7.27.2009

So the last day of Comicon was an interesting one. I didn't do a whole lot and part of it was just a mad scurry to find any last minute cool things to get for people. I did go to a panel for Doctor Who though and got to hear David Tennant give his farewell to the show and talk about the last specials that will be airing. Also, Russel T Davies was there which was cool too as we got to get a lot of insight into the production of the show and hear them talk about the experience of working on it. It was interesting and the trailers for the specials look awesome. I'm excited about the direction the show can take with the person that will be running it who was one of the best writers on the show and also even though David Tennant was amazing, I think he is right in that one of the things that keeps the show watchable is the chance to meet and get to know a new doctor each time he changes.

Afterward, I wandered around some more and then sat and people watched at a cafe near the convention. I met and talked a bit with a lady whose husband works on a tv show called Kid Vs Kat. It seems that the theme of everything I have heard from all of these creators is that the only way to do anything at all well or in a capacity that people can respond to and enjoy, you have to just work every day and do it. Write when you don't want write, write everything that you think you might want to write, even if it's not good, learn from what you did wrong and then work to improve that. This applies to drawing, kung fu and pretty much everything. It's a constant and perpetual battle but if you enjoy it, it will never feel like work at all.

7.26.2009

Comicon Saturday July 25

So I hate to say it but comicon is pretty much almost over. There's not much to do that I haven't already done or much to say I haven't already said. The costumes have been great, a brilliant mix of terrible and awesome and at least the ratio of Rorschach's and Jokers to the rest of the costumed crowd is a bit more balanced. Even so, there were still more of them than anything and seriously if you're going to go out as fucking Rorschach, just... just don't. Anymore. Please for the love of alan moore, make it stop. And you Jokers, well you're just ironic without even knowing or trying, so please continue.

The con has been amazing. I've met and talked to so many amazing people. Frazier Irving, Camilla D'errico, and lots of others. amazing is a word to me that can't be overused. It has been used to describe Spiderman for a million years and still remains effective. These are the kind of people I want to be. The kind that are just talented enough and hard working enough that they get just enough recognition to subsist upon doing nothing but creating art. Show me how to live.

I tried to go to one panel today and that was the only disappointment. It was a panel where David Finch was going to, in front of all of us, describe and execute the process of creating a layout and foundations of a page of comic art from a page of comic script in real time. I was finally going to see a professional do it and would have learned so much. If only... If only the professionals of comicon.. no that's not fair. Here, let me just re-enact it for you.

Me: Hey, this is the David Finch Panel right?
Comicon Professional: Yes, the other panel is still going on.
Richard: Oh, so is there a line yet?
Comicon Professional: Yes, they are lining up there (points to a few people lined up against a wall opposite the door.
Me: Cool, thanks!
Richard and Greg walk over to stand against the wall at the end of the line where roughly 20 people are waiting to see the David Finch creating a page of comic art panel. We proceed to have conversation with the people in front of us about art and how they are working on stuff themselves comics-wise. Some time passes and we realize it is now about five minutes past when David Finch's panel was supposed to start. Suddenly, a lady approaches!
Lady: I'm sorry, the current panel is running a bit longer than they intended, they're still in the middle of a Q&A session but they'll be finishing shortly.
Me: Oh well it's no problem!
Me (thought bubble): As long as I'm about to watch David Finch draw for an hour, who gives a dick what this panel is doing?
Richard: Man, I hope that they hurry up though.

So we wait. And we continue to wait. And then some more waiting takes place. It is now about 5:25 and the panel was scheduled to start at 5. All of a sudden, the doors open and David Finch comes running out of the panel room down the hallway toward the mezzanine to disappear around the corner.

Richard: Wasn't that David Finch?
Guy behind us: That looked like David Finch didn't it?
Richard: Yeah that's what I'm saying, that was David Finch! Maybe he forgot something in his car?
Me: Well, maybe. I'm sure he'll be back.
Two ladies then come out of the room.
Richard: Was that David Finch? Where was he going?
Lady One: I'm very sorry. David Finch thought his panel was supposed to start at 4 and so since he was already here, he went ahead an joined Arthur Suydam and they sort of did a co-panel together.
Random Guy: So then what were we waiting in line for just now?
Lady One: David Finch's Panel. But it's over now, I'm very sorry. He went ahead and did his with-
Random Guy: Well look just so you know it would have been nice if someone had told us that is what was going on. We've all been waiting here for an hour (I had only been there about 40 minutes.) for this panel and they told us that the last one was still going on so it would have been nice to know that the one we were actually waiting for was going on in fact now. Just sayin'.

