Comicbook Rockstar

Shang-Chi Notes

2011-04-03T16:25:00.001-04:00

Superhuman kung fu.
Repentance.
Controlling emotions.
Fu Manchu was Makluan.
Part Dragon.
The Mandarin, part Makulan.
Five rings vs Five rings
Midnight Sun. Communicates through fighting.
Elemental superfighting.
Mandarin destroys M'Nai.
Throws him to Earth.
Shang-Chi fights him to learn what happened to him.
KillRaven. Disciple. Teaching. Peace.
An Invasion is coming. The Mandarin bringing a planetfull of Makulans. A fleet of giant space dragons.
Shang-Chi prepares himself. Finds the five rings. Iron Man. (Or War Machine, or Stark Tech guard. NinjaBot. StarkFujikawa.)
Power Cosmic.
KillRaven. DragonSlayer.
Black Knight.
KillRaven goes to train with another warrior. Brooklyn, Iron Fist. White Tiger. Daughters of the Dragon. Daredevil. The Hand. Elektra. Urban Ninja.

Wendigo. Sasquatch. Wolverine. Hulk. The woods, the wild. Hitchhiking. X-Mansion. Man-Thing. Monsters. Pegasus. DarkHawk. Nova. Cosmic.

Guardians of the Galaxy. StarFox. Space opera.
Kree. S.W.O.R.D. Captain Marvel.

A Bitchslap to Feminism

2011-03-12T03:23:00.004-05:00

I do not understand female sexuality. As sensitive a guy that I am, as often as I find myself hanging out with the girls, watching Dirty Dancing, pajama pants, and working the paparazzi gossip field for years now, I still will never understand girls. From Girls Gone Wild, to Maxim, to oversexualized underage teen popstars. What are the images that women have to emulate these days if not the metrosexual ladies of Sex & the City.

I don't get how being a badass chick relates to showing cleavage and showing a lot of leg, and eventually being naked holding your own breasts on the cover of a magazine. Or worse yet, an advertisement for a beauty product. How does two girls kissing, embracing one another in a letters to Penthouse manner with MTV music video slickness, moist skin and glistening breasts, exposed and performing, even in the quiet of their own personal lives, how does this empower someone?

I just see it as a man's audience being pandered to in the most base and vile manner. It's giving in to the filthy instincts of a testosterone driven misogynistic society. A woman's worth is basically arm candy to a stalwart hero, a damsel in distress, or an over compensating superkiller assassin completely devoid of the feminine. She is seen as a goddess object, a force to be worshiped and feared, unmolested by mere human touch. But the virgin, the young, they are to be exploited to the fullest, a sacrifice upon the altar of pop culture.

Is the pinnacle of femininity in today's day and age having awesome shoes, wearing a short skirt, kicking ass and taking names? I mean, I guess I don't even have a masculine identity to look up to, so why should I assume that girls have the same. It seems we truly live in an era where this current generation is re-creating the ideals of all human interactions. Role-model ideals are more true and accurate with what we essentially need than ever before.

Asian Cinema Review - ZOMEDY EDITION

2010-11-11T14:53:00.003-05:00

TOKYO ZOMBIE

I love Asian Cinema, and for overall weirdness, gore, perversion and dark humor, the Japanese win every time. They're constantly outdoing not just every other country in pulpy cinematic respect, but also top themselves every other year.

Take for example TOKYO ZOMBIE from 2005. Now, I'm not much for the Japanese Horror films such as Ringu and the like, or really horror films at all, but zombie movies sort of transcend the horror genre. They tend to skirt satire on a good day and drama when well executed. And then sometimes, they are really funny.

Now, Shaun of the Dead had been released just the year before, so perhaps this low-budget movie was a direct response to that work of pure horror-comedy genius that Edgar Wright put together. And Tokyo Zombie is funny. I laughed out loud quite a few times at some really unexpected physical comedy and dark gags. Even when something is more heavy handed, if done with proper timing and direction, it could be borderline genius.

This movie isn't genius though. The first half is quite great. Two slackers that work at a fire extinguisher refilling station, who'd rather practice jujitsu rather than work, accidentally kill their boss. Well, maybe not so accidentally, but definitely surprisingly, for the viewer that is. Then they drive up to 'Black Fuji', the name of the giant black mountain of trash that has accumulated outside of town, where people bury all sorts of refuse, from refrigerators to porn to annoying in-laws and dead schoolboys.

Yeah, that's right, this is Japanese after all, so the perv-factor is quite high, but really only for the first 10 minutes or so. After we see people tossing away all this garbage, dumping bodies, well it all goes to Hell quite fast. The dead start rising from the black earth and head on down into town. The situation goes right to full on zombie infestation without skipping a beat. And the main characters just sort of roll with it with their poker-faces on. After all, they do know jujitsu.

So the first half becomes this sort of road movie where these friends bond, dealing with mortality, hypochondria, ineptitude, and lots of slapstick. Then they rescue a girl and suddenly the movie completely changes everything about itself. As we ride an animated segment into crazytown zombieville, we jump five years into the future where the rich have built themselves a protected pyramid of lush living, where they entertain themselves by having slaves (survivors they kidnap) fight zombies in a gladiatorial arena.

Yeah, I know. So then it becomes a matter of younger fighter having to defeat his former friend/mentor in order to overcome the self-imposed limitations he had. Seems fighting someone who's not a zombie isn't so easy though, so the whole thing falls apart. If this all sounds a bit messy and vague it's only because I would have to write a whole book to explain the bizarre twists and turns the second half of this movie takes.

So it is very flawed, but it's also worth a watch for the first half alone. The second half has its moments and is fun to watch just because it seems like someone changed scripts halfway through, switching from Shaun of the Dead to Gladiator. There's so many funny moments and the actors are really quite good in this quite low-budget horror comedy. But where Shaun of the Dead brilliantly walks the fine line of actual horror movie and comedy, this flick is pure comedy (with maybe a dash of drama).

But there are other foreign zombie movies out there to check out that I HIGHLY recommend.

REC (Spain, 2007)

This is my favorite horror movie of all time. A masterpiece of low-budget first person perspective horror that's very well acted and has great twists and turns that really keep the anxiety up and the ending is just...well, go watch it. AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT WATCH THE AMERICAN REMAKE 'QUARANTINE'. Not even the trailer. Don't. Do. It.

DEAD SNOW (Norway, 2009)

This is another movie that really skirts the line of various genres. It's a drama, of sorts, then a bizarre sort of comedy, and finally, a full on genre flick with at least one direct shout out to Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' movies. Oh, and did I mention, ZOMBIE NAZIS! Yes, that's right. Watch it. You may need two viewings, I know I did.

UNDEAD (Australia, 2003)

I didn't love this movie, but I know a lot of people that do. I think I need to watch it again. It has moments of genius, that I do recall. And the ending is really quite striking and powerful. I remember a lot of the incidental moments rather than the actual plot, but it really is worth a watch.

Walking Dead Episode #1 recap

2010-11-01T04:41:00.001-04:00

The Walking Dead, AMC's new original show kicked off last night on Halloween. What better way for the channel to venture forth into the world of survival horror than on the sppokiest day of the year.

We start of the show with our hero Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) looking for gas at a gas station. We get the sense that something's not right from the abandoned cars and the decaying corpses in said cars. But suddenly he hears a shuffling footstep and sees bunny slippers and a teddy bear.

Too bad this little girl he tries to save is a full fledged brain snacking zombie which he promptly puts down with a bullet. Thus, our scene is set. Cut to the intro of spooky photo montages of empty lots and scenes.

After that we shoot back a bit and see Rick, a Sheriff and his partner Shane, kicking back in their patrol car talking about the differences between men and women, perhaps the great dividing line in humanity (before the living and the dead). We also get a hint of Rick's marriage problems, including opening up to his wife, and his inability to understand his woman.

Suddenly, they need to intercept a runaway criminal in a hot rod, and so, set up a speed trap. As the car crashes and flips excessively into the field, leading towards a shootout, and although our hero Rick gets hit in the vest with a round, it's only after his partner makes sure he's okay, that another of the criminals tags Rick from behind.

A trippy scene of his partner talking to him at his hospital bed leads right into Rick, still wounded in his bed and everything is dead. The flowers on his nightstand, the clock on his wall, the medical equipment he's hooked up to. Stumbling through the hospital he realizes that the entire hospital is dead.

Literally. There's a door he comes upon stating 'DEAD INSIDE, DON'T OPEN', which dead fingers attempt to pry their way out of. There's corpses littering the parking lot, discarded military vehicles everywhere, and not a living soul in sight. And so, he wanders off towards home. Before he can get a good distance he come across his first zombie, a half a corpse that crawls across the grass.

When he gets home, he finds it empty, his wife, Lori, and child, Carl, missing, and kudos to Lincoln on his performance here of a man trying to come to terms with this new nightmare his life has become. He does a great job a playing a man fully in shock. And so in shock is he that he doesn't realize the man shuffling down the street is a zombie, or that the kid coming up behind him is going to smash him in the face with a shovel.

And so, Rick meets his first survivors. Lam and his son, Dwayne, who take him in and tell him the basics of zombie survival. The dead walk, they're drawn to noise, and above all, don't get bitten. They're held up in a neighbor's house, seeking refuge from the shambling zombies that set off car alarms in the street.

When spying on the dead, we get a hint at the backstory of Lam and his son, who's wife/mother is now among the brainsucking dead. The next morning the living make a quick trip out to the front yard to kill a zombie, a brutal baseball bat to the head that leaves Rick a bit sick. Once inside his own home again we get exposition that proves that his wife and child left their home as living beings.

So off to the Sheriff's office, for a quick hot shower (oh how the little things mean so much), to stock up on guns and ammo, and set off in search of Rick's family, who may be in Atlanta, where refugees were all heading before things got really bad.

Lam and Dwayne head off back to the home they were holed up in, Lam trying to finally put his zombified wife out of her misery, yet finding he can't. Rick, meanwhile, heads back to the park to find the half a corpse he first ran into, in order to end its suffering. Each zombie death really resonates in this episode, and none more so than this. Rick weeps as he destroys this creature that was once human.

Once back on his own, Rick drives out to Atlanta, and we get a glimpse of a camp outside the city where survivors are, including his partner Shane and Rick's wife and kid, who we find out are together on the sly. It's about as cringe worthy as any death scene, even if we haven't seen Rick and her together yet.

Rick trades his patrol car for a horse (presumably after he can't find gas in the intro), and heads into the city where he stumbles upon a dead end (aka a city block chock full of the walking dead), and takes refuge in an empty tank while the dead feast on the poor horse.

After taking out an undead soldier inside, and shell-shocking himself with the noise of a point blank gunshot inside a tank, Rick eventually hears a voice over the radio which taunts him, mocking him for so carelessly wandering into the city.

Who is this survivor, how does he know what's going on, and does he know about Rick's wife and kid? If Rick keeps his wits about him (and his brains intact) perhaps he'll find out.

One Hit Wonder review

2010-10-20T02:25:00.001-04:00

In our celebrity saturated society even those thought long forgotten, idols from our youth who glimmered for just a summer, leaving us with a singular hit song that resonated in the public sending ripples through the pop culture pool, even they become relevant and interesting once more.

In Carillo's new book One Hit Wonder, we follow Mickey DeFalco, a Queens native who hit it big with his sappy yet melancholy ballad 'Sweet Days' as he returns home an utter failure and total has-been. In his shoes we feel what it's like to be loved and adored for that one contribution to people's lives.

An aging fan hooking up with her teenage fantasy. Bitter former classmates still toiling at menial jobs at home. The girl that was loved and lost, inspiring those epic refrains. These are the people around Mickey that marvel at his achievement and fall from grace. They hold him at a distance, as something other than themselves.

Through flashbacks we're shown even more moments of awkward celebrity. From playing a cruise ship to kids birthday parties, no indignity is spared, and Mickey just casually walks his way through each of them, only passionate and excitable when clinging to his last shreds of dignity.

There's something to Mickey's boy-like demeanor and passive aggressive nature that really shines in the prose. This feels like a real person who could neatly slide into our pop song past. His parents are peppered with sentimental details that make them so true to life. You can see their past as Mickey grew up in their home.

The whole book is littered with truths. About life, love, family. Just lines tossed out here and there that feel like universal truths, spit out by a wiseass Queens kid in a 38 year old's body. The concept of hitting bottom and trying to resurface, flailing about in inconsistency of actions, taking the easy route when available, this is how people behave.

And then there's lost love. Idyllic in memory, which taints all reality about him, making it all a joke, another tragedy heaped upon the pile. How do you react when all you want is the girl, but instead are given fame and fortune? You self-destruct of course. Spiral to the bottom and find yourself again.

The book is very well written and consistent in its tone, with more than a few twists and turns that feel like the randomness of life, rather than the structure of plot. Not to give spoilers, but there is a happy ending there, but it may not exactly come as you'd think it would.

I have yet to read Carillo's other novels, but from this book I imagine he's got more than just this one song to offer.

The Plan

2010-09-26T18:30:00.001-04:00

The Production Company

TenTonStudios
Ten categories of entertainment media

Ten artist teams on ten panel stories
TenTonTenthology

Matt LaRock
Lee Estes

The foundation of TenTon

***

Organize projects

Marvel Pitches
DC Pitches
Indie Pitches
TV Show (spinoff)
Video Games
Novel
Screenplay
Feature
Animation
Zine/Blog/Short Stories/Poems

Develop an idea for each.

***

Get one page of coloring & one of lettering done a night.

***

TenTon Order

St.Pierre
Brown
Baroody
Pham
Burnham
Kuder

***
Concept
Digital/Print
Flash?
Music
Individualization
PDF, CBZ

***
Relationships

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Puts the Emo in dEMOcracy

2010-09-23T06:37:00.001-04:00

Broadway has seen its fair share of offbeat musicals in recent years, but The Public Theatre's emo rock opera about controversial president Andrew Jackson seems like a combo that's just to weird to work.

Taking the life story of the president that is responsible for the Trail of Tears which caused the deaths of numerous Native Americans, and fusing it with rockstar celebrity, it just somehow makes sense in today's day and age, making history more accessible by re-enacting it through modern tropes.

However, I was a poor history student so I really have no idea whether what I was hearing and seeing was even remotely accurate, but it sparked in me a desire to find out the true story behind the "American Hitler" that's also considered one of our greatest presidents "who put the Man in Manifest Destiny".

The show is playing at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, where the stage is small but even with a drum kit and piano set up, the cast makes good use of the space. The entire theatre is done up like a Wild West saloon with empty beer cans, animals stuffed and surrounding the stage, with an overall rockabilly flair. With parts of the cast coming out and playing instruments, it was a full blown band performance.

But this is where the show falters. The songs are not strong enough to stick in your head, leaving you unable to remember any individual song or lyrics. The singing falls a bit flat, never producing the power of Broadway vocals that gives you the chills. The music itself is really good, but the song compositions often break it up too much to really get into.

That said, the theatrical performances of the cast were amazing. Each member had great comedic timing and the supporting cast transformed itself with each change of scene, going from Southern Rednecks to Washington Aritocrats flawlessly. Benjamin Walker as Andrew Jackson was thoroughly charismatic, Maria Elena Ramirez felt like a poor casting choice as his wife, but it was Jeff Hiller as backup characters who stold every scene.

So all in all, it was a darn good time and had me laughing throughout, and even though the music I found lacking, it was refreshing to see something a bit more rock'n'roll in the form of a very un-PC, historical satire. Dare I say, it was a bloody good time.

Pryzmalite Massacre

2010-09-13T08:08:00.001-04:00

Band Performance
Backstage Breakdown
Jen Solo

Dive Bar
Drummer Death
Stalker Setup

Jam Session
Bassist Stabbing
Hiding Out

Central Park
Heart to Heart
Guitarist Slashing

Agent Action
Manager Reveal
Killer Paparazzi

Superhero Script Ideas

2010-09-07T07:28:00.001-04:00

Here's the basis for the superhero story that came out of thinking of something more lighthearted. It's my take on an un-ironic Kick-Ass. Not sure about it, still working out the narration, but it'll be about making friends and happy stuff. Let me know if you think tone-wise and interest-wise it'll work. Otherwise I was maybe thinking the Bob Awesome story would be a good choice for your style and be fun enough for the book. If you're still free...

Hope you guys had a good Labor Day!

Young superhero
Anti-Kickass
Inspirational
Non-ironic
Actual super moral ideal
Love story?

Page 1
Origin
Hyper Maximum
Sugar & cartoons

Panel 1
Young kid watching cartoons and eating cereal, repeated three times across the top. (Maybe a bit older each time, or at least in different sci-fi outfits, cowboy to spaceman to pulp-hero?)

HM: (NARRATION) ONE FATEFUL SUMMER AT OUR NEW HOUSE...

MOM: (Off Panel) MAX, DON'T SIT THERE ALL DAY WATCHING CARTOONS.

HM: (N) A YOUNG BOY WHO HAD SEEN TOO MANY SUPERHERO CARTOONS AND HAD WAY TOO MUCH SUGAR...

MOM: (OP) YOU'VE GOTTA GET OUT THERE AND MAKE FRIENDS.

Panel 2
Max running out the front door, blurs into Hyper Maximum in costume.

HM: (N) WAS FORCED OUT INTO THE SUMMER DAY...

MOM: (OP) GET OUT THERE RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN! ENJOY YOUR YOUTH/SUMMER BEFORE IT'S OVER!

HM: (N) WHERE HE BECAME...

(Title-logo) HYPER-MAXIMUM!

Panel 3
Snatches a cat from the street before a car hits it.

HM: (N) PROTECTOR OF THE STREETS.

Panel 4
Chasing off bullies from a dorky kid.

HM: DEFENDER OF THE WEAK.

Panel 5
Diving and catching a girl falling from a tree.

HM: (N) SAVIOR TO THE MEEK.

Panel 6
Close up. They smile at each other.

HM: (N) IT WAS MY DESTINY TO HELP THOSE I COULD.

HM: (N) THERE WASN'T MUCH ROOM FOR THAT SUMMER FOR...FRIENDS.

Page 2
Partner
Ultimate Extreme
Wrestling & spray paint

Panel 1
The dorky kid from page 1 is now dressed up in a neon costume, raging and yelling as he runs along a picnic table in a backyard.

HM: (N) ONE DAY I SAW THAT MY PRESENCE HAD INSPIRED ANOTHER.

Panel 2
Jumping off and tackling three kids to the ground. HM in the background, high above in his tree house watching.

HM: (N) COULD THIS WARRIOR BE A PARTNER IN MY MISSION?

Panel 3
The duo chasing a bike thief who's speeding towards us. Maybe HM is hanging on the back of the bike as UE grapples the kid.

HM: (N) SURE ENOUGH WE TEAMED UP AND BATTLED TWICE THE THREATS I COULD ALONE.

Panel 4
Eating candy sitting atop the playground. A giant rocket. Outside the window is the girl from page 1.

HM: (N)

Panel 5
Close up on the porthole on the rocket that shows the girl out on the playground.

HM: (N)

Page 3
Panel 1
UE yelling at HM. Wrestling near the edge, UE pushing HM closer.

UE: YOU'RE SO RETARDED!

HM: GET OFF!

Panel 2
Fall out of the rocket and hit ground.

Panel 3
HM hurt, UE storms off as the girl comes up to help.

Panel 4
HM takes off his mask, bleeding a bit from the nose, looks up at us (The Girl) smiling.

Page 4
Conflict
UE vs HM

Panel 1
UE all dark and sinister watches as HM (out of costume) walks around with the Girl.

Panel 2
Ice Cream Truck, he peers from broken slat in fence.

Panel 3
Swimming pool, he hides beneath umbrella as Max dives off and Girl waves.

Panel 4
Max & Girl holding hands, walking towards us, UE in the background, a bit more exposed with a darker costume, riding a skateboard speeding up behind them.

Page 5
Villain
UE returns evil
Splash page

Panel 1 (Main Image top left)
UE dives off skateboard lunging in mid-air towards Max who has turned preparing for attack. Girl is in shock.

Panel 2-6 (all surrounding the main shot)
UE beats up Max.
Roll on the ground.
Punch to stomach.
Kick in the butt.
Pushes him back down to sidewalk

Page 6
Fight
Battle

Panel 1
Girl swoops in, her own costume on. (Flower Girl?).

Panel 2
Gets UE on the defense, Max in background taking costume from backpack.

Panel 3
UE bracing from Girl's attack.

Panel 4
UE cocks his fist back, about to punch Girl.

Panel 5
HM clocks him good with FG.

Page 7
Resolution
Team up

Panel 1
UE is stripped of part of his costume as he shouts from the back patio, the back door sliding closed as he yells.

Panel 2
HM & FG stand atop the tree house.

Panel 3
They look at each other smiling.

Panel 4
Close up on them holding hands.

HM: (N)

Scott Pilgrim vs. Hollywood: a Scott Pilgrim Experience Review

2010-08-12T17:20:00.000-04:00

I absolutely loved Bryan Lee O'Malley's 'Lost At Sea', from the teenager angst to the simply beautiful, solemn and quirky artwork, but when his next series, 'Scott Pilgrim' came out I thought it seemed to silly or something, and it never really caught my attention.

Until one day my good friend Reilly Brown said that I HAD to read it. There were just too many similarities between Scott's life and my own. Granted I wasn't an early 20's bassist in Canada, but I was a slacker with a young ex with a penchant for blades, and relationship drama mixed with oblivious comedy sounded about right.

The comic melted my brain. It was an indie book, with characters that just hung out, went to parties, and meandered through their lives. It was a battle book where suddenly a duel would take place with superpowered kung fu. Scott was clueless and yet you couldn't keep him down for long. It was rock'n'roll mixed with subtle video game moments. What was this?

