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It's 1am and I'm absolutely exhausted. Taking a last-minute trip to Chicago this week has taken away my ability to get a buffer going, so I could get started on the next arc (which is, let me tell you, hilarious).

So instead you get this page, which in my exhausted state still seems pretty funny to me. Perhaps it's my "6am humor," or the fact that my eyes feel like bleeding, but I chuckled when it came to me.

Anyway, it's time for bed. Good announcements next week, and this comic reaches a milestone!

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Honestly, I was going to start another arc today, but was called into another interview last-minute out of state and had to make plans FAST. I'll try to start the arc on Friday (this is what I get for not having a buffer in place before I start updating more often).

Sorry that the transition between the subject and the punchline is so random, but that doesn't make either of these points less true. Internet dating hasn't provided me any quality results in either friendship or dating (I've met some interesting people that I'd like to keep in touch with, but unfortunately the feeling does not appear to be mutual - or they suffer from M-TV inspired ADD and just lose interest), but it has given me a few funny stories that I may explore much later.

And also, Dane Cook isn't very funny. I'm funnier than Dane Cook. Well, at least I'm less obnoxious.

Check back Friday for more!

Lauren invited me to go see Video Games Live in Kalamazoo, which takes a live orchestra and choir and has them perform video game music - LIVE!

The show was mind-blowingly awesome, playing classic titles like asteroids and space invaders, Duck Hunt and The Legend of Zelda, and even modern games such as Halo and Civilization IV. I'll try to illustrate a bit of the experience here in this blog, but this is an all-ages show that should not be missed. Especially for gamers.

After a 2 hour reception pre-show that had a Guitar Hero and a costume contest, we were admitted into the seating area and greeted by the following video:



Afterwards the host and conductor came out onto the stage and introduced what Video Games Live was all about, how long they had been running, and how many shows they were doing this year (over 70 world wide). Then they got started and we were greeted with the classic "pong" screen. However, during the course of this game of Pong, I became aware that it wasn't game noises I was hearing...but the orchestra performing it. The screen then changed to Space Invaders, and then do another game...and another! It was a trip down video game memory lane, and I was 5 years old again sitting at home and playing my old Atari system!

Many game themes were played, both classic and modern, and they even had a live piano performance from Martin Leung! He did not just one, but several songs live on the piano - and he did the Mario theme song blindfolded! Then he did it faster, as though time was running out. It was intense.

But the time the second act started, I couldn't believe that an entire hour had passed.





During the second act, more modern game music was played, and even the host got involved by jamming out with a guitar. They even had a person from the audience come onto the stage and perform Space Invaders LIVE. They were the tank and had to run across the stage to dodge the blasts, and they also controlled the shooting. It was an intense interactive experience, one that I fully enjoyed.

I encourge you all to check out the website (link at the top of this post) and see if Video Games Live is coming near you. It's worth going. Whatever they're charging, just go. It's a fun time, and something that the entire family can enjoy.

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The girls meet up with Portis, who seems a little detached from reality. He tossed an axe at Sophia, the blunt end hitting her in the forehead and knocking her out. Now it's up to Selphi to kick his ass.

He also seems to hate the Hikari, which we know Sophia and Selphi are, but we haven't been told what the Hikari are yet. Why does the Cardinal hate them so much? And what does it have to do with the actions of Abraham over 2,000 years ago?

More next week, gang!

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While updating this comic (this twice a week schedule certainly has me on my toes, by the way), I've been listening to far too much Queen. I don't know what it is about epic music, but it gets my blood pumping and motivates me to work harder and faster. This page only took an hour to color!

Don't ask how I pulled off that little miracle.

I'm off to see Video Games Live this weekend at my old college stomping grounds. It's live orchestra music from video games performed with some people dressed in costumes and some footage from the games. I guess it's a big event, so I shall be sure to take photos - and perhaps there's another photo story arc in the running here, we shall see.

