A personal diary keeping people abreast of what I am working on writing-wise.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

I'M YOUR FAN: MAX HUFFMAN

Max Huffman, the artist of Mocktopus and other web comics, had a Kickstarter project to replace his computer a couple of months ago, and he was offering sketches for people who donated. I asked him to draw the Spell Checkers. The sketch turned out great!

Check out his other work here:
yourfriendmax.com/



Current Soundtrack: The Divine Comedy, Live at Somerset House

Saturday, November 27, 2010

HAMBURGER BREATH STINKFINGER

A little late putting the list together this week. Like so many others, I did some traveling over the holiday and didn't have the computer access to really put this together. Visiting family is always time for me to see bad movies, too, so I sat through one pretty decent one (The Next Three Days--slow start, excellent final act, kind of lame final scenes), a mediocre one (Karate Kid; Jaden Smith is the most phony actor, I don't get it), and one truly awful, awful piece of crap (Grown-Ups; an ironic title since the humor was aimed at dimwitted toddlers). I washed it all away with the original True Grit when I got home. I am so ready for the Coens now.



NEW IN THEATRES...

* Burlesque. I still love you Christina, but why did you make me sit through this? Cher is going to be great in the Ben Stiller threquel Night at the Wax Museum.

* Outside the Law, a familiar but overall solid story of three brothers in the fight for Algerian independence.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

My last three Criterion reviews have a running theme: socially conscious comedies from the past that are still relevant today.

* Modern Times, the classic Charlie Chaplin comedy manages to remain timely and hilarious. [Also at DVDTalk.]

* My Man Godfrey, with William Powell as the butler who is more than he seems.



* Sulivan's Travels, a profound comedy about the power of laughter and the human spirit from Preston Sturges.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Metalocalypse: Season Three: Somehow the cartoon series manages to overcome its thin premise (chronicling the over-the-top situational adventures of the biggest black metal band in the world) and continue to crank out the comedy. Best season yet.

* The Venture Bros.: Season 4, Vol. 1, one of the best cartoons on TV has a bit of a lacklustre cycle, but still worth it for when the jokes hit their mark.



Current Soundtrack: the Ride station on Pandora

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

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

SHE'S A STAR

Hey! Before you settle in to bust a gut this weekend, go to the comic book store today and buy my best pal Joëlle Jones' Marvel Comics debut. She drew the eight-page Iron Man story in Ultimate Spider-Man #150, working alongside the great artists David Lafuente, Sara Pichelli, Skottie Young, and Jamie McKelvie, all from a script by Brian Michael Bendis.

Here is a page from her story. I've seen the whole thing, and it's amazing. Click on the image to go to Joëlle's blog for more info:



It's a big month for Joëlle. Troublemaker: Book 2 hits bookshops this week--Amazon says it's in stock--so I am guessing comic book stores next week?

Current Soundtrack: Christina Aguilera, Burlesque OST

Monday, November 22, 2010

THE CONCRETE AND THE CLAY BENEATH MY FEET



Paul Chadwick is one of my favorite people in comics. Few people know this, but my first paid freelance job was doing a Concrete timeline for one of his short story collections. Talk about an awesome gig. I got every Concrete book for free and was given money to read them. All I had to do was put the stories in order. Yeesh, way to put me through the sweatshop.

So, to have Paul pop up in my google alerts this morning saying:

"As for favorite titles, my mind rushes back to my childhood, which seems irrelevant. We’re in such a rich period at present, everything we could have dreamed of for our medium during the dark days of the seventies, when it seemed to be a dying ghetto. Right now I’m reading Jamie Rich and Joelle Jones’ graphic novel You Have Killed Me, and enjoying it quite a bit. And speaking of Shane White, everyone should read his autobiographical book, North Country."


Well, I couldn't be more chuffed by this. Paul has actually been so amazing and supportive to me as a creator, just by the simple act of finding me at conventions and saying hello and telling me that he reads the books. The first convention Joëlle and I did together, actually, he gave marvelous feedback on 12 Reasons, the kind of response you can only get from a master storyteller.

Which Paul is. I was lucky enough in my time at Dark Horse to be there when Paul gave the editorial department a lesson in storytelling. He used some of his Concrete pages as an example, and worked us through the process panel by panel, explaining his choices and detailing how he intentionally lead the reader's eye to follow a specific visual line. If you are ever in a situation to get the same kind of sitdown, do it. By all means, DO IT.

