Friday, February 27, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/27/2004 04:43:00 PM
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What does the US have in common with the "Axis of Evil" (Iran, Iraq, North Korea)?
Not to mention China, Cuba, India, Lebanon, Libya, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Vietnam, to name a few more? They are all on the list of the 44 countries that have not signed the 1997 Ottawa Land Mine Ban Treaty.
Here are the 150 countries that have signed the treaty, including virtually all of our major allies.
Thanks, President Bush, thanks a lot for setting an example for the world.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Tony
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2/27/2004 02:08:00 PM
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Underground Triple Threat
Here's an article from the Detroit Metro Times on Suzanne Baumann, Sean Bieri and Matt Feazell and the Hamtramck, Mich., indie comix scene:
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=4895
--Tony (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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2/27/2004 01:45:00 PM
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Posted by
Tony
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2/27/2004 10:42:00 AM
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That review ...
Here's that review Andy found on Panel:Architecture. It's generally good, although there were some parts the reviewer just didn't like.
http://www.icomics.com/rev_022504_panel.shtml
If I had to do City of Bridges again, I think I'd include more explicit narration.
--Tony (permalink)
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Posted by
Tony
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2/27/2004 10:38:00 AM
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Look Out, Dan!
Columbus car thefts up slightly in 2002
Car thefts rose 0.8 percent in Columbus in 2002 from the year before, the Ohio Insurance Institute reported.
The capital city averaged one stolen car for every 87 registered vehicles, the institute said, leading to losses of about $18.9 million on unrecovered vehicles. The figures are compiled from Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports.
Columbus saw fewer car thefts than most of Ohio�s big cities, the institute reported:
n In Cleveland, one in 58 cars was stolen in 2002, a 4.8 percent decrease.
n In Cincinnati, one in 59 cars was stolen in 2002, a 20.3 percent increase.
n In Dayton, one in 54 cars was stolen in 2002, a 20.2 percent decrease.
n In Toledo, one in 86 cars was stolen in 2002, a 14.3 percent decrease.
Dayton had the state�s highest incidence of car theft in 2002, despite the 20.2 percent drop in the theft rate.
Statewide, 42,767 cars were reported stolen in 2002, which is a 1.3 percent increase from 2001. One in every 282 vehicles registered in the state in 2002 were victims of theft, and direct losses of unrecovered vehicles was $106 million.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported that the top stolen cars in Ohio in 2002 were the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme/Ciera and the Buick Century.
--Tony (permalink)
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Thursday, February 26, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/26/2004 12:19:00 PM
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Weird People
I check the referral logs on the website every day to see where we're getting most of our traffic from. It's usually a link from comic book message boards and review sites, or Google searches. And every once in a while, I find a bizarre Google search. Case in point: this morning, someone did a search on "ferret testicle picture" and the Ferret Press blog came up as the second search result, right after the Ferret Pathology Notes from Bruce Williams, DVM.
--Dara (permalink)
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Wednesday, February 25, 2004
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Posted by
Tony
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2/25/2004 04:48:00 PM
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Gone and Forgotten
Did I forget to show you all "Gone and Forgotten?" It's a gallery of the worst our art form has offered the world over the last 30-odd years. It's rarely updated, but there's some amazing stuff on there.
http://ape-law.com/GAF/index.html
To start you off, here's a little bit of love from the review for Skateman: "Point of order. Here are the three things which have defined your life up to this point: You have studied martial arts for years, you served in the Army during the Vietnam War, and you roller skate. Which do YOU choose as the central theme for your career of masked vigilantism? Roller-skating? You're an idiot, someone please call Daredevil. "
http://ape-law.com/GAF/Page28/index.html
You make the difference. Haul ass.
--Tony (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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2/25/2004 04:39:00 PM
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Posted by
bigbaldkid
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2/25/2004 11:56:00 AM
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Monday, February 23, 2004
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Posted by
Tony
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2/23/2004 02:10:00 PM
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To everyone who came to my party: Thanks.
To everyone who didn't: You suck.
To everyone who didn't, but had valid excuses: We'll catch you on the flip side.
--Tony (permalink)
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Friday, February 20, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/20/2004 09:30:00 AM
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Valentino out, Larsen in
So by now the entire comics blogosphere and message board space is abuzz with the news that Erik Larsen has replaced Jim Valentino as Publisher of Image Comics. The first part of this quote from larsen is what worries me the most:
"Jim came from very much the alternative camp of the world of comics and I'm much more from the mainstream, funny book, end of things. The thought was that if I was in charge and running the ship that perhaps some of those avenues can be opened up a bit more. That's kind of what I'm looking at, to be able to say that we've got different types of creators coming in and kind of rebuild some of the luster that Image has had in the past and more of the kind of books that excite me as a reader. In the meantime, we're still going to be publishing a number of books that would have been considered alternative comics back in the day."