I hope you guys are enjoying the new twice a week update schedule. If I could motivate Olivia to update more often on Temple, then I would have that update twice per week as well. Perhaps money would do it. Once I get a job, we'll see what I can scrape together.

Check back Wednesday for some more @$$hole!

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First off, I really enjoy using these characters because they're so morally inept and completely unaware of it - although one of them seems to be getting wiser the more they interact. I've always pictured these two as "Old Money" and "New Money," and the old is always trying to teach the new - but the old ways seem foreign and inappropriate to the new ways.

Which is where we get into a few topics here that are no doubt going to tick off some readers. Let me start by saying that this comic is in no way a reflection of my own beliefs. It's a commentary on things that I have seen and elaborated upon.

1) I wanted to make commentary about the gas topic back in 2008, but was in the middle of too many story arcs. The fact that gas stations are charging ten cents for paying with a credit card is silly to me (even though I know they get charged a service fee), since no one I know really carries cash around with them anymore - especially not the amount that you would spend to fill a gas tank.

2) The election of Obama as the first black president (I say black instead of African American because of comments that many of my black friends used to make to me in college - it was a term that they preferred, and was more universally encompassing. Example, one of my friends was from the Virgin Islands, and would be insulted if anyone called her African American. "I'm neither African nor American," she would say. "I'm from the Virgin Islands!" So I hope that term doesn't offend. If it does, then I hope you grow to be less sensitive sometime in the near future.) was a historical event, and one that I was happy to be a part of - since I voted for the man. He's done more work in the first month and a half of being in office than Bush did in the last 2 years combined. However, he's rocking a lot of boats that I'm sure would be upsetting people like "Old Money" here - which I agree with many of his policies, but not all of them. So I thought a reaction from the character would be appropriate.

This fear was, I guess, perpetuated among many people around my area immediately after the election. After the election results came in, I was outside updating the webcomic (stealing free wi-fi from the nearby clubhouse in my apartment complex), when some youths came walking by saying things like, "Oh no, a black man in the office. Tomorrow all the white guys are going to have to start picking cotton in the fields," and other such nonsense. To this day, I'm still trying to figure out if I just don't live in as progressive an area as I thought, or if the youths that made comment were just drunk and uneducated.

I mean, was anyone honestly afraid that something like that would happen? If so, you clearly don't understand how the world works - nor do you deserve to live in it, in my opinion. We should export your ass to "ignorant island," where you can live in peace and harmony forever...until you decide to declare war on the rest of us, in which case we'll just put an embargo on your island and call you New Cuba.

3) "Old Money" is so clueless that he's not even aware that his partner in crime is black, and says that "rich people can't be black." I think that it's important to note that this sentence isn't said the other way around, which I would then find very insulting. This is just some clueless old codger trying to rant to his subordinate, and getting it wrong.

4) The end joke here is, as always with "Old Money," a sex joke. The idea is less the fact that he's upset and hiding from the government, but more the fact that he has difficulty performing his sexual duties.

So, in conclusion, if anything from this comic came off as insulting, I apologize and that was not my intention. My intention was to make commentary about "Old Money" reacting to progressive policies and a somewhat radical overhaul of a system that has been failing of late, and trying to fix the mistakes of the last 8 plus years. If you take offense to anything and would like to voice it, however, I do - as always - welcome your e-mails, twitter replies, and comments.

Have a peachy day, and I'll see you with another update on Friday.

PS: I think I'm going to keep trying this Wednesday / Friday update schedule for this comic for the time being, just to see how it fits. Your thoughts?

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I think we've seen this location before. Aren't some of these characters a little familiar? What could be the evil plot afoot here, by chance?

Also, it seems that both the girls and Kidjo (the man with beady eyes) are heading after the same person (Portis, who bought the explosives from Xen). The race to get there first is underway!

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Comic legend Neal Adams. When I saw him at the convention, my heart skipped a beat. This is the guy that got Brad Meltzer started in comics, as well as countless others. He's AWESOME!

