BRIDGES & BALLOONS

IN THEATRES...

* Up! Oh, Pixar, how do you keep doing it? I love you so.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Drunken Angel, a different kind of crime picture from Akira Kurosawa.

* Wise Blood, the 1979 John Huston adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's dark comedy about religious hucksterism.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Girl on a Motorcycle, wherein the 1960s drives up its own ass, taking Marianne Faithfull and Alain Delon with it.

* Love Unto Death, another Alain Resnais film from the 1980s, though this time overly intellectual and kind of dull.

* Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes' literary adaptation with Leonardo DiCaprio and the divine Kate Winslet is one of my favorite films from 2008.

* Wendy and Lucy, a quiet portrait of solitude and struggle with a stand-out performance from Michelle Williams.

Current Soundtrack: Julian Plenti, "Fun That We Have;" some pre-mastered Gear tracks


e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich

WITNESS TO A MURDER

I am very excited about this...

(Click for bigger version)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Comic Noir: The Art of Joëlle Jones
The Art Institute of Portland Gallery presents a first look at Jones’ newest work

May 26, 2009—For the month of June, the Art Institute of Portland Gallery is hosting Portland comic book artist Joëlle Jones and writer Jamie S. Rich in a unique first look at their collaborated novel You Have Killed Me, due this summer from Oni Press. On view will be excerpts and original pages from the book, as well at the opportunity to speak to the artist and writer about the new book and the creative process behind it.

Jones and Rich first collaborated on the acclaimed comic book 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, and have since shown up as a team in the pages of Popgun, Portland Noir, and Madman Atomic Comics. Jones also did the cover and interior illustrations for Rich's novel Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?

Separately, they have multiple creative works between them. Jones has contributed to the long-running comic series Fables at DC/Vertigo, and she drew the Minx young-adult graphic novel Token, written by Alisa Kwitney. Rich has published four prose novels, including Cut My Hair, I Was Someone Dead, and The Everlasting, and wrote the comics series Love the Way You Love, illustrated by Marc Ellerby. He served as the editor-in-chief at Oni Press from 1999 until 2004 and has also worked on the editorial staff at Dark Horse Comics.

The June gallery show, titled “Comic Noir: The Art of Joëlle Jones,” will debut on First Thursday with an artist reception from 6-8 p.m. at the College.

Daily gallery hours are 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday to Thursday; 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Friday; and 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday. Exhibit runs through June 27.


About The Art Institute of Portland
The Art Institute of Portland (www.artinstitutes.edu/portland), located in Portland’s Pearl District, provides undergraduate design education and is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Art Institute of Portland offers bachelor’s degree programs in Advertising, Apparel Accessory Design, Apparel Design, Culinary Arts, Digital Film & Video, Design Management, Design Studies, Design Visualization, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Fashion Marketing, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation, Photography & Design, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, Visual & Game Programming, and Web Design & Interactive Media. The college offers a minor in sustainability and associate’s degrees for select degree programs.

# # #

Please come out and see us!

Current Soundtrack: The Killers, "Spaceman (Bimbo Jones Vocal Mix)"

THE BOOK

At long last, This Is A Souvenir: The Songs Of Spearmint & Shirley Lee is going on sale this Thursday.

You can check out a preview here, though this advance look features neither of my two stories: "Julie Christie!" as drawn by Natalie Nourigat, and "The First Time You Saw Snow," which was brought to life by Kelley Seda.

The preview does, however, have five pages of Chynna Clugston's adaptation of "Left Alone Among the Living." Though, if I were you, I'd wait to see it printed at the big 12X12 size, because the art is awesome. Here is an unlettered page:

I know some people are a bit scared of the book because they don't know Spearmint's music, but that's kind of like not watching a movie because you've never read the novel it's based on. If the job was done well, prior knowledge will not matter. We were under strict orders to make stories and not just reprint the lyrics with pictures, the intention is to have slices of comics that stand alone. I hadn't even heard "Snow" before the story was done, it was on Shirley Lee's solo record, not yet released at the time; I worked off a lyric sheet. Really, though the band is totally worth checking out, you might be better off not knowing the music well, as you won't have any conflicting interpretations in your head.

Regardless, be adventurous.

For more on Shirley Lee, check out his website.

And check out Chynna's auction for her cover to Punk Rock Holocaust.

Current Soundtrack: Asobi Seksu, Hush

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich

EVERY DAY SHOULD BE A HALLYDAY

Per his request, I wrote a comic strip for Nico's blog.

