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Post by Defiant1 on Aug 29, 2006 22:32:40 GMT -5
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Post by Tim Perkins on Aug 31, 2006 21:55:35 GMT -5
Thanks for your kind words and the link to my website. My days spent in the Defiant bullpen studio in Manhattan were the best. I was privileged to be able to work alongside some very talented people. Regards, Tim Perkins.
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Post by Defiant1 on Sept 1, 2006 0:40:10 GMT -5
Thanks for your kind words and the link to my website. My days spent in the Defiant bullpen studio in Manhattan were the best. I was privileged to be able to work alongside some very talented people. Regards, Tim Perkins. Thanks for visting. In years prior, I bought quite a few color art originals from Janet Jackson. I think the last piece I bought was the color art cover to War Dancer #1. Since that time, I've strayed from buying comic art or comics in general. Janet used the Doc Martin (?) watercolors which some have criticized because they fade when exposed to light. Kim Demulder mentioned it to me in person at a convention and Charles Yoakum mentioned it in an email. If her pieces have faded, I can't tell. They look stunning. I was told your color artwork was done with a different type of paint that does not fade. Assuming you read this, I was wondering if you'd describe what method or materials you used to create your color art. Also, one ongoing mystery has been to determine what unpublished art exists for DEFIANT. It had been a goal of mine at one point to get the unpublished works available to the fans. As you know, fans spent almost a year supporting the product line only to become frustrated and left in the dark when the promised Schism crossover never occurred. Do you own any unpublished art? Could you be coaxed into scanning it if so? My site used to be far more expansive, but for a multitude of reasons I've dropped it back to just a checklist & cover scans. Thanks. Defiant1
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Post by Defiant1 on Sept 2, 2006 8:50:29 GMT -5
For those too lazy to dig on Tim's site, I did find this comment:
"There is also an opportunity to commission Tim to produce one off, original pieces of artwork to your specifications."
Sounds pretty cool.
Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Sept 3, 2006 11:20:26 GMT -5
Hi there again, Sorry for the delay in answering, but things are a little manic here at Wizards Keep at the moment. Here are a few answers for you:The medium used for the colour work I did at the Defiant Bullpen was dependent on whether I was "ghosting" or not. When I worked on the other books such as War dancer, Charlemagne and Good Guys, etc I used the house-style used by Janet Jackson, so as to blend in to the overall look of those books. When I worked on Dark Dominion I used my own style of painting comics at the time. I used acrylics, which I treated like watercolours in the main, with an occasionally foray into opaque oil type techniques thrown in for good measure. The reason for this was down to two things:Firstly the early colour work I did here in the UK was in watercolour dyes and inks like Janet used on the Defiant books, but I always found they dulled up due to the pigments involved when they went off to print. It was whilst working with John Ridgway on Judge Dredd that John spoke to another British comics artist by the name of Ian Kennedy - if you have never seen this guys work, please check it out, truly superb artwork that looks effortless. Ian draws the best wheels in the industry and his colour work is really incredible. Ian told John that he used acrylics and seven colours at that. The colours in case you are interested were:Permanent Alizarine Crimson - Cerulean Blue - Cadmium Yellow Medium - Burnt Sienna - Emerald Green - Ivory Black - Permanent White. Both John and I tried them out and took to them as in print they gave a much stronger and truer image in print. Secondly some of my earlier artwork had come back into my possession in a less than satisfactory state and acrylics were just that bit more robust. I haven't noticed any of my Doc Martin pages have faded - but they are archived and in the dark for the most part so that doesn't really count. The acrylic pages certainly haven't. The colour is built up with washes just like any similar painting technique until the desired strength is acquired. The illusion in the comics work is to make people think they are seeing more than they actually are. I received all of my artwork back for Dark Dominion except for the front cover to the card set over Steve Ditko's marvellous artwork and issue 6 for some reason. This is as you will be aware the episode following Joe's departure as penciller. Entitled What Dreams May Come it contained - at least in the Quantum field scenes - some of my more painted artwork. It wasn't straight away I noticed the pages to this issue were missing from those sent back to me after Defiant folded, but if you ever see any about please feel free to let me know. Other than that I have the complete Dark Dominion set including