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Finally! I got around to loading some new photos on the "12 fluid ounces" section of this site. (click here)
     
From Ain't It Cool News
Mein Gott! When I reviewed the first installment of this book I made comment about the rarity of an anthology without a single bad story. Well, damn if they didn't do it again...From Ron T's Recommends on the Image Comics forum I really loved the first issue, but I have to say that something about issue 2 seemed better. I don't know if it was the writing, the art, or just my frame of mind while reading it, but WToT #2 delivers.From Simply JD Online (review by Marc Lombardi) David Hopkins kicks things off with "The Stranger Waits for Me" and I was a bit disappointed with this five-page-long tale. It's the typical story of the lone survivor left behind to tell the tale, but this one has a bit of a supernatural spin. It just seems too tame in comparison to the rest of the issue, especially since most of the dialogue is nothing more than song titles.From Hoarse and Buggy Productions forum (review by Cowboy Matt) The Stranger Waits For Me-- brilliant. I don't know if you meant to put this story first, but it really piqued my interest and makes you want to see what the next tale is.I'll add more, if I find any. Good, bad, whatever-- I love reading people's reactions.  Western Tales of Terror #2 hits stores today. My short story "The Stranger Waits For Me" is featured in this anthology. Make sure to pick up a copy at your local comic book retailer. Don't know where your closest comic book shop is? Check here.
I'll try to post an audio commentary for "The Stranger Waits For Me" sometime soon.
My friends with Integration Research released the beta version of SmartCommons. It looks great. I'm excited for them.
This website enables a wide variety of local communities to self-organize. It's social software, allowing people to connect with others. For many indie/small press comic book creators, I don't know if we've truly taken advantage of such networking capabilities outside of our own comic book ghetto. The project is all about sharing--your things, your ideas, your gatherings--with the people you already trust. It's a pretty simple idea really, but one that has true value over time in direct proportion to the number of actual, intimate family and friends you have in your commons.I am happily participating in SmartCommons, and would encourage others to do so. Keep in mind, when they say "beta", it truly is in the beginning stages. For my part, I've created a community, "Friends of the Antihero". If you're interested in being among the first to try SmartCommons (which I think you'll enjoy), let me know and I'll send you an invite.
My name was briefly mentioned on CBR this week in an interview with publisher Josh Fialkov.
"To the submissions, we've actually made it a point to try to help out young up and comers, much in the way some of our pro's are helping us out. We've made a point to introduce new writers and artists to the world, and we've also made a point in only bringing the best of the best. Thus far, we've introduced Jay Busbee and Jared Bivens into the industry, and David Hopkins and Ben Hall (who've also done work for Viper and Silent Devil). To give guys with limited resumes but loads of talent a chance to be published alongside huge name guys is the sort of opportunity I always salivated over, and it's a true honor to be able to do it for them."Speaking of, Western Tales of Terror #2 will be stores next Wednesday! I feel good about this short story. If you have the opportunity, pick up a copy.
Yes, you heard it here first. My daughter is a shareholder in Marvel Comics. Some of our Dallas friends (Thank you Wim, Whitney, Willis, Shafer, Amber, and Wes) decided to buy Kennedy a stock certificate for her first Christmas. They ordered it through SingleShare.com.
Thus, my daughter will receive the annual stock portfolio from Marvel Comics. Not a bad gift idea. For our Christmas party, Shafer bought me the book McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories, which I look forward to reading. The collection of short stories was edited by Michael Chabon and illustrated by Mike Mignola.
Nothing says Happy Holidays like a photo of sweet little toddlers screaming at Santa (click here).
 I pre-ordered my copy of Eleanor Rigby today. It should be arriving mid-January.
Douglas Coupland's name is huge on the jacket of the UK hardcover edition. The US cover is pictured on the right. With the exception of this most recent book, almost always, I like the UK cover to the US. With his novel Miss Wyoming, I own both editions-- simply because the UK cover looks so cool. It sounds snobbish-- but I end up wanting so many things that the United States doesn't offer (like this film for instance). Heck, many of Coupland's books aren't even sold in the US! Thankfully, there is Amazon UK and Canada. I'm still trying to find a copy of his book "God hates Japan"-- but ironically, it was only available in Japan and written in Japanese. Obviously, I'm looking forward to Eleanor Rigby. After Girlfriend In A Coma, I think his writing has improved with each new book. A riveting, witty, and profound story of loneliness and connection from internationally bestselling author Douglas Coupland.According to his website, the closest his book tour gets to Texas is Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, January 26th. (Don't think I'm not tempted...)
Because Trish said so.
1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. 5. Don't search around and look for the "coolest" book you can find. Do what's actually next to you. "It was October 11, 1968-- nearly 21 months after the fire-- before officials felt ready to launch the first manned flight, Apollo 7."
