A few months ago, I watched The Dark Knight on IMAX at Universal City, It was impressive, amazing picture quality, and yet, the size of it all threw me out of the film. Yet, I vowed to buy it on DVD because I still liked it.
But not as much as everyone was saying. Oh well, I'd watch it again and judge it's merits on a regular-sized screen.
So I watched The Dark Knight for a second time on my TV at home.
Still nothing.
Still a good film, but still nothing spectacular. Especially nothing worth Best Picture. Heath Ledger was phenomenal, and Aaron Eckhart's performance was stellar (and sure to be swept under the rug due to the fallout of Ledger's death). But Michael Caine and Christian Bale were just given nothing to do in a film where they are the two main characters. Rather, nothing new to do. In fact, less to do.
Batman Begins is one of my favorite films. In my top ten list of All Time, it would be number eleven. Maybe seven. It honestly met the standards of an epic, and was wonderfully written and paced. There was real emotion in Bruce Wayne, whereas in Knight, it was simply "I'm Batman".
The Dark Knight was still a very good film, but nowhere near as mind-blowing as Begins was. As you can probably tell, this has made me Enemy #1 on the internets. That and the fact that I didn't think Fishtown was all that hot. Either people think I'm just being an asshole, or they think I'm an idiot. Fans of anything are angry mobs like that. But nobody can tell me WHY The Dark Knight deserves to win Best Picture. They just want it to.
Don't even get me started on the Dark Knight Score bullshit that went on during the Emmy nomination process.
I have four main complaints with The Dark Knight:
Christian Bale and Michael Caine were given nothing to do
But I've already gone over this.
TDK's concepts are really very shallow
When The Matrix first came out, people thought that watching it actually made them smarter than everyone else because it included themes that were not usually in action films. When TDK came out, people orgasmed over the two main concepts in the film: that of pitting people against their morals, and that of vigilantism ultimately being the wrong choice. Well, at the very end of the film, we are given a heaping self-serving monologue aimed at the Dumb People In The Audience that destroys the latter. It's cool the first time we witness Joker's mind games, and it's awesome the first time we realize that Harvey Dent is a legit version of Batman... but then the film just recycles these two ideas for almost three hours, treating them like they are new.
Maggie
Let's face it: the only reason that Rachel Dawes was even in this film was to be a plot device. Yes, Gyllenhaal is a great actress. But she has no dialogue and hardly any scenes. The only time she ever does anything resembling the Rachel Dawes of Batman Begins is when she interrogates Lao for ten seconds.
Holy Bat Sticky Bomb Launcher, Batman!
Apparently, Batman's new suit hails from Doom, where he can carry a multitude of weaponry even when flying through the air. I know, I know, this is a very small complaint in regards to my other three, but it just threw me out of the film.
The script was... it did what it needed to, and there were enough visually interesting things to keep me happy (the flaming fire truck, anyone?); but, for the life of me, I do not know why the Disappearing Pencil Trick is getting everyone off. It's disgusting.
I'm #1!
Five days 'til Zuda.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Superheroes = Furries
Everyday people are dressing up as superheroes to complete mundane tasks such as fend off drunken frat boys, and are finding that if you do this, you are either batshit insane or bored.
At least this article doesn't glorify this kind of bullshit.
I'm going to go reread Watchmen.
At least this article doesn't glorify this kind of bullshit.
I'm going to go reread Watchmen.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
TOP TEN: Best and worst webcomics
So, I'm a douche and I totally published this when I meant to save it as a draft. This is not the first time I have done such things. As a lit major and a self-proclaimed reasonable man, I have to actually read my blog after I write entries. I feel that I need to apologize to whoever read this post beforehand. I am the fool. And not the fool as in the devil.
Continuing my slouch towards the Bethlehem known as New Year's Day 2009, I have two new top tens:
TOP TEN BEST WEBCOMICS
10. Dinosaur Comics
There is something incredibly fascinating about a comic that has the same number of panels, the same characters in the same positions (a T-Rex, Velociraptor, and sometimes other dino guest stars), but a new, highly deep and highly ridiculous conversation every other day. It's a wonderful satire on douchebag-philosophy at large.
9. Garfield Minus Garfield
I got the first collection for my aunt for the festival of Christmas. Like Dinosaur Comics, it takes an insanely simple routine (this time, removing Garfield from his own comic strip) and somehow it becomes epic and often poignant in its small, small scope.
8. Dr. McNinja
An Irish ninja that is also a doctor. The concept would last only five minutes were it not for some very witty dialogue and a consistent blend of storytelling and gag strip. The crazy, creative stuff that the author comes up with works perfectly within the context of his world.
7. Order of the Stick
This comic based on D&D is dedicated almost entirely to detail. The jokes, character development, and arcs fly by so fast, you barely notice that the entire backbone of the strip is glued together by mindboggling attention to the pre-existing pantheon of D&D rules and regulations. Talk about outlining.
6. Pray for Death
I know, I know: Nick Doan is in Lefty Films. Bias, right? P4D was, for a rudimentary crime drama, extremely well plotted. It wasn't anything NEW (to an extent), but it was a very tight ship from start to finish. It never dragged. It knew what it was.
5. Alien Loves Predator
Another strip that mixes gag humor with storylines. "Toy comics" come and go, but the capitalization of the two enemies of movie lore, the Alien and the Predator, and putting them as roommates in New York? Priceless. The jokes actually work, and are set-up rather well.
4. The Night Owls
Think of it as The Thin Man meets The X-Files. It skirts on the edges of both not taking itself seriously, and taking itself too seriously, and it's never fallen. It feels like a mature Archie, something suitable for everyone in a day and age where we feel the need to rape Thomas Wayne's corpse for sales.
3. Shortpacked!
David Willis knows he's a huge frakking nerd, and he has no problem accurately mocking the fanbases that he is a part of. He doesn't just go after the obvious stuff, he goes after the closet bigots, the assholes, and the people that think it's a travesty if Fox actually has a reason to want to shut down Watchmen. Oh, and he sets up storylines years in advance, waiting until his audience is fully distracted with humor before pouncing. He's also the only webcomic ever to make John Solomon apologize for a review.
2. xkcd
Stick figures spouting out nerd humor, and not just any nerd humor - really, really smart or nerdy stuff. But it's always very complicated and always very clever. It makes me feel like I'm part of the joke even when I don't understand the math or science. Or, in other words: this is why.
1. Tip Me Over Pour Me Out
Just another strip about a guy complaining about his life. Yes, more bias, you say, as it is written by my friend and drawn by my other friend. But the ideas trapped inside the strip are rather brilliant, and the no-holds barred narrative of a self-proclaimed Fake Depressed Guy are worth checking out. It tells us as much about our own personal hang-ups as it does about society in general.
TOP TEN WORST WEBCOMICS
10. Penny Arcade
I know that it's the belle of the ball, but I have no need to read a comic where the writer misuses the very simple concept of trading out everyday words for Big Ones. It's just like pain medication, it will not kill you in small doses. I guess I also dislike how you are forced to read the ramblings of both authors before you can even get to the comic itself. It's no longer about the audience, it's about them.
9. College Roomies From Hell!!!
Every character talks like every other character. There is literally no way to tell them apart besides how they are drawn. It's kind of hard to differentiate between the shy one, the rebel, the other rebel, the ditz, and the geek when they all can revert to one single mode whenever the author wants. Oh, and nothing ever happens. Ever. The storyarcs are all fancy and shizz, but at the end of the day, it's just a big episode of Smallville.
8. PvP
Besides the fact that Scott Kurtz has made it his personal quest to destroy Zuda, he just doesn't TRY. He doesn't write his own comic. Well, he writes it, but you get the idea. He rests on his "laurels" (and now his Eisner) and doesn't do anything new, while at the same time denouncing everything - you know what? Scott Kurtz is Robert McKee. I just made that connection. Dear God.
7. Waspi Square
Sorry, somebody had to say that they just didn't like it. I know it's supposed to be one of the Good Guys, one of the Blank Label Comic boys, and they are normally all A-list.... but this was.... what? It feels like two entirely different stories at times. And they say Lost is just trying to be weird.
6. Clan of the Cats
This is a furry comic that doesn't know it is a furry comic. Yes, it's got animal-people because it is primarily about lycanthropy, but look closer. Half the cast are now house cats, most of the shots of the main character being naked are closely tied to her Werepatherism in some way, and the few human characters feel like cardboard stand-ins. I mean, did the author wake up one morning and go "and now I need an angry dad character"?
5. Press Start to Play
I dislike Penny Arcade with a passion, so it only makes sense to dislike its rip-off with a passion. There is nothing original here, and that was even more apparent when the comic was just starting up and it was website-for-website in the likeness of Penny Arcade. Oh, gamer comics.
4. Cheshire Crossing
If you don't have the means to make your comic, then don't. That seems to be the main concept that Cheshire Crossing just flew past. It desperately WANTS better art, but for some reason, was birthed with what it's got - cut and paste heads and MS Paint bodies. This would be somewhat okay if the writing were decent. It's not.
3. Questionable Content
The punchlines are not shocking, even though they try to pull off shock humor. Sometimes they go too far, sometimes they don't go far enough, and sometimes it's just not funny where they went.
2. Ctrl+Alt+Del
Mixing only the best of Penny Arcade (only upping it to 11) and Cheshire Crossing, Timothy Buckley's stereotypical gamer comic , CAD, decided to go and do an arc about miscarriage earlier this year. Apparently, it's based on a true story. It's really sad that the art for CAD is so stale, because Buckley is a rather good artist. He just doesn't know how to properly mix drama and comedy, always resorting in the fourth panel to a trivial joke that completely invalidates the first three. Scott Kurtz hates Tim Buckley.
1. Shredded Moose
Much too NSFW and horrible for linking. It's really a pity that people such as the author of this comic - disgusting, bigoted, sexist, anti-semetic people - have the capability to use something as complex as a computer. Don't ask me how I found it. Really, don't. Okay, John Solomon was involved.
No, Girl Genius and High Moon are not on the list. Both are good comics, but both have problems too big to ignore. Mainly, I just feel like stuff happens way too unevenly, first real slow and then real fast. The pacing on both comics is off.
So sue me.
Tomorrow, I'll probably post my top ten best and worst comics of 2008.
I'm not sure I've read that many, though.
What I will do is post my thoughts on The Dark Knight. I recently rewatched it and I have to say.... I thought it was just decent. Obviously, this is a very dangerous opinion to have. I may be going to San Diego until after New Years, so who knows if I'll post again before January.
That would be wacky.
Continuing my slouch towards the Bethlehem known as New Year's Day 2009, I have two new top tens:
TOP TEN BEST WEBCOMICS
10. Dinosaur Comics
There is something incredibly fascinating about a comic that has the same number of panels, the same characters in the same positions (a T-Rex, Velociraptor, and sometimes other dino guest stars), but a new, highly deep and highly ridiculous conversation every other day. It's a wonderful satire on douchebag-philosophy at large.
9. Garfield Minus Garfield
I got the first collection for my aunt for the festival of Christmas. Like Dinosaur Comics, it takes an insanely simple routine (this time, removing Garfield from his own comic strip) and somehow it becomes epic and often poignant in its small, small scope.
8. Dr. McNinja
An Irish ninja that is also a doctor. The concept would last only five minutes were it not for some very witty dialogue and a consistent blend of storytelling and gag strip. The crazy, creative stuff that the author comes up with works perfectly within the context of his world.
7. Order of the Stick
This comic based on D&D is dedicated almost entirely to detail. The jokes, character development, and arcs fly by so fast, you barely notice that the entire backbone of the strip is glued together by mindboggling attention to the pre-existing pantheon of D&D rules and regulations. Talk about outlining.
6. Pray for Death
I know, I know: Nick Doan is in Lefty Films. Bias, right? P4D was, for a rudimentary crime drama, extremely well plotted. It wasn't anything NEW (to an extent), but it was a very tight ship from start to finish. It never dragged. It knew what it was.
5. Alien Loves Predator
Another strip that mixes gag humor with storylines. "Toy comics" come and go, but the capitalization of the two enemies of movie lore, the Alien and the Predator, and putting them as roommates in New York? Priceless. The jokes actually work, and are set-up rather well.
4. The Night Owls
Think of it as The Thin Man meets The X-Files. It skirts on the edges of both not taking itself seriously, and taking itself too seriously, and it's never fallen. It feels like a mature Archie, something suitable for everyone in a day and age where we feel the need to rape Thomas Wayne's corpse for sales.
3. Shortpacked!
David Willis knows he's a huge frakking nerd, and he has no problem accurately mocking the fanbases that he is a part of. He doesn't just go after the obvious stuff, he goes after the closet bigots, the assholes, and the people that think it's a travesty if Fox actually has a reason to want to shut down Watchmen. Oh, and he sets up storylines years in advance, waiting until his audience is fully distracted with humor before pouncing. He's also the only webcomic ever to make John Solomon apologize for a review.
2. xkcd
Stick figures spouting out nerd humor, and not just any nerd humor - really, really smart or nerdy stuff. But it's always very complicated and always very clever. It makes me feel like I'm part of the joke even when I don't understand the math or science. Or, in other words: this is why.
1. Tip Me Over Pour Me Out
Just another strip about a guy complaining about his life. Yes, more bias, you say, as it is written by my friend and drawn by my other friend. But the ideas trapped inside the strip are rather brilliant, and the no-holds barred narrative of a self-proclaimed Fake Depressed Guy are worth checking out. It tells us as much about our own personal hang-ups as it does about society in general.
TOP TEN WORST WEBCOMICS
10. Penny Arcade
I know that it's the belle of the ball, but I have no need to read a comic where the writer misuses the very simple concept of trading out everyday words for Big Ones. It's just like pain medication, it will not kill you in small doses. I guess I also dislike how you are forced to read the ramblings of both authors before you can even get to the comic itself. It's no longer about the audience, it's about them.
9. College Roomies From Hell!!!
Every character talks like every other character. There is literally no way to tell them apart besides how they are drawn. It's kind of hard to differentiate between the shy one, the rebel, the other rebel, the ditz, and the geek when they all can revert to one single mode whenever the author wants. Oh, and nothing ever happens. Ever. The storyarcs are all fancy and shizz, but at the end of the day, it's just a big episode of Smallville.
8. PvP
Besides the fact that Scott Kurtz has made it his personal quest to destroy Zuda, he just doesn't TRY. He doesn't write his own comic. Well, he writes it, but you get the idea. He rests on his "laurels" (and now his Eisner) and doesn't do anything new, while at the same time denouncing everything - you know what? Scott Kurtz is Robert McKee. I just made that connection. Dear God.
7. Waspi Square
Sorry, somebody had to say that they just didn't like it. I know it's supposed to be one of the Good Guys, one of the Blank Label Comic boys, and they are normally all A-list.... but this was.... what? It feels like two entirely different stories at times. And they say Lost is just trying to be weird.
6. Clan of the Cats
This is a furry comic that doesn't know it is a furry comic. Yes, it's got animal-people because it is primarily about lycanthropy, but look closer. Half the cast are now house cats, most of the shots of the main character being naked are closely tied to her Werepatherism in some way, and the few human characters feel like cardboard stand-ins. I mean, did the author wake up one morning and go "and now I need an angry dad character"?
