Archive for August, 2006
sad news
I’m usually a big supporter of arts in Columbus, so it pains me to pan any local artistic endeavor. And I’ve been going to the Shakespeare in the Park productions since I was a kid, and I think it’s one of the nicest amenities this city has to offer. I’ve no doubt that I will see another show there next summer.
Keeping that in mind … I have to ask you to skip the production of Twelfth Night that’s going on in Schiller Park until Sept. 3.
The main problem is that they took this venerable old Shakespeare comedy — and turned it into a musical. This causes three problems: First, the songs don’t replace any dialogue, they just stretch the play out to three hours. Second, they keep the actors from finding any rhythm in the play. And third, the songs just aren’t ready for prime time.
There were several serviceable performances, and I could tell there was a lot of talent on the stage. And maybe they were having a flat night, and the songs are better under different circumstances.
But unless they take out the songs, my advice to you is to go someplace else — anywhere else.
News that makes me happy
From the FAQ section of The Perry Bible Fellowship site…
“Is there a collection of PBF strips available in book form?I’m working on one with Dark Horse Comics.”
Monday Morning “Guess the Artist”
Superman theme week continues…
(click image to supersize)
(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, 7/10/2006, 7/17/2006, 7/24/2006, 7/31/2006, 8/7/2006, 8/13/2006)
No SPX Anthology this year?
Did I miss something, or is there not going to be an SPX anthology this year? We’re less than 2 months away from the con and there’s no info on their site regarding anthology submissions. The only post is about last year’s contributors.
Non-comics related: vacation photos
Just wanted to share a few pics from the roadtrip that Wendy, Hanna, and I took these past 2 weeks. 1300 miles, 12 nights of camping in various locales, museums in Washington DC, the Naval Academy in Annapolis, parasailing in Ocean City, Maryland, and camping on the beach at Assateague State Park with the wild horses.
If you’d like to see the full set, they’re located here.
Franklin County
I know there aren’t a ton of sports fans in our group, but if you are, you need to check out Deadspin which offers a hilarious take on sports on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, they’ve have a lot of fun lately making fun of Central Ohio. In addition to the whole Maurice Clarett situation, they’ve also had quite a time with Mike Cooper, an Ohio State fan who was caught on a hidden camera masturbating to porn in a public library (video available on YouTube).
The latest fun comes from this rap video simply entitled Franklin County. Yep, this is where Panel hails from.
Hey Tom, you are from Kenton, right? I see Kenton is in the news for letting a couple of kids not serve their sentence until after football season (they are both on the team). They were charged with putting a fake deer in the road and causing a near-fatal accident.
The Long Journey
Just a quick reminder that the newest storyline in my Lifelike webcomic started this week. It’s a story I wrote about 3 years ago, and it’s gone through about 4 artists until I found Irapuan Luiz. I’m especially proud of this story, and it draws a tiny bit on my own experiences.
Woo-hoo!! Bagley’s leaving Ultimate Spiderman.
Don’t let the door hit you on the ass, hack! There are very few monthly comics I actively pick up at the library because I can’t bring myself to buy it. I just can’t because either the writer or the artist is just horrid. One of those titles is Ultimate Spiderman. I actively loved, loved Bendis’ take on Spidey. One of the most refreshing updates in quite some time. Probably since Batman:Year One in my opinion. Spiderman sings when he’s a mopey lil’ emo kid. Emo well before the term was coined. Sucks once he gets past college.
But the big reason I’ve never bought an Ultimate Spiderman is because I actively hate Mark Bagley’s art. Probably for the some of the same reasons I hate Paul Gulacy (who ruined Catwoman for me, and maybe Brubaker as well) The nightmare anatomy, horrid redesigns of the villains, etc. make me want to pull my eyes out and hit them with a bat.
The question now is I guess who will replace him and where will Bendis go next with Spiderman? 103 issues in, no matter who the team is, is quite a feat. It feels as though Bendis has also taken the character as far as he could go. I haven’t read recent issues (being as it’s a library thing). It’d be interesting if the book progressively got darker. Parker isn’t one of the most stablest characters. I think eventually he’d crack, die and or ‘ultimate’ly quit due to his neurotic nature.
You Are Batman |
 Billionaire playboy by day. Saving the world by night. And you’re not even a true superhero. Just someone with a lot of expensive toys! |
Five Easy Questions
Fellow Chemsetter Elizabeth Genco will be posting up interviews to fill up the off weeks when Scheherazade is on break (over at The Chemistry Set). In a column she’s coined From the Library. The feature will ask five questions from some of her favorite artists, writers and ‘free spirits’. First up is Brian Wood.
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On a minor note, someone has whipped up a wiki page on The Chemistry Set. Nothing fancy but cool in it’s own right.
PANEL: Luck Review
Whitey over at Optical Sloth gives props to the most recent PANEL book in this review.
Once again it’s a solid anthology, and I think three solid ones makes a pattern. Before I get to the comic, kudos on the production value and the intro and bio pages. It starts with a fake chain letter type thing, typos and all, and ends with astrology signs for all the creators that had me laughing out loud a few times, and you can’t beat that…Seriously, for an anthology, there’s not a bad piece in here.
I think every contributor gets some praise passed their way. If you haven’t picked up the book yet, it is available in the store.
Monday Morning “Guess the Artist”
Now one day early! (since I don’t know if I’ll have Internet access on Monday…)
It’s the final part of our special “on the road” edition of MMGTA. Comin’ atcha live from a McDonald’s in Ocean City, Maryland. And now, continuing with our Superman theme…
(click image to supersize)
(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, 7/10/2006, 7/17/2006, 7/24/2006, 7/31/2006, 8/7/2006)
