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12.30.07 - GOODBYE YEAR OF THE PIG. HELLO RAT.
Can I describe this year without resorting to that overused Charles Dickens opening? Truthfully, the "worst of times" could have been much worse. Everything was handled as best as possible, and I can't ask for more than that. A lot of difficult moments were really about moving forward and hoping for something more. An opportunity to restart without losing what matters most. For the first time in almost eight years, I was truly alone. At least, I felt alone. Not isolated, but simply occupying my own space and no one else's. So I moved forward, and found things to be even more complex and wonderful than I could've imagined previously. This is the year where everything changed, like I've gotten older and younger simultaneously. I've loosened up a bit. I don't take myself quite as seriously. All the same, my thoughts still get cloudy now and again. It'll take time to fully get what this year was about.
This "year in review" blog post is something of a tradition. Previous years: 2004 | 2005 | 2006 Memorable events for 2007: * Le Divorce * Meeting April * MoCCA Art Fest in New York City * Tuesday nights at Amsterdam Bar * Road trip * Scott McCloud's presentation at UTA * La Reunion Workshop: Scriptwriting for Graphic Novels * Taking Kennedy to Disneyland Favorite comic books in 2007: * Buddha (softcover) vols.5-8 * Amulet * From Hell * Super Spy * The Umbrella Academy * Strangers In Paradise, Pocket Book 6 * Notes for a War Story Favorite TV Shows in 2007: * Lost * How I Met Your Mother * Flight of the Conchords * The Wire * Battlestar Galactica * Mythbusters Favorite movies I watched in 2007: * Rocket Science * The Darjeeling Limited * The Savages * Knocked Up * Me and You and Everyone We Know * The Night of the White Pants * King of Kong Favorite food for 2007: * Marie Callender's Salisbury Steak Favorite music for 2007: * Bishop Allen, The Broken String * Danger Doom, The Mouse and the Mask * Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha * The Arcade Fire, Neon Bible * Battles, Mirrored Going to get some sleep now.
I really need to clean out my garage and my office. Need to paint my office too. Need to finish raking and bagging leaves. Need to finish chapter two of Bolivar -- which by the way, Diana sent me the final inked pages for chapter one and they look beautiful. She has some concept sketches to work through, and then we're putting together the proposal. Need to buy some groceries. Need to pay some bills first.
I'm on my Christmas break right now. One of the perks of being a teacher. I would suggest that everybody should get this much time away from work -- if not more. Yes, I'm a big proponent of this cause. From the site:
"Vacations are vanishing. Only 14% of Americans will get a vacation of two weeks or longer this year. A third of women and a quarter of men get no annual leave anymore, as annual leave benefits are being eliminated like pensions. Many others are afraid to use their paid leave for fear they could be laid off or demoted if they do. No wonder the average American vacation is now down to a long weekend."Other interesting facts: * We're putting in longer hours on the job now than we did in the 1950s, despite promises of a coming age of leisure before the year 2000.So don't hassle me for having a Christmas break, a Spring break, and a Summer break. I'm just doing my career the right way, the healthy way. Plus, this extra time is usually the justification for low teacher salaries -- eight years at the same job, and I'm making barely more than when I started. During the summer, the more guilty-minded teachers usually waste away doing workshops or summer school. I spend the time with my daughter or writing. Yesterday, I was raking leaves.  The perspective is a little off, but I swear this pile is at least 5' tall. Enjoy your time off. Don't feel guilty about it. You deserve more.
It's December 20th, which marks the 3rd annual posting of O Holy Night (trainwreck version).
For those who know the routine: Bring the whole family, sit around the computer, and listen to this tender song about the night of Christ's birth. Share the song with others, friend or foe. The result will be the same.
The web design I started a few months ago is finally finished. You're looking at it -- a simple design and hopefully easy to navigate, art by my friend Dave Crosland. It took longer than I thought it would. I spent an unbelievable amount of time agonizing over fonts, which the title font is called "Later On" if you're curious. April helped a lot with her feedback. It doesn't hurt to have a girlfriend with a degree in Design. We had lengthy discussions on the number of menu links and the value of an ampersand. I took Dan Warner's suggestion with the blog titles for the RSS feed. (Thank you!)
