TALES FROM NETFLIX: '09 catch-up

Haven't watched many movies this year... between a 2 plus week vacation in February, prepping for Wondercon later that month, catching up in the office, and trying to keep up with the DVR... well our usual mass movie intake has gone slack. However, there are quite a few recent comic book related DVD's as well as a number of flicks worth talking about since I last checked in, so here we go!

First, the comic book movies:
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE - Okay, not much to say here positive, but I did enjoy the cartoonish over the top violence, however, it's so over the top, especially in the first scene, I can see this one positive for me, being just another con for many others. I did love the first scene with Frank though, where he crashes a mob dinner with more knifes to the skull and snapped necks per frame then perhaps ever seen (can't help but think Stalone's hyper violent recent Rambo led them on this path). Anyway, from there it's all woe is me Punisher, as he shambles from his subway lair (please) to neon set piece... As much as I enjoyed Ray Stevenson in HBO's Rome, he's dull and lifeless here, but that's his character, and the script. Don't even get me started on the clichéd villains here...

Skip it!

NOT RECOMMENDED

WONDER WOMAN - Like Punisher (wow, who'd think I could draw a parallel from that film to an animated take on DC's princess of power!?!) Wonder Woman comes out guns blazing... or in this case, the amazons come out swords swinging, in an epic battle with Ares god of war, and his forces of man's evil. It's a glorious sword and sandal meets fantasy throw down, amazingly crafted, choreographed, and slickly animated. We meet all the Amazonian side characters that will make up Diana's supporting cast, because this all takes place before her birth. Wonder Woman is an origin story, and when it's focused on Themyscira and the mystical aspects of her story, it really shines. For me though, once they introduce them and the story into modern times, and specifically Colonel Steve Trevor, I have a hard time buying into all of it. I think they could have skipped the outsider crashing into the land of the amazons plot, and just used the device they already do to get Diana off the island and into our world, and made things much more believable. Instead we're treated to a forced fish out of water love story, by way of Wonder Woman coming to NYC with love struck everyman/jet pilot. It's too contrived, and we've seen this story time and again before. The movie truly shines though when Diana is in action as Wonder Woman, with smartly written action and kinetic visuals. And the big finish in Washington DC, reprising the battle of Amazons vs Ares and his minions, is also lots of fun.

All in all, Wonder Woman is a smart, well produced, enjoyable work. It's worth noting the stellar voice cast, with Keri Russell as Diana, Nathan Fillion as Col Trevor, and Rosario Dawson among many others. Also, Wonder Woman is rated PG-13 and takes full advantage of that, by being fully mature in tone, while also keeping things light enough to play to a wide audience.

I'd like to give this one a stronger recommendation, but it's just a bit too unbalanced to do so. Still very good though.

RECOMMENDED

HULK VS - Meanwhile, the Marvel universe continues to get animated too, and like the current DC offerings, they're skewing more mature here, and bringing the animation style more in line with current sensibilities. Marvel's first few animated offerings were ambitious, but widely missed the mark, watering down mature storylines and needlessly changing things with the Ultimates, or completely failing with Iron Man (I skipped Doctor Strange, so I don't know how that came out, I've my suspicions though). This is all encouraging, especially when the last work was aimed squarely at kids, with Next Avengers, which was otherwise a very strong work.

Hulk VS brings two short features, one featuring Thor, and the other featuring Wolverine. Both showcase strong animation, that's clean and stylized, and both also feature a deep supporting cast from each respective character's mythos. For me, I enjoyed the Thor story a touch more, mainly because I thought they brought the Norse characters to life for me, in a way they've never been able to on the comic page. But Wolverine's story, and it's inclusion of Weapon X, felt a bit as if the Hulk was just forced into the story, or an afterthought once things got going. I think these would've worked better as either straight up battles between the characters here, or focused more on the characters they featured, sans the Hulk.

Still fun and very well made though.

RECOMMENDED


Next, the horror movies:
EDEN LAKE - A horror/terror import from England, Eden Lake is one of those works with a simple premise, a young couple alone in the remote wilderness being terrorized, that completely succeeds by capturing the vibe of menace and fear. Similar to the French import, Them, which was remade stateside last year as The Strangers (of which, Them is far superior), it's the simple notion that when you're all alone, miles from civilization, faceless teens can fuck with you to no end if they want. How far will things go? Will anyone survive? These films work if they can put you in the shoes of the hunted, and just like Them, Eden Lake slides you right in from the get go, then it gets all kinds of fucked up, and increasingly bloody as we go.

Eden Lake is well shot, cast, acted, and realized. Everything about it rings true, which helps you merge into the story. It is unflinching in it's presentation though, so be prepared, but if you can take it, it's truly gripping, and haunting. And Kelly Reilly makes for one of the better scream queens in recent memory...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

AMUSEMENT - At times inspired, especially in it's jump cut presentation at the start, seemingly switching from different horror films mid story, both familiar, but deliciously different, Amusement is a solid effort at sending up horror and torture porn that doesn't quite hit the mark.

If however, you're a horror fan, that watches it all, you'll likely get a kick out of it, even though it fails to seal the deal.

RECOMMENDED

STORM WARNING - If like me, you've seen the ads for this one before untold numbers of other horror flicks, you likely thought it looked as lame and unoriginal as I did. However, it turns out Storm Warning is actually damn entertaining, and suffers from a truly uninspired trailer...

Like Eden Lake, with the success of Them (and The Strangers), we seem to be getting a fair amount of similar tales. But like all of those cautionary tales for couples in remote parts of the world, Storm Warning pushes all the right terror buttons, and offers up enough left field bizzaro Australian spun lunacy to engage the most hardened horror fiends (I'll just say there is a scene that involves a baby kangaroo, among other things). Also like some of those works, be prepared to face your fears in over-the-top, in-your-face fashion!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MIRRORS - NOT RECOMMENDED

BAGHEAD - Okay, while Baghead is not a true horror movie, it is an indie comedy send up (of sorts) of horror though. From the same team that brought us the offbeat 2005 indy The Puffy Chair (recommended), Baghead messes with the viewer by way of messing with the cast in what's presented as a real life inside indie filmmaking weekend retreat. It's all good fun for four friends in a remote cabin, til someone with a brown paper bag over their head, may or may not be lurking outside the windows.

Worth a watch.

RECOMMENDED

RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION - Watchable and mostly high quality CGI animation, that either you need knowledge of the games to properly engage with, or more likely, just doesn't really connect on many levels. It's entertaining enough though, and does (sort of) feature zombies...

MILDLY RECOMMENDED


And now, a quick run down of the non genre stuff:
THE ROCKER - If you like Rainn Wilson (The Office's Dwight), this isn't a bad way to while away an hour and a half. Just don't expect anything special.

MILDLY RECOMMENDED

KABLUEY - Offbeat black comedy that follows Lisa Kudrow, a left behind Iraq mother who struggles to support her two sons... Enter their uncle, a slacker/loser who takes a job as a local giant blue mascot in the rural town... character and comedy developments ensue.

Unique, heartfelt, and enjoyable.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ROCK'N'ROLLA -If you like Guy Ritchie UK crime films, it's a must see as he's back to form here. Not as special as Lock Stock, but a solid watch.

RECOMMENDED

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS - It's Cheech and Chong meets Rambo. Which is cool, but the cast here are what make this one shine (especially Franco). And since I was on the fence between RECOMMENDED, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, well, highly won...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

HAMLET 2 - Entertaining, funny, and a bit inspired.

RECOMMENDED


Okay, outside of some offbeat recommendations I want to highlight separately, that should catch up most the noteworthy viewings so far this year. Now go check these out if you haven't already, there's some good stuff here!
(And, as always, click on the Netflix label below to see all of the Tales From Netflix recommendations)

Comic Book Indsustry State of the Union

We all wish we could say it's stong, but just like everything else, it's in turmoil. From rising prices, to key changes to distribution, the weak economy, and the crossroads in format, there's a lot going on in the comics industry right now... Here are a rundown of some news and notes:

Perhaps the biggest development currently, are the changes at Diamond Distribution, increasing sales thresholds and potentially driving away a good percentage of independent offerings, and the fallout from those changes.

