Twitter Killed My Blog. Again.

Yeah.

So.

I guess I forgot this thing existed. Again.

Again.

It's hard to beat microblogs at 140 characters a minute, but at the same time, it's nice to ramble on every once in awhile.

Like I did earlier this year when I forgot I had this blog.

BACK IN MAY.

Then again, that was AFTER I forgot I had a blog in March.

I'm not counting the few Useless Conversations or the reprint of my Harvey open letter.

So. I guess I should get nice and rambly again. Catch you up.

Well...

One Model Nation comes out this week. That may be another major reason why I've failed to update this thing just about ever. It was an intensive, yet incredible experience editing C. Allbritton Taylor's fine script and working alongside one of the best illustrators in comics ever, Jim Rugg. Plus? My co-editor? Mike Allred. Yes. Mike Allred. The guy who created one of my all-time favorite comics, Madman, later Madman Adventures, later Madman Comics, later Madman Atomic Comics, which I also marketed.

He even drew that Stardust the SuperWizard story I wrote for Fantastic Comics #24. He's an incredible dude.

So. There was that.

I dunno. Other than that, same old, same old. Went to a lot of conventions. Had the same dramas life always brings. Stopped talking to some people. Started talking to others.

The more things change...

Still owe Andre script on Hell Yeah. Still claim I'm going to write and draw Beautiful Loser.

Still a lot of things.

I just finished my one page strip for The Next Issue Project #2: Silver Streak Comics #24, Kelly the Cop.

The job was to do a new Kelly the Cop strip, a really shitty comic strip from the 40s. I hope I did a good enough job to meet the standard set by Art Helfant, the original cartoonist.

No, I doubt that's his real name.

Anyway.

I dunno. That about covers the more interesting stuff.

I continue to see a lot of movies. Tonight was Fantastic Mr. Fox. The other night was Ninja Assassin.

Watched a bunch of Prisoner in-between.

Hm.

Yeah. I dunno. I should start lying about being a daredevil who fights sharks for fun or something.

Yeah, so there was the whole fighting sharks thing from the other day.

But that's about it.

Time for bed.

Have a good night.

I Believe In Harvey Kurtzman: An Open Letter on the 2009 Harvey Award Nominations

Please note: while I am certainly known for my position in a public relations capacity at a prominent comic book company, this is coming from a personal perspective, that of a Executive Editor of PopGun. The attached open letter in no way reflects the opinions of said comic book company, just one Harvey Award nominee frustrated with the recent outcry.

I BELIEVE IN HARVEY KURTZMAN
An Open Letter on the 2009 Harvey Award Nominations
By
Joe Keatinge
Executive Editor of PopGun

As I write this, it’s barely been a day since the 2009 Harvey Awards nominations have been announced and the reaction is, well, you know…

Not good.

While a large number of well-respected comics and their creators received the accolades they deserve, there are quite a few others that the comics industry feel are the results of ballot stuffing and yet another reflection of the joke they feel this award has become.

Yet what people don't understand is that there’s but one problem here.

It’s not ballot stuffing…

It’s not politics…

It’s us.

Unlike the Eisner’s, the Harvey Awards nominations are not decided by a small, yet qualified committee. The nomination is process is, as stated on the award’s official website, “done solely through the votes cast by the comics professionals who choose to participate in the process.”

That is to say, every single woman and man involved in the comic book industry, from artist to writer, from letterer to editor can come together and honor our fellow peers in the namesake of one of its greatest forefathers.

Some say the Eisner’s do a “good enough job.”

I say settling for a “good enough job” is just plain wrong.

While I do believe the Eisner’s fulfill their purpose by bringing to light some of our greatest works during one of the biggest pop culture events in the world, I also believe there’s something unparalleled in the comics’ community joining together during one of the smaller, yet perhaps more passionate conventions we have.

It’s our own apathy preventing this award from achieving the respect it deserves.

Last year the anthology I co-edited with Mark Andrew Smith, PopGun Vol. 1, was nominated and my century was made.

Some might consider it a young man’s naiveté, but at the time, the Harvey was the award I always respected above any other. While Eisner will forever be been prominent in my personal temple of cartoon gods, Harvey Kurtzman has his own wing.

Kurtzman’s relentless fight against a nation intent on censoring his medium of choice was one of the very reasons I developed such a fire in my belly for comics. In a time when other comics sold a whitewashed vision of war, he chose to show the horrors others feared to tread near through his work in the pages of Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales. He brought the undergrounds to light through Help!, kick- starting the careers of R. Crumb, Gilbert Shelton and Terry Gilliam. Perhaps his greatest triumph was creating what Alan Moore considers (and I agree) is “the best comic ever,” Mad.

In Mad, he and other cartoonists such as Wally Wood, Will Elder, Basil Wolverton and a pantheon of others criticized and mocked a society intent on sanitizing pop culture as we know it. All this during a time when others were accepting that this medium’s time was over, when it would be too hard to rebel.

And we’re saying an award in his honor is too hard to maintain?

That’s ridiculous.

We’re capable of so much more. We’re capable of a solution.

Some have suggested calling it a day, to just give up and end the award.

Some have suggested establishing a committee and relying solely on company nominations,
making it a clone of the Eisner process.

Some have suggested the creation of a voting guide, telling people what to think and suggest.

To those people I say, no, damn it! We can do better.

Let’s take this wasted opportunity and give it life anew.

I say instead of reserving your energy for your annual post-nomination announcement complaint, fill in the ballot that will take you all of five minutes. Educate yourself on the medium you’re supposedly so passionate for.

Don’t give in to the rampant apathy and sloth that destroy so much in this industry.