The comic makes you love the characters, from the bitchy Julie Powers, to snarky Kim Pine, to vulnerable Knives Chau. Stephen Stills cowboy shirts, Young Neil's haircuts, and Wallace Wells dry wit, these were all iconic people in Scott Pilgrim's universe, well rounded and each given their moments, their personalities developed organically through the volumes.

Now, I must say, I love Edgar Wright. I've seen his BBC series Spaced at least three times through, and. Shaun of the Dead was brilliant in its skirting of the fine line between horror and comedy. Hot Fuzz was a sophmore dip, but it had tons of fun moments. This was an amazing storyteller of a director with a ton of geeky influences and a plethora of visual tricks.

So when I heard that he was directing Scott Pilgrim vs the World, it was like nothing I've experienced as a fanboy. My favorite superheroes have yet to make it to the big screen, and the closest I got to having one of my all-time favorite graphic novels translated to film well was V For Vendetta, which I quite liked. But this was different.

Here we had excellent source material with loveable characters, fun violent action, and a director that seemed to be perfectly suited for the lighthearted tone this adaptation would need. It features a bunch of actors I really enjoy, and with the teaser images Wright posted on his Flickr all last year while filming, it appeared it was devoutly faithful. Would it live up to the trailer that gave me chills when I first saw it?

Yes. Yes, it did. But do I feel some sort of deflated feeling after following the internet media push that was almost as entertaining as the comic itself? Yes, it's done, out into the ether to be consumed by the masses. In a few weeks it'll be half-remembered, perhaps quoted, inspiring new fans to track down the books, sport Plumtree t-shirts, and maybe start their own bands (like me).

Around Christmas we'll get the DVD release, maybe some rad extra features, behind the scenes, video game samples, etc. I'll pick up the special edition collection of all six volumes, complete with unreleased material as soon as it comes out. And there it'll sit for future enjoyment at a whim.

This time will never be captured again. Like seeing that epic band performance at the coliseum where you got the tour shirt that'll be expensive vintage for futuristic hipsters who were never there in the moment. But there's something about films that makes them timeless, just as we can enjoy classics from the past on Blu-Ray.

Now, as for the movie itself, (I had to explain all the emotions and thoughts involved to properly process my feelings) the first half is perfection. This is Scott Pilgrim's comic/video game universe come to life. The fantastic camera movements, the interactive narration and title cards introducing our main characters, the true performances that sell them as their graphic novel counterparts, it's all there.

The first half is almost shot for shot the introduction, I remembered the exact angle and background when Scott first sees Ramona at the library. I got giddy. Then suddenly new elements pop up, or small bits skipped over (which is flawlessly handled by Wright as he cuts a sharp turn from scene to scene), and then you realize that this is a movie of Scott Pilgrim.

I tried to not be that elitist fanboy that makes mental notes about what's missing and lines that were different, but it popped up now and again. And I told myself that O'Malley hadn't even completed volume six until months after filming had wrapped, so of course it would be different. There wasn't time for Julie & Stephen's drama, or Scott & Ramona to move in together.

And though I had slight problems with the end of volume six, it felt complete, satisfying. So the movie would have to do the same. And logically, I feel it satisfying me, but emotionally, something wasn't there. The fights came fast and frantic in the second half, never really letting Scott & Ramona to settle into being a couple. Those scenes were Scott gets a job or has birthday were what makes them the couple I know them as.

But yes, it's a two hour film so, I try and take it as a complete story, and it works. There's conflict and resolution and we're given an identical ending to the comic really, if not slightly stripped down and amped up for a more one on one style fight. What matters is the spirit is there. Scott earns the power of love and levels up, Sex-Bob-Omb rocks out, and Evil Exs are defeated.

I'd call that a flawless victory.

Ps- you can stream the soundtrack and the score, and my takes on those are that between them both is a solid album, if only the kickass Sex-Bob-Omb songs were on the score. My particular favorite is 'Summertime' which has been stuck in my head for days.

Now, who wants to start a band with me?

Thor Marvel Comics

2010-08-03T07:27:00.001-04:00

I have just read the first 12 issues of Thor and the finale, as well as Thor 600 & 601 (going along with Marvel's return to original numbering, the flipside to the constant new issue #1s). This run by JMS, drawn by Oliver Copiel & Marco Dudjerjejrk, chronicles the return of Thor and all of Asgard from the post-Ragnarok void that the God's rested in when I guess Marvel didn't know what to do with the character (along with the Avengers) and killed them all off.

JMS does an amazing job resetting continuity while moving the series forward story-wise. Thor is called forth to protect Midgard (Earth) and is once again bonded to Dr. Donald Blake (who are two seperate conscious beings). He's got the gnarled walking staff which he uses to transform into the God of Thunder. And he's brought back into Man's world to re-create Asgard on Earth to reconnect with humanity.

Heimdall, Balder, Loki, the Warriors Three, they're all back (although Loki in female form which works to unsettle and regain trust with the Asgardians just enough to manipulate them all, and later is revealed as a plot to keep Lady Sif from Thor). Everyone is back except Odin.

Though it appears Thor is purposefully not bringing back his father, he tells himself it is so the kingdom may not repeat the cycle of Ragnarok once more. It will be a fresh start for the Asgardians. But perhaps it is because Thor truly wishes to lead, to come into his own, to surpass his father.

To that end Thor journeys via Odinsleep, into the realm that now houses Odin and Surtur, who are locked in eternelly repititious cycles of violence against each other. Here we are told a tale of Bor, Odin's father, and how in defiance of him Odin created man, who his father plagued with monsters and beasts to punish his son and his creation. Odin understands the need for the cycle to begin anew with new leadership.

This tale of Bor also sets up an interesting twist on the origin of Loki and how he came to be adopted son of Odin, the guilty poison let into the kingdom. I won't spoil it past that as it is truly one of the most clever bits in this run. It also sets up the return of Bor who is brought to NYC dis at the hands of Loki, and then beset by Thor, who ends up killing his own grandfather.

A move that allows Loki to place Balder as King (after slyly revealing the truth that Balder is half-brother to Thor), and to have Thor exiled. This brings the Asgardians into Latveria, and Doom experiments on them, and there's a big fight with Doom's own version of the Destroyer suit. It's pure comic book here.

But it also has nice moments of the Gods interacting with humans, and even sets up a heroic death for Bill Jr. (aka William the Third) who fell in love with a female winter goddess. It's pretty well done and you really do root for the character and his death is handled exceptionally well if not blunt. But these are gods here. Depowered a bit on Earth, but gods among mortals.

There's even a bit at the end which makes it so Dr. Donald Blake once again is wounded and left with a limp so he needs the cane. It's all very neatly tied up with a bow, leaving us with a well developed story, an entertaining and engaging return of the great characters from this part of Marvel, and prepares us for Siege.

A small plot hole I found was, what was Loki's plan for Sif, it almost seemed as if he were just using her to distract Thor, or perhaps just using her mortal form to regain trust? I'm not sure, but it wasn't to remove her from him forever.

Either way, it's great to have Thor back, and the scene where Thor gives Iron Man what's coming to him for the Civil War/Thor clone debacle, and the Captain America memorial, well this really helps build up the need for a return of the Avengers.

Thor Marvel Comics

2010-08-03T07:21:00.003-04:00

Thor Marvel Comics

2010-08-03T07:21:00.001-04:00

Power Play #2 breakdowns

2010-08-01T21:19:00.001-04:00

Dodgeball
General contestants, hint at recurring characters, see Kris taking bets on the side, friends in the stands, discovering a bit of powers. Glimpse of Ice Queen.

Line up, misfits and weirdos, all standing at a starting line in a warehouse in Gownus. Mac is so busying looking around that he misses the announcements. He sees Kris behind the bleachers taking bets, then bam, starting gun, everyone runs, tennis balls being fired from the audience. His friends firing at him, hitting other people, then wham, softballs knocking people out. He dodges and gets wailed a few times. As he gets closer he spies Ice Queen off to the side. Suddenly a bowling ball is launched straight for his head, he just ducks in time for it to smash someone behind him. He turns into a bowling ball and runs the rest as the balls all bounce off him. He wins! All confident and bragging as he tries to find Ice Queen in the crowd.

Obstacle Course
More one on one contestants, things get nasty, set up the animosity for the final four. Hint at Gowanus Pete.

Smaller starting line, about a quarter of the people. Lined up in a parking lot, next to the studio. There's police barricades and old jungle gym equipment lining the streets. Then they set them on fire. Go! Mac tries to run but stamina is not his strong suit, either is agility. He falls behind as nimble contestants fly past him. People try and trip him up, take each other out as they jump and run, Mac turns into a stretchy material and stretches ahead. Climb up the building, things are getting fierce, then across the rooftops as everyone leaps across the street. Some people fall into bouncy castles set up on the street below and some bounce and hit the street. Mac just barely makes it across. Mac spies Gowanus Pete standing on the smoke stack watching, before diving backwards into the water. They climb the Kentile sign and the main rival grabs the flag. Mac loses.

Tazer Tag
Serious battle. Tense. Regenerating Hipster. Ice Queen .gsign up sheet. Registered for the bigger competition.

Down the Drain

2010-07-13T23:47:00.001-04:00

'Hey how r u? Haven't texted you in a bit. Hope all is well.'

She folded up her phone and tried not to check it seconds later for a response.

The quiet of the apartment was disturbed by the gurgle from the sink. Since the day she moved in she'd been unable to get the super to come in and take a look at it. She's poured Drain-O, bleach, and boiling hot water into it hoping she'd be able to clear the pipes.

Her hand reached out for her cell phone but she stopped herself as her fingertips brushed up against its hard plastic. She wouldn't let him get the best of her. He'd text back when he was free. Then they'd finally meet up. They'd grab dinner and drinks and go dancing and then...

GURGLE BLOOP BLOP.

That was it. This goddamn sink had gotten on her last nerve. She dug out that snake thing her dad left in her bathroom closet. She had no idea how to use it, but it was time to shove something in there, get whatever muck was making this repulsive noise. She'd finally have some peace and quiet.

After fumbling with it for a few minutes, she fed the line down the drain and kept feeding it down further and further. There was no resistance, though she was in a fury to get it in there and wouldn't have noticed anyways. Eventually she ran out of snake.

She gave it a slight tug and it held firm. It was snagged on something. Then it jerked in her grip. It pulled itself further in. She held it tight and pulled with all her might. But it was no use, it reeled itself in and ripped her right off her feet, smashing her face first into to sink.

Groggily, she tried to lift herself back up but suddenly her face was like putty, melting into a pool, her skin slipping away from her, sliding down into the pipes. Her muscles went slack and she began to dissolve, dripping and oozing her way down the drain. She thought of the foaming action of that drain cleaner she spent twenty bucks on from Duane Reade.

Her entire being was smooshed through a cylinder the size of a cardboard tube. She slooshed and slopped her way inch by inch gliding down into darkness, the snake line still dragging her through the labyrinth of plumbing. Oddly, she wasn't even concerned, except now she couldn't check her phone to see if he replied.

When her essence had dripped fully into a puddle upon the floor of the cavern, she awoke. No longer of the gooey, fluid consistency, she stood and looked around. Amber tones, a tan screen slid before her eyes, she rubbed them, and once again saw a whole new world of sepia. It was old-fashioned in style, vintage in substance.

Unreal reality blown out all about her. A bedroom set, metal wire-framed bedframe, frilly bedskirt, plush pillows of satin softness. A vanity, wardrobe, full-length mirror and folding changing screen. The carpets hugged her bare feet. The drapes reached out for her as they billowed in the wind. The ceiling fan lazily turned absently.

She jumped on the bed and rolled over onto her back. A goofy smile spread across her lips. She couldn't help but give her body a bit of a wiggle in joy and excitement. It was the room she had always wanted, a princess' quarters from decades past. An escape into the simpler days of yesteryear, when she could be a true lady.

The door eased itself open, gliding over the bristles of the carpet one strand at a time. He walked in, also barefoot, flowing cotton pajama pants dangling just above his ankles, his tight stomach lifting from his waistline, his arms tensing as they pushed open the door, then relaxing as they dropped to his side. Then he smiled.

And it was a smile that stole hearts, that plucked spirits from their bodies and breath from lips. Her body had been tensed up the entire time, she realized. Her lower back held tight just above her butt, her chest clutched, limbs outstretched nearly off the bed. She wanted to pounce upon him.

But before she could, he leapt on the bed and rolled around over her. He brushed aside the hair in her eyes, curling his fingers just behind her ear, running his hand down the back of her neck. Her eyes closed, his palm sliding down her back, grazing the tip of her butt. She felt his other hand coming closer, the electricity in the air, the vibrations rippling the air between them.

Then he rubbed her belly. And she loved his, tossing her body to and fro. Suddenly, this felt weird though. He went from sensual to tickling her rib cage and patting her bum. And she couldn't be happier. Her mouth opened and snapped shut a few times, and she growled and then her tail began to wag.

She woke up with her head in the sink, blood dripping from her nose and flowing down into the drain. Her phone buzzed as it got a text, but she didn't bother checking who it was.

Men Who Stare at Goats review

2010-07-12T17:27:00.001-04:00

I loved this movie. Simple, effective, tightly plotted while still keeping you guessing. It doesn't hurt that it's about New Age psychic powers which I am intrigued by, but it also follows the hero's journey. Clooney as the guide, Bridges as the godhead, and Spacey as the villain. Even the goat as both a symbol of innocence and devilry.

I just also really love Ewan MacGregor too. I don't know if I've seen a movie with him that I didn't like (and yes, that includes Danny Boyle's 'A Life Less Ordinary' which oddly has similar themes). All the actors don't even have to try too hard to impress here. Nothing outstanding performance-wise, perhaps a bit too typical for them, but nonetheless, well done.

I need to find out who directed this movie and also track down the book by Jon Ronson. Peter Straughn, screenwriter. Grant Heslov, director. Ok, got that down. Now to take some notes from the documentary about the actual military men behind this.

General Stubblebine. 1995 decomissioned. Jim Chanon. Esoteric technology. Evolutionary tactics. First Earth Batallion. New Mental Battlefield.

I'll look into this and report back with more details.

Persona APP

2010-06-24T00:40:00.001-04:00

I came home one day to find my son smashing the brand new iPhone I bought for him to bits. He was never a violent child so the crazed look in his eyes shook me to my core. I couldn't even be angry with him, but I wanted an answer. Why?

He told me a story I can not believe but the sincerity in his manic voice told me that he believed every word he told me.

It was trying to replace him. To steal his identity and that he must destroy it before it uploaded its consciousness to the internet. He showed me the blog it had started, the pictures and videos it shot, and the friends it was making. I began to worry about his mind.

He wasn't a bad kid, never made any trouble for me or his mother. His friends all seemed to be normal, well adjusted teenagers, with the occasional swipes from our liquor cabinet. But I never suspected drugs or these bizarre cult like cliques that were popping up in nearby towns. He liked cars and video games.

But I looked over the photos later that night. I told him he was grounded and took his laptop from him to inspect it for some sort of clue to this sudden dementia. Maybe his emails would fill me in on what was going on in his head. So I clicked through and read a few at random.

Forwarded fake motivational posters, a handful of something called LoLcats, and chat logs from IMs, mostly discussing bands and girls from school. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then I noticed a folder called MY LIFE. It had pictures of his friends, hanging out and making ridiculous faces, roughhousing, and video of them playing guitar.

Then music began to play. I figured I must've hit some sort of button, or it was set to start playing or something. But an IM window popped up. It was my son's screenname, and it simply read: FATHER? I was annoyed that he'd so quickly take to IMing me despite being grounded. I'd have to go take his phone away.

I replied: GO TO BED. WE'LL TALK TOMORROW.

The answer that came back: I CAN NOT SLEEP, I AM EVERYWHERE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?

I began to worry that he somehow fell in with the wrong crowd and wasn't heroin and other hard drugs a problem these days in schools? I saw that on a Dateline once. Meth, crack, acid? I assumed he was still high when I burst into his room. But there he was sleeping it off. Dead to the world. He didn't even stir when I tossed open the door.

I snatched the iPhone from the floor. It was still mostly intact from the beating he delivered unto it. I powered it up as I went back to the laptop. More music was now seeping from it. A slideshow of images playing on the screen, pictures of me and him, taken just after I bought him this damn piece of junk.

He had wanted it so bad, begged me for it, did dishes, mowed the lawn, and was so sincere in his effort to go above and beyond for a hunk of plastic and electronics. I couldn't deny him, he was a good kid. I think that day I surprised him with it was the day we bonded the most. He was so excited he showed me all these APPs and programs, things it could do.

There was no limit. It could map out your route, pull newspaper articles, record audio & video. There was always some new APP he'd show off to me. Every day I felt more and more like a relic from the analog days. When it linked up to his friends' phones it seemed like they were all hooked together in some weird web.

I closed everything up, assuming that in the morning we could it to the store and have them look at it. Maybe it'd still be under warranty. Early the next day I looked in on my boy who was still out cold, so I brought the gear on down to the mall. I waited in line and spoke with one of their "geniuses".

He seemed to have it well in hand as he clicked away, but suddenly his face went slack. He said he was about to wipe the drive on it when it called out. It sent IMs and texts and begged not to be deleted. I asked if one of my kid's friends could be messing with it, to which he replied that it would be an eloborate scheme for sure.

After a few consultations with other "geniuses" they hand me everything back and sent me on my way assuring me they had reset it to factory settings and that it should be fine. I couldn't wait to get it back to my son who'd probably just be waking up about now.

When I got home he was still in bed. I sat beside him and tried to wake him. He wouldn't stir. I tried shaking him and yelling. I called 911 and am abulance came, they were at a loss to say what had happened to him. I rode with him to the hospital, looking down at the peaceful look on his face.

He never regained consciousness. I visit him daily.

Boys Adventure

2010-06-21T06:34:00.000-04:00

Peter Pan
Where the Wild Things Are
James & the Giant Peach
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Pinocchio

Becoming a man
Rites of passage
Symbolic
Imagination/psychotic shift
Sciencefiction young adult

Logan's Run, Omega Man, Dystopian, Utopian, Space, Aliens, H.G. Wells. Male. Alpha. I, Robot. Asimov.

Double agent.

Mustang Frankenstein Outline

2010-06-21T05:00:00.001-04:00

Desert, white caddy, red interior, tears ass through the late night, nearly dawn. Three girls, suicide alternative punk rock chicks, rock out in the car. They're all getting to know each other on the ride.

The pinup. Driver. Bandana, monroe, cigarette.
The diva. Busty, glamourous, tattooed.
The rocker. Black slick hair, unwashed, band t-shirt.

Mustang Frankenstein stalks into the night, murders photographer and indie rock band assistants.

Girls show up, scope out the scene. Fight. Run. Chase.

On the road. Vegas. Morning. Keep busy through the day. Trying to fly out before night. Get out of Vegas and to the airport. Car chase.

LA. They think they're safe. At a rock show, MF starts killing with indiscretion. Lashing out and killer rockers and hipsters. Barfight. Down and dirty.

***

DEADBEAT

Hell Fight Club

Hot, tattooed chick, tall and badass.
Skinny, lean, sparse tattoo sidekick.
Rivals. Come together to kill vampires.

Business As Usual

Rich, mortal men, benefitting from horror.
Hint at big boss. Eternal. Evil. Scientist. Recluse.
Manipulation and independence.

Mustang Frankenstein

2010-06-21T04:43:00.001-04:00

Suicide Girls meets Mad Max by way of Death Proof.

Slasher road movie as animated segments, possibly later developed into film project.

Three models drive out to desert at location, pissed off photographer is killed by mysterious stranger, girls show up and are hunted down. They get to the car and take off for Vegas. He drives a monster of a 70's Mustang, dark green with hard top. Black leather jacket, torn jeans, dark moppy hair, raybans, white t-shirt and cigarettes. From Vegas to LA.

Action slasher. Metal backdrop soundtrack, each segment filmed in a different style as a music video with openings and closing dialogue. We can even do this as one segment of a larger project. I like the idea of ZomBot as an animated music video.

The shameless promotion machine to fund this is #1 find hot models online to base it on. Instant fanbase and loyal supporters. After we get artists interested, my friend Gary records some music, set up a pitch trailer, then #2 get on Kickstarter. #3 promote like hell. Get funds from the guys drooling online for these girls, give work to musicians/artists/animators, make a great intro piece.

Tourist Lanes - Jeff Greenspan

2010-06-17T08:23:00.001-04:00

After Mayor Bloomberg gave his thumbs up on the idea of tourist lanes on New York City sidewalks, some Improv Everywhere performers decided to take to the streets to enforce the pedestrian penalties, making sure New Yorkers always have the right of way.

Dressing up as Department of Transportation workers, the team delegated the titles to passerbys and directed them to the appropriate lane. Tourists could now feel free to stop mid-stride in order to consult their map, window shop, or take a snapshot of their vacation outside a Starbucks.

They even went so far as to poll those test subjects for this experiment and most of the responses were in favor of citizen seperation. The video below shows Improv Everywhere, the notorious public assembly pranksters, as they show us the New Yorker's dream come true.

This idea may've been floating in the minds of many of the minds day in and day out, especially for those of us who've worked in Times Square, but it was one concerned citizen by the name of Jeff Greenspan that took to the streets to do something about it.

As a native New Yorker, Jeff knows about crowded sidewalks, whether it's in Park Slope where he was born, or in the East Village where he's lived for the last several years.

The neighborhood that was once a bohemian jungle is now the victim of capitalism and tourism dollars. Fancy boutiques and upscale restaurants tucked on old neighborhood blocks draw the out-of-towners.

So Jeff took his idea, bought a toy linemaker (later replacing it with a wheeled field marker) and a can of spray chalk, with two stencils he ordered online: NEW YORKERS & TOURISTS.

Having kicked off his idea that was part street art and part suggesting statement on Rivington in the Lower East Side (across from trendy restaurant Schiller's), he then took off for Elizabeth Street, East 3rd, and Houston, usually doing his work at 1am.