The list of stuff that he's worked on is epic, and he's been working in comics longer than I've been alive! If anyone had the Wolverine Tumbler, it would be him.

It's like the line from the movie Fanboys, "I'm Willaim Shatner, I can score anything." Only replace "Shatner" with "Adams," and "William" with "Neal."

Unfortunately, Neal wasn't all that interested in chatting and was rather busy, so my networking time with him at the con was limited. I did get to chat a bit with George Perez at the Hero Initiative booth, though, but he was too busy to pose for a picture.

Friday, the conclusion.

Movie Review:  Sweeney Todd (200x)

Director:  Tim Burton

Cast:  Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman

Plot:  Based on the theatrical musical by the same name, Todd (Depp) returns to London to exact his revenge on the evil Judge (Rickman) with the help of the beloved Mrs. Lovett (Carter).  As a barber, he devises a plot to slay his foes and dispose of the bodies by sending them to the bakery below to be turned into meat pies. 

 

While I enjoyed the movie version, the production design of Burton didn’t really match the music and tone of the story.  The performances were top-notch, especially considering that neither Depp nor Carter had ever sang before professionally.  They really carry the movie with their amazing performances, and if nothing else create a reason to see the flick – or at least borrow the soundtrack from a friend. 

Movie Review:  Max Payne (2008)

Director:  John Moore

Cast:  Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris O’Donnell, Ludacris

Plot:  Loosely based on the 2001 video game by the same name, the movie follows the exploits of ex-DEA agent Max Payne who’s family was murdered by junkies high on a new designer drug called “V.”  However, one of them got away, and Max has been looking for clues ever since.  During his off-hours investigation, he runs into a girl that gets murdered, and he’s the prime suspect (as she stole his wallet).  This somehow uncovers clues to his wife’s murder that had previously been unexplored, and the murder of his ex-partner.  Now Max is running against the clock to find out who murdered his wife, who’s pushing this drug out onto the streets, and get his revenge.

 

I had a fear about this movie that was very justified, and that is that Hollywood would deviate from the source material.  Unlike most video games, Max Payne had a great story as a game, and paid homage to a lot of classic action flicks (John Woo’s Hard Boiled, for example).  The game was fun, but it also had a compelling story about undercover NYC officer Max Payne who was in with the mob trying to stop V from being distributed.  There was a lot of stylized action, bullet time elements, and crazy narration that made you enjoy the character.  Sadly, none of these were translated over into the movie.

 

The Game:  Max Payne witnessed the murder of his wife and daughter at the hands of drug addicts strung out on a new designer drug called “V”.  Two years later, Max is working undercover deep within the mob to find out where the drug is coming from, and stop it.  Only two other people know that he was ever a cop, and when he goes to see one of them late one night in a subway bathroom, he finds his contact has been killed and the mob has been tipped off that Max is a cop.  Now running against the clock, dodging cops and mobsters and bullets from both sides, Max has to clear his name, find out who killed his partner, and discover the conspiracy behind the V distribution. 

Movie Review:  Coraline (2009)

Director: Henry Selick

Plot:  Based on a story by Neil Gaimen, Colraline is a story about a little girl by the same name that moves with her family into a house converted into apartments.  She has a very active imagination, and no friends.  Inside of the house, she discovers a hidden door that leads to a parallel world where her parents are kind to her and she is able to make friends with her neighbors – but everyone has button eyes.  Every night she goes back to this world and wakes up back in the original one.  However, she begins to uncover secrets that the button-eyed world may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.  Other people have gone missing over the years, leaving behind only dolls with button eyes.  These people have all been seduced by the ruler of this alternate world to replace their eyes with buttons, and live in her world forever – and Coraline is next on her list!

 

The movie was very imaginative and fun to see in theaters (and surprisingly had some frightening images in there for kids).  The claymation was top-notch, and the fact that I got to see it in 3-D was a real joy (as previous flicks in 3-D have mostly sucked or not interested me).  The story was so-so, but it was good to see a strong female protagonist – as there aren’t a lot of them outside of franchises, that I’ve noticed. 

