Over at Mulholland Books, Brian Lindenmuth has a fantastic article rounding-up crime comics from the last several years. Among them are books I edited, such as Queen & Country and Union Station, but also, of course, You Have Killed Me, by myself and the incredible Joëlle Jones. The blurb Brian gives us is fantastic! He knows who the powerhouse in this team is.
"You Have Killed Me by Jamie Rich and Joelle Jones is like a classic noir movie in comic form. This book hits all the right notes in creating a great overall atmosphere. From the cold noir opening with our confused and bloodied protagonist ,on through the jazz clubs, back-room poker games, and fringes of high society, it exudes a high comfort level and provides a great setting to tell the story. Joelle Jones’s art eschews the blocky thrust of Frank Miller–inspired crime art and comes away with an elegance of style. She also places the characters in a prominent place so they aren’t overshadowed by stylized flourishes. The art is, quite frankly, so damn good here that she has set the benchmark for all future crime artists to beat."
Current Soundtrack: Best Coast, Crazy for You
Friday, December 10, 2010
YOUR MIND IS ON VACATION
It's been quiet around these parts, I know. Never let it be said that I'm a man that speaks even when he has nothing to say. I mean, I do do that, just don't you say it.
NEW IN THEATRES...
* The Tourist, in which pretty people have a pretty boring vacation. And I type Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck as many times as I can.
UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...
* America Lost & Found: The BBS Story, seven films from the early 1970s from the innovative creative team of Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider, and Steve Blauner. Featuring the Monkees, Jack Nicholson, Peter Bogdanovich, Orson Welles, Jeff Bridges, Dennis Hopper, and more. [Also at DVDTalk.]
* Louie Bluie, Terry Zwigoff's lively portrait of blues musician Howard Armstrong.
THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...
* The Sicilian Girl, a true-story drama about a Mafia daughter going against the family. A smart movie with an amazing lead performance.
* Walt & El Grupo, in which we go back to the vacation jokes: Walt Disney went to South America, and all I got was this lousy documentary.
Current Soundtrack: Suede, Live in London - 07.12.2010 (download here)
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
* 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.
* 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.
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
Sunday, October 31, 2010
SUNDAY'S PRETTY ICONS
Apparently, there is a fake band modeled after my most memorable feature having a fake existence in Vermont.
These two *ahem* ladies may have something to do with it. The one with the colorful hair of her own is also responsible for this comic. Both of them attend here.
I offer no further comment or explanation.
Current Soundrack: Belle & Sebastian, Write About Love
Saturday, October 30, 2010
SCARED AS YOU
Is everybody getting ready for their Halloween? I'm practicing some Mr. Mister and Whitesnake songs for Scaraoke tonight. Does that frighten you?
I've been posting real scary songs--or at least ghoulish ones--to SwiftFm. Here is my account. The last five songs, from Warlocks back to Gorillaz, are for Halloween. I post stuff there whenever something gets stuck in my head, or on special occasions like this.
* Robot 6 has dubbed themselves Robot 666 for the week, and they have done a survey of comics pros to ask what comics scare them. In part 2, I am amongst the esteemed company of Ross Campbell and Becky Cloonan, and Ross and I pick the exact same scene from Becky's part of Pixu. Read the whole article here, but this is my blurb:
"The first thing to pop into mind when this subject came up was a fairly recent example. I am a big fan of Pixu by Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Vasilis Lolos, and Becky Cloonan, and I was particularly taken aback when I first read the self-published issues by one of Becky’s sequences. In chapter two, Omar returns home and something feels weird. Claire is acting strange. She made him some soup, and when he sits down to eat it, he notices something gross–a fingernail–in the broth. Then there is another, and another, and one in his mouth. It’s such a simple thing but the way Becky shows it, first by letting us see some nails on his spoon, then one between his fingers, and then finally spitting it out–it’s so visceral, I feel a tickle at the back of my throat just thinking about it. Over a few panels, she effectively creates an unforgettable moment, one that extends beyond the page and causes an honest-to-goodness physical reaction. It creeped me out so much, I had to send Ms. Cloonan an e-mail to thank her for disturbing me. The whole of Pixu is fantastic, but that’s the moment that really nailed it for me–no pun intended!"