I think at least some of the cards I worked on for the issue zero card set. As to your ongoing mystery regarding what unpublished art exists for DEFIANT...I am unaware of any - but feel there must have been some. I was already back in England when the company folded. When I arrived back here I produced some work on Dark Dominion and War Dancer - I worked on the Dave Taylor special War Dancer too. Then I heard things where bad from someone in the offices and later received a call from Su McTeigue whereby she explained she had been offered the book to colour and felt bad as it was being taken from me. I told her to do the book and not to feel bad. The reasons were pretty obvious to me at the time – sad though they were – it was all down to the sheer logistics of the matter. I spent such a long time out in Manhattan working there, really down to the fact it was a constant battle to keep the books on deadline, which meant for every late book the printers would charge a huge fee to Defiant. I came home to the UK during Christmas week, having arrived in the USA at the start of August. In the period between Christmas and New Year, as I worked on the first pages I had of issue 5 of DD, I received a call asking me to go back out to the states as all their books were struggling as they had all fallen behind deadline again. This second period would last from the beginning of January until April. All the while I stayed in New York I was treated with unbelievable respect by everyone, especially Jim Shooter. I was treated like Elvis and had an expense account with them. I earned money for the work I did but they also paid for my apartment and food and drinks and any other bills that came along like cabs and medicine. The simple logistical nightmare of having the pages come over to me for the colour to be added, especially when the books where always on the verge of nearing the deadlines meant that something had to give eventually. With the distance and times involved between the USA and UK it was inevitable that, with things as they were fast becoming, I would become a casualty of this. I cannot say enough good things about Jim and the team there. They were my best times in comics - after all I was in New York, home to the comic book, and working alongside some of the most talented guys in the business - guys like Jim Shooter, Janet Jackson, Joe James, Steve Ditko, Alan Weiss, Len Wein, Charles Yoakum Mike Witherby, Bob Downs and all the other wonderful people there. The respect shown to me during this time was both unexpected and wonderful to experience. So as a result of me being out of the scene right at the sad demise of defiant I am sorry I don't have any unpublished work, but I still speak to some of the guys from those days and will ask them if they have or know of any for you the next time I speak to them. I hope this answers your questions. Anything else, please just ask? I still talk a lot about my wonderful times back then… Great days…the best!!!
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Post by Defiant1 on Sept 3, 2006 11:59:10 GMT -5
Wow! Great perspective from a different point of view. None of Dave Taylor's work was published. Janet had some photographs of his original art but otherwise none of the originals have surfaced. If you have any of those pieces, I know fans would love to see them. The legacy of DEFIANT is both joy and heartbreak. Most everyone I've spoken with cherished the good times. For some however, the disapointment at the end outweighs the good times and they'd rather leave portions of it as part of their past and not be reminded of it. That is just one of the many reasons my DEFIANT site is just a checklist now. Thanks again. Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Sept 3, 2006 12:23:38 GMT -5
Hi There again, Re: different point of view.Thanks, I'm glad you think so. Re: Dave Taylor's work was unpublished. I certainly have some if not all the colour pages in my archives. I will check next time I am up there, to see what I have. I will scan any I have for your site, no problem. It may take a little while before I can get around to doing so, but as long as you aren't in any urgent hurry I will certainly do this for you. Re: The legacy of DEFIANT is both joy and heartbreak. For me, as I say, yes the demise was so very, very sad for everyone, but that said the times were just unequaled for me in all my time in comics. Jim showed me how things can and should be run in the comics industry. I am taking a feather out of his cap with the way I am approaching things here at Wizards Keep. If you like I will add a link to this chat in my news pages and also a link to your site in my fan-site links section to attract people to your site. Regards, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Sept 3, 2006 18:08:19 GMT -5
