch in favor of a boring rectangular one, but otherwise the newer version is better all around. (I should probably hope so, since I was five years older at the time.) The original Sly Sirs strip is below.
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This is actually the first I’ve heard of Sly Sirs. Now I want to read it. It’s always interesting to see how far someone’s come in their craft from where they started.
Not that I plan to post any of my own early comic productions, mind you, but where I am now is depressing enough.
Huh. Let’s see what kind of comics you do.
*clicks link*
*scrolls through to find comics*
*Notices article on Comic Code*
Oh hey. I remember that. Written during the anti-comunist movement if I remember correctly. Strangely enough, today it seems to go on many comics despite the fact they do not seem to follow the old Comic Code rules.
*Looks at article*
Umm, Shadow? How much of that was sarcastic?
True a few years ago (though the ‘old Code rules’ have been revised repeatedly over the decades, often in response to companies flouting them when they were obviously silly), completely not true now. Marvel ditched the Code early in this century, DC something like 5 or 6 years ago (though they were, in fact, incredibly weird about what was and wasn’t getting the badge at the end), and even Archie shrugged and dropped them maybe 2 years ago (before they added Afterlife with Archie, which is pretty much the antithesis of the Code). Archie having been literally the very last holdout (and DC and Marvel the only other extant companies that ever had), the Code is now dead. (Although the CCA might still nominally exist, even if nobody bothers with them.)
Wowah. Nice.
*sticks copy of comment on sticky note*
Better save this for later.
If I remember correctly, it actually turned out that the CCA hadn’t existed for years before Archie Comics dropped it.
I’m willing to answer any questions or thoughts you have on the articles in the comments of the actual article. And it wasn’t so much the anti-communist movement as an anti-comics movement (similar to video games recently) pushed by a guy who knew nothing about comics. I do try to point out that the Code could work for kid-friendly comics (although I do question some things) but the problem was you couldn’t sell a comic for the longest time at newsstands and other places without that symbol on it.
But was it the same time perod? (Dates tell me nothing, sorry. All I really remember were the events, and I remember thinking there was a really strong correlation there)
Also, I highly disagree with your article. The Comics Code was quite repressive for comics overall, they restricted character development and the artist’s ability to write out the flaws and benefits of society.
What’s more, kid-friendly comics should be written with the deeper adult meanings because once the kids get old enough to understand them, they should already have developed quite a while subconsciously. Children don’t see the vile things in literature at first, which is enough to cushion the comics in their early years. But once they get older, they need to have some moral foundation built by reading book after book, making fun of unrealistic situations with their friends, enjoying wanting to be each good character to build off of when they read the books again and find “Hey wait a minute, maybe this villain had a point” or “You know, this could have all been avoided if…”.
I am honestly not sure if that was coherent. Did my point at least get through, or do I need to try again?
I’d rather not continue driving David’s comments off-topic so I’d rather continue there.
However, I do see your point and do somewhat agree. However, I don’t think the Code was always (depending on the committee at the time) so restrictive that it held back. It could also be seen as a challenge, and one quite a few kids TV shows could find a way around. There are some things that the Code got wrong or was confusing (and I tried to point those out and will do so for the rest of the series, “horror” is going to be a mess and ads will be hilarious to go over) but there were things that I thought the Code had a point about, or maybe it’s just my preferences and style. I never claimed to be unbiased, just that I try to see the other’s point.
As far as “kid-friendly comics should be written the deeper adult meanings”, I tend to balk at “should be”. The writer should be doing whatever best serves the story and if he or she wants to write something fun that should serve. Look at Art Baltazar and Franco’s work. I’ve seen adults praise Tiny Titans and I gave Superman Family Adventures positive reviews. Sometimes a story can be just good old fun.
I hope I made sense in this.
By the way, the comics are in a category (look through the scrollbar) called BW’s Comics or the Jake & Leon archives tab. I’ve been in a hiatus thanks to personal events but I’m about to post a new strip. Note that it’s not as good as David’s and he encouraged me to keep with it at one of his ConnectiCon appearances. So partly blame him.
One thing Sal wasn’t, was shy.
Oh dear.
Generally speaking, I don’t like Willis’s art, as art, until… well, until late It’s Walky at best, and mid-range (so far) DOA if I’m pressed.
But good (non-existent) god Sal improved between Sly Sirs and Roomies.
Sly Sirs is some of my favourite Willis art…my favourite until about the middle of Shortpacked! Lovely cartoony style, that he was generally able to keep more on model than a lot of his later-early art. He still had a bunch to learn about perspective and angles and motion…and writing…but it’s not bad on the whole.
Personally I think my favorite style (excluding the current one which I really like, especially when compared to the style at the beginning of DOA) is late It’s Walky / early Shortpacked. The Joyce design from that period is the most Joyce-y to me still. The most Walkyverse Joyce-y anyways.
Man I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that Willis’s high school was deemed the Slicers, after a local slaughter house. That’s some black humor if I ever heard it.
Joe’s dickishness seems to be the highlight of both comics at this time.
I like the original comic, it is cute.
Also, when I first read the commentary, I thought it said he was five years old at the time. So I was imressed with his ability to skip the boring elementary and junior high school years.
Should’ve kept the sound effect, just cuz
That’s honestly kind of adorable.