* Oh, and hey, Tally has been updating "Between Gears"! And I make an inebriated appearance. Click on the panel of me and Emi (I know, Emi and I) being drunk at Powell's to read the whole entry, and then start catching up on the rest:
Current Soundtrack: Trash Can Sinatras, "I See the Moon" (youtube rip); The Cure, "Scared as You;" Duffy, "Scared"
Gana is a fifteen-year-old artist who is currently taking an art class taught by Nicolas Hitori de. This is her interpretation of Jesse from Spell Checkers, and it's pretty fantastic.
Current Soundtrack: The House of Love, "Who By Fire?" (Leonard Cohen cover)
[TITLE REDACTED]
Monday, October 25, 2010
CHAMPAGNE GIRLS I HAVE KNOWN
The excellent Readergirlz blog picked 12 Reasons Why I Love Her as one of their books for October, and so I provided them with a special thank you/intro piece, discussing the rarely disclosed secret origin of the book.
Here is the lead paragraph:
"It all seems so simple now, I can barely believe it. It was a Saturday night, I think in 2003, and I was bored and trying to think of a side project to write during breaks from my second novel, The Everlasting. I am a big fan of good romantic movies, particularly Hollywood classics with Cary Grant or the Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy pairings, and I started to think about the modern equivalent. If it were possible to write a movie like The Apartment or Two for the Road now, how would I do it? I don’t know if I was conscious of the Two for the Road connection at that very moment, but Stanley Donen’s 1966 masterpiece would end up being a real inspiration for what I was about to cook up. In it, Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney play a married couple who are heading for the rocks, and by criss-crossing several narrative timelines at once, Donen lets us compare and contrast and see how they got from very young love to very old love by drawing ingenious parallels between the jumbled stages of their life together."
Current Soundtrack: Taylor Swift, new singles: "Back to December/Mean/Speak Now"
Thursday, October 21, 2010
DON'T GET LOST IN HEAVEN
Especially if there is a grammar portion to this test.
NEW IN THEATRES...
* Hereafter, Clint Eastwood's meditation on the afterlife fails on nearly every level. A serious contender for worst movie of the year--or at least the most boring.
UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...
* House, Obayashi's crazy 1977 horror freak-out is on DVD in time for Halloween.
* Paths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick's original masterpiece is restored for a new age of technology. A fantastic WWI drama starring Kirk Douglas (Also at DVD Talk).
Tonight I am attending a party for the season finale of Mad Men, and I was tasked with making a music mix to keep the shindig hoppin'.
I took a two-part approach, as we'll be listening to music before and after the show. The beginning of the mix is made up of songs we heard on the series this season, and the second half is a selection of hits from 1965, the year of season 4. Many were picked for their lyrical relevance to the story, some just because they were cool. I was struck by how many old-style crooners and the like were still landing on the charts back then. We tend to think of the '60s as being all about the classic rock, but forget that not everyone was on board. With bands like the Animals, Zombies, and Kinks, however, we can start to see the shift toward harder-edged music coming.
Most of these songs are available for download from Amazon or iTunes.
Part I
1. RJD2 - "A Beautiful Mine (Theme Music from 'Mad Men')" 2. Nashville Teens - "Tobacco Road" 3. Jan & Dean - "Sidewalk Surfin'" 4. Patti Page - "Old Cape Cod" 5. "Theme from the Man from U.N.C.L.E." 6. Peggy Lee - "I Enjoy Being a Girl"* 7. Skeeter Davis - "Ladder of Success" 8. Simon & Garfunkel - "Bleecker Street" 9. Otis Redding - "Satisfaction"** 10. Petula Clark - "I Know a Place"*** 11. The Beatles - "Do You Want to Know a Secret?"**** 12. Jim Reeves - "Welcome to My World" 13. Etta James - "Trust in Me"
Part II