5. Press Start to Play
I dislike Penny Arcade with a passion, so it only makes sense to dislike its rip-off with a passion. There is nothing original here, and that was even more apparent when the comic was just starting up and it was website-for-website in the likeness of Penny Arcade. Oh, gamer comics.
4. Cheshire Crossing
If you don't have the means to make your comic, then don't. That seems to be the main concept that Cheshire Crossing just flew past. It desperately WANTS better art, but for some reason, was birthed with what it's got - cut and paste heads and MS Paint bodies. This would be somewhat okay if the writing were decent. It's not.
3. Questionable Content
The punchlines are not shocking, even though they try to pull off shock humor. Sometimes they go too far, sometimes they don't go far enough, and sometimes it's just not funny where they went.
2. Ctrl+Alt+Del
Mixing only the best of Penny Arcade (only upping it to 11) and Cheshire Crossing, Timothy Buckley's stereotypical gamer comic , CAD, decided to go and do an arc about miscarriage earlier this year. Apparently, it's based on a true story. It's really sad that the art for CAD is so stale, because Buckley is a rather good artist. He just doesn't know how to properly mix drama and comedy, always resorting in the fourth panel to a trivial joke that completely invalidates the first three. Scott Kurtz hates Tim Buckley.
1. Shredded Moose
Much too NSFW and horrible for linking. It's really a pity that people such as the author of this comic - disgusting, bigoted, sexist, anti-semetic people - have the capability to use something as complex as a computer. Don't ask me how I found it. Really, don't. Okay, John Solomon was involved.
No, Girl Genius and High Moon are not on the list. Both are good comics, but both have problems too big to ignore. Mainly, I just feel like stuff happens way too unevenly, first real slow and then real fast. The pacing on both comics is off.
So sue me.
Tomorrow, I'll probably post my top ten best and worst comics of 2008.
I'm not sure I've read that many, though.
What I will do is post my thoughts on The Dark Knight. I recently rewatched it and I have to say.... I thought it was just decent. Obviously, this is a very dangerous opinion to have. I may be going to San Diego until after New Years, so who knows if I'll post again before January.
That would be wacky.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Post-Christmas Info Dump
I just found out that one of the files on my dead hard drive (besides Saving the Day) was the first song that I wrote for a Comic-Con musical that I was working on.
I am even more pissed right now.
I really hate that I did not put my first film on a secondary backup drive. It is really crappy, considering I just put my foot down and said "we're done, let's send it to audio". But my dad has it now, and he's using his contacts as a printer to get it fixed, so that's a very nice Christmas present.
(The song was about how George Lucas pulled off a twenty-year rickroll on humanity)
I listened to the Dr. Horrible musical commentary. Way too preachy for my tastes. I understand what Joss Whedon was trying to do, but it just didn't work. It's still a good listen and I recommend it to anyone, but it just fell to parts in some areas (especially the ending of the WGA Strike song).
I drew some Zuda fanart and sent them off as Christmas eCards.
I am even more pissed right now.
I really hate that I did not put my first film on a secondary backup drive. It is really crappy, considering I just put my foot down and said "we're done, let's send it to audio". But my dad has it now, and he's using his contacts as a printer to get it fixed, so that's a very nice Christmas present.
(The song was about how George Lucas pulled off a twenty-year rickroll on humanity)
I listened to the Dr. Horrible musical commentary. Way too preachy for my tastes. I understand what Joss Whedon was trying to do, but it just didn't work. It's still a good listen and I recommend it to anyone, but it just fell to parts in some areas (especially the ending of the WGA Strike song).
I drew some Zuda fanart and sent them off as Christmas eCards.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
INTERVIEWS: Steve Bialik
Happy holidays and merry Christmas Eve.
I myself am writing this as my family finishes up a rousing game of Monopoly. A vicious, vicious game in which multiple parties went from rags to riches in minutes. I ended with $1975. My brother offered me $20 for two of my properties, but mother shot that proposition down.
The tagline for the Monopoly movie should be this: EVERYTHING CHANGES.
We have the author of ANGUS FRUMP KILLS CHRISTMAS, Steve Bialik, with us.
Angus is a Christmas comic, but it couldn't of been written with Christmas in mind, since there's no way of knowing when or if your submission would even get in. Why Christmas? Was there reservation, feeling like you should do something else?
I definitely did it with this Christmas in mind. I was banking on the fact that if the Zuda folks liked it they would have the good sense to slate it for December, and they did. It was shameless exploitation of a holiday on my part. The down-side is that you're pretty much guaranteed a loss because the appeal of all Christmas stuff expires on the 26th. But I don't mind. I sent it in more as a fun holiday gag than a serious entry. I hope the Accountants wins myself. Either that or Hellbreak.
The dialogue is so simple and straightforward and the plot doesn't kick in until page 6 at the least. Do you ever look back, now that it's in the viewer, and say to yourself that you should of structured it differently?
Nah. With something like this my main priority is jokes over storytelling. If the story has to lag a wee bit so I can squeeze a few more jokes in I don't mind.
Angus is a very young guy dealing with some very mature subject matter - the last three pages non-withstanding. Is there a bit of you in Angus? Coming of age?
Angus is kind of like Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes, only he's willing to go that extra step and kill people. Actually he's from the Amoral Sociopath school of cartoon characters. The kind that exist purely to make people laugh by any means necessary, even if that means giving Santa a face full of bird-shot. I'd rather avoid touching life lessons if I can.
Top Ten holidays.
Halloween and the nine days leading up to it. Who doesn't love Halloween? Squares buddy, that's who. Squares and Quakers.
With his very violent and disturbing methods of dealing with imaginary people, would Angus fair well in a fight against Yasu, from Dual? Would he find a fast friend in Lawrence Reager, the God-hating, serial killing elf from Pray for Death? Yes, I know that he's not an elf.
Angus is not violent unless he feels threatened! Santa should've dropped the candy cane and complied. Then none of this would've happened!
Top ten cartoons.
Simpsons
Family Guy
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Dr. Katz
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Harvey Birdman
Batman TAS
Beavis & Butthead
Popeye
Thundercats
It's a week before the competition ends. It's teeth-grittin' time.
Everything changes. Welcome to the new year pre-game show.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Emmy Predictions
My predictions for what will win will be in bold, my predictions for what should win will be in Italy.
Obviously, the ones I could care less about will not be in anything. I mean, Reality TV? And the hand-out kid's programs category? And WB ON DEMAND?
COMEDY SERIES
“30 Rock” (NBC)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Entourage” (HBO)
“The Office” (NBC)
“Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
DRAMA SERIES
“Boston Legal” (ABC)
“Damages” (FX)
“Dexter” (Showtime)
“House” (Fox)
“Lost” (ABC)
“Mad Men” (AMC)
MINISERIES
"The Andromeda Strain" (A&E)
"Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre)
"John Adams" (HBO)
"Tin Man" (Sci Fi Channel)
ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin - “30 Rock” (NBC)
Steve Carell - “The Office” (NBC)
Lee Pace - “Pushing Daisies” (ABC)
Charlie Sheen - “Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
Tony Shalhoub - “Monk” (USA)
ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne - “In Treatment” (HBO)
Bryan Cranston - “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
Michael C. Hall - “Dexter” (Showtime)
Jon Hamm - “Mad Men” (AMC)
Hugh Laurie - “House” (Fox)
James Spader - “Boston Legal” (ABC)
ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Christina Applegate - “Samantha Who?”(ABC)
America Ferrera - “Ugly Betty” (ABC)
Tina Fey - “30 Rock” (NBC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - “New Adventures of Old Christine” (CBS)
Mary-Louise Parker - “Weeds” (Showtime)
ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Glenn Close - “Damages” (FX)
Sally Field - “Brothers & Sisters” (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay - “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC)
Holly Hunter - “Saving Grace” (TNT)
Kyra Sedgwick - “The Closer” (TNT)
MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
"Bernard And Doris" - (HBO)
"Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" - (HBO) "
"The Memory Keeper’s Daughter" - (Lifetime)
"A Raisin In The Sun" - (ABC)
"Recount" - (HBO)
REALITY
"Antiques Roadshow" - (PBS)
"Dirty Jobs" - (Discovery Channel)
"Extreme Makeover Home Edition" - (ABC)
"Intervention" - (A&E)
"Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List" - (Bravo)
REALITY HOST
Tom Bergeron - "Dancing With the Stars"
Heidi Klum - "Project Runway"
Howie Mandel - "Deal or No Deal"
Jeff Probst - "Survivor"
Ryan Seacrest - "American Idol"
REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
"The Amazing Race" - (CBS)
"American Idol" - (FOX)
"Dancing With The Stars" - (ABC)
"Project Runway" - (Bravo)
"Top Chef" - (Bravo)
ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Ralph Fiennes - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Ricky Gervais - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Paul Giamatti - "John Adams" (HBO)
Kevin Spacey - "Recount" (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson - "Recount" (HBO)
ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Catherine Keener - "An American Crime" (Showtime)
Susan Sarandon - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Dame Judi Dench - "Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre)
Laura Linney - "John Adams" (HBO )
Phylicia Rashad - "A Raisin In The Sun" (ABC)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Cryer - "Two and a Half Men" (CBS)
Kevin Dillon - "Entourage" (HBO)
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS)
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage" (HBO)
Rainn Wilson - "The Office" (NBC)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Ted Danson - "Damages" (FX)
Michael Emerson - "Lost" (ABC)
Zeljko Ivanek - "Damages" (FX)
William Shatner - "Boston Legal" (ABC)
John Slattery - "Mad Men" (AMC)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
David Morse - "John Adams" (HBO)
Stephen Dillane - "John Adams" (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson - "John Adams" (HBO)
Denis Leary - "Recount" (HBO)
Bob Balaban - "Recount" (HBO)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth - "Pushing Daisies" (ABC)
Amy Poehler - "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
Jean Smart - "Samantha Who?" (ABC)
Holland Taylor - "Two and a Half Men" (CBS)
Vanessa Williams - "Ugly Betty" (ABC)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Candice Bergen - "Boston Legal" (ABC)
Rachel Griffiths - "Brothers and Sisters" (ABC) )
Sandra Oh - "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)
Dianne Wiest - "In Treatment" (HBO)
Chandra Wilson - "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Eileen Atkins - "Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre)
Ashley Jensen - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Alfre Woodard - "Pictures Of Hollis Woods" (CBS)
Audra McDonald - "A Raisin In The Sun" (ABC)
Laura Dern - "Recount" (HBO)
GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Shelley Berman - "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - (HBO)
Rip Torn - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
Will Arnett - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
Steve Buscemi - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
Tim Conway - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Stanley Tucci - "ER" -(NBC)
Glynn Turman - "In Treatment" - (HBO)
Robin Williams - "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" - (NBC)
Robert Morse - "Mad Men" - (AMC)
Oliver Platt - "Nip/Tuck" - (FX)
Charles Durning - "Rescue Me" - (FX)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Polly Bergen - "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
Kathryn Joosten - "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
Sarah Silverman - "Monk" (USA)
Carrie Fisher - "30 Rock" (NBC)
Edie Falco - "30 Rock" (NBC)
Elaine Stritch - "30 Rock" (NBC)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Ellen Burstyn - "Big Love" (HBO)
Diahann Carroll - "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)
Cynthia Nixon - "Law & Order: Special Victims" (NBC)
Anjelica Huston - "Medium" (NBC)
Sharon Gless - "Nip/Tuck" (FX)
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM
Jon Stewart - "80th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
Stephen Colbert - "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)
David Letterman - "Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS)
Don Rickles - "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project" (HBO)
Tina Fey - "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY
Dan Attias, “Entourage” (“No Cannes Do“)
James Bobin, “Flight Of The Conchords” (“Sally Returns“)
Michael Engler, “30 Rock” (“Rosemary’s Baby“)
Paul Feig, “The Office” (“Goodbye, Toby“)
Paul Lieberstein, “The Office” (“Money: Parts 1 & 2“)
Barry Sonnenfeld, “Pushing Daisies” (“Pie-Lette“)
DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA
Allen Coulter, “Damages” (pilot)
Vince Gilligan, “Breaking Bad” (pilot)
Arlene Sanford, “Boston Legal” (“The Mighty Rogues“)
Alan Taylor, “Mad Men” (“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes“)
Greg Yaitanes, “House” (“House’s Head“)
DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
Louis J. Horvitz - "80th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
Jim Hoskinson - "The Colbert Report" (#4051) (Comedy Central)
Don Roy King - "Saturday Night Live" (Host: Tina Fey) (NBC)
Lonny Price - "Company" (Great Performances) (PBS)
Chuck O’Neil - "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (#13050) (Comedy Central)
DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Bob Balaban - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Tom Hooper - "John Adams" (HBO)
Mikael Salomon - "The Company" (TNT)
Jay Roach - "Recount" (HBO)
DIRECTING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Ken Burns, Lynn Novick - "The War" ("Pride of Our Nation") (PBS)
Bertram van Munster - "The Amazing Race" ("Honestly, They Have Witch Powers Or Something") (CBS)
Tricia Regan - "Autism: The Musical" (HBO)
Tony Sacco - "Project Runway" ("En Garde") (Bravo)
Christopher Wilcha, Adam Beckman - "This American Life" ("Escape") (Showtime)
ANIMATED PROGRAM (less than one hour)
"Creature Comforts America" - ("Don’t Choke To Death, Please") (CBS)
"King Of The Hill" - ("Death Picks Cotton") (Fox)
"Robot Chicken" - ("Robot Chicken: Star Wars") (Cartoon Network)
"The Simpsons" - ("Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind") (Fox)
"SpongeBob SquarePants" - ("Inmates of Summer / Two Faces of Squidward") (Nickelodeon)
ANIMATED PROGRAM (one hour or more)
"Family Guy" - ("Blue Harvest") (Fox)
"Justice League: The New Frontier" - (Warner Bros. on demand)
"South Park" - ("Imaginationland") (Comedy Central)
VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
"The Colbert Report" - (Comedy Central)
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" - (Comedy Central)
"Late Show With David Letterman" - (CBS)
"Real Time With Bill Maher" - (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" - (NBC)
VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Bill Maher: The Decider" - (HBO)
"George Carlin: It’s Bad For Ya!" - (HBO)
"James Taylor: One Man Band (Great Performances)" - (PBS)
"Kathy Griffin: Straight To Hell" - (Bravo)
"The Kennedy Center Honors" - (CBS)
"Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project" - (HBO)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - NOT-EXCLUSIVELY-MADE-FOR-TELEVISION VARIETY, MUSIC, COMEDY EVENT PROGRAMS
"Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago" (Great Performances) - (PBS)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM – CLASSICAL MUSIC/DANCE PROGRAMS
"New York City Opera: Madama Butterfly" (Live From Lincoln Center) - (PBS)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT LIVE-ACTION ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS
"Battlestar Galactica: Razor Featurette #4" - (Sci Fi Channel.com)
"Friday Night Lights: Spotlight On Austin" - (NBC.com)
"Lost: Missing Pieces" - (ABC.com)
"Sarah Silverman Program Nugget" - (Comedycentral.com)
"30 Rock: Kenneth The Web Page" - (NBC.com)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT ANIMATED PROGRAMS
"Camp Lazlo" ("Lazlo’s First Crush") (Cartoon Network)
"Chowder" - ("Burple Nurples") (Cartoon Network)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS
"Deadliest Catch: The Real Dutch" (Discovery.com)
"Great Moments From The Campaign Trail" (History ChannelVOD)
"Jay Leno’s Garage" (Jaylenosgarage.com)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - AWARDS PROGRAMS
"80th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
"The 61st Annual Tony Awards" (CBS)
CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
"Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show" - (HBO)
"Hannah Montana" - (Disney Channel)
"High School Musical 2" - (Disney Channel)
"Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: The Untouchable Kids Of India" - (Nickelodeon)
"The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody" - (Disney Channel)
NONFICTION SPECIAL
"AFI’s 100 Years...100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition" - (CBS)
"Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq" - (HBO)
"Autism: The Musical" - (HBO)
"Pioneers Of Television - Late Night: Johnny, Jack, Steve, And Merv" - (PBS)
NONFICTION SERIES
"American Masters" - (PBS)
"Biography" - (Biography Channel)
"Deadliest Catch" - (Discovery Channel)
"Inside The Actors Studio" - (Bravo)
"This American Life" - (Showtime)
WRITING FOR A COMEDY
James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie - "Flight Of The Conchords" ("Yoko") (HBO)
Jack Burditt - "30 Rock" ("Rosemary’s Baby") (NBC)
Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky - "The Office" ("Dinner Party") (NBC)
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"("Cooter") (NBC)
Bryan Fuller - "Pushing Daisies" ("Pie-Lette") (ABC)
WRITING FOR A DRAMA
Michael Angeli - "Battlestar Galactica" - ("Six Of One") (Sci Fi Channel)
Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman - "Damages" ("Pilot") (FX Networks)
Matthew Weiner - "Mad Men" ("Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - Pilot) (AMC)
Matthew Weiner, Robin Veith - "Mad Men" ("The Wheel") (AMC)
David Simon, (teleplay), Ed Burns - "The Wire" ("30") (HBO)
WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central) - Tom Purcell (head Writer), Stephen Colbert, Allison Silverman, Richard Dahm, Michael Brumm, Rob Dubbin, Eric Drysdale, Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Laura Krafft, Frank Lesser, Glenn Eichler, Peter Grosz, Bryan Adams, Barry Julien
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central) - Steve Bodow (head Writer), Rory Albanese, Rachel Axler, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Tim Carvell, J.R. Havlan, Scott Jacobson, David Javerbaum, Rob Kutner, Josh Lieb, Sam Means, John Oliver, Jason Ross, Jon Stewart
"Late Night With Conan O’Brien" (NBC) - Mike Sweeney (head Writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Dan Cronin, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Berkley Johnson, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O’Brien, Matt O’Brien, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
"Late Show With David Letterman"(CBS) - Eric Stangel (head Writer), Justin Stangel, (head Writer), Jim Mulholland, Michael Barrie, Steve Young, Tom Ruprecht, Lee Ellenberg, Matt Roberts, Jeremy Weiner, Joe Grossman, Bill Scheft, Bob Borden, Frank Sebastiano, David Letterman
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC) - Seth Meyers (head Writer), Andrew Steele (head Writer), Paula Pell (head Writer), Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, James Downey, Charlie Grandy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Jon Lutz, Lorne Michaels, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, Robert Smigel, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker, Robert Carlock (additional sketch), Lauren Pomerantz (additional sketch)
WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Hugh Costello - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Kirk Ellis - "John Adams" ("Independence") (HBO)
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Heidi Thomas - "Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre) (PBS)
Danny Strong - "Recount" (HBO)
WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Jeff Grogan - "Intervention" (A&E)
David de Vries - "Life After People" (History Channel)
Ira Glass - "This American Life" ("Escape") (Showtime)
Geoffrey C. Ward - "The War" ("Pride Of Our Nation") (PBS)
Mark Zwonitzer - "Walt Whitman" (American Experience) (PBS)
Obviously, the ones I could care less about will not be in anything. I mean, Reality TV? And the hand-out kid's programs category? And WB ON DEMAND?