____
Two potential distribution options are attempting to fill the void this move will create, since idependent comic sales were already in turmoil.

- First, is Haven Distribution, a company in existence for about a year, that took over for the former Coldcut backlist distributor. Haven announced their arrival, relocation of operations to Chicago from California, and abolishment of the "no superheroes" policy, and then pretty much faded away (or at least went to work behind the scenes, and/or under the radar). However, with the move at Diamond, their virtual only rival, Haven is at least attempting to make a play to capture more of the independent market, by now offering advance order material as well.

As an independent publisher myself, I can share some insight here.

When I started out self-publishing in late 2005, there were then 3 distribution options, Diamond, ColdCut, and FM International (at least on paper, Coldcut and FM were very small by comparison). Within six months of publishing my first book, and attempting to get setu up with FM International, having met a couple of the key players there at Comic-Con, FM closed up shop, and I was quickly down to 2 options. Having already setup my book Super Real with Diamond, that only left Cold Cut as another avenue of distribution. However, they only took previosly released, or backlist material, so after sending samples in once I had some books published, twice, and never receiving a response, they eventually folded up in late 2007, early 2008, and then became Haven Distribution. (I don't know if I was just a victim of their policy for not carrying "superhero" material, or a symptom of their decline.)

Once Haven was established, I'd also contacted them via the publisher contact area of their website, with no response. Fast forward quite a few months and I try again, upon publising some more product, and do get a response this time. Actaully from someone I know and used to work with at a comic website, who was a reviewer, and bit of a fan of my book. But I'm informed that they're not currently accepting any new product, until November. So I check back in November and am told that unfortunately things are still on hold, and that it's now looking like January before they'll open up again. Of course when January rolls around, the game has changed, and Diamond has announced their changes in policy. So Haven is accepting new material, and also scrambling to take advantage of the new landscape, by also offering preorders or adavance product solicitations.

I'm currently working with them, and am hopefull that they can build another outlet to the direct market for independent material. They have a catalog system of sorts in place, that is a bit promising, if retailers and the market will embrace it and be able to utilize it in addition to Diamond. Those are some pretty big questions though. Certainly some marketing on thier part, and/or independent publishers listed by them, is key to help spread the word, and grease the skids.

There are of course many other hurdles, so time will tell.

Along the lines of getting the word out though, I will talk at more length about Haven and their product catalog, Comics! in the near future. Suffice it say, they plan to have a new catalog out this May.

- Second, is Ka-Blam.com, a POD (print on demand) printer. POD printing is an affordable option for digital printing of comics, where by leveraging technology, a creator can print small quanties of a book, from as little as a single copy, for the same mostly affordable price. POD printers are widely used to supplement web content, or for direct sales at conventions and online. They are not vialbe as a mass market solution, as although the costs are reasonable, they are not low enough, nor do they lower, when print at higher quantities. This has been the main hurdle to utilizing POD technology to offer products to retailers, as retailers buy at wholesale pricing, which is only a fraction of the cover/retail price of a product. The average cost to print a standard sized black and white book via POD is around the $2 range, or $3 range for full color, so you can see, the margains are pretty small, and thus only work for direct sales from the creator/publisher to the reader/fan.

However, as with Haven, Diamond's change in policies has brought about a change to Ka-Blams's services as well, with their announced Comics Monkey POD distribution service.

Without going into too much detail, Ka-Blam is looking to offer any content they print, to comic book shops, via a new pricing model, where they still take their standard cut via printing fees, but then offer product to retailers at discount (starting at 60% of retail), and a small cut to creators/publishers of the sales. And "small cut" is the key here, as I mentioned before, with POD costs being what they are, they're not really condusive to wholesale pricing, at least in line with the current direct market price model, so instead of finding a way to lower their costs and share percentages with publishers more in line with what they'd find from full run printing and distribution, Ka-Blam is offering 10% of the retail to the publisher.

I'm not suggesting Ka-Blam is short changing the creator in any way here, they're simply trying ot make the POD model work on a wholesale level, and these are the first efforts of this kind. So, they're moving forward while admittedly breaking new ground, and trying to find what works for all parties involved. Not the least of which is the reader, because if you simply raise cover prices to offset the difference in cost associated with the POD model vs standard comic distribution, the cover prices could climb steeply. It's a new way of looking at print sales, that also has a completely new set of challenges.


So, between the two, there are efforts already in place to improve direct market independent comics distribution. But, it's very early, and hard to tell how any of it will play out.
Or, I think, more to the point, if anything can even be done at this point to salvage independent print comics as we knew them, most certainly digital is the future, and increasingly more so by the day. So, is there enough demand, and/or time before the paradigm shift, to maintain a print market? Or are we already past the tipping point?
____

Now, here are some links on related stories:

- Steven Grant notices that independent comic sales are growing, not trending down... at least direct con sales that is... in his column HERE

- Tim Seeley ask questions about how to make comics cheaper, but doesn't find many answers over on CBR HERE

- The Beat highlights some Kindle comics play HERE
(And don't forget, Amazon has partnered with Apple to offer a Kindle app on Iphones)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: indy comics advice

A couple articles recently from around the comics web, for aspiring (and acting) publishers (because you can never get enough advice and help)...

1) Some solid gold advice to aspiring (or current) comic book publishers from Ken Marcus, creator of Super Human Resources from Ape Entertainment, on ComicBookResources.com Robot6 blog HERE

2) Jen Contino, editor of comic news site The Pulse, with independent publisher tips HERE

Kind of basic stuff, but ya never know if there are any gems of advice one hasn't thought of before...

I SAW IT ON TV: Kenny Fuckin' Powers!!!

The latest must see HBO series is none other than EASTBOUND & DOWN, starring, co-written, and co-produced, by fast rising comedy scene stealer Danny McBride... you know, the "thug life" quoting third wheel from Pineapple Express, demolitions expert from Tropic Thunder, and dojo master from The Foot Fist Way?

Oh yeah, and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, the production/actor/director/writer duo behind Talladega Nights, Anchorman, and Stepbrothers? They're producing here too.

So yeah, it's good.

McBride is gold as the all ass, all the time, washed up major league pitching wild thing... but this wild thing sports a beer belly and perm mullet, and goes by the name of Kenny "fuckin'" Powers.
Beer, coke, e, steroids, a tricked out Seadoo, and hometown slut aren't enough to chase away Kenny's day job as middle school gym teacher, or fuel his hopeless dream of a big league comeback. Good thing he lives with his brother's family, he's still got a little further to fall yet.

And Will Ferrell shows up from time to time as a local auto dealer nemesis...
Sure it's the same formula Ferrell's employed in all his sports characters, that McBride riffed on in Foot Fist, but it makes for some top notch darkly fun TV!

HIGHLY FUCKIN' RECOMMENDED

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES... Watchmen sucks (and so does the movie)?!?

Best graphic novel of all time?
Please.
Most over rated?
Sure.
Comics blasphemy?
Maybe :)

Okay, yes, I read Watchmen, not when it came out...
I was reading comics way back in the 1900 and 80's.
Actually the mid to late 80's were the twilight of my comics youth.
By that time, I was in high school, and fast finding other distractions.
I recall, clearly, one of the last times I bought comics outside a comic shop, at a local 7-11, an issue of the original X-Factor... at least a few issues in... and the clerk looked at it, then me, and said "really?!" (or similar) with such disdain.
But, fuck her, I bought GI Joes til I was 16, that didn't put me off comics.
Just teenage trappings like, cars, friends, girls (or at least the fruitless pursuit).
Anyway, I remember Watchmen coming out, and all the buzz, and the graphic nature of it, looking at the first issue (I might have bought it, don't think so)...
It wasn't really for me.
You see, I always came at comics from a visual, visceral angle, and Watchmen, while being an amazing feat of writing, and art... just doesn't do much for me.
I'd rather sit with a book for 5 minutes and get my rocks off, not toil over the pages and dialogue... study the subtext, re-read, reassess...
nah.
Fuck that.
There are too many other comics to get to.
Movies.
TV.
Video games.
Music.
etc etc
So, I don't read books, and I don't generally like my comics literal.
Sorry.