Jim showed me how things can and should be run in the comics industry. I am taking a feather out of his cap with the way I am approaching things here at Wizards Keep. If you like I will add a link to this chat in my news pages and also a link to your site in my fan-site links section to attract people to your site. Regards, Tim... Jim's lack of presence in the industry today is a shame. The values he learned and brought with him to Valiant, DEFIANT, and Broadway made comics fun and the stories were compelling. Much of that is lost in the industry today. You are welcome to provide a link. I'm really and not looking for (nor expecting) a high volume of traffic. I'd prefer visitors that either already know why they are coming here or visitors who truly want to learn more. Comic book messageboards sometimes get preyed upon by retailers trying to dump their excess stock or collectors just trying to get money for the comics they don't want anymore. I'd rather not attract a generic audience that might not appreciate your work or the product DEFIANT released. Quite a few creators had pledged to donate unpublished work, but they've been too busy. Years have passed since the original offers were made so I don't expect the status to change. Fans, including myself appreciate seeing the stuff. I have plot notes for the full storyline, but I don't have an actual script. You'd definitely get credit for anything I post and I think it would help fans remember your contribution and your name. Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Sept 3, 2006 21:58:19 GMT -5
Hi Again. Maybe Jim will enter the comic book business again some day, who knows? The link will only be used to promote Defiant comics as I was connected with them like on the Wizards Keep website, so no worries there. I will send you the link when I set it up so that you can check it's how you want it or make changes. I will place it in the fan-sites section of my links pages. Re: The unpublished work, I will definitely provide you with jpegs to add to your website here. It's a shame the other guys never got around to doing so. I am just unable to do so for about a week or two as I am absolutely snowed under at the moment and I need to source the pages from my archives and also scan and re-size them. I provided artwork for display on two other sites one is a Dreamstone website and the other is a Thundercats site. You can check out the links on my website to these two sites. I like the fact that unpublished stuff is seen by the fans...It beats the Ecch out of sitting in the dark... Speak to you again soon. Best, Tim...
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Post by Tim Perkins on Sept 4, 2006 15:32:09 GMT -5
Hi there, Just a quick line to say a link has been recently added into the fansite links section of the Wizards Keep website. Regards, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Sept 4, 2006 17:47:02 GMT -5
It looks good. I'll try to reciprocate at some point, but after my last hard drive crash, I can't even update my pages right now. Most of my passwords were lost and I don't have them memorized. Most should be sitting on other hard drives somewhere, but they are not installed.
Defiant1
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Post by CORVETTEJIM1968 on Sept 6, 2006 21:05:31 GMT -5
in dark dominion 0 there were supposed to be 10 randomly inserted level 3 cards of original art (in card size) by Steve Ditko thats 1 in every 216,000 packs.do you know if they exsist?
jim
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Post by toddluck on Sept 8, 2006 21:36:20 GMT -5
Can't think of much to ad to this thread but this: Mr. Perkins, I loved you work! Your colors on Joe James DD is some of my favorite coloring of any comic I own. That was just a great looking book.
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Post by Tim Perkins on Sept 12, 2006 17:14:59 GMT -5
Hi CorvetteJim1968. As far as I am aware the cards did indeed exist - Next time I speak to Janet or Joe I will ask them, but I am pretty sure they do exist. I know I worked on some cards by Steve Ditko and the cover to the issue zero card set... I'll check and get back to you ASAP. Regards, Tim...
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Post by Tim Perkins on Sept 12, 2006 17:22:49 GMT -5
Hi Toddluck, Nice to hear from you too. Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you like the colours I added to the DD book. I purposely tried to give the book a look of it's own. From reader reaction at the time it seemed to work with them. The fact that you guys are still talking about the book is great. I think DD was one of the best books I have worked on even now, especially when Joe was penciller. It was great fun whilst it lasted. I may add some original artwork for sale up on the Wizards Keep eventually. Thanks again for your kind words. Regards, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Sept 12, 2006 23:11:57 GMT -5
It amazes me that nobody has picked up on the Dark Dominion theme and made a video game. The subjecr matter seems to be well suited for gaming.
Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Sept 13, 2006 11:55:28 GMT -5
I guess it would have, if the rights had remained with Jim... I'm not even sure who has the rights now. I think if the book was to resurface into todays marketplace where things other than superheroes are being worked on it would be a successful book, game and even film/animation. Who knows...maybe someday? Best, Tim...