And of course, read all of the Concrete books and buy Paul's collaboration with Harlan Ellison--who is, of course, a personal hero of mine--as soon as it comes out. The Concrete series is one of the most human, thoughtful, and creative series in all of comics. You won't find a more fully realized metaphor than the main character's predicament, nor a concept executed with such sophistication and flair.

And read the interview where the excerpt came from right now. It's over at Guerrilla Geek.

By the way, I have said this before, but my first actual freelance gig was writing the backs of the Madman Trading Cards, but I didn't get paid for them. I only got paid for the second set, which came after the Concrete assignment. Just in case someone wanted to call out for a continuity error. (Like anyone is paying that much attention...haw!)

Current Soundtrack: Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday Deluxe Edition

Friday, November 19, 2010

THE THINGS YOU SAID

I don't remember posting this before, largely because I don't remember seeing the interview go live. I answered Doug Dorr's questionnaire for the Portland Comics blog just before I left for New York Comic Con. Some of the answers are kind of funny. Like...

DD: Where in Portland/ Oregon would you most like to visit?

Well, there's this girl and I watch her apartment from the bushes across the street...and one day, I hope to go inside.

KIDDING!


Read the whole thing here.

By the way, in convention news, Joëlle and I have table space for Emerald City Con in March, and things are looking up in terms of San Diego and NYCC again. So, a few appearances next year, there may be more. Nico may be hitting some of those, too. He is also going to be at Stumptown in April.

Current Soundtrack: Some Dntel

Thursday, November 18, 2010

BIGGER BOYS AND STOLEN SWEETHEARTS



NEW IN THEATRES...

* Carlos, the epic biography of Carlos the Jackal from Olivier Assayas. Playing this weekend in Portland at the NW Film Center.

* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the beginning of the end, and HP ain't goin' out like that!

Also, don't forget 127 Hours goes wider this week.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Altitude, comics artist Kaare Andrews' debut movie is like Cthulu in the clouds. A confined-space horror movie with lots of tension.

* Frank Sinatra: Concert Collection, 14 hours of vintage television specials from the Chairman of the Board.

* Leonard Cohen's Lonesome Heroes, an academic documentary mapping out the troubadour's influences.

* Mad About You: The Complete Fifth Season, the year of the Buchman pregnancy. Another cycle of shows from one of my favorite sitcoms.

* The Other Side of Paradise, an impressive indie romance that takes its heart out on the road.

* Sherlock: Season One, the clever and inventive BBC modernization of the legendary detective.

*
Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?
, an interesting documentary about the unique singer that has a lot of good stuff, but maybe not enough to answer it's own titular question.



Current Soundtrack: Rihanna, Loud



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

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, November 11, 2010

SWIPE FILE: ALL CATS ARE GAY

It's been pointed out to me that, once again, these images are proof in this world that pets and their owners eventually start to look alike. Either that, or Sadie is doing an impeccable impression, recreating the pose from one of my better author's portraits.



Current Soundtrack: Underworld, Barking (ironically)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A sneak peek inside the witch's lair...

Thursday, November 04, 2010

JUST A GIRL, NORTH OF ENGLAND WAY



NEW IN THEATRES...

* 127 Hours, Danny Boyle and James Franco bring the pain in the most tense movie of the season.

* Due Date is one appointment you can postpone. (Bazinga!) Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis give it a good effort, but only about half the jokes land.

* Fair Game, has no backfield play, despite good performances by Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. The story before Valerie Plame's outing as a CIA agent is interesting, though.

* Tamara Drewe, 2010 gives us another great comic book adaptation; Stephen Frears brings Posy Simmonds to life.

And don't forget, Portlanders, Kuroneko hits Cinema 21 for a week!

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Alien Anthology, the classic sci-fi franchise looks better than ever on Blu-Ray.

* Theater of War, an uneven documentary about the 2006 staging of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage starring Meryl Streep. It's best when it's just about Brecht himself.

* William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, Baz Luhrmann's innovative modern adaptation of the classic doomed romance.



Current Soundtrack: Antichrist director's commentary



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

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

Monday, November 01, 2010

HOLLYWOOD GIRL ON THE FIRE ESCAPE: ERIC KIM

Eric Kim, the artist on books like Love As A Foreign Language and his own hilarious The Complete Plays of William Shakespeare (each Shakespeare play retold as a two-panel cartoon!), has drawn a great version of Audrey Hepburn from Funny Face.

Eric is selling the color version as a limited edition print of 20 in his web store. Pick one up, and buy his Shakespeare book at the same time!





Current Soundtrack: 40-Year-Old Virgin on the cable teevee