If everyone who wrote a scathing review of the nominations put in nominations themselves, this ballot stuffing myth would be rendered obsolete. When PopGun was nominated, we rallied but a relatively small number of contributors and supporters to get us on the ballot. That’s far from this supposed ballot stuffing.

We were passionate; others were not.

We should all be ashamed.

Many of you complained that well-deserving books were overlooked by the Eisner committee this year – well, here’s your chance to make sure they’re noticed. Here’s your chance to show your brethren what’s truly most deserving. This is an award that should be honored. It’s an award we should all vie for. It’s the award that should show just how much we care.

I believe we can do better.

I believe in honoring the freedom Kurtzman and other cartoonists’ rebellion and sacrifice in the face of our industry’s darkest times gave us.

I believe in this industry coming together as a collective whole to pay respect to our peers in honor of one our greatest forefathers, without the reliance of committee.

More than anything else, I believe in Harvey Kurtzman.

Shouldn’t we all?

Sincerely,

Joe Keatinge
Executive Editor of PopGun

USELESS CONVERSATION #181

"What is that?"

"What is what?"

"That. On your boob."

"On my... Christ, you're romantic."

"I'm not romancing you. I'm being inquisitive."

"Well. Looks like you're pointing at my birthmark."

"I thought it was a stain."

"Seriously? Do you want to fuck right now? You're getting me all wet with this sexy talk."

"I'm smooth like that."

USELESS CONVERSATION #180

"You know something?"

"Hmm?"

"You're all right."

"I'm aware!"

USELESS CONVERSATION #179

"Why do you do that?"

"It's not intentional."

"I know, I know, but it ..."

"Sucks?

"Yeah. It really sucks. Big time sucks."

"Come here."

"What?"

"Come here. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just. Stop. Y'know. Doing what you're doing."

"What do you want me to do? I said it's not intentional."

"Again, I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"... I love you."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"That's good."

"... And ...?"

"I love you too. I put up with you, don't I?"

December 8th, 1936 - June 3rd, 2009

Federico Fellini on Comics

"Comics and the ghostly fascination of those paper people, paralyzed in time, marionettes without strings, unmoving, cannot be transposed to film, whose allure is motion, rhythm, dynamic. It is a radically different means of addressing the eye, a different mode of expression. The world of comics may, in its generosity, lend scripts, characters and stories to the movies, but not its inexpressible secret power of suggestion that resides in that fixity, that immobility of a butterfly on a pin."

USELESS CONVERSATION #178

"One more time."

"No way."

"It's just one more time."

"One more time is one time too many."

USELESS CONVERSATION #177

"It's those little moments, y'know? The times in your life when one tiny decision, one use of the right or wrong phrase, the turning left when turning right, whatever... all that blows my fucking mind."

"Like Star Trek?"

"How the fuck is that like Star Trek?"

"Y'know, making alternate dimensions."

"That is not what I am talking about."

"But you said..."

"Absolutely nothing about making alternate dimensions."

"That's not what I heard."

"What planet are you from?"

"Earth. Check it out. We've got cable here."

"That's the good word. I gotta look into this planet of yours."

USELESS CONVERSATION #176

"You should really consider buying cigarettes."

"Nah. They're unhealthy."

"Then why do you keep bumming mine?"

"'Keep bumming'? Like once every five months."

"You bummed two yesterday."

"That was rare."

"Not really."

"I'll watch it. I didn't realize I was depleting your supply."

"Oh, you're depleting all right."

Oh. Right. I have a blog.

Yeah.

Been awhile.

Again.

Again.

I wonder how common this is becoming, with the trend of microblogging through Facebook, Twitter and whatever else people like me waste their time with becomes and more and more popular.

The other thing is I'm kinda wrapped up in editing this crazy cool top secret graphic novel that's due at the end of the year. Well, due in stores. I'm due much sooner. My time to type away long missives about how I'm still wearing my pajamas is pretty minuscule.

In addition, when you're editing something like this, your schedule tends to be on repeat.

Every weekday I wake up, go to work, come home and edit. Tuesdays I go to Tyler's for Movie Night. Wednesdays I go to the comic shop (Hello, Neon Monster) and watch Lost, then go edit. Weekends I sleep in, dick around, usually go see a movie and then...

Yes.

That's right.

I edit.

So a lot of editing is happening around these parts.

It's been good, though, especially since I actually have a studio to work in now. Getting an entire room dedicated to toiling away at whatever I'm working has proven to be pretty God damn awesome. And productive.

Having a room that doesn't have a bed or a couch to take a temporary-break-that-never-ends finds me working a lot more than I used to.

So. Yeah.

Between day job, night work and the ability to blog at 140 characters a shot - this blog has been getting pretty damn neglected.

It's too bad.

Same question as last time - is anyone still reading? I got some responses when I asked before, but since it's been around two months since I last forgot I had a blog, I imagine the drop off has increased.

Maybe. Maybe not.

I really should get back to doing this on a regular basis.

But then I should really get back to finishing the two pitches I've been working on.

Then the two scripts I'm writing.

And drawing sometime in between.

There's just never enough time, is there?

Aw, well.

Today I'm dicking around a bit more than usual, but with convention season in full swing the weekends I have free are purposely kept low key. This morning was coffee/donuts/comics. This afternoon will be spent taking a walk over to Good News and picking up the new Empire, followed by more coffee and watching Z at the Castro.

And then?

Yep.

Editing.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining about all the editing. The graphic novel is fucking amazing thanks to the awesome creative team. The writer is a guy who has been a massive influence on my life. Same with the Art Director. The illustrator is someone I really admire.

And this funny bearded kid editing?

He's ok.

Anyway.

Yeah.

I missed the two o'clock matinee of Z since I was dicking around too much. If I keep on typing I'll do the same with the 4:25 showing.

So.

Hope to see you sooner than two months from now.