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Post by Tim Perkins on Feb 2, 2007 19:57:07 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Sorry it's been a while, but these last few months have been really busy for me. That said, however, I did say a while ago that I would source, scan, then post here to the website some unpublished Defiant artwork, ASAP. I will try to do this over the next few days or so, if possible. Hope you guys are all feeling fit and well. More soon. Regards, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Feb 2, 2007 23:39:36 GMT -5
Hi Guys, Sorry it's been a while, but these last few months have been really busy for me. That said, however, I did say a while ago that I would source, scan, then post here to the website some unpublished Defiant artwork, ASAP. I will try to do this over the next few days or so, if possible. Hope you guys are all feeling fit and well. More soon. Regards, Tim... Welcome back Tim. I'm a bit hyped. I met Mike Judge tonight at an Animation show he was hosting in town. Defiant1
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Post by GregBoone on Feb 4, 2007 13:36:20 GMT -5
Bust my buttons! It's good ol' Tim Perkins posting on this board! Folks, if you want to see somewhat of Tim's acting abilities try looking at the splash page of Good Guys #5. It's the issue where Flex learns self defense. I was having problems composing that very complex opening shot and Tim actually did the pose you see Icarus doing while kneeling down to help Zack. Heya Tim! I'll say hey from Grey too! Just had dinner with him and his wife here in Hollywood! Grey's got a new book out called 'Carbon' from his company at www.greypublishing.com
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Post by Defiant1 on Feb 20, 2007 5:48:51 GMT -5
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Post by Tim Perkins on Jun 28, 2007 18:57:20 GMT -5
Hi Boone, Great to see you here. Wow yeah I forget about the "acting"...Great days those - we had some fun didn't we? Been a while since I visited this site, apologies to all, but work is absolutely manic here on this side of the pond for me. I will eventually get into my archives and scan the Dave Taylor War Dancer artwork for you guys - it's just down to time to actually find it, scan it and then post it. As well as the day to day running of Wizards Keep and now looking towards a new retail outlet to accompany some other retailers agreeing to stock the products, I have recently agreed to work on a NDA protected project for UK comics company Markosia. (More of which can be found on the Wizards Keep website news sections and also the Wizards Keep Blog. I have also just agreed to produce my first regular comic book work in a number of years, for another UK comics company, which I will be running alongside the production of the "Worlds End" graphic novel. More of which will be written on my news pages and Blog soon. Hope everyone here is well and I'll try and get back into the swing of posting more regularly. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask and I get back to you ASAP. Be Well and Have Fun! Regards, Tim...
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Thanks for the Plug
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Post by Thanks for the Plug on Jun 28, 2007 18:59:42 GMT -5
Hi Defiant1, Thanks for the plug for my Blog. Hope you are enjoying the stuff I post up there. Speak to you soon. Regards, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Jun 29, 2007 14:15:26 GMT -5
Hi Defiant1, Thanks for the plug for my Blog. Hope you are enjoying the stuff I post up there. Speak to you soon. Regards, Tim... I visited your blog, but I don't remember linking to it. I can do that, but my life has been hectic lately. I'm drifting away from comics right now. The industry just is not producing anything that captivates me. I'm burnt out on static poses, poked out chests, sensationalistic drama of heroes being killed or abused. My interest in comics came from the morals, a higher integrity, and the providence to take a situation and be "super" and do what people in the real world can't do or won't do. I wish you the best Tim. For now though, the board is going to stay downsized and my collecting is pretty much on hiatus. I kinda cringe at the thought of walking into a comic book store now. Defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Aug 15, 2007 2:32:21 GMT -5