Fast forward a decade, and I've gotten back into comics, having rediscovered them circa 1995, and my appetite is veracious (years away have me fully reinvested)... I go to all the area cons, buying stacks of dollar and quarter bin books, and I come across long boxes full of Watchmen... so, what the hell? Never read it, it's a classic, scoop em up.

And I read it, and I really liked it, just, not that much.
I see what all the critical favor is about mind you.
I appreciate the intricate nature, the symphony between writer and artist, the groundbreaking nature of it all.
But shit, it's a tough read, and, Ozymandias is the bad guy?!? Really? That's the big twist?? That's it?!
Okay, I mean, surface, high level, it's pretty straightforward, and sure there's all these other levels, and bigger messages and comments, and layers, but here's the main thing... the characters are all boring, unrelatable, and uninteresting.
Rapists, psycho's, naked blue gods, impotent middle aged men?
Wait, that does sound interesting?
But, it all just floats by, not really engaging me. Gibbons art is nothing short of amazing, but his style doesn't excite me, and the work is too dense, so all I have left are the characters, and they fail me...
Watchmen ultimately fails to engage me.

Now fast forward another decade and Zack Snyder, director-god, who's previous efforts, the incredible remake of Dawn of the Dead, and the bombastically bad ass 300 comic adaptation were some of my favorite movies in recent memory, he's going to be adapting the long unfilmable Watchmen?!?
Cool!!!Now, I saw the movie Saturday, anxiously waiting for it to come out, and my chance at the theater, and let me tell you, it's a great movie, and an amazing effort at adapting the most dense graphic work out there, but as much as I liked it, I still didn't love it. It still skims by, keeping me at a distance. Nothing really draws me in; the Comedian, as cool as he is, is irredeemable, and dies in the opening after all, and the only other awesome character, Rorschach, still wears the god awful trenchcoat and fedora... so you know, he can only be so cool. I mean, he's based on the fucking Question, lamest looking character ever...

So...
Is it good, yeah, sorta.
Is it great, well, maybe.
I'd really like to see the director's cut, and Black Freighter, and really get a proper look at it.

But most of all, aside from the failings of the characters, and cast (because Nite Owl and Silk Spectre are as boring and lifeless here as they are in the comic), my main problem with the whole thing is the utter failings of the soundtrack.
From the mostly nonexistent score, to the horrible on-the-nose AM radio pastiche they try to pass off as clever.
All Along the Watchtower?!?
Really!?!?!
I guess it was referenced in the comic, but damn, that was utterly played out 23 years ago, let alone now.
I guess if you have no recall for those things, or no experience with the usage of the music, or don't care for music, it could work for you.
But shit, that was terrible.
Luft Balloons? That's the best you could do?!?
Come on, this is a huge budget epic, give me sound to go with it!
Dark Knight, they kicked your ears in with sound and score.
Great movies need a great score!!!!

Okay, so there ya go.
Watchmen and all it's personal baggage for me, and I still mostly enjoyed it, and look forward to repeat viewings and expanded versions.
And I still recommend it, as it's a challenging translation of a challenging work that's certainly of merit and quality, that may just click on more cylinders for you than I.

And hell, I'll probably even read the book again some day.
But, I've got boxes full of those, so don't hold your breath...

RECOMMENDED

SUPER REAL NOTES: Super Real on again, off again

Okay, this update is a bit late, as the current Diamond Previews catalog came out over a week ago now, but with Wondercon last weekend and prepping for it last week, I simply ran out of time to touch on this until now...

Super Real: Cast Change, aka issue four, aka the final issue, will NOT be released via Diamond.

As many know, Diamond recently changed their sales thresholds for independent publishers, and this issue of Super Real, although approved after the change was announced by Diamond, was still a casualty of it. Why it was initially approved, only to be undone, after I'd begun communicating the books release, is unfortunate, and frustrating, but simply how it came about.

So, even though I'd previously announced the book would be solicited in the March Previews catalog, for a May release to comic book shops via Diamond distribution, that is no longer the case.

The comic book direct market has been evolving into a more difficult landscape for independent books to achieve any kind of success for years, and that is increasingly becoming more the case. This latest change from Diamond only escalates that. Since Super Real was set up with Diamond in late 2005, the market has gotten tougher and tougher, with the large publishers, Marvel and DC, focusing their efforts on massive crossovers, and weekly books, etc, to suck up as many dollars as possible. Couple that with rising cover prices (Super Real number 1 was $3.25, a then high price point in November of 2005, and a standard color comic is now $3.99), a crashing economy, and a massive amount of competing material, and the writing was on the wall. There was not a future for Super Real as a periodical in the direct market (and in fact, increasingly, no market for periodical comics outside of Marvel and DC). I had hoped though, to combine the final 2 issues of our story into one release and complete what I had started. That will not be happening though, at least via Diamond, and for that I'm truly sorry.

However, it is not the end for Super Real, as I've mentioned time and again, it was always a closed-ended story arc, and I'm fully dedicated to finishing that story, both for me, and of course, the fans. It just means it will be reaching the public in a different way. I will still complete the super-sized cast change special, our sixth issue overall (aka Episode VI: The Cast Strike Back), and fourth and fifth regular series issues in essence. It will most likely be released both directly via print (online, at conventions, and in comic shops via Haven Distribution), but also for download online via the website. In roughly the same time frame as originally intended for Diamond Distribution. I will of course announce once schedules and plans are finalized.

Additionally, I hope to offer the complete series as a collected trade paperback/graphic novel. More on that later.

So, again, I'm sorry if you're awaiting the book, and this is another set back, but in time it will see release, and we'll all get to have some closure to our story. Then hopefully, down the road, when we look in the rear view, all of this will be irrelevant, and we'll have what I hope is a unique comic story and vision all can be proud of, that fans new and old can discover moving forward.

The future is now with comics, and I'm ready and willing to embrace it. It just came a touch sooner than I and others had expected. These are exciting times though, and with digital and new formats and models of delivery, the future is definitely bright!

Thanks as always for your support, and STAY TUNED!
Jason

WONDERCON 2009

I'll be hitting the road late tonight with my friends Randy "Rantz" Kintz, Jason Metcalf, and Brian Randolph... we're trekking 10.5 hours south on I-5 for San Fran and the big Wondercon this weekend.
This will be my fourth straight year, and I'm hopeful the show will go over as well as NYCC sounded...
Either way, I'll be all set with all Super Real and SRG Presents books, prints, and a brand new sketchbook!

We're all neighbors in artist alley along with my man Dave Dwonch of Gnome fame, and Gnome cover artist Super Ugly.

Doods, drawing supplies, massive crowds, and the bay city...
should be good times!!

Come on down!

Comic Book Crossroads: DIGITAL COMICS

Okay, I took a two week vacation, and have been in uber busy mode since my return getting ready for this weekend's Wondercon, and the 2009 con season, but here are some links, and thoughts on the ever evolving comic-book-crossroads that we are increasingly in...


A brazen recent article on Uclick and comics for the iPhone HERE
Where they posit that the future is now, and it is comics on a 3.5" screen!?!