If not, keep reading the "Live Feed" via Twitter.

So long.

Jack Kirby on Comics

"The comic book came from evolvement* - the editorial comic was first, then they added a few panels to that and they had the comic strip, then they added a few pages to that and they had the comic book. And what we could add to the comic book... we may have to think about that. That's the interesting part of the entire field - is to say, 'what is it', 'where is it going'? We experiment with that every day." - Jack Kirby, from Masters of Comic Book Art

*I'm guessing he meant 'evolution', but dude was old. You reinvent a medium while inventing characters that continue to be its backbone decades after you're dead and you can feel free to correct him.

Yeah, So, I Have A Blog, Huh?

Yeah, but aren't blogs sort of 2003 with the advent of Twitter and everything?

I dunno. I guess I've become use to the idea of updating my life in short, 140 character bursts instead of drawn out blog posts.

Does anyone still read this? I saw Andre became a follower. Everybody say hi to Andre.

Ed? Stepmom? MomMom? Alex Arrowsmith? Camille Smith? Anyone?

Anyway. Another part of it is life has been busy. Which I guess is good. I dunno. Maybe I've just been lazy and would like an excuse. Twitter just makes blogging so much easier.

Let's see... What's going on...

I owe Val and Andre some script. I have two pitches to work on and another script (that I didn't write) to edit. So that's cool.

Then there's the day job.

That's going well. Still talking about comics every day. In fact, I'm going to Memphis, TN to do so this weekend. Never been. I heard they have BBQ and a high crime rate.

Hm.

I have a studio now, so I actually have a room dedicated to procrastinating on those projects I mentioned. The downside is I also have double the rent I used to dedicated to procrastinating on those projects I mentioned.

You'll notice I didn't list PopGun. Editing PopGun with Mark was an awesome experience, but brother needs a break. That was over 900 pages of wrangling people together. Maybe I'll come back with volume six or something. That's right, it's still going on, thanks to people (Hi, DJ) who are a lot more talented at editing than I am.

So yeah. That's out in... April, I guess?

Yeah. April.

Have you been listening to Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier's SModcast? It's basically just two dudes jabbering on about whatever, but I love it. Maybe it's because it's two dudes who are much more interesting than I'll ever be jabbering on about whatever. Not to turn this into a backhanded compliment, but I haven't been so into Kevin Smith's last few flicks, so this was a welcome surprise. I'm told there's all sorts of Podcasts all over the Internet. Check THAT out?

Lets see.

Comics. Been reading those.

Savage Dragon's relaunch in #145 made me happy. Erik's recent return to the series was pretty cool, but the post-145 stuff is just nuts. The ending alone made me crap my drawers a little bit. I just got a text saying a future issue - not saying which one, spoilers! - will make me TOTALLY crap my pants. That's kinda gross.

I have a copy of The Outer Space Spirit sitting here. I've read it before in color, but a grip of years ago Kitchen Sink did an oversized black and white reprint. The thing is, the art's by Wally Wood so seeing it in B&W blows my mind. Way better than color.

About two weeks ago I finished reading Naoki Urasawa's Monster. If anyone is interested in writing comics, I implore them to pick it up. Urasawa is the absolute master of timing/pacing, which is key to comics above almost anything else.

I made a possibly false start on Lone Wolf & Cub. The first volume was awesome, but then I got distracted by Fantagraphics' new Boody Rogers and SUPERMEN! collections. The latter has a special place in my heart because it collects the Stardust the Superwizard story that inspired the yarn I wrote in The Next Issue Project #1: Fantastic Comics #24, illustrated by Mike Allred. Colors, of course, by Laura and letters, of course, by Val. Good times.

Anyway, yeah, I like seeing that story in print, because a lot of the elements -- Stardust (sort of) smiling, Stardust (sort of) having a girlfriend, etc. -- people ripped into my story for are actually IN Hank's story. So, yeah, eat it, naysayers. Go to naysayer jail.

I was recently on TV for G4's Watchmen Special. I made sure to tell my friends this about two weeks after it last aired. It's probably on The Internet somewhere. I was interviewed by your friend and mine, Blair Butler. She's swell!

Oh, HEY! Thanks, Google, I didn't realize the clip of that was online! Check it out!



Watchmen was awesome, btw. YES, the movie.

Well.

Lets see.

I think that about covers it.

How do you top your fat ass being in the background of a Dave Gibbons interview, followed by your fat ass being interviewed? That's really as good as it gets right there.

So long for now.

USELESS CONVERSATION #175

oh yeah this blog still exists

also, like every twenty fifth Useless Conversation, we return to the couple from the first, even though I don't remember the conversation nor can you read it because I deleted the first two years of this blog. Maybe just one year. Whatever.

"I don't want to look at baby pictures."

"Why?! Come on! I bet you were cute!"

"Were cute? What am I now?"

"You're... not bad."

"Excuse me! I'm a stud."

"That's funny."

"How am I not a stud?"

"Your big fat gut."

"It's not that big."

"It's fat."

"It's just pudgey. I've seen worse."

"Name one person who looks worse."

"How about that 500 lb. guy on TV?"

"I dunno. He's kinda cute."

25

I haven't filled out a survey in awhile, but I really dug the idea of this one; mostly in it resulting in finding out more about my favorite folks.

From the original source:

"I'm told this works like so: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end, choose up to 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you. Or something."

And now...

1) I only have one major regret in my life and it involves not watching In The Line of Fire.

2) When I was three or four, my family attended Easter mass and sat through a long winded sermon. As soon as the priest got to the part about the torture of Christ, wearing the crown of thorns and dying on the cross I yelled as loudly as only young kids can yell: "THEY KILLED BABY JESUS?!".

