CAN I KICK IT? YES, YOU CAN

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, a riveting documentary about the legendary hiphop innovators.

* A Little Help, an indie also-ran starring Jenna Fischer that only just begins to touch on its deeper topics.


UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Beauty & the Beast, a gorgeous new edition of Jean Cocteau's definitive telling of the classic fairy tale. (Also at DVD Talk.)

* Raffaelo Matarazzo's Runaway Melodramas, an Eclipse set collecting four movies from the little-known Italian filmmaker. (Also at DVD Talk.)

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Phaedra, Jules Dassin takes on Euripides, bringing Melina Mercouri and Anthony Perkins along for the tragedy.

* The Reluctant Saint, Maximilian Schell as the Flying Friar in Edward Dmytryk's religious drama.

Current Soundtrack: Mid-school hip-hop over at the Confessions of a Pop Fan room on Turntable.Fm

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

IMAGE FANTOME: FRENCH DISCO (Bonus: Post SDCC wrap-up)

Whew. Back from Comic Con. It was a fun show, and Trickster was awesome. Highlights include:

* Thursday's great dinner with the extended Oni Press family.

* The two nights of music by the Gear, especially Saturday when the roof really came off. Also, Laura Allred slapped my ass. Dream come true!

* The Eisners, where Joëlle Jones was really funny doing her awards presenter duties. Our assigned table for the pre-show dinner had us sitting with Phil Lamarr and Lance Henrickson, who were both awesome, and we got to meet Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant from Reno 911.

* Post-Eisners, chatting briefly with Grant Morrison outside the bathroom.

* My delightful signings at Oni and the great people that came to say hello (hi, Erin!). Also, I jumped in on the Yo Gabba Gabba signing and spent an hour signing books for young readers! I even sketched inside them. You know, for kids.

* Chatting during signings with Jarett Williams, Matt Southworth, Dave Crosland, and Meredith McClaren, even if she didn't really know who I was the whole time. Other times chatting with Ray Fawkes, B. Clay Moore, Jim Pascoe, Sam Humphries, Scott Chantler, and Megan Levens. Sitting outside Trickster on Thursday drinking the afternoon away with Jeremy Haun, Mike Norton, Robbie Rodriguez, and Brett Weldele.

* Seeing Chynna Clugston-Flores meet Jon Crier.

* The convincing, low-key Jeff Lebowski cosplayer chatting up Joëlle on the elevator.

* My Saturday Trickster Symposium about collaboration, which was an amazing two-hour chat with Scott Morse, Greg Rucka, Marc Andreyko, Mike Allred, and Larry Marder that some wonderful people actually paid to come see and participate in.

* Likewise, Joëlle's spotlight on Sunday had a marvelous, attentive audience.

Now I am back and trying to catch up, and I want to share some amazing art from Nico that landed in my inbox while I was gone:

A summer drawing of Jesse from Spell Checkers


Thumbnails from a short Britpop-themed comic we are doing together.

Current Soundtrack: Suede, Head Music 2011 remaster




e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN DIEGO?

And off we go, on our way to San Diego Comic Con International and Tr!ckster.

Check out my full schedule, and come to my Tr!ckster symposium with Greg Rucka, Mike Allred, and Larry Marder.

For updates, follow me on Twitter.

Joëlle Jones is an featured special guest of Comic Con, because she's amazing, and so don't forget to check her schedule at her blog to see where she'll be when she isn't signing with me. Remember, she has a spotlight panel on Sunday, and I'll be there, too. Also, have you seen these prints she'll be selling?

My colleague Mike Allred will also be performing with his band the Gear on Friday and Saturday. Take a look at Mike's schedule at his blog.

Two Generals by Scott Chantler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Very few comics have made me cry. This is one of them. The last handful of pages are masterful, as Scott Chantler reframes a scene we've visited several times before in the book, giving it new resonance and tying the whole narrative together in a way that packs real power. It's a brilliant example of thoughtful storytelling, emotional without being manipulative. But then, there isn't a pen stroke in this comic that isn't perfectly planned. Two Generals should be given to all prospective cartoonists as a tutorial on how to visually tell tales. Adhering to a strict layout based on a nine-panel grid, Chantler frequently relies on silence and small details to relate change, movement, and outward expression of inner thought and feeling. His pin-point eyes tell more about a character's internal conflict than most other comics artists manage when rendering a complete face. Also, his sparse use of color avoids gimmickry and instead conveys an added layer of meaning. The portentous use of the dark wine color that also adorns the cover of this handsomely designed graphic novel alerts us to deaths to come, like a more serious employment of the Star Trek red shirt. Except here, under the grim specter of war, any man is as expendable as any other.