Next up, Newsarama talking with a Ka-Blam.com guru regarding their escalated effort at direct market POD distribution HERE
Ka-Blam is tops in POD comic book printing in my book, and I've used there service exclusively for years now. They've had the Indy Planet online store all along, and just as with ComixPress' similar effort, they don't move much product outside webcomic hits.
I'm not sure how A) they can make POD print distribution viable to the creator/publisher, when POD costs are already such that margins are very tight at full price direct selling, they must plan to offer a decrease in cost to make a wholesale scale feasible... and B) like Haven, I'm not sure how well an infinite catalog can translate to direct market shops, when they have a hard enough time servicing the sizable content via Diamond, under their old thresholds.
Sure it's an option, and will work for some, but it seems a tricky path overall to me...


Then we have a more detailed viewpoint on the changes at Diamond from The Comics Reporter, and a myriad of reasons it's likely more harmful and short sighted than earnest HERE
Certainly the speculation of Geppi and his other business woes, outside Diamond, play a part in the overall picture and decisions to more aggressively manage the direct market's lesser channels.
If nothing else, the direct market landscape has changed, and the comic book crossroads might take a sharp turn at this point in history...



DIGITAL COMICS - Kindle2

Released by Amazon.com this week, the Kindle2 is the next step in ereader technology.

It's light, paper thin (just over 1/3 inch), backlit, glare proof, PDF and JPG supportive (but not CBZ). The Kindle 2, with it's new 16 shade gray scale being the main improvement, is not that far beyond the existing technology, but it begs the question, how far are we from a full color e-reader?

The overall size is roughly 8.5" tall by 5.5" wide, or ash can comic size (half an8.5.11" sheet), with a 6" diagonal screen (at 600 x 800 pixel resolution).

The iPhone's screen by comparison is a mere 3.5" diagonal widescreen (480 x 320 pixel resolution)

All with a price tag of $360.

Sure it downloads, browses, and streams music too, but at that price, you'd think the content was cheaper. As a book reader, the standard price is $9.99, hardly a bargain. At this value, I don't see the Kindle2 proliferating the market to the extent of the iPhone, and thus, don't see any huge potential shift in comic content to the platform.

Here are specs for the Kindle2 vs different reader options out there:

Kindle2
$360
6" diagonal display (600 x 800 167ppi pixel resolution / 3.6"(W) × 4.8"(H))
8" x 5.3" x 0.36" size
10.2 oz
16 levels of gray
PDF and JPG support
2GB internal memory


Sony eReader (PRS-700)
~$300
6" display (600 x 800 170ppi pixel resolution)
5 1/9 x 6 7/9 x 0.4" size
10 oz
8 levels of gray
PDF and JPG support
512MB internal memory
up to 32GB external plug in memory


iPhone (3G)
$
3.5" (diag widescreen) display (480 x 320 163ppi pixel resolution)
4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 size
4.7 oz
full color
8GB or 16GB flash drive
up to 7 hours video playback


So yeah, ideally, we could use a slightly larger screen for comic page display (just as comic books are larger in size than a paperback), and of course, full color.

The Kindle 2 gets us a step closer to that ideal format, but perhaps now, to a workable mid ground. Because if content providers are making a go of comics on the comparatively tiny, yet full color, iPhone screen, a rich gray scale display in twice the size should be usable too. At least until we get the full size and color reader we're looking for.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: more Kill Bill!

Over in AICN's anime column, there's a snippet from Tarantino on a new anime sequence produced for Kill Bill by Production IG (the same studio that worked on the first sequence for the original film):

“We’ve actually added some things to it. We did a whole little chapter that I wrote and designed for the animated sequence, that we never did, because we figured, back when it was gonna be one big movie, it was going to be too long, so we didn’t do it. So when we were talking about re-releasing it, they asked is there anything you can put in, and I said no I put everything in there, but… there’s one sequence that we wouldn’t even have to shoot! So we got together with Production IG and did it, and it’s really cool. So it’s this little seven minute sequence, it’s really cool, it’s in the O-Ren chapter.” - Quentin Tarantino

Which confirms there is finally some action on the long talked of full version!!

This and a new Tarantino feature this August (Inglorious Basterds)?!?
Perhaps the new Kill Bill release is being timed for release with Basterds?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Diamond raises independent pubisher sales thresholds PART 2: beneath the surface

First be sure and read part 1, my reaction yesterday to the news of the changes to Diamond's indpendent publisher policy. Now, here are some more in depth thoughts on the topic...

Comics are a business.
True.
However, comics, and by that we mean the US comics industry/direct market, have become increasingly a business about the large publishers.
There was a time when small press was a viable percentage of what the direct market was about, ushering in new creators, ideas, characters, companies, and franchises, offering a diversity beyond the spandex and cape comics that had conquered the newsstands, and growing the medium to it's current more mature existence.
Let's not forget, there once was a time that comics were truly for kids, and while Stan Lee and the modern Marvel universe may have played a large role in changing that, we certainly wouldn't have gotten to where we are today without the small press and creator-owned comic books of the 1980's and beyond.

It's easy to point to Diamond, and their handling of this material, being vastly the sole distributor to comic books shops, as the guilty party, but lets not forget, it's accross the board. Somewhere along the line, there was tipping point - most likely when the big two publishers realized they had a captive, and importantly, static market, and catered their publishing around that, increasing output and gimmicks to take more and more of their fanbase's comic spending dollars, leaving less money for everyone, accross the board, to spend on independent offerings. In turn, driving interest further in their direction, and therefore affecting every aspect of the industry, including print and web coverage. You see, it's not just tough to sell a book via Diamond, it's also become increasingly difficult to get any press whatsoever for the small press, as comic news sites become more and more corporate, and hit/traffic based revenue driven. They simply no longer afford much coverage at all to anything outside the larger publishers, as they need to drive their traffic based revenue, with the advertising rates rising, along with their hit counts, and the industries largest and main print publication, Wizard, fancying itself a media magazine, with coverage and expensive ad rates to coincide with it's bloated distribution numbers. There's increasingly no where for the smaller voices to turn, or even be heard, and increasingly more product from the large publishers, with high level, high volume exposure, competing against them.

The entire industry has become self serving to these larger publishers, and there's no one with any power, championing indpendent comics and the small press. Sure, the web is infinite, but small press centric sites come and go, and no real voice has emerged. (This has been a point I often muse about, and would love to address, putting together and pitching some sort of small press column to the big sites, but something I unfortunately haven't found the time for.)

In recent years, one can sight the emergence of the "indy" scene, and/or market, that's largely driven by those like-minded creators, and a growing convention circuit, arguably, mostly buoyed by, themselves. But yes, the indy market does exist, and is also linked to the growing alt/lit style book market. Both this convention circuit, and bookstore market, are unique, and mostly seperate from the comic book store direct market though, and therefore still leave a void in presence there. Most any independent publisher that traffics in this material will openly point out that Diamond and the direct market are just a fraction or subset of their business.

There is a real void of support for small press comic books across the board in the direct market, and no one to champion them. Readers can't be the ones to drive this effort, and Diamond is a business, simply reacting to the reality of their market (and, not deciding to invest in, or cultivate their back catalog). That leaves the retailers, and the publishers with the most interest, and power in this situation. If either doesn't band together and make an effort, to bring more focus to small press product, the ability for the market to offer it may slip away completely.

Or, perhaps it's all just a cycle, and it takes the fall of small press completely, and a clean slate, for some new publisher to enter the mix post collapse (like PC comics, or Eclipse in the 1980's), and get the attention small press used to draw, from lack of competition and renewed need for that material, for the whole small press boom to start again.

It's our choice, a proactive effort to bring visibility to this portion of the medium, to fight the control the large publishers are exerting on the market, or sit idiley by, do nothing, and see if fate, and the market, deem another rise from the ashes.

