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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 32m

Years ago, we ere visiting my wife's sister, who had a three year old son at the time. Her husband had picked up Spirited Away on DVD and one afternoon while we were watching the kid, he decided to pop it in because... ya know... cartoons are for toddlers!

We were in trouble the rest of the week.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 2h

Same for me.

Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 4h

So... "Nightmare Alley" takes place in the "Stepbrothers" Cinematic Universe?

Guillermo del Toro @realgdt.bsky.social · 5h

Was completely on purpose

Ghoulian Singleton 🎃 @juliansingleton.bsky.social · 8h

Threw on the new Criterion of NIGHTMARE ALLEY 2021 and forgot that the reappearance of Richard Jenkins and Mary Steenburgen makes this the Catalina Wine Mixer of Guillermo Del Toro's oeuvre.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 6h

Baltimore.

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 8h

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

Oh god. So many typos. Please forgive "though and though" and "to" rather than "too". And typos in my 30+ year old shitty comic.

Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

And I suspect those non-specialists will learn pretty quickly to not be impressed by the material output by most generative AI tools.

What happens after that is debatable, but doesn't seem great for anyone banking heavily on AI content generation becoming the gold standard for professional artists.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

AI is scarily similar. Fans and dabblers and other non-specialists are impressed by how quickly it can push out highly-DETAILED and seemingly complex "art" in moments.

But actual pros can see the many, MANY flaws. It's not GOOD. If you submitted it to a paying client, they'd fire you (AT BEST).

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

The apple was hollow, though and through and fans knew it.

The industry imploded. Many studios went bust. Marvel went bankrupt and had to sell the rights to many of its properties at firesale prices and on preposterous terms (which is why Sony owns the film rights to Spider-man to this very day).

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

But the problem wasn't a bunch of kids trying to take shortcuts to comic book superstardom. The problem was that the WHOLE INDUSTRY started doing it to. "Surface" skill was enough to get you in the door.

And as the new, young fans matured, they realized the books they were reading were pretty bad.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

We were skipping most of the six steps. Wanting to make something is no replacement for learning how to make it. We jumped from "IDEA" to "SURFACE" without any real time spent in between.

And none of us become comic book artists because we didn't have what it took to stick to it and LEARN.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

For a bunch of 15 year-olds it was admirably ambitious, but none of us had the fundamental skills needed to make ACTUAL comics with credible, personal styles and creative vision.

If we had taken our book to show to professionals, I imagine the reception would have looked remarkably close to this:

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

In 1993, at the height of the bubble, five of us self-published a single issue of "Pentateuch" (because why NOT compare your comic to THE BIBLE?). My chapter - "ABSOLUTE ZERO" - was a mangled mass of EXTREME tropes and styles poorly-lifted from McFarlane, Liefeld, Jim AND Jae Lee, Bisley and more.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

As teenagers at the time, my friends and I thought we'd be able to become a comic book artists some day. We'd spend a lot of time copying the surface style of our favorite artists, but without learning much about anatomy or perspective or light and shadow.

And yes, there's... uh... EVIDENCE.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

The result was a boom in sales of books with flashy art, borderline-nonexistent stories, gimmicky covers and hype like you wouldn't believe. Artists became rockstars and sales shot into the millions for some books.

But the "apple" was hollow. The boom busted and nearly destroyed the industry.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

This chapter was very much a product of the 90s comic scene, where art that was VERY "surface"-oriented was king. It appealed to young, inexperienced fans who were excited by the dynamic, noisy visuals, even though the fundamentals - the earlier steps on the path - were... deprioritized.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud lays out a six step "path" that he believes applies universally to all creative pursuits (not just comics). You can jump around the steps, but without attending to them all eventually, you'll never master the art and your work will suffer.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

How is it possible for so many people to look at deeply flawed AI-generated content and think it's good, much less competitive in terms of quality when compared to actual art?

Because we perceive the most superficial elements of art most easily. AI is pure surface, so it appeals to non-specialists.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 7h

For the umpteenth time, I just saw someone post an AI video with a comment that boiled down to "Hollywood can't compete with this" who seemed honestly surprised when the comments were entirely negative, pointing out the MANY obvious flaws.

It reminded me of the best chapter in Understanding Comics.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 9h

Well, I’ll be damned. This is a MARKED improvement (and dare I say it maybe even has a WHIFF of Zohran’s didactic style in places?).

Sure, it’s kind of awkward at times (unbutton the blazer and stop showing him starting to walk), but this is a solid move in the right direction in tone and content.

Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 1d

"So, Democrats have three words for this: no fucking way. It's literally life or death. We will not let Republicans blow up our health care system."

This is, hands down, the best comms work Chuck Schumer has done in YEARS. Surprisingly good.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 11h

Oh, and since it’s not clear from the thumbnail, while the channel is presented in Spanish, this video has been automatically autodubbed into English.

Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 13h

If you were confused by the "Kid From Number 8" sketch on this week's SNL, this video is a great explainer from a channel dedicated ENTIRELY to the show it was celebrating.

CHAVES no SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: a PARÓDIA que BOMBOU no mundo todo!

YouTube video by Vila do Chaves

www.youtube.com

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 13h

It really picks up speed as the season progresses and ends in a way that at least FEELS like they know where they're going. Whether we like the eventual payoff is harder to say, but it doesn't seem like they're spinning their wheels or padding it unnecessarily, which were LOST's main sins IMHO.

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Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 14h

Unfathomable levels of coolness.

Frederik Hornung @frederikhornung.com · 1d

HORUS!

Finally finished drawing this mean-ol' baldie on his own retro pulp faux cover. #warhammer

Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 14h

Oh, and while it's been a while since I did it, I used to LOVE eating uncooked Quaker instant oatmeal packets (apple cinnamon because the apple chunks are fun to chew).

Josh Drescher @joshdrescher.bsky.social · 14h

Scrapple.

Cilantro on peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches.

Pickleloaf.

Anchovies in pretty much anything savory.

Gator.

Carl Buddig "BEEF" slices (as a snack or for cream chipped beef). And ONLY in the NASA-grade single serving packs. AS CARL HIMSELF INTENDED.

Gizzards with honey.

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