Scrunched Up v. 3

Alrighty, doing alla my columns in one batch again. This will be my only blog entry this week (on this blog, I might update the myspace blog tomorrow), because from Wednesday on, I'm on Boolah time (his wedding is this weekend). So here's what's what:

Notes from the TORCverse: Remember that Mystery Project I've been yammering about? Well, there's been some progress. Not enough to announce anything, but enough to write about here in the blog. Again, if everything goes well, this will affect when SDF: Honorless Dogs #2 & 3 will come out. So, keep your fingers crossed.

Also, I'm really working hard on having a legitamate publishing agenda for next year. I don't have anything concrete yet, but I have a ton of ideas. I wanna mix things up next year and try alot of new things in the TORCverse, and see how well my new ideas work.

Movie Reviews:

Across the Universe- AtU has quite a few problems. For starters, it's a musical, which automatically means it's cheezy and a little annoying. Also, it's got Bono in it (who we all recently discovered is, in fact, a walking piece of crap). It's set in the 60s (groan), and you can pretty much predict when and where most of the key Beetles songs are going to hit (I was literally running down the list in my head, knowing full well the film was gonna end on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). On the plus side, it's certainly not boring. The real reason to watch the film is for some of the incredible visual sequences director Julie Taymor concocts. From an army of needle wielding Selma Hyacks to a Yellow Submarine inspired dance number with a wildly costumed Eddy Izzard, once this film lets its freak flag fly it becomes awesome visual poetry. If you're into that kinda thing (the Army recruitment sequence is especially good now that I think of it) and can stomach the idea of an entire film set to Beetles music (without an actual Beatles performance, I spelled Beteles three different ways), then check it out.

Interesting side note- There was a LOOOONG music video premoting the National Guard before the movie. Ironically, during the movie, there was a sequence where National Guardsmen violently quelled a race riot by gunning down unarmed civilians, not to mention a sequence where Guardsmen beat the crap out of the main characters at a Peace Rally. Funny stuff.

The Darjeeling Limited- Wes Anderson's new film is...nice. That's really the best way to describe it. It's the tale of three brothers on a train in India trying to figure themselves out in the wake of their father's death as well as their own personal problems. I really don't know how else to describe it. It's a good film, I'll definately pick it up for my collection, but it didn't light me up like other Wes Anderson films have. Like I said, it was nice. Damn that's a lousy review. Cinematography is excellent.

Wrestle Rant: Big weekend over in Chikara! Team Fist lost the Tag Belts to Incoherence, and Chuck Taylor lost the Young Lions Cup to a newcomer named Helios (who may be a Yellow Dog Swerve, which is far too complicated to explain here). Also, Chikara's first mass market DVD, "The best of Chikara" will be available in stores everywhere November 6. So, check that out.

And I'm out of time.

Squash em

Been too busy this week to really focus on a blog over on this blog, so I'm squashing my columns together again. Huzzah!

Notes from the TORCverse: Nashville went well, added a new friend or two to my myspace, actually got some feedback from somebody, and might have a line on some new stuff to do. All in all a good trip.

Wrestle Rant: Chris Hero won ROH's annual "Survival of the Fittest" Tournament. Which means he gets a shot at World Champ Nigel McGunness (spell?). Having already seen these two wrestle in Chicago, I can honestly say that this match has all sorts of potential for awesomeness.

Moviecide: The only movie I care about that's out this week is "The Darjeeling Limited". I'm debating on whether or not to make the drive to watch it or not. With Boolah's Bachelor Party next week, I probably can't afford it. All the other movies out this week can go to hell.

Back from Nashville

Welp, we're back from Nashville and the excellent Nashville Comic and Horror Festival. We did pretty good for ourselves, made some scratch, got to hang out with our cousins (Rachel now says "y'all"), and we even had some time to hit a haunted house (which was pretty cool). I played it pretty conservative all weekend (I've got insurance due soon...), but I did score a bunch of issues of the Question (80s version) on the cheap, and picked up some DVDs as well (I've got Gator Bait!). Anyway, TORC Press would like to thank Comic City in Nashville, TN for putting on a good show, our cousins Rachel and Katie for giving us free lodging (one of the biggest draws of the show for me is that I don't gotta get a hotel), and a big thanks to everyone that came out and tried out a TORC Press comic. Hope ya dug it.

