Alright, so I will not be attending next month's NYC comic con. I just could not raise the busfare to and fro quickly enough, although all else was covered. A shame, as there were several persons I was truly looking forward to meeting in person, though undoubtedly there will be other occasions to do so.
On a good note, I am using some of the cash to order copies of certain books with my name on them, before they find themselves out of circulation. I am eager for those books to sit on my shelf.
The voting for this year's Friends of Lulu Awards is officially over, and it may well be the last. I would love to see the organization continue beyond year's end, with or without me, but the situation looks completely hopeless. As it were, it has been a source of pride to be at all connected to the group these past few months, even if my ultimate roll was rather small.
Reading lists...I have wanted for awhile to at least mention the volume of volumes I've been speeding through, short of doing full book reviews (beit here or at poplitiko). I mentioned Jon Krakauer's Under The Banner Of Heaven not too long ago. Just prior to that I read Krakauer's excellent Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey Of Pat Tillman. Since then I have read Scott McCloud's Making Comics (inspirational, as ever), followed by Dark Horse's Eisner/Miller (two industry vets piping on for more than 350 pages about the history and politics of the medium...each placating the other, I think). I am currently a third of the way into Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay (presumptuously well-written). Afterwords I'd like another crack at Milton's Paradise Lost. It's been a few years. All of these are research, incidentally.
Nothing new worth sharing on the creative front, except I am dangerously close to finishing an obscenely wordy essay on the history (primarily behind the scenes) of one of Steve Ditko's creations. I am tempted to see if Rob Imes would be up for publishing it in his fantastic fanzine, Ditkomania!, although I feel guilty at not having been in the position to renew my own subscription for a spell. What's the etiquette on that kinda thing? And what means etiquette to an Objectivist?
28 September 2010
26 September 2010
...and Stiletto 6!
Stiletto #6
Created, Written, & Illustrated by John B. Lai
Published by Ultimate Comics Group
In this second chapter to Industrial Revolution, our lady on the scene Stiletto is caught between the Nazi-esque "Gak-Sho", led by the excessively violent Lord Gakler, and the rebel forces of the "Pak-Wan", led by King Popo. Forced by what she sees to aid what is clearly the lesser of two evils, this looks to be the stickiest mess yet for the energetic, intergalactic stripper/lawyer/heroine.
As the aliens get nastier and naughtier, the subject matters continue to spiral downward for Stiletto and Rigby, when all they want is to just find there way home. With a war raging through most of this issue, Lai leaves us with a great new twist, thereby surreptitiously pulling this entire saga into the UCG universe. While these characters are indeed a far cry from the much more clean superheroes this publisher is otherwise known for, the innuendo at just how indepth this megaverse is, is interesting. While Lai has worn multiple creative hats before, his writing skills do seem to include more than a little sneakiness.
The feel of the art continues to attract. It dawned on me that the style he has been reaching for serves as a bridge between the better days of Heavy Metal magazine onto something specifically aimed for the video game generation of today. The imagination and the delivery are just so much fun, I really cannot think of any other current or recent comics that this might possibly be compared to. The style of the illustrations calls to mind Scott McCloud's theory regarding the separation of character and environment. A generally animated look is presented here, with a surprising mix between the pseudo-realism of Stiletto and her occasional ladyfriends and allies, and the brushy, even scribbly look of many of the settings and assorted lesser characters; except here we also have an astounding display of coloring and digital effects that blanket every single frame with a unique and vibrant look all its own.
This comic series is adults-only, as it does contain quite a bit of nudity, crazy levels of exploding spaceships and lazers blasting folks into droplets of alien goo, as well as many an impolite word. Is Stiletto for everyone? No. But for those mature and open-minded enough for such graphic content and looking for something striving (and succeeding) at originality, this ongoing comic book is one hellaciously enjoyable read.
Created, Written, & Illustrated by John B. Lai
Published by Ultimate Comics Group
In this second chapter to Industrial Revolution, our lady on the scene Stiletto is caught between the Nazi-esque "Gak-Sho", led by the excessively violent Lord Gakler, and the rebel forces of the "Pak-Wan", led by King Popo. Forced by what she sees to aid what is clearly the lesser of two evils, this looks to be the stickiest mess yet for the energetic, intergalactic stripper/lawyer/heroine.
