Arte Y Pico Award

The fantastic Becca selected my blog for an Arte Y Pico Award! I am greatly honored. Thank you Becca.


Here are the Rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.



2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.



3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award (done at the end of Paragraph 1).



4. Please include a link to the “Arte Y Pico” blog so that everyone will know where the award came from.



5. Show these rules.



Here are the 5 Blogs I selected:

Matt at Paleo-Future has a great blog about the Future that never was. Every generation has had practical and totally bizarre ideas about what sort of culture or inventions there might be in "the future" and this blog makes sure they still have a home. All our forgotten tomorrows are logged whether they’re from the 1880s or the 1980s.

Arkonbey has been creating and posting self-made comics on-line at Obscurum. His Obscure Tales series is just what a jaded, cynical comic fan like me needs right now. What’s additionally cool is his discussion about the process he uses to create his pages, Fun and informative.

Dr. Zaius has, in my mind, has the best designed and the best content in the whole bloggershpere. His greatness is only matched by his intellectual capacity. Go to Zaius Nation and you’ll see what I mean.

Comics Fairplay was one of the first comic blogs I latched on to. Heidi Meely’s (and James too sometimes) frank but respectful discussion about a medium I love keeps bringing me back. I’m not even reading the same titles as her, but her blog just has that certain something. It’s like a four-color pub discussion over a brew. Plus, I appreciate the simplicity of the layout. Comics Fairplay makes comics almost seem like a real legitimate topic to chat about. Imagine that! I’m not a closet comics fan anymore thanks to Heidi.

How could I pick just one blog by Rob!? Well, the rules are the rules, so take a gander at All in Black and White for 75 cents. Never has a better comic series been written on the topic of comic book magazines. There was an age undreamt of where Horror and Adventure had a home. Where fantastic art, relayed the visions of amazing writers in a larger, adult format. Recapture those lost journeys or discover them anew with this amazing blog. (Hell just check out all his fun sites you’ll be glad you did).


-Swinebread

My Top Ten Comic Book Movies

Heidi Meeley made a Top Ten Comic Book Movie list a while ago so I thought I’d make my own list. Note that I don’t include TV shows but I do include direct to video movies.

I don’t have a particular order.

Superman II – This film has some corny aspects but Superman II boasts the first spectacular superhero battle ever to grace the silver screen. You gotta love Supes flinging General Zod into the that coke sign. Plus, I really liked that fact that the villains are truly evil. After watching the Batman TV show it came as quite a shock to see psychopaths running around the with same powers as Superman.



Spiderman – Thee best adaptation of an origin story I’ve ever watched. Seeing Spiderman on the big screen is the fulfillment of a childhood dream. The overall sweep of the film is very evocative of the comics and Toby Maguire is excellent as Peter Parker.



Ghost World – This adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ comic of the same name, is an amazing film. It’s about the comedy and tragedy of two girls facing the horrible world of post high school in a suburban wasteland. It was nominated for best-adapted screenplay. It should have won.



Hellboy – A smoking and drinking demon saves the world. Ron Pearlman was born for this role and he made the character come alive. In some sense, Hellboy is the best visual realization of a comic book character ever.



X-Men – What I really like about this movie is that it’s a case of making lemonade out of lemons. It didn’t really have enough of a budget to do the X-men properly and so the creators focused on the emotional context of the characters, which is what the X-men are really all about anyway. Hugh Jackman is a total coup as wolverine and the chemistry between all the actors is truly what makes the movie.



The Mask – A zany and crazy live action cartoon is what you get with the Mask. Jim Carry’s best role imo and Dark Horse Entertainment’s first big success. What happens when your id is released onto the world? Watch The Mask and find out. The dance numbers are outta this world!



Iron Man – Iron Man is one of those movies that meets the expectations of the trailer, films rarely accomplish this. Casting Robert Down Jr. as shell head is a masterstroke and updating his origin story for our time works perfectly. It’s a tight film with plenty of action, lots of laughs and a pop culture mea culpa for the horrible things the US had done for the last seven years.


Justice League: The New Frontier – I’ve already done a review of this see here. An excellent straight to video movie adapted from an excellent comic.



American Splendor – A wonderful cross between a dramatic film and a docudrama, which I never thought was possible until I saw this film. The drama of everyday life and stress of just being alive spills onto the screen in a tale that only Harvey Pekar could tell but is relatable to everybody. One of the best films ever despite the fact it’s a “comic book movie.”