This song has become one of our personal holiday traditions. And this special version of the hymn touches us, deeply. I want to share it with you. Hearing it reminds me what of Christmas is all about. God bless.
mp3 file
Melissa showed me what she got Kennedy for Christmas. And it reminded me, I hadn't bought anything for my own daughter for her first Christmas. Obviously, I thought a nice cardboard box, some wrapping paper, or rolled-up sock would be a perfectly acceptable gift for a girl seven months old. Yet it occurred to me one day Kennedy might, just might, ask me what I got her for her first Christmas, and then I'd have to tell her... a rolled-up sock in a box. (You know it's sad when you feel pressure from the teenager daughter who doesn't exist yet!) So Kennedy and I went shopping this evening.
We walked into the pet store. Oh dear god. Kennedy loves puppies. We sat next to a golden labrador retriever who was imprisoned behind plexiglass. Every time the puppy would do ANYTHING, Kennedy would start giggling. It was cute. I loved sitting there with my girl while she watched the puppy-- probably one of my favorite dad moments, second only holding her for the first time and handing her to Melissa for the first time. Puppies may be cute and adorable, but we've got to wait until K gets a little bigger before we become dog owners. Our poor cat Josie. Another addition.
My students have finished taking their semester finals. Now, we are all biding our time with chess, Scrabble, and Monopoly until the bell rings. Fifteen more minutes. Christmas Break. I won't have to return to this building until January 3rd. Physically, I don't think the job is that demanding. (Although ever since they took away the "hot meal" from the cafeteria, I've noticed I get more worn out near the end of the day.) However, emotionally, the occupation can test you. Monday through Friday, I'm surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of teenagers. And while most of them are quite sweet, the excited, anxious and bipolar nature of teenagers comes into sharp conflict with my own disposition as an adult.
I'll occasionally hear someone say that such-and-such adult hasn't "grown up". He or she still "acts like a teenager". I will contend that you can't go back and you can't stay as you are. Immature adults are very different from immature teenagers. It's a distinction many other adults miss because they've been disconnected from their high school days. They think they can rationally chart their coming-of-age. It's not that simple. You are not the same. You cannot stay the same.
For me, writing becomes the process of a self-induced nervous breakdown. There's a moment of enlightenment right before everything falls apart. That's the best time to write. This is me after a few hours in front of the word processor.
Everybody loves movies. Like many others, I'm "in love" with movies. I love the craft, the power of the form, and amazing storytelling. It's overwhelming how many good films get made every year.
Here's some films I'm looking forward to... The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (trailer) - Geoffrey Rush nailed it. Not only that, Peter Sellers is one of my favorite comedic actors. Being There is incredible. The Aviator (trailer) - The story of Howard Hughes as directe by Martin Scorsese. The Life Aquatic (trailer) - To me, Wes Anderson can do no wrong. I Heart Huckabees (trailer) - Dammit! Why am I not writing stuff like this?! Why! It's stuff like this, that's so good, that just kicks my ass back to square one. I suck. This doesn't.
The wait is over! The third antihero club is here. For those who aren't familiar with Arlington's varied geography, Division Street has "personality". It's a fascinating drive from one end to the other. The DSPS is committed to honoring that fine bit of sleeze in all of us. (It's also a lame excuse to use my digital camera and visit all 100 motels along this stretch of road.)
I took these pictures, early Saturday morning. The motor inn was packed with cars. I wasn't as interested in the pintos, el caminos, kias, and crapped-out cadillacs parked in front-- instead I was curious about BMWs, lexus's, and mercedes intermingled with the other cars.
I finally, finally, finally finished scripting the second issue for my **currently unannounced** series, the one being publishing. The first issue was written in a week, with re-writes taking another week. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how long it took to write the second issue, especially since I already plotted the entire arc months in advance. Truly sad.
The good news, and most importantly, I'm very happy with the script for issue two. Not only does it build on events from the previous issue, the plot escalates in some interesting ways. When I first thought of the idea for this story back in March, I didn't start on it, because I thought it'd be impossible to write. It was Melissa who encouraged me to get started. And then, in a hotel sushi bar after the Eisner's, sitting by myself a few feet from Brian Bendis and David Mack, I figured out how to write the story. All I'm saying is... thank God I finished issue two! It's December 10th. I start writing issue three tonight.  I'm absolutely obsessed with this show. I record the late night episodes on our DVR, and then watch them the following day. I saw Daria when it first aired on MTV, but the show seems so much better now. Maybe my ability to appreciate irony and wit wasn't as well developed?
Great quote from the episode "The New Kid", where Quinn attempts to cheer up her forelorn sibling. "Look, when you get thrown off a horse, you have to get back up and shoot it. Right?" Wise words.