In my mind, Christ was only born months earlier and here they were talking about his brutal torture/murder. My mom had to take awhile to settle me down.

3) On a similar note, it was a priest who told me Santa Claus wasn't real. That became funnier years later.

4) My all-time favorite movie is Harold and Maude, but the circumstances behind seeing it for the first time were pretty grim.

5) I can't remember my first comic book and am really jealous of those who can. The earliest pictures of me reading - probably just looking, to be honest - are when I was around four. No one remembers how I first showed an interest in them and won't take responsibility for being the person who bought them.

6) My all-time favorite comic book is Mike Allred's Madman. Close seconds are RAW Magazine, Flex Mentallo, Savage Dragon, Rocco Vargas, Cheval Noir, Love & Rockets, Automatic Kafka, 1950s Batman Comics, Early Mad Magazine, The Original Doom Patrol, Tank Girl, King City, Eightball, Miracleman, Street Angel, Scud The Disposable Assassin, Sky Doll, Black Hole, Flaming Carrot, Strange Days, Wonton Soup, Steve Ditko's Amazing Spider-Man, Eastman & Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dusty Star, Jimbo, Akira, Casanova as well as everything Moebius, Robert Crumb, Frank Miller, Paul Pope and Fletcher Hanks ever illustrated.

7) My all-time favorite comic strip is Windsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland with Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse, Krazy Kat, early Peanuts, Life in Hell and Chester Gould's Dick Tracy as runners up.

8) My all-time favorite book without pictures is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I love it so much no other book comes close.

9) I hope to become a father someday. Not any time soon, though.

10) I think the true golden age of comics is still years away, with the last nigh-century being merely build up to a generation of cartoonists yet to come. And yes, it's in print.

11) Despite being madly in love with my first girlfriend (well, ok, madly in love in the way that you're in when you're in high school; which usually isn't actually "in love"), I never had a picture of her up in my room. However, I did have a framed photo of my favorite professional wrestler, Mick Foley AKA Mankind.

12) My greatest fear is ending up like Charles Crumb, Robert Crumb's brother.

13) Whenever I put down my name for a reservation - whether it be a restaurant, haircut or whatever - I always use "Harold", because damn, man, there's a lot of "Joe"s.

14) The best beer in the universe is McMenamin's Hammerhead Ale.

15) While I love obsessively seeking out cocktail table Ms. Pac-Man machines to play on, I don't think I'd want to own one, because it'd kill the thrill of the hunt.

16) The best bar in the universe is Spec's, despite not having McMenamin's Hammerhead Ale.

17) Similar to 13, whenever I sign up for something that will end up with lots of Spam, I use the full name "Harold Ramis". I feel pretty bad about it, because I assume that dude gets a lot of junk mail. Strangely enough, I don't use the name "Harold" for reservations because of Harold Ramis. It's inspired two totally different and unrelated Harolds.

18) I plan to move back to Portland, OR whenever I get hitched and start a family, but I hope to live in Austin, TX and especially New York City before I do so. That said, I don't want to leave San Francisco for many, many years.

19) Every single time I go back to New York, I always make sure to spend some time at the Esperanto Cafe, even if it's really inconvenient. Every single trip I get a cup of coffee, a glass of milk and a slice of pecan pie. I then commence drawing for hours.

20) I briefly joined the high school marching band and enjoyed a short career as a horrible tuba player. This only lasted a single semester as I found the band's hive-mind mentality really fucking creepy. I've never played a musical instrument since, but I always wanted to learn both the drums and the banjo.

21) I went to two senior proms, but neither was my own. The first was for the aforementioned first girlfriend who was a year ahead of me; the second was with a girl a year behind me who I had a crush on my entire tenure in high school, but didn't get around to confessing my feelings for until after I had already left.

22) Actually, now that I mention that latter girl, maybe I have two regrets. I was kind of a dick last we talked. That was years ago now.

If anything, I wish we could still be friends, but that's probably not possible anymore.

23) One of my favorite past times is writing dialogue that goes no where. This stems from another favorite past time: listening to random people's conversations. It's not nosiness, I just like hearing how people talk.

24) The best cartoons were made between 1920 and 1950. Then animation sort of died off until The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse.

25) I love going to movies alone. It's strangely cathartic. Y'know, as in psychologically; not the bowel way. Kinda like this list.

Why I Love The Spirit

I posted a little insight as to why I love The Spirit (yes, the movie) so damn much on Facebook and since I wasn't sure how to link it, well, I'm putting it here so I can link to it.

Without further ado...

The way I figure it, there are three things you HAVE to have to enjoy The Spirit, as well as one thing that helps.

Thing 1: You need to have an intense love - obsession, really - with comic books. An obsession in which you eat, sleep and shit comic books -- where they're constantly on your mind, filtering in anything else you enjoy. You need to have a mind that races in panels with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK swirling therein. Wednesdays are the beginning, middle and end of your week. You know they're far more than "film on paper" - more than just fuel for other media. Anything else you're into - whether it's music, knitting, European History, whatever - filters through your brain and comes out as comic books.

You don't raise your nose and throw out terms like "floppies" or "pamphlets".

You Love Comic Books.

Then there's two necessary sub-obsessions.

Thing 2: Will Eisner's The Spirit Comic Books. Not Darwyn Cooke's. Not Paul Smith's. Not the Dailies. Not the fill-ins when he was fighting the good fight in World War II. Not even any of the New Adventures, but Will Eisner's. You need to have poured over his comics - how they evolved, how he tried to incorporate multiple genres -- how he balanced the best of crime noir, humor, supernatural... hell, anything that caught his attention.