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Seriously, The first film was a very faithful adaptation of the original black and white comic that started it all. Aspects of it are very dark and not like the kiddy cartoon at all but ninja turtles still is rather funny. It never pretends to be more than it is but it delivers the goods with a solid action oriented story. Plus, seeing a Muppet splinter doing martial arts is awesome.



Honorable Mention:

Creepshow – An homage as opposed to an adaptation of the EC Horror comics from the 1950s

Persepolis – I haven’t seen the film or read the book but I suspect that both are very good.

V for Vendetta – A good movie and Hugo Weaving is amazing as V but since Alan Moore hates it, V for Vendetta can’t be in my top ten.

Batman Begins – You know, I’m not really a Batman fan and I’ve come to terms with that. I hate all the Bat films but this one. (and maybe Dark Knight but it’s not out yet).


Manga
This post is about American comics but if I included Japanese manga it would push many of the American titles off the top ten, but here’s a few:

Lone Wolf and Cub (Shogun Assassin) – Yes it’s from a comic book.

Naüsicaa of the Valley of the Wind – Hayao Miyazaki made the comic first so he could make the film.

Akira – Cyberpunk at it’s best.


-Swinebread

Emerald City Comic Con part two

A mistake on my part was not attending more panels. I paid my 20 bucks to get into ECCC and I didn’t really take advantage of it. I guess I was a little too focused on getting creators signatures. The only panel I attended was DC Nation. I really wanted to hear what Dan Didio, Executive Editor of DC Comics, sounded like. He’s supposed to be the guy that’s ruining their whole line of characters right? ☺

It was actually quite a weird experience for me if the truth were told. I’d never attended anything like this. Being in a large room where the minutia of a fictional universe is being discussed was just odd. I realized I had no idea what was going on for the most part with the DC Universe. Not a surprise as I’m not reading most of their stuff. Maybe I was also taken aback at being out geeked by most of the folks there.

As for Dan Didio, I have to say he’s a pretty charismatic guy. He’s certainly knows how smooze a crowd and he has impeccable comic timing. His timing is so good I actually think he’d make a good standup comedian or actor. So maybe I was somewhat lost during the DC Nation Panel and haven’t agreed with many of his editorial decisions but he sure made the hour spent in the room quite fun.

CBR has an excellent rundown of the event here.

If you notice this section:

Didio’s next threw out a question to the audience: “How many people picked up €DC Universe’ #0.” While 90% of the room held their hands high, Didio playfully shot back with, “Why isn’t every hand raised?”

When a fan jokingly said that he didn’t purchase the issue because it didn’t have Ambush Bug in it, Didio pointed out that Stephane Roux just completed the latest “anti-inspirational” ad which will feature the character. He said it’s an image of Ambush Bug with the word “Unvictorious” underneath it, which seemed to please the audience.

That fan was me. That’s right. I’m a huge Ambush Bug groupie, so why not get this panel discussion off and rolling with the bug. I always assumed that the DC folks, including Dan, hated the character, so why not have a little playful sniping. What was funny was that Ambush Bug got mentioned several times throughout the event. So much so, that Dan stipulated that the last question could not be about Ambush Bug. I even got up at one point and asked couple of questions just so I could mention Ambush Bug again. The first question was just something so I could sound normal but the second question was “any chance of a Jonah Hex / Ambush bug crossover?” Dan seemed to get frustrated and cried “who would want to see that?!” Kurt Busick said maybe it could be Ambush Bug’s ancestor Bush-wacked. Heh, heh.heh It would be funny though as some sort of Joke I suppose. Hey Keith Giffen You listening?


Dan went into he audience several time to coach questioners to great humorous affect. This is the gal that asked about titles for new readers because most of DC's titles are too continuity heavy and confusing.

Heidi and James Meeley

I met up with Heidi and James Meeley from Comics Fairplay at the space goat booth. We had a great conversation about many aspects of comics and blogging. Our chat was one of the most fun things I did that whole day. Now that I know they like a good microbrew, I can’t wait for an enjoyable pub conversation between us. They said they were going to try to make it to Portland for the next Free Comic Book Day. Maybe they can take a trip sooner, but either way it will be fun to have them visit the city of roses and talk comics. They also introduced me to Laura “Teagan” Gjovaag of Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog. She was really nice and inquired if I was an Aquaman fan since she was. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’m more of a Sub-Mariner kinda guy. Being really angry and kicking Nazi butt is more of my thing. Oh and the pointy ears too. Gotta’ love them pointer ears.

