Art: Form and Fantasy

Despite the really fancy title, I imagine this post will be fairly mundane. I recently scrounged through my "Pictures" folder and discovered that I had a lot of cool images that I didn't see very much. So, I put them all in a folder and now my desktop changes randomly every hour. After that I scoured DeviantArt for any cool pictures I could find, and now I've got a fun surprise on my desktop every hour! I'll scatter one or two of the cooler pictures throughout this post. Black Bolt, who you see on the right, is one of the coolest characters no one has ever heard of. Of course he was a Skrull last time we checked, but the Inhumans are going to venture out and find out if he's still alive in the next few months. This next picture is the cover of the first issue of that arc. It features Medusa, queen of the inhumans, cradling the costume of Black Bolt, her potentially fallen husband. I found it a really striking image. Medusa has so much hair because her power is complete control over her hair, which seems kind of weird, but is totally wicked in my opinion. I mean, you could have a head of full of blades to flay your enemies, or grab people, whatever! In any case, I picked up the next book in my required reading for the summer, This Book Contains Graphic Language: Comics As Literature, by Rocco Versaci, which is a completely rocking name. He's an english professor in California, and I've really enjoyed his book so far. The nice thing about the book is that it isn't a defense of comics, it's more of a proof. It's a hard distinction for me to explain, but that's the best description I can think of. He's not ranting about how Comics get a bad name, etc, he's simply showing that Comics have a place in what we consider to be "good literature", and not only is it comparable, but that the medium has unique qualities that give it its own place as an independent art form, rather than an amalgamation. In any case, I've finished the first chapter, and I'll keep you updated on interesting tidbits I pick up.
Work has continued to be great. I did some work with Indicia the other day, which sound way cooler than it actually is. Basicially the Indicia are things you see on a title page in a book, and every comic book has them somewhere, either in the front or the back. Interesting, according to Wikipedia it seems to be a term that applies mostly to postage and comics books and not other products. Weird. I've done a few different projects the last few days, including scanning an entire 60-page comic book. Despite the subject matter, that was not fun, mostly because the scanner always seems to scan things slightly askew, and the book I was working with had this nasty binding that never let me scan the full page. I felt really bad, but I didn't know what else to do about it. In fact, it made me feel a bit like that guy over there. Yeah, ok, that was a really bad transition, but I really wanted to put this picture in here, and I didn't know how else to do it. If Carnage was ever in a Spider-Movie, he'd look like this. Slicey, slicey! Friday there was an intern lunch at Marvel with free pizza. Sweet, sweet pizza. I didn't even have work that day, but I went in anyway, which was totally worth it. I met some cool people that I'd never seen before. Most people are much farther along in school than me. One intern was working on his PhD! That was crazy. I actually met a guy who works in web content who goes to the U of M. Neat!
I finished the first draft of my comic on Friday. It was interesting. I think it ended up being more visual than verbal because I did the breakdowns first. Which isn't a bad thing, it just means I'll have to try it another way next time. Once I edit it I'll probably post it up on-line. Also...I don't know what to think about this. Really, can anyone tell me what that was? It confuses me.
Of course, I send my best to the cast and crew of "Orange". I wish I could see the show. It'll be awesome though. Of that I have no doubt.

It's a Psychobilly Geek-out!