Thing 3: Frank Miller's Entire Body of Work. Yep. All of it. Maybe the Twilight Zone issues and Hostess Fruit Pie ads aren't NECESSARY, but they might help. Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and the Daredevil run are great, but it helps to be equally obsessed with Elektra Lives Again, Big Guy And Rusty The Robot, Dark Knight Strikes again and even All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. And all the rest.

Thing 4: This one isn't necessary, especially since Eisner made it very clear he himself wasn't a fan, but I think it helps to really love superheroes. To love them so much you know they're capable of more than they've been allowed to be. To remember to take them seriously, but also remember to laugh at them. To know that having them crying about rape isn't the key to their success.

I could go on about this for a really long time and, again, since it's not as necessary, I won't get into it here. Still, I felt it helped me a lot to be really, really into superheroes. Well, at least their potential. I'm not always taken with the execution.

The way I look at it The Spirit - the movie - is Frank Miller's ultimate proclamation against comics as "film on paper" and went out of his way to create a "comic on celluloid".

Even if it's not something that heavy handed, it was at least Frank taking everything about The Spirit - the style, the characters, the delivery, the dialogue - and filtered it through his art style.

Was it successful? I thought so, but I seem to be one of five people on Earth who thought so. It's interesting - the other folks I know who love it are cartoonists -- all of which are obsessed with Frank Miller, Will Eisner's Spirit and Comic Books.

They call them "stupid"...

...but I call them "The Greatest".

That's right, Cracked posted what they consider to be the 20 most ridiculous Batman comics of all time.

Whatever, man, I love weird comics. Give me Tiger-Headed Batman over Weepy-Depressed Batman any day of the week.

Speaking of which...

My brain just about blew up when I saw Beanworld's Larry Marder wrote this on his list:

"Fantastic Comics #24 by Various–Only someone who loves comic books as much as my old boss, Erik Larsen, could have come up with a project as lovably goofy as Image Comics’ Next Issue series. The mission is to create a “next issue” of a golden age comic numbered in sequence after the actual last issue was published and using the same characters and features as the “previous” issue of the original series. Everything in this issue is, well, quite “fantastic.” But I was particularly taken by Larsen’s Sampson and Joe Keatinge/Mike Allred’s Stardust."

It's a surreal feeling when people you admire give you props. Kind of almost a guilty feeling, but -- wow! Thanks, Larry!

2008's Greatest Comics

A few week's back Comic Book Gentleman Brian Heater asked me to contribute my top five comics of 2008 list for his wonderful comics blog (maybe my favorite!), The Daily Crosshatch.

Today, they went online along with those of a bunch of folks much more interesting than me.

Do yourself a big favor and bookmark Brian's blog. I cannot stress how much I dig it. Always packed with great interviews and pieces on comics.

Here's my top five:

1. Madman Atomic Comics by Mike Allred



The combination of Allred’s new singles and the recent collection, Madman Atomic Comics Vol. 1, show a master cartoonist pushing and setting new boundaries for the comics medium. Allred’s not out to illustrate movies on paper, but rather build upon what came before, utilizing interest in other medium and creating a work that can only best work on the four-color page.

2. Bat-Manga by Jiro Kuwata, Chip Kidd, Saul Ferris



While a fascinating showcase of Japan’s forgotten Bat-mania, the star of the show is Jiro Kuwata’s remixing and revamping of an American comics legend. His version of Batman takes the surface elements he found attractive and takes them into an entirely different direction, to the point we’re left with a different character altogether. It breaks every rule of a nigh-century old icon in the best ways possible.

3. Black Jack Vol. 1 by Osamu Tezuka



Tezuka’s rebel surgeon represents short burst fiction at it’s finest. His ability to tell self-contained stories while building up a larger world for his titular character to live in is perhaps unparalled.

4. Ditko, Etc… by Steve Ditko



If there was ever a window into mad genius, it’s this. While a crazy mess, I cannot help but reread Ditko’s fascinating foray into mini-comics. The subject matter may be the same previously gone over in Mr. A or other Ditko tracts, but it contains a relentless insanity not seen since Fletcher Hanks.

5. Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen



Had it not been for the first half of 2008’s horrendous release schedule, this series may have been number one on my list. Like Madman, Erik is purely after creating comic books, not something to be collected later. Each issue is formulated to exist in 20-page, serialized increments, something of a rare form these days. Besides this utilization of the single issue, Larsen provides perhaps the only pure superhero book going on for almost twenty years that continues to surprise me–both in form and content–on a regular basis.

A Little Holiday Cheer For You...

USELESS CONVERSATION #174

"Maybe you could try not being a dumb ass."

"I'll give it a shot."

USELESS CONVERSATION #173

"Oh, come on! Really?"

"What?"

"You're smoking?"

"Yeah."

"You don't smoke!"

"Not usually."

"Not ever!"

"You know why."

"No! I don't! You're being stupid."

"I can't help it. Whenever I get stressed..."

"Then who can help it? What are you talking about? Are you a child? Do you need parental supervision?"

"NO! It's just ... you're never going to let this go, are you?"

"Yeah, I will. It doesn't mean I don't think you're being retarded."

"Even with the circumstances?"

"Especially with the circumstances."

BEST. NEWS. EVER!

Paul Karasik is one of the greatest men who ever lived.

Had it not been for him, there would be no I SHALL DESTROY ALL THE CIVILIZED PLANETS. Thus, I may not have gotten Larsen into Fletcher Hanks. Fantastic Comics #24 may not have been created (Paul may not be fond to read that as we don't see eye to eye on Stardust, to say the least). A dream of mine may have never come true.

So, he's done enough, right?

Well, I thought so, but this breaking news just came in from Tom Spurgeon's Comic Reporter, easily one of my favorite blogs out there, comics related or otherwise:


* Paul Karasik wrote in a lo-o-o-o-ong time ago to say that he has the last Fletcher Hanks story on his list, this "Whirlwind Carter" story from an issue of Daring Mystery. You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation!, the all-new, all-different second Fletcher Hanks book and follow-up to I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets is due Summer 2009.