14. Jack Jones - "The Race Is On" 15. Ramsey Lewis Trio - "The In Crowd" 16. The Byrds - "Mr. Tambourine Man" 17. The Diamonds - "Silhouettes"***** 18. Herman's Hermits - "(What A) Wonderful World" 19. The Searchers - "Love Potion No. 9" 20. Peter & Gordon - "I Go to Pieces" 21. The Yardbirds - "For Your Love" 22. The Kinks - "Tired of Waiting for You" 23. The Zombies - "Tell Her No" 24. Jackie Deshannon - "Love Will Find a Way" 25. Marvin Gaye - "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" 26. The Supremes - "Back in My Arms Again" 27. The Chiffons - "Nobody Knows What's Goin' On" 28. The Beatles - "Eight Days a Week" 29. The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of this Place [single version]" 30. Gerry & the Pacemakers - "Ferry Cross the Mersey" 31. Tom Jones - "It's Not Unusual" 32. Freddie & the Dreamers - "I'm Telling You Now" 33. Dickey Lee - "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)" 34. Sam Cooke - "Shake" 35. The Toys - "Attack" 36. Unit 4 Plus 2 - "Concrete & Clay" 37. Lesley Gore - "Look of Love" 38. Bobby Vinton - "Mr. Lonely" 39. The Righteous Brothers - "Ebb Tide" 40. Simon & Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence" 41. The Beach Boys - "Help Me, Rhonda" 42. Len Barry - "One Two Three" 43. Gary Lewis & the Playboys - "Everybody Loves a Clown" 44. The Vogues - "You're the One" 45. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass - "A Taste of Honey" 46. Brenda Lee - "Too Many Rivers" 47. Roy Orbison - "Claudette" 48. Sounds Orchestral = "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" 49. The Crickets - "Now Hear This" 50. The Ivy League - "Tossing and Turning" 51. The Lettermen - "Sincerely" 52. The Ronettes - "He Did It" 53. The Ventures - "Diamond Head" 54. Frank Sinatra - "It Was a Very Good Year"
* The show actually used Doris Day, I believe, but I could not find her version on MP3. Lee's is more jazzy, anyway. ** I substituted Otis for the Rolling Stones because my hostess doesn't care for the Stones. Their original version of this song was one of the top 3 hits of 1965. *** I am missing a song here. In the same bar where Petula Clark plays, some kind of surf rock tune follows, but I could not identify it or find any place telling me what it was. **** I could not find an instrumental version to match the one on the credits (there were plenty, none were right), so I went with the vocal version. ***** "Silhouettes" was a charter for Herman's Hermits in 1965, but rather than use two Hermits numbers, I went with an older doo-wop version of the same song.
Current Soundtrack: Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Friday, October 15, 2010
SWEET SUGAR CANDYMAN
A NYCC cartoon drawn by Nico with text written by me...
(left to write: Nico, Tally, Jamie, Joëlle)
See more of Nico's sketches and impressions of the show, plus this cartoon in French, over at his blog...
Current Soundtrack: Duran Duran, Notorious 2010 remaster
IS EVIL JUST SOMETHING YOU ARE, OR SOMETHING YOU DO?
This arrived in my inbox under the title, "Evil."
Current Soundtrack: Antony & the Johnsons, Swanlights
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
BRILLIANT MISTAKE
A few items today.
* I love this review of Koko Be Good from Johnny Bacardi, a well-respected comics critic if ever there was one, because I couldn't be more flattered by his unprompted, public voicing of a probably not-so-secret wish of mine:
"I think this is one stepping stone towards bigger and better things for Miss Wang. Maybe she should collaborate with Jamie S. Rich (who wrote the forward here) one of these days. (A copy of this book was provided for review purposes by the publisher)"
I include the last line since I am wondering if maybe First:Second sent a copy of my review as part of a press packet, since I never wrote a forward. Anyway, whatever led to this misunderstanding, I appreciate being paired with one of my favorite artists and, you know, being thought of at all. (I am ashamed to admit I drunk e-mailed Jen once telling her I'd kill to write a script for her, though I knew she had no need to sully her talent with my lack thereof...sigh.) [Edit: Aw, poop, he deleted the mention.]
* I also absolutely loveSara Pichelli's art, and this piece on her joining Ultimate Spider-Man also includes I think the first public mention of Joëlle Jones as part of the anniversary issue #150. I have seen Joëlle's pencils for this, and oh, man, talk about knocking off the proverbial socks. My lid flipped, too. She got me on both ends.
* Maybe the best fanmail I've gotten in a while, from some dude named Victor whose e-mail address begins with "audiomixer."
"I read your review of 'Never Let Me Go' and...every film you don't like, I like. And every film you praise, I hate. Easy peasy..."
What I particularly like about this is I am pretty sure it's intended to be a burn, as if some random e-mail like this would really make me crumble and die. In reality, I think it should have been a "thank you" note. If I find a reviewer whose opinions are so consistently opposite my own, it's as valuable as finding one I agree with regularly. You can trust me to always tell you which way to go, Victor!
