I always knew that comics started in caricatures and political/social commentary. But I never knew that in some parts of the world, it was also a boundary pusher for the visually impaired. If people are still insisting that comics are not an art form, they missing out on a lot.
It’s always funny to me that snobbish stuck up “high society” art critics can love Lichtenstein but snub their nose and pan Jack Kirby. They can praise Basquiat (who at the time was hit or miss in their eyes, right? Now that he’s dead he’s the best thing since sliced bread.) but hate Todd McFarlane. This lets me know that critic is a euphemism for “over paid hater”. You ever notice that the things that critics like are things that most people go “this is some bullshit, who really likes this? Were their parents cousins?”
@@ludotoyhunter8492 , et al, Todd McFarlane honestly deserves the hate because he is such a pretentious p r i c k, as well as has a big ego and a tiny brain.
9:43 This sentiment is so beautiful. As someone who's interested in creating comics but insecure about my art skills, it's inspiring to hear that the father of the art form itself advocated for more people to give it a go and enjoy doodling some funny little stories. Thank you for sharing!
If it may help, know that if you have an idea to express, any style, even a modest one can reach people efficiently. In Canada and in Europe we see numerous works and authors, some very popular, with "humble skills". Even in United States, there are several successful "comic books" in varied graphic styles - far from the "cinematographic performance" of some superheroes titles -, so you can be at ease to try like you feel it and do your best... 🙂
On a simillar, encouraging note, there's One Punch Man. The art in the original webcomic was bad to say the least, but it still got popular thanks to it's story and humour, which eventually led to the remake with Yusuke Murata's art.
It's even better when you take into account the context of his circumstances, it's not a matter of "well, he invented it, of course he'll encourage it!" Quite the opposite, he only did it because that was all he could do and even then was super insecure and ashamed of it until finally coming to terms with it and being able to appreciate what he had brought into this world
It says something that 150 years later comic writers are still creating under pseudonyms for fear that their amazing innovative work will cripple their chances in more traditional mediums.
This story is genuinely touching, like, actually impactful to my life and my relationship to comics. Comics are my favorite medium by far, and the one I have always aspired to be a part of. To see that the person who "invented" the medium also dealt with a society that minimized his passion, also looked down upon his own work, also thought the medium could evoke feeling that paintings and writings couldn't, and also enjoyed fart jokes makes me genuinely super happy. I am not lying when I say I got my eyes teary a bit after watching this video. Now, more than ever, I want to pursue my dream of being a part of comics, even if it's just a small web-comic. Thanks for this awesome video!
Did Matttt come out of nowhere, or was he previously doing content creation elsewhere? I've been very impressed, entertained, and informed by all of the videos on this channel so far and am looking forward to more!
Exactly what I'm wondering My guess is he was working for another popular youtube channel and decided to start creating contents of his own. I subscribed to him within a minute of watching one of his videos.
The camera, sound, presentation, and editing are all very high quality, even compared to pros. If he didn't have prior experience somewhere, i'd be very surprised and impressed!
Your passion for the medium of comics once again shines through and I'm just so happy to be here to experience your wonderful and insightful takes on a genre I know VERY little about!
Love how funny that is despite being 200 years old. :D Excellent story, was completely blindsided by that 11th hour twist of Goethe being the one to encourage him to print.
Loving the channel man! Really appreciate these dives into lesser-known comics subjects. Especially discussions on the technical side of story-telling in the medium My two most recent comics rabbit-holes have been the works of Windsor McCay and Alex Toth, might make some good episodes in the future!
I don't know if you have RU-vid experience elsewhere but your videos are exceptional and since your channel appeared seemingly out of nowhere you've knocked it out of the part of everything you've put out. I'm glad I subscribed after watching your first one. Also, it might be interesting to explore how comics evolved from this point to the modern comics industry and address key events like the first newspaper comic strip, the first anthology book, or the first dedicated comic publisher. Maybe some of the topics you encounter will be worth a whole video of their own.
Thank you for this video. I never heard of Töpffer before and bought two compilation books of his "Bilderromane" inside and they are legitimately funny which I didn't expect at all. It's incredible to me how unknown the guy is, being not only a pioneer, but a really good and entertaining storyteller as well.
This is an amazing video and story. I've been reading comics since I was a kid, and have always been fascinated by the art form. As a university student, I have written on the Bayeux Tapestry and even earlier works, but this story was unknown to me until now. I've always studied comics as the art form, not the physical object of a "comic book". I am really grateful you brought Topffer to my attention, and presented his story in such an engaging way!
I find it funny (and i guess a bit sad) that caricatures are looked down upon at those times. As an aspiring comic creator and artist, caricatures and editorial cartoons were my biggest inspiration for my drawings as they are whimsical but semi realistic and detailed, a style that resonated with me since I struggle with photorealism in my drawings. But hearing the father of comics struggle yet finding acclaim and recognition with his creation gives me more hope in my creative endeavors. This is a really awesome story, and a very awesome channel 👍
I've watched 3 of your videos back to back. Each one better than the previous. Your ideas for the videos are absolutely amazing, especially this one. My mind is blown away about the origins of comics. Please make more videos. I consider your videos more than edutainment but a service to humanity. Thank you.
I went to architecture school and by proxy got alot of art history, but this is so fascinating, please keep making videos, I think the way that you go about explaining the people behind the process is so fascinating, I look forward to every video you release, it literally makes my day
I watched all your videos and i'm impressed with the attention to detail and seriousness (albeit with humorous tones) that you tackle the subjects. Your videos are a breath of fresh air, diving into what has become a mainline industry that grew from what was considered a throwaway artform. Thanks for making these delightful videos, and i wish you well on the channel's growth. Cheers.