COMEDY SERIES
“30 Rock” (NBC)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Entourage” (HBO)
“The Office” (NBC)
“Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
DRAMA SERIES
“Boston Legal” (ABC)
“Damages” (FX)
“Dexter” (Showtime)
“House” (Fox)
“Lost” (ABC)
“Mad Men” (AMC)
MINISERIES
"The Andromeda Strain" (A&E)
"Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre)
"John Adams" (HBO)
"Tin Man" (Sci Fi Channel)
ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin - “30 Rock” (NBC)
Steve Carell - “The Office” (NBC)
Lee Pace - “Pushing Daisies” (ABC)
Charlie Sheen - “Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
Tony Shalhoub - “Monk” (USA)
ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne - “In Treatment” (HBO)
Bryan Cranston - “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
Michael C. Hall - “Dexter” (Showtime)
Jon Hamm - “Mad Men” (AMC)
Hugh Laurie - “House” (Fox)
James Spader - “Boston Legal” (ABC)
ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Christina Applegate - “Samantha Who?”(ABC)
America Ferrera - “Ugly Betty” (ABC)
Tina Fey - “30 Rock” (NBC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - “New Adventures of Old Christine” (CBS)
Mary-Louise Parker - “Weeds” (Showtime)
ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Glenn Close - “Damages” (FX)
Sally Field - “Brothers & Sisters” (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay - “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC)
Holly Hunter - “Saving Grace” (TNT)
Kyra Sedgwick - “The Closer” (TNT)
MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
"Bernard And Doris" - (HBO)
"Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" - (HBO) "
"The Memory Keeper’s Daughter" - (Lifetime)
"A Raisin In The Sun" - (ABC)
"Recount" - (HBO)
REALITY
"Antiques Roadshow" - (PBS)
"Dirty Jobs" - (Discovery Channel)
"Extreme Makeover Home Edition" - (ABC)
"Intervention" - (A&E)
"Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List" - (Bravo)
REALITY HOST
Tom Bergeron - "Dancing With the Stars"
Heidi Klum - "Project Runway"
Howie Mandel - "Deal or No Deal"
Jeff Probst - "Survivor"
Ryan Seacrest - "American Idol"
REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
"The Amazing Race" - (CBS)
"American Idol" - (FOX)
"Dancing With The Stars" - (ABC)
"Project Runway" - (Bravo)
"Top Chef" - (Bravo)
ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Ralph Fiennes - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Ricky Gervais - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Paul Giamatti - "John Adams" (HBO)
Kevin Spacey - "Recount" (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson - "Recount" (HBO)
ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Catherine Keener - "An American Crime" (Showtime)
Susan Sarandon - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Dame Judi Dench - "Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre)
Laura Linney - "John Adams" (HBO )
Phylicia Rashad - "A Raisin In The Sun" (ABC)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Cryer - "Two and a Half Men" (CBS)
Kevin Dillon - "Entourage" (HBO)
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS)
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage" (HBO)
Rainn Wilson - "The Office" (NBC)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Ted Danson - "Damages" (FX)
Michael Emerson - "Lost" (ABC)
Zeljko Ivanek - "Damages" (FX)
William Shatner - "Boston Legal" (ABC)
John Slattery - "Mad Men" (AMC)
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
David Morse - "John Adams" (HBO)
Stephen Dillane - "John Adams" (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson - "John Adams" (HBO)
Denis Leary - "Recount" (HBO)
Bob Balaban - "Recount" (HBO)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth - "Pushing Daisies" (ABC)
Amy Poehler - "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
Jean Smart - "Samantha Who?" (ABC)
Holland Taylor - "Two and a Half Men" (CBS)
Vanessa Williams - "Ugly Betty" (ABC)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Candice Bergen - "Boston Legal" (ABC)
Rachel Griffiths - "Brothers and Sisters" (ABC) )
Sandra Oh - "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)
Dianne Wiest - "In Treatment" (HBO)
Chandra Wilson - "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Eileen Atkins - "Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre)
Ashley Jensen - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Alfre Woodard - "Pictures Of Hollis Woods" (CBS)
Audra McDonald - "A Raisin In The Sun" (ABC)
Laura Dern - "Recount" (HBO)
GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Shelley Berman - "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - (HBO)
Rip Torn - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
Will Arnett - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
Steve Buscemi - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
Tim Conway - "30 Rock" - (NBC)
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Stanley Tucci - "ER" -(NBC)
Glynn Turman - "In Treatment" - (HBO)
Robin Williams - "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" - (NBC)
Robert Morse - "Mad Men" - (AMC)
Oliver Platt - "Nip/Tuck" - (FX)
Charles Durning - "Rescue Me" - (FX)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Polly Bergen - "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
Kathryn Joosten - "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
Sarah Silverman - "Monk" (USA)
Carrie Fisher - "30 Rock" (NBC)
Edie Falco - "30 Rock" (NBC)
Elaine Stritch - "30 Rock" (NBC)
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Ellen Burstyn - "Big Love" (HBO)
Diahann Carroll - "Grey’s Anatomy" (ABC)
Cynthia Nixon - "Law & Order: Special Victims" (NBC)
Anjelica Huston - "Medium" (NBC)
Sharon Gless - "Nip/Tuck" (FX)
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM
Jon Stewart - "80th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
Stephen Colbert - "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)
David Letterman - "Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS)
Don Rickles - "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project" (HBO)
Tina Fey - "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY
Dan Attias, “Entourage” (“No Cannes Do“)
James Bobin, “Flight Of The Conchords” (“Sally Returns“)
Michael Engler, “30 Rock” (“Rosemary’s Baby“)
Paul Feig, “The Office” (“Goodbye, Toby“)
Paul Lieberstein, “The Office” (“Money: Parts 1 & 2“)
Barry Sonnenfeld, “Pushing Daisies” (“Pie-Lette“)
DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA
Allen Coulter, “Damages” (pilot)
Vince Gilligan, “Breaking Bad” (pilot)
Arlene Sanford, “Boston Legal” (“The Mighty Rogues“)
Alan Taylor, “Mad Men” (“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes“)
Greg Yaitanes, “House” (“House’s Head“)
DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
Louis J. Horvitz - "80th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
Jim Hoskinson - "The Colbert Report" (#4051) (Comedy Central)
Don Roy King - "Saturday Night Live" (Host: Tina Fey) (NBC)
Lonny Price - "Company" (Great Performances) (PBS)
Chuck O’Neil - "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (#13050) (Comedy Central)
DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Bob Balaban - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Tom Hooper - "John Adams" (HBO)
Mikael Salomon - "The Company" (TNT)
Jay Roach - "Recount" (HBO)
DIRECTING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Ken Burns, Lynn Novick - "The War" ("Pride of Our Nation") (PBS)
Bertram van Munster - "The Amazing Race" ("Honestly, They Have Witch Powers Or Something") (CBS)
Tricia Regan - "Autism: The Musical" (HBO)
Tony Sacco - "Project Runway" ("En Garde") (Bravo)
Christopher Wilcha, Adam Beckman - "This American Life" ("Escape") (Showtime)
ANIMATED PROGRAM (less than one hour)
"Creature Comforts America" - ("Don’t Choke To Death, Please") (CBS)
"King Of The Hill" - ("Death Picks Cotton") (Fox)
"Robot Chicken" - ("Robot Chicken: Star Wars") (Cartoon Network)
"The Simpsons" - ("Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind") (Fox)
"SpongeBob SquarePants" - ("Inmates of Summer / Two Faces of Squidward") (Nickelodeon)
ANIMATED PROGRAM (one hour or more)
"Family Guy" - ("Blue Harvest") (Fox)
"Justice League: The New Frontier" - (Warner Bros. on demand)
"South Park" - ("Imaginationland") (Comedy Central)
VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
"The Colbert Report" - (Comedy Central)
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" - (Comedy Central)
"Late Show With David Letterman" - (CBS)
"Real Time With Bill Maher" - (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" - (NBC)
VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Bill Maher: The Decider" - (HBO)
"George Carlin: It’s Bad For Ya!" - (HBO)
"James Taylor: One Man Band (Great Performances)" - (PBS)
"Kathy Griffin: Straight To Hell" - (Bravo)
"The Kennedy Center Honors" - (CBS)
"Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project" - (HBO)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - NOT-EXCLUSIVELY-MADE-FOR-TELEVISION VARIETY, MUSIC, COMEDY EVENT PROGRAMS
"Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago" (Great Performances) - (PBS)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM – CLASSICAL MUSIC/DANCE PROGRAMS
"New York City Opera: Madama Butterfly" (Live From Lincoln Center) - (PBS)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT LIVE-ACTION ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS
"Battlestar Galactica: Razor Featurette #4" - (Sci Fi Channel.com)
"Friday Night Lights: Spotlight On Austin" - (NBC.com)
"Lost: Missing Pieces" - (ABC.com)
"Sarah Silverman Program Nugget" - (Comedycentral.com)
"30 Rock: Kenneth The Web Page" - (NBC.com)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT ANIMATED PROGRAMS
"Camp Lazlo" ("Lazlo’s First Crush") (Cartoon Network)
"Chowder" - ("Burple Nurples") (Cartoon Network)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS
"Deadliest Catch: The Real Dutch" (Discovery.com)
"Great Moments From The Campaign Trail" (History ChannelVOD)
"Jay Leno’s Garage" (Jaylenosgarage.com)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM - AWARDS PROGRAMS
"80th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
"The 61st Annual Tony Awards" (CBS)
CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
"Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show" - (HBO)
"Hannah Montana" - (Disney Channel)
"High School Musical 2" - (Disney Channel)
"Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: The Untouchable Kids Of India" - (Nickelodeon)
"The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody" - (Disney Channel)
NONFICTION SPECIAL
"AFI’s 100 Years...100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition" - (CBS)
"Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq" - (HBO)
"Autism: The Musical" - (HBO)
"Pioneers Of Television - Late Night: Johnny, Jack, Steve, And Merv" - (PBS)
NONFICTION SERIES
"American Masters" - (PBS)
"Biography" - (Biography Channel)
"Deadliest Catch" - (Discovery Channel)
"Inside The Actors Studio" - (Bravo)
"This American Life" - (Showtime)
WRITING FOR A COMEDY
James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie - "Flight Of The Conchords" ("Yoko") (HBO)
Jack Burditt - "30 Rock" ("Rosemary’s Baby") (NBC)
Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky - "The Office" ("Dinner Party") (NBC)
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"("Cooter") (NBC)
Bryan Fuller - "Pushing Daisies" ("Pie-Lette") (ABC)
WRITING FOR A DRAMA
Michael Angeli - "Battlestar Galactica" - ("Six Of One") (Sci Fi Channel)
Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman - "Damages" ("Pilot") (FX Networks)
Matthew Weiner - "Mad Men" ("Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - Pilot) (AMC)
Matthew Weiner, Robin Veith - "Mad Men" ("The Wheel") (AMC)
David Simon, (teleplay), Ed Burns - "The Wire" ("30") (HBO)
WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central) - Tom Purcell (head Writer), Stephen Colbert, Allison Silverman, Richard Dahm, Michael Brumm, Rob Dubbin, Eric Drysdale, Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Laura Krafft, Frank Lesser, Glenn Eichler, Peter Grosz, Bryan Adams, Barry Julien
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central) - Steve Bodow (head Writer), Rory Albanese, Rachel Axler, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Tim Carvell, J.R. Havlan, Scott Jacobson, David Javerbaum, Rob Kutner, Josh Lieb, Sam Means, John Oliver, Jason Ross, Jon Stewart
"Late Night With Conan O’Brien" (NBC) - Mike Sweeney (head Writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Dan Cronin, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Berkley Johnson, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O’Brien, Matt O’Brien, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
"Late Show With David Letterman"(CBS) - Eric Stangel (head Writer), Justin Stangel, (head Writer), Jim Mulholland, Michael Barrie, Steve Young, Tom Ruprecht, Lee Ellenberg, Matt Roberts, Jeremy Weiner, Joe Grossman, Bill Scheft, Bob Borden, Frank Sebastiano, David Letterman
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC) - Seth Meyers (head Writer), Andrew Steele (head Writer), Paula Pell (head Writer), Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, James Downey, Charlie Grandy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Jon Lutz, Lorne Michaels, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, Robert Smigel, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker, Robert Carlock (additional sketch), Lauren Pomerantz (additional sketch)
WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Hugh Costello - "Bernard And Doris" (HBO)
Kirk Ellis - "John Adams" ("Independence") (HBO)
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant - "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale" (HBO)
Heidi Thomas - "Cranford" (Masterpiece Theatre) (PBS)
Danny Strong - "Recount" (HBO)
WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Jeff Grogan - "Intervention" (A&E)
David de Vries - "Life After People" (History Channel)
Ira Glass - "This American Life" ("Escape") (Showtime)
Geoffrey C. Ward - "The War" ("Pride Of Our Nation") (PBS)
Mark Zwonitzer - "Walt Whitman" (American Experience) (PBS)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Machinima.com continues to do stuff
In their ever-evolving mad quest for power, Machinima.com has hired a bunch of Hollywood writers to do 'ma shorts for them. Yeah, the REAL funny thing? They have not been sued yet.
