Archive for July, 2006
Your art moment of the day: sculptures
Here’s a cool gallery of weird and wonderful sculptures from around the world. I’m a huge fan of public art, especially the creative installations that take into account their setting (i.e. by the water, on top of a building, etc.)
Strange Statues Around the World
(via boingboing)
You never go ATM!
I am pleasantly surprised to report that Clerks II does not suck. In fact, it’s actually really funny.
In fact it was so good that I ended up talking to the guys who sat behind me as we were leaving the theater. One of them volunteered that it “owned.” I agreed, whereas I was expecting it to really suck.
Surprisingly good is Brian O’Halloran. He doesn’t quite make you believe two hot women would be after him, but he is endearing. Jeff Anderson picks up right where he left off. And after 10 years in the mainstream, Kevin Smith manages to still have some good transgressive laffs up his sleeve.
Thank you, Hollywood, for not pissing on the grave of another childhood memory.
Congratulations to DJ!
DJ Coffman won the Comic Book Challenge! Congrats, DJ. Here’s a look at his page of art:
For more on DJ’s submission, drop by his website. Also, be sure to check out his long-running webcomic.
Monday Morning “Guess the Artist”
Ok, enough with the Comic Book Challenge and San Diego stuff. Let’s get back to our weekly fun fearure! Guess away, my friends. And yes, it’s yet another Green Lantern page!
(click image to greenify)
(previous weeks: 9/12/2005, 9/19/2005, 9/26/2005, 10/3/2005, 10/10/2005, 10/17/2005, 10/24/2005, 10/31/2005, 11/1/2005, 11/2/2005, 11/3/2005, 11/4/2005, 11/5/2005, 11/6/2005, 11/7/2005, 11/14/2005, 11/21/2005, 11/28/2005, 12/5/2005, 12/12/2005, 12/19/2005, 12/26/2005, 1/2/2006, 1/9/2006, 1/16/2006, 1/23/2006, 1/30/2006, 2/06/2006, 2/13/2006, 2/20/2006, 2/27/2006, 3/6/2006, 3/13/2006, 3/20/2006, 3/27/2006, 4/3/2006, 4/4/2006, 4/5/2006, 4/6/2006, 4/7/2006, 4/8/2006, 4/9/2006, 4/10/2006, 4/17/2006, 4/23/2006, 5/1/2006, 5/8/2006, 5/15/2006, 5/22/2006, 5/29/2006, 6/5/2006, 6/12/2006, 6/19/2006, 6/26/2006, 7/3/2006, 6/10/2006, 6/17/2006)
San Diego Con burnout
I’m done. Two and a half days of the show and I’m completely wiped out.
This show is like Vegas: loud, gaudy, obnoxious, fascinating, and a total sensory overload. Much like Vegas, everyone should try it at least once. But honestly, once is more than enough.
I got to meet Patrick and Shannon, the cool guys that run the Komikwerks.com site. Also met up and had lunch with mpMann, the awesome artist on a couple of my Lifelike strips. Made a few contacts, bought a bunch of cheap graphic novels, and took tons of pictures (coming soon.)
The one picture I didn’t get: nearly 7 foot tall drag queen Supergirl, and his/her companion, pretty boy Nightwing. It was a sight to behold.
Update: Comic Book resources got the picture I mentioned above. Click here, if you dare.
One last comment before I sign off: I attended the Lost panel, and as big of a comic book geek I may be, I have to say the Lost fans put the rest of us geeks to shame. The question and answer session was a surreal spectacle of masturbatory fawning. Yeesh.
2006 Comic Book Challenge diary: my pitch, vote for the winner
My friend Tony recorded the live stream and posted my pitch on YouTube. You can see it here.
Cringe at my mad public speaking skillz (or lack thereof.) Listen to Gale Ann Hurd’s utter silence. Wonder at People magazine guy saying “Am I just dense, because I don’t get it.” Laugh as Marc Silvestri says “No, you’re just dense.”
So now the three finalists have been posted at the Comic Book Challenge website. Longtime indy comic and webcomic creator DJ Coffman is one of the finalists, and gets my vote. Not just because he put together a solid, enjoyable story, but because he’s a really nice guy to boot. DJ’s one of those guys who goes out of his way to share all the tips and tricks he’s discovered, as opposed to keeping everything close to the vest. We hung out during the morning of the pitch sessions, and he had the unenviable position of being the 3rd person (out of a field of 50) to do his pitch.
Good luck to all the finalists, and congratulations for making the cut.
2006 Comic Book Challenge diary: pitch day
First off, thanks for everyone who watched the webcast and posted in the comments section of the previous post. Much appreciated.
Well, since I didn’t get “the call,” I think it’s safe to say I didn’t make the cut as one of three finalists. I can’t say that I’m surprised, as the reaction from the judges wasn’t as positive as it was towards some of the earlier pitches I saw. But I’ll be honest, I’m a bit disappointed. Partly in myself, because I feel I could have done a better job with the pitch. And partly with the fact that the judges didn’t ask as many questions about the story and the characters as I was hoping for.