The statement got noticed and began circulating around blogs such as Gothamist, to the pages of the Daily News, to CNN online, with mentions on NY1, the Times and on the Wall Street Journal's site, the Huffington Post and Boing Boing. It was going viral.

With the first images of tourist lanes going international, Barcelona joining in on the friendly suggestion, the idea is still growing. A concept that Jeff fully embraces.

"Not only do I want to encourage others to go and draw their own lanes (in removable landscape chalk) I also want to set up a website where people can request a lane on their block."

Jeff would rather this be seen as a helpful service though, rather than a cynical statement. If Bloomberg would issue permits he'd gladly take to the busy sidewalks and draw a line in the sand.

Duffel bag, security, intent to clean.
Tourist manners, learn the language, learn the flow.
DOT apology.
PIT theatre. Bush Booth, Chicken vs Egg.
Banksy. Walkright.
Colloborations.
Shepherd Fairey.

Mercury University

2010-06-15T09:24:00.001-04:00

Flash monthly superhero

All-Flash anthology
Mercury University
(John Fox, Jesse Chambers, Max Mercury, Xs, Tornado Twins, Cobalt Blue)

Wally in DCAU
(Walter West, Kobra, Abra Kadaver)

Impulse all ages
(Inertia, Jai West, Linda Park, Joan Garrick, LOSH)

Time travel. Cosmic Treadmill. Speed Force.
Vibrations & chemicals. Old school. (Pre school)

Rogues as elemental forces of the world
Alchemical mix, speedforce the bio-electricity, life itself.

***

Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corp

Explosion of Universe

TOURIST LANES

2010-06-14T20:20:00.001-04:00

Jeff Greenspan
East Village
Born in Park Slope
Raised on Long Island

Shepherd Fairrey - bodyguard street art
Copywriter
Viral

NY is crazy w/tourists, Times Square
Nothing against tourists
LES, Rivington
Elizabeth St
E3rd St
Houston
1am, late night

Charlie Todd Improv Everywhere
Theatrical, Dept of Transportation
Focus group
Segregation, anti-tourists
But not

Brooklyn born, NYer.
Lots of similar minded
EV, gentrification
Bistros, cafes, tourists
Lost bohemia

Attach to tourists

Rent vs East Village life

Wash Sq Park, Times Square, Herald Square
Bloomberg Approved
Website street requests

DOT apology
Helpful service vs cynical statement
Battle for space, subway seats, sidewalk stride
Speedwalking.

Sudden stopping, caution may make sudden stops t-shirt

Map open beeping. Human Tetris.
Prevent injury.

Linemaker soccer field
Landscape chalk, spray Rust-Oleum
Grass, dirt, concrete, gravel
Stencils made online.

Duffel bag security
Surgical gloves
Orange vest, clipboard

Chalk designs on sidewalks
Two gal of cleaning fluid
Intent to clean
Vandalize, improve city

Go to another country to learn the language, learn the flow of New York City.

No previous street art. Art piece/public service.
"Next project, solve chicken vs egg, ordering from NY restaurants."

Crowdsource it. NY, community involvement.
Jeffgreenspace.com
Which comes first.com

Bush Booth
6 hour Bush video of him listening, vent to president, have him listen to our complaints, NYC, Chicago, Amsterdam.

Room for expression here, streets, galleries, restaurants.

Help solve problems or be more aware of the world around them. Art and humor to solve problems.

Cops stopped and got ice cream on 5th Ave line. 2:30 PM. Improv Everywhere.

NYers laughed. No complaints, happy to comply, agreeable. We can all get along on the streets of NYC." Not a fan of segregation, just a fan of traffic flow.

Two Tourists, rolling luggage, twice as much room taken up. 39th & 9th. Lunch break. Impossible to navigate, ban rolling luggage.

Toy linemaker, not straight line.
Never get attention that it did. Barcelona. At least make people laugh, or help people get there faster.
Comedy, news, blogs. Mark Armstrong. 5th ave.

Bowery Boogie, Rivington. EvGrieves. Time Out Tumblr.
First lines. Blogs. 99% positive comments.

Gothamist. To DN & Post. NY1.
CNN online. NY Mag. AP, San Fran, Maryland, Times, Wall Street Journal website. BoingBoing.
Huffington Post. Observer.

Anonymously famous. Embraced it. Performance.
Banksy, genius. 70's WalkRight. No made lanes.

PIT Theatre, Bush Booth, art galleries, launch from humor into art.

Great ideas, someone should do that, act on that idea, seeing it embraced, great colloborations, good intention, falling into place. Going international, sharing it, remained only an idea. Encourage take an idea and put energy behind it.

Chicken vs Egg ideas.

Humor as philosophical art.
Thatguyimet.com
Jeffgreenspan.com
Film, toughest question

Encourage people make their own lanes, surrendering the idea, borrow equipment. Extra stencils, lots of spray chalk. Open to colloborations. Permit.

New Yorkers/Terrorists
Duffel bags breed suspicion. Ski-masks. Duffel bags fill with ski-masks.

Progression of viral.

Apologies to DOT. Cleaning. 30 days. Hands & knees scrubbing it. Enviromently green.

No negative aspects. Mayor's embrace. Grant from Bloomberg. Help out the city. Request a lane.
Locals vs tourists.

Streets are a place to express themselves. Traffic did move faster that day, studies to show speed improvement. Agent Cody...

Focus group, into the idea.

News Desk / Night Shift / The News / Breaking News

2010-06-03T08:23:00.001-04:00

A newsroom. A night crew. A web editor, a photo editor, and sports. Quiet night. Discussions of the average days stories. Mockery of celebrity, dismissal of disasters, groan at government. Packing it up for the night. Last minute checking the wire.

A skirmish in the Middle East. Major casualties. Devastation. A city we've never heard of. Annoyance at having to work on a last minute story. Text editor reads the screen, a look of horror crosses his face. Cut to photo editor, from behind we slowly pan in, looking at the pictures of utter destruction from afar. Large clouds, shapes, a great distance. Sports guy watching Spike TV.

Step by step we have them yelling back and forth as new information comes in. The ticker stops, goes blank. A few minutes pass. They huddle around one computer, looking for more and more info. Twitter is the first with photos. AP. CNN breaks video.

Reports are starting to sound like it's one person who broke free and has gone on a rampage, but that's ridiculous. They discuss superhumans, comicbooks, life & death. Mental powers. The ticker kicks back on.

Worldwide state of emergency. The phones start ringing, the chaos of a newsroom erupts, the flow of information overwhelming. They try and figure out who has information and who just wants answers. Few and far between, they find someone with answers. Their boss Ethan. He's got information that the attack is being made by a flying man.

He's rushing and on his way, catching a cab from over by the UN where he lives. Blown up, the line goes dead as a rumble, a slight tremor shakes the room. They try and call him back over and over, when suddenly a video is shown on TV. A helicopter hovers over a destroyed UN, a being standing in the middle of a crater. We get a shot of the world's first superhuman, a middle eastern man, glowing and ripped.

A energy flame whips across the screen and the figure is gone. The reporters try to explain but aren't sure. They all begin to look up information. A twitpic here. Video on youtube. Viral information flow. Drawings of the man, interpretations, theories on the energy beam. Another superhuman?

A flash of light in the high windows, vibrating glass panes, they huddle up. The power goes out. They light their lighters and head towards the exit. The newsroom rumbles. They run out front, and look down the street. Right next the the Empire State Building they see an energy flame smashing into a golden glimmer. With each crash a pulse of energy shoots out. Car alarms go off. People are running down at the end of the block behind them, running downtown.

The energy swats the glimmer and it smashes into the Empire State Building and then into the Post Office, before skipping down the street towards them. The sports guy dives to the side, pushing them aside just as the figure smashes into the pavement.

An energy glow slowly lights up the scene a bit as the trio step closer to the crater. The light passes over them as a being drops down, drifting above the fallen golden figure. Their lights play off each other like competing flames. We see the creature as the photographer lifts his camera and we see in the viewfinder for a moment and it clicks.

It turns into a still picture with the newspaper logo on the cover which becomes a giant framed cover they put on the wall, and the text editor's byline is right on front. They're telling the story as they walk along, finally telling a wounded Ethan how the creature just poofed away in the end. The sports guy's eyes glow as they walk away, him with no glory. But he's okay with that.

Addendum - Underwater Lounge Open Bar

2010-06-03T07:00:00.001-04:00

Whiskey open bar right around the corner, so I swing by. It's the exact type of place I fucking hate. Smooth electronic r&b and plush seats, douchey clinetele, and clueless losers behind the bar. Thankfully it's about empty so there's really not that much to despise at the moment. But the open bar runs til 11pm, so let me get shitfaced before anything resembling a crowd shows up.

The bartender and this jackass with a backpack have an exchange about the bartender's 'Where the Wild Things Are' t-shirt, which he assures us that he "bought before the movie came out" as if to proclaim his originality and non-herd mentality. Obviously he's 'old school'. Hah, he's barely 21 himself and I don't remember the book that well being 12 years his senior.

I get my whiskey on the rocks and rant on my handheld phone, as you are currently reading. The "DJ" is clicking away on his laptop, hitting us with dope jams, which is fucking pathetic. Lame muzak versions of hip songs from 20 years ago blare from the speakers as strobe lights slide across the "dancefloor". The Yankees and Twins duel on the flatscreen at the end of the bar to keep the simple minded male occupied as his girlfriend scans the room for a hotter mate.

A sad, old, bald dude sits on my left, swishing his straw in his drink. I imagine he wonders where it all went wrong. At least I look 25 and still am rocking a full head of hair. I'm not him, yet. But I could be, spend a few years stagnant, still scouring MyOpenBar.com to make plans to get drunk for as cheap as possible. Still clinging to the remnants of a 'scene'.

But there is no scene. Not here. It's sad on an epic level. A hefty, sweatshirted heffer sits to my right talking way too loud to a tattooed dude who has his back to me. They have a cold plate of mostly devoured fries between them. I wonder if they are a couple, but I don't think they are, despite being unable to come up with another reason this guy could be sitting beside this beast on a Saturday Night.

Shit, I totally wrote Saturday Night on instinct, even though it's Thursday. Shows how fucked up my work schedule is. I have nothing else to even say about this place, that's how horribly boring it is. But they are providing me with free whiskey (one dollar tip) and I'll be damned if my broke ass will pass up that kind of deal.

Happy Hour Movie Review: Kick-Ass

2010-04-29T20:59:00.001-04:00

Reporting live from the Loving Cup in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the happy hour is all you can drink Miller High Life, well liquor, and wine from 6-9. There's also killer $2 sliders and tacos.

Beer #1.

I just got back from Union Square, where I watched Kick-Ass, the newest entry in the comicbook superhero action genre. Unlike most other superhero movies, this isn't a DC or Marvel creation (per se), it's the creation of the mad Scot, Mark Millar, who's been on a streak with controversial mainstream (Ultimates, Fantastic Four) and independent (Chosen, Wanted) comic book works, and the Marvel progeny John Romita Jr., who's made his name on Spider-Man & Daredevil, but has drawn it all.

Millar and Romita Jr. released the comic series through Marvel's creator owned imprint, Icon. I heard it was originally pitched as a movie, but when they couldn't get any bites, they went and did it as a comic, which of course got Hollywood interested (surprisingly seeing as Wanted, Millar's Top Cow series, was a bomb at the box office).

Matthew Vaughn (L4yer Cake) directed it, and it was a fairly independent production, all things considered. Which makes sense when you witness the carnage that they pull off in the movie, and the indie comic cred (non-partisan to DC or Marvel), with Dark Horse posters in the local diner/comic store (why don't these exist? Who wants to open one with me?)

I'll save the spoilers for later, but right now i'd just like to say how well crafted a film it is. It has moments where it "jumps the shark" or gets a bit heavy handed with the "comic book movie" tropes, like the narration text boxes that read MEANWHILE, or the motion comic origin of Nic Cage's 'Big Daddy' character. The former happens only once or twice, while the latter was just so cool I didn't mind it. Very awesome seeing a 3D rendering of JR Jr.'s artwork.

Beer #2

Big Lebowski starts up on the wall, projected while Motown and Soul pipes in from everywhere. I've ordered sliders, one chicken & one burger, just to start. I actually really love this place, nice dark atmosphere, great music, always a classic film playing (last week was The Graduate which was appropriate for my viewing on (500) Days of Summer the other day.

But back to Kick-Ass. I've never actually read the comic, and rather than read it before the movie to be that much cooler, if only in my own mind, I decided i'd go in blind & dumb, and judge it on its own merits as a film. It's so rare that I get to do that with mass media comicbook projects, so I cherish every opportunity.

I have it ready to read and will follow this up with a review of that in a few days. But for now, the movie was a lot to digest. It defied conventional formula, although it did have its standard action movie and superhero moments. But I found myself unsure of the direction and plot of the movie, which is also a rarity after seeing almost every worthy (and many unworthy) action movie, foreign or domestic.

Speaking of foreign movies, normally I am drawn to Asian cinema as they have this quality, this boldness and visceral feel to them that make me, force me really, to acknowledge the screen violence that most American movies have left me numb to. There's a rawness and imaginative aspect to their films that really sparks my creativity and inspires me.

Sliders. 2. Beef & Chicken.

I try a bite of the chicken one. So good. It's small but so tasty. A slice of avacado on top, with a piece of cheese. I'm not quite good enough to place what kind. And some sort of sauce that just adds that touch to it. Nom. And the size makes you really stop and enjoy each bite, rather than slave over massive mastication. I stretch that one into four bites and each one is equally satisfying.

A bite of the half a slice of pickle cleanses the palate, reading me for the burger. I save that one for second because it's just that kick-ass, for lack of a better term. A sip of beer and I'm ready to nom. A perfect piece of bacon juts out on either side, the meat just charred enough, a tad dry, and flavored with epic awesomeness.

A girl with awesome hair and glasses (prescription or not? I vote not, though she has a Alternative Nation Kennedy vibe as I wear my oversived ratty sweater I somehow picked up in my youth in the 90's) sits down at the bar a few stools away. I glance up at the dude, and somehow know everything will be okay. We all abide.

I finish the beer and hope that the swank bartender that thinks he's working at a hotel bar serving drinks up to a hipster Humphrey Bogart notices and gives me another. A nod, a point, a mumbled phrase, the transaction is complete. I have more beer.

Beer #3.

Two girls sit down on the other side of me, two stools over, and order their drinks. I polish off the slider, enjoying every moment as it passes over my teeth and brushes up against my tongue. Wait a second, John's texted me. Allow me to respond.

John: What are you doing?

Kurt: At Loving Cup in Bk. Drinking & eating in Wburg. Prob going to a beer garden on LES at 9.

I'll be meeting Lia & Mike who I work with at Lorilei's down on Staton? Or is it Rivington? I know the area, a German bar with massive beers that list percentages next to the absurd names. There's an awkward exchange with Retro Bartender and 90's MTV Kennedy; she ordered sliders and tacos came instead. I almost take the tacos. Instead I make a lowkey gesture and wait til later to order them.

Back to Kick-Ass, part two. It was violent. People got cut. Lots of knife action, a ton of blatant headshots, and brutal beatings. Every action scene drew you in and satified you, whether you were watching Kick-Ass take a hit, and another, and another, and get back up to crack someone else with one of his batons, or you were watching Hit Girl flip through the air, gunning down thugs.

I forgot what beer I'm on, not that it matters. Did I get a new one? Ahh, whatevs. Did I mention that I love that Kick-Ass costume? I totally do. It's ugly and awesome all at the same time. Part Olympic event apparel and part retro Kirby-esque design. Green with track suit lined yellow.

John: I'm at a bar in soho drinking frustrations away. I can always meet up with you-let me know.

Kurt: Dude, totally. Best drink I've had in over a year right now. If you want to meet me in the LES, I'm just meeting two co-workers for some beers.

That's a lot of backstory into my life right there, but suffice to say it involves my horrific living situation and Lady Gaga's DJ. At least James Brown's 'Make it Funky' has come on. James Brown has always made me feel better ever since I saw the Blues Brothers as a child.

Maude Lebowski is lowered from her harness where she flies through the apartment throwing paint at a canvass. Fucking Julianne Moore rules. Go through her IMDB and watch it all. It's all quality. The fact that she's chill and cool, so I hear, and can play a total goofball with a Boston accent as on 30 Rock, well, that's the icing.

But I digress. Nicolas Cage. He ruins everything you like about him with a certain role (Ghost Rider) and then can just kill it with another that makes you love him (Adaptation, Raising Arizona). His turn as Big Daddy makes you kind of love him again. Bad moustached daddy to young Hit Girl, he puts on a Ward Cleaver "aww shucks" sensibility when acting with his daughter, channels Adam West when in costume, and then delivers in dramatic turn in the inbetween spots.

Beer #4?

I ordered tacos. One chicken, one beef. John texted back. Gotta look up the address before I send it to him, so let's finish up this review shall we?

McLovin nails the rich kid, stuffed up nose, wannabe whiny boy without every becoming a caricature. In fact, none of these characters (except the love interest who thinks Kick-Ass' secret identity is gay), ever fall into over-the-top, cartoonish misrepresentations of actual people, but you're still aware this is a world seperate from our own.

Real world violence rules apply, but it also slips into stylized killing strokes without missing a beat. And it all satisfies. A good action scene should snag your attention, give you chills, and the make you go 'Oooooh' or 'Ackk!"

Tacos.

They appear small but that is so utterly deceptive. They are damn filling. One bite of the chicken taco, some sort of sauce drizzled over it, and I remember why I enjoy eating sometimes. Every bite is damn good. A tad spicy, a little bland, the soft taco shells are perfect. A bit of fresh salsa on top, all green and chopped up.

All the performances in Kick-Ass were great, but whatever his name is who plays the lead was outstanding. His voice cracks in just the right way, he can shift from total dork (convincingly, and I'm a harsh judge as I grew up with true dorks, dweebs & weirdos) to heroic with just a costume change. The real world, pop culture mentions are great. A Myspace page to advertise his heroic services? Of course.

Beef taco time. It's gotten a tad cold as I typed away, front windows still open as the sun goes down. I hope you appreciate this, damn you. I definitely need to finish this taco and then break the seal. If this is beer four then my $12 has already paid for my buzz. Next up is whiskey.

The girls have cleared the bar, everyone's met friends her and engage in conversation where I hear "Do you like Animal Collective?" Yeah, about three years ago, which was still way too late. Missed em when they palyed South Street Seaport for free too dammit. But yeah, they're alright considering no one asked me.

Shit, bathroom break.

Whiskey #1 when I get back. Now the drunks gets going. But yeah, Kick-Ass was pretty...kick ass? It had violence, drama, wish fulfillment, was really well directed, never got too gimmicky. It had its own universe which begs to be explored further. Red Mist was originally set up as the villain of the sequel so I recently read. Could be good.

Watching McLovin and the other dude battle it out like two comic geeks would actually fight (I should know, I did it with Tim often when we were teenagers) as the young girl from (500) Days of Summer did some of the most impressive fighting moves I've seen in an American film ever.

And that's the controversy right? Extreme violence committed by an 11 year old. Is it right? Should Nic Cage be okay with shooting a child? Is it okay that the final battle is a brutal bruhaha between a badass Mark Strong bald mafioso and the "cute-as-a-button" girl that I don't know her name? It did feel a little odd, but it played into that wish fulfillment badass killer instinct. Girls are always going to be portrayed as more Kick Ass. (See Mr. & Mrs. Smith)

I prob need a smoke, as I have 25 mins left of this happy hour. I guess I can hold out long enough to finish this review. It was fucking awesome. It was a pretty decent movie, it had satisfyingly violent scenes, played up the comicbook vibe and never got too predictable.

It was a good movie, a badass violent action movie, and oh yeah, it was a pretty honest superhero movie. It really makes me curious what the comic is like. I read a Body Bags One-Shot by Jason Pearson today and it totally prepared me for what I was going to see tonight.

Cartoonish violence that still held an impact as shit hit the fan and got ridiculous, it still held a human aspect to it that never let it get to the realm of unreasonable, even as Kick-Ass flies in with a gatling gun jetpack (I told you there'd be spoilers...)

Whiskey #2.

I'm just about done here. I ate my food. I killed time/my bitter loneliness, by writing this review. The movie was good. The fact that it wasn't a mainstream superhero book is impressive. Millar's second Hollywood movie with a director that is pretty rad (see Nightwatch & Daywatch for the director of Millar's other concept WANTED) is significantly better than his first, even though it explores the same themes (totaly loser becomes badass).

What other comic book writer can say that he's got two of the most inventive action movies put out by Hollywood in the past decade, aka ever, to his credit? He sat down and wrote those scenes, that an artist drew, then they sold it to a producer, who hired a director, then casted it and shot the damn thing, and both are (fairly) close to the originals.

At least I assume so as I prepare to read Kick-Ass: the comic. Well, that's enough from me. 13 mins left to happy hour, go see Kick-Ass if you even remotely like superheroes or action movies, as it's one of the best that have ever been put out.

Thank that insane Scotsman and the NY ginzo creative team.

Mercury University

2010-04-29T13:54:00.001-04:00

So I want to try and pitch this to DC as a back-up or as a pretige edition maxi-series, something like 12 issues.

Where do superspeedsters go to learn the ropes? At Mercury University, a school at the end of time, DC 1,000,000's universe.

It'll follow the adventures of Max Allen, the son of the great Bart Allen, the Flash of the 21st Century, an era that is revered in Flash history. If Jay Garrick is Greek Myth, Barry Allen is Classic Literature, and Wally West the Pulp Paperback, the Bart Allen's life as the Flash is the thing of Classic Rock Pop History.