He should be posting it on his own site soon. It's based partially on truth. He really did contact me on MySpace based on this Johnny Hallyday review I wrote.

In other news, my ears are still ringing from seeing TV On the Radio. I am not always keen to them on wax, but live, they are something else. I did not, however, cosplay as any band member.

Current Soundtrack: TV On the Radio, Dear Science

PERHAPS VAMPIRE IS A BIT STRONG BUT...

Dark Horse has just released Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Volume 7, put together by hot-shot editor extraordinaire Sierra Hahn. It features a four-page comic strip that Chynna Clugston and I did for the now-defunct Dark Horse newspaper/promo circular.

The story starred Spike and Dawn, and it was called "Rock 'N' Roll All Night (And Sleep Every Day)." Get it? Coz he's a vampire!

The material has actually been online for a while, it was one of Dark Horse's early experiments with animated web comics. Read it here.

Too bad it couldn't be in the Vol. 6 Omnibus with our other story, but they are running these chronologically, I think, so that's just the way the timeline crumbles. The Spike story was actually done at not just the tail-end of the original run of Buffy comics, but the DH newspaper was ending, too. I think we went from the plan to run in four issues down to running in two or three, and I never even saw the last one--though I recall driving around town looking for it and getting a really snotty reply from one of the clerks at a Dark Horse-owned comic book store that they didn't carry it, like it was such an outlandish idea that the publisher's own comic book shop would carry their promotional materials.

Anyway, at the time, I was also pitching other ideas for the Buffy series. Chynna and I had wanted to do something with Faith, but were told she was off limits, reserved for another writer. I managed two pitches. One featured Willow on a solo jaunt in college, tangling with a Japanese fox spirit. The other was a sequel to the Spike comic strip, which if I am being honest, was written all along as a sneaky way to try to backdoor a full series. No such luck.

For the curious, here are both of those ideas. I haven't read them since 2002, myself..

* Willow: Kitsune
* Spike & Dawn: The Vampire Rock 'n' Roll Swindle

For posterity only.

Current Soundtrack: The Trash Can Sinatras, In Music (new album available here) + misc. live; Ash, "Return of the White Rabbit" (free download here); Foreign Born, "Early Warnings;" The Marvelettes, "You're the One/Paper Boy"

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich

LIVING WITH THE HUMAN MACHINES

IN THEATRES...

* The Brothers Bloom, the second film from Brick's Rian Johnson is the movie to see this weekend. The trailer only touches on it, it doesn't do it justice. With Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, and Rinko Kikuchi.

* 12, a truly awful Russian remake of 12 Angry Men.

* Rudo y Cursi, a cute sports movie reuniting the stars of Y tu mama tambien.

* Terminator Salvation, a total letdown. The franchise is dead. But you're going to go see it anyway, so if nothing else, heed my advice and bring a neck pillow, because you're going to want to take a nap.

And, of course, not everyone is going to agree with this. Jamie@SRich.com writes--hey, wait a minute, that can't be right, I didn't send this. I'd have the guts to sign my name:

"I read your review of 'Terminator Salvation' and... it was pathetic. Stick to your comic books, that's all your little brain is able to understand."

I'll give myself some credit. I didn't misspell any words despite the self-hatred I inspired in me.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* 3 Seconds Before Explosion, a fun but formulaic 1960s crime movie from Japan that doesn't quite live up to the promise of its name.

* All You Need is Love, vol. 1, the beginning of a multi-part documentary about music made just prior to the arrival of punk.

* El Dorado - The Centennial Collection, a fun latter-day western from Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan.

* Mélo, an emotionally powerful drama of infidelity from Alain Resnais, circa 1986.

* Pigs, Pimps, & Prostitutes: 3 Films by Shohei Imamura, an awesome trio of films from the irreverent Japanese director's early 1960s period. (Also at Criterion Confessions.)

Current Soundtrack: Pulp, Different Class - Deluxe Edition CD2



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich

PALE MOVIE

Another very positive review for You Have Killed Me, this time from the very astute Greg McElhatton at Read About Comics. Full review here, but here's a taste:

"I hesitate to call You Have Killed Me a mystery because Rich isn’t setting it up as a story where the reader is gathering clues to solve the puzzle first. Rich’s script for You Have Killed Me is a classic noir story in almost every sense of the word. The untrustworthy gambler, the secret relationship on the side, the clandestine trip to the casino, the local police leaning hard on Mercer, it’s all there. One of the very first lessons you learn as a reader is that none of the characters in this book are to be trusted; Rich has made sure that every last one of them have their own secrets waiting to be unearthed, and all of them are doing their best to keep them hidden."