Hi Defiant1, Sorry to hear you are so disillusioned by comic books right now. I have to say one of the reasons for setting up Wizards Keep was to be able to create, write and draw the kind of comics I had always wanted to. The "Worlds End" graphic novel is going to be the first thing I have ever had total control over. I'm not doing so for egotistical reasons, but as you say I don't want unnecessary violence and bad language interfering with the story or the way in which it is told. I have worked for most of the major players and have seen things change within them. Changes, which alienate kids. I want my new work to sell to the kid of six and sixty six and beyond. The folks with the childhood spark still in them. The exciting thing for me at the moment is seeing all the small press stuff out there and also seeing and hearing a backlash from many of the writers and artists against dark, grim and gritty, and let's be frank here, down right depressing story lines, with a view to producing more fun filled and light work. One of the saddest things for me is the recent death of Mike Wieringo over this last weekend. I had sent an email in recent weeks asking him to become part of a team of artists from all over the world to work on a "Worlds End" Sketch Book, whereby they produce their versions of my new characters. Sadly now this will never happen. Mike's work was always full of fun, joy and hope. His presence in the comics industry will be sorely missed. He was one of the few guiding lights still left in the industry. A certain Mr. Greg Boone, one of your members, and ex-Defiant creator (Like myself) is one of the artists I have waiting in the wings for me to give the go-ahead for the Sketch Book. I can see the swing towards more fun filled comics and graphic novels and as this happens a path back to the days when kids saw there WAS a distinction between Good and Evil, The Heroes and Villains, and Right and Wrong. So hopefully your hiatus won't last for long, before you are back enjoying reading the funnies again. I would love to hear back from you with your thoughts on the "Worlds End" graphic novel, when I eventually publish the first volume. If you email me direct off line with your details I will send you a copy to take a look at. Oh well it's back to the drawing board for me right now. The new project I spoke of, which I am running alongside the Wizards Keep stuff is the UK comic book Hot Wheels, which, although a junior kids title, is great fun to do and my first regular comics work in a number of years. I am presently running this and the Markosia job alongside each other until the latter is finished and then I will run Hot Wheels and "Worlds End" together. I haven't forgotten my promise of sending you jpegs of the unpublished War Dancer pages and will do so as soon as I get a little straighter here at the Keep. Speak to you again soon. Be Well & Have Fun. Best Wishes, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Aug 15, 2007 5:03:40 GMT -5
Tim,
You are welcome to keep us informed. This is not in direct reference to anything you said, but I've always liked the idea of comics being aimed at kids, but mature enough for adults. Too many people "dumb down" stories for kids. I like stories for kids that challenge them and encourage them to think. I recently picked up a Charlton Comics publication which prints the criteria for the comics code. I must say that I'm actually a fan of the code despite it's restrictions. It encouraged even simple things like proper grammar.
Sorry to hear about Mike. Who wakes up at age 22 and thinks "My life is half over." Weird.
Take Care.
defiant1
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Post by gowaltrip on Aug 21, 2007 5:40:44 GMT -5
A good little read here.
Wish a bit more of this stuff would still show up here. Its nice that you can have the board essentially shut down and still people will stop by and post. The Tim Perkins post was an interesting and insightful read.
I'm hoping more stuff like this will trickle in from time to time.
It keeps me coming back even though 9 times out of 10 theses days.....nothing happens.
I keep waiting for the 1 out of 10.
