If you read RUNAWAYS or SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE (and seriously, if you don’t…stop wasting your time reading what I’m writing. Those books are much better than me), you know they’re reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally pretty books. And while both those books have had AMAZING artists on them, you gotta understand that colorist CHRISTINA STRAIN makes those awesome pages look four times as awesome when she puts her colors on them. She’s the best in the business, and she’s wrapping up work on WORLD WAR HULK right now, so I thought, "Hey! Why not waste her time and have her talk about nothing in particular?"
NATE: So Chris. We'll talk about coloring later. First off…I hate video games. I haven't played one since 1989, and that was "Duck Hunt." You have one paragraph to convince me why I should bother wasting my time staring at a screen while pressing buttons.
CHRISTINA: Oh man... That's hard. It's like trying to convince someone who hates to read to pick up a novel. It's kind of like books, actually, in that escapism sense. A good video game will usually have an entertaining story along with good game play, which is what makes it different from reading, your participation. Any good story-based game can really pull you in and make you feel like you're part of it. It's not as linear as reading, you control certain actions, fight battles on your own, decision make for yourself... And then puzzle games are fun just cause they're puzzles, who doesn't like a puzzle game? I'm so into playing sudoku games on my DS! I just love unwinding for 20 minutes with a sudoku game before I go to bed, it is the best! Oh, and competitive party games are good times just because it's fun to kick friend's butts in games like Guitar Hero. :D
NATE : Yeah, I dunno. They make my eyes hurt. I remember I used to have this Silver Surfer Nintendo game where you're supposed to make Surfer move around and shoot stuff, but the screen would make you move forward all the time and surf on the board, and I'd always end up hitting Surfer's head on a ledge or something and he'd fall off his board and die. I'd do that for about two hours and get frustrated, throw the controller down and read a book instead. I think I was around twelve when I decided that the first time I "die" in any video game, even if I've got eight or nine lives, that's it. No "game over." I'm dead in that game so I can't play anymore.
CHRISTINA: See, you were playing the wrong games. You should've been playing games like "Monkey Island" or other Lucas Arts games during the adventure game era. You can't die in those games (well, you can, but it's almost like an easter egg when you figure out how to). You just get stuck till you figure out how to work your way out of the puzzle you're in. HAHA, Cosby.
But yeah, I still believe there's a fun game for almost everyone. My boyfriend bought his mom a Nintendo DS and she plays puzzle games on it when she's relaxing. If a sweet 60 year old lady can enjoy a video game, then so can other people!!!
NATE: I am neither sweet nor 60, and thus I ain't gotta play video games. Besides, you're biased 'cuz your boyfriend works on them. So phnaaaaaah.
Moving on to much more important things…you're in California, where the sun's always out and it takes 45 minutes to get ANYwhere…you a USC fan?
CHRISTINA: BOOOO USC. YAAAAY LSU.
This year, we'll be National Champions and be able to officially tell USC that they SUCK. None of that "sharing" the National Championship bull this year, it's going to be alllll us, baby.
NATE: Yeahhhhhhh, I'd like to root for LSU, but they beat the snot outta my team in the first week of the season (LSU 45, Mississippi State 0). That wasn't nice.
CHRISTINA: Hey, can't hate LSU for Mississippi State stinking. :P Smile and accept defeat... like my boyfriend's team, Virginia Tech, did.
Besides, you guys aren't even ranked, are you? I'm surprised you all showed up to the game at all... :O
NATE: Oh, hooooooooowwwwwwww dare you. That's it, you're not my friend anymore.
(sulk 1…2…3)
Awright, I forgive you. Let's stop talking football before I get depressed and replay my DVR with State beating Auburn.
You're a REALLY good colorist (my favorite, but you already knew that). You COULD have done really big high-profile stuff way before I started working at Marvel. And yet it kinda seemed like I had to kinda convince you to do WORLD WAR HULK. Why come? You don't like doing the big stuff?
CHRISTINA: I could've been doing bigger books? really?
I don't know, I'm not the biggest super hero fan, which probably sounds strange since I'm working in a super hero saturated industry, but it's just not what I grew up with and love. My heart really belongs to comics like RUNAWAYS and SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE, books that have more to do with social interaction between the characters than saving the world. If I had the choice, all I would color would be younger girl's high school romance comics. I mean, that's the reason I've been on both of them for about 4 years apiece, I genuinely love them.
On top of that, there's something really satisfying about hearing younger girls and kids in general get into RUNAWAYS and MARY JANE. I feel like I have a small part introducing comics to a new audience, and that makes me all warm and fuzzy. :) :) :)
I do like some of those X Peoples though. Rogue and Gambit... *sniff*
NATE: Yeah, I probably like the medium more than I like super heroes. I wish it was easier to convince people that comics aren't all just guys hittin' other guys. If you gave me a choice of a Jim Lee sketch of Batman or a Takeshi Miyazawa sketch of Mary Jane…psh. I'm takin' MJ every time. (of course I'd get you to color it before I put it on my wall)
Awright, this is getting long, and I'm trying to keep these things short so my sister has time to read them, so is there anything you're excited to be working on AFTER your post-WORLD WAR HULK vacation?
CHRISTINA: MORE MJ! MJ'S COMING BACK! *squeeee* Honestly, after HULK, I'm going to be doing a new arc of RUNAWAYS and MJ, with new creative teams, so I'm super excited about just doing those two for a few months. :) It's like I'm going back to my roots! Plus, Adrian's coming back to comics—on MJ of all books. I plan on doing some cool stuff with that, more screen tones, play with the cel style a little...and I even get my pretty girly colors palette back! I MISS PINK! So I'm VERY excited about that. :D And I should be really well rested after about a month's worth of vacations I'll be taking, so I'll be suuuuuuper amped by then!
For now though... just gotta make it thru all the green. ALMOST THERE!
I LOVE CHRISTINA!!!! And her colours! i love her colours so much, I got them tattooed!
Also, I agree with her on the "there's a video game for everyone" front. It's the same argument I use with comics. You just have to find the right one for YOU.
Can't wait to see more Mary Jane with Christina colours!!!!
Posted by Jen Grunwald on 2007-10-26 13:28:49
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About this blog: By day, he’s a mild-mannered comic book editor! By night, he’s an obsessive sports fan!
By early morning, he drinks coffee and then runs! He’s Nathan Cosby, and he has thoughts about things.
This is them.
About the author: When Associate Editor Nathan Cosby is not thinking about football, he edits Marvel’s All-Ages books, including the Marvel Adventures line (Spidey, FF, Avengers, Super Heroes), X-Men and Wolverine First Class, Franklin Richards, Mini Marvels, and Power Pack, works on the Marvel Illustrated and Stephen King books, does the Custom Comics, and runs Super Hero Squad. There’s like 20 other things he does, but he’s bored with typing this.
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