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I like New Year's Resolutions. They can be hokey, but there's nothing wrong with figuring out what you want to accomplish in next year. To keep me honest, here are mine:
* Lose weight. Get healthy. Oh god. Isn't that terribly predictable? Me and every other American. I'm 5'6" and roughly 175 lbs. I wouldn't say I'm incredibly overweight, but I certainly cannot let it get any worse. My days of drinking six sodas and having a bowl o' meat for dinner are over. * Redesign Nunzio and Christina's website. For those who don't know, I'm responsible for their site. (click here) The blog itself is beautiful. They have much to say. The site, however, needs an update. Every year I tend to update my own site, I'm holding off to refocus my nitpicking on Nunzio and Christina's. * Get something published. This resolution might be the number one priority. I've mentioned this before, but 2008 was a slow year -- not including my work with D Magazine. I have the upcoming PopGun Vol. 3, but beyond that, I need to get some more material in print. * Read. Last year's resolution was to read every play written by Shakespeare. I wasn't able to complete the task in one year, but it's still a goal. There's so much to learn from Shakespeare. It would be absurd to ignore him. This year, my resolution is more general: keep reading. April and I have a two person book club. So far, we've read Lord Vishnu's Love Handles, No One Belongs Here More Than You, The Gum Thief, and Slam. We went on hiatus for me to read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, while April read Eat Pray Love. However, the book club returns with The Sportswriter by Richard Ford, followed by Chip Kidd's The Learners. This year, I also want to read The Corner and get in the habit of reading more scripts. * Pay off some bills. Last year was all about survival. After the divorce, money was tight on both sides. Reality: I will never make much money as a high school teacher and comic book writer. The best I can hope for is to live comfortably within my ability. That means, I need to get rid of my debt. Fortunately, my car payment is over and done with by November. Let's all hope my VW Jetta lives a long time before I need to purchase another car. I tried to consolidate my bills through Frost Bank, but my credit rating was deplorable after not paying Dish Network for a few months. (It's all paid off now.) If I had $8650, I could pay off everything. Anyone in Hollywood want to option KARMA INCORPORATED or ASTRONAUT DAD? I have a very specific number in my head. There you go. My resolutions. In the comments section, please share your own. I'd love to read them.
(via Newsarama blog and Gaiman's journal)
"...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind." - Neil Gaiman
Happy New Year!
I wanted to post something short and sweet to say congratulations to Wes Molebash on his finale to You'll Have That. Well done, Wes. I know it was hard to end the comic after four years, but I look forward to your next online creation to debut in February. Thank you for sharing your friendship and your talent. In other news: April and I just got back from our trip to Wisconsin. Photos posted on Flickr.
It's almost 6 AM. My back was killing me, so I had to get out of bed. I slept awkwardly on my side. Once the aching stops, I can return to bed for another hour or two before Kennedy wakes up. Later today, April and I are traveling to Wisconsin to visit her family. We'll be there for a few days pending weather. It's the first time I've had a chance to meet them, and I'm excited. They sound like wonderful people. Before we board a plane and head for much colder climates, I need to post my obligatory "year in review." While last year was the definition of bittersweet (i.e. getting divorced and then meeting April), this year has been incredible. I've never been happier, happy to be with April (my partner-in-crime who I absolutely love) and happy to be Kennedy's dad. Kennedy has grown up so much. Sometimes, I'll sneak into her room and just look at her while she sleeps. It's a parent-thing. Amazed at this little person before me, who refuses to play Candyland unless she wins. (We need to work on that for 2009.) These two women continually make me smile. And of course, Melissa is still very much a part of my life. I talk with her and see her almost every day. Melissa and I have accomplished the almost impossible: We're a divorced couple who separated on friendly terms. I hurt when she hurts, and I'm happy for her happiness. I know she feels the same. We're raising our daughter and keeping her as the priority.
If I have only one regret from this year, it's that I didn't get anything new published. I wrote some for D Magazine. The "Souvenir of Dallas" one page comic has certainly been a fun experience. And I've been working on other comic projects. It's simply the timing was such that nothing new hit the stores. After a busy 2006 and 2007, maybe I've been spoiled? I did self publish that mini-comic "Mine All Mine," and it was great to collaborate with all those talented artists. There's the irony. My comic work has been seen by more people this year (D Magazine = insanely large readership), and I've worked with more artists this year than ever before. And yet, I'm disappointed. I guess that's a good sign? I'm optimistic about 2009. I have to believe something will push through, and I'll have more to announce. This "year in review" blog post is a tradition. Previously: 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 Memorable events for 2008: * April moving in. * Barack Obama elected president * My cousin's wedding * Family reunion * Wolf Parade concert * Meeting Lisa Loeb * CAPE and Live Art Show / Birthday * Taking Kennedy to the Great Wolf Lodge Favorite comic books in 2008: * Death Note * Yotsuba&! * Palestine * Comic Book Comics * Solanin * Akira * Echo Favorite TV Shows in 2008: * Lost * How I Met Your Mother * Weeds * The Wire * Venture Brothers * Middleman Favorite movies I watched in 2008: * Dark Knight * Slumdog Millionaire * No Country For Old Men * Steamboy * Vicky Cristina Barcelona * In Bruges * Lars and the Real Girl Favorite food for 2008: * Steak burrito from Chipotle Favorite music for 2008: * Bon Iver, For Emma Forever Ago * Sunset Rubdown, Random Spirit Lover * Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer * Joanna Newsom, The Milk-Eyed Mender * The Walkmen, You & Me Going to get some sleep now.