Indeed sir. Just sayin' for the benefit of us all. This time, I couldn't use my magic to save the day. David Finch did not materialize again to us in any way shape or form. Truly, the blackest hour of comicon. All the poor lady had to offer was apologies because, after all, she was not the one who told us to wait in line for a panel that had already started. She had no way of knowing but.. whatever! I had to console Richard because as an artist, he was most upset. He cried on the couch for nearly an hour. Not really but yeah, he did, like a little girl. Anyways, my point is... well there isn't one. It was simply an example of the kind of frustration that a comicon can provide. I'm really not even that upset because the rest of the time spent was so great.

Tomorrow I will go to the Doctor Who Panel. Then I will go home. I have a medium size box of stuff. Stuff I bought for me and stuff I bought for other people and stuff other people bought for other people through me. I can't wait to go home and share it all.

7.25.2009

In Brightest Day - Friday July 24 2009

I accomplished quite a bit today. But before I bore you with things like Ron Jeremy texting on the pee soaked streets of San Diego or using my will power to alter reality so as to make absolutely sure I got to see Warren Ellis, I think we should take a moment for what I'd like to call the Shark Consumer Corner.

First of all, Hotels.com is the worst. With the exception of one person who was actually willing and able to get off their ass (and probably not even literally as she just had to make some calls) the whole of Hotels.com customer service department is a bunch of goat lickers. Specifically, goat testicle lickers. When I originally arrived in SD, I made my way to the hotel by cab after waiting twice for a shuttle which never came after calling for it and was able to check in thanks to Richard calling in and letting them know I was coming. This was fine and helpful even though at first I wasn't really sure what to think when I was pointed to our room and it had a handicapped logo on the sign. Okay says I. So its the handicapped room, whatever. There was nothing I could do, I didn't think about it any more. I had a comicon to get to and get registered for! So anyways, fast forward and I'm back in the room and Richard and Stephen show up. Richard is a little upset and understandably so. He explains how he went about registering specifically for a room with 2 beds that would be able to contain 3 adults. He explained this to the hotel and they told him that Hotels.com told them to just give us whatever is available. The rest of the night is spent with Richard on the phone trying to explain to hotels.com why it doesn't make any sense whatsoever for him to specifically request and make a reservation for a room with 2 beds for 3 adults if they are just going to tell the hotel to give us the handicapped room. We finally got someone there who was reasonable and so after a night of sleeping on the floor, we are in a room with 2 beds and at a lower rate. None of this was the hotel's fault and the only thing hotels.com ever tried to do with the exception of the one lady who fixed our problem was tell us that they can't be responsible for anything and place Richard on interminable hold.

Also, there is no fan in the bathroom so we have set a rule of asking the other two people sharing the room if they would like to "go down to the bar, per chance". This is to avoid any discomfort that should arise due to the smell of shit that is forced to permeate the apartment because they don't have a stupid fan of any kind.

So whatever, that's fine. Last night, I went with Richard to a pub called Henessy's where some people were holding a Drink and Draw event. It was a great opportunity to meet other artists and comic fans while killing brain cells and I enjoyed the inspiration that comes from talking to these people. A lot of really good artists were there and a lot of amateur artists but you could see the passion in each one of them for what they were doing. I even got a Richard Georges 2009 comicon exclusive sketch out of it! I need to write more...

Today, I woke up still a bit tipsy from last night and wasn't sure if I had it in me to go through with anything at all. I allowed myself to take requests from friends back home see and since none of them were necessarily unreasonable, I felt it would only solidify my slacker image if I was incapable of returning with anything at all. I think I did pretty well though. Today was filled with meeting and listening to creators who have made it big in their respective fields. People I have a tremendous amount of respect for and if I could only emulate their hardworking nature even in a small way, I would feel validated as a creator. I have seen so much and got some cool things as well.