As the aliens get nastier and naughtier, the subject matters continue to spiral downward for Stiletto and Rigby, when all they want is to just find there way home. With a war raging through most of this issue, Lai leaves us with a great new twist, thereby surreptitiously pulling this entire saga into the UCG universe. While these characters are indeed a far cry from the much more clean superheroes this publisher is otherwise known for, the innuendo at just how indepth this megaverse is, is interesting. While Lai has worn multiple creative hats before, his writing skills do seem to include more than a little sneakiness.
The feel of the art continues to attract. It dawned on me that the style he has been reaching for serves as a bridge between the better days of Heavy Metal magazine onto something specifically aimed for the video game generation of today. The imagination and the delivery are just so much fun, I really cannot think of any other current or recent comics that this might possibly be compared to. The style of the illustrations calls to mind Scott McCloud's theory regarding the separation of character and environment. A generally animated look is presented here, with a surprising mix between the pseudo-realism of Stiletto and her occasional ladyfriends and allies, and the brushy, even scribbly look of many of the settings and assorted lesser characters; except here we also have an astounding display of coloring and digital effects that blanket every single frame with a unique and vibrant look all its own.
This comic series is adults-only, as it does contain quite a bit of nudity, crazy levels of exploding spaceships and lazers blasting folks into droplets of alien goo, as well as many an impolite word. Is Stiletto for everyone? No. But for those mature and open-minded enough for such graphic content and looking for something striving (and succeeding) at originality, this ongoing comic book is one hellaciously enjoyable read.
Stiletto 5!
Stiletto #5
Created, Written, & Illustrated by John B. Lai
Published by Ultimate Comics Group
Beginning her second big story arc, and having narrowly avoided total calamity when the previous owner of Stiletto's Bi-Curian Custom Blaster tried miserably to declare herself drama queen incarnate, we find Stiletto and her puppy pet monster Rigby arriving on yet another world, one more bothersome than this here run-on sentence.
Instantly caught between two warring factions, our nubile intergalactic adventureress soon finds that one of these groups is a brutal, cannibalistic vulgarity of a species, and Stiletto herself may not be able to make it out of this one on her feet.
Lai continues his bizarrely comedic spin on the trials and tribulations of an intergalactic stripper, and with this issue infuses a severe thread of drama into the overall tapestry. Still a fun, no holds barred ride, with enough science fiction and tongue in cheek cheesecake to attract many a red-blooded male. And female. Great fun, and though not at all pornographic in content, this is once more, by no means whatsoever a comic book for minors.
His computer-generated art continues its own madcap path, mixing realistically-rendered people amidst cartoony aliens and imaginative worlds in an almost hallucinatory, psychedelic fashion. The color scale is gorgeously verbose and vivid, and his designwork is just as creative as a Ritalin-deprived, precocious child hopped up on candybars and endless supplies of every crayola ever manufactured. Lai isn't trying to win any awards, he's clearly just hellbent on telling an original, adventurous (but graciously funny) tale. And he absolutely succeeds.
A fast-paced rollercoaster presented and fully-packaged for grown-ups of particular tastes, Stiletto's new story deserves a closer look. And maybe an unfiltered cigarette after the fact.
Created, Written, & Illustrated by John B. Lai
Published by Ultimate Comics Group
Beginning her second big story arc, and having narrowly avoided total calamity when the previous owner of Stiletto's Bi-Curian Custom Blaster tried miserably to declare herself drama queen incarnate, we find Stiletto and her puppy pet monster Rigby arriving on yet another world, one more bothersome than this here run-on sentence.
Instantly caught between two warring factions, our nubile intergalactic adventureress soon finds that one of these groups is a brutal, cannibalistic vulgarity of a species, and Stiletto herself may not be able to make it out of this one on her feet.
Lai continues his bizarrely comedic spin on the trials and tribulations of an intergalactic stripper, and with this issue infuses a severe thread of drama into the overall tapestry. Still a fun, no holds barred ride, with enough science fiction and tongue in cheek cheesecake to attract many a red-blooded male. And female. Great fun, and though not at all pornographic in content, this is once more, by no means whatsoever a comic book for minors.
