Walking all over the damn city, not really looking for anything at all.
I know I am not doing anything for Hallowe'en. Equally, I did nothing to commemorate this being Domestic Violence Awareness month.
I could use more paying work. I could use new boots and a new home. What I am being offered for the new year though...will be monstrously huge. Creatively. I neither initiated or instigated a thing, but without a pitch or proposal of any kind, I have been approached in recent weeks for work by three separate comic book publishers. They came to me. Because I sell nothing and I buy nothing. But god knows what any of them were thinking.
I just walk all over this damn city, not looking for a damn thing at all.
28 October 2010
25 October 2010
Lady Lazarus
This is by my friend Gallows. Known the kid for 5 years now, through high times and low, and I am ecstatic at his musical progress.
23 October 2010
logic dodgem!
The latest issue of the Northampton-centric magazine, Dodgem Logic, is now available! The sixth issue of Alan Moore's bizarre side project also features works from Iain Sinclair, Stewart Lee, Steve Aylett, Dick Foreman, Melinda Gebbie, Robin Ince, and many more!
Why do we care? Because I will write for this mag. Someday.
21 October 2010
Bob Guccione
Bob Guccione, notorious and infamous founder of Penthouse magazine, passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 79.
Viewed by many as a smuttier version of Hugh Hefner, the controversial Guccione was a pioneer of the American porn industry. Starting the magazine in 1965 to subsidize his own art career, he served as its original photographer and editor. Over the course of his reign as publisher, it is estimated the magazine garnered in excess of 4 billion dollars total. He was also a prime investor in the cult-hit film, 1979's Caligula, starring Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, and Helen Mirren.
It is believed that he died from lung cancer.
Alan Moore once said that the only difference between pornography and erotica is the bank account of the audience. Think what you will of Guccione's publishing career, but the man was an original, fiery spirit through and through.
16 October 2010
faint recognition confessional
"The only way you can really look up is when you're down on your back."
-Alcoholics Anonymous
"All of us are lying in the gutters, but only some of us are looking to the stars."
-Oscar Wilde
"To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul- would you understand why that's much harder?"
-Howard Roark
"In war, truth is the first casualty."
-Aeschylus (Fifth century B.C.)
"I just want to fuck up everything."
-Johnny Rotten
-Alcoholics Anonymous
"All of us are lying in the gutters, but only some of us are looking to the stars."
-Oscar Wilde
"To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul- would you understand why that's much harder?"
-Howard Roark
"In war, truth is the first casualty."
-Aeschylus (Fifth century B.C.)
"I just want to fuck up everything."
-Johnny Rotten
07 October 2010
why Objectivism?
"Do not attempt to rise on the looters' terms or to climb the ladder while they're holding the ropes. Do not allow their hands to touch the only power that keeps them in power: your living ambition. Go on strike- In the manner I did. Use your mind and skill in private, extend your knowledge, develop your ability, but do not share your achievements with others. Do not try to produce a fortune, with a looter riding on your back. Stay on the lowest rung of the ladder, earn no more than your barest survival, do not make an extra penny to support the looters' state. Since you're captive, act as a captive, do not help them to pretend that you're free."
-Ayn Rand
from Atlas Shrugged
I am rereading the Fountainhead now, however. I still have no desire to make money for others, so employment is problematic. But I see conviction as an endangered species. Moreso than ethics, values, or morals even.
There was more I had wanted to say as epilogue to last month's many anniversaries, though I feel this says far more than enough.
-Ayn Rand
from Atlas Shrugged
I am rereading the Fountainhead now, however. I still have no desire to make money for others, so employment is problematic. But I see conviction as an endangered species. Moreso than ethics, values, or morals even.
There was more I had wanted to say as epilogue to last month's many anniversaries, though I feel this says far more than enough.
02 October 2010
Enchanted Legends
Legends: The Enchanted
Written & Illustrated by Nick Percival
Lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt
Edited by Renae Geerlings
Designed by Moyo Studios
Published by Radical
Legends is the tale of the Enchanted, in a world where all fairy tales are real and co-exist, albeit filtered through loud death metal and violent acts of savagery. The Enchanted themselves are the heroes and heroines of the storybook fables we all grew up with, here shown as mercenaries, drunkards, survivors. This is a harsh realm, with the forces of the evil Squires conspiring with the Hag and her mirror sister to kill the Enchanted as wickedly, and as finally, as possible.