Anyway, that's it for the 2007 Convention Season. I'm already making plans for 2008, as well as trying to get my publication endevors (spell?) on track enough to finish '07 with a bang and not a whimper. But first I gotta go back to work at the sawmill.

Compile-ablog

Okay, my sleep schedule's been a little messed up this week, and it's messed up my blogging. Here's sort of a blog recap:

Moviecide- Alotta so-so to terrible movies this week. The only thing of signifigant interest is Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe" which I don't have time to watch anyway.

Wrestle Rant- I picked up the latest Chikara DVD, "Cibernetico and Robin" last week. It's Awesome, of course, featuring all of the wacky wrestling action I've come to expect from Chikara. The Up in Smoke vs. Olsen Twins match is worth the price of the DVD alone.

Notes from the TORCverse- I will be at the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival this weekend. Details are up at www.comiccitytn.com. If you're in the area, stop by and say Hi (and maybe buy some stuff if you feel so inclined).

Notes from the TORCverse- 10/11/07

Notes from the TORCverse is a semi-weekly column where I hype my independant comic book company, TORC Press, as well as my other projects. You can check me out at www.torcpress.com, www.myspace.com/torcpress, or you can just buy my books at www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html. Ta-Da!

What I'm Working On- Okay, that Mystery Project I was working on blew up in my face last week, but then Bro and I have done some work on it, and I think it might come together afterall (fingers crossed). If it does, that will mean that Honorless Dogs #2&3 will finally get out of printing limbo. That'd be nice.

Speaking of HD3, work continues slowly but surely. I didn't get any work done last night do to a combination of a hard day at work, a severe allergy attack, and a severe temperature drop that wiped me out. Don't worry, I'm gonna throw everything I've got into finishing this thing before the end of the year.

Hype! Hype! Hype!
Hey, I've actually got something to hype! I'll be making my Last Convention Appearance of 2007 next week, October 20-21 at the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival. Information (as well as my Myspace "photo") can be found at www.comiccitytn.com. It's a good show and definately worth checking out if you're in the area.

Wrestle Rant- 10/08/07

Wrestle Rant is a semi-weekly column where I yammer about various news and whatnots on the Independant Pro-Wrestling scene. Here we go.

The biggest news this week, and probably some of the more important wrestling news to happen in some time, is that Nigel McGiness (oh crap, I don't know how to spell his name) finally won the ROH World Heavyweight title this weekend ending Takeshi Morishima's very dominant Eight Month Title Reign. This was Nigel's third shot at Morishima (I think, or was it his fourth? Good thing I don't get paid for this thing, or I'd actually have to do some research), and he had four shots at previous champ Bryan Danielson, all of which fell short. Nigel started out as a staple of the lower midcard, wowing audiences with his mat heavy European style. He eventually upset Samoa Joe for the ROH Pure title, and promptly turned heel, cheating and using the Pure Rules to his advantage to maintain the belt. Eventually, he ended up in a champ vs. champ feud with Bryan Danielson. During this time, Nigel went back to being face and changed his arsenal up a little. He still had plenty of Euro mat wrestling, but he added lots of stiff strikes to his arsenal, most notably a variety of BRUTAL lariats, one of which he named the Jawbreaker, because he used it to Literally break Jimmy Rave's jaw in a match (you can hear it pop!). For about a year now, Nigel's been one of the most consistant point men for the ROH promotion, putting on a string of great performances. It wasn't a question as to whether Nigel would win the World title, it was really a question of when.

Now that Nigel has the belt, the only question remaining is how long can he hang onto it? The ROH World title has a reputation as being a belt that doesn't change hands very often, but anything can happen. Here's a list of possible contenders:

Bryan Danielson- Former World Champ, and Nigel's biggest rival. Nearly beat Morishima to win the belt back, and now that Nigel's got it, expect Danielson to start hunting him. I don't think Danielson will win the belt back this year, it's just too soon.

Austin Aries- Former World Champ, on a hotstreak since ending his TNA tenure and returning to ROH full time. Doesn't really need the belt, so I don't see him winning it, but he'll probably have some killer title shots (sorry Boolah).

