Wow!

When I first started this blog, I listed Sean Esty as a major inspiration. (see here) So you can imagine how honored I was when I found that he had LINKED TO ME! Somehow, he had found the original post I had made over at my livejournal blog, and he really liked my fan art! (GOD, I wish I would have finished that bird now!)

Anyway, let me just re-iterate....if you haven't checked out Marooned yet, you are missing out. It's a beautiful thing. Can't wait to see where it goes!

Thanks again, Sean!

My Dog, the Critic

So, yesterday, I did a picture of the Hulk that turned out to be ok. I liked it. I thought to myself, "Huh. I should try and color that and see how it turns out."

So, this morning, I scanned the pencils into the computer and just was goofing around, trying to decide if I would want some light reflecting off him, or maybe make it a darker peice...just goofing off. My wife calls me from the room to ask me something from the shower, and while we're talking in the bathroom, I hear Ruby, our dog, going crazy in my office. So, when I peek around the corner to see what the hubbub is, I find her staring at my screen, barking at my picture of the Hulk as if it's the most horrible thing she's ever seen!

Everyone's a critic...I don't think the Hulk looks that bad, do you?

As a matter of fact, I plan on inking it and doing the colors right later on! Yeah! That'll show you, Ruby!!!

Ray Harryhausen's Creature List

Wow. I never knew the name Ray Harryhausen, but I most certainly knew his films. I remember very distinctly renting 'Clash of the Titans', oh, 452,987 times between the ages of 7 and 13. Seriously. Ask my parents, they'll back me up there.

So when I ran across this amazing page of Ray Harryhausen monster creations, I was beside myself with glee! There's Bubo the owl! And that kickass cyclops from the 7th Voyage of Sinbad!

Visit this beautifully realized page of links and revel in the nostalgia. Be amazed by how many times you have been thrilled by this man and his creatures.

(then, when you are done with the walk down memory lane, check out these killer Animated 3D Multiple Lens Photographs...this chinesejetpilot site rocks!)

My first shirt and the World Series of Pop Culture!

I just created a shirt for my wife's trivia team! That's right...Kathleen is heading off to Chicago to try out for VH1's World Series of Pop Culture!

They are the Ambassadors of Quan. They wanted a shirt to reflect all the different aspects of Quan...Respect, Love, Community and (of course) the MONEY! (Show me the money!)

It's late, and I'm tired, but it's been a long trip to get from the original idea ("Honey, could you design a tee-shirt for my team when we try out for the World Series of Pop Culture?") to the shirt you see today. I would kind of like to document that process, but I must sleep at some point this evening, and that should probably be sooner rather than later, so I will leave you with this slick-o post of my tee-shirt design.

In other words, "To be continued"...

Troglodyte!

Rock. The fuck. On.



Jimmy Castor rocks the house with Bertha Butt and the Butt Sisters.

"Right on! Hot pants!"

My Pull List

So, earlier this week, my wife asked me how much I spend a week on comics (I had been teasing her about how much money she spent on scrapbooking stuff...last time I pull THAT!)

But it brought up a good question...I have no idea how much I spend each month on comics, or even how MANY books I pick up!

So, I thought it would be fun to go through this month's pull and see what on the list.

Superman Confidential - Not a huge Superman fan, but if Darwyn Cooke is on the book, I'll be buying it.

Nextwave : Agents of Hate - Not the best Warren Ellis book on the stands, but one of the only ones to come out on a regular schedule. I've enjoyed it so far, but won't miss it too much when it's gone in a few issues.

The Walking Dead - Oh HELL yeah! One of the best books on the stands. Issue #33 nearly made me gag. That's some intense stuff.

Desolation Jones - Really enjoyed the first arc of this book, but now it's almost ruined by Zezelj's art. It's pretty, but you can't tell one character from another!

Daredevil - I honestly didn't think even Brubaker could follow Bendis' run. He's not only followed it, I think he's surpassing it. The man is amazing.

Ex Machina - I can't believe that Brian K. Vaughan can keep up so many fantastic, quality books each month. This one kind of smolders. It sneaks up on you when you aren't ready for it. Intriguing, fascinating look at politics and our culture.

Criminal - Another gem by Brubaker. I missed Sleeper desperately when it ended. So nice to have something of that caliber again.

Y the Last Man - Vaughan again. Every issue surprises me. This book is begging to be made into a mediocre movie that could never begin to stand up to it's source material. =)

The New Avengers - Bendis has been really on and off for me recently. But when he writes a good story, it's gold.

Ultimate Spider-Man - My favorite Bendis book. Even beats what he did on Daredevil. The man can write teen angst.

Conan - Every month, I think I should drop this book. Yet, I pick it up, read it, love it and wonder how I could ever think of dropping it. I thought that Busiek leaving would give me my out, but Truman is knocking out of the park now too. Damn it.

All-Star Superman - Not a book I thought I would enjoy. Grant Morrison is SO hit or miss, but I came for Quitely and I'm sticking around for the fun neo-Silver Age-y madness.

The Boys - Not as good as Preacher, but it's a fine substitute. As the story is starting to build some steam, I'm becoming more and more of a fan.

Astonishing X-Men - Dear God, it's been years and years and years since the X-Men have been good. And this is really, really good. I love you Joss Whedon!!!