Of course, changing paradigms like digital distribution, and the switch in format to trade/graphic novel length material are large factors in where things go from here too, but that still doesn't change the current climate of the direct market and it's complete focus on the upper tier Diamond clients, which means any efforts in it's direction will face similar disadvantages seen in the current model.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Diamond raises independent pubisher sales thresholds PART 1: the surface

So the big news in the world of comics is of course the announced (or rather, exposed) changes to the Diamond Distribution independent publisher sales thresholds, and as an independent publisher that’s listed by Diamond, well, that’s me.

Basically it means that things will be drastically changed in what product you see in comic shops. Either a more seismic shift to trade or larger price point style format, and/or a dearth of variety outside the larger publishers, or a continued move to digital for those in the back end of the catalog. But most likely all of the above.

I know many of you kids out there have no real interest in what goes on in comic shops, or selling your comics via those outlets, and are already making good online, but for us old timers like me, it’s something we still cling to, perhaps pointlessly. Look, I’ve long said digital is the future, and nothing can change that, the economics are indisputable, and sure there will always be some print comics, however, instead of a the perfect app coming along to cause the shift, looks like it will be the direct market’s inability to support anything outside the big two publishers, who completely drive the industry (selling 70-85% of it’s product). Anyone who argues independently published quality can find it’s way, regardless, is deluded in thinking so, I'd argue that the playing field is simply too unbalanced at this point.

So, I’ll continue to look for solutions outside the norm, like the change in format I did last year to larger, original graphic novellas, and addressing digital solutions. This may be the end of an era, but it’s certainly the dawn of a new one.

Links to the story:

The Beat
Lying in the Gutters
The Comics Reporter

For the time being, you'll continue to see Super Real Graphics print product via comic book shops. For how long, remains to be seen.

BEST OF 08 PART 1: MOVIES

I was going to do a quick best of 2008, with 3 favorites from each category (movies, DVD, TV, music, comics), but once I got the wheels turning, I went with my muse, and took things a bit further.

So, I'll just post what I feel are the works I must mention from each category, however many that may be. Starting with the movies of '08.

There are some I'd love to include, like the amazing Into the Wild which hit DVD this year, but came out in late '07, or possibly, big films that hit late in '08, like David Fincher's Benjamin Button, and Mickey Rourke in Aronofsky's The Wrestler, but I most likely won't see those til they hit video, but ya know, this is the stuff that I've seen, that qualifies, working my way up to my favorite and starting with...

In Bruges

Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes are perfectly cast in this engaging, hilarious, smartly written, and verbally assaulting tale from inside the world of hit men, that could only happen in Bruges.



Wall-E

I’d really love to rate Wall-e higher. The animation and heartfelt story of the first act is pure poetry. However, as much as the rest of the tale is enjoyable, and pulls on the heartstrings, it’s not on par with the opening, and it’s also all been seen and done in Mike Judge’s Idiocracy.



Forgetting Sarah Marshall

For it’s unapologetic, ballsy humor, that hit’s the mark, and had it’s way with me the whole way through. Plus it introduced Russell Brand, and had great turns from Mila Kunis and a host of cameos.




Iron Man

I’d love to rate Iron Man higher, because it was so solid, the production, the cast, the story, the heart, and most of all Robert Downey Jr., who truly makes the movie, but it wasn’t without it’s flaws, mainly being a bit light on action, and sorely lacking a powerful climax (unless you count Downey/Stark’s closing “I am Iron Man” zinger, or Sam Jackson’s epilogue cameo).

THE TOP 3

Quantum of Solace

I stand alone here I think, including the latest Bond movie on my tops of ‘08 list, but damn if I wasn’t on the edge of my seat throughout, from opening to closing frames, loving every last minute of it. Daniel Craig is perfect, the production is flawless, and the overarching story continuation from the previous Casino Royale outing was rich and fulfilling.

Cloverfield

Yes, another one that is mostly ignored (or forgotten that it came out in ’08), and even more so, unloved, but to me, Cloverfield was the height of movie-going, because just as with Quantum of Solace, it was a thrill ride that dropped me square in the middle of larger-than-life action, executed to perfection. I love this movie, just love it.

Dark Knight

No surprise here, except perhaps to me. You see, I thought Batman Begins was wildly uneven, and that Nolan destroyed everything he built with the gritty real-world origin of the first half. In Dark Knight however, he succeeds; we’re treated to the largest screen telling of a wholly believable city under criminal siege, with a powerhouse performance, story, and hero… none of them pulling any punches. The cast, production, effects, and score all heighten the showcase performance from Heath Ledger, and together create a truly epic motion picture. Dark Knight succeeds on every level.


2008 was a truly great year for movies, especially for genre lovers like us, an embarrassment of riches, with many anticipated comic book adaptations; Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, The Spirit, and genre standouts; old man Indy, the Pixar robot/sci-fi Wall-E, the Will Smith original superhero flick Hancock, the CG cartoon Star Wars The Clone Wars, the Daniel Craig Bond sequel Quantum of Solace, and the mysterious and much hyped Cloverfield, and overall, it was a success, with many solid, very well made films, and only a couple stinkers...

2009 is shaping up to be another very exciting year in genre movies, with Zack Snyder's highly anticipated Watchmen adaptation in March, JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot in May (that looks cool as hell), and a new Wolverine feature, Harry Potter sequel, a new McG Terminator model, and a Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds) release this summer, to name a few!!

So, come back soon for more best of's from '08, where I talk DVD's, TV, music, and comics, and hopefully shed light on things that aren't as universally known and talked about.

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES: The Spirit

The Spirit was a fun ass movie, but hey, this is a guy who enjoys All Star Batman and Robin, and DK sequel, etc (and never read Sin City, or 300)...It just seems to be cool to hate on Miller, and The Spirit, and if you're prone to that, this is Miller hater fodder extreme!
Was it a great movie? No, it certainly was a mess, but I still really enjoyed the hell out of it.
The thing is, it's hard to go into a movie and just purely take it in in this age... you go in with so many expectation or reservations from what you've heard and seen online etc. Some times things are so hyped, it's hard to match up to the expectations, other times, like with The Spirit, they're so badmouthed, any quality seems that much better in contrast...

THE GOOD

The visuals, of course, were amazing, and I thought most of the cast were pretty good, Macht as the Spirit was cool, he fit the vibe and character very well, and Sam Jackson owned his Octopus (in his finest form since Pulp Fiction... over the top? Hell yes. Sublime? Hell yess!), the commissioner (that Wonder Years dad), and Jewish police gal (whom I didn’t recognize) were cool too.
The action was pretty cool too, it starts off great, with a slam bang Octopus v Spirit dust up, and finishes strong in the same vein.

THE BAD?

Well, yes, there's a lot, but for me the flat to odd performances were cleary due to Frank's inexperienced hands, and mostly forgivable. I mean, with the whole tone here, it’s acceptable, and maybe even better with some really bad acting… Scarlett Johansson’s Silken Floss was the worst offender though, and not much surprise there... Scar Jo is pretty dry, and her beauty is best served in a certain light, Miller and co missed the mark here and didn't cater her costuming, makeup, whatever to bring that out, which is a huge mistake... to say nothing of her wooden performance (call it prequel syndrome, with George being the other big offender here, taking mostly top notch talent and making them utterly lifeless and dead eyed on screen).
However, as much as the directing of the actors was lacking, or uneven, by far the worst offender was the dreadful score. My god! Look, I'm not a big soundtrack honk, but these big budget franchises with generic or nonexistent scores (Iron Man, X-Men, FF, Hulk, etc) look superb compared to the work in The Spirit. The soundtrack here is downright annoying and distracting! It's almost like the producers knew they were in big trouble with the uneven directing/performances, so they tried to zing things up with the most obnoxious distracting score, that pulls you out of half the scenes. Awful. Just awful. There was one moment, mid movie, the elevator scene, where they had a snippet of jazz, and wow, something jazzy would've really suited this film better throughout.