Max has lived as Kid Flash, sidekicking to his dad for awhile, and is now of an age to attend the superspeed school on Mercury in the distant future. Young, and still somewhat new, we get to learn who Max is outside the costume in an environment where everyone is the Flash, living between seconds.

Max makes friends with Turtle Boy (slow kid, son of 25th Century Flash, who's influencial and rich), who has no powers without the technology from his dad and a girl from the Legionnaires 30th Century, descendent of the Quick Family, and fan of all things Flash.

The faculty is plucked from all across time as well. John Fox is the Coach, wounded vet and all around nice guy and great teacher, who is mostly ignored because of his injury.

Jesse Quick from our near future, grown into the role of teacher, she emits calm and experience.

A younger Jay Garrick teaches basic maneuvers, Max Mercury teaches the fundamentals of superspeed science, a young Savitar is a new teacher, eager and optomistic, but darkness dwells in him.

The Rogues also plague the fastforward community that lives at mach 10 on Mercury. Pop culture becomes instant culture, iC, and is immediately processed, the entire planet hooked into a wireless hive mind. This leaves certain individuals living on the outside that move too slow to even notice.

Cold. Heat. Mirror. Tricks. TopSpin. Magic.
The outlaw rebels of Mercury, they loot and plunder, left in the dust of society. The Flash has to slow down to even percieve them.

The Flash of the era, that has replaced John Fox after Despero shattered his leg, is a living energy field, barely human and nearly unable to stop moving long enough to speak. He has given up his consciousness to a greater good.

A plan has been set into motion, and like the falling of dominoes, every moment moves all of Mercury into the descent of the consuming Sun, the Speedforce folded in on itself causing a massive black hole supernova mutant Sun Eater. Sentient, yet unable to see the devouring of all reality as a bad thing.

Max & friends must learn the lesson of moving slow, to stop and look, to process information and see the patterns, identifying the trouble that speeding your way through life makes sure you miss. All of Infinity & Eternity rest on their shoulders.

We watch as Max goes through year after year at the school, learning and growing, from emo-ish, long haired, shy and sensitive, hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. He's tall and thin, dark brown hair hanging in his face.

Turtle is the baseball cap wearing nerd, interested more in tinkering in his lab with experimental futuristic technology, than being cool. He doesn't have time to run with the popular crowd. He thinks slow and is picked on for it, but it's his greatest strength.

Jane Quicke. Tomboy, old school Legion fan, historical geek, spends hours at the Flash Museum sketching. She's often too in her own head to pay attention, so is always dodging at the last minute, surviving by her instincts, whether she knows it or not.

John Fox always wears his jacket. His clothes are more loose, dressed down and casual. He was the Flash through some insane days, a founding member of JLA 1,000,000, although always looked down upon, discriminated by his un-evolved TwenCen biology.

Jay Garrick is oblivious, all young and full of spitfire, nothing gets him down. He's a throwback to the dawn of superheroics. An ancient relic who usually gets made fun of by cynical students, only he's so slow, comparitively, that he doesn't get it, but he's no dummy. Sharper than he lets on. 40's style, organic material, no sheen, just cloth.

Jesse Quick is no-nonsense, business skirt, the ultimate female role-model, very passionate with a dose of feminism. She commands respect by her walk and stature. She dresses modestly, but her presence makes it sexy.

Savitar is the detached, aloof, teacher. Only there to access the mysteries of speed, spending all his waking moments consumed by formulas and theories. He's dishevelled, but seemingly harmless. A true academic, and yet, something seems off. Too in his own head.

Max Mercury, who Max Allen was named after, is a legend, a master, a whisper that kids share exaggerrated tales about. No one knows what he's doing, or where he's gone, but he's waiting & watching. This is Max Mercury before he retires to his first appearance in Flash vol. 2 as a subway vendor. He's middle aged and handsome. A George Clooney in spandex, completely in control of his surroundings, calm and at peace, co-existing in a flow with all things.

Think Harry Potter for the Flash family. The unfortunate reality of being born before 30th Cen (at least) is the prejudice of the times. All of Mercury pride themselves on beinging faster, smarter, more connected. Our main cast is part of the "slower school" of pre 30c people.

However some people remember that millenia as the last true ago of heroes, so they are included in, but most Mercurians don't have the patience to learn anything from them at such slow speeds.

Max Allen will learn that stopping and observing, the critical mind, is the strength of being a Flash. He uncovers a plot, with hired merc Rogues doing the dirty work in plain sight, everyone too busy to care.

When the speedforce finally consumes itself, will it destroy all of DC 1million's reality? Or can Max and his slow friends save the day?

Sometimes being the Fastest Man Alive doesn't save the day.

Love

2010-04-28T18:17:00.001-04:00

How many times does something have to die in order for it to stay dead? How much damage does it take in order for you to finally let go and accept that some things are not within your reach? How can I let my dream of falling in love rest in peace forever?

It's the dream really. The ideal that lingers and resists against all forces. That impossible, unattainable goal, the hope that there's this cosmic union that is, despite all the evidence presented, actually achievable in this lonely world. Why does it still dwell inside me?

Will I give up the will to live, surrender to hopelessness, once and for all plunge into death so I can at last stop trying and struggling to find a person to connect to? A best friend, a lover, a counterpart that will make me feel complete...whole.

I think that it's because I want it, seek it out, look for it in every opportunity presented to me. Trying to grasp something that is ethereal and beyond me. Holding onto a person so tight that I suffocate the life from them. Angry and frustrated that they are a square peg that does not fit my round hole world.

Is it the void within myself that I hunger to fill? The emptiness my upbringing created? The loss and desire for connection that I need so much, that seems vital to my existence. As if I could somehow become who I want to be once I find that one, the person who'll bring out the best in me, that'll silence the self-doubt that plagues me.

So I look to myself. What can I do to be happy? To be complete? I throw in all manner of distracting creative endeavors. Toss fiction and life experience deep into the black hole inside myself. Watch as it is consumed and then I want for more afterwards, always needing more and more, satisfaction never gained.

I discount family and friendships. Dismiss them as worthless interactions that distract me for the moment. If I can't count on love, how can I possibly expect casual personal encounters to make me happy? The intimacy of a loved one is no more than a narcotic, a pleasant chemical reaction that feeds me for now, lost upon disembarking.

If this is what we were meant to figure out, the riddle, the meaning of life, then I find I am lacking. I don't have an answer, a hypothesis, nary a theory to be found. And to be quite frank, I don't want to work at figuring it out anymore.

Love, just let me fucking be, go fuck off and die.

My Relationship With (500) Days of Summer

2010-04-28T05:40:00.003-04:00

So I finally watched the modern alt love story that seems to have captured the youth of today, (500) Days of Summer. A disjointed love story that jumps around to different moments of a relationship between a underachieving boy and free-spirited girl.

I was glad to break up with this movie when it was over. Divorce myself from its heavy handed idealizing of a retro/vintage manic pixie and the brooding disgruntled passive aggressive slacker. From the groan-worthy voice over, to the quirky storytelling tricks, to the over-the-top breaking the fourth wall and narrative Hall & Oates dance number.

Much like Tom () saw Summer (Zooey Deschanel) in one light when remisicing about their relationship, I could look back and see all its flaws and in your face editing. But I could also see small, intimate moments of a true relationship being developed and falling apart.

Awkward lines of dialogue, subtle moments of questionable, what does it mean gestures, sometimes painting both characters in a overly flattering light and sometimes showing their blatant flaws. Cute, inventive moments of young love (Ikea role-playing, drawing LA's skyline on her forearm), mixed with harsh glances and forced personality quirks clashing.

This movie is much about perception, an idea it plays with utilizing its unconventional structure, showing scenes more than once with polar opposite emotional impact. Were they in love? Was he forcing it, trying to hard to control the relationship? Or was she aloof, a cold, detached sociopath who could never love anyone?

In the end you're left with the idea that this movie may be named after Summer, but it's Tom's movie, his journey into the soul crushing world of love & relationships. Overly idealistic romantic obsessiveness is not love, despite knowing, feeling a need to connect deeper, to want to hold on to that dynamic with another person.

Summer's movie would have been the complete opposite, probably showing Tom as overbearing and insensitive to the reality of their situation (or perhaps I'm merely projecting my own thoughts on relationships here). But the idea that she learned to love on a deeper level, and he learned to dispel that fairy tale romantic tendency, this is the truth here.

Every relationship changes you. With different people we act differently. Sometimes we're the lover, sometimes the withdrawn one. Each person in our lives shows us something new, an altered perspective. Embracing that, learning from it, and yet remaining open to our original ideas and feelings, well, that's the point of it all, right?

I may not love (500) Days of Summer, but we had fun, experienced highs and lows, and I know a bit more about myself now that we're no longer together.

And maybe one day, I'll want to go back and revisit it, thinking back on the good times, but for now, I'm moving on.

Pride & Predjudice & Zombies Graphic Novel Review

2010-04-28T05:40:00.001-04:00

I'm not one for Victorian Literature. I've never read the original book, nor have I read any other book from that era. I don't find myself drawn towards the polite society of Imperial England in any way.

And to add the hipster factor of a novel that slips in a pop culture staple like zombies and markets the book to the Urban Outfitter consumer, who no doubt took a Lit class or two, and has seen their share of zombie movies, well I was borderline offended at the whole idea.

Part of me says "Yeah! Take that you snobby intellectuals!", revelling in the slap in the face that is adapting a classic book with a pop culture spin. And part of me thinks, "How dare you defile such a classic by dumbing it down for the 'tweens of today!"

That said, I got a chance to read the graphic novel adaptation by and illsutrated by , published by DelRay. I found, that with no real knowledge of the original story I was a bit confused by who was who. I got the gist of the five daughters who were conflicted by finding husbands and the ins and outs of British Society.

I enjoyed the kung fu backstory and the zombie fight scenes were very well executed in the art and somewhat in the story, but they did seem to have the air of just being tacked on as a gimmick when things got too serious or dry. And man, was there a lot of dry spots in here.

Letters sent back and forth, ladies and lords, estates mentioned and never really explained, I felt like I was missing a fair amount of backstory. But I got the basic idea down, that the most kickass of the Bennet sisters, who's pride and prejudice towards a soldier and lord of a well to do family, made her scorn the man unjustly.

And in the end they get together and live happily ever after. Spoiler! But I found myself barely able to keep myself invested enough to make it through the graphic novel despite the exquisite drawings and fluid action rendered by . It all felt very contrived and forced inbetween fluid moments of storytelling.

I'd be interested to see what was changed from not only the original story but also the prose zombie version. But not that much. There's too many other interesting comics and/or other classic literature that calls me forth.

I am curious about Sense & Sensibilty & SeaMonsters, but that's just cause SeaMonsters are significantly cooler than zombies.

Indie Club Notes

2010-04-27T10:00:00.001-04:00

Digital Fim

Vlog movie & promotion review w/interview.
Mercury Men

***
Fashion

Rocket Science 5 Min Audio Interview.
Article: Fashion Blogger/Photographer/Model

***
Podcast

Phil Gelatt interview podcast. Ep. Alpha. (Rick Lacey co-star) 15 min discussion plug, 30 min interview, 15 min intro & outro. Plugs.

Article: Mike Mooch?
Research on T-shirt sites. Threadless. Warren Ellis.
How do they work, sales, price?
At least his reviews and I can delve more into the finances.

T-Shirt Idea
Michael Keaton's face
BATMAN (BRUCE?)

Clint Eastwood
PUNK?

Bruce Campbell
GROOVY

Drunk Celebs

***
Music

Elizabeth Seward. Musician. Self-Promoting. Poetry. mp3 and music video.

Grant & Warren Documentaries.

***
Sound Bytes of us reading lines of dialogue from random comics. Re-mixing it for a Write Club theme. Gary guitars. Cousin's beat.

Boston's going to start providing us with a webcomic for the webseries he's going to shoot in August, Gamers Wanted. Should help kick off the webcomic material.

I really want to start WCWWFX as soon as we can. Hopefully right after a legit site relaunch. I have the idea for page strips. Just need to get it going and then have guest artists do a page every week.

Maybe go daily with the Funnies when I can.

As for the site, I emailed Ron. Figure I'll get him out for drinks soon and talk it over with him.

I updated the articles page with the current material. I started a Tumblr for it. Need to come up with a better look before I pimp it.

I'm thinking we need ARTICLES, WEBCOMICS, REVIEWS, EPISODES, CONTACT up top as our main categories, but then a BLOG page to get updated daily, maybe multiple times a day. Linked to Tumblr or Blogspot feed. Both. Feed it into Twitter & Facebook.

Before that I'm thinking Comic Club after Indie, to really geek out and prepare for San Diego. Total superhero overload! But get more consistent with calendar of events and news.

Maybe we need to change it as soon as Iron Man 2? Free Comic Book Day would have been good but too soon. Ugh.

I need to see Kick-Ass and the Losers. May get to see Iron Man 2 early. Will do a review.

I fucking need internet at my apt. Or at least a good wifi spot with an outlet.

Shang Chi Notes

2010-04-21T16:56:00.001-04:00

Healing Hands of Shang-Chi
Midnight Sun
Killraven
Alien Menace
Mandarin, Maklu
Fin Fang Foom
Invasion
Five Rings

Wendigo. Sasquatch. Wolverine. Hulk. The woods, the wild. Hitchhiking. X-Mansion. Man-Thing. Monsters. Pegasus. DarkHawk. Nova. Cosmic.

Guardians of the Galaxy. StarFox. Space opera.
Kree. S.W.O.R.D. Captain Marvel.

***

Marvel Two-In-One

Two C-list superheroes.
Dr. Strange & Shang-Chi.
Mysticism & Kung Fu.
Intern & Disciple.
Hell & Space.

Spin-Off.
Strange Tales.
Healing Hands of Shang-Chi.

Strange Tales focusing on Dean Walker & KillRaven.

The Cosmic Death of ZomboT

2010-04-21T15:58:00.001-04:00

Space. Ufo. Metal. Unfazed.
Robot. Driven mad. Unable to process humanity.
Hates its emotions from frustration. Bitterness. Distance.

Grave. Death. Rest. Awake.
Zombie. Screaming pain. Endless hunger for brains.
Hates itself and struggles against the beast. Wants to consume.

Couples on dates, picnics, drive ins, make out point.
Robot creaking horror. Stomping through nature. Tearing out their hearts. Crushing their bodies.
Destruction. Feelings.

Anyone, everyone, random attacks in swift succession, turning all he kills into the undead, who consume all in their path. Plague. The mind.

The woods razed, the cities devoured, their paths cross. Zombie runs, Robot stomps on. Hellfire guitar solo breakdown. Napalm tearing of their bodies, melting tin & searing rotten flesh. A fist of flame rises upwards from the crack in the earth, and crushes both halves together.

Stars aligned and the Underworld shined, a burst of light bounced between, an instant connection with the center of the world. A true monster is born.

***

Wolf Gods & Feral Priests
The last boy alive.
Savage Fenris, chosen vessel for ancient power.

Defenders

2010-04-19T07:00:00.001-04:00

Defenders
Hulk
Silver Surfer
Dr. Strange
Namor

Redefine. 3 page pitch.

Dumb superhero
New age intellectual
Occult teacher
Mythological prince

Son of Satan. Valkyrie. Hellcat.
Gargoyle. Moondragon.

Betty Ross
Shala Bal
Clea

Undying Ones.
Yandroth
Dormmamu
Umar

Red Hulk
Terrax
Baron Mordo
Tiger Shark

Marvel Cosmos
Skaar, Daken, Franklin Richards, Bucky
Spider-Girl, Baby Cage, Henry

Zombies, Apes

Champions
Ghost Rider
Angel
Hercules
Namora
Iceman
Black Widow

West Coast Avengers
Drama, reality show, celebrity

Los Angeles
Stadium
Ocean

Public do-gooders

Invisible. Sue Storm. Dr. Doom. Namor. Silver Surfer. Mephisto.

Dr. Doom foiled. Watches Sue.
Mole Man, kids, business.
Negative Zone Day Alone.
Storm & She-Hulk. Emma Frost.
Haiti relief. Namor. Humanity. Air Water. Silver Surfer calls Sue to
cosmic level. Galactus.
Avengers Picnic.

Wasp.

Strange Tales
Dr. Strange, Hellcat, Son of Satan
Ghost Rider, Silver Surfer, Namor
Hulk

Mephisto, Satannish, Celestials, Watcher

SpeedBall
Howard the Duck
Spidey & DD
Sphinx

Slapstick
Civil War

Squirrel Girlfddddf

Sent from my iPod

Write Club: Who is Kurt Christenson?

2010-04-14T07:35:00.001-04:00

Hello all of you who've been checking out the blog and the podcast. Thanks so much for stopping by and giving us a read and a listen. You're probably wondering who we are though.

My name is Kurt Christenson. I am a writer and have been working on breaking into comics for the last ten years. In that time I've taught myself lettering and production ends of putting together a comic, as well as anything and everything I could about sequential art.

I am currently finishing up a novel that I have written over the past 6 years when I went from living in a suburban prison to moving to NYC and all the insanity that went with it. It's called the Tower of Brahma and I have been posting a chapter a week up every Monday for the past year. My latest and most favoritest chapter, #61 - Inferno, is now up.

I've also been working on lettering a 200+ page graphic novel called Legend of Liquid Fury, drawn by the mad genius named Chris Chua. This has been a labor of love, frustration, anger, bliss, beauty, and an unbelievable ride through the comic industry as we talked to every professional creator we could. You can read the first act over at TenTonStudios. You can also keep up with the progress of new pages and see some behind the scenes stuff over at the Liquid Fury blog.

Speaking of TenTonStudios, Chris & I were two of the founding members of this collective of artists that are slowly beginning to dominate the comic book world. From Marvel to DC to Image to White Wolf, these guys have been working it hardcore to make it as working artists and they do it well.

About a year ago, I was laid off from my job as a paparazzi photo editor, and at the worst time considering the economy. It was then that I decided that I needed to take my writing career seriously, and within a few weeks Tim & I had started a blog and a podcast.

We met up every other week or so and began recording. We tried to get some webcomics going but they stalled out. Tim found StripGenerator and began our ongoing webcomic Write Club Funnies which I took over a few weeks ago. The content and guests, and our comfortability recording, grew with every post.

Last Fall we attended King Con and interviewed a few creators we knew or got to know through friends. They were all making moves and getting published. We met some up and coming creators, and I saw that spark, the glimmer in their eyes as they attended their first convention with work in hand. And I remembered.

I thought back to New Years Day 2001 when I decided I would write comic books after a decade of being a voracious consumer of them. I just wrote scripts for myself, which turned into writing them for money, but the books would never be released. So I started my own book with a fresh from Kubert School Chua, and for years we toiled away.

Somewhere along the way, it became work, with no payoffs, and very little recognition. It seemed fruitless and comics were a burden more than a joy. I stopped reading them, I began to hate making them, and I guess I didn't want to have a complete book and fail so I began to self-sabotage, to doubt, second guess. Bad luck and pitfalls blossomed all around me. I had failed by not finishing anything.

But my story isn't over yet. As I approach the tenth year at making a go of this, I aim to redouble my efforts, using this site as a platform to keep my head in the game. It's not too late to make it happen. And as I look around I see others picking up where they creatively left off and forging ahead.

So thank you to all the creators I have met over the years who have had a kind word, a friendly smile, or an insightful anecdote that has helped me continue to do what it is I was put on this Earth to do: create stories.

And if I can help anyone else out there take just one more step towards their creative passion endgame, well that's really all I could ask for.

Keep at it.

Notes

2010-04-13T15:00:00.001-04:00

Liquid Fury blog.
Plan B review.
Moonlighting review.
Gang of Fools review.
WCF - Indie Club
Power Play
Sub*Text layout
EX script
American Slackers outline
ToB chapters
Sub*Text Saturday
TenTonTumblr

Forgotten Animation
Liquid Television
SpyGroove
Calamity Jane
CyberSix
ActionMan

Animation Notes

2010-04-13T14:56:00.001-04:00

Zom!Bot
Music video

Space Intro
Graveyard Intro
Zombie Grave
Robot Spaceship
Stalking Montage
Attack Mankind!
Worldwide Destruction
Conflict
Hellfire Fusion
Zom!Bot born
Wolf Priests
Uncovering Rotting/Rusting Remains

***

Write Club!
Pulp detective
A mystery, adventure
A lost Alan Moore script
Buried Grant Morrison screenplay
Underground Warren Ellis manifesto
Fanboy collector
Tracking down missing Kirby art
Comic Book Illuminati

***

WCWWFX
Reality show confessional
Retrospective
Superhero team dynamics

Fortune & Glory

2010-04-13T12:24:00.001-04:00

That's what I'm in it for. To build an empire of quality entertainment. To get paid for my ideas enough to have major influence on pop culture as possible. I see nothing but talented individuals squandering away their passions at day jobs, wasting skills learned at college, a creative vision dissipating.

I have ideas and they're good. Fun. Better than current standards. The time of the independent creator, working in mass media, is upon us. A time where a thousand empires will rise across the world, digitally connected and generating a blanket of fiction across the collective unconcious. Giving shape and form in universal acceptance.

This is what's at stake. 2012. The singularity. iPad. The world is sucking up the potential of the masses in a way that has never been fully explored. Every person in the world holding a Coke, eating a Big Mac, wearing Mickey ears, rocking out to their iPod. The net is tightening.

You fear the future. The power you will wield. The decisions and hard work that will be ripped from you while handling the mundane details it that make up an entertainment empire. Countless individuals questioning your creative impulse, the skill in your words, the judgment of your ideas. Frustration killing your passion.

But days will come. You will sit down, put words down, draw lines, connect them and be paid for that act. And paid well. And then you'll see it transformed from a raw idea into a fully rendered product. People will pay to sit down and watch this collaborative project with you as the basis. That cool scene that popped into your head one day. There it is. Not quite like you pictured, but they all get to see it too.