I wonder if M.com plans on paying them.
I wonder if M.com plans on paying them.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
INTERVIEW: Adam Atherton
Adam Atherton writes BLEED over on Zuda, which looked to be #1, but has been one of the rare ones to shoot down a few pegs.
Where are you located?
I have been living in Toronto Ontario for 6 years now. I moved here from Canada's east coast when I was 18. Luiza [BLEED's co-author] has lived in Toronto Ontario for 13 years and moved here from Europe with her family when she was 11. A lot of my experiences with culture shock and moving from a small rural town to the country's largest city is written into my comic Bleed. It's a personal story about how these two places have affected my life and the misconceptions and misbeliefs each have about the other. More than anything, this story is a love letter to my home town disquised as a death threat.
Why Bleed as the name? It seems that you could of gone in many different directions naming-wise for a slasher comic, what makes this one stand out?
Originally the title was Blood. But that was registered already by Dark Horse comics as the Zuda staff brought to my attention. The reason we chose the name was because it spoke to a lot of the themes that were present in the story while at the same time alluding to the horrific content to come. Blood can mean family, it can mean bonds, and pacts, and of course literally it can mean a bloody mess. When we had to think of a name change, we were still set on something simple and iconic and liked how the logo looked and felt. It reminded us a little of the logo to Jeff Smith's amazing graphic novel series Bone and we loved that so decided to keep the visual and simplicity.
I asked this of Platt: the heroes are, as seen now, teenagers. It's the classic 'killers coming because he is the storm, people making out' scenario. How did that come to be?
Well this comic at it's very initial stage came to be because I wanted something fun to draw while at the same time wanting something a little dark because I just don't have it in me to draw happy and bright images in action packed stories with heroes and superpowers. I like to read books with emotion and I like to see the artist through the work they create so I wanted to REALLY relate to the things I was drawing and have a personal stake in every aspect. When I started thinking out the story, I let it evolve naturally and let everything I love about films, comics, novels, and music since deep into it. I listened to alot of Nick Cave and the Bad Seed's Murder Ballads album while developing it and read through my favourite book, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, a few times. Just everything I loved I tried to put into it. So my world view and tastes are really injected deep into it. I've always been a big fan of slasher films with teenagers doing dumb and funny things and learned from taking a horror flim analysis class in University that the genre is perfect for making social commentaries, which was another thing I wanted to do. I wanted it to actually say something, and something personal, so that's why it's set in the world I grew up with, but discussed from my perspective after living elsewhere for 6 years.
Pray for Death's killer, Lawrence Reager, is an elf. Look closely at page one. He's drawn with pointy ears. There's snow in your comic. Is your killer an elf?
I don't want to give too much away. He COULD be an elf!
How did you get into comics? Writing, to be more specific.
I've drawn for as long as I can remember. I've always been interested in characters and creating them and making them feel real. I've always kept a backlog in my mind of story ideas for the characters I drew and have always felt storytelling is where I fit into this world. It wasn't until early this year after completing my Bachelor of Arts degree in film studies that I actually started making serious efforts at learning to tell stories through sequential art. I had taken alot of screenwriting classes and cinematography classes and felt I had the knowledge to finally do so. Luiza studied the same things at University and has written possibly more than I have so I brought her on board to help.
I've always read every book there is about sequential art storytelling including those by Will Eisner and Scott McCloud and finally decided instead of waiting for my art to be perfect before working on a comic (cause I always think it can be better) that I would just start. My skills developed while working on a project written by a great writer named Dave Schweitzer (who now creates some amazing skit comedy for his new production company called SkitComTV). Then I worked on a fun action packed story with time traveling volleyball babes written by the very talented and ambitious Joshua O'Neil and Justin Hughes. This is a project still in production. It may very likely be submitted to Zuda as well.
Top Ten Killers.
Toughest question yet. haha I'm not going to answer this as a writer or artist or anything but simply as a fan of cinema. Also these aren't in any particular order.
First HAS to be Frankenstein's creation from Mary Shelley's famous novel. The only film version of this character I will stand behind is Robert De Niro's. That film was the only one which captured the real themes of the novel.
The creatures from John Carpenter's The Thing.
The killers from the first Scream film directed by Wes Craven.
The very charming Freddy Krueger...
Michael Myers.
The killer in Se7en.
Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.
Captain Spaulding, Ottis Driftwood and Baby from The Devil's Rejects.
Top Ten comic books.
Gotham by Gaslight
The Killing Joke
That Yellow Bastard
Of course The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen
Anything Hellboy
Batman: Year 100
Bone
Scott Pilgrim
I liked the first storyline in American Virgin alot.
Thanks for your time Bryy. Best of luck to you and your blog and every other endeavor of yours!
Check bck on the 24th for Steve Bialik (ANGUS FRUMP KILLS CHRISTMAS). Oh, come on, of course you'll have time for the computer.
Where are you located?
I have been living in Toronto Ontario for 6 years now. I moved here from Canada's east coast when I was 18. Luiza [BLEED's co-author] has lived in Toronto Ontario for 13 years and moved here from Europe with her family when she was 11. A lot of my experiences with culture shock and moving from a small rural town to the country's largest city is written into my comic Bleed. It's a personal story about how these two places have affected my life and the misconceptions and misbeliefs each have about the other. More than anything, this story is a love letter to my home town disquised as a death threat.
Why Bleed as the name? It seems that you could of gone in many different directions naming-wise for a slasher comic, what makes this one stand out?
Originally the title was Blood. But that was registered already by Dark Horse comics as the Zuda staff brought to my attention. The reason we chose the name was because it spoke to a lot of the themes that were present in the story while at the same time alluding to the horrific content to come. Blood can mean family, it can mean bonds, and pacts, and of course literally it can mean a bloody mess. When we had to think of a name change, we were still set on something simple and iconic and liked how the logo looked and felt. It reminded us a little of the logo to Jeff Smith's amazing graphic novel series Bone and we loved that so decided to keep the visual and simplicity.
I asked this of Platt: the heroes are, as seen now, teenagers. It's the classic 'killers coming because he is the storm, people making out' scenario. How did that come to be?
Well this comic at it's very initial stage came to be because I wanted something fun to draw while at the same time wanting something a little dark because I just don't have it in me to draw happy and bright images in action packed stories with heroes and superpowers. I like to read books with emotion and I like to see the artist through the work they create so I wanted to REALLY relate to the things I was drawing and have a personal stake in every aspect. When I started thinking out the story, I let it evolve naturally and let everything I love about films, comics, novels, and music since deep into it. I listened to alot of Nick Cave and the Bad Seed's Murder Ballads album while developing it and read through my favourite book, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, a few times. Just everything I loved I tried to put into it. So my world view and tastes are really injected deep into it. I've always been a big fan of slasher films with teenagers doing dumb and funny things and learned from taking a horror flim analysis class in University that the genre is perfect for making social commentaries, which was another thing I wanted to do. I wanted it to actually say something, and something personal, so that's why it's set in the world I grew up with, but discussed from my perspective after living elsewhere for 6 years.
Pray for Death's killer, Lawrence Reager, is an elf. Look closely at page one. He's drawn with pointy ears. There's snow in your comic. Is your killer an elf?
I don't want to give too much away. He COULD be an elf!
How did you get into comics? Writing, to be more specific.
I've drawn for as long as I can remember. I've always been interested in characters and creating them and making them feel real. I've always kept a backlog in my mind of story ideas for the characters I drew and have always felt storytelling is where I fit into this world. It wasn't until early this year after completing my Bachelor of Arts degree in film studies that I actually started making serious efforts at learning to tell stories through sequential art. I had taken alot of screenwriting classes and cinematography classes and felt I had the knowledge to finally do so. Luiza studied the same things at University and has written possibly more than I have so I brought her on board to help.
I've always read every book there is about sequential art storytelling including those by Will Eisner and Scott McCloud and finally decided instead of waiting for my art to be perfect before working on a comic (cause I always think it can be better) that I would just start. My skills developed while working on a project written by a great writer named Dave Schweitzer (who now creates some amazing skit comedy for his new production company called SkitComTV). Then I worked on a fun action packed story with time traveling volleyball babes written by the very talented and ambitious Joshua O'Neil and Justin Hughes. This is a project still in production. It may very likely be submitted to Zuda as well.
Top Ten Killers.
Toughest question yet. haha I'm not going to answer this as a writer or artist or anything but simply as a fan of cinema. Also these aren't in any particular order.
First HAS to be Frankenstein's creation from Mary Shelley's famous novel. The only film version of this character I will stand behind is Robert De Niro's. That film was the only one which captured the real themes of the novel.
The creatures from John Carpenter's The Thing.
The killers from the first Scream film directed by Wes Craven.
The very charming Freddy Krueger...
Michael Myers.
The killer in Se7en.
Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.
Captain Spaulding, Ottis Driftwood and Baby from The Devil's Rejects.
Top Ten comic books.
Gotham by Gaslight
The Killing Joke
That Yellow Bastard
Of course The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen
Anything Hellboy
Batman: Year 100
Bone
Scott Pilgrim
I liked the first storyline in American Virgin alot.
Thanks for your time Bryy. Best of luck to you and your blog and every other endeavor of yours!
Check bck on the 24th for Steve Bialik (ANGUS FRUMP KILLS CHRISTMAS). Oh, come on, of course you'll have time for the computer.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Dear Zuda
Fix your site, please.
I'd like to be able to vote in next month's contest, not just read it.
In other news, my goddamn SECOND external hard drive screwed up tonight. Thank God I updated yesterday. I did not want to do all of that editing and writing over again - I had some good shit.
Guess what I'm spending my Christmas money on tomorrow?!
I'd like to be able to vote in next month's contest, not just read it.
In other news, my goddamn SECOND external hard drive screwed up tonight. Thank God I updated yesterday. I did not want to do all of that editing and writing over again - I had some good shit.
Guess what I'm spending my Christmas money on tomorrow?!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Another dumb teacher (aka Teachers: Making Sure America Runs Out Of Engineers at Some Point in History)
Months after that moron-teacher allowed her class to vote a possibly autistic student out of it, we get a teacher that sends her students to detention for using Linux.
This.... is horrendous. To think that we have people this uneducated left to teach our children.
I don't know about the school board, but a 15-year old that knows how to not only operate but teach a completely DIY operating system is nothing to be mad about.
This.... is horrendous. To think that we have people this uneducated left to teach our children.
I don't know about the school board, but a 15-year old that knows how to not only operate but teach a completely DIY operating system is nothing to be mad about.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Things I Did Today
- Back disabled me of any real productivity all day. Chiropractor not open. Guh.
- Edited. Well, some productive.
- Tried to get a hold of Nick and Gwen like crazy because of everything.
- Pondered life. Mainly if The Accountants is going to win this month's Zuda due to everyone out of commission for the holidays.
- Petted Tulip, my cat.
Oh, and appointed myself the czar of the Zuda Wiki.
- Edited. Well, some productive.
- Tried to get a hold of Nick and Gwen like crazy because of everything.
- Pondered life. Mainly if The Accountants is going to win this month's Zuda due to everyone out of commission for the holidays.
- Petted Tulip, my cat.
Oh, and appointed myself the czar of the Zuda Wiki.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
INTEREVIEWS: Daniel Furman & Nancy Leslie
Tonight, we have Daniel Furman and Nancy Leslie of A SINGLE SOUL.
Where are you guys located?
FURMAN: Most of the time planet earth. Boston... Texas...Prague...Mexico. We get around.
You seem like a heavily myth-based guy, Man of Fur. Is it just one way or do both of drink the mythological kool-aid?
FURMAN: Just me.
What is your favorite myth?
FURMAN: Norse but making a Thor comic might make Diamond think twice...
Which God is the real one?
String theory, emergent theory...
FURMAN: In that case, will the Large Hadron Collider kill us all? Those guys are Sweeds, so getting up there in your territory. Is Zeus coming back?
These questions are too big for me to tackle (except maybe in a comic).
How much research do you do and how much of it is your own? High Moon is amazingly detailed and researched, do you guys do something different. Does that work or do you ever get stuck, thinking "maybe I shouldn't do this"?
FURMAN: Not really. It's always looked at by me as a work of creation. I have to do a lot of research for my day job (art director/artist for licensed properties) and so does Nancy (User Interface Engineer) so we both just try to have fun when there is no one to answer to. Minimal research.
How do, you, Nancy, feel about the boy:girl ratio on Zuda and did this influence your decision to do a comic for it?
LESLIE: I know plenty of girls who read comics. Perhaps they will come out of hiding someday. Only real influence was I enjoy creating.
The naked stuff. Was that always there, did you throw it in as eye-candy, what's up with that?
FURMAN: The story is about 5 souls that are birthed into the physical world. Not sure how they could have had clothes.
As always, I wish these two luck. I apologize for the late delay, I was having panic attacks due to the camera, and then I edited my film (shock of all shocks) in order to calm down. Shaved an entire minute off.
TOP TEN: Best and Worst Video Games of 2008
Over on Sci-Fi.com, there's a huge boo-hoo-athon in the gaming world caused by Tom Chick's respective best of 2008 and worst of 2008 lists. Now, while I agree with some of these choices (MSG4), others (Far Cry 2 is his #1 Best?; Mass Effect is a port) are quite mindboggling.
So, since I was going to start doing Top Ten Lists to count down to 2009, what better way than to start with this?
Top Ten Best Video Games of 2008
10. Spore
It would be very easy to put this one in with the worst, but the amount of stuff you can make even without the downloadable content coming next year is awesome. I made a Jack O'Lantern tank.
9. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
A balanced fighter, add level editor, add achievements, add single player mode, add RPG party elements. Stir.
8. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World
In an RPG drought for Nintendo, this was a blessing. A brilliant story intertwined with a really great combat engine.
7. Prince of Persia
A game with an interesting feature: you can't die. Well, you can almost die, but are always saved by your companion. You almost die a lot in this one. It's a huge acrobatic simulation with a boss fight here and there. It also has one of the best and most risky endings ever, which is sure to piss off anyone that beats this game.
6. Wii Fit
Only during this era of high-technology can a series of exercises truly be considered a "video game".
5. Sonic the Hedgehog: The Dark Brotherhood
It's a Sonic RPG. Sounds kooky, but it is actually a perfect fit for the series' history and feel.
4. Dead Space
It's an FPS with absolutely no HUD. None. At all. And it works.
3. Rock Band 2
Get a bunch of friends together and not only play a fun multiplayer game, but rock out to all your favorite tunes.
2. World of Goo
An indy game where you have to blob together a certain number of balls of Goo in order to complete the level. Think Lemmings. Only stationary. If the goo/time/move limits don't get you, the physics engine will!
1. Fallout 3
I'll write a review of it later. But this has got to be the best RPG-FPS that I have ever played.
Top Ten Worst Video Games of 2008
10. Alone in the Dark
I'm sorry, where did you want the camera now? Oh, you want it where you can see what's going on? BUT THIS IS CINEMATIC. Oh wait, the story also has one of those "you are the bad guy" twists? Doesn't that completely invalidate the entire Alone series? NO. SHUT UP. YOU'RE NOT MY REAL FATHER.
9. Too Human
The hype for this game was astoundingly huge. The game itself was a simple CONTRA-type shooter.
8. Little Big Planet
You'd think that this and Spore would be switched. Sure, you can build a working computer in LBP, but at least Spore has a plot.
7. Grand Theft Auto 4
Oh, Rockstar. You can't make excessively violent games without the media hating you. You can't make excessively story-based violent games without your fans hating you... and the media hating you.
6. Infinite Undiscovery
Okay, Square, you've made your point with the weirdly named games.
5. Mercenaries 2
Playing this at Comic-Con was depressing. I thought the point of being a merc was that you didn't HAVE the authority to call in air strikes in order to fuck shit up.
4. Crysis: Warhead
Another Comic-Con bomb. Whereas Crysis was a fairly excellent first outing, this is just a Halo rip.
3. Mirror's Edge
That's right.
2. Metal Gear Solid 4
Whenever it seems that we can grasp games with a film atmosphere, fuckers like this come along and fuck it all up. It's not that it doesn't breach the film/game divide: it does. But then it just doesn't stop. It's the Great Glass Elevator and you guys forgot to push the green button. Say hello to the Vernicious Knids for me.
1. Far Cry 2
Besides the fact that you guys could of called this something completely different but just HAD to have your franchise, you ruined what could of been a very decent - not great but decent - game. That takes skill. I was awed by how huge your game world was, intensely populated by the same old shit as it was, and I love games that make you think you've seen everything, only to pull out the rug and reveal even more shit the same scope and size. But if you do that, please, for the love of God, allow me to KEEP my stuff that I had built up from Day One. The best way to kill interest in your already half-uninteresting game is to MAKE THE PLAYER START OVER FOR NO REASON AT ALL.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
INTERVIEWS: Radek Smektala & Janusz Ordon
Radek Smektala and Janusz Ordon are the writing/artistry team behind Hellbreak, currently in third place over on Zuda. You can check it out there or go to their new site, Hellbreakcomic.con; it should be up by the time you read this.
Where are you from?
JANUSZ: We're from Poland. I live in Warsaw currently, working at an animation studio and doing some freelance jobs.
RADEK: And I live in Wroclaw, designing games for cell-phones. Dating games mostly.
Why Zuda?
J: If an opportunity like Zuda exists, why make one's life harder?
R: Sure. And personally, I'm terrible at conducting business. The paperwork alone is enough to make my head spin.
J: Then there's a matter of an instant return on our investment--
R: Well, not on Zuda's investment, God bless them, but yeah, creative investment.
J: That's right, instant feedback. I believe it's much better for self-development to have these opinions right away. And the community is just wonderful.
R: Amen to that. Very open minded and helpful. But there's more to it. Zuda is a challenge. HellBreak is not some old project we have dusted off to put up on the site. It was designed specifically for the format.
J: Screen size and so on.
R: It affects the script as well. I kept the page limit in mind at all times, both when plotting out the whole story and as I was writing the first batch of screens. The idea was to give you a lot of plot and set everything up--
J: Let the reader know where the comic is going.
R. Yes. But at the same time, to leave many mysteries and end on a cliffhanger.
J: But a real cliffhanger, not "we've run out of pages" one.
R: Exactly. Hey, Janusz, do you know why Milton's daughter ended up in hell?
J: I know.
R: You know, but Bryy, do you? So, it's that kind of thing. There's the obvious "to be continued" hook, but also some little details that - I hope - will keep people interested.
J: Like Paris.
R: Aidan Paris, the "stinkin' rat". What's the story there, who is he? It's not a throw away character.
J: Yeah, but was that the question? I don't think it was.
R. Sorry, Bryy. The bottom line is, Zuda is not just a venue for us, it's a certain way of telling stories. And we're excited to play along.
What's the process like? How much of a creative partnership is it?
R: Janusz, I think I approached you with the concept at your place. You moved into a new apartment and there was much rejoicing.
J: Correct, I was still living in Wroclaw at the time. You told me about Zuda then.
R: And I pitched you HellBreak. It was one of those high concept things that could go either way.
J: But I was intrigued by it and asked you to write the prelude.
R. And I did. I wrote a script for eight pages, very detailed, but left most of the visual descriptions out.
J: You did? I don't think so.
R: No, I was very specific as to the kind of shots I'd like to see, sure. It was a full script, panels and all. But I told you to design the characters and hell any way you wish.
J: That's right, yes.
R: Then we sat down and discussed where the story should go next.
J: Radek had his ideas, I had mine.
R: So, the script is just me, but the story behind it is influenced by our conversations.
J: At least it will be, starting from page 9.
R: If the votes are good, uh-uh. Another matter is that the way Janusz draws this, there are some visual cues that inspire story developments. And characters.
J: To an extent.
R: I try not to interfere with Janusz's work. For example, Hegira was described as repulsive and had "a small piece of sharpened metal" to use as his weapon. I did not expect, however, that Janusz will make him the scariest con this side of Killer Croc, with a machete in his hands no less.
J: But you liked it.
R: Yes, because choices like these define the overall feel. Morphing rock was also Janusz's idea. So it's pretty much 50/50, yeah.
J: And the process is very smooth. I read the script very carefully and try to imagine each scene as if I was there. I work out how a character would act, what his or her facial expressions would be like, the gestures, and so on. I'm an animator, so I enjoy coming up with convincing ways for my characters to move in. I like to draw humans, especially human faces, and I try to clearly present emotional states through visuals. A raised brow, a small smirk, even perspective – every last detail counts when capturing feelings on-panel. I do a few sketches to see what works best, and once I'm happy with the result, I start chipping away on the final version.
Back at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, I paid a lot of attention to anatomy and did many, many life drawings. I have learned to work very fast and developed my skills to the point where I can freely realize my ideas. What remains is designing the shots, setting the scenes. And that's what I focus on.
R: Once I have the story – and that just sort of happens, ideas come and go as I mull them over and discuss with others – I set goals for myself. So, let's say I have eight screens, right? In those screens, I need to introduce characters A, B and C, set up the stakes, foreshadow this, hint at that, and so on. Then I think about the most effective way to achieve these goals in a limited number of scenes and just do my best. There's no magic in this, no secret ritual – that comes only with the finished product, if I have done my job. I consider myself a simple craftsman – that probably comes from my adventures as a freelance journalist, where you have a subject, a deadline, and off you go.
Do either of you watch Prison Break?
J: I don't watch TV much. I've heard of the show, obviously, but my inspiration comes from other places.
R: I do, although not religiously. If you're asking if it's been an influence, then I will have to say not really. I'm more into stealing from LOST.
On a more serious note though, I am aware that it reignited the interest in the genre. But the idea for HellBreak actually came from Dante's Inferno and my weird desire to turn it into an action thriller. The story morphed a lot in the meantime, so it's hardly recognizable from what it was when I pitched it to Janusz, but we kept Beatrice's name as a nod to Dante.
Follow up to the Prison Break question, since it is a show outlining how not to make a show called Prison Break: do you ever, have you ever watched something to learn what not to do? For instance, have you ever seen Navajo Talking Picture Story? Or anything like that?
R: Well, I have no aspirations to become a documentary filmmaker, so it never occurred to me to look at Navajo Talking Picture Story this way. But I know what you mean and why you chose this example. To answer your question, I don't actively seek out horrible stuff, but whenever I stumble upon some dismal piece of writing, I'm not likely to put it away. But I'm talking about the classics, like The Eye of Argon. Most bad stuff is just boring and it's better to learn from the good, in my opinion.
J: I guess that's true, yeah. When I see that something is bad, I just leave it. There's no point in absorbing too much drivel.
Are either of you religious, and if I could ask, how did that affect the story at all?
R: Regardless of my religious beliefs, I graduated literature at the University of Wroclaw, so I need to be able to see sacred writing - including the Bible - as text. And this particular text includes a lot of material we could borrow to build an interesting world for the reader.
J: I agree. Religious and mythological texts are a wonderful source of inspiration and there's no intention to offense anyone's feelings with HellBreak. I was raised in a Catholic family, but it does not affect the way I work on the comic at all.
Top Ten comic books.
J: The list is constantly changing, since each month some amazing book comes out, but if I were to list 10 comics that changed my life as a child, it would be these:
1 - Paul Gillon - Les Naufrages du temps (Lost in Time)
One of the first comics I ever bought. An unusual artist and a brilliant book. Besides, I love the way Gillon draws women.
2 - Simon Bisley - Judgment on Gotham
After getting this, I've decided not to go back to school until I redraw the comic on my own (I was 14 at the time). In the end, I failed to do both, but my skills developed.
3 - Todd McFarlane - Spawn
4 - Kent Williams & John J. Muth - Havok & Wolverine - Meltdown
5 - Enki Bilal - Le Sommeil du Monstre (A Dormant Beast)
6 - Various Artists - Batman Black & White (first volume)
7 - Jim Lee - all of his work on Punisher and X-Men
8 - Mark Texeira - The Punisher: The Unfriendly Skies
It was a short story, but the raw energy in Tex's art was intoxicating.
9 - Richard Corben - Den
10 - Simon Bisley - Lobo's Back
R: In no particular order: Y, THE LAST MAN. I love Brian K. Vaughan's work. and it's just such a beautiful, well written story. There's not a line in there that goes to waste.
SANDMAN, obviously. A very different kind of experience, in which we don't only follow Morpheus, but also Neil Gaiman, as he is finding his own voice.
WATCHMEN. That's a no-brainer. To me, it represents a perfect harmony between the writer and the artist. And the way it's designed, plot wise, is simply astonishing. Probably the best structure in any long-form comic I've ever read.
PREACHER. But what got me about this one is the emotion. The way the characters are written and interact with each other is probably one of the greatest achievement in comics.
BROKEN SAINTS, if you can still call it a comic. Not just the story, the whole project, with its community and the creators' devotion.
I have stopped reading ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN around the time Bagley left the team - I love Immonen, I just couldn't keep up financially - but it remains in my mind as the perfect superhero comic, expertly combining light-hearted adventures with drama.
From the same imprint, THE ULTIMATES, a very different kind of men-in-tights tale. For the first time in years, I really cared about many of these characters, mostly because it was clear that if anything were to happen to them, it would stick. And man, sh!t did happen.
WALKING DEAD. Kirkman is not afraid to kill his darlings and whatever he does, there is always great writing behind it. He also has the ability to make me feel uncomfortable with some things he does to the characters while still offering that little ray of hope.
On the art front, I'm deeply in love with Darwyn Cooke's style. I'll have to say SELINA'S BIG SCORE, then.
And finally, ANGUS FRUMP KILLS CHRISTMAS. Seriously. Probably the best humor comic I've read on Zuda (although I wish Steve Steiner's stuff would get more expousure).
Other than that, the proverbial many, many more - The Crow, Blankets, Mystery Play, Perry Bible Fellowship... The only thing I prefer to reading - be it comics, novels or screenplays - is writing.
Tomorrow, we have Daniel Furman & Nancy Leslie of A SINGLE SOUL.
No word back on Marty yet.
I should really review Fallout 3.
Where are you from?
JANUSZ: We're from Poland. I live in Warsaw currently, working at an animation studio and doing some freelance jobs.
RADEK: And I live in Wroclaw, designing games for cell-phones. Dating games mostly.
Why Zuda?
J: If an opportunity like Zuda exists, why make one's life harder?
R: Sure. And personally, I'm terrible at conducting business. The paperwork alone is enough to make my head spin.
J: Then there's a matter of an instant return on our investment--
R: Well, not on Zuda's investment, God bless them, but yeah, creative investment.
J: That's right, instant feedback. I believe it's much better for self-development to have these opinions right away. And the community is just wonderful.
R: Amen to that. Very open minded and helpful. But there's more to it. Zuda is a challenge. HellBreak is not some old project we have dusted off to put up on the site. It was designed specifically for the format.
J: Screen size and so on.
R: It affects the script as well. I kept the page limit in mind at all times, both when plotting out the whole story and as I was writing the first batch of screens. The idea was to give you a lot of plot and set everything up--
J: Let the reader know where the comic is going.
R. Yes. But at the same time, to leave many mysteries and end on a cliffhanger.
J: But a real cliffhanger, not "we've run out of pages" one.
R: Exactly. Hey, Janusz, do you know why Milton's daughter ended up in hell?
J: I know.
R: You know, but Bryy, do you? So, it's that kind of thing. There's the obvious "to be continued" hook, but also some little details that - I hope - will keep people interested.
J: Like Paris.
R: Aidan Paris, the "stinkin' rat". What's the story there, who is he? It's not a throw away character.
J: Yeah, but was that the question? I don't think it was.
R. Sorry, Bryy. The bottom line is, Zuda is not just a venue for us, it's a certain way of telling stories. And we're excited to play along.
What's the process like? How much of a creative partnership is it?
R: Janusz, I think I approached you with the concept at your place. You moved into a new apartment and there was much rejoicing.
J: Correct, I was still living in Wroclaw at the time. You told me about Zuda then.
R: And I pitched you HellBreak. It was one of those high concept things that could go either way.
J: But I was intrigued by it and asked you to write the prelude.
R. And I did. I wrote a script for eight pages, very detailed, but left most of the visual descriptions out.
J: You did? I don't think so.
R: No, I was very specific as to the kind of shots I'd like to see, sure. It was a full script, panels and all. But I told you to design the characters and hell any way you wish.
J: That's right, yes.
R: Then we sat down and discussed where the story should go next.
J: Radek had his ideas, I had mine.
R: So, the script is just me, but the story behind it is influenced by our conversations.
J: At least it will be, starting from page 9.