Today is my first day of Christmas break... and thank god. Kennedy is at daycare; I'm in the office working. It's been a surprisingly productive morning. Although tomorrow, I have to rake leaves. Also, the trailer for Persepolis is now on Apple trailers (click here).
Astronaut Dad received a good review from Bart Croonenborghs at the Broken Frontier website. (click here)
Schoonover has a good grasp on the characters and combined with the distinct voices David Hopkins gives the protagonists, they really make the reader care. At the end of the book, you want to know how the story ends and that is the highest compliment an art team can get.Also, I finally upgraded to a pro account on Flickr, so all my older photos held hostage have reappeared.
For those people who don't like the new design, over the next few weeks, I'm going to make a few changes here and there. Mainly do a better job of intergrating the lovely Crosland artwork into the overall design. Add a rollover for the menu links, with some color. Also, change up the font for the menu. It won't be a huge change, but I like to nit-pick on this stuff. I still like the navigation and content. Anyways. That's all from me.
Brent and I were interviewed on Comixology's podcast. The link also includes some brand new preview pages of ASTRONAUT DAD. Comixology is a great website, lots of useful content and a clean design. I may be biased. They also made our book the featured item of the week.
Art Conspiracy was this past weekend. April and I went to Deep Ellum on Saturday afternoon to work on my art piece (shown below, photo by Sarah Jane Semrad). I'm happy with how it came together as a straightforward presentation of my work as a writer.  I was unable to make the actual event on Sunday night, but I received a voice message from Wim during my auction. I don't know what artist etiquette is... do I tell you how much it went for? I will say it sold for much more than I thought it would. All for charity, which is cool. Check out photos from the event on Sarah Jane's Flickr account, the event | the installation. Other stuff: Jim Mahfood has a new blog. Also, Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet is now available in bookstores. I purchased my copy, and it exceeded all expectations. (And my expectations were ridiculously high!) This graphic novel might be the best thing I've read all year. Amulet has the scope of Jeff Smith's Bone with the imagination of Hayao Miyazaki. But in the end, it is uniquely Kazu.
ASTRONAUT DAD, VOL.1 is available in comic book stores today. Go pick up your copy. Here's an interview Brent and I did for Fanboy Video --
Also, the infamous sword fight from Wizard World Texas, click here and see me get my ass kicked. Quote: "Next time, we're using guns."
Oh happy day. I just purchased a Christmas gift for myself. A clear faux pas, but who hasn't done it? I couldn't resist. Todd Klein is offering this beautiful print, signed by himself and Alan Moore. Limited to 500. April is going to help me with the matte and frame.
Speaking of Christmas gifts, I would strongly recommend picking up PopGun Vol. 1. An incredible multi-genre anthology with some of my favorite people -- Mike Allred, Dave Crosland, Nick Derington, Dan Hipp, Derek Hunter, Joelle Jones, Jim Mahfood, Paul Maybury, Chris Moreno, Leah Moore, Rick Remender, Jamie S. Rich, and Mark Andrew Smith -- it's as though Image Comics asked the question, "What would make David most happy?" And then, they published it.
Next Sunday December 9th, Art Conspiracy returns to Dallas. It's my favorite event all year, a showcase of what's best about this city. In particular, I'm looking forward to hearing Red Monroe and Sarah Jaffe.
The December issue of D Magazine is available, with "Souvenir of Dallas" featured on page 26, written by me and illustrated by Paul Milligan.
"Our intrepid cartoonists go undercover at the Mavs' preseason opener." Apologies to Mark Cuban, JJ Barea, and Sue Raagas, security representative. I'd post a link to the comic, but it isn't available on the D Magazine site. You'll have to pick up a copy at any local bookstore or grocery store. The magazine is all over the place. In fact, you might as well get a subscription. "Souvenir of Dallas" will be in the Pulse section every other month. We've got the best gig -- gonzo journalism in a comic format. Other news: A few friends noticed I was in Thursday's Quick making NFL/College football game picks. (click here) Let's be thankful the Cowboys won.
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