 

Overall, this flick is very enjoyable and I totally recommend that you see it or rent it at some point. 

Movie Night 109: Watchmen (2009)

Director: Zak Snyder

Cast: Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudip, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson

Plot: Based on the amazing graphic novel (12-issue series) written by Alan Moore and featuring artwork by Dave Gibbons, Watchmen is about a group of “retired” superheroes in an alternative reality 1985 where Nixon is on his third term for president, and America is in the middle of the Cold War with Russia. When one of their old teammates, The Comedian, is murdered, Rorschach – the only team member still practicing crime fighting – begins investigating who would want to kill off masked heroes. And more importantly, why.

Filled with unique characters (an impotent superhero, the daughter of a celebrity super hero, a murdering vigilante, a sociopathic soldier, the “American superman,” and the smartest man alive), Watchmen is not a conventional superhero tale by any means. Which is what makes it unique. Movie-going audiences may have misconceptions in their heads, though, especially if unfamiliar with the source material (there was a lot of adolescent giggling whenever Dr. Manhattan’s penis was on screen). My fear is that a lot of people thought that this would be the next “Dark Knight,” and it’s not. It’s not an action movie, and it carries a very strong R-rating (ie: strong sexual content, male and female nudity, adult themes such as rape and murder, bloody violence and tons of gore, etc).

Overall, the movie was enjoyable, even though it deviates from the source material liberally (more on that, below). I like to say that the comic was a piece of art, but that the movie lacked the same poetry that made it special and unique. I realize that the work was a labor of love from Snyder (he had been quoted in many interviews that the movie was going to be made no matter what, and that the script that was turned into him was a terrible piece of work – which he since changed), but like all works based on Alan Moore stories, it falls short of capturing the brilliance and majesty. But I think my experience would have been better if the audience had been more mature.

I enjoy going to the movies to see a flick, but always fear the audience talking during the movie or being distracting. You want to go and be immersed in another world, and whenever you’re taken out of that world it tends to tick me off. I even went to go see the movie twice (as the first time I was plagued by giggling children so often that it prompted me to shout out, “Grow up and shut your mouths!” The second time, I sat in front of a group of Latino youths that couldn’t stop talking like they were watching a football game in their living room), just to see if the change in audience would change my experience overall. In my opinion, Hollywood’s problem of lower ticket sales has less to do with movie piracy and the economy, and more to do with the culture about going to the movies. It used to be an event, but now it’s far too commercial and casual. People go thinking that they’re in their own living rooms, talking on normal volume and ruining the experience for those around them. There’s no courtesy anymore, and that really burns me.

While I haven’t given up on going to the movies, I’m certainly steamed about the dumbasses that are also allowed to watch a movie in the same theater as me. There should be two theaters – one where people go to talk and be obnoxious, and one where people go to actually watch the movie.

Comparison: As stated above, there are very liberal differences between the film and the source material (and as a purist, I believe not for the better). Like anything based on something else, the source material tends to be better, and Watchmen is no exception. There are many pieces that one could nit-pick (like Rorschach’s treatment of the child molester, changing his character from a vigilante with a sense of justice – like in the comic – into a cold blooded serial killer, no different from the low-lifes that he brings to justice), but the main concern of mine was the change in the ending.

Without giving away any spoilers, the ending in the graphic novel was flawless and well thought out. There was no question that the resolution was going to work, even if it was not the traditional happy ending (which is why the comic is so revered). However, the ending that they put together for the film is sloppy and raises too many questions. It detracts from the third party enemy in the movie, and takes a character associated with a country to try to fill that role – an emotional character who wouldn’t allow his own reputation to be sullied like that without taking some form of revenge. With that political affiliation, the nations of the world wouldn’t come together – they would band together and exact revenge on the country of origin. So the “ultimate solution” that was presented so brilliantly in the comic, came out as very flawed to me in the movie.

That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it.