R: If the votes are good, uh-uh. Another matter is that the way Janusz draws this, there are some visual cues that inspire story developments. And characters.
J: To an extent.
R: I try not to interfere with Janusz's work. For example, Hegira was described as repulsive and had "a small piece of sharpened metal" to use as his weapon. I did not expect, however, that Janusz will make him the scariest con this side of Killer Croc, with a machete in his hands no less.
J: But you liked it.
R: Yes, because choices like these define the overall feel. Morphing rock was also Janusz's idea. So it's pretty much 50/50, yeah.
J: And the process is very smooth. I read the script very carefully and try to imagine each scene as if I was there. I work out how a character would act, what his or her facial expressions would be like, the gestures, and so on. I'm an animator, so I enjoy coming up with convincing ways for my characters to move in. I like to draw humans, especially human faces, and I try to clearly present emotional states through visuals. A raised brow, a small smirk, even perspective – every last detail counts when capturing feelings on-panel. I do a few sketches to see what works best, and once I'm happy with the result, I start chipping away on the final version.
Back at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, I paid a lot of attention to anatomy and did many, many life drawings. I have learned to work very fast and developed my skills to the point where I can freely realize my ideas. What remains is designing the shots, setting the scenes. And that's what I focus on.
R: Once I have the story – and that just sort of happens, ideas come and go as I mull them over and discuss with others – I set goals for myself. So, let's say I have eight screens, right? In those screens, I need to introduce characters A, B and C, set up the stakes, foreshadow this, hint at that, and so on. Then I think about the most effective way to achieve these goals in a limited number of scenes and just do my best. There's no magic in this, no secret ritual – that comes only with the finished product, if I have done my job. I consider myself a simple craftsman – that probably comes from my adventures as a freelance journalist, where you have a subject, a deadline, and off you go.
Do either of you watch Prison Break?
J: I don't watch TV much. I've heard of the show, obviously, but my inspiration comes from other places.
R: I do, although not religiously. If you're asking if it's been an influence, then I will have to say not really. I'm more into stealing from LOST.
On a more serious note though, I am aware that it reignited the interest in the genre. But the idea for HellBreak actually came from Dante's Inferno and my weird desire to turn it into an action thriller. The story morphed a lot in the meantime, so it's hardly recognizable from what it was when I pitched it to Janusz, but we kept Beatrice's name as a nod to Dante.
Follow up to the Prison Break question, since it is a show outlining how not to make a show called Prison Break: do you ever, have you ever watched something to learn what not to do? For instance, have you ever seen Navajo Talking Picture Story? Or anything like that?
R: Well, I have no aspirations to become a documentary filmmaker, so it never occurred to me to look at Navajo Talking Picture Story this way. But I know what you mean and why you chose this example. To answer your question, I don't actively seek out horrible stuff, but whenever I stumble upon some dismal piece of writing, I'm not likely to put it away. But I'm talking about the classics, like The Eye of Argon. Most bad stuff is just boring and it's better to learn from the good, in my opinion.
J: I guess that's true, yeah. When I see that something is bad, I just leave it. There's no point in absorbing too much drivel.
Are either of you religious, and if I could ask, how did that affect the story at all?
R: Regardless of my religious beliefs, I graduated literature at the University of Wroclaw, so I need to be able to see sacred writing - including the Bible - as text. And this particular text includes a lot of material we could borrow to build an interesting world for the reader.
J: I agree. Religious and mythological texts are a wonderful source of inspiration and there's no intention to offense anyone's feelings with HellBreak. I was raised in a Catholic family, but it does not affect the way I work on the comic at all.
Top Ten comic books.
J: The list is constantly changing, since each month some amazing book comes out, but if I were to list 10 comics that changed my life as a child, it would be these:
1 - Paul Gillon - Les Naufrages du temps (Lost in Time)
One of the first comics I ever bought. An unusual artist and a brilliant book. Besides, I love the way Gillon draws women.
2 - Simon Bisley - Judgment on Gotham
After getting this, I've decided not to go back to school until I redraw the comic on my own (I was 14 at the time). In the end, I failed to do both, but my skills developed.
3 - Todd McFarlane - Spawn
4 - Kent Williams & John J. Muth - Havok & Wolverine - Meltdown
5 - Enki Bilal - Le Sommeil du Monstre (A Dormant Beast)
6 - Various Artists - Batman Black & White (first volume)
7 - Jim Lee - all of his work on Punisher and X-Men
8 - Mark Texeira - The Punisher: The Unfriendly Skies
It was a short story, but the raw energy in Tex's art was intoxicating.
9 - Richard Corben - Den
10 - Simon Bisley - Lobo's Back
R: In no particular order: Y, THE LAST MAN. I love Brian K. Vaughan's work. and it's just such a beautiful, well written story. There's not a line in there that goes to waste.
SANDMAN, obviously. A very different kind of experience, in which we don't only follow Morpheus, but also Neil Gaiman, as he is finding his own voice.
WATCHMEN. That's a no-brainer. To me, it represents a perfect harmony between the writer and the artist. And the way it's designed, plot wise, is simply astonishing. Probably the best structure in any long-form comic I've ever read.
PREACHER. But what got me about this one is the emotion. The way the characters are written and interact with each other is probably one of the greatest achievement in comics.
BROKEN SAINTS, if you can still call it a comic. Not just the story, the whole project, with its community and the creators' devotion.
I have stopped reading ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN around the time Bagley left the team - I love Immonen, I just couldn't keep up financially - but it remains in my mind as the perfect superhero comic, expertly combining light-hearted adventures with drama.
From the same imprint, THE ULTIMATES, a very different kind of men-in-tights tale. For the first time in years, I really cared about many of these characters, mostly because it was clear that if anything were to happen to them, it would stick. And man, sh!t did happen.
WALKING DEAD. Kirkman is not afraid to kill his darlings and whatever he does, there is always great writing behind it. He also has the ability to make me feel uncomfortable with some things he does to the characters while still offering that little ray of hope.
On the art front, I'm deeply in love with Darwyn Cooke's style. I'll have to say SELINA'S BIG SCORE, then.
And finally, ANGUS FRUMP KILLS CHRISTMAS. Seriously. Probably the best humor comic I've read on Zuda (although I wish Steve Steiner's stuff would get more expousure).
Other than that, the proverbial many, many more - The Crow, Blankets, Mystery Play, Perry Bible Fellowship... The only thing I prefer to reading - be it comics, novels or screenplays - is writing.
Tomorrow, we have Daniel Furman & Nancy Leslie of A SINGLE SOUL.
No word back on Marty yet.
I should really review Fallout 3.
Marty
I took Marty McFly into the camera shop on Friday. They said they would call on Saturday. I just called them and left a message.
Mom joked that they sold it.
Fun.
Mom joked that they sold it.
Fun.
Monday, December 8, 2008
INTERVIEWS: Cedric Poulat & Luc Poets
Today is French Day on the blog.
We have Luc Poets (CAZTAR)and Cedric Poulat (JULIETTE: WORST VAMPIRE EVER), two of this month's international competitors.
Cedric Poulat
Where are you located?
In a small city in France, called Bourgoin-jallieu...
Why vampires?
mostly it's fashionable.... no i'm kidding. It's because I decided to do something else than the typical vampire legends. Also I've done lots of things about vampires those last months; so.....as Juliette was done in the month of October.... that was pretty much the same period.
Why this specific type of vampire? Juliette's got more in common with Edward Cullen from Twilight than Bela Lugosi. What was the idea behind it? Is Juliette a statement?
That's here the problem is: I took (for this comic) 4 pages to explain that all the things we know about vampires are wrong; then it's normal if people think that she doesn't sound like a vampire. Because everyone stayed on those old "clichés".
I just kept the "need to drink blood" stuff; and also her immortality.
But it's most about a light comedy than other things.
Lots of people talk me about Buffy... but there's no links.; no links at all, she's no vampire killer, and the storytelling has nothing in common !
The story focus on HER life as a TEENAGER, but who is a vampire, not in her life AS vampire. This is not the same thing. The story popped in my mind like that; again, some people think the story could work without the vampire element.
This is wrong.
If I canceled the vampire element, I couldn't have wrote the main plot. and some of the strip couldn't have been written that way; and i don't even talk about the story in her globality....
You're in France, so obviously there are different vampire myths than in America. What is your favorite vampire myth?
No. Vampire myth is the same everywhere: garlic, cross, holly water, blood, dying at light..... that's no urban legend, but myth. There's always variations; but in fact everyone know about the main things... I have no particular favorite myth.
I tend to prefer when vampire are made in a .... "royal way", not as cowards and stupid, haunted animals.
How did you hear about Zuda?
At the the DC talent search during San Diego Comic-Con.
Top Ten Comics.
1-new x-men, grant morrison
2-astonishing x-men; whedon
3-ultimate spider-man
4-identity crisis
5-infinite crisis
6-batman,detective comics -Dini's only
7-preacher
8-the autorithy -especailly Millar's ones
9-teen titans (post crisis)
10-witchblade -Ron marz ones.
Luc Poets
What were your influences?
I've got my influences (of course) from the Belgian and French artist out the 80s.
Franquin, Walthéry, Herman, Roba... also from the french direction, Giraud, Uderzo... The 'dashing line' (I don't know how you say that in English) but it's certain not 'the clear line' of Hergé 'Kuifje'. I love the artistic way of drawing with the pencil. When I was 14 years a friend of mine got the magazine, MAD. I'm a great fan of Don Martin. The joke are so stupid and dry, great work and unique style. I can only dream to make jokes like that.
How did the idea come about?
I looked at the market to try to find what is not made in the comic-industry.
It must be a easy comic with not too many details.
I earn my living as a graphic designer. The comic work is for the after-hours. So a one-page-joke is a good deal for me. You can make that in a relative short time. A comic of 42 pages is a work of 2 years.
Joke with different settings hold my interest.
So a simple comic with simple settings, 'Back to Basic'! No clothes, no buildings or streets, just a desert. That's cool. But a caveman is already used. But not in the future. The story takes place after the second Big Bang. Just like after the first Big Bang, all sort of crazy events have arisen. It’s a funny projection of how cocksure and selfish people are today. The humankind has to start at zero, back at the basics.
But it must be made for a wide range of people, that's why I chose for a style comic and not for a alternative underground style (I don't know how you say that in English).
DC or Marvel?
I'm sorry, but I cannot say much about these two publishing firms. For me they are all two similar. They make fantastic comics of superheros in the American style. Spectacular scenes with amazing perspectives. But the content is always the same, the good against the bad guys. The style of comics is different here in Europe and the scene is wide. So I don'tread much of those comics. I know my style of comics does not fit in Marvel of DC. Now with Caztar in the Zuda- competition, is it a interesting confrontation with all the comments from the American fans about my comic.
Next up: Radek Smektala and Janusz Ordon.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
INTERVIEWS: Chuck Collins & Dean Hsieh
It's that time again.
Tonight, we have two guest.... interviews. Yes, five guest interviews. One of which is Demetrius Collins, who unfortunately got his answers in after I had already written up the thing.
Chuck Collins
I live in Queens now, but i was born and raised in East Flatbush Brooklyn. To be honest, one day me, Keith, and a bunch of friends had a hang out session where we all spoke about our past relationships and dating disasters. There were so funny stories that we told ourselves that we should create a comic book about them. Living in a city like a New York, you're bound to have a few crazy stories. We named it TriBoro Tales because all of the stories take place in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Keith is one of the most talented writers i know. So when we came up with the concept i just started drawing out the characters and they began to take a life of their own. Mostly cause they are based on our experiences. Keith captured their personalities so well. We spent a lot of time brain storming the stories. It was a real challenge because we had to be able to introduce the characters, be funny, and tell a sensible story in 8 pages. But we're getting that hang of it. As far as the art style, I wanted something simple yet expressive. I never really worked in comics. I hail from the world of animation, i've worked in animation for about 7 years. So it was a weird transition to come from that and go into comics. I'm still finding my way with it. Anyone who's seen my work before knows how crazy i get with detail, but i choose to tone it down a bit on Tri-Boro. A lot of the art style also has to do with music. I listen to wide range of music from Progressive Metal like Meshuggah to Indie Hip Hop like Nikolay and Little Brother. On TriBoro I listen to a lot of early 90s-early 2000s Hip Hop. Not the ridiculous booty shaking nonsense on BET, but more of the conscious and lyrically driven Hip Hop. The Underground culture in NYC is HUGE. I have the pleasure of running with that crowd and getting to see the music in its most raw state. This is the reason why we decided to have Gabe, the main character, be a DJ. We want to explore that element and let people see a side of NYC that everyone thought was dead.
As far as some of the panels where the characters are drawn different, its like Keith said...its our homage to the man called Kirby.
I've been in love. A few times actually. I think everyone should be in love at one time or another in their lives. Not because of the "bliss" and satisfaction of being with someone. But because you realize things about yourself that you didn't know before. Things like how much you love yourself, or what your capable of, or revealing things that you didn't know you were capable of.
Thats about it. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.
Dean Hsieh
Where are you from?
Originally born and raised in Taiwan, and then spent my teenage years in Texas. Now residing in Austin, Texas, with my wife and two kids.
What was the basis for Aeon? Why zombies? Had you seen Zuda before, and noticed the plethora of supernatural-based comics on there? Celadore, Blood Hunter, even a Serial Killing Elf that hates God. What was the final decision like? What do you feel you can bring to the table of Halloween Hijinks?
I have been tossing the idea for "Aeon of the Dead" in my head for a long time, just trying to combine different things that I enjoy: post-apocalyptic tales, undead monsters, cool samurai and western films, and science fiction that speaks about the human conditions of present-day society. It's really a very sprawling story that I have in mind, sort of an epic road movie with a sci-fi twist and a lot of character-driven stuff. The first eight pages really only serve to introduce the main character and give you an idea of the setting. I think the way I approach my stories are a little different from a lot of the recent action/horror stuff which has been more plot-driven and serious, my writing is usually more character-driven and I like to throw in some humor and just more quirky ideas, or at least I try. I honestly didn't really know that much about Zuda when I submitted, this was just the story I had been working on, the truth is I didn't even know there was going to be payment for just being in the competition! I feel good that they accepted my entry and I'm hoping for the best.
Favorite zombie film?
I always feel put on the spot with the "favorite" questions, because I enjoy a lot of different kinds of stuff and it's not about "favorites" for me really. I'll say the usual suspects: Romero (original Dawn all the way), Raimi's Evil Dead series, and as for the newer stuff probably Shaun of the Dead and 28 Days Later even though I'm going to get crucified since its not technically a "zombie" movie, but I don't think my comic will be technically a "zombie" comic either.
The people that complain about fast zombies not being zombies are the same people that Geeks That Don't Get Laid make fun of for never getting laid.
Hey right on. You took the words right out of my mouth.
When did you decide to write?
Same as most comic artists I always drew little characters since I was a kid and imagined little stories to go with my drawings, but I guess I didn't start to get serious about writing until I wrote and drew my first comic series, Athena, back in the nineties.
What was your imaginary friend?
Didn't have one, I think the characters in the comics and books that I read were my imaginary friends.
What is your Zombie Plan?