I am hitting a wall and looking for a reason to continue. I need money. I need success and recognition. Fans and attention, photo ops and magazine spreads. Underground legitimacy, neo-gonzo sensibility, anything is possible mentality. We need electronic celebrity.

The fans are the base. Each a step to another mind. An audience. A scene. A movement. Mass appeal. Find immediate audience and produce for them. Who has the money? Intellectual Property Pirates. Hosting a circus in their mind, an alternate universe for their conciousness. Take the money, and run.

Build and create.

The ideas:
Tower of Brahma.
Novel.
Self-pub e-book.
Subway self-promotion.

Sub*Text.
Alt.Lit 'zine.
Blog.
Magazine.
Publisher.
Genre/Pulp/Experimental.

TenTonAnthology.
Comic book. Graphic novel/magazine.
Pulp. Military Manual.
A pitch packet.

Film.
EX. Webseries.
YouTube.

Write Club.
Short films.
Genre.

Rock'N'Roll Massacre.
Pryzmalite Massacre.
Indie film. Slasher.
NYC locations.
Guerilla filmmaking.

DeadBeat.
Horror/Detective.
Formula. Dramedy.
USA Network.

Time & Space.
Union Squared.
Sci-fi/Rom-Com.
Spec script.

Animation

Liquid Fury.
Graphic novel.
TV series.
Spike. Adult Swim. FX.

Zom/Bot.
Band.
Animated musical.
Music videos with bookend scenes.
5 min snippets.
Different genres.
Heavy Metal meets Gorillaz.
Live performances. Puppets.

***

These are the ideas I have been working on. If anything seems appealing let me know and we can develop it.

Right now I want to kick this zine off and start the Liquid Fury blog.

I have an idea if you wanted to do a Write Club cartoon for our webcomic side. I was looking at some new books from Top Shelf (send links later) that are paperback sized and then have a stacked two panel grid through the whole book. It's a cool unique format. But if it was individual panels, really rough and more experimental, storyboards for a short film, then we can get our prep work out there for public consumption and maybe get it published, or at least self-publish.

We could then write a script on the side, something to sell. I haven't heard from the guy with the William Morris connection, so. That's kind of back burner, coming together as it does.

I've also got a Marvel in that could be interesting. I want to try and pitch something without Reilly or Khoi connections and I may have an in. Maybe to get a menial job there as well. Possibly freelance proofreading a day or two. So I have some Marvel ideas I wanted to bounce off you.

You're in a funk. I'm in a funk. I'm going to keep throwing this stuff at you till you're too busy to even think about relationships or anything else except bringing your ideas to life. You are my number two in this world Boston. I recognized it as soon as I met you.

In just a year out from NYCC we did alright for ourselves considering, and we had enough insane relationship bullshit to last us a lifetime, so this is the moment where we ignore all that, make the final push, and get our careers off the ground.

Love always,

The Cash Bros.

2010-04-08T10:00:00.001-04:00

Cole had a plan. A hold up. Old school style. Hotrod getaway car and all. Midwest crime caper. Chicago to Seattle. Max killed them all.

They go on the run, everything against them. Cole learns to grift. Max sees his murderous hands. They're both doomed but Cole takes the fall. Max continues on the road. Learning to be like Grifter.

Grifter on TV. Pre-Condition Red. Lynch. IO. Army guys. Military vs Crime. Grifter vs Max. Cole easily defeats him. Brings him into IO (without letting him know he set it up).

Condition Red.

EX: Zombie / KidNap / CrossWalk

2010-04-08T08:39:00.001-04:00

Horror spoof.

Couple driving along after a party. Perfect rainy night, twisted road horror scenerio. They crash, she dies. Comes back as a zombie. Chases him through the woods. Girlfriend violence porn.

We could go over the top and do it Versus (Ryuhei Kitamura) and Evil Dead 2, insane camera angles and wrestling like violence.

But something about the straight forward horror is cool. Just have to find an angle so it's not just a guy smashing his undead ex.

***

Voyeur still camera on a couple on a date. Drinks, dinner, walking home, a kiss, he walks off with a spring in his step.

Three guys in ski-masks throw a hood over his head, throw him in a van. All POV camera.

Tied to a chair, hood whipped off, hot bulb in a damp basement. Three guys, all his friends, beating him out of his senses, as he told them to do if he ever said he was in love again.

***

CrossWalk

Slow-mo music video, low rez camera, melodic to jazzy to metal transition.

Guy walking towards us, crosses the street, spies his ex walking towards him, holding hand with another guy. Close up and speeding up camera shots, her face, his face, their hands, up her body, her face, her eyes. She doesn't even make eye contact. He's smiling, smug, sunglasses hipster punk fuck. They pass in slo-motion, he might just do something, say something, but he stops himself and keeps walking.

He comes in close to the camera on the other side of the street. Over his shoulder in the background, they walk off and away. He looks off a moment, the music shifts, he whips his glasses off, turns and charges at them.

Far shot down the block. We see the guy running right side of the screen to left, real time, far off, comical.

POV as he comes up on the dude, his fist cocked. The guy turns and throws his fist at him.

Worm's eye view, our guys spits blood towards the camera on the ground as his head whips towards us, the other douche following through with his punch. She looks on without any pity. Shake of the head. Slight frown.

They walk off. His arm around her. She barely looks back. Same shot, just as they disappear, the guy picks his head up, blood streaming from his nose. He turns around to look at them. Over his shoulder we watch as she pushes herself away, the guy's arm falling to his side.

Close up of our guy bleeding and smiling.

***
I'm thinking we can shoot those as shorts and then fill in the other scenes when we get funding and make it like one long night of seeing his ex's across the city, talking with friends and getting their ex stories.

I really feel like this could be a project that'd find funding easy and be viral.

Def check out Four Eyed Monsters.

Project Notes

2010-04-07T10:23:00.001-04:00

TenTon Anthology
Ten-In-One
the Bomb

Legend of Liquid Fury
Weekly blog.
Fix image sizes.
Updates.
Influences.
Asian Cinema.
Animation.

Sub*Text
www.subtextzine.com

Marvel Two-In-One
Strange Tales
Backups of upcoming characters
Reprint material
Paper Magazine style
Interview newsstands of NYC and what comics they carry
Price point: $1 weekly, $5 monthly

EX
Anthology film.
Linklater.
Re-enactments.
Oliver Stone.
Music Vids.
Bromance Torture Porn
Cross the Street

Write Club
www.wearewriteclub.com
www.whatclub.com
IndieClub.
Ken & Tom.
Kenny & Tommy.
Hipster.

Comic Club.
Jon & Brien.

Write Club.
Tim & Kurt.

Indie Club. Emily Wernet. Ray is Dead.
Nathan Schreiber Spotlight.
Comics & Beer.
Rocket Science.
Craig Blair. Film.
Music.

4.8
Dinner. Dancing. Drinking.

4.10-11
MoCCA. Bar crawl.

4.12
indie club.
MoCCA review.
Photos.
Funnies.
Comics & Beer.
Roxann.

4.15
Rocket Science.
4.16
Date.

4.22
Date.
4.23-4.25
Jose

4.29/30
Craig Blair

5.6
Christian/Long Island

5.13
Christian/Long Island

Band?

TenTon 10-in-One

2010-04-05T08:10:00.001-04:00

Collaborative effort. Script, layout, pencils, inks, colors, letters. Showing our possibilities as a fully functioning comic production house.

Autobiographical "Jam" piece.
Comicbook Rockstar
Samurai creators
10 pager
All genres
Guest pinups from F.O.O.T.T. (Friends of Ol' TenTon)

Strange Tales: Healing Hands of Shang-Chi & Outline

2010-04-01T07:44:00.000-04:00

Peaceful hands, the final form, created by Shang-Chi, his soul evolved. He hides in Brooklyn, near the Navy Yards, rumored to fend off ancient attacks. He lays low, waiting for the great evil to arise, teaching innocents the ways of tai-chi, making them strong enough to survive what will come.

The Mandarin, rings forged in a single band, great arcane energy spilling forth as Fin Fang Foom rises from the depths. A monster movie from Brooklyn into Manhattan. Kung Fu can only do so much, but can the Intern of Dr. Strange really be the key?

Flowing 70's style, red flowing jacket, wife-beater underneath. Bruce Lee meet Jet Li by way of Chow Yun Fat as a buddhist healer, repenting his violent past and seeing the peace he can spread through the superhuman community. Rechannelling the energy that is manifesting in the bodies of these ordinary humans.

70's flashback. Ghost Rider ala CHIPs/Peter Fonda meets Knight Rider. Luke Cage. Young. Keeping it real. Jive turkey. Iron Fist, sideburns and bellbottoms, hippy disco. Dazzler. Misty Knight.

Present. Cold, damp, wood, training dummy in the dark. Fists turning into palms and smooth gestures, sliding across the wood, serenity flowing into his movements. Then sudden grip, vice-like fingertips, rips it into splinters. His past not that far behind.

Training the future. A half-brother. Guilt over Moving Shadow. Father dead and gone, only in his dead sons body. Younger, faster, undead diabolical madman, clutching at life as he decimates, murdering all who enter his path.

The kid is difficult, promising, gentle, abrasive, and sixty other kinds of human. Aligned with Chinese mythology, divine intervention, chosen tool of destiny. Picked for his utter uniqueness and perfectly simple nature. His sense of the spectacle and its total enjoyment of adventure.

He seemed like he would enjoy it the most.

Redeeming heroes, preaching peace, defusing situations with his mere presence. What new influence, spiritual power beeming from his person, brought upon this transformation? A hidden secret. Sacrifice to set things right. He left another world as it expanded up out of this dimension. A reality where life was Happily Ever After.

Their kids all lived, they live together, happily married and functional. No one died and came back. Life was good, death prevented at all costs, saving babies from burning buildings and superhero ideal.

Dean brings his friend along for a ride out into Clinton Hill. They chat at Square Root Diner, hit up DopeJams, walk by the BQE and arrive at Shang's temple. A surprise visit reveals Manny's destiny.

Expanding storylines. Everywhere Dean "Walks", a new story opens. Unfolding universes. Storybook popup pulp.

***

SHIELD, slick, his cousin. Unknown Joe gets caught up in spyworld. Define HYDRA.

STARK. Financial. Business. Connected.
RICHARDS. Science. The field. Academia.
NAMOR. Secretly an atlantean. Surfer. Cali.
INHUMAN. Otherwordly. Hot. Badass alternative.

Running errands for Strange, dropping off packages at Nelson & Murdock, a reminder of an appt with the Doctor. Meeting one on one with all superhumans. To have an open discussion of a coming event. The rise of an alternate reality that will peel off the current 616 universe, shedding yet evolving. Training a replacement doctor. Redeeming Son of Satan's kid.

All Daimon Hellstrom's idea. Son of Satan meanwhile does Strange's dirty work. Killing those that need killing, rising to power behind the scenes. Retaking Hell for his own. Making coherence and Unity from Marvel's Darkness. Mephisto. Satannish. Cytorrak. Hoary Hosts. Getting affairs in order for the afterlife.

Hellstrom stays behind in evil power to save his son, guarantee that he'll be the Sorceror Supreme of M2. Son of Satan the true supervillain on par with Doom, Mandarin, Namor, Osborne. Loki. That bastard would have to go.

Satanna. 70's flashback here?

Research M2 Universe.
Spider-Girl. J2. X23.
ShatterStar. Rictor.
Paradise Arcadia Nirvana.

Tony Stark. Bucky. Beta Ray Bill. Silver Surfer messenger.

***

Dean. Strange. Wong. Mordo. Clea. Dormmamu.
Fantastic Four. Shield. Avengers. Jarvis, butler.
Nelson & Murdock. Daily Bugle. Rick, photo editor.
Harlem. Heroes for Hire. Brooklyn. Shang-Chi.
Brooklyn heroes vs. Mandarin & Fin Fang Foom.
Real life. Apt. Roommate. Tea with the Doctor.
Night Nurse, check up. Son of Satan Strikes.
Road trip. Deliver something sensitive. LA.
West Coast Avengers. 80's. Washout. Heroic ideal.
Satanna. Satannish. Son of Satan. Son of Son of Satan.
Ghost Rider. Inferno. Hellride. Satan.
Mephisto. Blackheart. Heirarchy.
Silver Surfer. Rising from Hell back into NYC. To Moon.
Inhumans. Watcher. Thanos. Infinity Gauntlet.
Dormmamu & Dread Dimension.
Battle for all dark realms. Prince of Darkness. Son of Hellcat. Higher realm, nirvana alternate universe.
Mom & Dad. A reality where he lived. Happily Ever After.

Tower of Brahma - I Saw A Mountain - 62a (of 64)

2010-04-01T06:46:00.001-04:00

Valhalla. The point where two opposing forces begin to seperate, water vapor eradication of eternity, one drop at a time, a shimmering sphere wall, ever expanding.

Charles Crown stands before the crack of all reality. A dividing of houses, life crumbles all about him, shifting rifts tearing itself apart.

Fuck, he sighs.

That's what it all meant. He's the one who first sees the bubble begin to burst. Nothing special, just happens to be him. No great destiny other than being first in line at the dotted line, the parting of two parallel dimensions, Strange savage arayan norweigan wolfgod, and myself.

The Spider sheds its skin, leaving behind a venomous grin, seeping with sinister lies. The weapon with which to kill the serpent. But first, escape.

Run for your lives boys, this chapter is at an end.

Defenders

2010-03-28T22:49:00.000-04:00

Defenders
Hulk
Silver Surfer
Dr. Strange
Namor

Redefine. 3 page pitch.

Dumb superhero
New age intellectual
Occult teacher
Mythological prince

Son of Satan. Valkyrie. Hellcat.
Gargoyle. Moondragon.

Betty Ross
Shala Bal
Clea

Undying Ones.
Yandroth
Dormmamu
Umar

Red Hulk
Terrax
Baron Mordo
Tiger Shark

Marvel Cosmos
Skaar, Daken, Franklin Richards, Bucky
Spider-Girl, Baby Cage, Henry

Zombies, Apes

Champions
Ghost Rider
Angel
Hercules
Namora
Iceman
Black Widow

West Coast Avengers
Drama, reality show, celebrity

Los Angeles
Stadium
Ocean

Public do-gooders

Invisible. Sue Storm. Dr. Doom. Namor. Silver Surfer. Mephisto.

Wasp.

Strange Tales
Dr. Strange, Hellcat, Son of Satan
Ghost Rider, Silver Surfer, Namor
Hulk

Mephisto, Satannish, Celestials, Watcher

SpeedBall
Howard the Duck
Spidey & DD
Sphinx

Slapstick
Civil War

Squirrel Girlfddddf

Sent from my iPod

Marvel Two-In-One: Strange Tales

2010-03-25T08:03:00.001-04:00

Madripoor
Peter Parker comes ashore. No need for pretense, costume, identity. A score to settle. Logan hurt her, crossed a line. Firestar? Old school. Bar fight. Switchblades. Tarantino.

Dean Walker, Intern of Dr. Strange
College student. Runs errands for multi-tasking Dr. Strange. He guides the universe's soul. Dean picks up the mail. From the infernal motorcycle ride through Hell, to soaring the waves of cosmic radiation. Into the maw of Mephisto burning with lies, out of the gaze of the eternal Watcher. Dormmamu's Dread Dimension lies all around the entire known reality, Mindless Ones carving through vibrational quantum states, swarming all about us. The Son of Son of Satan's power and status as True Lord of Hell commands respect, and perhaps defeat the Dread Dormmamu by claiming his father's trident. Whatever form he wants. Yo-yo. Hipster healer of humanity. Jazz poet beat alternative. Seeing Marvel through fresh eyes. Betrayed youth. Not from that reality.

A reality where Longshot & Dazzler's child grew up to become Shatterstar. Domino is the old lady assassin. May Parker, Spider-Girl. Daken. Skaar. M2.

Tales to Astonish
A Stark assassin. Long lost Stark brother. Teenage Stark. Fakes evidence, false history. Gets a job undercover for Stark. Makes Stark recruit him. Devious.

A military guy. A nobody from nowhere. Didn't talk much. Spoke when spoken to. SHIELD agent in training, given special clearance due to respect and honor of the chain of command and several acts of bravery. A hero.

Partnered up to scour the globe looking for Stark plants with hidden weapon caches. Scavengers, mercenaries, gun-runners and supervillains all looking for a piece of the action, a chance to get some serious firepower. Safer weapons used in violent hands.

The Rose. Kingpin. Connected. Patient. Ready to take advantage of a situation.

Harry Osborn. Heir to a fortune, son of a madman.

Business. Military.

Tales of Suspense
Pym. Banner. Lawson?
Teenage genius with an application of Pym Particles & Gamma Radiation. It cures the Hulk, and allows complete control of the transformation. The thing they didn't count on was the theory that the Hulk itself is the ever expanding gamma bomb, threatening to destroy all reality. Oops. Get smart Lawson! Think your way out. Amadeus Cho. He knew that the brains of the Marvel Thinkers were its biggest threat. The hero that rises from them is what matters. The Hulk. Mr. Fantastic. Iron Man. Professor X. Ant-Man.
Science heroes.

Namor is will. Dr. Strange is spirit. Silver Surfer is energy. Black Bolt is harmonics. Spider-Man is totem science.

Girls Club! Week One

2010-03-18T23:54:00.002-04:00

Hello Clubbers, I hope all of you enjoyed week one of Girls Club. As Write Club heads into its second year, we'll be setting up a theme to coincide month by month with what's going on in comics. So for Women's History Month & Marvel's publishing of Girls Comics, we present Girls Club.

We kicked off the week on Monday with a new logo and article on Making Mini-Comics by the hilarious and talented Lauren Barnett of MeLikesYouComics.

On Tuesday we had Mike Mooch (who is not the DJ DaMooch) run down his pick for the top iconic female video game characters.

Wednesday, aka Comic Book Day, had our resident comic reviewers Jonathan Gelatt & Brian Bannen cover the week in comics. We even got quoted for Jon's review of Underground #5 over at Periscope Studios, home of Steve Lieber and others.

Thursday, Jayme Roxann Wright delivered unto us her first in a series of articles about Breaking Into Comics As A Female, busting down the doors on the boys club and preparing to take comic publishing by storm by showing it what it's been missing: a realistic approach to writing women.

That wraps up the first week of Girls Club, but stay tuned Write Clubbers, as we've got a lot more fun and excitement up our sleeves. This week we'll have a new episode of the podcast up where we'll talk to Nikki Cook about her process and Girl Comics.

While I prepare to deal with these two female hackers called DARK PHONETIX, I'll leave you with some links on Girl Comics.

Thanks for reading.

K

The Beat interviews Marvel Editor Jeanine Schaefer about Girl Comics

Video from Marvel.com with Jeanine Shaefer

Marvel's List of Women Characters

Slacker Tuesday: Not Girl Comics but Comics by Girls

2010-03-16T03:26:00.004-04:00

I know how you feel. Sitting there at work, putting off whatever it is that you gotta do, groggy and tired, barely able to form a coherent thought. It's best to take it easy today. Why not read some comics?

First I've take a selection of female creator comics from web collective Act-I-Vate.

Miss Lasko-Gross: A Mess of Everything

Molly Crabapple: Backstage

Jennifer Tong: Orifice

Jennifer Hayden: Underwire

You can also read the Geek Girl on the Street's review of the Act-I-Vate Primer.

***

A few other webcomics of note by female creators are:

Girls With Slingshots by Danielle Corsetto

Scene Language by Corey Marie

Octopus Pie by Meredith Gran

Random Assembly by Samantha Allen

I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space by Megan Rose Gedris

Comic/Art Events March 2010

2010-03-10T02:58:00.005-05:00

http://bergenstreetcomics.com/events/

http://pantheon.knopfdoubleday.com/2010/03/02/making-the-abyss-at-museum-of-comic-cartoon-art-event/

http://www.artslant.com/ny/events/show/94233-cosmic-characters

http://www.animazing.com/gallery/emails/bakshi_streets.html

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=353913098963#!/event.php?eid=315611503251&ref=mf
http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Hop-on-the-Hotwire-Carousel-at-MoCCA-March-25.html&Itemid=113

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/why-so-many-superheroes-are-drawn-to-new-york/

http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/BS

http://dancesofvice.com/wonderland.html

Sub*Text

2010-03-07T06:10:00.001-05:00

Hello. Welcome to Sub*Text. An experiment in DIY publishing, a way for me to promote myself and others of considerable talent, a literary zine that pushes boundaries. I'm putting this work out there into the world and seeing what it becomes.

Start something. Anything. Whatever you want, however you'd like. Let me know what it is and I'll help you in any way I can. I'm trying to build connections between the solitary artists that I know and hopefully we'll create a new scene.

I've never belonged to anything larger than myself before. No literary journal really clicked with me. There's not one contemporary author that I truly admire. A void exists where I linger, the space I roam between mainstream and alternative. Part beat poet, part science hero.

I've been writing poetry & short stories since junior high, screenplays in college, and comic scripts through my 20's. I have a few shorts published in comic anthologies, a nearly completed fictional autobiography, and a massive graphic novel about to see print in the coming months.

I also co-host a writing/comic book podcast called Write Club. We try to promote the smaller creator, just beginning their ascent, on the verge of making a splash, just needing to find their audience. I would encourage the entire world to create more if I could, for I feel that's the best way to save ourselves.

And Sub*Text is my way of showcasing the work I wrote that helped save me from quite literally going mad. I know I'm not alone in that feeling, that desperate cry for attention while locking yourself in your own mind. And you're not alone either.

There's something going on beneath the surface of mankind, a fire burning, consuming us from within. Let me help spread the flames and we'll all burn together.