The first thing I did was to get down to the convention center so that I could have a chance to meet Terry Brooks. While I myself may not have read many of his books, I'm a fan of his Magic Kingdom of Landover novels and my friend Justin is an even bigger fan of his Shannara series of books so it was nice to get to meet him and see that he is just a nice guy who clearly just loves to write. I also got to have him sign some stuff. Someday I'll get around to reading more of his work but i know Justin will be a very happy person when I get back.

For comics, there really isn't that much going on. I got a sketchbook from Steve Epting cause that guy is just the bee's knees when it comes to drawing. I got to hang and talk with Carlos D'Anda with Richard while flipping through his art and see all of the radical stuff he has been doing for DC of late. I found out he's been doing a lot of concept work for DC Video games like Arkham Asylum and got to see them. He's really good and I'd keep an eye on him as he has done some interiors as well. He has a good eye for composition of his images and the technical proficiency to pull off what he visualizes. He's also really cool and everyone should check out his stuff.

After this, I walked around a bit more with Richard and I visited the Behemoth booth to check out their new game. It looks kind of neat and should be another fun multiplayer game to play but I'm such a fan of the brawler genre that I don't think I'll be interested in any game from them now that isn't castle crashers 2.

The only panel I went to today was one called After the first 1000 pages. It was interesting because it was basically a panel of some great artists like Becky Cloonan and Gene Colan talking about their approach to developing their art. The fact that they all repeated the same message that in order to improve, you simply have to continue to draw every day even when you don't want to. One of the panelists likened the discouragement that comes with closely watching your own art improve to the same feeling you get watching the minute hand on a clock move and I thought that was appropriate. It was informative and inspiring. I also got to meet and get a picture with Becky Cloonan and tell her how much I loved her work on Demo, forgetting to mention anything else she's drawn like a moron but whatever. She was really nice.

Afterward, it was back to the convention floor. I spent most of the afternoon trying to find out exactly where Warren Ellis was going to be and the people at the Marvel Booth pointed out where but neglected to mention there was already a line forming for him. Thankfully I was able to spot the various copies of Transmetropolitan and Planetary people were holding for him to sign and made my way to the back of the line only to find that there was a guy there with a sign pinned to his shirt that said "LAST IN LINE. 'NUFF SAID." Fuck that I said! There were a couple people standing around him in a sort of line like fashion lamenting that there were only going to be so few people allowed in line and it really was short, maybe 20-30 people long. I stayed there anyways and my persistence paid off when one of the booth people finally came along after Warren and Masao Maruyama showed up and took the sign to move it back about 10 more places. There was already a huge line behind me even at this point so I don't know if any of those people got to actually get in but whatever, I was official now! I got to meet and shake Masao Maruyama's hand and tell him that Madhouse was one of my very favorite animation studios and they should be yours too because the work that they put out for all of their various projects is nothing short of extraordinary. Seeing this guy from Japan who is pushing 70 sitting there with all of his accomplishments under his belt was something I never thought I'd get to experience in person. I got to tell Warren Ellis that he was the main reason I got into reading comics in the first place and he apologized to me in his deadpan fashion. Richard had given me his sketchbook where the first page was a sketch of a woman to sign but Warren didn't want to sign someone else's art even though there was plenty of space on the boob for it. He was nice though and still signed the inside cover of it for him.

By this time, I am feeling pretty overwhelmed from carrying all the weight of my day around with me and so Richard and I returned to the hotel laden with accomplishment and inspiration. I hope that someday someone can tell me that I inspired them to greatness the same way these people have done for me. I am tired now though so I am going to bed. The rest of the evening wasn't much to note with the exception of one thing. On our way out to find somewhere to eat, we were walking along one of the seedier streets of SD which I have noticed is very much a fucked up city like anywhere else. It seems all you have to do is go one or two streets away from Fifth in either direction and you will find urine, homeless people and Ron Jeremy hanging out texting on his phone. What a great city.

Drunk and Wrote

There is something that I haven't figured out yet how to express that is held within our temporal interactions. That spark, that flame, going back to the days when we were cave men and women discovering how to create, how to change, how to take hold of this life that we are given; this life that we must take and grasp by its lowly but still intimidating and intimate horns that provide fear and reassurance. This creative slight that I inflict upon this virtual space is simply temporary for as long as the data is held in place by the electromagnetic field created by the interaction of molecules that we all can manipulate.