Woo hoo!

If the world needs more of anything, it's more Fletcher Hanks available than an issue of RAW, Art Out Of Time and a website that's no longer coming up on Google. Damn it. I miss that website.

BONUS QUESTION: Will the new book reprint the original story featuring the girl Mike and I reused in our story, but who people accused of us creating thus not "getting" Stardust? We'll just have to wait until 2009!

USELESS CONVERSATION #172

"It's times like this... just like this... looking out a window and watching the boats go by where it's really solidified in my mind... where it's made concrete."

"That's no good."

"No, no it's not."

"I'm not sure what you do there."

This Time Tomorrow

In approximately twenty four hours I'll be boarding or perhaps even sitting on Horizon Air Flight #somethingsomethingsomethingorather, departing from the Oakland Airport and heading to perhaps my favorite destination, Portland International Airport.

I'm being met by my mother and her husband, Mike, so we can head over to Hood River for Thanksgiving.

Well.

Sort of.

Wednesday night we're staying in Cascade Locks as I arrive relatively late and... actually... isn't Cascade Locks really close to Hood River? Seems like we should have just gone the whole way.

But whatever.

We're going to Hood River.

It's going to be a painfully short trip, though, as we'll just be there long enough to celebrate Thanksgiving with our extended family. Somehow we're leaving Thursday night to head back to my mother's place in Washignton. I say "somehow" because I'm skeptical someone with a belly full of turkey and, I hope, pecan pie can drive three hours, but I'll leave that to those who knew how to drive.

No, I still don't have my driver's license.

Anyway.

On the BART ride home I was texting my cousin Nick my plans - among some of the usual extremely lewd jokes - and out of nowhere I got extremely nostalgic for Hood River.

I lived in Hood River proper for no longer than two months, but it still seems like home. LA was so callus and widespread it's hard to identify with it, but in the summer of 2001, I fell in love with Hood River.

A few years before I came down for the first time and knew I'd always want to come back.

Well, I believe it was a few years before. I want to say Julie and I had just broken up, but I could be wrong. Maybe we were about to. I apologize ahead of time - It's funny for me to think back on just about anything since my memory is pretty shit.

But whatever - the point is that despite the original trip it was moving there in the Summer of 2001 that really solidified it's place in my heart. That summer was a really special one for me, perhaps my favorite of them all.

I was able to finally spend time with friends I'd previously only seen in short bursts and otherwise mostly over AIM, back when I believe only Alex Arrowsmith and I had AIM. Back before it was called AIM.

I experienced a lot in that summer. It was comprised of growing friendships, life experience at the time when you least appreciate it and more than a few crushes that have forever gone unrequited (the names won't be named, as I'm still pretty sure people who read this blog remain in contact with these folks... well, except that gorgeous girl from Corvalis. Whatever happened to her?).

I know it's not good to get too nostalgic, but I'll admit -- I miss those times a lot.

It's the little things you end up missing the most, even with a memory like mine.

For instance, my Uncle Joe - pretty much a surrogate parent for in those months - always made sure to stock my absolute favorite soft drink at the time, Safeway Diet Orange Soda, as if I wouldn't survive without. It sounds silly, but that meant an awful lot to me. I probably mentioned once I really dug it, but he never forgot.

I always remained touched by his actions. I can't even fully articulate why. It meant - it still means - so much.

Come to think of it, soda played a pretty big role that summer.

You see, every night, without question, my friends and I always ended up at the Hood River Shari's.

I mean every night... usually starting around 10 PM and ending pretty late in the wee hours of the morning.

As my memory paints it, we'd sometimes just start out as a few of us and it'd end up with a fairly large group. Alex and I would make awful jokes. I'd usually draw awful sketches. Nick and I'd talk awful movies. Despite all the awful, those stand at as some of the most wonderful nights of my life.

In fact, it's where I developed that unrequited crush on the girl from Corvalis.

(Was she really as beautiful as I remember?)

In any case...

The person I think the most of when I think of Shari's, more so than any of the people who I knew in that time, who'll probably end up being the lion's share of my wedding guests (whenever that happens, don't get any crazy ideas. I don't even have someone to get married to at this point) is Toni.

The reason soda played a pretty huge role that summer was due to Toni serving me enough Diet Cokes to quench the thirst of some small countries on a nightly basis. I'm amazed my bladder survived the ordeal.

She was our regular waitress and, as strange as it might be to admit, I really cared for her. Not so much in that massive crush way like on the Corvalis girl, but more so like ... I really don't know. An Aunt maybe? That doesn't seem to describe it.

I don't think one usually expects to develop such a bond with a waitress, but I sure did. It would've been pretty hard not to.

Of course, I loved going to spend time with my friends, but I always looked forward to talking with her. She was exceptionally sweet, very funny. She'd catch us up about her sons... I believe she had two. One older, one very young.

If it wasn't for her, despite the loads of people who hung out, it wouldn't have been the same.

Sadly, she died a year or two after.

I never really knew her. I never learned about her life growing up. I never learned what brought her to Hood River. I never learned... well, a lot. There was so much to her life I never got to see.

I miss her terribly.

Going since her death just proved she was really the heart of that restaurant, more so, the heart of those nights out. I've had enjoyable nights at Shari's, but...

Well, again.

It was never the same.

Sigh.

Anyway.

I'll be in Hood River relatively soon, albeit briefly.

Should be fun.

Well, it's confirmed...

...both Ed and my stepmom said they're still reading, retaining 100% of our readership.

Wait! What about Alex Arrowsmith?!

Whoa!