His computer-generated art continues its own madcap path, mixing realistically-rendered people amidst cartoony aliens and imaginative worlds in an almost hallucinatory, psychedelic fashion. The color scale is gorgeously verbose and vivid, and his designwork is just as creative as a Ritalin-deprived, precocious child hopped up on candybars and endless supplies of every crayola ever manufactured. Lai isn't trying to win any awards, he's clearly just hellbent on telling an original, adventurous (but graciously funny) tale. And he absolutely succeeds.
A fast-paced rollercoaster presented and fully-packaged for grown-ups of particular tastes, Stiletto's new story deserves a closer look. And maybe an unfiltered cigarette after the fact.
21 September 2010
spinning rooms, spinning yarns
I've been reading Jon Krakauer's Under The Banner Of Heaven, which is astonishingly well-researched- something I've come to expect and to admire from all of Krakauer's books. Here, he respectfully quotes another author's work, Will Bagley's Blood Of The Prophets, as both books deal with the exceptionally murderous history of the Church Of Latter Day Saints: Mormons. One quote in particular caught my eye.
"In New York in 1902, William Hooper Young, the prophet's grandson, slit the abdomen of an alleged prostitute and wrote the words "Blood Atonement" in his father's apartment."
This references a grandson of Brigham Young, the second Prophet/President of the Mormon church. Why does this matter to me? Well, as faithful followers of this blog are aware, I and some writer friends have an upcoming book of our own, Autumn Painted Red, which deals exclusively with the Jack The Ripper slayings. In my own 2 years of research, one of the more interesting facts I came across concerned a murderer in New York City, in the years following Jack's reign, who killed a number of prostitutes in such a way as to lead many authorities to believe that Jack was not only still active, but had relocated to megalithic NYC. In fact, one of this Jack's victims was a prostitute nicknamed Shakespeare, so we have this bizarre moment of real-world metafiction. These killings began just ten years prior to the incident involving William Hooper Young.
Considering the insanity of Mormon Fundamentalism's Blood Atonement rites, might Hooper have been the NYC Ripper?
Ritualistic murders are not at all a rare thing among stated LDS Fundamentalists, as we've seen examples as recently as the past couple of decades in regards to members of both the LeBaron and Lafferty families. Brigham Young himself had given a number of impassioned speeches spouting how murdering in the name of God was actually a righteous thing. And to take this line of thought even further, the traditional Mormon church was indeed attracting English converts as early as the 1840s. Might the original Ripper murders then, in actuality have been the handiwork of a sect of Mormon Fundamentalists hellbent on purifying the sins of man?
I have not before found any mention of such an avenue having been explored anywhere else. And while this notion would not really alter my own contribution to Autumn Painted Red, the idea would be interesting to explore.
"In New York in 1902, William Hooper Young, the prophet's grandson, slit the abdomen of an alleged prostitute and wrote the words "Blood Atonement" in his father's apartment."
This references a grandson of Brigham Young, the second Prophet/President of the Mormon church. Why does this matter to me? Well, as faithful followers of this blog are aware, I and some writer friends have an upcoming book of our own, Autumn Painted Red, which deals exclusively with the Jack The Ripper slayings. In my own 2 years of research, one of the more interesting facts I came across concerned a murderer in New York City, in the years following Jack's reign, who killed a number of prostitutes in such a way as to lead many authorities to believe that Jack was not only still active, but had relocated to megalithic NYC. In fact, one of this Jack's victims was a prostitute nicknamed Shakespeare, so we have this bizarre moment of real-world metafiction. These killings began just ten years prior to the incident involving William Hooper Young.
Considering the insanity of Mormon Fundamentalism's Blood Atonement rites, might Hooper have been the NYC Ripper?
Ritualistic murders are not at all a rare thing among stated LDS Fundamentalists, as we've seen examples as recently as the past couple of decades in regards to members of both the LeBaron and Lafferty families. Brigham Young himself had given a number of impassioned speeches spouting how murdering in the name of God was actually a righteous thing. And to take this line of thought even further, the traditional Mormon church was indeed attracting English converts as early as the 1840s. Might the original Ripper murders then, in actuality have been the handiwork of a sect of Mormon Fundamentalists hellbent on purifying the sins of man?