Well boys and girls, I can't resist it anymore. I've tried pretty hard to keep this blog from being just a list of cool stuff I've seen on the internet, and I've done an ok job so far. Today, that's all out the window. WAY too much has been going on, and I gotta let it out. I will try to keep these announcements to the things that were totally and completely awesome.
First off, the San Diego Comic-Con has, of course been a breeding ground for juicy nerd-food. First up, a certain mister Neil Gaiman will be writing-wait for it- Batman comics. This is very exciting. Not only that, but Mark Millar, who I mentioned in my last post, is also returning to Marvel's Ultimates universe, presumably to tear it down around us. In Animation news, Hulk vs. Wolverine was screened, and we also saw the trailer for Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the new cartoon coming out this fall. It's intended more for the kiddies, but hey, I'll still watch it. Speaking of kids and comic-con, the toy announcements were phenomenal, particularly on DC's side. The amount of new toys they have coming out is astounding, and many of them are characters that have rarely had toys ever made of them, including...The Question! In fact, there are 3 Question toys coming out soon, but I'm most excited for this one. We've been waiting for a long time, but he was held back due to legal reasons. And let's not forget Comic-Con costumes, including The Summers Family, A Henchman and Dr. Killinger, and Hot Booster Gold.
Next, on to video games. All I can say is that I'm glad I don't own a PS3 or a 360, because I would be circling the money drain. There are a lot of impressive games coming out. I will mention some of them quickly. Dead Space is a Sci-fi survival, horror game, where you fight creepy monsters (that used to be people) and try to stay alive. The coolest feature is that the music responds to the situation, making the game even more cinematic. Mirror's Edge is a first person game, which moves free running into the video game world in a dramatic way. I'd call it a shooter, but you can actually complete the game without shooting anyone. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 should be wonderful as long as the gameplay stays about the same. The update in graphics looks amazing. DC has two games in development that keep looking better and better. DC Universe Online looks like more and more fun each time I see it, and, to my surprise, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe looks like one the best fighting games I've seen in a long time. The Close Combat and Freefall features are cool in that way that they're completely ridiculous.
Finally, perhaps the most important link of all the many links I just posted. If you know me, then you know that there is a particular 80's movie starring one Jeff Bridges that is an extremely important part of my upbringing. Well guess what baby? Sequel time! I can't believe it. Tron 2! I am unbelievably ready for this to happen. And Jeff Bridges is back too! Hurray! Unfortunately, the title is unpronounceable. How do you say Tr2n? I can't. Also, Wolverine teaser trailer. Blob and Gambit baby! Also, Emma Frost?
Now that you've seen how much time I spend watching trailers on the inter-tubes, I am going run in shame. Enjoy!

We are Oscar Mike

It's a thing. People say it. Google it why don't you.
If you haven't guessed, that phrase is military jargon. There are two projects in particular that I've been following recently that tie into our current military situation in two very different ways. The first is War Heroes, the latest venture from Mark Millar, master of Superhero comics that retain what's fun about the superhero genre, without the innocence. The first issue of this six issue project came out last week, and it really was a fun read. The art by Tony Harris has just the right feel of realism to it to keep the story grounded. The premise asks the question, if the US continued to invade other nations, how would we get new recruits for the war effort? Give them superpowers.
The other project is a seven part miniseries on HBO. Generation Kill is an extremely realistic portrayal of a Marine Recon Unit in Iraq. It's based on the book by Evan Wright, which is a retelling of real events. It's really interesting, and is just plain good TV. The fact that it's so close to the actual situation in Iraq just makes it a little more hard hitting. If you do check it out (do it) make sure to go the the website and read up on the characters. Their rank is a bit confusing in the show.
I'm a fifth of the way done with my vampire script. It doesn't take me that long to do, I just haven't put in much time on it lately. But the first draft will be done soon, fear not. Once that's finished I'll edit it a bit and put a draft on the lines. Hurray for progress!
Last Thursday was another solid day at work. It's great to go in there to work. Honestly, I've said it before, but it's just cool! There's another intern there (an art intern) who brings his portfolio to work everyday, and tries to show it to whatever editors he can, even though that's a frightening prospect. Last week Axel Alonso (the editor of the Marvel MAX comics) took a look at his portfolio and gave him some useful criticism. I not only respect that in so many ways, but it's so cool to be working with people who really want to be a part of the industry. Also this intern is really good. I can't believe his stuff. In any case, it's a very encouraging environment. All in all the work proceeds well. I may have mentioned this before, but all of the proofing is good practice if I end up doing more editorial work at the office. Most days I have a few proofs, a dummy book to make, books to send out, comics to file, the usual. It's nice though because I get to see a variety of artistic and writing styles across my projects.
There's been a lot of news coming out of the San Diego Comic Con, a little too much for me to cover, so I won't. CBR has really good coverage if you're interested. I can't think of anything else I wanted to write, so I'll finish this post up with yet another link of interest: Lego Batman.