Two Generals is based in large part on the diaries of the author's grandfather, a lieutenant in the Canadian army in World War II. Chantler's approach is, in some ways, "just the facts, ma'am," avoiding mawkish sentimentality; yet, he is not scared of nostalgia, humor, or genuine human connection. The comic also manages to honor the brave fighters without cheerleading or propaganda, in much the same way another visual medium, television, payed tribute to the soldiers in the miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific. I'm considering putting Two Generals on the same shelf as those DVD sets, even if it would fly in the face of my compulsive filing system. Someone get this novel in the hands of Tom Hanks, stat.



View all my reviews

Current Soundtrack: the Confessions of a Pop Fan room on TurntableFM: Erasure, "I Could Fall in Love with You;" Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, "VCR"

F(ile) U(nder): STFU - Harry Potter edition

My mail, sent at 1:00 a.m. PST, opening day:

I read your review of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (3D)' and... you have to read the books to make an accurate critique. the movie had some good parts but changed things that were already well thought out and were perfect the way they were written. the director clearly did not know what real fans of the books wanted. and the books are the reason the story is even popular in the first place.

OH, BOTHER, AND HERE A STUFFED BEAR WAS MY PETRONUS

That's not a song reference. I made it up myself!

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows; Part II, in which the midgets throw the ring into the fire. That's this franchise, right? (Seriously, this movie ruled.)

* Winnie the Pooh, the new animated sequel harshes my Hundred-Acre Wood.


UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* The Music Room, a chamber music, chamber room drama from Satyajit Ray. (Also at DVD Talk.)

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Rango, the animated chameleon with the voice of Johnny Depp in a movie by Gore Verbinski. Neither as bad as it could be or good as it needs to be, but entertaining.

Current Soundtrack: The Field Mice, "Let's Kiss & Make Up" in the Confessions of a Pop Fan room on Turntable.Fm


e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

THE BIG CARNIVAL: SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2011 SCHEDULE

I think I have my full schedule for the show worked out. Most of the signings will be with Joëlle, with us appearing close to twice a day at the Oni Press table, which is Booth 1833. Joëlle also has a table in Artist's Alley, she is table HH-13.

For more about getting art from Joëlle, go here, and her schedule is right here.

Thursday

* 1-1:45 - Oni Press Signing
* 5-5:45 - Oni Press Signing

Friday
* 1-1:45 - Oni Press Panel -Room 32AB - I don't think we are officially on this, but we will likely be lurking around. Put Oni on the spot and ask them what I have coming in 2012!

* 3-3:45 - Oni Press Signing
* 5-5:45 - Oni Press Signing

Saturday
* 11-11:45 - Oni Press Signing

* 1-3 pm - Tr!ckster Symposium 5: Building a Creator-Owned Team
http://trickstertrickster.com/events/symposia/

BUILDING A CREATOR-OWNED CREATIVE TEAM
Featuring storytellers MIKE ALLRED, LARRY MARDER, GREG RUCKA, JAMIE S. RICH, and more TBA
Writing a story is hard enough, but finding the visual pairing to help express the story to its fullest can be pivotal in crafting your work. The right combination of exposition and dialogue with the perfect set of sequential images make for excellent, memorable storytelling in comics and children’s books. Join in with acclaimed writers and the artists they’ve worked with as they explore how the creative team, and the creative process, come to fruition.

PERFECT FOR: writers and artists hoping to make comics as a team.

6-6:45 - Oni Press Signing

Sunday
* 11-11:45 - Oni Press signing

* 2-3:00 - Spotlight on Joëlle Jones

Since her debut illustrating 12 Reasons Why I Love Her in 2006, Comic-Con special guest Joëlle Jones has been one of comics' most talked-about new artists. Get in on the conversation as Jones sits down with journalist Erik Henriksen and her long-time collaborator Jamie S. Rich to discuss her various projects from Oni Press, Vertigo, and Dark Horse and what it's like to draw Dr. Horrible, Madman, and Spider-Man. Room 4

There might be a betting pool for how long into this panel it takes for Joëlle to call me a jackass.

