Archive for August, 2004
Ferret Press contest – be published in our art book
For all you artists out there (who haven’t already received an invite to contribute to the book), we’re sponsoring a little contest for you. We’ve reserved a spot each for 2 different artists, to be picked from all entries received by the deadline. The theme of the book, if you haven’t guessed already, is “Hybrid”. You are encouraged to interpret it however you wish.
Winners will have their illustration printed in the book, will receive 5 complimentary copies of the book, plus signed Ferret Press comic books.
But hurry, the deadline is September 30th!
Today’s “Lame-O Spider-Man Villain” is…
Typeface. “…has use of a razor sharp “P” shaped letter opener as well as other letter shaped weapons that adorn his costume…” A letter-themed villain, huh? Battling his arch-nemesis Microsoft Word, Typeface enlists the help of allies Gutenberg and White-out.
First appearance: Spider-Man V2 #23. November 2000.
PS. I have to admit, I bought the self-contained Typeface issue of (the noe defunct) Tangled Web of Spider-man, written and drawn by Ted McKeever, and enjoyed the goofy story immensly.
I’m back bitch!
Rick James? Naa, opencrash.comics is back up. Finally!! geesh my host sucks. Still going to switch hosts here soon though. The tour info needs updated badly as I’ve canceled my plans to attend the s.p.x.
People with too much free time on their hands…
Often times create really cool things. Case in point: Paperformers. According to boingboing, “Paperformers are print-and-cut-and-fold pixelart paper Transformers that turn into actual, transforming pixelart robots!”
The Paperformers site contains tons of Transformers designs, all of them available for free download in Adobe Acrobat format.
Cheap graphic novels and comics
Over at the Comic Book Galaxy website, they’re having a sale on graphic novels and comic book sets. All prices include postage. Here are some examples:
- LOT #42: ART OF SIN CITY HC BY FRANK MILLER. $23
- LOT #62: SGT. ROCK BETWEEN HELL AND A HARD PLACE HC. $13
- LOT #70: ULTIMATE SIX #1-7 BY BENDIS AND HAIRSINE. $12
- LOT #74: THE ESCAPIST #1-2. $10
Today’s “Lame-O Spider-Man Villain” is…
Gog. “Gog is a super-strong, suprisingly quick alien half-ape, half-reptilian intelligent being named after a biblical giant who also uses his huge powerful tail as a weapon…Gog also has the ability to teleport with the help of his alien wrist-bands.” Goofy comic book villain checklist: Alien? Check. Gorilla or monkey factor? Check. Biblical reference for no discernible reason? Check. Completely unrelated power due to “alien technology”? Check. “Everything But The Kitchen Sink (TM)” factor: 8 on a scale of 10.
First appearance: Amazing Spider-man #103. December, 1971.
Sign of the (idiot) times we live in…
“Protests from seven safety groups prompted General Motors Corp. to pull a television ad that shows a young boy driving a Corvette sports car so recklessly that it goes airborne, officials of the automaker said on Wednesday… Directed by singer Madonna’s husband Guy Ritchie, the spot shows a boy’s daydream of racing the Corvette through downtown streets and through a construction pipe. The safety groups said in a letter to GM released on Wednesday that the spot could encourage children to take their parents’ cars for a drive.”
I was actually going to comment on this ad a few days ago when I saw it for the first time. Not to complain about the content like the above people, but to poke fun at the asinine small print advisory that ran at the bottom of the screen. It said “This is a dream. Do not drive without a valid driver’s license. Obey all traffic laws.”
What an f’d up world we live in. I don’t know which is worse, the idiots freaking out that a car commercial is going to induce widespread underage driving and mayhem, or the overpaid lawyers who think illegible print that say “hey kids, don’t try this” is a valid response to said protests.
Chaosmonkey’s “Comics I Shouldn’t Own”
Funny, self-deprecating reviews of crappy-ass comics in his collection. You know, gems like Venom: Nights of Vengeance and X-Force.