Current Soundtrack: The Joy Formidable, "I Don't Want to See You Like This" single; Gorillaz, "On Melancholy Hill (Feed Me Remix)"
I am back from New York. I had a great time at Comic Con. Much of the show was a social fail, I went to absolutely no comic book events after the con and there are many people I didn't even see once, but that's okay. On the social win, I hung with many friends in and out of comics alike.
Thanks to Sonja, Ethan, and Benrus for hosting Joëlle and I. Also to Sonja for taking us to a fashion event at Bloomingdale's where I got to be in the same room as Christina Hendricks. Score! Also to Joe Nozemack for setting it up for us to go see Gorillaz and N.E.R.D. at Madison Square Garden. It was a tremendous show!
Nico drew this image of Cynthia from Spell Checkers for me while we were hanging out:
I was tweeting all weekend, and rather than try to cobble together a con report, I'll reprint those here. They include links to photos.
Thursday * Pastrami, cheddar, and mustard on a garlic bagel http://flic.kr/p/8H9Kjm * Standing on W 16th waiting for Christine Norrie. It is okay to be jealous. Nerd. * Christina Hendricks at Bloomingdale's for Ports 1961 http://flic.kr/p/8HeDFo * Christina Hendricks at Bloomingdale's II http://flic.kr/p/8Hbyi6 * Models blink in photos, too. Who knew? http://flic.kr/p/8HeUsA * @BrianHuberd I was inches from getting a photo with her, but she was ushered off to look at clothes. * It's a Huberd miracle! http://flic.kr/p/8HccMe * Quality Meats http://flic.kr/p/8HgxTj * QM: clam chowder http://flic.kr/p/8Hgzbd * QM: hanger steak with brandied cherries http://flic.kr/p/8HgAeq * QM: the Quality Potato http://flic.kr/p/8HgBmy * This bar is playing Def Leppard. I love this bar. #nycc * Spotted on the street: indie-type actor Josh Hamilton, of Baumbach's KICKING & SCREAMING and HOUSE OF YES-fame. #nycc
Friday * Sentence you don't want to hear first day of a convention *before* you've showered: "We're here to replace the toilet." #nycc * Our NYCC Artist Alley table (D9) http://flic.kr/p/8Ht5f3 * Kitty & Lockheed NYCC http://flic.kr/p/8Hq2NP * My flask says it misses @andeparks. I forgot to tell it he wouldn't be here. #nycc * The con is on. NYCC table D9 in Artist Alley with @Joelle_Jones #nycc * Gorillaz at MSG http://flic.kr/p/8Hq5WD * N.E.R.D. opening for Gorillaz http://flic.kr/p/8HrzAZ * Nico & Joelle at MSG http://flic.kr/p/8HuJHQ * Confirmed: Lou Reed and Mos Def are appearing tonight with Gorillaz #nycc * Plastic Beach http://flic.kr/p/8HrCq6 * Also: Miho Hatori, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Bobby Womack, tons of musicians * More Gorillaz http://flic.kr/p/8HuNtS * Closing songs: Don't Get Lost in Heaven/Demon Days #gorrilaz #nycc * At bar with @nicohitoride and they are playing Daft Punk #nicofail #nycc * Big up to @JNoze, the tru playa who made Gorillaz possible * @JannJones Irish pub across from Madison Square Garden, where Team Spell Checkers owns the jukebox. * A male ginger holding a pumpkin falling asleep on the subway at 2:30 am = weirdest thing I've seen at #nycc * Scratch that: guy with beer mug-shaped glasses at donut shop shouting "why you cut me with that blade?" at 3am for the win #nycc
Sunday * Last day of NYCC. We fly out this evening, so come and see @Joelle_Jones and myself by 3:30 or you will miss us! * Overheard at #nycc: "Yeah, it looks like me without the tits." #girlsarethebest * Thank you New York City! You were a lovely audience. See you next year. Good night! #nycc * Big thanks to @onipress for always being a class act and the best people to work with #nycc
Current Soundtrack: Taylor Swift, "Speak Now;" My Chemical Romance, "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na);" Mark Ronson and the Business Intl., "Bang Bang Bang (Featuring Q-Tip, MNDR);" Etta James, "Trust in Me;" Jack Jones, "The Race is On;" UNKLE, Lives Of The Artists: Follow Me Down - Soundtrack
* Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa's most famous film comes to Blu-Ray. (Also at DVD Talk).
THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...
* The Grapes of Wrath, John Ford's astonishing adaptation of John Steinbeck, with Henry Fonda in the lead. Repackaged, not reissued.
* Samurai Vendetta, a tepid swordplay story that is strangely light on the revenge. How unfortunate this was in the pool the same week as the Kurosawa.
Current Soundtrack: David Bowie, Station to Station reissue (live concert)
One of my all-time favorite Oni Press books is coming back to print and goes on sale this Wednesday. Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits is a collection of the three miniseries I edited back in the day, all written by Jen Van Meter and featuring art by people as swerval as Christine Norrie, Chynna Clugston, Andi Watson, Ross Campbell, and some kid named Bryan Lee O'Malley. The cover is by the amazing Terry Dodson, and I assume the book will also have the one-shot that came out after I went freelance--which had art by Vera Brosgol and Becky Cloonan!--and ephemera like the Alfred Hitchcock-aping frame I wrote for Christine Norrie to wrap around the third storyline.
This is just the harbinger of great things to come, too! Jen is writing series 4!
So, now is the best time to get caught up on this genius comic. Not familiar with it? Try this five-page teaser.
Current Soundtrack: Dusty Springfield, "Wishin' and Hopin';" Chad & Jeremy, "A Summer Song;" The Fortunes, "You've Got Your Troubles;" The Silkie, "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away;" The Mindbenders, "A Groovy Kind of Love;" The Merseys, "Sorrow"
Today, the Online Film Critics Society posted the results of a members poll. We voted for the 100 Best First Films. You can read the full list here, including extra blurbs on the top 20 (I wrote the paragraph for Being John Malkovich).
Each writer was asked to contribute their top 25. If you're curious how I voted, here is my list. Linked titles go to my reviews of the films in question--I've written about a surprisingly low number!
1. The Maltese Falcon (director: John Huston) 2. Breathless [review 1] [review 2] (Jean-Luc Godard) 3. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles) 4. Badlands (Terrence Malick) 5. The Kid (Charles Chaplin) 6. Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais) 7. Shadows (John Cassevetes) 8. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino) 9. Eraserhead (David Lynch) 10. Blood Simple (Joel and Ethan Coen) 11. On the Town (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly) 12. Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola) 13. Sixteen Candles (John Hughes) 14. The Iron Giant (Brad Bird) 15. Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze) 16. The Great McGinty (Preston Sturges) 17. George Washington (David Gordon Green) 18. Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsey) 19. Toy Story (John Lasseter) 20. Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton) 21. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (George Clooney) 22. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Steven Soderbergh) 23. 40-Year-Old Virgin, The (Judd Apatow) 24. Brick (Rian Johnson) 25. Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau)
Current Soundtrack: Depeche Mode, "The Darkest Star (Digital Beat Mix);" Belle & Sebastian, Write About Love [NPR stream]
Joëlle Jones and I will be at table D10, in the same island as David Mack, Yanick Paquette, Ken Steacy, Pete Woods, Jamal Igle, Chris Eliopoulos, Peter Kuper, Philip Tan, and a bunch of other great people. Nicolas Hitori de will be there, as well, but he'll be sitting with the Oni Press guys. Apparently, Joëlle and I get on his nerves. Whatever. We're fun.
We should have plenty of our joint comics there, as well as other random stuff. I will have a limited amount of my prose and Love the Way You Love, so if you really want something and want to make sure I bring it, please go ahead and drop me a line at golightly[a]gmail.com and you can preorder/reserve it.
Joëlle has also been taking a preorder for sketches and is already working on some. Her con prices are $20 for a pencil sketch or $30 inked for the first character, $10 for each additional character. I can set that up for you, as well.
Current Soundtrack: Wavves, "Idiot;" Saint Etienne, "London Belongs to Me;" La Roux, "Tigerlily"
Author of prose novels and comic books like Cut My Hair, It Girl & the Atomics, You Have Killed Me, and 12 Reasons Why I Love Her. Jamie's most recent novel is the serialized book Bobby Pins and Mary Janes, and his most recent graphic novels are the sci-fi romance A Boy and a Girl with Natalie Nourigat; Madame Frankenstein with Megan Levens; and the weird crime comic Archer Coe & the Thousand Natural Shocks with Dan Christensen.
hits bookshops this week--Amazon says it's in stock--so I am guessing comic book stores next week?
. 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. 
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.