* 3:30-4:30 post-panel signing - Autograph Area 7 (AA7)

Current Soundtrack: Confessions of a Pop Fan @ Turntable.FM, playing Gorrillaz covering the XX, John Legend and the Roots on "Wake Up Everybody" and more groovy tunes.

PUSH ME, SHOVE ME

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Horrible Bosses delivers lots of laughs thanks to its great cast.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

A Louis Malle double feature:

* Black Moon, his surreal 1975 take on Alice in Wonderland. (Also at DVD Talk.)

* Zazie dans le metro,a zany kid's picture from 1960. (Also at DVD Talk.)

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Miral, Julian Schnabel's intriguing yet imperfect Palestinian drama.

* The Sacrifice, Andrei Tarkovsky's final masterpiece.

Current Soundtrack: Nick Cave & Neko Case, "She's Not There;" Berlin, "Metro;" Luna, "Slide;" and more, spinning at the Confessions of a Pop Fan room on Turntable.Fm


e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

HALF THE WORLD AWAY

2011 is half over. Here are the top 15 bands I've listened to the most so far this year.

1. Nicki Minaj
2. Elbow
3. Asobi Seksu
4. Alex Turner
5. Morrissey
6. Radiohead
7. Beastie Boys
8. The Chemical Brothers
9. Duran Duran
10. Underworld
11. Duffy
12. Christina Perri
13. Beady Eye
14. Mogwai
15. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

You know, because no one asked.

Current Soundtrack: Dean & Britta, "Teenage Lightning & Lonely Highways (Sonic Boom Remix)"

THOMAS (HANKS) CROWNE AFFAIR

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Larry Crowne. This weekend, you can watch cars transform into robots, or you can let Tom Hanks transform your cold, dead heart into something living again. Your call.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* People on Sunday, a who's who of German ex-pat directors make their first feature back in their home country. This 1930 film is wonderfully restored and not to be missed.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* BLAST!, a science documentary about sending a telescope up into the sky on a balloon to look at the stars.

* Eight Iron Men, a WWII variation on the "chamber room drama" that never quite takes off. From Edward Dmytryk and Stanley Kramer.

* The Goddess, Paddy Chayefsky wrote this thinly veiled portrait of a Marilyn Monroe-type actress, played by Kim Stanley. Interesting, if not entirely successful.

* The Herculoids: The Complete Series, the bizarro '60s cartoon comes to DVD.

* The Man in the Net, starring Alan Ladd, directed by Michael Curtiz. Read the review that one fan called "a classic example of...uninformed arrogance" and inspired him to suggest I "take up something else to while away your time or attend a junior college film class."

* New York, New York, Martin Scorsese's notorious 1977 musical mash-up of new and old styles, starring De Niro and Minnelli.

* The Romantic Englishwoman, Joseph Losey directing a Tom Stoppard script about Glenda Jackson's aching loins. And Michael Caine yells a lot.

* Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...Season 2, a second go-around with the maestro.

* Vera Cruz, Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper shoot up Mexico in a film by Robert Aldrich.

Current Soundtrack: The Warlocks, Enter at Your Own Skull, vol. 1 - 18 tracks, $5 - get it now!


e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

IMAGE FANTOME: SUMMER MOOD

Nico has drawn this super cute promo image to kick off the summer.

The Spell Checkers have hit the beach, and these witches don't burn!

We're going over lettering on volume 2 right now, so it's off to the printer soon. Order now, get the book in September.

Spell Checkers vol. 2: Sons of a Preacher Man from Oni Press.

Current Soundtrack: The Rolling Stones, "Good Time Woman"

MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG



This past weekend, my friend Robert Fortney (who also snapped the above photo) and I took a road trip down to Coos Bay, Oregon, to see the second-ever live performance of Mike Allred's band The Gear. We then hung out at Mike's house and enjoyed that famous Allred hospitality. (So much French Toast!)

Bobby was driving, and our trip was going to be over 3 hours, so I made a 3-hour, 23-minute road trip mix, with an ear towards propulsive rhythms and choosing songs that had some sort of thematic connection to travel, running, the sun, freedom, etc.

52 songs in all. If anyone wants to try to rebuild it themselves, here is the full track listing.