Although this might bode well for Image by raising their sales, the pessimist side of me think it'll just hurt diversity and the up-and-coming creators by returning Image to the old days of name talent and more mainstream books, i.e. the kinds of books that the big two are already churning out by the hundreds and that we don't need another glut of. Image under Valentino published books that never in a million years would I have thought would ever come out with the Image "i" on the cover. Total unknowns were afforded the privilege of publishing books through Image. I was actually excited about submitting proposals to them.
I think some of that (a lot of that?) is going to change with this "regime change". I hope I'm wrong, because it's obviously too early to tell, but I just don't have a warm fuzzy about this.
Well, that and I don't know how Larsen can write and draw a monthly book and handle all the full-time chores of a publisher. It reminds me of that whole Epic fiasco with too few editors for way too much work...
--Dara (permalink)
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004
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Posted by
Tom
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2/18/2004 01:15:00 PM
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Hey you Ralph Steadman fanatics- In the next Journal coffee table book will sport interviews and reproductions from Steadman and others. It's set to release in the summer (June). Also featured is Jules Feiffer, Ed Sorel + David Levine. Also they're reprinting Lil' Folks (by Schultz) in March. This is a comprehensive reprint collecting alot of stuff that hasn't seen print since it first came out. A nice warm up to the Peanuts collections.
hooray_t
--Tom (permalink)
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Posted by
Tony
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2/18/2004 11:40:00 AM
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Go, Gay Penguin, Go!
At the bottom of the commenting screen, I just saw an ad for Gay Penguin for America:
http://www.gaypenguinforamerica.com/
Herring heads in every pot!
--Tony (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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2/18/2004 11:15:00 AM
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Kevin Smith...Green Hornet
According to the UK's Guardian Unlimited website, "Kevin Smith is to direct a new movie adaptation of the Green Hornet for Miramax films." I found the following comment by Smith interesting: "I always said I'd never do [a superhero film], based on my limited experience writing on Superman and having to answer to the studio, the producer, the comics company and eventually a director. Then there's a fandom that gets up in arms if you even try to stray from their character." But apparently this case is different as he only has to deal with Miramax head honco Harvey Weinstein.
--Dara (permalink)
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Monday, February 16, 2004
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Posted by
Tony
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2/16/2004 04:30:00 PM
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The Best Thing I've Ever Written
Or rather, I thought it was until I re-read it this afternoon.
This is an essay I wrote for Ohio University's student newspaper, and a later version of it appeared in OU's literary magazine, The Sphere. I don't think it's held up. A lot of my writing from that period seems kind of scattershot, like I was trying to squeeze too much information into too small a space. I think I ran out of room for transitions.
http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/archives/110796/living.html
It is a little sad to be disappointed at your earlier work, but on the other hand, it's kind of heartening to think you didn't peak at age 20.
--Tony (permalink)
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Posted by
bigbaldkid
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2/16/2004 04:12:00 PM
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just finished a five pager for old school comics on the mothman prophecies.
now its time to start something new before i get rusty again.
anything, which brings the question.
what are your goals in the comic field?
mine are to have at least 3 to 5 stories published this year an build my portfolio.
--bigbaldkid (permalink)
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Posted by
Tony
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2/16/2004 01:35:00 PM
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Triumph Pees on the Rug
Canada spends $1 million to get Conan O'Brien to broadcast a week of shows from Toronto, then gets all mad after Triumph the Insult Comic Dog makes a bunch of Canadian jokes:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2095543/
Here's a little taste:
"So you're French and Canadian, yes?" the puppet said in one of the offending segments. "So you're obnoxious and dull."
--Tony (permalink)
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Friday, February 13, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/13/2004 10:49:00 AM
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Thursday, February 12, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/12/2004 04:08:00 PM
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Posted by
Dara
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2/12/2004 11:15:00 AM
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ComFest?
 So Wendy had an interesting idea: why not get a booth at ComFest to sell ferret Press and Panel books, original art, etc.? I thought about the pros (receptive crowd, indy friendly, hippies, artsy types, alternative mindset, etc.) and the cons (hard to man a booth for 3 days, don't know the costs involved, etc.), and then headed over to the ComFest website to do some research.
Now, I've volunteered at the beer booths and also the music stages for years now, so I'm familiar with the general process. I checked out their website, but there's still no info on the Street Fair or how much booths cost, how to apply for one, etc. So I e-mailed the contact person and said "It looks like you don't have the 2004 info up yet, but I was just curious roughly how much a booth costs?" She wrote me back with a long non-answer, saying it'll be the same as last year's cost, that I should look it up on the website, and that they get over 350 applications for just 200 booths, blah, blah, blah.