I have not before found any mention of such an avenue having been explored anywhere else. And while this notion would not really alter my own contribution to Autumn Painted Red, the idea would be interesting to explore.
17 September 2010
sweet jane says she talks to angels
Today is the tenth anniversary of the murder of my elder sister, Rebecca Cay Caldwell. Born June 29th of 1975, she left us on September 18th of 2000. I can still hear her voice.
http://www.myspace.com/rebeccasvoice
http://www.myspace.com/rebeccasvoice
Lulu 2010 Awards Voting In Full Effect!
The good folks at the Friends Of Lulu organization are happy to at last announce the nominees for the 2010 Lulu Awards. The Lulu Awards recognizes the people and projects that helped to open eyes and minds to the amazing comic and cartooning work by and/or about women.
Voting is open to the public: simply click on this link!
One vote per person, per email address. VOTES ARE DUE SEPT 27th!
The Lulu Awards will be held October 29th at Long Beach Comic Con.
For the list of last year's winners, please click here.
For further information on past Lulu Awards winners, please click here.
For your convenience, here is a list of the nominees:
Leah Adezio Award for Best Kid-Friendly Work:
Leah, who passed away in 2007, was very active in Friends of Lulu and was also a comics creator in her own right. She had a passion for children’s comics and this award is in memory of her. This award is for a kid-friendly work that best exemplifies the Friends of Lulu motto “Comics Are For Everyone.”
* Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm: Babymouse: The Musical and Babymouse: Dragonslayer
* Tory Woollcott: Mirror Mind
* Diana Nock: The Intrepid Girlbot
* Teddy Riawen, Phuong Hong Au Nguyen, & Malcolm Harris: Witch Girls Tales Issue 1 Volume 2
* David Petersen: Mouse Guard: Winter 1152
* Roger Langridge: The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson
* Art Balthazar & Franco Aureliani: Tiny Titans
Best Female Character:
For a lead female character from an ongoing or limited comic book series or comic strip, original graphic novel or novella. Whether in print or online.
* Marie Levesque: The Road To God Knows, Von Allan
* Ramona Flowers: Scott Pilgrim, Bryan Lee O’Malley
* Creepy Carly: Creepy Carly, Carly Mizzou
* Girlbot: The Intrepid Girlbot, Diana Nock
* Ivy: Ivy, Sarah Oleksyk
* Mot Fleishman: Eros Inc., Michael Jonathan
* Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham: Questionable Content, Jeph Jacques
* Gemma: Nurse Nurse, Katie Skelly
* Mindy Markus: The Night Owls, Peter & Bobby Timony
* Fusella Mierter: Galaxion, Tara Tallan
Kim Yale Award for Most Talented Newcomer:
Nominees must have published work, whether self-published, company-published, or net-published. Nominees must be nominated for this category within two years of their first professionally published work or three years of their first self published work. An individual may not be nominated more than twice and cannot win more than once.
* Von Allan: The Road To God Knows
* Tory Woollcott: Mirror Mind
* Diana Nock: The Intrepid Girlbot
* Athena Currier: Action Athena
* Kathryn Immonen: The Runaways
* Lisa Hanawalt: I Want You
* Carolyn Belefski: Curls
Lulu of the Year:
For the creator, book or other entity whose work best exemplifies Friends of Lulu’s mission statement. Nominees must have published work, whether self-published, company-published, or net-published.
* Hope Larson
* The Road To God Knows by Von Allan
* Tara Tallan
* Kate Beaton
* Mirror Mind by Tory Woollcott
* Channel M Publishing
* Raina Telgemeier
* Jill Thompson
* Miss Lasko-Gross
* Katie Skelly
* Françoise Mouly
* Carol Tyler
Woman of Distinction:
For outstanding achievement within the comic book industry in non-creator roles, such as editing, publishing, reporting, or retail.