1. Nigel Godrich - "Universal Theme"
2. Bat for Lashes w/ Beck - "Let's Get Lost"
3. Cee-Lo Green - "What Part of Forever (Remix)"
4. Primal Scream - "Loaded (Single Version)"
5. Jim Reid - "And Your Bird Can Sing"
6. The Beatles - "Free As a Bird"
7. Spiritualized - "Run (single version)"
8. The Troggs - "Any Way That You Want Me"
9. Pink Floyd - "Apples and Oranges"
10. The Trash Can Sinatras - "Oranges and Apples (Single)" [a tribute to Syd Barrett]
11. Low - "Fearles" (a Pink Floyd Cover)
12. Cat Sevens - "Wild World"
13. The Rolling Stones - "I Am Waiting"
14. The Kings - "Powerman"
15. Broken Bells - "The High Road"
16. Suede - "Europe Is Our Playground" [Best of version]
17. Morrissey - "Moonriver (2011 - Remaster)"
18-19. Frankie Goes to Hollywood - "Fury [Ferry Across the Mersey]/Born To Run"
20. One Dove - "White Love (Radio Mix)"
21. The Style Council - "Everything To Lose (Blue Remix/Extra Demo)"
22. The Divine Comedy - "A Woman Of The World"
23. Dum Dum Girls - "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
24. Alex Turner - "Piledriver Waltz"
25. Elvis Costello - "I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)"
26. Sam & Dave - "I Can't Stand Up"
27. Wanda Jackson - "Let's Have a Party"
28. Gorillaz - "Stylo (Alex Metric Remix)"
29. Scissor Sisters - "Invisible Light"
30. Cee-Lo Green - "Fuck You"
31. Harry Nilsson - "You're Breakin' My Heart"
32. The Who - "I Can See For Miles"
33. David Bowie - "I Can't Explain"
34. Wire - "Three Girl Rhumba"
35. Pulp - "The Professional"
36. Super Furry Animals - "Juxtaposed With U"
37. Cults - "You Know What I Mean"
38. Christina Aguilera - "Woohoo - Feat. Nicki Minaj"
39. Kanye West - "Monster (featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver)"
40. Nicki Minaj - "Girls Fall Like Dominoes"
41. A Tribe Called Quest - "Can I Kick It"
42. The Velvet Underground - "Ride Into The Sun"
43. Ride - "Twisterella"
44. Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - "Tramp"
45. The Supremes - "Run, Run, Run"
46. Dusty Springfield - "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes"
47. Marvin Gaye - "Hitch Hike"
48. My Chemical Romance - "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)"
49. Arctic Monkeys - "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala"
50. New Order - "Krafty"
51. Depeche Mode - "Free"
52. Geneva - "Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? (Aloof Mix)"

***

And don't forget, you too can see the Gear playing at the Tr!ckster event during Comic Con!

Current Soundtrack: The Band, Greatest Hits

MYSTERIES FLASHING AMBER GO GREEN WHEN YOU ANSWER

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Green Lantern. You will believe that space can be realllllly boring. And Earth. And everything else.

* Submarine, a quirky, heartfelt coming-of-age drama set in Wales.

* The Trip, Steve Coogan on a very funny roadtrip with his pal Rob Brydon. Directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Portlanders can catch The Trip at Cinema 21.

Also opening in Portland this weekend is the Italian film The Double Hour, an excellent crime drama I reviewed at PIFF.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Fish Tank, Andrea Arnold's portrait of a girl struggling with growing up to fast.

Might make an interesting double-feature with Submarine, actually.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Despair, a Vladimir Nabokov adaptation from writer Tom Stoppard and director Rainer Werner Fassbender, starring Dirk Bogarde. And it's as weird as that combination would suggest.

* Laila, a silent Norwegian epic from 1929.

* Public Speaking, Martin Scorsese's documentary about author Fran Lebowitz. Engaging and funny.

Current Soundtrack: various B-sides and sessions from Pains of Being Pure at Heart


e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

ME & MOEBIUS DOWN BY THE SCHOOLYARD

Comic Con fast approaches. This year, hotels and badges sold out at a record speed. Servers crashed just trying to deal with demand.

Once upon a time, this was not so. Whether this is good or bad is a larger debate, but to illustrate how different it once was, I offer you this item from my first ever San Diego Comic Con attendance.