OVERALL

So, yeah, if you're averse to Miller's over the top, broad stroke, lead heavy storytelling, or out for more Dark Knight/Iron Man modern contemporary ultra realism, this is clearly not for you, but, if like me, you're open minded and out to have a fun time at the movies, and be swept into an amazing new worlds, The Spirit DOESN'T disappoint!
Myself AND my wife really enjoyed it, and it's too bad that the films shortcomings will likely overshadow what's a fun, daring comic book movie that's clearly not for everyone. Come on all you Miller haters, get over yourselves… the man may turn off many, may not be what he once was, but he is a visionary artist, that continues to stay true to his self, and if he wants to try his hand at bringing his trademark style to the screen, as opposed to directors aping it, fine by me, and maybe he'll get it better next time (or maybe it'll be an even bigger mess).

RECOMMENDED

Now, what did all of you think?

Christmas Anyone?

Zombie Rudolf eats elfen flesh!
Happy Holidays!

TALES FROM NETFLIX: Turning Japanese

Watched a couple of off-the-beaten-path Japanese flicks recently, VERSUS and Takeshi Miike’s SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, so thought I’d give them a mention together...

First up, VERSUS

Just finished watching this one, and it’s a bit older, been kicking around since 2000, but I’d heard of it quite a ways back and put it in the queue, since it was supposed to be gonzo action with a touch of zombie, then when it got a plug on Attack of the Show’s Asian Underground, I dug it out and bumped it up.

To be honest, as much as I wanted to like it, I did have a really hard time not ejecting it, several times, but, I am glad I stuck with it. As much as it has really cool action and staged conflicts, and stylish anime style camerawork and characters, it does move very very slow when not in action, and get a bit repetitive. However, things do escalate, and get cooler.

Also, it’s not really a zombie flick, and I knew that, but don’t get it expecting that. Basically, an escaped prisoner intervenes in some kind of gang incident in the woods, but it turns out everything ties together, and the woods aren’t what they seem, when bodies start dropping, and then getting back up.

Choreographed sword fights, gun fights, fist fights, and 50 caliber damage!

RECOMMENDED if this sounds like your type of thing, it's definitely worth a watch, just be patient.

Along the same lines is a recent release from Japanese gonzo master, Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer), SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO

Takashi Miike has built a strong brand for himself as the cutting edge Japanese director, who traffics in the extreme, plus he’s quite prolific. Now, I haven’t seen too much of his work, but what I have seen is definitely gripping, if you can stomach it. With his latest release though, Miike is giving us his take on the spaghetti western genre, and is in safe mode by comparison. Django also features Quentin Tarantino in a cameo, so it’s gotten a bit of buzz.

As with Versus, I found Django a bit tough to get into at first, and contemplated giving up, but just like Versus again, I’m glad I stuck with it. Django plays like a straight western, but thematically it’s purely Japanese. Only, instead of choosing subtitles or dub, Miike has the cast here learn their lines phonetically in English, just as he did with his Masters of Horror feature, Imprint (also recommended, but very very dark), which is a bit strange, and so is the movie.

Stick it out though, because it’s a solid story, and has some fun and imaginative standoff/showdown sequences.

A ballet of gunplay, costumes, and blazing gatlins!

RECOMMENDED, again, if you’re ready to be challenged with some offbeat Japanese spaghetti western craziness.

_____
For more Netflix gems, hit up the TALES FROM NETFLIX archives HERE

TALES FROM NETFLIX: From Dusk Til Dawn and on and on

So, I'm a huge Rodriguez, and Tarantino fan (especially Tarantino), but I didn't much care for From Dusk Til Dawn when it first came out, I can't stand Juliette Lewis, and the whole vampire twist wasn't my thing at the time... I'd never been much of a horror movie buff, til more recent years. Now I get the whole inspiration and everything behind it, and just love horror movies of every variety yadda yadda.

Anyway, re-watched Dusk Til Dawn earlier this year, and didn't realize they ever made sequels, so I'd been checking those out.

I watched Dusk Til Dawn 2 (Texas Blood Money ) a month or two back, and while it was fun, it didn't tie into the first movie too much, and wasn't really that good. It has it’s moments, and some flair here and there, but is otherwise pretty forgettable…

However, I just watched Dusk Til Dawn 3 (The Hangman's Daughter - 1999) tonight, and that is a hell of a lot better... a really fun movie.
It's well done, great cast (mostly), great costumes, designs, sets, music, you name it, all very solid.
The story is also great too, as it's a prequel this time, set in Mexico in the early 1900's, that has outlaws, Christians, lawmen, and more all colliding, and eventually having it out at the infamous vampire pyramid home that would become the Titty Twister in the later films.

Some great gunplay, humor, gore, and damn, Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison, the clone man himself) as a hangman/Indiana Jones bad ass. Not to mention Michael Parks (Grindhouse) is super cool throughout, and Machete (Danny Trejo as the barkeeper) as the only actor to appear in all three films (I think).

From the imaginative story, to the quality production, and colorful cast of characters, the movie is full of quirky touches that make Dusk Til Dawn 3 stand out as an overlooked camp/horror/action/adventure gem!

Check it out if you haven't!

And for the die hards, Texas Blood Money might be worth a look, there's nothing to great about it, but it's not a bad way to spin up your DVD player...

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN 3 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
FROM DUSK TIL DAWN 2 - MILDLY RECOMMENDED (If only for the Bruce Campbell cameo!)

Dusk Til Dawn 3 TRAILER:


And who can forget this scene, man woman or child, from the original?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Hell's Angels

Over on Twitch, their weekly International Eye Candy column on AICN features a cool upcoming anime...
Check it out!

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES: Quantum of Solace

I was finally able to catch Quantum last night, as I'd been dying to see it since it hit, but my wife's not big on going to movies, and my Mom had actually mentioned wanting to see it, but it turns out my Dad and wife not so much. So with the holidays and everything, it took a bit to get on the same page, as I absolutely had to see this in the theater, so my mom and I went last night... probably not your typical Bond ticket buying demographic ;)

So, how was the movie?
Was it worth the wait?
And what did mom think?

Quantum of Solace kicks ass.

Casino Royale? An appetizer, a slow burn origin to this new, lean, mean, ass kicking machine that is an utterly modern spin on the shoe worn franchise, wholly unleashed from the opening frame, clear up to the final, where perhaps we catch a glimpse of evolution and resolution. And just as Casino takes us directly to the start of Quantum, most likely this latest chapter does to the next. Because it’s not just James Bond the character who’s been totally reworked, and the world he exists in, but also the framework of the franchise, to include an ongoing, over arcing story. One that, frankly, seems asinine to not have existed before… we all follow her majesty’s secret agent from film to film, over decades, but we’ve never been acknowledged in doing so, not to any great extent. This new spin finally takes that into consideration, not only giving us a fresh start, new approach, and origin, but an ongoing story, unfolding in layers.

Quantum peels back the next layer, and starts to get at what, and who was behind the tragedy that befell our superhuman spy the last time out, and while it resolves some of that, it also unfolds more layers and points to a much larger tale afoot. It’s simply great storytelling, and when it’s coupled with even smarter set pieces, increased pace, an amazing character growing before our eyes, all with fantastic acting, production, and direction, Quantum of Solace maintains Casino’s momentum, accelerates it, and slings you into the much anticipated next chapter of Daniel Craig’s Bond franchise.

And for those that find it doesn’t carry enough of the elements we've come to expect from Bond films, i.e. the gadgets, girls, and goons, I’m not among them. I thought, just as with Casino, there were a ton of techie tools in play, and next gen gadgets that are either already in use, or believably could be. And while both films feature new, stronger female counterparts, and more grounded villains, this Bond still has plenty of game with the ladies, and I think we’ll get bigger villains as the story progresses. And there are plenty of nods to cannon along the way, in scenes like the one when Bond escapes MI6 at the hotel but meets up with M in classic Bond profile, or when a woman turns up dead on a bead in that same hotel, covered head to toe in oil (as opposed to gold).