...and...

"Jones’s art continues to grow by leaps and bounds. As much as I enjoyed her art in 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, she’s become more accomplished since then. Her usage of graytones in You Have Killed Me provide just the right shady, seedy look to characters and situations in a way that stark black and white might not have handled. It’s a nice texture to each of the pages, and I can almost hear the filmstrip crackling in the background. Her action sequences are good here, too; a scene with Mercer hurling a water pitcher across the room has the object splash across the panel, composed almost perfectly so that you can imagine the spin and arc of the pitcher as well as the water spraying out of it. Her characters have clean, open expressions here as well; Mercer’s smile can melt a cold heart, and those smoldering eyes of Jennie’s speak volumes."

Read more about the book at the Oni Press site.

Current Soundtrack: Saint Etienne, "Who Do You Think You Are;" Melanie C., "Fragile"

CARELESS WHISPERS?

EDIT: Now with the English version! It's bigger and thus, more American!

Hmmm...I think someone is talking about me.

It looks like the French stole the word "raconteur" from us. Way to be original, guys! ;)

Current Soundtrack: Bat For Lashes covering "A Forest" (The Cure) and "Sweet Dreams" (Eurythmics)

ALL IS VANITY, pt. 2

Okay, I've uploaded a bunch more caricatures of me. View the whole set here. Amongst them is this bit from Craig Thompson, never before seen by anyone...

From the inside back cover of my first edition copy of Good-bye, Chunky Rice.

Visit Craig at: www.dootdootgarden.com/.

There are still some that I need to find, like editorial cartoons done by Judd Winick and Kelley Seda, an envelope sketch by Matt Wagner, and then there are comic book cameos I can scan eventually. These were all I was able to manage to dig up off of old discs, however.

This Christine Norrie strip of proposed images cracks me up. You can see in the set that she finally went with #3.

Current Soundtrack: The Prodigy, Invaders Must Die (deluxe version)

I LIKE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU

I found this while searching for some more caricatures, which I'll upload in a day or so.

Andi Watson did this as a special ad for the back cover of Breakfast After Noon #5. If I recall, all the back covers of the series were illustrated, and when he did ads, such as in this case, he drew them special. It's Mason and Jeane from Cut My Hair. It appeared nowhere else.

The original of this is owned by Kelley Seda.

Current Soundtrack: The Four Tops, "I Like Everything About You" (quel coincidence!)

ALL IS VANITY

Yes, I love me.

I started a Flickr photo pool of caricatures of me from comics, etc. Currently, it's full of what I currently have on my hard drive, but I'll add to it over time as I dig up more.

See "All is Vanity"

Current Soundtrack: Mansun, Kleptomania disc 2

WHEN THE DAYS SEEM TO FALL THROUGH YOU...

...just let them go.

THE JOB MR. RICH DONE

To-Do List For the Week of 5/11/2009

* English adaptation of Cynical Orange vol. 9; prepare to start next manhwa

* Print and mail This World and Body to prospective publisher

* Continue researching that new project with an artist you've respected for a long time that fell in your lap last week

* Talk to another prospective editor about that and also maybe World and Body

* See what Mike Holmes is up to

* Give full viewing priority to Pigs, Pimps, & Prostitutes for review

* Write that four-page comics story you need to write

* Get back on that other comic book script you started the week before last

* Get back on 5 1/2

Current Soundtrack: Dexys Midnight Runners, The Projected Passion Revue



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich

I'LL ADMIT I AM BORED OF ME

Just finished reading East of Eden, devouring the final 160 or so pages (out of 601) in one sitting, and so, in celebration and meditation, some quotes from John Steinbeck:

"Lee said, 'Remember, Mr. Hamilton, I told you I was trying to translate some old Chinese poetry into English? No, don't worry. I won't read it. Doing it, found some of the old things as fresh and clear as this morning. And I wondered why. And, of course, people are interested only in themselves. If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen. And I here make a rule--a great and lasting story is about everyone or it will not last. The strange and foreign is not interesting--only the deeply personal and familiar.'" (pg. 268)

"A child may ask, 'What is the world’s story about?' And a grown man or woman may wonder, 'What way will the world go? How does it end and, while we’re at it, what’s the story about?'