That's a poster for the Marvel/Epic reprint series of Moebius comics. This line was released in 1987, which is when I got the poster. I was 15. I had never read Moebius, but he was well known, everyone was aware of his work. This was a time when Heavy Metal magazine was still sold at convenience stores, and everyone my age had a friend who had an older brother who read Heavy Metal--and usually did so inside a van with a Frank Frazetta painting on the side.

I didn't go to the show planning to meet Moebius. My list of must-sees were the Pander Bros., Dave Stevens, Art Adams, Matt Wagner, and the like. All of which I had hunted down, and so at some point, I started wandering the aisles seeking what was there to find. Down one random aisle, flanked by booksellers and T-shirt displays, Moebius sat all by himself. I don't know if he was with Marvel or a book dealer or just had his own table, but there was this white-haired man with glasses just sitting there, no line, no one in front of him, nothing. I looked at his stuff, saw the free posters, asked to get one signed.

He obliged.

Such promotional techniques worked, in so much as I bought the first Epic volume. I didn't much care for it, so never bought the rest. But that's just the part I tell at parties to shock people.

The memory baffles me to this day. How had the most famous international artist in our industry get hidden away down a side corridor in the convention hall, like a point on a scavenger hunt. "Find Moebius, win a prize!" When was the last time he even set foot through the doors of the San Diego Convention Center? And when he did...did anyone notice?

By the way, I didn't smudge the signature, he did. See the spotting around the "to" and at the end of my name? As you can see, the poster folded multiple times, it was not rolled. Moebius opened the first flap, signed the poster with his silver pen, and immediately flopped it closed again, not even waiting for it to dry. Maybe he sensed I was wasting his time and was punishing me, I have no idea. I remember grabbing the artifact in a panic and opening it back up again to minimize damage. You'd think a cartoonist would know how ink and paint worked!

Current Soundtrack: Hercules & Love Affair, "Painted Eyes;" Asobi Seksu, "All Around" and remixes of "Trails"

ALL THE ISLANDS IN THE OCEAN, ALL THE HEAVENS IN THE MOTION

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Beginners, Mike Mills' exploration of mortality, love, and depression will catch you off guard. Naturally quirky and moving, it stars Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, and Melanie Laurent.

* The Tree of Life, in which Terrence Malick wrestles with the universe, the All Father, and all fathers.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Insignificance, Nicolas Roeg's historical fiction about the night Marilyn Monroe could have met Albert Einstein. (Also at DVD Talk)

* The Makioka Sisters, a soft Japanese drama about four siblings dealing with life, love, and an uncertain future just before World War II. (Also at DVD Talk)

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Carancho, an Argentinian twist on crime and romance, from the people who brought us Lion's Den.

* Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, a mixed bag of an animated film showcasing the Green Lantern Corps. Kind of for fans only, methinks.

* Marriage Italian Style, a strangely dark, yet intriguing, romantic "comedy" from Vittorio De Sica, reteaming Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.

* Who Took the Bomp? Le Tigre on Tour, a concert documentary about the influential feminist punk band. The DVD includes a ton of great bonus features.

Current Soundtrack: Depeche Mode, Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09 Blu-Ray



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

JUST ANOTHER TR!CKY SATURDAY FOR YOU

Tr!ckster plans are starting to come to fruition. One of the big things the team is putting together is workshops and Symposia so that attendees can get some professional information a little more valuable than the latest movie trailer or a slide show of comics covers that will be available on the internet five minutes later.

Full information and how to get tickets is on the Tr!ckster website.

I'm going to be involved on Saturday, joining Mike Allred, Greg Rucka, and Larry Marder for Symposium 5.

SYMPOSIUM 5:
Saturday, 7/23/11, 1:00PM to 3:00 PM
BUILDING A CREATOR-OWNED CREATIVE TEAM
Featuring storytellers MIKE ALLRED, LARRY MARDER, GREG RUCKA, JAMIE S. RICH, and more TBA
Writing a story is hard enough, but finding the visual pairing to help express the story to its fullest can be pivotal in crafting your work. The right combination of exposition and dialogue with the perfect set of sequential images make for excellent, memorable storytelling in comics and children’s books. Join in with acclaimed writers and the artists they’ve worked with as they explore how the creative team, and the creative process, come to fruition.

