Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD
@derekmballard.bsky.social
A dad that did some writing/storyboards on Adventure Time, Midnight Gospel, lead background design on MYSTERY CUDDLERS, PULP for Netflix, HBO. My graphic novel CARTOONSHOW is from Oni Press. Also, grew up in a FEMA trailer https://linktr.ee/derekmballard
I will be tabling with this very talented cartoonist at @smallpressexpo.bsky.social this year.
beetle moses@beetlemoses.bsky.social · 2h agoI’m gonna be tabling at SPX this year!
i was just thinking about how ppl who don’t go to college are shut out of the resources necessary to make creative work happen
poor characters are usually either jokes or tragic. rarely allowed to be seen as just regular people, a fact of everyday life. on cory carson, i kept trying to push for the construction worker family to be portrayed as more realistically low-income, but it was deemed "too heavy a subject matter"
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 2h agoif you look real close at culture you'll see that most creators come from middle to upper middle class backgrounds. the poor are written about A LOT. but don't get no chance to speak for ourselves. obviously this creates wonky misshapen caricatures.
if you look real close at culture you'll see that most creators come from middle to upper middle class backgrounds. the poor are written about A LOT. but don't get no chance to speak for ourselves. obviously this creates wonky misshapen caricatures.
whenever I deal with an American editor or some type of gatekeeper with at least a bachelor degree I’m usually made to feel like comics about modern American poverty are more obscene or subversive than a Suehiro Maruo or Johnny Ryan comic. wild stuff man.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 3mo agoI ain’t really no kinda writer but sometimes my notes are funny to me.
shoutout to the majority of people in this country dealing with this mundane situation on the daily while nobody is talking about it in art or media.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 5mo agotherapy?
interesting story: in the 2nd photo you can see Rose's childhood Silverhawks pillowcase. she'd never seen the show. when I first saw it I told her back in 2010 I was gonna go mow the lawn of the guy that created the show but he got murdered & dismembered the day I was supposed to be at his house.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 7mo agoI drew Rose in her big sleeping mask & she got it printed on a pillowcase for me as a gift.
dang. it never occurred to me that rich folks probably can’t understand my comics. like, whoa.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 4w agomakin' comics for folks that make around $20k per year over here.
just wanna remind everyone that ppl like me that make $20k or less per year are the majority. anything that says otherwise is false.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 8mo agoI primarily make comics for folks that work their butts off & make $20k per year. Obviously, anyone can enjoy them, but it def hits different.
We want you making comics! Tom Hart will show you 18 tips you can take with you from our Year-Long Program in this free LIVE TRAINING. The next Free YLP Under One Hour: Thursday, August 6th @ 3PM EASTERN! Now Enrolling: Our Online Year-Long Comics Certificate Program! buff.ly/2VtOm77
trying to decide if I do preorders for the new book or just debut it at SPX
interesting story: in the 2nd photo you can see Rose's childhood Silverhawks pillowcase. she'd never seen the show. when I first saw it I told her back in 2010 I was gonna go mow the lawn of the guy that created the show but he got murdered & dismembered the day I was supposed to be at his house.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 7mo agoI drew Rose in her big sleeping mask & she got it printed on a pillowcase for me as a gift.
I drew Rose in her big sleeping mask & she got it printed on a pillowcase for me as a gift.
she's still doing it but deeper and slower & everyone is rotfl.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 3w agoRose does an impression of me now where she makes her voice really really deep & slow. “Hey y’all. I’m Derek Ballard.” The kids & everybody dies laughing but it sounds like slow Elvis to me idk.
Here's a good 3 part video series on the history of UPA. youtu.be/A8-09DbxHBU?...
The World of UPA (Part 1 of 3)
YouTube video by The Royal Ocean Film Society
youtu.be
Great Substack about UPA, the animation studio that revolutionized cartoons in the 1950s. Founded by the leftist animators who were purged by Walt Disney during the infamous 1941 strike, it was UPA that dragged animation into midcentury mod. Mr. Magoo was their big hit.
Animation Obsessive@ani-obsessive.bsky.social · 4mo agoThe book Inside UPA is a visual tour of one of the greatest animation studios of all time. With its author's permission, we've shared the whole thing online for free. Our latest issue dives into the book and UPA's place in animation history: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/stepping-i...
i just love this take on it all, from the great Derek Ballard:
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 2y agocognitive behavioral therapy (1/3)
Travel deep enough into the Backrooms and you will find Bjork.
@pmamtraveller.bsky.social · 2d agoBjörk in 1996, by Takashi Homma
Rose told me that this is standard institutional practice since nearly all arts funding has been cut. so, if these ppl are providing the funding then they get a say in what art is being made.
Rev. Dr. Derek M Ballard PhD@derekmballard.bsky.social · 2mo agothe artist economic advice page I follow on Instagram is suggesting that you lurk ppl on Zillow to see who has the best house and then ask those ppl for money lol. I’m serious.