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Post by Tim Perkins on Dec 2, 2007 19:24:46 GMT -5
Hi guys, Just dropped by to see what was happening here. Thanks for your comments re the last piece I wrote here, I appreciate it. I'm just sorry that at the moment it is quite infrequent due to my current workload. Defiant1, I have to agree totally with your remarks about the dumbing down of comics for kids, especially here in the UK. The Hot Wheels comic is gradually looking different than it did when I took over the art chores, but this has been done, as I say gradually, as a conscious effort from me to create less of a jarring leap from art styles. The thing I changed from the off was the way that cars were drawn and rendered and after that it's been a gradual process to draw it less and less as it was before, until it becomes totally my style. The problem is that if we look at comics produced in the late fifties here in the UK and then at what we are producing here in the UK at the present moment, and this is true of the last twenty plus years, there is a massive dumbing down in terms of both story and artwork content. This is not down to the creative teams involved but a conscious decision by the publishers and editorial, as a result of this, to create simplistic stories for "younger children". Now my argument here is when looking at a kid in the 50's who had limited and blurry TV shows at best, little access to films, except animation ala Disney et al and yet had wonderful, photogravure, printed comic books and annuals, and, in the main to use his or her imagination to fill in most of the gaps out side of comics. With this in mind how then were the stories both written and drawn more mature in content and the way they were crafted both in the written word and in the artwork and far superior to anything we have been allowed to produce of late (the last 20 plus years at least). Today's kids are brought up in a world of CGI extravaganzas on the TV and at the movies and on DVD, unbelievable graphics on the new video games, design work in every product available to the general public today, high end toy manufacture, etc, etc. Why then is the content of the comics in question so lame and dumbed down? The general excuse is children need a simplistic story to understand it and as a consequence they need simplistic artwork to accompany it. Does this then infer that the kids of today are semi-literate at best and unable to think a story through for themselves unless spoon fed in the most simplistic ways possible? If this is so then surely we need to look at our education systems, as something is sadly going wrong, when fifty odd years ago the kids could understand quite complex stories and artwork, without the availability of the technology of today's marketplace and those of today cannot. I heard a great piece in a local newspaper the other day produced by local government (labour) here in the UK. In it, it stated that a new futuristic venture was going to be employed for secondary school age kids whereby they are going to utilise tablet technology, much like our artist's Wacom tablets. They were likened to the old fashioned chalk tablets from years ago, before our time on this forum. The piece went onto say how this would revolutionise the work produced by kids as they could download information from the Internet, and they may even be able to use "text speak" like they do on their Cell/Mobile phones, with a computer gadget called " cre8txt" that is identical to a phone keypad and connects to a PC with software to translate it back into understandable English. Is it then any wonder with government decisions like this that today's standard of literacy in the UK is in such a terrible state. Okay we may use text speak occasionally to text a loved one quickly, but with our understanding of the English language we realise where we are making short cuts. In my role as a writer I found myself for part of the early part of 2007 working part time in a local college, helping students with essential needs in literacy (although this same problem extends into basic numeracy as well). The problem is massive. There are problems with English being a second or indeed third or fourth language sure in some cases, but when English is the first language and the problems still exist, then there is cause for concern. The problem is that by the time the kids get to college, with literacy problems, the battle is ALL uphill for them. Colleges are trying desperately to pick up the pieces of failings within the education system at school level and government is endorsing a backward step to accepting the kids writing in text speak, which in no uncertain terms is not the English language. What happens next do we start printing books, newspapers, magazines, and comics, what few there are now for kids, in text speak too? Kids no longer read comics here in the UK in large numbers and this as far as I am concerned is part of the literacy problem. If kids aren't reading comics, or books and are just cutting and pasting from the Internet then what are we creating as a future workforce? Illiteracy in the 21st century is something we should be ashamed of. Again here in the UK kid's educations are experimented with constantly at politician's whims, which by the time folks sit up and notice the kids are out there in the work place. So rather than pandering to simplistic ideals publishers should be making the stories and artwork more entertaining for kids, so they will sit down to read them. Government need to quickly address these mad schemes and stop the illiteracy among the kids. All everyone needs to do is look at the past and see why the systems worked back then. It seems to me that the more advanced the few become the more we encourage the majority to achieve less. Is this what Orwell warned us of in his book 1984? We see cameras everywhere now and our movements are tracked by the second, even this email has been logged with someone somewhere, and yet we can't figure out how to get our kids to read and write. Well this kind of tracking system is fine as long as it's done for the right reasons and as long as we do something to help the kids and get back to basics!!! Let's stop treating kids as unable to understand anything more than SIMPLE and treat them with the respect they deserve. Wow, well what started off as a little piece has turned into a missive of epic proportions. Hope you don't mind the little rant, but it is something important to me. ;D BTW: (I hope that the abbreviation is acceptable after my little rant) I haven't forgotten my promise to scan and send off some of the unpublished War Dancer pages to you guys here. Fingers crossed over the Christmas, New Year period I am due to help sort some more things on the Wizards Keep website, so there is every chance I will get an opportunity to search them out in the archives and scan them during this period. Looking forward to reading any comments to the above and hearing back from you all in general. I hope you are all feeling well, as I, myself, am just recuperating from a really bad chest infection that has been here with me for over a month now, with me only now starting to recover. Oh well I'm off now to work on the last of the Markosia pages, before the next Hot Wheels is due. I am really looking forward to the New Year as I will be returning at last to the "Worlds End" graphic novel and the turnarounds for the "Worlds End" figurines. Oh yes there will be some interesting sections added to the website between the Christmas and New Year period, feel free to check them out. If I don't speak to you guys before, please everyone have: A Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year Best Wishes as always, Tim...