Percival has an obvious love for these stories, these characters. His reimaginings of familiar faces such as Jack 'O the Green, Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, etc, are inspired and intricate. These heroes have aged in their land of darkness, aged and grown to be as brutal as necessary in order to prevail against the wicked. The cast is well-stocked enough, as he even includes characters and elements from nursery rhymes and folklore the world over. While I enjoyed the inclusion of the more obscure characters like Father Frost, I would personally have liked to see more of the Piper in action. Despite the guns and knives, Percival's characters are still heroes, the violence and the nightmarish settings of the Woodlands casting everything in a brand new light. And this is very much adult content, such as the scene where a giant's head is drained directly into the gastank of a motorcycle by somebody hopped up on "magic beans".
His art is darkly detailed, with insinuations of Giger and of Bisley. While the politics of this world factor as largely as anything else, his visuals infuse these otherwise familiar places and faces with an industrial gothic sensibility; cybernetic and necromantic all in one gruesome package. This is steampunk on bad acid. This is the X-Men as directed by Rob Zombie.
Lacking the overrated smarminess of other recent attempts at reinvisioning such fabled stories, Percival has turned these ageless stories into something twisted and ugly, as ugly as the original incarnations of these tales, where children of old were killers and thieves and quite un-Disney, actually. A brilliantly unique graphic novel, I applaud the efforts immensely.
Written & Illustrated by Nick Percival
Lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt
Edited by Renae Geerlings
Designed by Moyo Studios
Published by Radical
Legends is the tale of the Enchanted, in a world where all fairy tales are real and co-exist, albeit filtered through loud death metal and violent acts of savagery. The Enchanted themselves are the heroes and heroines of the storybook fables we all grew up with, here shown as mercenaries, drunkards, survivors. This is a harsh realm, with the forces of the evil Squires conspiring with the Hag and her mirror sister to kill the Enchanted as wickedly, and as finally, as possible.
Percival has an obvious love for these stories, these characters. His reimaginings of familiar faces such as Jack 'O the Green, Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, etc, are inspired and intricate. These heroes have aged in their land of darkness, aged and grown to be as brutal as necessary in order to prevail against the wicked. The cast is well-stocked enough, as he even includes characters and elements from nursery rhymes and folklore the world over. While I enjoyed the inclusion of the more obscure characters like Father Frost, I would personally have liked to see more of the Piper in action. Despite the guns and knives, Percival's characters are still heroes, the violence and the nightmarish settings of the Woodlands casting everything in a brand new light. And this is very much adult content, such as the scene where a giant's head is drained directly into the gastank of a motorcycle by somebody hopped up on "magic beans".
His art is darkly detailed, with insinuations of Giger and of Bisley. While the politics of this world factor as largely as anything else, his visuals infuse these otherwise familiar places and faces with an industrial gothic sensibility; cybernetic and necromantic all in one gruesome package. This is steampunk on bad acid. This is the X-Men as directed by Rob Zombie.
Lacking the overrated smarminess of other recent attempts at reinvisioning such fabled stories, Percival has turned these ageless stories into something twisted and ugly, as ugly as the original incarnations of these tales, where children of old were killers and thieves and quite un-Disney, actually. A brilliantly unique graphic novel, I applaud the efforts immensely.
01 October 2010
auk the fourth
AmericansUK #4
Written by Jef UK
Illustrated by Paul Ciaravino
Lettered by Ben
Pin-up art by Pat Loika
Self-published
I have been following this series since it was launched to our little corner of the milky way as an infant from a faraway dying planet. As such, I have watched this story grow more exponentially than a hidden basement room full of illegal plants. This iss, picking up directly from where the events in the AUK Mixtape anthology left off, has the band's frontman Jef UK and android bandmate JTR3 still stuck in a future torn from the bloody pages of the old Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures comic. Remember that book, back when Evan Dorkin was first starting to sellout his craft for the big fat check? Of course, Dorkin's gone back to his artistic roots since, but by god how scary was the 90s? Anyhow, as the AUK gents (and friends) begin a concert to celebrate a recent win for their futuristic rebellion-enthusiasts, trouble bursts forth anew. The robots and humans refuse to shutup and play nice, as the despotic SOB leader of this future world, Stang, ups the ante while unleashing another plot thread.