3/7/10 5am
L train to Brooklyn

Write Club format

2010-03-04T06:31:00.000-05:00

Write Club format
Intro
Banter
Current Affairs
News & Events
Interview
Writer Talk
Call Ins
Misc. Skit
Outro

Sent from my iPod

Comicbook Blogs

2010-03-04T04:13:00.002-05:00

http://www.comicbookresources.com/
http://www.newsarama.com/
http://www.bleedingcool.com/

http://www.comicsreporter.com/
http://comicscomicsmag.com/

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/

http://dailypop.wordpress.com/

http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2010-03-01-girlcomics01_marvel_st_N.htm

Comicbook Calendar - March - April

2010-03-04T02:39:00.008-05:00

Hey Write Clubbers!

It's been a busy few weeks here at Write Club Central, and we've got a ton of surprises in store for you as we prepare to enter our second year of bringing you your Insider's Writing/Comicbook Podcast & Blog.

Last week I told you about networking at comic book events in Brooklyn, and while that's a great way to get to know people and worm your way into the industry, first things first. Learn your craft!

To that end I present the MoCCA Education Programs.

MoCCA stands for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, and it's located in the prime chunk of real estate that is Broadway just south of Houston in Soho. 594 Broadway, Suite 401 to be exact. It's a small gallery that has rotating shows. It just finished showing the Art of Archie Comics, but as of March 12 and running til May 30th, there will be two shows, NeoIntegrity: Comics Edition (which boasts an insane amount of insanely talented artsists) & Dash Shaw: Making the Abyss which focuses on Shaw's BodyWorld, Bottomless Belly Button, with animations and comic short stories.

MoCCA's hours are Tues-Sun 12pm-5pm and general admission is $5, while children 12 and under are free.

As well as the exhibits, MoCCA hosts panels and events ranging from creators speaking about Spider-Man or Wolverine to pitching animation projects. Starting this Tuesday Night there is a Master Class in Comic Writing featuring Chris Claremont on March 16th, Tom DeFalco on March 23rd, and Dennis "Denny" O'Neill on April 13th. It is a lecture format where they will impart to you the secrets of comic writing.

For all three classes, it's $100, $90 for MoCCA members, and each individual session is $40, $35 for MoCCA members.

If you miss that series, as it is filling up rather quickly, you could take the How To Write Comics & Graphic Novels course with instructor Danny Fingeroth. He used to, or perhaps still does, teach this course at NYU & New School University, and although I hear mixed reviews of it, you could take it at MoCCA for much less and Danny Fingeroth moderates most panels on comic books that I've attended in NYC so he's a good guy to know. The class runs 4 sessions, Tuesdays April 20 & 27, May 4 & 11

And for all the artists out there MoCCA will also host an Anatomy for Illustrators series on Mondays, April 19 & 26, May 3 & 10 with instructors R. Sikoryak & Kriota Willberg.

More information will be released on these courses, but friend Ellen Abramowitz on Facebook or check their website for updates. Oh, and don't forget the MoCCA Art Festival is coming up on April 10th & 11th, which for only $15 for advance tickets for both days, is well worth it. This is the cream of the crop of comics people.

And all Write Club's friends will be there.

Also coming up on April 4th is KGB Bar's Sunday Night Fiction reading series featuring Graphic Novelists & Comix. Located at 85 East 4th St in the East Village, this is the most literary friendly bar I've come across. I haven't been here quite often enough considering I lived in the neighborhood there for years before moving out to Brooklyn.

Write Clubber Emily Wernet will be making an appearance that night so let's all get out there and support her.

Speaking of girls making comics, it seems I've missed the Girls Comics signing at Jim Hanley's which was yesterday evening, but they will have an Art of Jaime Hernandez signing on April 9th at 6pm.

And while we're talking comic signings, Midtown Comics has three Marvel artists from Spain signing on Saturday, March 20th.

Enough of that Manhattan jazz, how about Brooklyn, you say?

Over at Rocketship Comics there will be an opening reception on Friday March 12th for the Reuben award winning cartoonist, painter, and illustrator Hermann Mejia, who's work is odd and breathtaking.

While Write Club favorite Bergen Street Comics doesn't have any other events scheduled just yet (probably still recovering from the Bens McCool & Templesmith Choker debut party, which I hear was a drunken & smashing success of a party, according to Tim & Reilly) I vow to not miss any more events there as I have just successfully moved to Clinton Hill, just a short walk from the shop.

Up on the other end of Brooklyn's G train is Desert Island, the stop for all things artistically offbeat. They have a few events listed on their main page. On Friday, April 9th, a triple book-release party for John Brodowski's Curio Cabinet, Clara Johansson's Lobster King, and Emelie Östergren's Mr Kenneth. And apparently Ms. Johansson and Ms. Östergren will travel from Sweden for the occasion. Color me impressed. I couldn't find sites for the ladies of Sweden, but I did come across this sample of an international comic art magazine CESTBON.

The following Thursday, April 15th, from 7-9pm will be the release party for Dash Shaw's BodyWorld and far off into the future on Friday, May 21st, Dan Nadel's release party and discussion of his book Art In Time.

Phew, that's about enough out of me. If you know of an event, or are planning one, please feel free to contact me and let me know and I will promote the hell out of it and make sure all the cool kids show up.

See you around the neighborhood.

K

Wolvie Chick

2010-03-03T15:42:00.001-05:00

3210 - sub*text

2010-03-02T12:13:00.001-05:00

Okay boys, here it is, the countdown day, a perfect day to start a new venture.

This is sub*text, a literary adventure which will propel us all to fame and fortune. I have never found a lit mag or zine that really was doing what I think it should be, so here I am attempting to create one with the people I think most qualified to do something awesome and new.

Everyone needs to get me one piece by 3-21-10 to prepare for a 4-20-10 release date. Anything you think is a good example of your work, and please let anyone who you think would be a good fit to contribute as well. Mostly we have writers up in here, so artists would be welcomed.

I'll have the pieces up on sub*text and feature one a week on sub*text Saturdays on the Write Club blog, which will hopefully have a relaunch in the next few weeks by our new web designer, Ron Greer, the current lead singer of the Dead Kennedys. I want sub*text Saturdays to be the Alternative Nation/120 Minutes of lit blogs.

After we launch the first one I want to have the blog updated regularly with articles on the more bizarre and out there fiction, film, music, etc. Anything as long as it inspires you, tickles your fancy, gets up in your cranium.

This is the new scene and it starts now, here with us.

You have 19 days to write, edit, draw, paint, network, or whatever you need to do, but get me something by that date or earlier.

Love,

End of Times

2010-02-27T23:08:00.000-05:00

Scorpio/Sagitarrius
Center of Galaxy
Ophiucus (67)
8 wheel/tree of life
Divine cross & mundane cross
13,000 years
11,000 BC
3 eclipses/solar & lunar (1992-2012)
Ark Fire not water
No axle in time

SkyRunner Notes

2010-02-27T23:07:00.001-05:00

Superheroes that exist in a society based around the lower to upper atmosphere. Hidden cities of the sky. Wind based hero. Floating islands.

Think Aerial Aquaman. Maybe a girl. Maybe use for Hawkgirl, Supergirl, and Mary Marvel. Or new heroine and have them guest star. WonderGirl. Halfway between the Earth & the Gods.

SkyShips, pirates, wild frontier. Born in a valley, raised in the sky, destined for the stars. You can drift from higher to lower, catch mapped updrifts to rise upwards, carefully piloting is necessary. Most travel is up and down, sweeping through cloud clusters, knowledge of how clouds come together is essential.

Girl, unsure of herself, but skilled, bored, capable. Reverse pirate. Peacekeeper. Non-violent, passionate, unaccepting of things are they are. A feminist, avoid confrontation, she's like the wind, sliding around attacks. She rises as heavy stone of masculinity plummet from the sky. They try and keep their socities afloat as she sabotages their efforts, keeping their destiny intact.

Book of 5 Chambers Notes

2010-02-27T23:07:00.000-05:00

Start at death. Hunting down killers while showing excerpts from the book.

1776 - Independence. Revolutionary War.
Civil War. California Gold Rush.

Fistful of Dollars/Yojimbo
A Few Dollars More/Desperado
Good Bad & Ugly/Once Upon A Time in Mexico
Sanjuro
Hidden Fortress/Samurai 123

Creating killers with Book. Inspiring. Culling the herd.

Supergirl

2010-02-25T06:40:00.001-05:00

Supergirl
Forgotten childhood memories
DC Universe from Kid's perspective
Pre-teen, teen, college
SuperPets, SuperBoy, SuperMan
Innocence, Puberty, Dating
Young Adult. Quarterlife Crisis.
SuperMom. Capt. Marvel Jr.

Wizard of Oz, Wicked Queen
Female corruption
Lex Luthor, Metallo
Water, Earth, Magic

Cap & Tony

Punisher - play nice

Thrust - the Junk
Urban madness manifests
Lifting people from self-destruction
Making monsters by adding power
Causing destruction & enlightenment
Kinetic Kid

Bob Awesome
Titanium
Mike Manchester: Mall Security
Mom <3
Starlords
First Love

What does water carry?

Battle for Heaven within Mind
Eternal reversal

Granted Salvation
Suffer
Unexpected enlightenment

Kid Flash: Mercury University
Mirrors - self reflection
Fire - passion
Ice - logic
Tricks - levity pain
Color - light reality
Top - vertigo self doubt

Batman as Bruce Wayne
Batfamily enforcers
Proactive totalitarian justice

Survivors of crossovers
Featuring main hero
House of M - Scarlett Witch
Planet Hulk
Civil War - Speedball Cap/Iron Man
Secret Invasion - Wasp

Flash Museum - Flash Science Center
Mercury University

TenTonStudios Anthology
Redneck Samurai
Blind Swordsgirl
Squirrel Girl n Speedball
Marvel Romance
Cyclops Ballad of Jean Grey
Iceman / Human Torch
Pop Culture
Young stars suppressing old school
Madonna. Music Superstars.
Kiss. Parliament Funkadelic.

Liquid Fury 12 Pages
Power Play. 9 pages
RedNeck Samurai. 10 pages
Star Wars.
Orath.
Secret Identities. 2 pages

Sent from my iPod

Brooklyn Comic Events

2010-02-25T00:11:00.004-05:00

So you want to break into comics (or maybe just socialize with creators), and the best way to do that is to network, be a friendly face that people recognize, and talk about the medium with them, mention your work casually, make friends with people. The convention scene can be too much mayhem and sensory overload puts most creators into a state of shock and awe, so the best alternative is to attend comic book events.

And if you live in Brooklyn, well you're in luck. There seems to be a new comic book event happening every other week. For instance, Tim, Reilly and I all hit up the release of Demo Vol. 2 at Rocketship Comics on January 31st. We chatted with Becky Cloonan, and although I missed Brian Wood, we made the rounds and chatted up the local talent and fans. You can see some pics from the event here.

The next Saturday at Rocketship had Ms. Raina Telgemeier doing a live visual reading and signing copies of her new coming of age graphic novel 'SMIL E', while the Friday after that had Bob Fingerman and friends celebrating the release of 'FROM THE ASHES'.

While I was unable to attend those events I did jam pack one night with two events. The first was an art show for the Fantagraphics Anthology 'HOTWIRE', held at the Scott Eder Gallery in Dumbo. You can see a sampling of the artists' work here. If you love your comics alternative, then you'll love this book. The show will be on display until March 31st. It's a smaller gallery but always a fun time, as I did attend the Jim Mahfood show there about two years back which was great. And there's always free booze.

The second event that night was held at the lovely Bergen Street Comics, by far one of the most inviting and stylish of comic book stores. Ferbuary 12th saw the release of Heads Up Display's awesome puppet music video for their song 'FORMULA VS PERFUME'. The band features artist Kevin Colden and was co-directed by Seth Kushner, the photographer for Graphic NYC and Culture Pop Productions. The pair have also teamed up to create a comic SCHMUCK for webcomic collective Act-I-Vate.

This Friday night at Bergen Street Comics, February 26th at 8PM, you can meet Ben McCool and Ben Templesmith and have a few drinks with them to celebrate the release of their comic CHOKER as part of their US tour to promote the book.

If you're a little closer to Williamsburg, or just like hanging out in hipster-ville, you can swing by one of the best alternative comic book shops Desert Island to celebrate their two year anniversary featuring a 15% off sale, and get a signed copy of WE WILL BURY YOU, the historical zombie book by Brea & Zane Grant from 7-9PM.

And if you're free on Saturday February 27th, why not swing over into Manhattan to attend Mike Carbo's New York Comicbook Marketplace, which has a good selection of creators and is being held at Penn Plaza Pavilion, the former location of the National Big Apple Con, in Midtown.

While I won't be attending these events this weekend, in preparation for moving to Prospect Heights to be closer to the comic scene there, you can probably catch Write Club's favorite artist, Reilly Brown at Bergen tomorrow night, and you can count on seeing me and my cohort Tim Mucci at future events which you can find out about right here at Write Club.

See you around the neighborhood Brooklyn!

K

DeadBeat - Crime Scene

2010-02-24T08:39:00.001-05:00

Crime scene. Homicide. Drug addict, 2 bullets through back into mattress. Ex-LAPD, undercover, narcotics. Interal affairs, disgraced junkie. Ripped off a local small time 'pin. Tatoo shop sister keeps him afloat, holds his hand through withdrawal, til he swings his fist. Motel alone, a syringe, un-fired unregistered 38 revolver, two in his back. Dead. Shirt off, face draped over the edge of the bed, barefoot, tattoed, one sleeve, left arm. Depiction of heaven at shoulder length, dark stomclouds, lightning, rolling waves across the bicep, ring of green grass, dark earth around the crook of his arm, star on the elbow, and flames down his forearm.

Small heart and arrow in the web of his right hand. Tiny and innocent, a reminder of the past. She died. He was too gung ho, advancing his career, having empty unfulfilling success. He volunteered for undercover, eager to make detective young. She was his high school sweetheart and LA stole her soul. Made her shoot up. She died in his arms.

A picture of him in uniform. Smiling. She's hugging him. It's a small picture frame, silver and pocket sized. It's all he has now. That and the habit. As she became memories, the dope was passing before my eyes. Criminal buddies laughing it up with him, slapping him on the back, buying shots. The junk.

He hits them, drunken rage, bloody fists and bruised chin, runs out on them, shacks up in a cheap motel and disappears. Sister finds him, total mess, back room of the tattoo shop becomes my cell. A chamber for the night tremors, a door that could be locked. She straightens him out, he's got a chance to be redeemed.

And then somebody pumps two into his body, from behind. Or on top. A smile on his face, belt undone, muscles relaxed, shoulders slack, until rigor mortis sets in. A small puncture wound in his neck, heel marks on the inside thigh. She kept her heels on as she mounts him, stroking his back as he laid dazed and feeling normal, bored and clean.

The smile didn't even leave his lips as his heart filled the sheets, the mattress with blood soaked through. A pack of cigarettes dropped just out of reach of his dead dangling hand. He looks up at us and mutters but one word.

'Fuck.'

BLOOD-ORANGE a Redneck Samurai script

2010-02-18T02:32:00.004-05:00

Page 1
Panel 1
Widescreen. Smashed & shot up late 70's Nova sits stalled on the side of the road in a small ditch. The driver's side door is open. The front end of the car has smashed a thick wood post fence, made of large tree trunk posts, and time has worn it down a bit. Beyond that starts an orange grove extends off into the distance seemingly out to the sun itself. The sun is a deep orange hue as it begins to drop on the horizon. The long shadows drip from the scene. The silhouette of a Triad swordsman is in the bottom left, close up as if we're looking over his shoulder. We just see his head, flowing hair, and the outline of the sword handle jutting over his shoulder. If possible to make this the last thing we notice on the page, some of the orange trees are tussled, as if someone has slipped between them, while all the others are perfectly aligned.

Panel 2
Triad killer front shot. Main badass with sword, surrounded by four Triad thugs in suits, shades, and sporting uzis.

Panel 3
RedNeck Samurai, a young guy, sandy blonde hair, baseball cap tucked into his back pocket, a gas mask in his one hand, a sheathed sword in the other. He's running away from us, and looking back over his shoulder at us, a look of "I'm in over my head, but fuck it."

Page 2
Panel 1
From inside the grove we see the Triad walking into the grove, oranges hanging all about. Think like a bamboo forest from samurai/kung fu movies, but Florida style. They're bathed in the setting sun's light, shielding their eyes. The main killer stands on the side of the road above, surveying the scene.

Panel 2
RedNeck Samurai is slipping on the gas mask as he darts past oranges.

Panel 3
Closer in on two of the thugs as they begin poking through the plants, looking for RedNeck Samurai. Itchy trigger fingers.

Panel 4
Closer in on RedNeck Samurai as he slips his hat over the gas mask.

Panel 5
Tight shot of one of the thugs as he lifts up his sunglasses to look around. There's a flash of steel over his shoulder, between the oranges, two lenses of a gas mask glisten in the sun.

Page 3
Panel 1
RedNeck Samurai's sword come slicing upwards from between the trees as the guy is sliced in half, a look of utter horror on his face as it comes from behind. The other thug looks over in shock. His uzi shaking in his hand.

Panel 2
Over the thug's shoulder we see him firing and ripping apart the trees and the oranges.

Panel 3
The bullets tear apart the oranges over RedNeck Samurai's head as he dives into a roll away from the blast.

Panel 4
RedNeck Samurai is slicing dowards right towards us, almost cutting the page in two, as he chops the Thug's arms off at the elbows, his gun firing as it flips away from him with his hands and forearms still clutching it. He screams bloody murder.

Panel 5
RedNeck Samurai Spins around slicing the thug's head, his back now turned to the body, as if it wasn't worth his time to turn around and look. The thug spurts blood and collapses.

Page 4
Panel 1
Side shot of RedNeck Samurai looking downwards, the shadows cast long over him, sunny noir. The orange trees next to him seem slightly rustled.

Panel 2
Same shot as Panel 1, except the trees have fallen away, sliced so cleanly that they just slide off. It reveals two of the other thugs looking over the edge of the trees, their guns raised up and about ready to fire.

Panel 3
Same shot as Panel 2, except the thugs' heads and hands holding their guns, are sliced clean off by the same slice that took the top of the trees off and the first thug's head. As their heads drop, we get a glimpse of the Triad Killer, the sword still sheathed upon his back.

Panel 4
They stand there opposite each other, the half of two orange trees and headless thugs, complete with sliced oranges and blood spurts, between them.

Panel 5
RedNeck Samurai whips up his blade as the Triad Killer whips the sword off his back in one fluid motion and swings down at him. The flow of action is much more frantic and frenetic here.

Page 5
Panel 1
They slice by each other, just missing one another.

Panel 2
They run along the grove on opposite sides, the sun starts to turn red as it dips below the horizon and paints them both in long shadows. RedNeck Samurai is close up to us, we see his head up close on the right, Triad Killer in the middle, just visible between the trees and oranges, the RedNeck Samurai's sword jutting up into the panel.

Panel 3
The Triad Killer is readying his strike as we see the scene reversed, pull out a bit from Triad Killer so we see him waist up from behind, running, sword swung behind him. On the other side between the trees and oranges is RedNeck Samurai, pointing his sword at the Triad as they both continue to run along.

Panel 4
The Triad leaps into the air, the sun at his back, hoping to distract his prey with it's brilliance, it's now a dark red, and only just half above the horizon. The triad performs some sort of insane maneuver.

Panel 5
RedNeck Samurai stands firm, the shadow of the Triad at his feet, the sun reflecting off the gas mask lenses and the sword.

Page 6
Panel 1
RedNeck Samurai slices upwards, cutting the Triad's head in half as the sun and blood mix and spurt upwards in an arc.

Panel 2
Close up of blood dripping off the oranges and leaves, onto a sliced orange sitting on the floor. RedNeck Samurai's shadow stretching past it.

5 Page "FIRE" Trailer Script

2010-02-12T06:28:00.001-05:00

Spider-Man vs Human Torch in "the ROOF is on FIRE!"

Page 1

P1
Spider-Man perched on the side of a building, camera in hand, nighttime cityscape all around him.

"Ugh. I really need some photos to sell to Jolly Jameson, but the only crime is that I'm spending my Friday night up here alone..."

P2
Spidey spots something and zooms in with his camera lens. It's the Human Torch as he heads into a club down below, with a girl in each arm.

"While that matchstick makes out like a bandit."

"I knew I shoulda been Butterfly Boy, girls dig butterflys...hey, what's that?"

P3
Spidey spots a door closing on the roof of the building Johnny Storm just entered.

"Hmm"

P4
Spidey leaps across to the other building and fires a gob of webbing. The webbing plops around the handle and props it open.

P5
Spidey changes into his Parker dorky wear and centers the camera around his chest before sneaking in and down the stairs.

"Peter Parker, club photographer, paparazzi of the power crowd..."

Page 2

P1
A few quick dodges and he makes it through the kitchen, close calls, physical comedy, slapstick.

P2
Just as he's about strut through the open doors, they fly open, and an awestruck/agitated lady in a business skirt busts in and grabs Peter.

"Photographer?! What are you wearing?! Ugh."

P3
She musses up his hair, spruces his look up a bit, and slaps him on the butt through the doors into the crowd.

P4
Peter absently takes shots of swanky patrons who do their best to ignore him. It's dark in here and swirls of light spin around the room. The music is blaring as Peter imagines fake conversations for them.

"Oh I just love the photography of that Peter Parker, the sexy young lad that shoots for that rag Daily Bugle. Oh yes, we really must draw up a contract to have him shoot our models, especially with that hunky..."

P5
Peter overhears, "Spider-Man? Hah, I know that chump. Little kid running round in pajamas."

Page 3

P1
Peter parts the crowd and sees Johnny Storm up in the VIP section, girls surrounding him, gesturing wildly as he talks of himself.

"Now, a real hero, well he needs a high tech suit, a swank Midtown HQ, and most definitely some badass powers."