The Spirit - There's that Darwyn Cooke again! It's somehow very appropriate that he's doing this book. He still seems kind of fresh on the scene to be "legendary", but his storytelling is some of the best I've seen in years. A worthy heir to Eisner.

True Story, Swear to God - I am so wrapped up with what is going to happen in this book. It's hypnotic. Wish it came out more.

Ultimates - Bryan Hitch can make me believe in anything. This is bigger and better than any blockbuster movie ever made.

Runaways - The best of the Brian K. Vaughan books. And that's saying a hell of a lot. I love these kids, and the fact that no one is safe while Vaughan is on the book makes this the most "must read" of all my books. I live for this book. Buy the damn book already! (Joss Whedon is taking over once Vaughan leaves for Hollywood to write "Lost"...is that reason enough!?)

100 Bullets - I'm just sticking around to see how it ends now. This book started SO strong, but it's just gotten muddy as hell. Maybe if I sit down and read it front to back? At least the art is still gorgeous.

Astro City - Wish it came out more. It's like comic books distilled to their essence.

Fell - The best Warren Ellis in ages. Please tell me this isn't canceled. Please! (I miss it! Where did it go!?)

The Goon - God, this book is cool.

Local - Brian Wood's slice of life books rock my socks off.

Planetary - I so don't want this to end. This one has it's hooks in me deep. OK, I lied earlier. THIS is the best Warren Ellis book.

Stray Bullets - And here she is. The big momma of them all. The most outrageous, insane, you-never-know-what-you're-gonna-get book on the market. It doesn't come out near enough, and I don't care. I'll wait years between issues if it keeps up the quality. My favorite book.

Now, these don't all come out every month, but it's a pretty good representation of what I'll pick up. Besides, I always have a mini-series or one shot that I'm picking up. So, that's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...23, 24, TWENTY-FIVE!? And let's see, at around three bucks a book, that makes...um...seventy-five dollars?! (you won't tell my wife, right?)

Geek Cred Rising...

So, let's run down the list...

• Huge collection of comics...check


• Have my own blog...check


• Can recite every line from Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail...check

And now, you can add one more huge check to my list of geek cred...I've got a podcast.

Point your browser to dubbya-dubbya-dubbya dot watchercast dot com and revel in the Joss Whedon-y goodness as we run down every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and pick it apart, episode by episode.

Oh, did I fail to mention my Buffy fanboy-ness? Check.

BOOM!!!!

Oh my gosh, I love this.

Fireworks factory explodes. Found on Google Video



I so badly want to know what this reporter says at the end, so I know the cameraman is fine...because it looks like that could have ended badly. But WOW is that fun to watch!

Check that Crazy Cat!

I always wondered who they got to do those hip little characters for cocktail napkins. Now I know!

Seriously, though, this is a truly inspiring video. Splatters of paint in the hands of the artist known only as Elio turn into the greatest little characters! I love what he does with the TV!



One critique, though...HOW THE HELL DOES HE HOLD HIS PEN LIKE THAT!?! It hurts my hand just to watch!!!!!

(found on Drawn!)

Flight Anthologies

I'm going to do a huge favor. You are seriously going to thank me. Ready?

...

Go Buy the Flight Anthologies

I can honestly say that these things have brought me more comic reading pleasure than anything that I have bought in a long time, and those are some strong words considering how many books I'm currently reading!

I need to learn the story behind these books, and happily, while I was looking for some pictures of the book online that I could upload here, I found that they have a website! And it's a pretty, informative, full-of-links-y website that I am sure I will waste many, many hours on!

But what I really wanted to get across are the artists that contribute to these things. I know some of them...you have your superstars like Jeff Smith and Becky Cloonan, but you also have a TON of people who I have never heard of before, but who I cannot wait to explore! For example, who is this Doug Holgate guy, who turned in this charming story about a dog shot into space, but every website I find on him seems to be down!? And where can I buy more work from Kazu Kibuishi (who I just discovered is the guy behind Copper!?!)



The amount of inspiration and beauty in these books are mind-blowing. Seek them out and discover what comics are capable of.

'Zyzzyxx' earns lowest all-time box office

Discovered while I was trolling around on the "Bendis Board"

In Hollywood's rebound year at the Box Office, some films certainly fell a little short. But even the year's biggest bombs surpassed the curiously titled "Zyzzyxx Road," whose domestic cume reached just $30. That's no typo. It's the lowest tally for any pic since modern record-keeping began in the 1980s.
The vigilante thriller starring Tom Sizemore, Katherine Heigl and Leo Grillo bore the ominous tagline "Dead Ahead." Like many on the dishonor roll of 60-plus titles cuming less than $1,000 over the past two decades, its stint in a single theater had more to do with contracts or four-wall rentals than mass audience desertion. Unheralded, it opened to $20 in February in Dallas, tacking on an additional 10-spot (repeat biz?) before slinking off to the video shelf.

Lest anyone assume the B.O. basement is reserved for unrated indie fare bound for pay-per-view, it's worth noting a PG-13 Warner Bros. release ranks as the fifth-lowest grosser. "Trojan War," a teen comedy starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Will Friedel (with bonus turns by Lee Majors and Anthony Michael Hall), collected $309 in its entire 1997 run. The director? George Huang, best known for "Swimming With Sharks."