Don’t let it distract you from seeing the movie, but be sure to check out the comic. While the last 20 minutes in the film are okay, the last 22 pages of the comic book are jaw-dropping awesome on every page.

Movie Night 108:  Til Human Voices Wake Us (2002)

Director:  Michael Petroni

Cast:  Guy Pierce, Helena Bonham Carter

Plot:  A psychologist professor with repressed memory is called home to bury his father.  On the train ride home, he meets a woman named Ruby (Carter).  After the funeral, he goes out for a drive in a rain storm and sees Ruby on the side of a bridge overlooking a river.  As she jumps off of the bridge, he goes in after her, saves her, and takes her home.  Upon waking the next day, Ruby claims to have amnesia and the two embark on a psychological journey to recover her memories, and unlock Pierce’s own hidden past. 

 

I remember watching this flick when I first got a Netflix account, and thinking that it was a nice piece that would be underappreciated by most people who watched it.  The plot moves very slowly, and the reveals aren’t as jaw-dropping as movie-going audiences would probably like to see.  But it’s a nice flick, filled with some very touching moments.  Certainly worth a rental, if you don’t mind the slower pace.

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Remember these story flashbacks from the original Temple story? If not, perhaps it's a good time to familiarize yourself with the archive.

Xen is all about the business. Even here, he's pimping his services (could be a bit of foreshadowing here) to someone who's beating up his guards. The guy just wants to make a buck, and doesn't seem to care who gets hurt in the process. However, he seems to care about his stuff and his own well-being.

We'll find out that there are a few more dimensions to Xen as the story progresses. I like writing these complex characters that appear to be one thing, but really aren't. But I digress.

So someone invited me to be a guest at the first annual 2009 Facebook Comic Con, and I decided to make a few videos to help promote and explain about my various web comic series. The longest one is still under 2 minutes in length, so be sure to check them out. I've also posted them to youtube, so that you can enjoy them here.

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I met Billy Tan last year at NYCC, as he was right next to some of my friends in Artist Alley and his kids was running around and climbing on their stuff. Also, my inker on Hope: Hero Initiative was Don Ho, who trained under Billy Tan back in the day. Billy and I had fun catching up and hanging out a bit at the convention (I love a lot of his latest artwork, and own a lot of his earlier stuff which, when you read it now, doesn't compare). He's a great guy.

Joss was walking around the con floor on Sunday promoting his new TV series, Dollhouse, and my friends had a chance to snap off this picture and give him a copy of their book. I have yet to hear from them if he's read it.

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This is my weakest page for this story arc so far, and the problem was that I had a decent idea for what to do with these pictures, but the format that I had been using throughout didn't make it flow well. There's just too much white space on this page, and it hurts it.

Only a few more pages left in this story arc. I hope you've been digging it so far!

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While Selphi's kicking ass in the background, Sophia starts to interrogate Xen about the explosives. Still convinced that it wasn't "just a gas leak," she presses on to unravel the mystery of who would want to bomb that cathedral. And why.

This page was fun to write, as I've been looking for ways to include more comedy into this comic. It's difficult to write (and no doubt difficult to read) the thing when it's just depressing all the time. I wanted to lighten the mood a bit with this character, who I really enjoy writing. He plays a bit of a role in this story, but a larger role in later stories to come.

But enough teasing about things that won't happen for a long time. I hope you enjoyed the page.

Now, for the exciting news that I mentioned last week: I am being published in an anthology from Ronin Studios that benefits a non-profit organization. I've been working on this thing for months (although the writing has been done since October), project managing. It's been both a nightmare and a blessing, as I've had colorists drop out last-minute, but then better ones sign on. It's really taught me what working in comics professionally is like: fluid and intangible.

Not sure when the book will come out just yet, but I'm hoping before June, so I can show it off at a few cons and try to set up some panels and signings. I'll keep you guys aware of what's going on with it. In the meantime, I'm back to working on my pitches...and more web comics for you, of course. ;)