Roderick Strong- Leader of the NRC and top heel in ROH right now. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't won the belt yet. May end up being the guy to take the belt from Nigel.

Claudio Castignoli- One of Nigel's former rivals from his Pure Title days, these two can tear the house down when they want to. Claudio's super popular right now, and I honestly think it's a matter of time before he wins the belt. Maybe not this year though. Expect some great world title matches though.

Chris Hero- Nigel's newest rival, expect Hero to challenge for the belt and lose after a great match (sorry Brooks). If Hero ever captures the ROH World title, it won't be this year.

Other than that, my predictions on the length of Nigel's reign are either very short or fairly long. He'll either lose the belt in three months or less, or if he makes it past that mark, he'll hold the belt for at least a year. Course, that's just my opinion on the matter, not like I know anything.

Moviecide-10/05/07

Moviecide is an angry wail against the film industry which spends ridiculous amounts of money to churn out crap, and then spends even more money trying to convince us that they don't suck. Unfortunately, crap is still crap, and here at Moviecide we sniff out crappy movies just from watching the previews. Enjoy.

Feel the Noise- A dance movie produced by Jennifer Lopez? AUTOMATIC BOOOO!!!

The Heartbreak Kid- It's a comedy, yet I haven't laughed at a single preview yet. Not even a chuckle. Not even a snort. That's not a good sign. Also, I'm allergic to Ben Stiller.

The Seeker: Darkness Rising- Yeesh there's been a lot of fantasy movies aimed at pre-teen boys lately. Apparently someone decided there's a market there. Not being a pre-teen boy or a very big fan of fantasy, this movie is obviously not aimed at me. Maybe if I was twelve years old this flick would look cool.

The Hunting Party- Have I covered this one before? Regardless, this is about a news crew that manages to do what the military can't: Enter a warzone and track down a man wanted by the CIA. Actually looks kinda interesting, and it's got Terence Howard in it as the Token Black Sidekick (that dude is an indistupidiably good actor). Unfortunately, it's also got Richard Gere in it. And I'm allergic to Richard Gere.

The Jane Austen Book Club- The title alone says, "Chick Flick". Boo.

Notes from the TORCverse-10/03/07

Notes from the TORCverse is a weekly column where I hype my self published comics and other artistic endeavors. If any of this sounds neat, then please check us out at www.torcpress.com or www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html.

List: Where to Start

So, let's say that you're out there in ComputerLand, you're reading this column, and you'd like to try out one of my odd little comics. Help out the little guy and alla that nonsense. Where do you start? Well, the cool thing about most of comics is that they're pretty much self contained, so any issue is as good a place to start as any. Having said that, here's a quick list full of great TORC Press comics to start off reading.

1) SDF: Crumpled Planet- The first issue of SDF is a pretty obvious starting point. It has the first SDF stories to feature Cactus Joe as well as Walt & Sped, plus it's got the first appearances of aliceislost and Broken Tea Cup. Plus, Cactus Joe gets his brains blown out on page three.

2) SDF: The Great Race- It's a fast, fun read. All the characters in the TORCverse get together for a downhill derby car race. Car crashes abound. It's cheaper than most of my other comics ($2.50) and there's no continuity at all to worry about. The few people who have given me feedback on this issue have universally declared it to be hilarious.

3) New Super Duper Fun Comix- Along the same vein and price point as the Great Race, except this is a beach story instead. Bikinis, cyborg dolphins, giant sand castles, and random monsters all add up to a very fun story.

4) Gulatta! #1- For starters, it's stupid cheap ($1 plus S&H). Second, it's an All
Ages book, therefore it doesn't have any of the cursing, sexual inuendo, or ultraviolence that you'll find in most of my other comics. So, if you've got kids you can leave it lying around the house and not worry about corrupting them too badly. Finally, it's got a cool little story about Monsters fighting Spies, with the twist being that the Monsters are the good guys.

5) SDF: Sombrero Friday- Three Kick Ass Action Stories in one 48 page issue. Personally, this is my favorite comic I've done to date. Funny gags, hard hitting action, surrealist absurdism, and all the main characters are running around in Sombreros for absolutely no good reason.