Straight to a Wal-Mart and fight my way in, they've got guns, canned goods, everything you need. Or maybe a Sam's Club 'cause my dad works there. But honestly, I haven't put much thought into it, we're probably all fucked anyway if it really happened.
Top Ten Comic Books.
I started to make a mental list but there are just too many creators and books that I love and enjoy for different reasons so the list would be a mile long.
Check back tomorrow for Luc Poets and Cedric Poulat.
Tonight, we have two guest.... interviews. Yes, five guest interviews. One of which is Demetrius Collins, who unfortunately got his answers in after I had already written up the thing.
Chuck Collins
I live in Queens now, but i was born and raised in East Flatbush Brooklyn. To be honest, one day me, Keith, and a bunch of friends had a hang out session where we all spoke about our past relationships and dating disasters. There were so funny stories that we told ourselves that we should create a comic book about them. Living in a city like a New York, you're bound to have a few crazy stories. We named it TriBoro Tales because all of the stories take place in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Keith is one of the most talented writers i know. So when we came up with the concept i just started drawing out the characters and they began to take a life of their own. Mostly cause they are based on our experiences. Keith captured their personalities so well. We spent a lot of time brain storming the stories. It was a real challenge because we had to be able to introduce the characters, be funny, and tell a sensible story in 8 pages. But we're getting that hang of it. As far as the art style, I wanted something simple yet expressive. I never really worked in comics. I hail from the world of animation, i've worked in animation for about 7 years. So it was a weird transition to come from that and go into comics. I'm still finding my way with it. Anyone who's seen my work before knows how crazy i get with detail, but i choose to tone it down a bit on Tri-Boro. A lot of the art style also has to do with music. I listen to wide range of music from Progressive Metal like Meshuggah to Indie Hip Hop like Nikolay and Little Brother. On TriBoro I listen to a lot of early 90s-early 2000s Hip Hop. Not the ridiculous booty shaking nonsense on BET, but more of the conscious and lyrically driven Hip Hop. The Underground culture in NYC is HUGE. I have the pleasure of running with that crowd and getting to see the music in its most raw state. This is the reason why we decided to have Gabe, the main character, be a DJ. We want to explore that element and let people see a side of NYC that everyone thought was dead.
As far as some of the panels where the characters are drawn different, its like Keith said...its our homage to the man called Kirby.
I've been in love. A few times actually. I think everyone should be in love at one time or another in their lives. Not because of the "bliss" and satisfaction of being with someone. But because you realize things about yourself that you didn't know before. Things like how much you love yourself, or what your capable of, or revealing things that you didn't know you were capable of.
Thats about it. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.
Dean Hsieh
Where are you from?
Originally born and raised in Taiwan, and then spent my teenage years in Texas. Now residing in Austin, Texas, with my wife and two kids.
What was the basis for Aeon? Why zombies? Had you seen Zuda before, and noticed the plethora of supernatural-based comics on there? Celadore, Blood Hunter, even a Serial Killing Elf that hates God. What was the final decision like? What do you feel you can bring to the table of Halloween Hijinks?
I have been tossing the idea for "Aeon of the Dead" in my head for a long time, just trying to combine different things that I enjoy: post-apocalyptic tales, undead monsters, cool samurai and western films, and science fiction that speaks about the human conditions of present-day society. It's really a very sprawling story that I have in mind, sort of an epic road movie with a sci-fi twist and a lot of character-driven stuff. The first eight pages really only serve to introduce the main character and give you an idea of the setting. I think the way I approach my stories are a little different from a lot of the recent action/horror stuff which has been more plot-driven and serious, my writing is usually more character-driven and I like to throw in some humor and just more quirky ideas, or at least I try. I honestly didn't really know that much about Zuda when I submitted, this was just the story I had been working on, the truth is I didn't even know there was going to be payment for just being in the competition! I feel good that they accepted my entry and I'm hoping for the best.
Favorite zombie film?
I always feel put on the spot with the "favorite" questions, because I enjoy a lot of different kinds of stuff and it's not about "favorites" for me really. I'll say the usual suspects: Romero (original Dawn all the way), Raimi's Evil Dead series, and as for the newer stuff probably Shaun of the Dead and 28 Days Later even though I'm going to get crucified since its not technically a "zombie" movie, but I don't think my comic will be technically a "zombie" comic either.
The people that complain about fast zombies not being zombies are the same people that Geeks That Don't Get Laid make fun of for never getting laid.
Hey right on. You took the words right out of my mouth.
When did you decide to write?
Same as most comic artists I always drew little characters since I was a kid and imagined little stories to go with my drawings, but I guess I didn't start to get serious about writing until I wrote and drew my first comic series, Athena, back in the nineties.
What was your imaginary friend?
Didn't have one, I think the characters in the comics and books that I read were my imaginary friends.
What is your Zombie Plan?
Straight to a Wal-Mart and fight my way in, they've got guns, canned goods, everything you need. Or maybe a Sam's Club 'cause my dad works there. But honestly, I haven't put much thought into it, we're probably all fucked anyway if it really happened.
Top Ten Comic Books.
I started to make a mental list but there are just too many creators and books that I love and enjoy for different reasons so the list would be a mile long.
Check back tomorrow for Luc Poets and Cedric Poulat.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
INTERVIEWS: Keith Miller & Spencer Platt
Tonight, we have two Zuda Interviews.
Keith Collins of Tri-Boro tales and Spencer Platt of Non-Exertus-12.
First up, Keith Collins:
Where are you guys located? The city?
Chuck hails from Queens, NY. I'm living in Brooklyn. We were both born and pretty much raised Brooklynites.
What was the basis for Tri-Boro? I almost feel foolish in asking this, but is it at least in a small part autobiographical?
To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, all good books have one thing in common, they're truer, better, than if they really happened. That's just a really nice way of saying a lot of these stories are semi-autobiographical. Growing up in New York, being artists, writers, just plain living the day-to-day grind you find yourself in a mixed bag. Everything about how we live in NYC, if you're open to the experience is eclectic. We try to express some of that variety nonchalantly. Truth is stranger than fiction and given the opportunity on Zuda, we have some strange truths to share with you.
The characters all seem wonderfully different, especially our presumable lead female in the last panel. What's the writing procedure like?
For the most part I have a loose outline of where we need to be story-wise. Chuck and I aree before hand on the story beats and how things will unfold with the characters. I go away to my dungeon... really, a coffee shop [any one will do but I'm partial to the Tea Lounge in Brooklyn] and I'll just bang away at the keys. I try to let the character speak for themselves and in a way it's easy to do because I'm familiar with the type of characters I write. I don't want to give away any secrets here, but mainly, if you pay attention people usually play to a certain "type" fundamentally we're all the same, individually we have our wonderful quirks. I play on those quirks.
The lead female is fun because she's the idealized Grrl of your dreams, the one MC Chris raps about, Bukowski spurns yet desperately needs, she's that girl that was your best friend and then that one night you cross pass the friendship line.
Did the art style come naturally, or did it go through a lot of forms? There are a lot of city comics, a lot of disgruntled and hipster youth comics, both in print and on the web, and even on Zuda. And there's one panel where one of the girls looks drastically different from every other panel. How did you come up with the style?
The art style:
That's all Chuck. We're both manga heads going back to Izo Hashimoto and Katsushido Otomo's Akira, Osamu Tezuka's Buddha series, a few really good classics like Fist of the North Star, Baoh, Appleseed, Macross, Crying Freeman, Ninja Scroll, to name a few. I follow Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond series and Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal. There's an unabiding love for manga over here in the TriBoro camp. In fact, we go as far back at Tokyo Video, [New York heads in the know from way back will know exactly what I mean.]
While manga completely blew us away in our formative years, we had a steady diet of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, Sr and Jr.., Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, Kurt Busiek, Neal Adams, Arthur Adams, Charles Vess, Micheal Zulli, Jill Thompson, Sam Kieth, the list goes on.
The short answer is... chuck's an animator influenced by a wide visual spectrum. We chose this style to tell the story because it was most expressive and we felt engaging for what would basically be a talkie-book.
The conceit behind the panel change is introducing new and important characters as they unfold in the story. It's a serious heartfelt shout-out to Jack Kirby.
As for disgruntled hipster youth comics... Meh. I don't like the aesthetic of anger and disgust for its own sake. The best thing about reading Harvey Pekar, is despite his disgust at the everyday mundane, there's always a little insight and glimpse of truth. Nothing major, nothing Earth shattering, just human.He peels away the layers, we get a litle uncomfortable and then we go oh.
Who do I read and enjoy, Craig Thompson, Jamie Delano, Alex Robinson, Fred Van Lente, Jim Mahfood. Then they're the really big boys: Kyle Baker, Greg Rucka, Brian Micheal Bendis, Warren Ellis [I suck at the teat of Ellis], Alan moore, Garth Ennis and Neil Gaiman.
Have you ever been in love yourself?
Hmmm. I don't know what to make of this question.
TriBoro Tales is not a book about Stripe-Shirt types with monumental egos with their libidos on display. The core story thread, when you look past the anecdotes, is about dealing with personal insecurities and overcoming past social traumas. Gabe is on a journey, as well as Suga and Tone and the rest of the characters we have not met yet.
Do I look in the mirror and gaze upon the splendor of my beauty? No. I look to find out who's staring back at me.
The best musical reference to this book would be Carly Simon's, "You're So Vain."
" I bet you think this song is about you, don't you? Don't you?"
Thanks for giving me a minute on the soap box.
Spencer Platt:
Where are you from?
San Jose, California.
Why did you pick who you did for your protagonists? Why teens? Is it a survival of the fittest thing?
I'll answer the second question first, they are not teens.
Why I created Wade and Merit, well for starters alien body snatcher stories have been done many times before and I needed to bring a different style and look to the subject. Comic book characters need to be recognizable to market them, men in suits or military uniforms I didn't feel would achieve my goal. I'm very happy with their design. Also, I chose to create a big brother/ little brother relationship between the two characters, because its easy to relate to. Last, I wanted them to be fun characters, because helps to offset the violence and gore.
Your thoughts on Independence Day, and will you see The Day The Earth Stood Still?
I loved Independence Day when it came out, but I haven't seen in years.
If get a chance I'd like to see The Day The Earth Stood Still
Why Zuda? Why not self-publish?
I heard about ZUDA at the 2007 SD Comic-com. I thought it sounded like a great way to get some exposure in the comic book industry, so I quickly drew Agent Happydeath. Agent Happydeath did not fair well, but I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot. So I decided to do another.
Did you attend SDCC08, and did you go to the Zuda panel or stop by the ultra-cool "we don't have enough room for you yet, make some money for daddy first" booth?
Yes, I was there and I snagged some postcards.
As far the booth goes, I don't think many artists would complain about sitting in a DC booth.
What's your job outside of all of this?
Office manager of an Air Conditioning Company and father of 4 girls.
DC or Marvel. Right now. Decide.
DC - Vertigo.
What are your top ten comics?
The Goon, 100 Bullets, Hellboy, Sin City, Casanova, Fell, Umbrella Academy, 30 Days of Night, Detective Comics, Runaways
Have you read anything else by Steve Niles? The other books in 30 Day series?
Yes, most of them. I also enjoyed the Criminal Macabre by Niles and Templesmith.
I'd like to thank both of them, and good luck to each.
Keith Collins of Tri-Boro tales and Spencer Platt of Non-Exertus-12.
First up, Keith Collins:
Where are you guys located? The city?
Chuck hails from Queens, NY. I'm living in Brooklyn. We were both born and pretty much raised Brooklynites.
What was the basis for Tri-Boro? I almost feel foolish in asking this, but is it at least in a small part autobiographical?
To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, all good books have one thing in common, they're truer, better, than if they really happened. That's just a really nice way of saying a lot of these stories are semi-autobiographical. Growing up in New York, being artists, writers, just plain living the day-to-day grind you find yourself in a mixed bag. Everything about how we live in NYC, if you're open to the experience is eclectic. We try to express some of that variety nonchalantly. Truth is stranger than fiction and given the opportunity on Zuda, we have some strange truths to share with you.
The characters all seem wonderfully different, especially our presumable lead female in the last panel. What's the writing procedure like?
For the most part I have a loose outline of where we need to be story-wise. Chuck and I aree before hand on the story beats and how things will unfold with the characters. I go away to my dungeon... really, a coffee shop [any one will do but I'm partial to the Tea Lounge in Brooklyn] and I'll just bang away at the keys. I try to let the character speak for themselves and in a way it's easy to do because I'm familiar with the type of characters I write. I don't want to give away any secrets here, but mainly, if you pay attention people usually play to a certain "type" fundamentally we're all the same, individually we have our wonderful quirks. I play on those quirks.
The lead female is fun because she's the idealized Grrl of your dreams, the one MC Chris raps about, Bukowski spurns yet desperately needs, she's that girl that was your best friend and then that one night you cross pass the friendship line.
Did the art style come naturally, or did it go through a lot of forms? There are a lot of city comics, a lot of disgruntled and hipster youth comics, both in print and on the web, and even on Zuda. And there's one panel where one of the girls looks drastically different from every other panel. How did you come up with the style?
The art style:
That's all Chuck. We're both manga heads going back to Izo Hashimoto and Katsushido Otomo's Akira, Osamu Tezuka's Buddha series, a few really good classics like Fist of the North Star, Baoh, Appleseed, Macross, Crying Freeman, Ninja Scroll, to name a few. I follow Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond series and Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal. There's an unabiding love for manga over here in the TriBoro camp. In fact, we go as far back at Tokyo Video, [New York heads in the know from way back will know exactly what I mean.]
While manga completely blew us away in our formative years, we had a steady diet of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, Sr and Jr.., Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, Kurt Busiek, Neal Adams, Arthur Adams, Charles Vess, Micheal Zulli, Jill Thompson, Sam Kieth, the list goes on.
The short answer is... chuck's an animator influenced by a wide visual spectrum. We chose this style to tell the story because it was most expressive and we felt engaging for what would basically be a talkie-book.
The conceit behind the panel change is introducing new and important characters as they unfold in the story. It's a serious heartfelt shout-out to Jack Kirby.
As for disgruntled hipster youth comics... Meh. I don't like the aesthetic of anger and disgust for its own sake. The best thing about reading Harvey Pekar, is despite his disgust at the everyday mundane, there's always a little insight and glimpse of truth. Nothing major, nothing Earth shattering, just human.He peels away the layers, we get a litle uncomfortable and then we go oh.
Who do I read and enjoy, Craig Thompson, Jamie Delano, Alex Robinson, Fred Van Lente, Jim Mahfood. Then they're the really big boys: Kyle Baker, Greg Rucka, Brian Micheal Bendis, Warren Ellis [I suck at the teat of Ellis], Alan moore, Garth Ennis and Neil Gaiman.
Have you ever been in love yourself?
Hmmm. I don't know what to make of this question.
TriBoro Tales is not a book about Stripe-Shirt types with monumental egos with their libidos on display. The core story thread, when you look past the anecdotes, is about dealing with personal insecurities and overcoming past social traumas. Gabe is on a journey, as well as Suga and Tone and the rest of the characters we have not met yet.
Do I look in the mirror and gaze upon the splendor of my beauty? No. I look to find out who's staring back at me.
The best musical reference to this book would be Carly Simon's, "You're So Vain."
" I bet you think this song is about you, don't you? Don't you?"