Michael Alan Nelson

I swung by the Boom Studios booth and said hi to Michael Alan Nelson. He’s the guy that’s been writing most of the Cthulhu Comics. I told him how much a mythos horror title was needed and that Fall of Cthulhu and Cthulhu Tales fit the bill perfectly. As you can see he’s got a Mohawk now. Michael was such a straight looking guy before; the knowledge of the outer void must be affecting his mind.

Jeffery Brown

Here’s Jeffery Brown. He’s signing my copy of Big Head. Jeffrey is most known for his autobiographical comics but Big Head was a nice departure. It’s a title that’s made deceptively simplistic looking. I think it’s great because it captures the magic and imagination of childhood while at the same time expressing the angst of adulthood. Plus, it’s really funny too. I recommend it to readers whose habits cross back and forth between mainstream and indy comics.

-Swinebread

I’ve been tagged by Dean Wormer

Old Dean got me see here

List 7 random things about yourself that people may not know.

Link the person who sent this to you, and leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.

Post the rules on your blog.


1. I’ve been to Disneyland three times.

2. I hate Gambit… a lot! I dropped the X-men, and even comics for a long time after he showed up. He symbolizes everything that was wrong with ‘90s comics IMO. Plus, all the great stories from the 80’s that were adapted by the first X-Men cartoon series didn’t have Nightcrawler or Colossus; No, instead we got that stupid Gambit guy. That bugged me to no end; the Dark Phoenix saga with Gambit? Yuck! He didn’t show up in the first three X-Men movies so that was way cool although he is in the new Wolverine film.

3. Some high school chums and I buried a time capsule. I can’t remember what we put in it beyond a war comic that I didn’t want. It was a metal case about the size of small toolbox and it was wrapped in a plastic bag. I’m sure it’s long since been ruined by now.

4. My Favorite Looney Tunes character is Daffy Duck.

5. I’ve been to the site of the Dachau concentration camp while on a backpacking trip through Germany years ago, horrific but necessary in my opinion..

6. My favorite episode of Star Trek TOS is The Return of the Archons. It used to be Mirror, Mirror for a long time until after I became an adult and learned a little bit about how computers worked. I also love what it has to say about religion, and technology. “Festival Festival!” It’s totally cheesy and very deep at the same time.

7. I ate pig brains once…

I’m going to tag Heidi Meely (who never does my tags but that’s OK), and ah… anybody else that wants to do it I guess…

-Swinebread

My Favorite Wonder Woman Story...?

Over at Comics Fairplay, Heidi put out the call for bloggers to rap about their favorite Wonder Woman story of all time (here)…. ah gulp… I haven’t really read much Wonder Woman outside of team books and event stuff. Oh, wait I know.

I remember one crossover where Wonder Woman visited the Marvel Universe. While there, she met She-Hulk and they decided to become a crime-fighting duo after defeating Dr. Doom through some spontaneous teamwork. Eventually, their relationship deepened and they fell madly in love with each other. Despite the trials and tribulations of being super-heroines they decided to become life partners and raise a family. After experiencing the joys of parenthood from adopting a Chinese baby boy, they realized that what they really wanted was to go through the birthing process ala artificial insemination. They procured a sample of Captain America’s semen, but they ran into some trouble in their relationship. It seems they both wanted to bring the baby to term. The two of them worked it out though when She-Hulk changed her mind. She realized that it was probably safer for Wonder Woman to have the child since She-Hulk physically transforms. The scene where Wonder Woman gives birth was really powerful. There she is on the bed pushing, with sweat pouring down her face while Shulkie is lovingly holding her hand in a strong grip. Finally, the baby comes and they both burst into tears of joy and give each other a big kiss while holding their new daughter. It was a great story. One I’ll never forget. An interesting aspect of the Women’s relationship was the fact that Jennifer Walters was not in love with Wonder Woman, like She-Hulk was. Although Jennifer considered Wonder Woman a close friend, she just couldn’t have that kind of relationship with her and that led to all kinds of interesting story dynamics, as there were essentially three people in the relationship.

Oh Wait… no! Sorry, that was a dream I had, never mind.

Hmmm let me see, I must have read something. There was some story about Chronos stealing all the clocks in the city so nobody could tell what time it was… nah that was just silly. Well, the only other two I can up with are Wonder Woman’s first appearance from All-Star comics # 8, and issue #1 of Volume 2 of the Pérez reboot from 1987.