* Amy Adams: co-proprietor of Bergen Street Comics
* Sam (Samantha) Boswell: assisted on Von Allan's The Road To God Knows
* Laura Hudson: Comics Alliance
* Katie Merrit: retailer, Green Brain Comics
* Lauren Sankovitch: editor, Marvel Comics
* Elizabeth Dingmann: Lerner Publishing publicist
* Jenette Kahn: Former Publisher, DC Comics
* Peggy Burns: Associate Publisher, Marketing & Sales, Drawn & Quarterly
* Françoise Mouly: Publisher/Editorial Director TOON Books
The Female Cartoonists Hall Of Fame:
Nominees must have published work, whether self-published, company-published, or net-published. An individual cannot win more than once.
* Carla Speed McNeil
* Louise Simonson
* Devin Grayson
* Zelda Mavin Jackson aka Jackie Ormes
* Diana Nock
* Athena Currier
* Roz Chast
* Dori Seda
* Alison Bechdel
Voting is open to the public: simply click on this link!
One vote per person, per email address. VOTES ARE DUE SEPT 27th!
The Lulu Awards will be held October 29th at Long Beach Comic Con.
For the list of last year's winners, please click here.
For further information on past Lulu Awards winners, please click here.
For your convenience, here is a list of the nominees:
Leah Adezio Award for Best Kid-Friendly Work:
Leah, who passed away in 2007, was very active in Friends of Lulu and was also a comics creator in her own right. She had a passion for children’s comics and this award is in memory of her. This award is for a kid-friendly work that best exemplifies the Friends of Lulu motto “Comics Are For Everyone.”
* Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm: Babymouse: The Musical and Babymouse: Dragonslayer
* Tory Woollcott: Mirror Mind
* Diana Nock: The Intrepid Girlbot
* Teddy Riawen, Phuong Hong Au Nguyen, & Malcolm Harris: Witch Girls Tales Issue 1 Volume 2
* David Petersen: Mouse Guard: Winter 1152
* Roger Langridge: The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson
* Art Balthazar & Franco Aureliani: Tiny Titans
Best Female Character:
For a lead female character from an ongoing or limited comic book series or comic strip, original graphic novel or novella. Whether in print or online.
* Marie Levesque: The Road To God Knows, Von Allan
* Ramona Flowers: Scott Pilgrim, Bryan Lee O’Malley
* Creepy Carly: Creepy Carly, Carly Mizzou
* Girlbot: The Intrepid Girlbot, Diana Nock
* Ivy: Ivy, Sarah Oleksyk
* Mot Fleishman: Eros Inc., Michael Jonathan
* Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham: Questionable Content, Jeph Jacques
* Gemma: Nurse Nurse, Katie Skelly
* Mindy Markus: The Night Owls, Peter & Bobby Timony
* Fusella Mierter: Galaxion, Tara Tallan
Kim Yale Award for Most Talented Newcomer:
Nominees must have published work, whether self-published, company-published, or net-published. Nominees must be nominated for this category within two years of their first professionally published work or three years of their first self published work. An individual may not be nominated more than twice and cannot win more than once.
* Von Allan: The Road To God Knows
* Tory Woollcott: Mirror Mind
* Diana Nock: The Intrepid Girlbot
* Athena Currier: Action Athena
* Kathryn Immonen: The Runaways
* Lisa Hanawalt: I Want You
* Carolyn Belefski: Curls
Lulu of the Year:
For the creator, book or other entity whose work best exemplifies Friends of Lulu’s mission statement. Nominees must have published work, whether self-published, company-published, or net-published.
* Hope Larson
* The Road To God Knows by Von Allan
* Tara Tallan
* Kate Beaton
* Mirror Mind by Tory Woollcott
* Channel M Publishing
* Raina Telgemeier
* Jill Thompson
* Miss Lasko-Gross
* Katie Skelly
* Françoise Mouly
* Carol Tyler
Woman of Distinction:
For outstanding achievement within the comic book industry in non-creator roles, such as editing, publishing, reporting, or retail.
* Amy Adams: co-proprietor of Bergen Street Comics
* Sam (Samantha) Boswell: assisted on Von Allan's The Road To God Knows
* Laura Hudson: Comics Alliance
* Katie Merrit: retailer, Green Brain Comics
* Lauren Sankovitch: editor, Marvel Comics
* Elizabeth Dingmann: Lerner Publishing publicist
* Jenette Kahn: Former Publisher, DC Comics
* Peggy Burns: Associate Publisher, Marketing & Sales, Drawn & Quarterly
* Françoise Mouly: Publisher/Editorial Director TOON Books
The Female Cartoonists Hall Of Fame:
Nominees must have published work, whether self-published, company-published, or net-published. An individual cannot win more than once.