Here's the routine. While I'm at school, Melissa is at home with Kennedy. Immediately after school, I meet Melissa in the faculty parking lot. She passes Kennedy off to me, and drives to work. I take care of Kennedy during the evening. Our daughter goes to sleep around 9 o'clock. I bide my time until Melissa comes home, anytime between 11 to midnight. We talk about our day, maybe watch some TV together. Go to sleep. Repeat.
Sometimes, if Kennedy is particulary talkative and I'm yearning for human contact with adults, I'll call my mom or my sister, so they can listen to Kennedy ramble. Since they're in California, they haven't seen Kennedy since she was just two and a half months old. Letting them listen to Kennedy coo and hollar is my way of updating them on my life. We'll talk some. Kennedy will make noises. They ask about school, which is the one subject I can't seem to carry a conversation about. School is school. I'd rather talk about Kennedy or Melissa, which we also do. I ask what's new with them. Mom, like me, seems completely tired of talking about school (also a teacher), so instead she talks about my sister Liz. And when I talk with Liz, she talks about... school. Go figure. Before we hang up, I tell them I love them. Liz has turned her "I-love-you's" into a full contact sport, making sure she gets the last one in-- "I-love-you-more!" She has to say it louder than I do, and with more energy. What can I say? She's got a lot of love. My mom says "I love you" with a warmth that makes you think she's hugging the phone when she says it. Also, a lot of love. Do I call my dad? Sometimes. I think male phone conversations are predictably more task-oriented. I call Dan sometimes to "just chat". He's one of the few male friends I can do that with, without feeling gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) But when I call my dad, we make plans for when he's in town for business. We talk about the Dallas Mavericks or good movies. Official updates, but still warm and friendly.
I love BBC's The Office. This link is for Melissa.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/clips/brent/dancer.shtml
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It's official. I'm registered as an exihibitor for STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo, in Austin.
The event is Saturday, March 5th, 2005. I'll be selling copies of Some Other Day, Western Tales of Terror #2, the Silent Forest Television Parody Special, Dead@17:Rough Cut volumes one and two, and promoting my **currently unannounced** series, coming in July. Melissa will be selling prints of her photography. Our table will be located next to the Viper Comics booth. STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo is a conference, exhibition, and celebration of comics and mini-comics, 'zines, art, graphic arts, and self-published literature. The man and the legend James Sime has endorsed STAPLE! "Austin is hands-down one of America's hippest cities; jam-packed with youth, culture, art and music. What better place to establish the front line for cutting edge comics culture?"
http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000237.shtml (from CBLDF)
On October 27, U.S. Customs sent a letter to Top Shelf Productions notifying them that copies of the anthology Stripburger had been seized, charging that the stories "Richie Bush" by Peter Kuper and "Moj Stub" (translated, "My Pole") by Bojan Redžić, constituted "clearly piratical copies" of registered and recorded copyrights. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has retained counsel to challenge these seizures.
Another column was posted on the Fanboy Radio website. This week, I wrote about tragedy, catharsis, and the "anti-Cinderella" in the love-story-gone-wrong. [read it here]
Often times, a "love story gone wrong" can connect us with our own feelings of isolation, rejection, and other unfortunate dispositions. We grow with a deeper understanding that consequences exist, our failings don't go unpunished, and sometimes the world is not kind. There's an ironic mix of the sweet with the sour."Just Smile and Nod" is a weekly column (posted every Monday) about the art of comics, about comics as literature. Currently, I've undertaken a lengthy series on genres, which should continue through the remainder of 2004.
 I've contributed an eight page story to the upcoming Silent Forest Television Parody Special (48 pages, b&w, prestige format) by Silent Devil Productions. Gene-E creator, Patrick Rodriguez illustrates this fun little parody of CSI. A-Bear tries to solve the mystery of a dead golfer, but these attempts are foiled by a random tie-in/crossover from Legend Lab's Gene-E.
I appreciate Patrick Rodriguez being such a good sport about the story, allowing me to use his inter-planetary super-powered heroine. And of course, it was fun to write for the woodland cast of Silent Forest. Christian Beranek and crew are some great people to work with. Here's a two page preview of the story: page one | page two Ask your local retailer to reserve a copy for you (Diamond Order Code OCT042921).
Viper Comics is starting to publish web comics. To kick everything off, Wes Molebash's You'll Have That makes its debut today. Truly, some cool stuff! I like Molebash's cartooning style. And funny? You betcha.