My only complaint, as with the first, is the tricky balancing act of a James Bond franchise that very much lives in an ultra real world setting, it can some times be too over the top, in contrast with it’s grounded nature. Although, my qualms with this in Quantum are much better than with Casino’s ridiculous set driven Venetian villa collapse climax. So, as with Casino, it’s not perfect, but it’s damn close!

I absolutely loved Quantum, it is an exhilarating, gorgeous, and dangerous next level of Bond storytelling!!

Oh, and mom loved it too :)

SUPER REAL NOTES: Wolves in stores today!

Ease on down to your local comic shop and check out the latest Super Real Graphics offering, SRG PRESENTS: THE WOLVES OF ODIN!

The latest creator-owned OGN is by Grant Gould and features VIKINGS VS WEREWOLVES... huh! wha? Oh my!?! :o

If you don't score a copy, get your retailer to order one post haste via the handy dandy Diamond order code SEP084260

Or, if you live in the boonies, or some undeveloped corner of the globe, use this here Internet thing and make it yours instantly!!!

Either via the SRG store (a trusted source in SRG ware since ought five) HERE

Or the online retail giant, Amazon.com HERE

And then HERE's where you can learn all about our tale of Norse mythology turned Lycan...

No excuses!
I want full reports back to me in the morning!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Steve Gerber tribute

Earlier this year we lost a voice that influenced many, and had a giant impact on the landscape of our industry, and more specifically, creators’ rights, Steve Gerber.

For those who were fans of his work, his characters, or his actions, I can't recommend the latest issue of BACK ISSUE magazine enough... issue number 31, the Steve Gerber tribute issue that came out this week.

It covers his career in depth, from Howard, to Thundarr (yes, Thundarr the Barbarian, god I loved that show), to his more recent work, with many industry friends and collaborators contributing. It's a can't miss, and a solid tribute to a king of comics, who truly changed the game, in a myriad of ways.

Check out the magazine HERE

And Howard fans, waddle on over to CoverBrowser.com for a walk down memory lane.



Waugh!

SUPER REAL NOTES: Making comics

So, want to be a part of the glamorous world of comic book publishing?

You might have heard me talk about a book I'm publishing, Super Real Graphics Presents: The Wolves of Odin? It's due out later this month.

As it's full color, and perfect bound (i.e. it has a spine) the books are printed overseas (so that the price is affordable). With it printed on another continent (you know, like Africa, as in not a country, not actually Africa either, but a different continent folks) that means the books must ship to our part of the world, and since we're doing this all in the effort of cost, that means by boat.

So, you're printing overseas, and shipping the books back to America (which also means longer lead times btw), you don't just need to get the books to the US, but to you and your distributor specifically. Being located on the west coast, Portland Oregon, you'd think they could ship the books to you, but no dice. Seattle is as close as they can boat the freight, it then has to move by land to you (or Diamond). Well, when I first used an overseas printer, moving the freight 175 miles south from Seattle to Portland was only a small extra amount, but when I printed SRG Presents Gnome this spring, the prices had gone up, drastically. So, it was an extra $600 to move the freight to me (and then, again, I still have to ship copies to Diamond on top of that). So, that means I have to drive up to Seattle, in my Jeep Cherokee, and pick up the books myself, and save about $500. A tank or so of gas, and about 6 hours work, makes it all worth it.

So, after chasing down the freight for days (once it gets' to the states, it then has to clear customs, and that requires the printer and freight companies all working together, and sharing proper documentation etc, which, in this case, they didn't) today was the first I could get to the books, and since they're due in shops this month, and have to ship to Diamond, and then move to their proper distribution centers, before shipping to shops, time is of the essence. Well, it just happened that today we were in the midst of 2 days of rain storms...
Yes, it rains allot in the Northwest, and especially on that stretch of I-5, but our rain is normally of the lighter variety, so monsoon downpours were just a nice touch :)

Here's my Jeep, with the full thousand pound, 31 case, pallet loaded inside, straight from the forklift...
Just a glimpse into the fabulous life of comic publishing.
Any way, the good news is, Wolves of Odin is on it's way!

We shall see...

ELECTION DAY...

brings the worst attack ads yet! (Oh my!)

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

YON ELECTION IS NIGH

Alright folks, let's get political, po-li-ti-cal, I wanna get poli-ti-cal, let's get into party talk, party talk (to the tune of Olivia Newton John's Physical baby!)...

I'm not going to say who I voted for (go on guess), but I think we can all agree our country is in dire need, and this is a muy important time, so hopefully you all registered, and did your duty!

If not, here's a little somethin somethin to help ya motivate!





And, oh yeah, I love me some Deee-Lite and Lady Miss Kier!!

TALES FROM NETFLIX: Feast 2

A tag team midget luchador Dirk Diggler...
A vengeful bad ass twin biker queen...
Monster on cat beastiality...
Monster farting, spewing, spooging dissection orgies...
Group vomiting...
Baby tossing...
Decomposing grandma catapulting...
Feast 2 is truly a feast of foulness and depravity, and god damn I love it!
Give me the craziest shit you can think up, any day of the week.
Does it cross the line? Or every line? Yes. Okay by me, if you tell a fun story, and although Feast 2 (and the original) revel in the taboo, they've got a hell of a lot more going for them.

I absolutely loved the first film, the Project Greenlight season 3 winner was a ballsy in your face send up of the survival horror genre, mixing 2 parts Tremors with equal parts Tarantino and Truama films. Mysterious beastial creatures cornering a dozen or so desert drifters in a hole in the wall bar, and literally fucking with them. Sprinkle in a couple oddball cameos and supporting actors, like Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay and Silent Bob fame), Trech (of OPP fame), Judah Friedlander (of VH1 trucker hat video/Best Week Ever pseudo fame), along with Henry Rollins to kick some ass in pink sweat pants, and the quirk ratchets up a few notches.Feast quickly establishes that it will mercilessly fuck with any and all survival horror formulas, and constantly use that to it's advantage. With the sequel literally picking up from the final frames of the first, we're fairly certain we're in for more of the same. And while the sequel breaks new ground, like taking the production outside the walls of the only bar setting of the first for instance, it mostly suffers for it. The opening act is a bit manic, and not near up to par with what's come before, but once things come together, and the setting gets dark again, it really hits it's stride.
This time out we have an entirely new cast of misfits (mostly, a couple familiar faces do welcomely return), and a broader scope, along with more monsters, but the trademark bat shit crazy characters and situations are very in keeping with the first film! And again, Feast 2 Sloppy Seconds is daringly nasty, so if you can't throw down with no holds barred cinema, don't bother. If however, like me, you're overjoyed at the prospect, Feast 2 is an instant classic, just like the first. And while the original was a buzzer to buzzer success, the second does falter a bit as I said at the start, and also have some spotty effects at times, but in the end I could care less, it's still a hell of a good time.So, if you didn't see the first film, and somehow missed my mad joyous ravings about it, here's a sloppy second chance to throw in on the Feast bandwagon... because with this one's ending, the creative forces behind this franchise (the original director and scriptwriters returned for the sequel) are clearly down for more!

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!

RECENT RUNDOWN

HELL RIDE - Tarantino produces what seemed like it could've been a "Grindhouse" feature, but you quickly realize why it's not... All the elements of a Tarantino work are there, Michael Madsen, desert setting, soundtrack, jump cut timeline, but all the substance is lacking. It's a confusing mess with a questionable cast, but shot really nice, and is cool to look at...

MILDLY RECOMMENDED

TALES FROM NETFLIX: The Fabulous Stains

I think it was Rolling Stone (side note, my wife has us subscribed to nearly every magazine, literally, for next to no money I guess, I dunno, but I do enjoy RS and Entertainment Weekly) who had a blurb about this 1982 gem a few issues back...