Her origin story always struck me because in it Wonder Woman wore a mask and shot another Amazon in the arm plus I liked the classic drawing style.


When in comes to Volume 2 #1, I read that issue as a Millennium Edition reprint in 2000. It was at that point that I realized I had missed something special.


So, I guess I’m gonna pick those two stories as my favorites as that’s all I’ve read.

It’s not that I don’t like Wonder Woman; it’s just that I always threw my money to the Marvel super-heroines like She-Hulk.

-Swinebread

Blog Positivity Day...

Rascally Heidi Meeley at Comic Fairplay has put the word out for Blog Positivity Day just to counter some of that negative comics backlash we might be feeling towards the industry. See here for the details.

Well, most of my special comic book moments have already been mentioned in this blog, but I guess I’ve got a few things I'd like to speak to.

Right now I am reading 52 via trade paperback. I decided not to pickup the individual issues, and I discovered it was worth the wait. The tight plotting demanded by the original weekly schedule and the ability to read each story one after another, makes for a satisfying comics experience. Much like having the DVDs to a whole season of a beloved TV show. 52 actually reads like the third season of a series, with Identity Crisis, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Infinite Crisis and a myriad of other mini-series and issues being the second season (none of this impedes enjoyment though). Of Course the first season would have to be the rest of DC comics history, and Paul Levtiz, in the first story afterword, basically says that 52 is a collaboration across time with all the creators that have ever worked at DC over the years. That’s another thing that I like about the trades too, each issue gets and afterword.

I had given up on crossover stories. I was disappointed with the way Infinite Crisis played out and found most of the lead in and lead out mini-series unsatisfying with little or no story resolutions. I know the ultimate end of the 52 series, that the multiverse is back with 52 alternate universes, but that knowledge isn’t ruining it for me. In fact that’s the reason I decided to pick it up in the first place. I’m an alternate universe kinda guy. Only the first two trades are out now, so the whole series could go to crap but I got the feeling it doesn’t.

After all this blabbing the real positive thing I actually wanted to talk about was the depiction of Batwoman. I remember last year when there was this entire hullabaloo about her being a lesbian. News story after news story speaking about how sensational it was. I groaned to myself thinking it was another gimmick. Well, all these months later I’ve discovered it was really well done and the sensationalism came from the news organizations themselves rather than DC. What really worked for me was the meeting between Renee Montoya and Kate Kane in week 7; the look in their eyes, and the recognition of a deep history between the two really sold the scene for me. I’m a fan of Love and Rockets and the exchange between the two really borrows some of that old school, girl love from Las Locas.

A few other comic book moments:

Volume 12 of the Chronicles of Conan. I’ve read the original Queen of the Black Coast story by Howard, but the death of Bêlit in Roy Thomas’ comic adaptation still broke my heart. This trade clinched it for me that Conan the Barbarian is the best mainstream comic book of the 1970s (IMHO).

I am really happy that Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew is getting a new miniseries and past issues are being collected in the Showcase trade.

I have to mention She-Hulk #20 that just came out. That has got to be one of the best covers ever. On top of that, Dan Slott ties up most of the loose ends from his run, which is much appreciated. Most of the book is exposition, but it’s the most entertaining exposition I’ve ever read. Weird Huh!

I’m totally stoked for the Great Disaster collection as well. I’ve always wanted to read the Atomic Knights stories and Hercules Unbound as well. Wild and Wahoo post-apocalyptic adventures are the best!

-Swinebread

8 things about... me?

I’ve been tagged. This time by Heidi Meeley

Here are the rules:
- Each player starts with eight random facts about themselves.
- Those who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight facts and post these rules.
- At the end of the post, choose some people to get tagged and list their names.

1. I’ve been to Haiti… no, I wasn’t there for any kinda’ Vodoo stuff, but I bet it would have been a lot more interesting if I had gone there for that.

2. I was born without wisdom teeth. That’s right! No oral surgery for me.

3. I’ve been inside Dark Horse Comics Corporate office… twice!

4. Swinebread is a name I created long ago when I played the sequel to Sid Meier's Pirates!... Pirates! Gold

5. I did some acting on stage in my younger days.

6. The oldest comic I own is Airboy Comics v6 #11 from1949.

7. I secretly enjoyed the Smurfs when I was in jr. high

8. I worked as a cab driver for one night.

And thus I tag… Dean Wormer, Lady Bug, and Akronbey. I would tag overdroid but he can be kinda a dick about these sorta’ things... or maybe he's just really busy?

-Swinebread