Wolverine in Black & White

Now this is why I wish the comics companies had not thrown out the old technology.

When Image Comics came along and started making slicks instead of rags (slicks are the "slick" magazines; rags are those that used to be printed on newsprint), all the comics companies followed suit. Sure, the art stands-out more and it's an overall better effect, but what's the point in having this technology for black and white comic books!?

Let me tell you: none. There is no advantage to having black and white comic books printed on magazine stock paper!

Colors were done with toner. Toner is little dots of color. The closer together the dots are, the more vibrant the color; the farther apart, the less. That means red is done with closely-arranged dots, while pink toner uses red dots spaced farther apart. Solid colors absolutely look more vibrant, not to mention that magazine stock allows you to reprint great effects, such as watercolor, acrylics, and so forth.

But black ink is solid! Black shows up perfectly on newsprint. Not to mention that the use of toner is an art unto itself - one that is quickly becoming lost in American comics - and a lot of artists still use toner to achieve the same shading effects on the higher-quality stock. And don't even give me that shit about comics degradation; newspaper lasts a lot longer than most collectors want to think it does, so that's a non-issue.

Why am I saying all of this?

Because Marvel is releasing a new Wolverine comic - the latest in the Marvel Knights line - in color and black and white. and while the b&w artwork is phenomenal, you are not gaining anything by seeing it on magazine-grade stock - you're just paying more to see it!

Logan is penned by critically-acclaimed writer Brian K. Vaughan (TV’s LOST, Y: The Last Man) with art by esteemed artist Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets), and will have three installments. The interior art featured is from the first issue; the cover and variant is from issue #2.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008