So, wow, The Internet's back.

Around July my laptop's Internet connection more or less crapped out.

"More or less" because the computer itself would connect. Updates could be installed. Using web browsers or an e-mail client? HELL NO.

As you could imagine, it was pretty damn frustrating.

My main problem is I'm running on Windows Vista, which is kind of a nightmare in of itself, but the other problem is I stopped being a computer expert once Windows 95 went obsolete. I had no idea what I was doing.

The thing was - even folks who knew what they were doing couldn't figure it out. We're talking people who have done this kind of thing for years - one who even does it for a living.

And yet no one could figure it out.

Again, that began in July.

Since using The Internet for personal use is impossible at work (The whole Having-Shit-Loads-Of-Stuff-To-Do-Whenever-I'm-Sitting-At-My-Desk thing gets in the way of ... well, lets be honest, YouTubeing the Watchmen trailers over and over again then twittering about it) I was restricted to using The Internet on my phone, which gets old pretty quick.

What choice did I have?

Besides a brief love affair with the company's laptop during convention season, I was more or less SOL.

Enter Josh.

As long time readers will remember, Josh has been a good buddy for a very long time. In fact, we used to share a house together. In fact, we're going to do the same thing again pretty quick here. Good guy.

When it came insanely obvious The New Projects were going to stay Captain America frozen until I had a computer to work on them, I dropped him a line to see if he could give fixing the computer one last hurrah.

Being the nice guy he is, he came over that night.

Last night.

Two hours later?

Guess who just watched the new Watchmen trailer in the comfort of his own pajamas.

I'm due for a twitter.

Major thanks to Josh for resurrecting both this computer and, by proxy, this blog.

He was handsomely rewarded with a fine meal at our local Cha Cha Chas. Of course, the handsome reward was probably less sharing tapas with my dumb ass, but more so being seated next to three beautiful and friendly ladies.

So.

Lets catch up.

Well, yeah, I'm pretty gay for Watchmen right now. It's funny, because I have a fairly negative rant in me (which I still stand behind) about the graphic novel (or, really, more so, our medium's reaction to it), but God damn those trailers are pretty sweet. I even reread it in the Absolute format, which is really the way to go for the self respecting comics connoisseur. Even been reading OLD interviews with Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons from Comics Interview and Amazing Heroes. The real prize coming out of the hubbub is the Titan published Watching the Watchmen art book by Dave Gibbons and Chip Kidd. It's an incredible look into what ended up being one of the finest works of our time.

(The negative rant is mostly just... yeah, it's good, but can we move on already?)

Speaking of Chip Kidd, his Bat-Manga book is incredibly. For one year, while the Adam West Batman TV show aired in Japan, Shonen King licensed the rights to create all-new Batman comics. The great thing is, the cartoonist responsible - Jiro Kuwata - thought the American style of Batman was really stupid so he took the aspects of the comics he liked and made it into something completely different. It's really brilliant stuff.

Um.

Not a huge surprise the first two things I catch up on are comic book related, is it?

That's what I've got. As I recently told a friend of mine - everything I do, think, etc. leads back to comics.

For instance.

Guns 'n Roses' Appetite for Destruction was the first tape I ever purchased. It's got a big place in my heart so I've been anticipating the release of Chinese Democracy like it was the second coming.

I love it.

I know.

I know.

But still, I love it.

What was the first thing I did after I digested the album?

Made notes about comics.

I can't help it. It's in my blood.

So, anyway.

Comics, comics, comics.

I wonder who all still reads this after all the time spent, well, not updating beyond the brief blip in September.

Yeah.

Anyway.

Sangria's an asshole the morning after, am I right?

Some things never change...

I guess the debate last night was just politics as usual...

USELESS CONVERSATION #171

"One of these days, you and I are going to get one another."

"I don't see that happening."

"You don't think we'll ever come to an understanding?"

"Nope. Not really."

"'Not really'? So there's a chance?"

"Not really."

WIKI-WIKI-SCRATCH!

Oh, weird, someone made this page with all this useful information on me. What a surprise. Whoa whee.

(Yeah, I did it, but doesn't everyone make their own?)

A Better Tomorrow

I should be sleeping.

Really.

It's Saturday night - technically Sunday morning - and I'm finally home after a very fun, but long day at the Baltimore Comic Con.

First -- holy crap. This con exploded this year. I like to think of it as a show with a San Diego guest list in a hometown setting and it completely took that to a new level. The hall was packed. People were excited for Image and comics on a whole.

It was good time.

Second -- holy crap. POPGUN totally won the Best Anthology award at the Harveys.

Yeah.

Like I said - "holy crap".

The Harveys, for those of you at home who aren't into comics (mom, dad, stepmom - what's up?), are a super huge deal. Started in the honor of Harvey Kurtzman, the cartoonist who - among many, many other accomplishments - started the best comics anthology of all time - MAD magazine (yes, early MAD magazine is the greatest comics anthology of all time. Didn't Alan Moore once said it was the best comic ever made, period?). I guess the closest real world equivalent is the Golden Globes, because - if I understand the Golden Globes right - it's exclusively open to creators to nominate and vote.

So.

Yeah.

Top honor.

And POPGUN won.

I couldn't be prouder of the contributors - for, as I tried to articulate during my acceptance speech on behalf of them, Mark and myself - they represent or inspired the new generation of cartoonists making their way into the industry. Women and men who are inspired to do their own thing as opposed to regurgitating the same half-century old characters created by dead or destitute creators or, even worse, movie and TV cash-in ploys.

They're hungry and wild to create. In an industry where one of the publishing heads recently declared comics as "limited to a small bag of tricks", they're already breaking new ground.

This is supposed to be their "rough period" and they're continually blowing my mind.

