Limbo

Okay, I've been neglecting this blog. Again. The truth is, I'm kinda in the middle of some stuff right now, and things around me are gonna be in flux until... May? Anyway, I have plans of eventually getting on the ball with a number of different things, but for now, a lot of stuff is gonna be up in the air.

My Influences: Stephen King

I've decided I'm gonna do a series of blogs on the writers, artists, and directors that have most influenced my work. Today I start with Stephen King. Although critics have never been a fan of King, from the moment I picked up "The Stand" I was pretty much hooked on King's work. Brilliantly described visuals, nuanced and believable characters, fast paced action, and natural dialouge are all parts of King's approach, and all things I've tried to learn from. What follows are the books that have most affected me as an artist, and all come highly recommended.

It- Well, duh. Crazy monster clown anyone? Besides the obvious, what really drew me to "It" was how the story starts out as a simple monster story but eventually expands into this wild, cosmic adventure. Transforming the mundane into the cosmic is a theme I'm continually trying to evolve in my own work.

Insomnia- This one is another one of those "starts very small and then gets freakin' huge" stories that I really enjoy. There's a monster in this one that has influenced the design of several of my characters as well.

Needful Things- I loved this story about a small town that rips itself to shreds thanks to the manipulations of an evil man/sorceror. I haven't written enough about small towns, which is kind of a shame.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes- My favorite King short story collection, period. Lots of great stuff, stories about raining carnivorous frogs, an H.P. Lovecraft homage, a story about a Rock and Roll Town from Hell, and ect. I've probably borrowed lots of little things from this one.

The Stand- First King book I read. Probably has a general influence on my approach to writing and dialouge throughout my work.

The Gunslinger Series- I hope to tell a big, fat, cosmic/fantasy/sci-fi/horror series one day. That would be fun.

On Turning 30

As I stand on the edge of 29 and look into the abyss that is 30, some thoughts occur to me. So, here's a list of things that won't change about me when I enter full blown adult-hood:

1) I'm not changing my wardrobe. I like the way I dress, and I don't see any need to give it up in order to become more hip or, conversely, to look more my own age. Bah.

2) I'm not becoming cleaner. I'm a messy guy at heart, and becoming a little older isn't gonna change that.

3) I'm not gonna get desperate and hit the bar scene trying to pick up a mate. I hate bars.

4) In fact, I'm really not changing anything about me at all. So, there you go. 30 can go screw itself.

Friday Notes

Lessee what's going on in the world of Geek Culture today.

Movie Notes: Nothing going on from the initial scan. Still haven't caught Sweeny Todd, and with the way things are looking this weekend, probably not gonna catch it this weekend either.

"There Will Be Blood" is playing in Saint Louis this weekend. Damnit. No time.

Wrestling (and MMA) Notes: There's an ROH PPV today and a UFC PPV tomorrow. I have no idea what's going on on either show. Wow, I'm just a font of information today, aren't I?

TORC Notes: Gulatta! #3 is currently being shipped to me. SDF: Honorless Dogs #2 is paid for and is in the printing process. New Super Duper Fun Comix Book B is in Production, and I'm trying to get a headstart on my next couple of projects as well.

Random Notes Before Breakfast

Only got two New Year's Resolutions. 1) Be less of a jerk. 2) Publish as many comics as my time, energy, and budget will allow. Good luck.

Watched the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" movie. Not so good really. I loved the first three seasons of the show, but damn have they totally lost whatever it was that made this franchise enjoyable. Ironically, "The Simpsons", a franchise just about everyone had given up on, put out a hell of a good movie that reminded me why I'm a fan in the first place. So there's that.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to reintroduce my weekly columns to this blog or not. Dunno. Without a theme, this blog tends to get forgotten, which is too bad. I've been writing on this one much longer than the myspace blog.

I really need to get my own computer. Seriously.

I slept well last night. That's pretty rare.

Games I wanna score for my new Wii:

Legend of Zelda
Metroid
Metal Slug Collection
One of those Rayman games
When it comes out I need to score Super Smash Bros Brawl
Super Paper Mario

In Conclusion...

...2007 was a mess. A car wreck. A bumbling, stumbling amateur ballet, with me trying to clumsily pierroett my way across an uneven stage. Man oh man did I suck this year. Nothing but disappointments and wrongdoings and stupidity.

The upside? There were a few. Even though I didn't publish as many books as I wanted (Damn you Honorless Dogs!), the books I did produce I was pretty proud of. Also, I did fairly well on the Convention Circuit this year. I'm nowhere near a profit yet, but I did okay. I also helped produce a bunch of videos for Bro's band, the Dr. Orphyus Project, and I'm proud of that work as well. Other than that, Boolah got married off, and Bro moved into his newly acquired house. So, I guess the year wasn't a total loss.

Addendums:

On my Top Movie List I Totally Forgot:

10. Hot Fuzz- Simon Pegg and Edger Wright return with a killer follow up to their previous film, "Shaun of the Dead". Fuzz is a loving satire of every good and bad action movie ever made (especially and inexplicably Point Break and Bad Boys 2). Funny, gory, bullety, and not just a retread of "Shaun". Great stuff.

As for next year...

...I don't wanna talk about it yet. I've got plans, but if 2007 taught me anything, it's that plans tend to blow up in my face. "Honorless Dogs" will see completion eventually (really), and then we'll see where we go from there.

2007 Year in Review: Comics

Yeesh. Year's almost over, and I've still got some more things to look back on. So, here's what I thought about comics in 2007. Note: It's hard to remember what came out this year or last year or whatever, so just bear with me.

THE GOOD

Los Bros Hernandez continued to rock the Indy comics world with "Love and Rockets" and Gilbert had a handful of side projects this year as well. The "Hellboyverse" took shape this year, as Mike Mignolia wrote (but unfortunately didn't draw) a new Hellboy mini, a couple of BPRD minis, and a Lobster Johnson mini (Hell yeah!). Alan Moore briefly reemerged from retirement for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: the Black Dossier", which was really cool. Other than that, the only new thing that really stuck with me was Doug Tenapel's new OGN, "Black Cherry". Other than that, DC unleashed the newly remastered "Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus" of which I now have the first 2 volumes. Nice.

THE BAD

At one point in time, Warren Ellis was my favorite comic book writer. Nowadays, not so much so. I mean, I still read some Ellis comics from time to time, but my rabid fandom of all things Ellis has passed me by. I dunno whether I'm just not cynical enough anymore (a distinct possibility) or whether I'm still pissed about Ultimate Extinction (a very distinct possibility) or whether Ellis has simply lost his edge (less likely). Regardless, I found myself only reading a handful of comics from Ellis's large output this year, and of those, I only really enjoyed a few. Bummer.

THE UGLY

Civil War made me Dislike Marvel alot.

The Death of Captain America made me HATE Marvel.

"Silver Surfer: Requium" made me swear that it would be a Cold Day in Hell before I read another Marvel comic ever again.