This archive is more for my own benefit. I've been writing online since 1999, and I thought it'd be good to post the links of everything in one place. Before I started writing comics, in college, I wrote for Next-Wave. It's a web magazine that examines the intersection between church and culture. The site design has much improved since that first installment. Some of these early essays make me cringe a little bit. I can see the shift in my understanding of things. There's a lot of youthful restlessness, several false steps and a few grand ideas. I could spend a long time analyzing why I no longer write about faith issues, and I don't know if it would lead anywhere. It wasn't where I was supposed to be. Fact is I'm at my happiest when writing a comic script, and hey, "follow your bliss."
Next-Wave (from April 1999 to September 2002) Who's afraid of the big bad... anyone? anyone? The next new thing... bored with being "postmod"? Ask Constantine: You fight the system. You become the system. Front page fallen: The news media informs America on how to grieve Control Alt Delete: Rebooting the Purpose-driven church You don't know me The Industry of Cool Cracker: How multi-cultural is the postmodern church? Really. Consumer-Friendly Postmodern Cool Impressionistic Theology: Painting God with Color, A Possible Approach to Postmodern Doctrine Sacred Distractions: Concerning the Art of the Spoken Word Running to stand still: How does the church catch its breath? Part 2 Running to stand still: How does the church catch its breath? Part 1 Marked by God: Experiencing divine connection through skin art Postcards from Cyberspace: Online addiction may distract us from our Gospel mission The ABCs of Ministry in the 21st Century Francis Schaeffer: The Last Great Modern Theologian and the reason why I have a goatee The God of Chaos Theory: Some thoughts from the movie "Pi" The Deception of the X-treme church Schindler's Regret: A call to love a friend arrested for murder Everything I ever needed to know for ministry, I learned from ... MTV? The Church Finds Its Pulse: Understanding the significance of a drum beat in worship Superman is Dead: No More "Hero-for-Hire" Clergy Monkhouse Blog (April 2002 to November 2004) Antihero Comics Blog (August 2003 to Present) Weekly column for Fanboy Radio (not archived) Pop Syndicate (July 2006 to March 2007) Don't Think Twice. It's All Right. The STAPLE! Interviews, part 8: Rob Osborne The STAPLE! Interviews, part 7: Will Rodriguez The STAPLE! Interviews, part 6: David Crosland The STAPLE! Interviews, part 5: Kristian Donaldson The STAPLE! Interviews, part 4: Chris Nicholas The STAPLE! Interviews, part 3: Danielle Corsetto The STAPLE! Interviews, part 2: Dean Haspiel The STAPLE! Interviews, part 1: David DeGrand From Geek to Freak to Emergency Room The Lonely Genius The Cover Price, Part Two of Two The Cover Price, Part One of Two Internet Killed the Comic Book Star Joining a Fan Club Interviewing My Friends, Part 4: Josh Howard Interviewing My Friends, Part 3: Brent Schoonover Interviewing My Friends, Part 2: Wes Molebash Interviewing My Friends, Part 1: Scott Hinze A Critical Look at the Critics, part three of three A Critical Look at the Critics, part two of three A Critical Look at the Critics, part one of three 24 hours vs. 10 years The It List, Part Five of Five The It List, Part Four of Five The It List, Part Three of Five Do It for the Diva The It List, Part Two of Five The It List, Part One of Five In Defense of Mr. Nice Guy The Inconvenient Graphic Novel Gray Horses and Salamander Dreams Eisner Awards Preview Uncompromised, inadequately compensated Everything that has nothing to do with Marvel or DC
I hope everyone has a great day.
Fanboy Radio #496 - WISH-LIST-A-THON ‘08: Part 4 I co-hosted this episode of FbR with Scott. ("Stop the hate, aliens.") I list my recommended reads for 2008, and we discuss the motion comics available on iTunes. (click here)
It's December 20th, which marks the 4th annual posting of O Holy Night (trainwreck version). Can you believe it? Four years.
If this is your first time, you're in for a real treat. Listen and enjoy this beautiful Christmas hymn. Share the song with others. They will hate you for it.
Image Comics listed POPGUN VOL 3 for March solicitation (click here). Daniel Warner and I have an eight page short story "50 Miles to Marfa" included in this volume. It's one of the best things I've written. I'm very proud of our contribution, and I hope you'd consider pre-ordering a copy.
 edited by Mark Andrew Smith & D.J. KirkbrideAlso, I'm working on a script for something in VOL 4 with art by Evan Bryce. I'll keep everyone updated.
In my English III class, we're studying the work on Henry David Thoreau. I opened class with these five quotes. The last quote I included as an interesting contrast.
"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?" - Thomas Jefferson "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then." - Thomas Jefferson "Every generation needs a new revolution." - Thomas Jefferson "While some people think that dissent is unpatriotic, I would argue that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. In fact, if patriotism means being true to the principles for which your country is supposed to stand, then certainly the right to dissent is one of those principles. And if we're exercising that right to dissent, it's a patriotic act." - Howard Zinn "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." - Britney Spears Fortunately, Miss Spears, our U.S. Constitution does not agree with you. You wonder why students are often at the front lines of every protest? Blame teachers and Thoreau.
An update on HOW TO LOSE BIG: Brock Rizy is on board to illustrate the comic-within-a-comic OH NO POGO, and Erin Riggs will illustrate the other comic-within-a-comic PRINCESSES VS. UNICORNS. Yes, that is the title. Of course, Paul Milligan is on the main story.
Two days ago, Erin sent some princess designs. So, let me clarify: Our graphic novel will include graphic violence between princesses and unicorns. I'm having too much fun.
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