What I'm Working On Right Now-

That project that I hinted at last week is done, and I'm working on doing something with it. If my plans go according to plan, then that will hopefully mean that SDF: Honorless Dogs #2 will end up at the printers in the next month or two. I hope. Of course, if my plans don't work out, then who knows when SDF:HD2 will come out. Also, I have revived the TORC Press Crudeimation Factory after a lengthy hiatus. Bro and I will be working on an Epic Video (that will still look like it was animated by cavemen...) for the Dr. Orphyus Project's last video for the album "Opaque Imagery". If you're a fan of our cheap little videos (insert the sound of crickets here), then keep you're eyes open, as we'll probably have it done in a month or two.

Wrestle Rant- 10/01/07

Welcome to Wrestle Rant, a semi-weekly (I'm making it semi-weekly cause I'm not sure how often I'll have any news worth reporting) column where I comment and report info on the Indy Wrestling scene. Won't see much on WWE or TNA on this column, instead I put my focus on the various independants, which are FAR more interesting. And yes, wrestling is fake, but ask me how much I care. This week, it's all about IWA: Mid-South.

This weekend was the Annual 2007 Ted Petty Invitational. The 24 Man Single Elimination Tournament is held every year in the memory of Ted Petty, better known as "Flyboy" Rocky Rock of the Infamous tag team Public Enemy. IWA: MS is owned and operated by Ian Rotten, another ECW alum, so the connection is fairly obvious. I wasn't at the show, so alla my information has been culled from wikipedia or from their official site at www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com. Anyway, here's some points of interest.

The show seemed to be somewhat cursed this year, with a number of high profile drop outs. Samoa Joe, Low-Ki, Alex Shelly, and Jimmy Rave dropped out due to TNA commitments, Matt Sydell dropped out due to WWE commitments, and El Generico and B-Boy were out due to injury. Despite this, the field was chock full of great indy talent including: Chris Hero, Chuck Taylor, Jimmy Jacobs, Nigel McGuiness, Claudio Castignoli, Human Tornado, Davey Richards, and Mike Quackenbush to name a few.

The show marked the return of another ECW alumni, 2 Cold Scorpio, to IWA: MS. 2 Cold primarily wrestles in Europe and Japan nowadays, and has made something of a name for himself overseas. 2 Cold is still, in my opinion, a pioneer of high flying wrestling, and was the first wrestler I ever saw execute a 450 Splash. 2 Cold made his way to the Quarterfinals before losing to IWA: MS World Heavyweight Champ Chuck Taylor.

IWA:MS Heavyweight Champ Chuck Taylor was forced to defend his title all weekend in tournament matches. He scored HUGE wins over former IWA:MS Heavyweight Champ/ROH regular Jimmy Jacobs, the aforementioned 2 Cold Scorpio (an ECW, WCW, and WWE alumni no less), and the Human Tornado (who was prominently featured in the short lived Wrestling Society X). Not bad for a kid who used to wrestle in Orchardville, IL in front of a crowd of thirty rednecks (myself included).

Claudio Castignoli continued his tournament hot streak by making his way to the finals. He defeated three of his fellow ROH regulars, Nigel McGuiness, Davey Richards, and Brent Albright (all very high profile competitors in their own right).

The big news of the tourney though was that "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush finally won the TPI. Quack is quickly becoming my favorite wrestler on the Indy scene right now (and since I'm only really watching the Indies, that pretty much makes him my favorite wrestler period). The reigning IWA:MS Light Heavyweight Champ, Quack had to defend the belt all weekend as well, defeating Billy Roc, WSX alumni and former PWG Champ "Magnum" Joey Ryan, and former IWA:MS Light Heavyweight Champ Josh Abercrombie. In the finals he defeated Claudio and Chuck Taylor to not only capture the tourney, but also to win the IWA:MS World Heavyweight Championship. "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush is a long time, well known and well respected veteran of the Independant Wrestling Scene. He's been fairly quiet over the last few years, but in 2007 Quack has been running roughshod over the Indy Scene. In 2007 alone he has now won the Chikara King of the Trios tourney (with Jigsaw and Shane Storm) and the TPI. He is also currently the reigning IWA:MS World Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, the IWA: Deep South Heavyweight Champ, as well as the reigning NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion. The Dude's gonna have a full schedule just defending all his belts.

Anyway, long story short, pretty much gotta pick this one up when it comes out on DVD.