Jef's writing is clearly getting tighter and tighter. While this issue's story is not played for the laughs as were some of the earlier chapters, through the course of this giant bit of fight sequencing he displays an ear for dialogue that would appeal to any reader of Asimov or Bradbury who has ever been plastered on cheap tequila before. Every comic of the AUK seems to evolve, almost redefining itself by switching up styles here and there as it commences forward. This is still a mad adventure book, with some chuckles and pop cultural references aplenty, but the personality delivered by Jef and Paul is really pushing the whole property into something big.
And Paul should be called out for his work here. After experimenting with a variety of penciling and inking styles previously, here he seems to have settled on something that calls to mind the nerdiest best of comic books from the mainstream early 1980s. His work is excellent here for the fantastical and absurd science fictional settings, although I'm sure his work will just continue to evolve and grow into something somehow even more interesting by the time the next chapter is out.
Ben, as ever, spelt everything correctly.
The Americans UK is a real-life group of wacky, punky musicians based out of New York City. They seem to enjoy performing what the kids today are calling "rock and roll". And yes, this very comic book series is produced by members of the band and members of said band's circle of friends and drinking buddies. By all accounts, the real-life version of the Americans UK is every bit as imaginative and spirited as what readers can encounter in the comic series. Interested parties can purchase actual hardcopies of the series, with spines, via indyplanet. Or, free digital copies, albeit spineless, can be found via the underutilized LiterateMachine. Either way, if one is looking for a fun little escape, something that will not insult your intelligence or otherwise lead one down the road to ruin, Americans UK continues to put out some fine, fine reading materials, for no other reason than the obvious fun of it. Cod Bless the AUK.
Written by Jef UK
Illustrated by Paul Ciaravino
Lettered by Ben
Pin-up art by Pat Loika
Self-published
I have been following this series since it was launched to our little corner of the milky way as an infant from a faraway dying planet. As such, I have watched this story grow more exponentially than a hidden basement room full of illegal plants. This iss, picking up directly from where the events in the AUK Mixtape anthology left off, has the band's frontman Jef UK and android bandmate JTR3 still stuck in a future torn from the bloody pages of the old Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures comic. Remember that book, back when Evan Dorkin was first starting to sellout his craft for the big fat check? Of course, Dorkin's gone back to his artistic roots since, but by god how scary was the 90s? Anyhow, as the AUK gents (and friends) begin a concert to celebrate a recent win for their futuristic rebellion-enthusiasts, trouble bursts forth anew. The robots and humans refuse to shutup and play nice, as the despotic SOB leader of this future world, Stang, ups the ante while unleashing another plot thread.
Jef's writing is clearly getting tighter and tighter. While this issue's story is not played for the laughs as were some of the earlier chapters, through the course of this giant bit of fight sequencing he displays an ear for dialogue that would appeal to any reader of Asimov or Bradbury who has ever been plastered on cheap tequila before. Every comic of the AUK seems to evolve, almost redefining itself by switching up styles here and there as it commences forward. This is still a mad adventure book, with some chuckles and pop cultural references aplenty, but the personality delivered by Jef and Paul is really pushing the whole property into something big.
And Paul should be called out for his work here. After experimenting with a variety of penciling and inking styles previously, here he seems to have settled on something that calls to mind the nerdiest best of comic books from the mainstream early 1980s. His work is excellent here for the fantastical and absurd science fictional settings, although I'm sure his work will just continue to evolve and grow into something somehow even more interesting by the time the next chapter is out.
Ben, as ever, spelt everything correctly.
The Americans UK is a real-life group of wacky, punky musicians based out of New York City. They seem to enjoy performing what the kids today are calling "rock and roll". And yes, this very comic book series is produced by members of the band and members of said band's circle of friends and drinking buddies. By all accounts, the real-life version of the Americans UK is every bit as imaginative and spirited as what readers can encounter in the comic series. Interested parties can purchase actual hardcopies of the series, with spines, via indyplanet. Or, free digital copies, albeit spineless, can be found via the underutilized LiterateMachine. Either way, if one is looking for a fun little escape, something that will not insult your intelligence or otherwise lead one down the road to ruin, Americans UK continues to put out some fine, fine reading materials, for no other reason than the obvious fun of it. Cod Bless the AUK.
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