PERFECT FOR: writers and artists hoping to make comics as a team.

This is, obviously, a topic I know more than a little something about.

I'm considering also making a minicomic to sell at conventions collecting the three short stories Joëlle Jones and I did for Popgun. Is there interest in such a thing? Would people buy it? I'm serious with this question. It's a lot of money to pull together, so I toss this out there just to see if anyone responds.

Current Soundtrack: Kaiser Chiefs, The Future is Medieval -- the new record, build it yourself at their website

IMAGE FANTOME: SHE WAS WORKING AS A WAITRESS IN A COCKTAIL BAR

Today's preview art from Dan Christensen. He wanted me to look over her outfit. Love my job!

Current Soundtrack: A Tribe Called Quest, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

FREAKS OF THE INDUSTRY

NEW IN THEATRES...

* 13 Assassins, samurai slaughter from Takashi Miike.

Playing Portland at Cinema 21 starting this weekend.

* Midnight in Paris, everything old is new again in Woody Allen's delightful return to form.

* X-Men: First Class: Hey, man, that's a groovy mutation, but the movie's kind of a piece of crap.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* The Cocoanuts, yuck it up with Los Bros. Marx in their 1929 debut.

* Man from Del Rio, starring Antony Quinn as a Mexican sheriff in a racially progressive 1950s western.

* Never Apologize, Malcolm McDowell's one-man show in remembrence of director Lindsay Anderson.

* Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, a trio of themed stories from director Vittorio De Sica and actors Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren.

Current Soundtrack: Depeche Mode, "Personal Jesus 2011" remix EP; Bar-Kays, Soul Finger




e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

RIOT ON AN EMPTY STREET

Just goes to show, it’s always bad when you don’t take your own advice.

For a while now, whenever the idea of me trying to get work from the big superhero publishers has been mentioned, my reason for not trying very hard to do it has always been, “I don’t want to be the guy who spends months working on a Blue Beetle proposal, only to find out they’re going to kill him.” A joke I must have come up with around the time of 52.

Well, no joke, I ignored that thinking and decided to work on some proposals earlier this year. Not out of any expectation that I’d get the specific books greenlit, but that I could create showpieces for myself and maybe parlay that into other work. To play it safe, however, I decided not to get obscure with my character choices but instead to monkey with some mid-level perennials that weren’t likely to go anywhere. That’s always the hardest thing, you see, and the first question any editor will ask you: what characters do you want to work on? It drives me nuts. I lean toward a joke from an old pre-fame Johnny Depp movie called Private Resort. Johnny claims to be a doctor, pretty girl asks Johnny, “What kind of a doctor are you?” Suave eyes, suave reply: “What kind do you need?”

Tell me what you're looking for, I will tell you if I can delivery, but let's not play a guessing game.

In doing this, I honestly thought what would likely happen was that, since I was pitching with Joëlle, that she’d get a gig out of these efforts (because how could she not?) and I’d have some plots I could recycle elsewhere. Because between the two of us, I know which one I’d hire.

Well, I suppose DC rebooting their entire line is the reason I can tell myself for why no one ever returned any of my e-mails. Even mid-level perennials have been unplugged and plugged back in again. Too bad. Now you’re even less likely to see the already unlikely Power Girl/Supergirl team-up by myself and Joëlle Jones.

This isn’t a pity party, nor am I looking for positive reinforcement or showings of support. Just sharing mildly interesting anecdotes from my freelance life.

By the way, it doesn’t always work even when you try to fulfill a specific need. For a while, I had the ear of an editor who had a particular property I was interested in, and I kept looking for ways to pitch fill-ins or spin-offs, stuff the guy might actually have a use for. Every time I thought I had a great idea, I’d send it in. He tended to agree that it was good stuff...only I was working with a status quo that was about to change. You know, they were about to (metaphorically) kill Blue Beetled. Always a step or two behind.

So, yeah, mistakes I likely won’t make again anytime soon.

Current Soundtrack: Brian Eno guest DJing on "All Songs Considered"

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

IMAGE FANTOME: WHY OH WHY PRETEND?



Natalie Nourigat calls this "My favorite panel from this chapter."

Chapter of what? Mysterious!

(By the way, pretty sure that's the same girl that's in her blog header. More mysterious!)

Current Soundtrack: Suede, "Everything Will Flow" CD2