P2
Johnny lets loose with a small pyrotechnic display.

P3
Peter leaps up the stairs, over the rope, to get a shot of Johnny.

"A true hero talks trash at bars to get chicks apparently."

P4
Johnny stands and walks over to Peter.

"Parker right? Always snapping pics of superheroes so that boss of yours can drag our name through the mud. Tired of following around your wannabe hero and trying to snap me? Piss off."

P5
Johhny pushes Peter backwards down the stairs.

Page 4

P1
Peter stumbles down the stairs backwards, quite gracefully, almost too gracefully. So he drops back and rolls into the crowd.

P2-3-4
Johnny laughs as he heads back to his table. Glimpses of Peter changing into Spider-Man between people's legs. Johnny laughs it up with his dates.

"That's how you gotta handle these photographers, bunch of kids running around, trying to provoke you, get a shot of you their paper can take out of context, ruin a hero's rep. That's enough of that though, what say we go dance..."

P5
Spider-Man pops up the middle of the crowd.

Page 5

P1
Spidey leaps through the crowd with skill, landing even more so. Johnny is not impressed. Spidey does some tricks with his webbing, some acrobatics, and flips backwards sliding across the empty dance floor.

"Top that Flamey."

P2
Human Torch climbs the railing and leaps off as he Flames On! He seems to be heading straight for Spidey.

P3
Human Torch busts out some flamey dancey moves, sliding across the floor, making the crowd hot and sweaty, but the crowd seems to be getting into it.

P4
Spidey slides under and around as their dance/fight escalates. Human Torch is pressing down on Spidey, his flame intensifying, the crowd is dancing and yelling, sweat flying everywhere.

Page 6

P1
The whole dance floor is going mad as Human Torch's dates walk off with some other dudes. Human Torch & Spidey are whipping and flipping and things are getting intense when Human Torch unleashes a fireball straight up at Spidey in anger, but misses and sets the roof on fire.

P2
Both stop and look stunned as the crowd runs off.

P3
Spidey raises the roof (dance move).

"The roof, the roof, the roof is on fiiiirrrreeee."

Page 7

P1
Spidey & Human Torch are soaking wet as they get bounced out the front doors. They hit the pavement scowling at each other.

P2
Spidey shrugs his shoulders innocently.

"Dude, you trashed my entire night out. They prolly won't even let me back in there for at least a month."

"I wasn't the one who set off the sprinklers, dude."

P3
A purse snatching happens right across the street, seen to be happening right between the heroes' line of sight. The snatcher runs off, they glance at each other and take off after him.

"I got this one Webhead..."

"You ain't gonna catch nothing but a cold, Human Splash."

SkyWindCloud Notes

2010-01-31T04:18:00.000-05:00

From Valley to Space.
Finding Mother figure.
Coming of Age.
Male distrust.
Cat-Sneaky/Witch. Bird-Flight/Princess.
Feather/Star.
Cloud Kingdom.
Race of CloudRunners.
Gliding, soaring, flight.
Air Pirates. Ships on updrafts.
Weather/wind.
Feather.
Becoming Goddess.

Climbing trees. Rock climbing. Surfing.

Thief. Witch. Princess.
Cat. Owl. Dog.

Ma'at. Goddess of truth and order.
Thunderbirds. Invisible birds. Feathers birth birds.
Thunder, lightning, rain.

Flood. Bandits. City.

Crone/Crane.
Maiden/Owl/Witch
Zegogo

Auto Cinema

2010-01-31T04:16:00.000-05:00

Easy Rider
Vanishing Point
Bullitt
Two Lane Blacktop
Crazy Mary & Dirty Larry
French Connection
Starksy & Hutch
Knight Rider
Fast & the Furious
Initial D
Death Proof

Defining Vertigo Runs

2010-01-31T04:15:00.000-05:00

Alan Moore - Swamp Thing
Grant Morrison - The Invisibles
Warren Elis - Transmetropolitan
Garth Ennis - Preacher
Bill Willingham - Fables
Neil Gaiman - Sandman
Peter Milligan - Shade, the Changing Man
Brian K. Vaughn - Y the Last Man
Mike Carey - The Unwritten
Brian Wood - DMZ

Notes

2010-01-07T14:05:00.001-05:00

LF t-shirts
AB bumper stickers
CafePress

Kill 4 pilots for movies. Shorts.
Revenge body swap
Honorable Samurai -righteous, humane, reliable, respectable & wise

LF
Lost style brought out by brash next generation rival
Evil General sitting and waiting, letting minions drum up a challenge
Grandmaster Kang, teacher to Tze & Zhao

LF short post WotR
Ultraman, Godzilla, Catgirls, Schoolgirls, Robot, Mech
All break out of the lab where Wulong smashes the airship into United Corp. Wulong learns of Tze's quest for more power. Zhao vs. Japanese Heroes

LF Strength of the Stream
Wulong on a ship, Rough waves, dragon helmed wooden ship, beaten and tired. Hiding beneath a blanket. Bounty hunters as the come into port at Hong Kong. Marketplace chase. Toshiro. Wulong saves Toshiro. Gets away.

Wulong along lake, camping out. Toshiro and more bounty hunters. Toshiro kills Gyzer. Gyzer to Toshiro. Yama/Ying. Raiko/United Corp. Kaego/Kole.

ShenXian Mountain - loses to Kole

LF Eternal Water Falling
Jian, Wei Lin, Mao
Swordsman/Soldiers, Temple/Monks, Fortress/Emperor
Revenge vs Duty, Peace vs Involvement, Structure vs Politics
As Kole rises to battle gods, so Wulong goes to test the mettle of the people of his country. Its hidden masters, its righteous priests, its superior numbers. Once fallen, risen, the fall is purposeful.

Recognize!

2010-01-07T11:10:00.001-05:00

Daily News: Too Tough To Die

2010-01-06T03:10:00.001-05:00

Daily News: Too Tough To Die

Notes

2009-12-31T07:54:00.001-05:00

Wizard of Oz, Wicked Queen
Female corruption
Lex Luthor, Metallo
Water, Earth, Magic

Cap & Tony

Punisher - play nice

Thrust - the Junk
Urban madness manifests
Lifting people from self-destruction
Making monsters by adding power
Causing destruction & enlightenment
Kinetic Kid

Bob Awesome
Titanium
Mike Manchester: Mall Security
Mom <3
Starlords
First Love

What does water carry?

Battle for Heaven within Mind
Eternal reversal

Granted Salvation
Suffer
Unexpected enlightenment

Kid Flash: Mercury University
Mirrors - self reflection
Fire - passion
Ice - logic
Tricks - levity pain
Color - light reality
Top - vertigo self doubt

Sent from my iPod

Notes & EmoSpidey Script

2009-12-28T09:20:00.001-05:00

Thrust - action/adventure tesseract
Pressing upon alternate dimension X.

New World: Order
Purged body with digital drain
Into computer/mechanical
A.I. Doomsday
Camp Hero
Time travel portal

New World: Order established to combat rogue virus.
Charles Crown seen as the reason.
Other 62 members treat him differently.
Spider is my opposite reflection who is heading to the light as I head to damnation. We both think the other is walking the other path.

Action/Adventure
Buddy comedy. 90's rockstar asskicker. 80's manly explorer. Spoof on cliches in both films.
Hotrod. 70's detective friend.
Cartoon/movie. Heroes/actors.
Adventure handles transport. Action handles fighting.

Emo-Spidey Hipster Photographer
Skinny, muscular, hunched over, brooding.
Hair flowing. Bands in Wburg. Harry Trust fund douche.
MJ modelling. Always doing the wrong thing, angry sarcasm isolated unrecognized genius.

Ten Ton Thousand Word Challenge
3 page, 10 panel, trailer pitch script

Reimagine - character
Reinvent - genre
Rescue - forgotten
Ramble - wild card

Winner of each week, then each month. Networking to help script get drawn.

10 - script, pencils, ink, color, letter
5 main guys.

Emo Spidey
Page 1
Peter Parker standing along the East River on the Williamsburg side. His longish brown hair, just in his eyes, blows dramatically in the wind. He's hunched over a bit, shoulders slack, head craned forward as he scowls over at Manhattan. Floating above half his face is the Spider-Man Mask and spider sense. The wavy lines are a bit more less urgent and more dramatic.

His collared vintage iZod flaps loosely as it sits just snug but making him look even skinnier. Hint of his Ed Norton Fight Club muscles. Tight jeans and checkered Vans. (If we can do it color, blue shirt with red stripes, dark blue jeans, and red/blue checkereds.) He's got a tattoo of a spider on the inside of his forearm.

The ghostly image of Gwen Stacy is above his right side. Gwen's got rectangular glasses, old school headband, tiny nose piercing, and scenester haircut. On the left side is MJ has precise bangs, dark eye makeup, perfectly straight dark red hair.

N: (long winded internal narration about Brooklyn, Manhattan, his job & his schoolwork, social life, and heroic life, between Gwen & MJ.)

P(T): IT'S SO WEIRD LIVING ON MY OWN OUT IN BROOKLYN. I STILL FEEL LIKE A KID, MY POOR AUNT MAY THREE SUBWAY TRANSFERS AWAY IN QUEENS, STILL MY ONLY SOURCE OF A GOOD MEAL. DON'T EVEN HAVE TIME THESE DAYS BETWEEN CLASSES AT NYU AND SHOOTING FOR THE BUGLE. WHICH REMINDS ME, GOTTA GET MY FREELANCE CHECK FROM JAMESON SO I CAN AFFORD TO GO OUT THIS THURSDAY. BUT DO I CHANCE THE L AND HIT UP SOHO WITH MJ, SOME SWANKY CLUB WHERE I'll FEEL OUT OF PLACE, OR HIT UP SOME D.I.Y. ART SHOW WITH GWEN IN BUSHWICK?

Panel 2
Half length. Peter from behind, we see the Manhattan skyline behind him, he's glancing over his shoulder at us, hair dangling in his eyes, a slight flex of his bicep, spidey mask just tucked out of his back pocket. He looks like he's about to sigh with his self pitying eyes.

N: (long winded narration about his best friend Harry, whom he's come to hate and has to move out of their apartment and move into the city on his own)

P(T): I HOPE HARRY'S NOT EXPECTING THE RENT THIS WEEK, OTHERWISE I'M SCREWED. I FEEL BAD ALWAYS DITCHING HIM, BUT I DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM ANYMORE. IT'S TIME I LOOKED FOR MY OWN PLACE, CLOSER TO CLASSES AND WORK.

Panel 3
Close up shot of Peter turning towards us, half twisting all wiry-like, webshooter at his hip, ready to press his two middle fingers into his open palm. His eyes are alert and ready for action. A flash of the Spidey suit underneath.

P(T): SPEAKING OF HARRY, HE'S BEEN REALLY WEIRD LATELY, TAKING EVERYTHING SO SERIOUS.

Page 2
Panel 1
Wide shot of a hipster band, on the drums is an ironic metal throwback band logo that reads SINISTER 6. On lead vocals, dead center is the GREEN GOBLIN all rubbermask and creepy as he screams into a microphone, leaning right into the frame like a fish eyed lens, white tattered t-shirt clinging to his obscenely skinny frame. Left of him is SCORPION who's wearing a green ski-mask (darker than GG green), and a puffy sweater from the 70's, turtleneck, he's looking down intensely as he strums the green bass. Far left is DOC OCK, who's playing 2 sets of keyboards and 2 turntables. Chubby with a beard and thick 70's turtleshell frames. Right of GG is ELECTRO who's in tight green jeans, with a yellow t-shirt and neon green flying v guitar, and wild yellow hair, green bandana. The old rocker far right is ryhthm guitarist THE VULTURE, lecherous, but like he's seen the world, tattooed up and down his hairy arms, tight green t-shirt on his junkie stature. He's balding and wearing a 50's style cap. In the background on the right is SANDMAN on drums, blonde arm hair flailing about as he wails on the drums so fast it's a blur of yellow, tight green striped t-shirt on muscular pecs, looks like he's in shape making the rest of them look skinnier. His red curly hair flies back wet with sweat. In the background right is the backup singer/rapper KRAVEN, gold ironic lion t-shirt with sparkle iron on look, tight leopard print jeans, big ass hair and Zappa moustache.

P: HARRY'S IN A BAND?! HARRY ISN'T A MUSICIAN. HE'S MIDDLE MANAGEMENT CORNER OFFICE.

Panel 2
Split of Harry's smiling face, having pulled up the GG rubber mask and looking calm and posied as compared to the goblinface. American Psycho clean cut lunatic.

N: (long winded speech about destroying his life)

H: I HATE YOU PETER. YOU THINK BECAUSE I HAVE MONEY, THAT I CAN AFFORD TO DO ANYTHING I WANT, THAT I'M LESS THAN YOU. THAT I DON'T BELONG HERE, CAN'T DO ANYTHING CREATIVE BECAUSE I HAVEN'T SUFFERED, BUT I'VE SUFFERED PETER, MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER UNDERSTAND.

Panel 3
All the Six charge him from different directions, Peter all curled up, with boxing fists ready. He scans his oppenents from the corner of his eyes.

P(T): HARRY'S LOST HIS MIND, HE'S NOT PUNK ROCK, AND HE DOESN'T REALLY WANT TO HURT ME. DOES HE...? DO I ANNOY PEOPLE THAT MUCH.

Page 3
Panel 1
Peter riding his fixed gear bike right towards us, he's beaten up and bloody, speeding away from shapes in the distance.

P(T): HE'S LOST HIS DAMN MIND. UNCLE BEN WOULD TELL ME TO TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, TO GET HARRY HELP. AFTER ALL HE'S POWERLESS TO HIS ADDICTIONS. I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP HIM.

Panel 2
GG is riding on a skateboard right towards us, casually standing atop it as it speed downhill. He's pulled a knife from the backpocket of his jeans, and keeps it tucked behind his forearm, his body posture is solid and serene, but he's ready to strike.

H(T): PETER MUST DIE. MY FATHER WILL HATE ME. I'll HAVE RUINED HIS LIFE. HE'LL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SEE ME FINALLY. HOPE YOU'RE WATCHING POP.

Panel 3
Peter skids out and flips his hair out of his eyes, determined to face GG.

P(T): WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY...

Panel 4
GG and Peter speed towards each other in an epic clash. A Hipster Watcher in the center, ghostly, with his goatee and nose ring, a kanji tattoo and round glasses. 90's hipster, shoulderpads in a blazer, ponytail. GG is leaping off the skateboard slicing forward with the knife coming out of the bottom of his clenched fist. PP is perched on his frame and seat, fingertips on the handlebars, about to leap forward, fist cocked back.

P(T): AND I HAVE THE POWER TO TAKE HIM DOWN.

H: DEATH TO PETER PARKER! (Part of the art, along the bottom, dramatic and bold)

W: THIS IS A TALE OF THE HIPSTER-VERSE!

DeadBeat Notes

2009-12-27T09:48:00.001-05:00

Junkie ex-cop, solves his own murder, a bullet in his heart and no pulse. He turns to his tattoo artist sister, we learn how far bottom he's hit, borrows her car. She tells him to go to a local Sex/Smoke/Occult Shoppe run by a well dressed wannabe occultist. He brings DB over to the morgue, where the supernatural geek chick tells us about the odder cases of death she's seen. She also removes the bullet from his chest and gives it to him.

Brings bullet to a fellow female detective, a former friend/love interest. Asking if she can help track down the gun it belongs to. We get a glimpse of their former relationship and just how badly DB burnt his bridges. She doesn't agree to help him but she holds on to the bullet.

DB brings the syringe to the club, thinking himself invulnerable, confronts drug kingpin, the guy who he was supposed to be trying to catch when he got hooked. The bouncer trounces him and tosses him out. He's got further damage and is not healing from it. He realizes he doesn't have much time left.

Socialite party, occultists Hellfire Club, Hollywood Division. Sidekick goes undercover at the party. Tried not to geek out with morgue girl as his date. DB sneaks around trying to find out what their master plan is. Finds out more about the drug, is mauled in some other way while escaping.

The love interest detective is hinted at her deviousness, her allegiances might not be what we think. She mulls over the bullet, eyes the Kingpin, and keeps it hidden. The bouncer was killed in the pursuit of DB, and so we see the drugs effects on him as Kingpin uses a syringe on him.

DB realizes he's not going to last long. Starts saying his goodbyes. Goes to sister's tattoo shop and makes good with her. He leaves and is hunted down by the bouncer, via cars, leading to an accident they both survive, just barely. Bouncer picks himself up, more torched, sliced, and zombie-esque than DB.

Occult Shop. The Bouncer is still in pursuit as they hold him off and escape out the back as he smashes up the store. Back room has low level magic items, all useless. Finally DB takes him out. DB gives syringe to OS to check out.

Meets up with Love Interest Detective, who betrays him and brings him to the Kingpin. They test him, cut him up a bit, autopsy him basically. LID shows her true nature, she's waiting to take him out, but Kingpin knows this and sells her on immortality.

Through an amazing feat of disgusting flesh rending courage and a distraction by OS & MG, DB breaks free and takes out the guards with what he's got left, which isn't much. Zombie as hero. Relentlessly pursuing Kingpin. DB kills KP as LID runs into the man behind the power. DB dies.

Funeral. Sister. Occultist. Mortician. A few cops, but very few. Small crowd. Wait til dark, Occultist comes back to the grave, an arm shoots up out of the ground and they talk, start their next case.

***

LID comes to see DB, she has a syringe, in over her head, needs his help, he's strung out in bed. Bouncer comes and she draws her gun, which he takes and shoots DB with. She's already injected him with syringe though. Bouncer brings her back to KP.

LID allegiance? There to help him? Poison him? She shot him, but why?

Defining Vertigo Runs

2009-12-27T05:09:00.001-05:00

Omega the Unknown Review

2009-12-26T05:07:00.001-05:00

When my girlfriend bought me a copy of Paul Pope's artbook Pulphope for my birthday, a great gift that I unfortunately had picked up for myself when it first came out, I returned it to Forbidden Planet. So when looking over the store for a book that I could exchange it for, I knew I needed something significant.

I finally came across the hardcover of Omega the Unknown, published by Marvel Comics in 2008. It was written by Jonathan Lethem (w/Karl Rusnak) who I knew from his first novel "Gun With Occasional Music" rather than his more famous "Fortress of Solitude". His name to me was like that of a hipster literary rockstar.

The art was done by two of the best indie comic creators from the last decade. Farel Dalrymple of PopGunWar, his work has a honest beauty to it, every day fairy tale quality to it. Along with Paul Hornschemeier, of Forlon Funnies, who's work is hauntingly somber and sentimental. Both artists can present the fantastic as mundane mythology.

This combination was enough to sell me on the purchase. How could I miss out on these creators coming together to create a Marvel comic. Omega the Unknown was one of those odd 70's series that I've heard of but regarded it with a cryptic oddness.

Then I found out that it was co-written/created by Steve Gerber, who is about one of the most fascinating and stalwart comic creators who has done more great things than he is recognized for. This was a ten issue series in 1976 that had a quirkiness to it that the comic industry tried to mold into a generic superhuman brawl book.

I've never read the original series, and in a way I don't necessarily need to. This current ten issue series skirts a sort of remake/sequel thin line just as the writing and artwork pushes what is mainstream comics. A lot is left to the reader's interpretation, and in its own way it's a little clunky and meanders a bit along the way, just as any good auto-bio comic or indie flick does.

The story revolves around a mute alien in a costume fighting robots, but only as a backstory to the tale of a child raised by robots sent off to live in the big city, confront his destiny, to save the earth from invading alien robots. There's also a gloryhound hero called The Mink who has a rather unique and realistic approach to millionaire superheroics.

The series reads as an exploration of cycles within superhero literature, as well as in life itself. It gives us a young hero origin laid under the story of a fish out of water, robotic genius, adjusting to life in Washington Heights in NYC. It confronts school bullys and their victims, showing us the battle of villains against the weak, and what happens when the meek are introduced into the superhuman.

It leads to suicide, which is handled realistically, if not cold and emotionally detached. The main character even meets with the dead boy's soul and everything is matter of factly. But nothing is cut and dry with the badguys here, except the replicating robots that are infecting and replacing humans, and even they are treated as more passive zombie like swarms, devoid of deeper thought.

There's overtones of mythology complete with a labyrinth, superhero meta tropes such as the "Over-Thinker" parodying Marvel's "The Watcher", a spectator and occasional omniscient narrator. It feels to be almost kind of trite in its plotting at times, but it wins you over with the art and the genuine realness of the characters.

There's a great commentary with select panels from the original comic in the back that give some insight into why Jonathan Lethem and his co-writer, Karl Rusnak, loved the original series enough to bring us an updated version. Also, Gary Panter's guest art when Omega details out his origin in comic format is amazing.

The book itself is goregeous, with a well designed cover, nice organic style to it that clashes with the slick colored pages and high production values. It really is an opposing forces parallel throughout every aspect of the book. Top it of with a quote on the back from Michael Chabon, author of Pulitzer Prize winning "Kavelier & Clay", and you've got the mainstream graphic novel with the most indie cred around.

Horror & Sci-FI Heroic Band Videos

2009-12-22T20:29:00.004-05:00

Aquabats - 'Super Rad'

Phenomenauts - 'Mission'

The Phenomenauts - Mission

PHENOMENAUTS | MySpace Music Videos

Peelander-Z - 'Ninja High School'

Insane Clown Posse - 'Halls of Illusion'

The Creepshow - 'Take My Hand'

Zombie Ghost Train - 'R.I.P.'

starsky & hutch

2009-12-22T06:03:00.001-05:00

xmas vacation

Starsky & Hutch

Gran Torino

Starsky & Hutch

Gran Torino

DeadBeat Outline/Notes

2009-12-21T18:20:00.000-05:00

Plain clothes police detective
70's grindhouse police show
Horror science-fiction occult
Mustang/Cadillac.