I took a deep breath and figured as a non-paid volunteer, she's obviously very busy and is working hard because she cares about ComFest, so I can overlook her incorrect info and what seemed like an attitude. Hey, I've been there myself. I wrote back and politely pointed out that there's no info on the site even about last year's booth costs, and that all I wanted was a rough idea, even if it's an old figure. Will I be looking at $50? $200? $500?
Her response: "end of february - please"
I swear, either she's the most surly hippie ever, or she just needs to put the bong down! Oh well, end of February it is, then.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Tony
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2/12/2004 11:10:00 AM
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Irving Schottenstein, co-founder of M/I Homes, died last night at the age of 75. He stepped down as chairman and CEO earlier this year, but according to our research, he was the third highest-paid executive in the area, with salary and bonuses totalling $3.5 million.
You can't take it with you.
--Tony (permalink)
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Wednesday, February 11, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/11/2004 03:13:00 PM
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Good Reading
This week's Onion a.v. club has an interview with Basic Instinct and Showgirls screenwriter Joe Eszterhas. From the introduction:
"Joe Eszterhas ranks as one of the highest-paid, most powerful, and most reviled screenwriters in the history of film, three distinctions that, unsurprisingly, have a lot to do with each other. To his critics, Eszterhas isn't a hack so much as The Hack, the living embodiment of everything wrong with Hollywood."
It's an interesting read. I don't really have much of an opinion on Eszterhas, having only seen one of his films (gee, can you guess which one?) And I didn't think that Showgirls was a horrible movie, as most critics took endless delight in making it sound so. Certainly not a deep or literary movie, but also no worse than all the other dramas and erotic thrillers churned out by Hollywood. Anyway, the part of the interview that I liked, is his stand on how Hollywood disrespects writers. Excerpt:
"O: In Hollywood Animal, you insist that the director's job is to fulfill the screenwriter's vision, which is sort of the opposite of the conventional wisdom. Why do you feel that way?
JE: Let me be specific: When it's an original screenplay�and most of mine have been original screenplays�with characters created by you, the story created by you, and it's a single artistic vision from the beginning, where you sit down in a little room by yourself and make up this story, that is your story and your vision from the get-go. I differentiate with screenwriters who do adaptations of novels, for example, because that vision belongs to the novelist, in that case. With original screenplays, it comes out of your heart, soul, and gut, and it's then handed to a director. I view myself as the composer of a piece of music, and the director is the conductor working with other musicians�the editor, the makeup people, all the other technicians�in terms of presenting it up on stage."
Until recently, writers were pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole when it came to the field of comic books as well. The over-the-top artist worship of the Image phenomena in the 90's attests to that. And even though Gaiman, Moore, Grant, et al. had always commanded critical acclaim, it wasn't until a few years ago that they (along with Ellis, Ennis, Milligan, etc.) because the stars of the creative collaboration. Whereas in the 90's books were sold based on a name artist, these days that heat has shifted considerably more towards the name writer. Of course, I don't mean to discount the importance of the artist in the collaboration. Just that it's about time writers were afforded the respect they deserve for "creating something out of nothing", to use an old cliche.
Don't see that ever happening in the film world, though.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Sean McGurr
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2/11/2004 01:29:00 PM
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Scott McCloud Reminder
Scott McCloud will be speaking at the Wexner Center at 7.00 this evening.
--Sean McGurr (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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2/11/2004 09:47:00 AM
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Steven Grant...Not All Bad
Although I agree with Tony's post below that taking cheap shots at Ohio ain't all that funny (I mean, we get it all the time in TV and movies when they need a naive bumpkin...oh, he's from Ohio, that explains it), I've gotta give Grant credit for some other funny stuff. Namely, his answer to a reader's question in this week's column. His recasting of the Bush administration as WWE wrestling "heels" is spot on, and I don't even like wrestling!
Quote:
"Q: You are the programmer for all WWE television/PPV product. The Bush administration has been tossed out of office (either in the election or because the sheep of America finally woke up; fat chance on the latter) and they've decided to try their hand at wrestling. How do you program them into the current picture without repeating the failed RTC of a couple years back?"