I have walked so far this evening and found yet again as with any big city, the countless lives given to waste, they have nothing left to offer but everything to take, I often wonder what the difference is that puts them in their place. Compared to them, I'm like a golden calf, fed grain and milk and diatribe ubiquitous disgrace I wonder if I wear it on my face the same as those left more despondent. Those left to ask themselves or God why it befalls them to be the ones who must teach everyone that in every action, there lies a reaction. That reaction is the only thing that you can not control. Some give their lives to art the senseless selfess self expression of their selves broken in parts, an attempt at digression from the senselessness of human life or any life of any creature that was given any chance to put their fool mark on this earth.


There's something to be said for inspiration but without the friction of a noble heart that learns to push forth regardless of the doubts of others or itself or of the pack of ravenous creatures that seek to enslave life just so that it fulfills no other purpose than its own survival. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that but life lived with that mindset is doomed to extinction. Doomed to death, doomed to oblivion, doomed to only be remembered for the things it took away in the face of a destined self destruction that we all must come to face and I know that I'm a part of it, I'm still trying to not be part of it, is it possible to not be part of it, or is it just our human nature, is it just the destiny of atoms vibrating in place.

7.24.2009

drunken banter

all it takes is wind in your face
and then you know what to do
you have to continue
to push forward
and do the things you do
with gusto

participate in
this human race
and be the thing you
were born to be
do the things you were brought up to do
push that race into its place

thank you for everything
youre welcome to anything
I have created and shared
anything I've dreamt or dared
nothing is the counter source
nothing is give in

to the people that would seek to
dominate discriminate
hating and criticizing
instead of just plain living
we are just a people an ectoplasmic
response to the infatuation with everything we know and love

7.23.2009

Comicon 2009

So this has been somewhat of a whirlwind of a year. The kind that picks you up and moves you around a whole lot but you still end up set down no better or worse than you started... The theme however as Sean says is "tangible progress". We'll see...

In other news, I am in San Diego at Comicon! Holy shit! Anyways, it's been pretty cool so far. The novelty isn't quite there as this is the second one I've been to but it's still only the second and so, still pretty overwhelming. So far my time has been spent doing secret things but tonight, Richard and I are going to head out to a Drink and Draw at a bar downtown so that should be cool. I will be doing the drinking and wondering why I am not a more prolific writer that can take advantage of this opportunity to meet and drink with (maybe) great artists.

The only things of note that I have done are wait in line, wait in line and then there was some more waiting in line. I also took some pictures of some of the people I have seen but there's a lot. I hope to have a lot more pics by the end but as I post them I will let you know. After that, I waited in line some more. Oh yeah, Warren Ellis is gonna be here! I need to remember to stop by one of the discount trade retailers for a book to get him to sign and any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm wishing I had brought my copy of Ocean now that I think about it. But whatever, I may see if I can't find a copy of New Universal in hard cover or something.

Anyways, I did go to one panel so far. It was an Assassin's Creed 2 panel so I got to pretend I was at E3 cause they gave the exact same demo. Am I allowed to talk about video game panels at a Comicon? I guess I better remember to add Video Games to the labels for this post. It looks awesome but the panel really bored us with their talk of convergence or, as it is better known to some, CROSS PROMOTIONAL MARKETING OF AN IP THROUGH A COLLECTIVE OF MEDIUMS AS OPPOSED TO ONE. Basically, Ubisoft paid to make some assassin's creed live action movies along with the studio that did all the cg work for 300 and Sin City and they're excited that they didn't just throw money around to farm it out like some big corporation might have done. Wait...

In other news, the booths are all lively and more or less the same. Marvel is all about the Iron Man 2, DC is all about the Blackest Night but not as much as they should be since it's the only cool thing they've got going on, boosh! Also, they did give lots of room to their Vertigo and Wildstorm friends so that was nice. I hope I get to see Becky Cloonan somewhere... She doesn't know it yet (except in dreams and premonitions that come to her in the night) but she and I are getting married. I should carry around a bag so I can capture her Borat style as soon as I see her. I think they're giving away bags at the Warner Bros booth that are just about right actually...