It's a smart move by Viper. More comic book companies would do well to support cartoonists. The strip adds good content to the site, and brings daily traffic. Plus, it helps create a partnership between the comic book and the comic strip. Personally, if I had a 30 page story printed on a 32 page comic book-- as part of three issue series hitting stores July 2005 (purely hypothetical situation, of course), I'd love to have a half-page in the back reserved for You'll Have That or some other web comic.
The Antihero-Comics-Dot-Com logo (on the left) is a new font. The previous one didn't go with the site. I needed something more subtle, more comic book friendly, and with a slight retro appeal. This one is called "Hitchcock". How could I refuse? I found it at a great site for a master designer-- Saul Bass.
A good font can be very satisfying. Not nearly as satisfying as being able to record "The Kids Are Alright" (The Who documentary) on our new DVR, but still fairly satisfying.  For those audiophiles (*cough* Jim!), I'll reveal my original intent for audioblogging. In part, it's the appeal of being able to blog anytime, anywhere from my cell phone. If I'm witness to something spectacular, I can share it. Also, it's fairly unique-- I think there's something intimate about listening to a person's voice. If one purpose of a blog is to connect with others, what better way to do that than with a voice, unscripted and unedited?
But intially, I pondered the idea of doing an audio-commentary for the comic books I write. I love DVD director's commentaries. I think the concept would transfer well to comics. How cool would it be to listen to Bendis or Millar go page-by-page through something they've written-- offering any insight they might have? I'm no Bendis or Millar, but if you enjoy this, then cool-- I'll try to do it for everything I write. It could be an interesting way to mix the print medium with the electronic. Once a person buys the book, if they like what I've done, they can come here for extras. The only problem I've run into is the "unedited" part. I wish I had some sound editing software, where I could fix the stammering. It's not easy to do commentary without pause. So here it is-- the writer's commentary for my first comic book, Some Other Day. If you own a copy, go get it. Let me know what you think.
The funny thing is that Melissa and I both felt the occasion was blog-worthy. We're getting cable television. Specifically, we ordered Dish satellite TV with a DVR receiver. Between the two of us, I think Melissa is a little more excited. I left this morning and she was smiling in her half-sleep state. Last night, Melissa cleaned the living room to prepare for the arrival of the cable guy. It felt oddly ceremonial, like when Jewish people clean house to prepare for the Passover meal.
I know it's en vogue to be critical of any pop culture consumption, especially when it comes from a TV. However, I would consider us more patrons or afficionados of American pop culture. Melissa and I love stories-- in whatever media. We watch TV, movies, read books, magazines, comics, listen to radio shows. One medium has not sucked the life from the other. We enjoy them all. Savor them. And now, we have cable-- and something new, TV we can record. No longer will we have to stay up until 2 AM to watch Sqaure Pegs (that's what happened the last time we had cable TV). Once again, I can watch the Daily Show. Our greatest contemporary artists and storytellers are those people who approach pop culture, not as a pariah, but as a canvas. So there, we like TV. Deal. Since we've been out of the cable programming loop, any suggestions of good shows?
Fanboy Radio's daily comic strips have been running for three months now, featuring the hosts of the show. In the morning, it's the first site I visit. The various cartoonists have created some truly funny, funny stuff.
A few of my own guest appearances-- http://fanboyradio.com/fbrdaily.php?fd=23
My friend Jim Lujan created yet another wonderful cartoon short. He specializes in this seedy Americana satire, which features such quirky characters like-- Pooty Mack, Rage Dogg, Securityman, and Big Howdy. In Jim's newest cartoon, a war breaks out between red necks and bikers.
Jim was kind enough to give me a brief cameo. I'm at a table with Josh Fialkov. We seem to be sitting rather close to each other. [Check out the video] 
Dead@17: Rough Cut Vol. 2 is available for pre-order in the December Previews catalog on page 342. While the first issue was a mere 48 pages, this anthology weighs in at an impressive 64 pages!
Go deeper inside the world, and learn never-before-revealed secrets about Nara, Violet, Malachi and the other characters that inhabit the universe. In addition to an all-new story by Josh Howard, this volume will feature returning creators such as Alex Hambry and Ben Hall, and will showcase Kazu Kibuishi (Flight, Daisy Kutter), Cal Slayton (Shades of Blue), Guy LeMay (Gone South) and more! I'm part of the "and more!" In Previews, it seems to be a popular title for me. I've written short stories for the Silent Forest Television Parody Special (October catalog) and Western Tales of Terror #2 (November catalog). For both books, I'm "and more!" It's really quite cool. I've been in Previews three consecutive months. Sure as hell beats being "and nothing!" For the second Rough Cut, I wrote a backstory on Winston and Malachi. It also involves Nara as an infant, but I don't want to go into any more details. (Gasp! I may have already said too much!) All in all, I'm happy with the script. Guy Lemay is currently doing the art, and he's amazingly talented.
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