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Wednesday, March 30, 2005
AH, LONG BEACH IN THE SPRINGTIME!
Attended Wizard's second outing here in California. Mad props to homie Brent Erwin from Wizard. The show was even bigger this year. I did not get to stay as long as I could have unfortunately. Even worse my lovely girlfriend Sally was feeling poorly so I am sure that she did not get to enjoy the show in whatever capacity she normally can enjoy such things.
I did get to actually see a lot of my friends that I only get to see at these things. I was hoping to spend some face time with Jeff Parker after the show. But apparently he had a deadline to keep. What a loser. The show was actually a little bigger this year than last year, supposedly. But when I talked to a lot of the exhibitors that I know, they all seem to say that the show was going slow for them. I thought the aisles were pretty full on Saturday. Maybe the fish weren't biting. I did notice a certain lack of people in costumes or at least freaky clothes.
Usually at these thing you can't swing a dead cat without hitting somebody dressed up as a fictional character. I swear I saw somebody as "Funky Winkerbean"!
The coolest part of the show was that I took some spending money with me and came back with more than I brought. How, you may very well ask? I kept running into people I haven't seen in a long time who owed me money. After buying some books and lunch and whatnot I had five more dollars than I started out with.
Let's just get the name dropping part over with.
Buzz
Javier Hernandez, whose independent film about his comic has just wrapped shooting. It stars "Fez" from "That 70's Show".
Good guy Daniel Cooney.
Richard Haselrig was out promoting "Babe Force".
All the way from the Land of Deep Dish Pie,
Franchesco
David Hedgecock, whose work is taking off people. Some goon in the middle and another artist whose name I can't remember. Not to worry I will find out and credit him soon. The fellow on the right is of course Will Terrell,
Brent Erwin from Wizard. Give him a hand people.
Raf Navarro from Ninth Circle Studios
And there was a premier of a new comic at the show.
Apparently they are revamping the old Japanese hit "Lone Wolf and Cub" and doing a spin-off called "Lone Cub"
I saw this unattended baby stroller and thought to myself that somebody must be watching it as they shop in the booth adjacent. Nope, I stood and watched this thing for like five minutes and nobody I could see was keeping an eye on it, let alone came over to check on it. I was able to position myself from two different angles to take pictures of it and no one seemed to notice.
All in all a good little show. I didn't get to pick up any art pages as I was hoping but that is another story.
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Friday, March 25, 2005
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Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Coffee. Talk. No big whup.
Here is me with writer John Villalino
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Monday, March 21, 2005
YAY ME!!
I did my first painted cover. It is supposed to be used for NewG.A.R.D.E. issue five if all goes as planned. I was going for a 40's movie poster/ propaganda thingy.
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Saturday, March 19, 2005
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL!
I thought I would tell you a little story about my brush with the lord of all things infernal. Years ago I used to work in a graphic arts supply house. Basically a glorified art supply store but they also wholesaled printing plates, ink and film to printing shops.
My boss was the owner of this place. An O.K. guy named Gary Hobson. And as we all know "Hob" was another name for the devil especially in England. The etymology of his name is literally "son of the Devil".
Fine. We don't get to choose our own names. Whatever. And then after working for him for some time I come to find that he has a son. Named...Damien. And his son is approximately the same age as myself. So he was named well after the movie. That's right. My boss named his son Damien Hobson. Man if that doesn't get you looking for head sixes then I don't know what will.
I have to go howl at the moon now.
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Friday, March 18, 2005
GODAMN DIRTFEETS
I just saw the "hippie" episode of South Park. How can one tv show so encapsulate my feelings so well? Agree or not with their politics Stone and Parker are batting a thousand for satire.
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Friday, March 11, 2005
IT'S NOT EVEN LAZINESS
Ok. Here we go, another thing that bugs me. The way that people are pronouncing the word "pianist". Yeah, yeah. We all know what word it sounds like. Very funny. Don't get me wrong I can be very lowbrow (Just ask my friends. Very. Low. Brow.) But in this case I believe it is an actual attempt to skirt people's automatic giggle response that I find annoying.
In the TV and radio promos for that Polanski thing from 2002, (yes, "The Pianist", what a coincidence) the narrators couldn't pronounce the word in its traditional articulation. I can only assume that somebody said, "That sounds too much like 'penis'. Couldn't we have him say it differently?". There is a whole gob of words that have been Americanized over the years. But usually directly due to laziness. The path of least resistance. Human nature. I can almost understand that.
But when I hear several different announcers on NPR refusing to use the traditional pronunciation of this word I can see that things have gone too far. Afraid that people are going to get the wrong idea? This is NPR not Fox TV. I guess I am mad because this doesn't seem to be a case of laziness so much as a case of dumbing down the material for ostensibly PC reasons. I would like to think that if you had a calling to play classical piano that you would be proud to have the title "pee-un-ist" not "pee-ann-ist".