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Post by Defiant1 on Dec 2, 2007 22:19:34 GMT -5
A thought inspired post with very relevant points. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Both intelligent and unintelligent people are equally to blame for the lack of knowledge kids acquire in their education. I watched my best friend who has a masters degree in aerospace engineering tell his daughter to "please be quiet" when she asked how radio worked. I interrupted and said "hey, I want to answer this." I told her in the best way I could how it worked. She followed with a series of other intelligent questions and her father was a bit shocked that she really had things to say. She was soaking it all in and I wondered how many times prior had he tried to keep her pondering childish things when her mind was wanting to expand beyond that. My nephew was playing with some building blocks in our living room one day. I got down on the floor with him and said "here is what I like to do." I made a huge tower out of them and explained balance and center of gravity. the next week he came over and was stacking blocks . I complimented him. He looked back and said "you taught me how to do this Uncle David" I was a mentor at my work for awhile and high school students would cycle through my area and learn my job. One particularly bright kid had no self-confidence. I would give him tasks to do that he could not screw up. I'd come back later and he'd be saying "I hope I got this right." With a smug response I'd say "I gave you something a little more difficult so you could practice reasoning your way through a problem. There was no wrong response other than to do nothing. You did good." Later I discovered his dad designed polymers for contact lenses. His dad was a genius with high expectations and he'd always instilled his son with the impression he did everything wrong. I know the kid went on to program robotics in college. I haven't confirmed it yet, but I heard he was working for NASA now. My point is that you have to put reading material slightly beyond a readers ability to understand so it inspires them to dig deeper. If you wanted an art tutorial to draw real people, would a Mickey Mouse art tutorial interest you very long? Probably not. I used to read Scientific American when I was a teenager. In those days the magazine was a lot more technical than it is today. I really liked it I'd just look at the pictures and graphs if I didn't understand the articles. My high school science experiment was to build a snow making box. I got the plans from Scientific American. I never turned in a project because I needed a selectively permeable membrane to build it. I was not informed enough to locate and source for my experiment. As an adult I see stuff that pushes the envelope of what technology can do. One product out of many we build is the drive train for the largest trucks in the world. When theses things are going downhill fully loaded, they release enough energy to power over 300 homes. If an assemblers leaves a loose washer in the cabinet, the electromagnetic field this thing produces can propel it out of the cabinet like a projectile. It's real difficult for me reading a story in the year 2007 when they are talking about transistors powering something. That was nice for the 1960's even if it was wrong. Transistors don't power anything. I love reading EC stories in the 50's where that are talking about racial issues, I love reading the letters column where a reader says it's impossible to go into outer space because the pressure inside versus the vacuum would cause the ship to explode. I like it because it was advanced for that day. It was intellectual. I don't see that in modern comics. Modern comics boast their ability to kill beloved characters. I want something to appeal on an intellectual level, not just a base emotional level. Especially not a negative emotion. Do have a Merry Christmas. I'll leave this category visible so others can read you insightful post. defiant1
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Post by Tim Perkins on Dec 13, 2007 19:17:44 GMT -5
Hi Guys, I have written a larger piece along the same lines as my piece above, about literacy and comics "dumbing down" on my Blog, for anyone interested. You can find it here:www.wizards-keep.blogspot.comThere will be some interesting announcements too on, the Wizards Keep website, between now and New Year. Which you can find here: www. wizards-keep.com Just in case I don't get chance before then, could I just wish everyone on the forum: A Very Merry Christmas & A Very Happy New Year!!! ;D
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