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE FABULOUS STAINS is an early 80's punk rock mockumentary of sorts, and stars a very young Diane Lane as bandleader to would be punk trio The Stains (who also sport a very young Laura Dern on bass). It seems Diane's character was featured on a 60 Minutes style TV expose after telling her boss off on camera (in a cameo from a moustache sporting Data from Star Trek TNG no less), which launches her into an orphaned teen angst fueled journey of empowerment and media manipulation, yeah. It seems her refusal to fit into the accepted path for America's youth, specifically women, with her white striped hair, risque fish netted outfit, and "don't put out" mantra are exactly what other young women are looking for in their lives.

Stains is not only quite a unique story, but it's told in gritty style, perfectly capturing the darker side of the times, showcasing punk music, and road weary rockers, as they take a cross country run down tour bus (complete with rasta driver/manager) that never makes it out of the mid-American tri-state PA setting. Like a time capsule, of punk music, clothes, and attitudes from the dawn of the 80's, and with a line up of radically younger actors still around today, also including Ray Winstone (most recently as Beowulf, and Indiana Jone's "buddy" in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), and punk/rockers (members of Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Tubes are featured) the Stains is the perfect rock movie and feels as snarky fresh as if it were shot now, with an eye for campy details from then.

Great music, great cast, and a solid story make LAGTFS a really fun trip to another era, that's as relevant (both musically, and socially, it's mixed messages are as grey as reality) now as it was all those decades ago, even with the uneven ending.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


RECENT RUNDOWN

FIVE ACROSS THE EYES - This no budget horror is shot in shakey cam as 5 girls take a backroad home from a football game that gets them lost, and colliding with a seriously pshycho Toyota Fourunner... chaos ensues. It's at times gripping, capturing the manic vibe of the situations, but ultimately a scene or two too long, and contrived. MILDLY RECOMMENDED

MOTHER OF TEARS - Dario Argento's final in his witch trilogy is a solid occult outing, complete with freaky demonic monkey, but daughter Asia, and the overall arc, come over poorly in the end. MILDLY RECOMMENDED

REST STOP: DON'T LOOK BACK - The first one sucked, this one is better, but don't bother.

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES: Watchmen trailer

It's been floating around the nets, but just finally viewed it myself...

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

This is a touch longer than the last one, and still looks uberdy cooldidy!

And here's some cool Watchmen fan art I've seen recently!



Bon appetit!

TALES FROM NETFLIX - Dance of the Dead

Ever since first hearing about DANCE OF THE DEAD on AICN last year, I've been anxiously awaiting it's release on DVD. Well, it came out last week, as part of the new Lions Gate Ghost House Underground series (which I'm assuming has replaced the annual Horrorfest releases?)...

SYNOPSIS: On the night of the big High-School Prom, the dead rise to eat the living, and the only people who can stop them are the losers who couldn't get dates to the dance.

While the movie is a lot of fun, and has some really great moments, it doesn't quite achieve full on greatness. It is however a really solid watch, and very much recommended, especially for the zombie fans.

Also, for the zombie faithful out there, while it's your standard bio-waste driven zombie virus plaguing a community style set-up slash send-up, in keeping with the zom/com formula minted by the classic original Return of the Living Dead (and popularized more recently by Shuan of the Dead), it does offer some really fun flourishes to the tried and true, especially about mid-movie, when the cast begin to engage the zombies in hand-to-hand combat! It's fucking worth a viewing for that alone!!

This is not one of the darkly serious horror spins on zombies, it's tongue bitten off in cheek, zombie frenchin', prom crashin', copious amounts of a Pat Benetar cover song soundtrack spinnin' good time! It also should be noted the production on this one is top notch. If you're into Dance of the Dead, you might also check out Night of the Living Dorks, or Dead and Breakfast (which was much more enjoyable, yet a much lower rent production)!

RECOMMENDED

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Javiland podcast

Yesterday, I joined in on another conversation over at my buddy Javier Hernandez's bi-weekly TalkShoe.com comics creation podcast, Javiland. This time, along with about four other creators we discussed "Printing comic books in the Age of Web Comics".

Talking about POD (print on demand), mini comics, and not really talking about full and short run comic book printing, as we mostly got into threads about webcomics. Lots of info if you haven't looked into publishing on or via the web.

You can check it out here:

SUPER REAL NOTES: Marvel Masterpieces 2 artist proof cards

My first sketch card work was for Upper Deck's Marvel Masterpieces series 2, for which I did 200 sketch cards. As part of the payment for the set, each sketch card artist received 10 "artist proof" sketch cards to do what they wished with. I received my cards back in August, and posted commission availability here, on DeviantArt, and on the Scoundrel sketch card forums. I received 3 commissions, and sold 1 via eBay.

Since I had 6 cards left to sell, and a deadline to get them approved by Upper Deck/Marvel, I went ahead and tried doing my first 2 card set, making one image across 2 cards, and offering that on eBay. I was pleased to sell those cards within a couple hours of posting via buy it now, a set of the classic Uncanny X-Men, so I decided to work up another 2 card set for eBay. This time I did a grouping of Avengers women, and those sold by the next morning. With 2 cards left, I went ahead and did a third 2 card set, with this last being of women from the X-Men. Those cards are currently (at this time) on eBay, HERE and HERE

Here are all of the MM2 artist proofs I've done (the final 10th card is commissioned, and I'll add it here once it's completed):
X-Women
Avengers Women
Uncanny X-Men
Banshee
Professor X
and Nova!








You can view most of my 200 MM2 series sketch cards HERE (or in my DeviantArt gallery)

I did 75 sketch cards for series 3, which you can view HERE, and will have 10 artist proof cards to share from that eventually as well. I've currently only sold one of those, so nine are still available (email me if interested). Just as with the MM2 ap's, I'll start auctioning off my own custom works on eBay...

Since the artist proof's have been working out pretty well, I look forward to working on more sketch cards in the future. It's not only fun to draw Marvel characters, as I'm a Marvel guy from way back, but working on the 2.5x3.5" canvas, in live media, is very interesting too (as opposed to working digitally on an open canvas). Not to mention, there are plenty of other cool card/licensed properties out there!

Here's hoping.

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Javiland podcast

Yesterday, I joined in on a coversation about branding on my buddy Javier Hernandez's new bi-weekly TalkShoe.com comics creation podcast, Javiland. Along with four other artists, cartoonists, creators, we discussed branding and how it relates to both publishing comics, and creators themselves, debating the many challenges of getting across a "brand" through your work.

You can check it out here:


Branding is something I feel is key in a visual medium like comics. Just look at the most popular publishers, and creators, they all have very distinct brands, either through cult of personality (Stan Lee, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison etc), unique approach (artists like Alex Ross, Adam Hughes, and the late Michael Turner, to name a few, stand out in the crowd by making their art their brand), and the large publishers, with thier everpresent branding and trademarked mulit-media superhero properties.

Finding your brand, and cultivating it, only reinforces your efforts, and can lead to wider success and recognition.

To an artist/creator seeking commercial success, branding is key, and can only help.

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES... Watchmen hype

Could Zack Snyder's Watchmen adaptation reach to the pinnacles of cinema, just as the source material vaunted to arguably the highest achievement in comics?! Could we dare to dream??

Well, based on his mind numbingly cool remake of Dawn of the Dead (not perfect, but damn close), the zeitgeist that was his 300 adaptation, and the early buzz on advance screenings of scenes from the film, it just may be that he's done it again, and we could all have an orgasmic movie going experience on the horizon...

DC, those fuckers, are gonna sell a shit load of books, and the movie, even if it falls short, will be utterly enjoyable at the least. I suspect though, it just may blow our fucking minds...

Check out AICN's notes on the screening HERE and HERE