“X-FORCE #26 COVER ROLE-CALL! REIGNFIRE! ROLLERGIRL! FOURARM! KNIFEY McSTICKERSON! None of whom show up until page 20! And that guy’s real name, the one I called “Fourarm”? His name is… Forearm. God, fuck you, Rob Liefeld. I know you left this book 3 issues in, just like Jim Lee left X-Men and Todd MacFarlane left Spider-Man, the titles Marvel was nice (i.e. stupid) enough to create just for you guys, but fuck you for doing this to the world.”
…and this from a bad Daredevil run:
“The woman on the cover who looks like Judy Garland by way of ER starring Silver Sable is… jeezus, I don’t even want to type this out. She’s… gah… “Surgeon General.” And what she does, see, she seduces guys in clubs using sub-Elimidate level dialogue, lures them back to bare apartments, and cuts out their organs to sell on the black market. And for this she gets called “Surgeon General”? I could see “Cutress,” maybe, or perhaps “Transplantra” might have made more sense.”
And you thought Free Comic Book Day was over….
Over at Poopsheet.com ,5 lovely and free comics are being made available. Your on the hook for shipping, but its only $1.50. If you just above you’ll see Panel:Space is available as well. Add that to your order and you’ve got 6 money comics shipped for under $5. Go ahead, treat yourself, your worth it!!
IOC and trademark protection
From a Yahoo news story:
“ATHENS (Reuters) – The U.S. Olympic Committee has asked the campaign to re-elect President Bush to pull an ad that refers to the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday. The ad has angered Olympic officials because they feel it hijacks the Olympic brand — a registered trademark — even though it does not display the Games logo.”
Kirkman in hardcover?
Ok, I realize Robert Kirkman is the “it” writer of the moment. He’s everywhere…couple dozen different books for Marvel, a virtual cottage industry over at Image. Which brings me to this solicitation: Image is offering a limited edition signed hardcover collection of Kirkman’s series Tales of the Realm, originally published through Crossgen. $40 for the book. Four. Zero.
I admit that I don’t get it. Is he that popular and that hot that he can sell a $40 hardcover? I mean, I’ve heard a lot of positive buzz regarding his Walking Dead and Invincible series, but nothing about this book that’s getting the star treatment. Anyone read it? Is it any good?
Just curious.
We interupt this blog…
…for a quick political aside.
Man, that Bush campaign has balls. Not just macho, manly balls. Oh no. We’re talking half -a -bottle -of -whiskey -for -breakfast -kill -a -mountain -lion -with -your -bare -hands -then -bang -the -Olson -twins -and -their -mom -before -noon pair of cajones. Because that’s the only way you could possibly explain the strategy of attacking your opponent’s war record (you know, the guy who actually volunteered to go and received a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts) when the incumbent President, Vice-President, Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Vice president’s Chief of Staff, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Strategy, and several other key cabinet members all found ways to avoid the draft!
And the sad thing is that in the big picture, this is really such a non-issue. Because, hey, if I was 18 during the time of the Vietnam war, I probably would have tried to get out of going to war too. And there are a lot more important real issues to focus on during this campaign, like, oh, I don’t know…maybe the economy, foreign policy, war in Iraq, etc. etc. etc. But my god, to try and discredit your opponent’s military service when your own house is full of draft dodgers?
Cajones. Big, huge, never-before-seen-in-this-world balls.
By the way, “A Navy report filed five days after a disputed incident in Vietnam supports John Kerry’s version and contradicts critics who say the Democratic presidential nominee never came under enemy gunfire when he won two medals.” And my favorite part, in regards to Larry Thurlow, a member of the Republican-funded smear campaign “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” (emphasis mine):
“Thurlow, the commander of another swift boat who won a Bronze Star for helping the crew of PCF-3, insists there was no enemy gunfire during the incident. The citation and recommendation for Thurlow’s Bronze Star, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, also mention enemy fire, however.Thurlow’s medal recommendation, for example, says he helped the PCF-3 crew “under constant enemy small arms fire.” That recommendation is signed by George Elliott, another member of the anti-Kerry group.”