"A: Actually, Stevie Richards' RTC gimmick was pretty successful, the WWE just didn't know where to go with it. The rule of thumb in wrestling promotion is to skew characters toward the personalities of the performers and let them work from that. So I'd bring them in as a heel group called "The Administration," probably with Dick Cheney as heel manager, but in the Honky Tonk Man mold, unwavering in their belief that the audience believes they're the faces and their opponents are automatically the heels. (For those unfamiliar with wrestling terminology, a "face," or "babyface," though virtually everyone uses the shorter form now, is the good guy in a wrestling battle, the one you're supposed to root for. The "heel" is the bad guy. In Mexico, they're technicos and rudos, respectively. There are also ethically ambiguous wrestlers who are known as "tweeners" for their ability to go either way. But there aren't many of them.) Meanwhile, they'd be dedicated to doing whatever underhanded, dirty thing it took to make the rich richer � in this case, Vincent K. McMahon Jr, billionaire owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, and Vince's on-screen persona would, of course, love them for it and connive with them behind closed doors at every possible opportunity � Cheney would get kickbacks from McMahon, of course � but they'd insist whatever they were doing was really for the good of the audience and even their opponent wrestlers, who, they'd claim, didn't grasp the larger picture. And they'd win their matches in an unusual way. On their arrival in the WWE, they'd convince McMahon to institute a "supreme court" that would decide on contested matches, then they'd cause all their matches to end in double draws, double countouts, double disqualifications, etc. The court would then award them every match, regardless of circumstances, until they held all the belts. It's a winning gimmick; they'd be the greatest heels of the 21st century. Of course, I wouldn't know how to turn them face short of bringing in the Battling Osamas (with a French manager, of course) to battle them."
--Dara (permalink)
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Tuesday, February 10, 2004
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Posted by
Tony
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2/10/2004 01:54:00 PM
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Stephen Grant Must Die!
Not content to pick on Steve, Stephen Grant takes on the whole Buckeye State! Here's a graf from his latest "Permanent Damage" column over on ComicBookResources.com:
Work as a writer in a field like comics long enough (like maybe three days) and you'll get the question people love to ask: "Where do you get your ideas?" A common reply is "there's a mail drop in Ohio..." but that's so obviously snide (have any ideas ever come out of Ohio?) that I've always thought it must be a bit offensive to querists, who, in my experience, genuinely want to know. Though we culturally have such a mystical viewpoint about "ideas" that my own answer must be disappointing, and probably more than a little mystifying.
--Tony (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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2/10/2004 11:39:00 AM
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Comic Books in the Mainstream Media
Political cartoonist Mark Streeter of The Savannah Morning News takes a day off from lampooning politicians to remember DC editor Julie Schwartz.
--Dara (permalink)
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Monday, February 09, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/09/2004 02:09:00 PM
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Posted by
Dara
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2/09/2004 09:37:00 AM
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Friday, February 06, 2004
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Posted by
Tony
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2/06/2004 12:54:00 PM
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Think of the Children!
Our office dittohead was on his high horse yesterday about Janet Jackson's boob. Apparently it "pollutes the culture" and "If you had kids, you would understand what a big deal it is." I don't disagree, but it's ironic that conservatives are now calling for government intervention to correct the excesses of the free market. I thought the free market was sacred to those people.
I'll remember this the next time he goes off on environmentalists.
--Tony (permalink)
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Thursday, February 05, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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2/05/2004 11:39:00 AM
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Non-comics related: Privacy
Have you been to a bar/restaurant where they scan your driver's license "to verify your age"?
"Now, for any given night or hour, he can break down his clientele by sex, age, ZIP code or other characteristics. If he wanted to, he could find out how many blond women named Karen over 5 feet 2 inches came in over a weekend...More practically, he can build mailing lists based on all that data -- and keep track of who comes back."
Full article at http://www.we-swipe.us/nytimes.html
This site offers some cool free tools and links that let you figure out:
a) what personal info is stored on the barcode on your driver's license
b) how to send away for your information that commercial data warehouses collect about you and sell to third party clients.
c) calculate how much your personal information is worth
The Swipe Toolkit
(thanks to Boing Boing for the links)
--Dara (permalink)
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Wednesday, February 04, 2004
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Posted by
Tom
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2/04/2004 04:01:00 PM
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Given encouragement from Tony I'd thought I'd post my thoughts on the newly launched wexner show. Mostly I'm in agreement with Tony about it. Alot of it was the same monkeycrap that I saw at the Whitney Biennial six years ago. A tired retread of Pop-Art imagery that like Abstract Expressionism has run it's course. You could run a pooper scooper thru all the art made in the 80's and flush it. The title was gross mis-representation of the work (with exception to 20% of the show) Comics and cartoon inspired- please. More likely it was given a crowd friendly title. It's a gross co-opting of comic imagery. Poking fun at it without really utilizing the potential of comics themselves. More likely, the wexner was wanting to put together a show of current works but struggling to come up with a theme.
It's encouraging that creators like Ware are getting notice by New York. Shows like the Wexner's are a step backwards for comics. Promot | | |