Its been joked Mark and I should cut up our awards into 70 pieces and send them off to all the creators and in a way I'm pretty tempted. It's their award. Mark and I merely herded it together.

But yeah.

You know what I'm psyched for?

Tomorrow.

And the future.

Because, I'm telling you, POPGUN merely represents the beginning. It's the prologue to a very different industry -- even better, a very different medium -- coming up in the next few years.

It's going to be good and I'm extremely honored to help take the snapshot of this new beginning.

For now, it's bed time.

I'll see you tomorrow.

"I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead!"

You know...

...it looks like it might be good.

Well.

Better than expected, anyway.

Evidence I was on TV (other than Wild and Crazy Kids 18 years ago)...

...with your friend and mine, Blair Butler, on G4TV during Comic Con 2008! Whoa!

HOLY SHIT, BATMAN!

Those of you who follow comics news (hi, not my family who reads this) may be aware DC recently pulped an entire run of their hit series, All-Star Batman & Robin due to the curse words not being censored properly.

What I didn't know was it was actually featured on Conan O'Brien - which for us comic book folk, is a pretty big deal.

I'm with Andy, there's no such thing as bad press.

Judge for yourself...

Oh, and you're going to this, right?

If not, you must just plain hate yourself.

I mean, come on, check out this SWANKY PRESS RELEASE!

PRESS RELEASE – CELEBRATE TEN YEARS OF RED ROCKET 7 WITH THE ALLREDS AND SAN FRANCISCO'S NEON MONSTER!
Mike and Laura Allred to celebrate anniversary with signing, party and original art gallery!

15 September, 2008 (Berkeley, CA) – In their only public appearance this year, MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS' Mike and Laura Allred will celebrate the tenth anniversary of their RED ROCKET 7 graphic novel at San Francisco's Neon Monster on Saturday, October 4th!

“While Laura and I have held off from appearances this year, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate RED ROCKET 7's tenth anniversary with our friends at Neon Monster with their own one year anniversary,” Mike Allred said. “Like RED ROCKET 7, Neon Monster celebrates the common ground between comics and music on a daily basis and the enthusiasm they're bringing may even surpass our own!"

Neon Monster will be celebrating RED ROCKET 7 in a big way with a traditional signing from 5-8 PM and an anniversary party from 8-12 PM featuring the first ever public gallery showing of Allred's original art from RED ROCKET 7 and a rarely heard mix of the RED ROCKET 7 album sequel, THE GEAR: SON OF RED ROCKET 7.

The event will also be the debut of the NEON MONSTER ARTIST EDITIONS, a limited edition boxed set containing store exclusives, with the Allreds edition featuring a dozen 14” x 11” silkscreened prints reproducing art from RED ROCKET 7 in their original black & white state, each hand-signed by Mike and Laura, and a new compact disc pressing of THE GEAR. In addition, all copies of the RED ROCKET 7 hardcover sold at the event will feature an exclusive tip-in plate, also signed by the Allreds.

The RED ROCKET 7 10th Anniversary party will take place at Neon Monster, located at 901 Castro St. in San Francisco, CA on Saturday October 4. For more information, please call 415-206-9644 or visit www.neonmonster.com.

USELESS CONVERSATION #170

"Do you have to pee?"

"I could pee."

"Yeah, but do you have to?"

"Not really."

"Lets just drive, then."

In Which I Bore My Parents With "Comic Talk"...

As I mentioned earlier, I'm in the middle of being totally retarded for the Watchmen trailer.

Over the last few days I've read through my copy of Absolute Watchmen and the verdict remains the trailer is still awesome.

Of course, the comics great too, but at the same time it also pisses me off.

That comic is over TWENTY years old and it's still revered as the greatest comic of all time.

It's certainly deserved to some degree. I mean, I've reread it a number of times and I'm still discovering all sorts of cool new stuff that I haven't seen another comic attempt since.

And that's screwed up, because we have this medium without limits - capable of the impossible - and yet we remain somewhat impotent due to one twelve issue maxiseries.

That's harsh, but at the same time, it's kind of true.

Aw, well, no time for bitching, Dr. Jones!

Remember when I was talking about surreally awesome moments in life? For instance, the fact The Shaky Hands have an album out now on Kill Rock Stars?

Next week brings the rerelease of Red Rocket 7, courtesy of my employers, Image Comics.

This is surreal for a number of reasons. For those of you not in the know, Red Rocket 7 is one of my all time favorite comics. Ever. ALL TIME. Like, if we looked at dinosaur comics and comics made by future humans, this would still remain one of my favorites.

The only thing that wasn't so great was the original tradepaperback. It was printed on god awful paper with binding so horrible the book fell apart instantly the moment I bought mine Way Back When. I've wanted a definitive collection so freakin' bad for about a decade.

Around... jeeze, over a year ago now, Mike Allred brought over his Madman library to Image and I asked what the deal with Red Rocket 7 was. As luck would have it, the rights were in his hands and the plan was made to re-release this September, in time for the book's tenth anniversary.

And it's beautiful. The books at the size Mike always saw it at - 7 x 7 - on gorgeous paper and properly sewn binding AND bonus features galore, including some stuff no one's seen outside of the Vault of Mike Allred, and much more!

That "much more" includes an intro by Robert Rodriguez, an outro by Gerard Way, A Letter From The Editor by Jamie S. Rich and an afterword...

By me.

That's kind of messed up, huh?

I love it. To be included as part of one of the big reasons I decided to dedicate my life to comics - to put my all in being part of this wonderful medium - is inspiring more than I can ever fully articulate. Every time I look at the new edition, it's almost like it doesn't exist. Like one of those comics you dream about and wake up only to find they're not real.

Buy it next week. Read more about it here.

Just because I love you.