Your passion for comics is truly contagious. I've never touched a comic book in my life, but your videos have got me searching around for some to read! I think I'll start with TMNT :)
Even today the catering towards "realism" is much prioritized over stylized work in CG and animation. Disney Pixar tends to push realism in their animation, yet Spiderverse stood out for being different, stylized and unique. Many triple A titles goes for realistic graphics and movements yet Metroid Dread stole the show for simply being different from them. Though the efforts and precision it takes to bring out realism is impressive and commendable, it becomes stale when it's ubiquous. Art should never be monotone. Each should work to accentuate their own self in the pieces they craft. Be it good or bad, it should be unique to them (single person or a group). That's the mark of a true artist.
Man, this channel is just pure Gold, thanks man! just now i'm struggling with my creative process between pop media and fine art, this information just makes me feel a lot better and more confidant. Thanks!
I’m so happy this channel exists. I’m excited to learn more about comics-a medium I’ve loved since I was a kid and which continues to be a source of joy and curiosity. thanks for the new video!
The editing, storytelling and overall quality of these videos is superb. And it seems like this guy just came out of nowhere, and started making content, that matches even some of the biggest content creators on RU-vid.
your videos are absolutely amazing. I'm astounded that you don't have that many videos out but have already achieved such an amazing level of quality. Very sophisticated topics as well, I love that you are delving deep into the lesser known stories of the comics industry and spreading information about unsung artists. Great work 😁
The way you explained woodengraved printing and lithography was so short and effective. Incredible work. Your videos are so professional and well done. Thank you so much for your content
At the end of my college, I had to do a personal presentation for my final grade, and I did about comicbooks and it’s story, and it’s surprising to me, knowing that this man came from Switzerland, which is the place where I’ve grown up till this day!!
Can't praise your videos enough. To the point, no RU-vidr cliches or tropes, no snarkiness, and no narcissistic self-insertion within the topic at hand: focused on the story and the story-telling. Fantastic. Thank you Matttt
I am so glad I found your channel. Kudos for knowing about this particular creator. And that this is where comics began. So many people either start with famous funnies or action number one. Which aren’t even the first comics down in America. Wonder if you have a video about,” A visit to the gold Diggins by Jeremih saddlebags.” If you don’t that’s cool keep up the good work.
It's been several hours since I watched this video, and I'm still thinking about it! I love comics, and this was such a cool topic. It was also cool to learn about how Töpffer printed his comics and see the handwriting of the day!
I don't normally subscribe to a channel after one video, but this video was so fascinating and well done that I'm really impressed and want to see more. Great work, matttt.... whoever you are!!
Sometimes the youtube recommendations work so well, that we can see channels like these on RU-vid. Btw great video, great to see where it all begins and where it would lead to.
EXCELLENT F--KING VIDEO. As a 42 yr old comic fan, this is one of the best "history of comics" videos i have seen in recent years. THANK YOU FOR THIS🙇🏾♂️
Love your channel. With only 6 videos you've already have almost 50 k subscribers... That's gotta say something about the quality of them... Hope you keep making them, cheers
Fantástic work. Never knew about this guy. My rabbit hole suggestion: Lev Gleason, golden age comic book publisher and avowed communist. Fascinating figure.
You Sir deserves a follow. I really like what you have going on here and can't wait to see the future of it! + my personal hobby is now to try screen cap where you have your eyes closed / not looking excited ;)
Thank you so much for that enlightment, I've never heard about that and from the birth of the art form, the backup from f*ckin Goethe (I mean...), his critic in his own name of his work in his anonymous name (sounds very dada-ish to me), and finally his weakness becoming his strength and his support to people to do as he did and just draw and tell story the way he did... That man, and your video essay, the two makes a freakin masterclass. Thanks again, keep going, peace
Liked and subscribed when you said "Good question, and we'll get to that, but first" and it wasn't a soonsor. Even though I bet we'll see them on your vids soon. Also fascinating vid, cant believe its your lowest in views.
It’s funny how from the very beginning of comics there has always been a sentiment of “this will never take off and be taken seriously or cherished.” Superman had a lot of doubts going into his debut. Stan Lee made some successful characters but Marvel’s CEO(?) said “can’t have a relatable lead” in the Spider-Man pitch. Even in manga you can find stories of mangaka at Jump magazine just going against executive or editorial recommendations then taking off.
I love your channel. I was always interested in weird special comics like that. When I first discovered: war of the worlds-G.H.Welsh I got convinced that all the superherro Marvel/DC’s was actually made to draw atention away from: SUCH A POWERFUL MEDIU. I never knew about This book. But I am pretty sure I saw some of the illustrations before. Thanx
Dude this video appeared in my recommend 12h after it was posted. I'm so disappointed it didn't get more views... Gotta place one comment for the algorithm ☝️✨
Excellent WORK/WELL DONE video bringing some real history/context to this expressive form! Might you consider a video about the original CAPTAIN MARVEL (Fawcett era) , which I'd short list as among the most brilliantly inventive, imaginative, funny, charming, absurdist and surreal projects to come out of the gold and silver age? We were friends with Harlan Ellison who spoke often about the imaginative range (an huge enjoyability!) of the good Captain's adventures. (Also interesting to me to see how one of its key writers would later/oon after "captain-marvelize" Superman's tales! Your kind of coverage on this would be, well, super welcome! Thanks again1
Glad to see appreciation for this innovative artist. One of his books was translated into English and printed (pirated!) in London by Tilt & Bogues in 1841, The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck. Widely considered the first-English language "comic book," but few are aware of that outside of literary historians. It was those London plates that were used for the version printed/published in New York City in 1842 in Brother Jonathan Extra No. IX, the first "comic book" published in America! How cool is that? Thank you.