I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one, that has frightened and inspired us, so that we live in a Pearl White serial of continuing thought and wonder. Humans are caught – in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too – in a net of good and evil. I think this is the only story we have and that it occurs on all levels of feeling and intelligence. Virtue and vice were warp and woof of our first consciousness, and they will be the fabric of our last, and this despite any changes we may impose on field and river and mountain, on economy and mangers. There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well – or ill?" (411)

"Cal stood up and clasped his hands behind his back. He said, 'When you were little, did you'--he paused to get the thought straight--'did you ever have the feeling like you were missing something? Like as if the others knew something you didn't--like a secret they wouldn't tell you? Did you ever feel that way?'" (461)

And, of course..."Timshel!"

Portrait of John Steinbeck by Scott Morse, from "Hey Oscar Wilde! It's clobberin' time!"

The book puts me in mind of this:

Current Soundtrack: various from MGMT, though lots of Brian Eno & Harold Budd to finish the book

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN WE ARE FLOATING IN SPACE

IN THEATRES...

* Star Trek--holy crap, this was really good! And I don't even like Star Trek! Who'd have thunk?!


UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a revisiting of one of my favorite films of 2009.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Alexandra, a hypnotizing portrait of the state of things by Alexander Sokurov.

* Enchanted April, an old Merchant Ivory wannabe. The magic is gone.

* Just Another Love Story, an uneven crime film from Denmark.

Current Soundtrack: The Horrors, Primary Colours


e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich

YOU HAVE KILLED ME NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER ON AMAZON!

Naturally, your local brick-and-mortar comic book stores and all-around book stores should be your first stop to order it, but...

I know there are friends and family who don't frequent comic book shops waiting to hear this news, so I'm not going to make anything fancy out of it. Just here is the link if you want to go order:

If you order it using this link, not only does the sale go toward future royalties for me, but Amazon will put a little kickback in my account, too!

That July 12 date they give is as accurate as anything I know. There is also a "Look Inside" preview on the Amazon page for those who haven't seen any of the other promo stuff.

Right now, we are talking about a couple of Portland-based events to celebrate the release of the book, and San Diego Comic Con is still a possibility.

Oh, and Amazon is shipping Portland Noir already, as well.

WHEN THE CATS WALK

Don't forget, tomorrow is the Full of Pryde Opening Party at Floating World. Doug and Jason have started a blog to show off some of the drawings. My understanding is the eBay auctions for charity will start Friday or Saturday.

My friend Tram Ngo has done a totally cute piece for the show, a painting on wood. Between her and Joëlle, if I wasn't broke already, I'd be going broke bidding.

I teased some work from Tram way back when. She and I were working on a Young Adult comic called Boyfriends Go Away. She put together a five-page art pitch, partially inked, but it kind of fell apart after that for a variety of reasons. We'd both like to do it, but time and opportunity is an issue. We decided, however, that Full of Pryde is as good enough excuse as any to finally show off her work, rather than let it languish. Click through for the larger versions.







If anybody has a bunch of money and want us to finish it, we totally would! :)

In case the lettering is hard to read, even at the big size (you can follow the "all sizes" link at Flickr), here is a pdf of the script pages.

Current Soundtrack: Leonard Cohen; Dandy Warhols (live stuff); Morrissey, "Stiptease with a Difference;" the Vaselines, "Son of a Gun;" Miles Davis, "Boplicity"

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich

SECRETLY CANADIAN

Marc Ellerby has made a last minute decision to go to the Toronto Comics Arts Festival this weekend.

So, Love the Way You Love fans should look for him at the Oni booth. He probably won't be there all day, so find out what time he's scheduled for signings and harass him. If you see a pale girl with long bangs hanging out him, looking slightly aloof and very Swedish, ask her if she's Jamie and make her sign your book.

Current Soundtrack: Peter, Bjorn & John, "Nothing to Worry About/Losing My Mind"

WILL THE WOLF SURVIVE?

IN THEATRES...

* Lymelife, another 1980s coming of age drama, this time starring the Culkins as the children of a failing marriage. Good performances, especially from Alec Baldwin and Timothy Hutton, overcome some familiar territory.

* X-Men Origins: Wolverine, wherein Hollywood undoes a character that was once supposedly invulnerable. Way to go, Hollywood!

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Murmur of the Heart, another surprising and sensitive coming-of-age tale from Louis Malle.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Valkyrie, Tom Cruise plays a German patriot trying to save his country from Hitler in Bryan Singer's lukewarm WWII picture. Why couldn't you make Wolverine instead, Bryan, whyyyyy?!

Current Soundtrack: Natalie Imbruglia, "Pigeons & Crumbs"

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2009 Jamie S. Rich