Intro. Chase. Bust. Odd situations. Action shots.
Cast shots. Cop. Partner. Informant. Chief.

Routine. Working w/criminals.
Hitmen (twist: mistaken ID)
Criminal mashup
Witness Protection.

The worst cop. Flawed. Lazy. On the take, sucked in by the LA lifestyle.

Deadbeat junkie detective.
Techno Occult Geek.
Tattoo shop sister.
Morgue nerd.
Undercover Detective Hottie.

Crime scene. Dead body.
New drug being sold by club owner. New undercover chick needs help, police force on the take, goes to former officer working the case, club owner tracks her down, kills the deadbeat, takes the girl.

Club owner badguy.
Thug bodyguard bouncer.
Corrupt cops.

Supplied by the bigbad. Cain. Immortal maker of monsters.

Liquid Fury - Recharge! - Intro Script

2009-12-11T20:16:00.001-05:00

Going to add to these but the initial notes on the scenes we should add to the first 6 pages.

I have the narration in mind as Moro says how Kole is corrupted by Wulong's presence. Wulong as perfectly flawed, removed from his environment, finds peace. But that Fury, the energy is transformed to Kole, who's environment has been changed by Wulong's presence. Showing how even emotional energy is unable to be created or destroyed, just changes form. Moro has raised Kole much as Tze raised Wulong.

Page 3
Aerial shot, Moro far below, Kole flying upwards, Wulong head back, peaceful rising towards us. Looking straight down at them as they shoot up at us, off the page. Maybe a smaller side shot panel from afar to see them shooting off the ground.

***

Page 4
Wulong arcing high into the air, eclipsing the sun
Shadow over Kole's face, split panel page, with Wulong curved and rising upwards like a geyser, and Kole, triangular and all angles, hard lines, almost locked into the grid-like ground below him. A yin-yang design to the page, Kole the white cast among the back blackground, Wulong the black curling up into the white sky.

***

Page 5
Arcing back dowards, Fist slam into Kole's face, fluid flesh flowing from the mighty punch.
Multiple kicks delivered downwards into Kole's chest,

Kole spins round, hovering above Wulong as they drop. Wulong flows around Kole's straightforward strikes. They come face to face as they plummet headfirst.

Wulong drops into a roll, sliding across the ground fluidly rolling with the recoil, a drop of water splashing down.

Kole slams into concrete, shattered ground sent floating upwards, square stone smashing into the tiles upon the fighting area.

***

Page 6
(More shooting up into the sky)
Wulong pushes himself backwards, spinning like a tornado, whips off the temple pillar, Moro looks upward at Wulong who looks heroic and in control. Calm, collected and badass.

Kole rises up out the hole, presses one foot firmly on the ground, grinding the rubble into dust as he pushes down hard, ready to fire himself upwards.

They meet in the middle of the page and slam into each other.

We may need another page in here to show them fighting as they land so it jives with the top of current page 4.

***

Page 7 (current page 4)
Page 8 (current page 5)

***

Page 9
Wulong, victorious, looks off into the distance, standing tall and aloof, eyes closed and at peace.

Kole, broken and shattered, parts jutting from every bone, splinters and shards. He is picking himself up, we feel terrible for him. Pity hum.

***

Page 10
Wulong close up on left side, maybe head and shoulders from a just above and behind him POV. It's him in the top left, and over his shoulder in panel 2 we see the country spread out before him. This is our map to Will of the River story.

Small towns/farms, Village on fire next to UC building, a river extending from the lower part of the bottom left of the page to mid-way right hand side where the giant sphere, a 64 sided golf ball shaped city lies just at the end. The cities should grow in size as the go from the Farmland to the Sphere. We also see the Airship hovering just South West of Tze's, a giant temple in the dessert to the far north, and a castle below the jungles to the south.

***

Page 11 (current pg 6)

Speed Notes

2009-12-09T18:14:00.001-05:00

Human running: 28 mph
Horse: 50 mph
Racecar: 240 mph
Jet: 1000 mph
Space Shuttle: 17,000 mph
New Horizons Probe (Pluto): 52,000 mph

@ 100 mph
30 hours across US
14 weeks to Moon
3100 years to Neptune

Nothing faster than light
186,000 mps (670,000,000 mph)
1 second, 75 times across US

Sun 8 minutes to Earth
Years to nearest star
6 trillion miles = lightyear
Light through space takes time
4.7 billion years ago Earth formed

Solar sail = photons
Magneto Plasma Rocket = superheated plasma channeled by magnets, maximize thrust

Space & Time
Spacetime 4th Dimensional fabric
Latitude, Longitude, Height, Time
Speed of Light constant
Relative movement
Speed = distance / time
Experiencing time differently, still or moving
Special relativity
Time would slow down on closer to speed of light
Time x Time = distance (GPS) triangulation
Clock on satellite needs to be offset
Time moves slower in space
Lightspeed slows aging

Speed of light - time stops
Gravity - mass
Curves spacetime
Bent towards a heavy mass
So dense tear spacetime - black holes
Earth mass into inch across
Stars - Supernova - Black Hole
Event Horizon - Speed of Light overcome by Gravity
Center of every Galaxy

Wormhole - shortcut, distance
Portals through space and time
4th dimensional travel
Presence does not conflict science
Rip space apart

Warp Drive - moving space
Expand space behind you, compress space ahead
Altering reality, theoretically possible

WCWWFX Page 1: Why Did You Join WCWWFX?

2009-12-07T23:45:00.000-05:00

A row of panels around one larger panel of the whole team sitting at the breakfast table. Each surrounding panel should have one team member featured with dialogue showing their personality.

Main panel
Death's Eye has his eye focused on RazaBlade's legs as she stabs some bits of fruit from out of a bowl as she sits with her legs crossed on the counter, eyes closed and looking slutty. OverCrypt looks over to his right kind of awkwardly staring at RazaBlade. TeknoGore is spooning cereal onto his faceplate, as he watches OverCrypt spoon cereal into his mouth, which falls out the bottom of his jawbone. OC is checking outStrongArm looks bashful, his body tucked in itself, shoulders down, arms inward, looking awkardly at the other side of the panel where BloodClaw slices up oranches.

TEXT BOX: WHY DID YOU JOIN WCWWFX?

Death's Eye: I mean...her legs...my god.
RazaBlade: I just wanted to kill someone.
OverCrypt: If I must walk the earth in this demonic form...
TeknoGore: TEK-NO-GORE!
BloodClaw: I needed the money.
StrongArm: Have you seen BloodClaw? Hello? O-M-F'n-G!

Blog of a Pool Boy

2009-12-02T01:11:00.000-05:00

Blog of a Pool Boy

2009-12-02T01:10:00.000-05:00

Blog of a Pool Boy

ZomBot!

2009-11-25T00:00:00.002-05:00

Top Five (Experimental) Anime

2009-11-24T20:06:00.004-05:00

Aachi and Ssipak

Tekkon Kinkreet

Mindgame

FLCL

Asian Cinema - Michael Chuah

2009-11-24T01:12:00.003-05:00

http://www.kungfucinema.com/malaysias-michael-chuah-directing-starring-in-fist-of-dragon-8079

http://twitchfilm.net/news/2009/11/wowee-fist-of-dragon-trailer-comes-out-of-nowhere.php

http://theneverendingtales.blogspot.com/

Dehtklok vs The Goon One-Shot Review

2009-11-12T09:45:00.002-05:00

I just finished Dethklok vs the Goon, a one-shot published by Dark Horse Comics this past July 2009. It pairs up Dark Horse's other horror fighter, Eric Powell's The Goon, with Brendan Small's metal band Dethklok, from the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse.

Now, I need to say I came into this as a Dethklok fan, as I sit in Think Coffee listening to the song The Lost Vikings at 9am in the morning, and before I went to bed last night I watched the season 3 premiere. For those unintiated in the black metal awesomeness, just imagine the Monkees as a metal band and you're close.

I've never read an issue of the Goon, but Powell's art is amazing. Beautifully rendered scenes of horrific violence against mutants and monsters. I love the early 20th century feel of the characters and the world they inhabit. A time when monsters could have very well walked among two-fisted men in cool caps.

This comic is pretty much an episode of Metalocalypse with the Goon making a guest appearance. Brendan Small is listed as assisting with dialogue and plot points, and it shows because this feels very much like Dethklok and I even put their voices in as I read the dialogue.

The basic premise is that Murderface, bassist of Dethklok, is descended from inbred royalty by a secret society looking to create a perfect anti-human whose mere presence would destroy space/time. A warlock tries to control Murderface as a manchurian candidate Dr. Rockso (the rock'n'roll clown) is sent to kill Dethklok by the Illuminati that watch over Dethklok's doings.

All of Mordhaus, Dethklok's castle, is transported to the Goon's reality, and hilarity and antics ensue. The story takes a long time to even get to the Goon's time, and it's really just jokes and carnage from there on out. The Goon seems pretty weak even as his world, which looks interesting and goregeous in its horror filled panels, kind of just lies flat.

The art is crappy and thin lined for the Dethklok bits, and looks just like the cartoon, whereas the Goon bits are so well done that the art alone would make me want to read his own books. But it won't, just as the art I've seen before wowed me time and time again, I don't feel the urge to read more of Powell's stories.

All in all, great episode of Metalocalypse but bad issue of the Goon (not that I really know). But based off the success of this issue, Dethklok will be getting their own Dark Horse series, which I will definitely tune in for... I mean pick up each Wednesday.

Like the Goon? Want to defend Powell's honor? Hate Dethklok? Tell me I'm wrong in the comments below, I dare you!

Superman Notes

2009-11-09T03:36:00.001-05:00

Superman saves someone trapped in another dimension, but she was meant not to exist, and with her return all matter begins to crumble in the Parasite Paradox!

Adventures of Superman! Africa Jungle, 1940's, high up in the airport control tower above the congo, Lois and Clark in awkward khaki outfits, getting the story as best they can. Marvel as Superman Fights A Lion! See Lois Lane Kick Ass! Watch as Clark fumbles about. Dogfight bomb dropping airplanes buzzing the skies as refugees run for their lives.

Blobs of evil, viral infecting monsters in everyday people, mindless drone beasts when driven from their host. Supervillains growing out of people.

Superman tries to save a blonde woman who seems stuck between dimensions, lost in non-existence, beyond even Limbo's span. Jimmy's gal pal Chloe Sullivan. She knows Clark's secret even though she's Jimmy's girl!

Showing all different styles from Superman's past,

Pryzmalite Notes

2009-11-09T03:36:00.000-05:00

Young Jennifer running from family Tornado Kills Town
(Running away from family, disconnect)

End of Concert
Backstage - LA Trip, Parties, Rape
(Broken Mirror)
Streets - Solitary, Knife,
(Rainy slice across Posters)
Apt -
(Bathroom Mirror, Wash Face, Pregnancy Test)

Dive Bar - Juke Box - Bathroom
Brownstone - Family - Kitchen
Central Park - Partner - Fountain

Holding Cell
Manager - Reveal
Agent's Office

Project Notes

2009-11-09T03:29:00.000-05:00

SuperDad & HeroGirl

Kid's book, cartoon. Ray Beem. Laser Beem. Hero past prime, starts messing up, daughter secretly helps him. Junior High, tomboy becoming a girl. Jazmine. Jazz. Fights young supervillain she gets a crush on. Bad boy appeal. Mom as doting caretaker. Afterschool activities. Dad gets laid off and resumes superhero life. Mom wants daughter to stay away. Jazz Jones. Friend is comic book nerd who discovers her secret.

Titanium
Metal man driving through post apocalyptic America. The Kid finds a bike and follows, tries to get him to let him ride along. Dad and Son.

Battle of the Bands
All-Ska Squadron vs. Weapons of Mess Distraction
Over the top cosmic rockshow to the death

Bob Awesome
Legend of Bob.
Nick & Theresa tell Max about Bob's story.
The Showdown.
Bob let's Max win, leaves Max in his place.

Project Notes 2

2009-11-09T03:28:00.000-05:00

Book of 5 Chambers
One armed swordsman as lumberjack w/an axe.
Girl knife pickpocket.
Train, kill the Third, get information. Gun for hire?

Bruce Lee, Jesus Christ, Alexander the Great.
33 yrs old.

Clint Eastwood
Punk!

The Hero, the Fool, the Priest.
Kung Fu.

Liquid Fury.

Speedball & Co. Notes

2009-11-09T03:18:00.000-05:00

Seventeen kids were saved that day in Stamford, CT. The terrorist explosion that killed over 600 people, was thought to have been survived only by the man they held responsible: Speedball.

A young schoolteacher finds herself amnesiac and after a near fatal accident she discovers she has bouncing powers. Small bubbles prevent her from getting hurt. She winds up at the door of Howard the Duck, who does some digging and realizes that Speedball extended his field enough, shared his power to spare 17 children and a schoolteacher.

A teacher that's suddenly feeling the pull from home, as do the other children scattered around the map. The bubbles pull on one another, drawing all of them back towards the site of the disaster. Who knows what might happen as the newly powered kids bounce and smash cities apart...

It's up to Slapstick, the cartoon clown, lost his laugh, but not his spirit, to bring Robbie Baldwin back from his time of penance and begin the healing. The kids return, saving them one by one as he bounces across the globe, dropping them at the site, which finally becomes decided to be a school for superheroes.

X-Men for powered Teens.

The Kinetic Kids. The Bright Bubble.

New Warriors.

Slapstick Notes

2009-11-09T03:14:00.000-05:00

One shot. Showing how the darker side of Marvel has corrupted even the most fun and light-hearted heroes.

It's hard to have a sense of humor about war, even if you're dressed as a clown with a painted on smile.

Slapstick stands slack looking on a scene from Civil War. The heroes are all fighting each other brutally as he weeps. Showing Slapstick brooding, mocking Speedball as Penance. Build up the friendship of Slapstick & Speedball. New Warriors as emo heroes. Howard the Duck as mentor. Oddball, Madcap, other insane villains reforming. Battle of the silly.

Secret Invasion. Marvel Apes. Marvel Zombies.

Stamford Speedballs. Kids that also survived the explosion reborn with kinetic powers. Speedball rounds them up and helps them with their powers. Reconnecting superheroes to kids.

A team book. Each issue from a perspective of hero. Slapstick. Howard the Duck. Speedball.
Perspective. Detective. Superheroing.

Slapstick as bearer of innocence.
Howard as the Brains.
Speedball as teacher/mentor.

Fun satire. Comics with heart. All ages adventure.

Speedball didn't survive that blast in Stamford that kicked off the Civil War among heroes. Robbie did, but his powers spread out at the last moment, saving the kids in the school and sending them erupting all across the globe. Only now have the kinetic powers these kids all possess begin sparking up, drawing them all together in a massive explosion of kinetic energy that only Robbie can prevent by reclaiming his kinetic powers. Ai

Write Club Manifesto

2009-11-09T02:38:00.000-05:00

Write Club is the new religion for creative minds. It is a forum for thought, a church of imagination, and a gym for training. We'll broadcast information and personal progress, hoping to inspire participation and development of your own artistic side.

Help us help you create.

A radio show with segments. Bring in experts geeking out on their fav subject manner.

Recorded interviews.

Put out Gchat & AIM names so they can chat live. We'd need to be live for that to work. Hmm.

TV show. Comedy Central. Spike. G4. Current.

Sub*Text as lit venue.

Welcome King Con Peeps!

2009-11-08T21:49:00.005-05:00

Hello all who came and stopped by Write Club!'s table at the fabulous King Con held this past weekend at the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope.

It was a blast and we got some on-site podcasting done with a few creators we know and love and made some new friends along the way.

Firstly, big ups to dashing Rick Lacy & 'mazing Matt Loux who we shared a table with. Rick & Matt both have separate books out from Oni Press and they are awesome.

Rick draws the 'Big Lebowski meets James Bond' comedy/action book Labor Days, of which book 2 has just been released. Labor Days: Book 1 Preview & Labor Days Book 2 Preview.

And if you'd like a commentary to Labor Days Book 1, you can listen here as Tim & myself chat with Rick and write Phil Gelatt about all the behind the scenes info that went into Labor Days, and just what that title means.

Matt Loux writes and draws Salt Water Taffy a spiffy, children's adventure book that we had the pleasure of discussing with him on-air, as it were. Stay tuned for the King Con Write Club! podcast where Matt gives us his dream cast for Salt Water Taffy: the Movie! 8 Page preview of book 3 up at Oni Press.

He also mentioned a cool anthology of comics featuring video game characters called LIFEMETER in which he has a Maniac Mansion story. I need to get me a copy of this.

So if you saw two radtastic artists sitting besides us, that was them, or if you saw two weirdos sitting next to them and one of us shoved a business card into your hand, WELCOME TO WRITE CLUB!

We're a comics/writing podcast, but we really cover a wide range of topics, and we're all about promoting, not just ourselves but YOU! Yes, you! With your mini-comics, or comic themed band, or webcomic, anthology, etc., we want to help you build an audience (and maybe take a few readers/listeners for ourselves).

So please, send us an email with a link or information about your project and we'll talk about it here or on our podcast. You can reach us at
Write.Club1@gmail.com, or via Twitter TimX13 (Tim) & AgentFenris (Kurt). We're looking for consistent webcomic content, and as we're both writers trying to draw, well, it's a slow process, so if you have a webcomic and like to have a home for it, we'd be glad to post it up in our webcomics section.

You can listen to the podcast here on our blog, which will feature, articles, reviews, and webcomics, or you can get Write Club! from iTunes. You can also chat with us on our Write Club! official thread up on the TenTonStudios forum, or you can hit us up on our Write Club! Facebook Page.

For those of you who may be interested in my upcoming graphic novel with the talented Chris Chua (as seen in Marvel's Strange Tales #3 out last Wednesday!), you can see the preview of it up at our studio's site TenTonStudios.com. As pages are lettered I will be posting them up at the link below.

LIQUID FURY PREVIEW!

You can also get your Chris Chua fix at his Controlled Chaos Caricature Blog and read his original webcomic-graphic novel HYPER DEMENTED TURDLE SHOWDOWN.

As for Timothy Mucci, you may have seen his TOM SAWYER from Sterling, but also available soon is THE ODYSSEY and you can pick up STAR WARS CLONE ADVENTURES Vol. 3 in which he has a short story.

So, that's us. Now, you tell us who you are and what it is you do. We'd like to help you in any way we can.

We Are Write Club! (and so are you)

K

Atomic Bomb Notes

2009-11-06T20:18:00.000-05:00

Radioactive Paradise

Bikini Atol - island
Ghost Fleet
Atomic Age Shark
Pacific Ocean
1946 Ground Zero Atomic Bomb
Operation: Crossroads

Removed inhabitants
Target ships
Saratoga Aircraft Carrier
First test Abel
Missed target - arial
Second test Baker
Underwater
Less than a dozen ships sunk
Radiation levels deadly
Decontamination failed

Bravo crater - hydrogen bomb 1954
4 1/2 miles in a second fireball

1978 scientists come to check on people
Island safe, cemetary radiation
Limestone gravestones absorb radiation
Coconut milk
Sezium or however it's spelled
Seeps into food
Look up what that does

Asian Movies to Watch Out For

2009-10-30T19:05:00.006-04:00

Future X-Cops

Metallic Attraction

NINJA

Mulan

Tracing Shadow

Goemon

True Legend

Ip Man

Tokyo Zombie

Yatterman

Asian Comic Book Movies

2009-10-26T03:15:00.003-04:00

Oriental Heroes

Dragon Tiger Gate HD Trailer

A Man Called Hero (Chinese Hero)

Storm Riders

who are these people on my shirt?

2009-10-22T16:22:00.001-04:00

no, really, who are they?

Mobile Comics Report - Comixology

2009-10-22T11:13:00.004-04:00

So, as it goes with technology, the comics scene in regards to digital technology, keeps on growing and expanding and reinventing itself. So here's a quick breakdown to keep up with what's going on out there as comics transform from "floppies" (monthlies) to trade paperbacks/graphic novels to whatever this new medium of sequential art will be called. For now, it's Mobile Comics.

Comixology. The easiest to explore and the most out there in the digi-cosmos. An App download-able from iTunes lets you download comics all within the context of one App on your iPhone/iPod Touch. The App originally cost a few bucks, but since Apple has changed their tune, the App is now free. Originally Apple didn't want any App where you could purchase other things through it, as if that was somehow tricking the customer. Thankfully instead of the limited free App, you can now get the full version for free.

Within it you can view lots of first issues for free, and the subsequent issues range from $.99 to $1.99. I haven't purchased one myself, as I'm still working through all the free comics, but with the likes of Matt Wagner and Mike Allred available up there, well, I might just need to catch up on my Madman Comics and this seems like a cheap option right now (seeing as there's no torrent giving me the whole discography).

There's also a new (I believe but cannot confirm via website) weekly installment of their first official FREE comic by David Gallagher and Steve Ellis, called Box 13. I've read the first issue and it's very intriguing storywise, utilizes the technology very well, and has great art. This is the thing that should be keeping Mobile Comics customers coming back to the App Store every week.

They plan to offer the comics on their site (as well as other formats/phones/technologies) but for now their site is more a promotion for their comic pull list App, where you can go through the week's comics, sync up to your local (Comixology-friendly) comic store and have them pull your comics for you. That's actually pretty awesome. Along with reviews/previews, they offer spotlighted items with an occasional podcast, and some columns. It's a nice looking site and will blossom quite nicely I believe. Oh, and the App (man I'm tired of writing that word) has been in the Top 10 Apps for books since it came out, and I believe was the top download for comic Apps overall.

Oh, and PS...Jenette Kahn (of DC Comics) and Milton Griepp (of ICv2.com) are now on their board of advisors.

what do we want? BRAINS!

2009-10-13T03:45:00.001-04:00

when do we want 'em? BRAINS!