By the way, whoever said in the comments section that “The guy on the end (from PEOPLE?) is dumb” was pretty much right on the money. I don’t know if it was just an act (“hey, we need someone to be our version of that that tool, Simon Cowell. Do you think you could be “that guy”?) or if he was just really, really, really opinionated and full of himself.
Regardless, it was quite an experience, and despite my stressing and nervousness, I had a good time with the whole process.
Plus, I got some positive feedback from Marc Silvestri (aka “cute guy,” according to Wendy) and he even shut down the People magazine guy for me. In case you couldn’t hear it in the audio, the guy made the comment “I just don’t get your story. I mean, am I just dense? Because I don’t get it.” To which Silvestri replied “No, you’re just tdense.”
I hit the con proper for a few hours in the afternoon. Caught the Deepak Chopra/Grant Morrison panel. Also known as “Metaphysical Mindfuck 2006.” I’ll post more about that, and the show, tomorrow. For now, I’m going to go crash.
PS. Thanks again for all your support and positive comments.
MIGHTY (TALKATIVE) AVENGERS
Via Newsarama comes this report from the San Diego Comicon regarding Brian Michael Bendis’ and Frank Cho’s new book The Mighty Avengers. Bendis had this to say–
“Mighty Avengers will have big world threatening situations to deal with at all times. New heroes interacting with each other in a situation some of them have never been in before. To do this I have chosen some techniques that are not what I am most known for. But fun is the word of the day. Though we’re very serious about our craft, the agenda is to make a spectacle of superhero extravaganza that you can only get from a top-flight Avengers title!”
Puh-lease. Now, don’t jump all over me. I’m not a Bendis-hater by any means. I quite enjoy a lot of his work and think he has some absolutely fantastic books. But there are certain things he does not do well, and even though he seems to be alluding to his own weaknesses in that quote above, I just can’t imagine this book being good. The world about to be destroyed by Ultron? Let’s have Cap and the Wasp spend some time on a rooftop just talking on and on and on about what it means to wear the costume. The Masters of Evil are back? Heck, just show 8 or 9 pages of Spiderwoman and Ms. Marvel discussing how icky the guys can be. It all seems about as appropriate as getting Raina Telgemeier to write and draw “Wolverine.”
Fox Atomic and Harper Collins throw their collective hat into the comics ring. Offering original material along with licenced crap. Jimmy Palmotti will edit. Most of the announced license offerings are on the horror tip. You can read more over at the Beat. Note to self- send a portfolio to Jimmy. Channel the spooky.
Someday you’ll thank us
Because at some point in your comic book career, you’ll need to draw something supercute. And now you know how.
This is apparently a planning document from Warner Bros. Thanks to Cute Overload for it.
Renaissance animated movie
I don’t know anything about this French movie (to be distributed this fall in the US by Miramax,) but I love the noir look of the animation. Seems to be motion-capture and CGI, but the whole thing is done in stark black and white, emphasis on the black. There’s a short clip at the official site:
“Paris, 2054. Live forever or die trying.”
The Muppet personality test
Apparently, I’m an overstressed green frog who likes bacon a bit too much…
You Are Kermit |
 Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You’re a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life’s problems. Don’t worry – everyone know’s it’s not easy being green. Just remember, time’s fun when you’re having flies! |
2006 Comic Book Challenge diary: prep work
I’m planning on blogging my experiences during this whole endeavor. To start off, some miscellaneous odds and ends before I leave for San Diego tomorrow:
a) Strike 1 – Kinko’s needs at least 2 days to transfer an image to a t-shirt, so my plan to make a Twilight Order logo shirt and wear it to the pitch session has been nixed. Stupid Stinko’s.
b) TV ad – via YouTube, you can watch the TV ad that the San Diego NBC station apparently ran to promote the contest. Yes, they managed to work in the ubiquitous “Pow” sound effect. Ugh.
c) Pipe bomb – I designed what I thought was a cool and unique little contraption to aid in displaying artwork during the pitch. Sort of a giant scroll on a stand thingie. But since it involves transporting a hollow metal tube and a couple of oddly shaped aluminum blocks in my luggage…you see where I’m going with this, right? Best not to tempt fate (and the TSA,) so I’m switching to plan B: make several smaller scrolls, and take a collapsible easel.
d) Watch live – The Thursday morning pitch sessions will be streamed live, so you too can enjoy my nervousness and discomfort in front of the TV cameras. I believe they are set to begin at 9 AM PST, so for all you Columbus kids, tune in on your lunch break at noon. You can watch on the official Comic Book Challenge site or the San Diego NBC site.
PBF Rules!
I’ve often posted here about my favorite webcomic, The Perry Bible Fellowship. It is consistently one of the most clever, twisted, funniest comic strips out there. And the latest strip one is no exception.
Behold: Guntron Alliance Force.
It took me a couple of seconds to get the joke. Awesome stuff from creator Nicholas Gurewitch.