* Carla Speed McNeil
* Louise Simonson
* Devin Grayson
* Zelda Mavin Jackson aka Jackie Ormes
* Diana Nock
* Athena Currier
* Roz Chast
* Dori Seda
* Alison Bechdel
So get voting- it's free, and FoL is a non-profit charity! Everybody wins!
13 September 2010
comicnews.info
Just walked through another anniversary here at jalopy HQ. On 09.09.09 I parted with comicnews.info, a site I had been with since around 1742 (b.c.) or so. Though in all actuality the parting waters had resulted from the damnably mutual blame consisting of one part my own blasted arrogance mixed with equal measures of general disinterest from the entire 13-strong staff at the time, I am humbled to have since made some degree of amends with Gary Rodrigue, Founder and Editor In Chief of the site. We have known each other entirely too long to carry grudges forever. Equally, I am pleased to report for any readers not following his webzine that they do seem to be entering another growth spurt of late, with a growing list of new reviewers. Good for them.
I actually owe a lot to Gary, as there was a rather long ravel of time when it was just me and him, learning by doing, fighting back to back against the hordes of mediocrity. "More Mom & Pop, Less Uncle Tom". And although I cannot see myself returning anytime soon to the savage realms of comic book journalism, with a year of hindsight I can gratefully say that my time with comicnews.info was a world of slithering geekery gone Gonzo (we chase our bourbon with India Ink and Dr Martins 'round here, ladies), and I remain fortunate for both the education and the fun. A nexus of GOOD memories unto itself.
I actually owe a lot to Gary, as there was a rather long ravel of time when it was just me and him, learning by doing, fighting back to back against the hordes of mediocrity. "More Mom & Pop, Less Uncle Tom". And although I cannot see myself returning anytime soon to the savage realms of comic book journalism, with a year of hindsight I can gratefully say that my time with comicnews.info was a world of slithering geekery gone Gonzo (we chase our bourbon with India Ink and Dr Martins 'round here, ladies), and I remain fortunate for both the education and the fun. A nexus of GOOD memories unto itself.
10 September 2010
Why I hate September
I truly despise this month. Why?
September 6th of 1998 was the day of my father's autopsy. Based on the report, his body had been found on the 5th, and was believed to have died sometime within a three-day window prior. As much of his body had been destroyed by Texan fire ants and the brutal summer sun of the Tejas skies, the exact time of death is not known.
September 11th of 2001, for obvious reasons. I was working as a supervisor with food services at the Louisville Zoo at that time, and spent a sizable portion of the midday attempting to give the two bald eagles in their collection a contact buzz from some low-grade marijuana. They surely needed it.
September 18th of 2000 was the day my elder sister was strangled to death in her own bed by her then ex-boyfriend right here in Louisville. The tenth anniversary is looming near. I will likely be falling down drunk all weekend.
September 28th is the wedding anniversary for a young lady who at one time I was beyond smitten with. Indeed, the kiss we shared three days before the ceremony so many years ago remains the best of my life, by far.
So there it is then, the month of painful reminders. What a royal joke is this life.
September 6th of 1998 was the day of my father's autopsy. Based on the report, his body had been found on the 5th, and was believed to have died sometime within a three-day window prior. As much of his body had been destroyed by Texan fire ants and the brutal summer sun of the Tejas skies, the exact time of death is not known.
September 11th of 2001, for obvious reasons. I was working as a supervisor with food services at the Louisville Zoo at that time, and spent a sizable portion of the midday attempting to give the two bald eagles in their collection a contact buzz from some low-grade marijuana. They surely needed it.
September 18th of 2000 was the day my elder sister was strangled to death in her own bed by her then ex-boyfriend right here in Louisville. The tenth anniversary is looming near. I will likely be falling down drunk all weekend.
September 28th is the wedding anniversary for a young lady who at one time I was beyond smitten with. Indeed, the kiss we shared three days before the ceremony so many years ago remains the best of my life, by far.
So there it is then, the month of painful reminders. What a royal joke is this life.
01 September 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