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Monday, March 07, 2005
WONDERCON
It is finally time to pronounce my experience at Wondercon to the world. I usually like to get these things out a little quicker than two weeks but what can I say I am a lazy sack of yak urine.
I actually drove up to the show. About 400 and some odd miles for me.
Rainbow. Sweet.
I stayed with my good friend Kyle, a very funny guy and good artist in his own right. He is in Pleasanton so we BARTed our way into town.
This was my first time actually at Wondercon so I was not sure what to expect.
That's not true I totally expected the see the King stormtrooper
Other people had told me that it was a nice little intimate show but not so small as to be flea-markety (that's a word). And it was rather nice. Nothing like the monstrosity that San Diego is. But this comfortable-enough-to-be-able-to-get-around-ness backfired. There were not that many smallish publishers there that I could pitch stuff to or leave samples with. A bunch of retailers of course. I think DC was there and then a lot of self-publishing guys. Guys both looking for more work for themselves and unable to give me any work. But not too many independent publishers that I could hit up. So I did what I could and then spent time with friends that, unfortunately I only see at shows.
Look out! There is a big guy with a gun behind us!
My buddy Kyle with legend Neal Adams.
My positive observation of the show was that a bunch of the exhibitors were actual comic book sellers and not comic inspired sellers. If you have been to any big comic convention in the last five to eight years you should have noticed that much of the floor space is taken up by booths promoting/ selling videos, videogames, toys, statues, upcoming movies, etc. All somewhat comic related and or inspired but not actual comics. Look at the floor map of San Diego for example. It is laid out somewhat like a giant race track. A huge ellipse. All of the spaces inside the ellipse were movie companies, video games, toys, etc., etc. And yet all the spaces on the periphery were people who actually make or sell comics. Clearly in the minority.
Don't get me wrong. I actually think that movies based on comic books done right can be a great shot in the arm for the comic book industry. The key words being done right. I am not begrudging Marvel or DC or any other company the right to license their stuff out to whoever. But try not to do the "quick fix" job. The X-Men movies, the Spider-Man movies. I truly believe these create some spillover of readership and this is what the industry as well as the medium needs desperately. But Daredevil, Punisher, Constantine? Yeah right. Not only am I convinced that no one ran from the theatre after viewing Cat Woman to find the nearest comic shop but it might actually turn people away from the idea of comics as a serious story genre.
Back to the report: I hooked up with my good pal Parker again
Jeff Parker, Kyle Webbenhurst and Zailo
but I wasn't staying in town so unfortunately I couldn't hangout with him after hours.
Chatted in brief with Joe Fields.
Joe has the best attitude amongst retailers I have come across in a long time. Don't believe me, try Free Comic Day. He saw a problem in his chosen industry and tried to fix it. Instead of just grousing about it. If you have the opportunity to peruse his regular column in "Comic/ Gaming Retailers Monthly" you will agree that he just has a sunshiny outlook on life in general not just comic books. Not me. I am not afraid to complain about stuff.
Didn't stay for Sunday and headed back home in the rain.
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Sunday, March 06, 2005
I have no idea what to write. I am sitting here in the middle of the night (well what passes for the middle of the night at my age. Saturday Night Live is part way over) and not tired enough to go to sleep but not ambitious enough to keep working. I still have plenty of work. I am designing some safety posters for a company as well as more logo stuff. I also should be doing some thumbnails for my two comic book projects.
Enough. Sally and I watched Napolean Dynamite earlier tonight. I am not sure what to say about it. I would have to say that I certainly didn't think it was funny but I still enjoyed it. I imagine that my enjoyment stems from the fact that it is different. Instead of more of the same ol' same ol' from Hollywood a little bit of trying something new. I would like to see what the same team could do with a little bigger budget. Which is usually where funny starts to break down. With middle men and development people.
Well hell, lets see what else on tv I can write about. I love South Park. And not for the reason that everyone else seems to like it for. Even if there was no toilet humor, cussing nor gross stuff I would still love it. I respect Parker and Stone because they are not afraid to target anything or anyone that they feel needs to be taken down a peg. Fads, celebrities, other forms of entertainment, whatever gets on their nerves gets targeted. I believe that they have reached a point in their careers that they feel that even if they piss somebody in Hollywood off that everything is not going to disappear. So no holds barred. If you deserve to be satired you will. Perhaps the best example of why I respect these two is the Paris Hilton episode where the show actually stops and becomes pure social commentary. Mr. Slave addresses an audience asking "if children don't learn that people like Paris Hilton are to be dispised from their parents, then where will they learn it from?". Triumph!
Well I am off to bed, good night.
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Wednesday, March 02, 2005
HANG IN THERE
I have absolutely meaning to get to this thing and post some witty, insightful, brilliant material but I am swamped with work right now. I have not forgotten. I will return.
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