Thanks for giving me a minute on the soap box.
Spencer Platt:
Where are you from?
San Jose, California.
Why did you pick who you did for your protagonists? Why teens? Is it a survival of the fittest thing?
I'll answer the second question first, they are not teens.
Why I created Wade and Merit, well for starters alien body snatcher stories have been done many times before and I needed to bring a different style and look to the subject. Comic book characters need to be recognizable to market them, men in suits or military uniforms I didn't feel would achieve my goal. I'm very happy with their design. Also, I chose to create a big brother/ little brother relationship between the two characters, because its easy to relate to. Last, I wanted them to be fun characters, because helps to offset the violence and gore.
Your thoughts on Independence Day, and will you see The Day The Earth Stood Still?
I loved Independence Day when it came out, but I haven't seen in years.
If get a chance I'd like to see The Day The Earth Stood Still
Why Zuda? Why not self-publish?
I heard about ZUDA at the 2007 SD Comic-com. I thought it sounded like a great way to get some exposure in the comic book industry, so I quickly drew Agent Happydeath. Agent Happydeath did not fair well, but I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot. So I decided to do another.
Did you attend SDCC08, and did you go to the Zuda panel or stop by the ultra-cool "we don't have enough room for you yet, make some money for daddy first" booth?
Yes, I was there and I snagged some postcards.
As far the booth goes, I don't think many artists would complain about sitting in a DC booth.
What's your job outside of all of this?
Office manager of an Air Conditioning Company and father of 4 girls.
DC or Marvel. Right now. Decide.
DC - Vertigo.
What are your top ten comics?
The Goon, 100 Bullets, Hellboy, Sin City, Casanova, Fell, Umbrella Academy, 30 Days of Night, Detective Comics, Runaways
Have you read anything else by Steve Niles? The other books in 30 Day series?
Yes, most of them. I also enjoyed the Criminal Macabre by Niles and Templesmith.
I'd like to thank both of them, and good luck to each.
Desert Bus for Massive Damage
Desert Bus ended at exactly 11pm PST last night (it's weird that British Colombia is on the same time as my state in a different country). The stream went down at 11:15pm PST.
They ended up raising $69,476.00.
They ended up raising $69,476.00.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Zuda Mini-Reviews: December
It's the most wonderful time of the year again.
Yes, that was a pun.
As I sit here and write this, on the eve of the Post-Black Friday Christmas Season, I am currently broken of money. I realize that it's cool and okay and dandy and fine not to get people anything for the holiday, but the idea of giving a gift without any real reason is a big one. I don't know why we don't do it more often, it's just that something about doing it in a mass gathering all over the USA feels special. Feels unique. People put aside their petty bullshit in order to partake in a singular feeling of selfless abandon. Of course, for every parent getting their kid a Tonka Truck that they will play with for one full year, there are those that buy stuff simply to buy stuff, whom just feel obligated. Then there's even the small(?) fraction of the world that thinks opening presents is a Pick-and-Choose type deal. Like with the Bible or something.
Family is weird. I've just come back from a Thanksgiving in Santa Cruz that was so condensed and compact that it didn't feel right. Later, I went to a dinner that was supposed to be held at the Barn theater (which was later changed to the housing complex where Nick, Gwen, and I used to live) and hung out with little people that I actually knew. Oh well, like I said: family. And you know what? I've always felt like the UCSC and Gunn Theater People were my family. No matter if I went to school with them or not.
Later on, we all went to the Rush Inn bar to celebrate my old professor, Mike Ryan, as he reached older age.
Damn, he looks so much like Joss Whedon.
Anyways.
On to Zuda. Thankfully, the Christmas Pack (the X-Men?) are a much more colorful bunch than November's pickings. They also focus more on making you want to read more, whereas 90% of Zuda tells you "you'll want to read more".
And don't forget to read all the way to the bottom of the post, there's a special announcement.
A Single Soul by Nancy Leslie and Daniel Furman
So, it's a mythology piece, which jerks my gherkin first off. The art doesn't work as black and white, however. That and the dialogue at the beginning is very rough, it's almost like it wants to be Tim Dale but far more epic than Tim Dale. It just wavers between voices. Characters are great, characterization could of been done a bit better, but it's decent enough.
GRADE: B+
Aeon of the Dead by Dean Hsieh
Except for the weird troll-face in the final panel, the art is neat. The character skirts on the edge of being a cliche, but never quite falls off. Dialogue could use a bit of polish. For a supernatural comic, this feels rather different. That's probably due to how the first eight are handled.
GRADE: A-
Angus Frump Kills Christmas by Steve Bialik
It starts out typical. Bland. No characterization, just the Smarter Kid, the Dumb Dad. Not until Angus actually kills Chris does the comic decide on what it wants to be. Which is sad, because the Post-Santa Slaying is a real ride and a joy to read. If it had not been so hasty to get to the meat (and honestly, the first part could of been done as a twisted version of Angus dreaming ala Night Before or something...), it would of received a better grade. Sorry, guys.
GRADE: C
Bleed by Adam Atherton
I couldn't get into this one. The art was wrong for the story, and the action within felt done before. Once it became clear that the heroes were kids.... yeah. Hello, Scream meets Fargo with Extra Scream. The set-up shots were better than the people-drawings. I did like the structure.
GRADE: D+
Caztar by Luc Poets
Well, this one has the same problem that Marshall had last time, only much more pronounced. You need to - literally NEED to - read the synopsis in order to understand what is going on. It looks like a simple, unfunny story about a caveman and his cave-cat who go through a series of misadventures like an odd mix between Dilbert and B.C.; only, it's not about that. It's really about the world restarting and man "trying again". Exactly how the hell are we supposed to get that? It seems very unlikely that this is ever going to be explained through Caztar and Cazcat arguing about the rain through pictographs.
GRADE: F
Hellbreak by Radek Smektala and Janusz Ordon
Guy is sent to hell to guard a hell-prison in order to do out with a contract he has going with Satan. Has to torture a girl he knows. The name of the comic is 'Hellbreak'. Art and dialogue are great. Emotion is there. I'm sold.
GRADE: A
Juliette: Worst Vampire Ever by Cedric Poulat
Concept is interesting: life of a teenage vampire. Art is great. Too bad the rest is so amazingly dull that I'm holding back on all of the Worst Ever jokes. The first half consists of narration by the main character (not even in voice over), and then we have the MORTAL SIN OF ANY COMIC WANTING TO BE SOLD: copyrighted images. Now, these may be okay - albeit sloppy and unpro - in regular webcomics, but this is an actual imprint by DC. I have no idea how it got through. Oh, and it reminds me way too much of Twilight. Only not written by a Mormon. And not a Mormon Narnia.
GRADE: F
Non-Exertus 12 by Spencer Platt
The aliens are very interesting, from their powers to how they look. The art is consistent, if a bit drab. Nothing bad too say about the dialogue. Then this is all decimated by the arrival of our main characters: a bunch of teens that ride hoverboards and shoot a lot. This is where it lost me. Everything was fine until it became an episode of Extreme Ghostbusters.
GRADE: D-
The Accountants by Rob Osborne
I hope that Rob Osbourne is a Someone in the industry. I really do. Because if not, introducing your comic as 'Rob Osbourne's' is a huge effing mistake. This is not a family food place. And you all know my stance on Furries if you read the last batch of mini-reviews. So you know that this comic was not exactly my cup of tea.
GRADE: F
Tri-Boro Tales by Keith Miller and Chuck Collins
This one has spunk all over. The characters are clearly defined. The art is iffy, and I wouldn't of chosen it for this story, but it is passable. It feels like it's going too far into Gorillaz territory at points, but never falls off that edge. It balances.
GRADE: B+
There you go, this month's reviews. I'm sorry if some of you feel that I'm being unjustly rude or unfair, or even that I have no reviewing skills at all, but honestly, if you think MPD or I are bad, go on over to John Solomon's webcomic review blog and try not to curl up in the corner and cry.
On to the announcement.....
Desert Bus for Hope, an annual charity gamer pledge drive (literally, kinda), is currently going on.
My pals at Loading Ready Run, a Canadian sketch group, are taking donations towards children's hospitals all over the world by playing the worst video game ever, Desert Bus. It is a game wherein you must drive a bus from Arizona to Las Vegas in real time. I am serious. Someone actually made this. Each donation goes towards another hour of play time. And it is streamed live, where they will do things such as sing Animaniacs songs, shave their beloved beards, watch Twilight, and do one man shows of the entire script for It's A Wonderful Life (which was quite fantastic and stunning) to keep the money coming in.
So, if you don't know what charity to donate to yet, donate to the children, and the humorous torture of gamers.
They are already at $29,197.75 and 112 hours. They have been driving for 2 days 20 hours.
P.S. - God dammit, Ron, please include that 'Next Comic' feature or I may have to stuff a goose.
Yes, that was a pun.
As I sit here and write this, on the eve of the Post-Black Friday Christmas Season, I am currently broken of money. I realize that it's cool and okay and dandy and fine not to get people anything for the holiday, but the idea of giving a gift without any real reason is a big one. I don't know why we don't do it more often, it's just that something about doing it in a mass gathering all over the USA feels special. Feels unique. People put aside their petty bullshit in order to partake in a singular feeling of selfless abandon. Of course, for every parent getting their kid a Tonka Truck that they will play with for one full year, there are those that buy stuff simply to buy stuff, whom just feel obligated. Then there's even the small(?) fraction of the world that thinks opening presents is a Pick-and-Choose type deal. Like with the Bible or something.
Family is weird. I've just come back from a Thanksgiving in Santa Cruz that was so condensed and compact that it didn't feel right. Later, I went to a dinner that was supposed to be held at the Barn theater (which was later changed to the housing complex where Nick, Gwen, and I used to live) and hung out with little people that I actually knew. Oh well, like I said: family. And you know what? I've always felt like the UCSC and Gunn Theater People were my family. No matter if I went to school with them or not.
Later on, we all went to the Rush Inn bar to celebrate my old professor, Mike Ryan, as he reached older age.
Damn, he looks so much like Joss Whedon.
Anyways.
On to Zuda. Thankfully, the Christmas Pack (the X-Men?) are a much more colorful bunch than November's pickings. They also focus more on making you want to read more, whereas 90% of Zuda tells you "you'll want to read more".
And don't forget to read all the way to the bottom of the post, there's a special announcement.
A Single Soul by Nancy Leslie and Daniel Furman
So, it's a mythology piece, which jerks my gherkin first off. The art doesn't work as black and white, however. That and the dialogue at the beginning is very rough, it's almost like it wants to be Tim Dale but far more epic than Tim Dale. It just wavers between voices. Characters are great, characterization could of been done a bit better, but it's decent enough.
GRADE: B+
Aeon of the Dead by Dean Hsieh
Except for the weird troll-face in the final panel, the art is neat. The character skirts on the edge of being a cliche, but never quite falls off. Dialogue could use a bit of polish. For a supernatural comic, this feels rather different. That's probably due to how the first eight are handled.
GRADE: A-
Angus Frump Kills Christmas by Steve Bialik
It starts out typical. Bland. No characterization, just the Smarter Kid, the Dumb Dad. Not until Angus actually kills Chris does the comic decide on what it wants to be. Which is sad, because the Post-Santa Slaying is a real ride and a joy to read. If it had not been so hasty to get to the meat (and honestly, the first part could of been done as a twisted version of Angus dreaming ala Night Before or something...), it would of received a better grade. Sorry, guys.
GRADE: C
Bleed by Adam Atherton
I couldn't get into this one. The art was wrong for the story, and the action within felt done before. Once it became clear that the heroes were kids.... yeah. Hello, Scream meets Fargo with Extra Scream. The set-up shots were better than the people-drawings. I did like the structure.
GRADE: D+
Caztar by Luc Poets
Well, this one has the same problem that Marshall had last time, only much more pronounced. You need to - literally NEED to - read the synopsis in order to understand what is going on. It looks like a simple, unfunny story about a caveman and his cave-cat who go through a series of misadventures like an odd mix between Dilbert and B.C.; only, it's not about that. It's really about the world restarting and man "trying again". Exactly how the hell are we supposed to get that? It seems very unlikely that this is ever going to be explained through Caztar and Cazcat arguing about the rain through pictographs.
GRADE: F
Hellbreak by Radek Smektala and Janusz Ordon
Guy is sent to hell to guard a hell-prison in order to do out with a contract he has going with Satan. Has to torture a girl he knows. The name of the comic is 'Hellbreak'. Art and dialogue are great. Emotion is there. I'm sold.
GRADE: A
Juliette: Worst Vampire Ever by Cedric Poulat
Concept is interesting: life of a teenage vampire. Art is great. Too bad the rest is so amazingly dull that I'm holding back on all of the Worst Ever jokes. The first half consists of narration by the main character (not even in voice over), and then we have the MORTAL SIN OF ANY COMIC WANTING TO BE SOLD: copyrighted images. Now, these may be okay - albeit sloppy and unpro - in regular webcomics, but this is an actual imprint by DC. I have no idea how it got through. Oh, and it reminds me way too much of Twilight. Only not written by a Mormon. And not a Mormon Narnia.
GRADE: F
Non-Exertus 12 by Spencer Platt
The aliens are very interesting, from their powers to how they look. The art is consistent, if a bit drab. Nothing bad too say about the dialogue. Then this is all decimated by the arrival of our main characters: a bunch of teens that ride hoverboards and shoot a lot. This is where it lost me. Everything was fine until it became an episode of Extreme Ghostbusters.
GRADE: D-
The Accountants by Rob Osborne
I hope that Rob Osbourne is a Someone in the industry. I really do. Because if not, introducing your comic as 'Rob Osbourne's' is a huge effing mistake. This is not a family food place. And you all know my stance on Furries if you read the last batch of mini-reviews. So you know that this comic was not exactly my cup of tea.
GRADE: F
Tri-Boro Tales by Keith Miller and Chuck Collins
This one has spunk all over. The characters are clearly defined. The art is iffy, and I wouldn't of chosen it for this story, but it is passable. It feels like it's going too far into Gorillaz territory at points, but never falls off that edge. It balances.
GRADE: B+
There you go, this month's reviews. I'm sorry if some of you feel that I'm being unjustly rude or unfair, or even that I have no reviewing skills at all, but honestly, if you think MPD or I are bad, go on over to John Solomon's webcomic review blog and try not to curl up in the corner and cry.
On to the announcement.....
Desert Bus for Hope, an annual charity gamer pledge drive (literally, kinda), is currently going on.
My pals at Loading Ready Run, a Canadian sketch group, are taking donations towards children's hospitals all over the world by playing the worst video game ever, Desert Bus. It is a game wherein you must drive a bus from Arizona to Las Vegas in real time. I am serious. Someone actually made this. Each donation goes towards another hour of play time. And it is streamed live, where they will do things such as sing Animaniacs songs, shave their beloved beards, watch Twilight, and do one man shows of the entire script for It's A Wonderful Life (which was quite fantastic and stunning) to keep the money coming in.
So, if you don't know what charity to donate to yet, donate to the children, and the humorous torture of gamers.
They are already at $29,197.75 and 112 hours. They have been driving for 2 days 20 hours.
P.S. - God dammit, Ron, please include that 'Next Comic' feature or I may have to stuff a goose.
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