Book Expo America 2012 Pre-Event Highlights & Tips

Posted on 05/30/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

Book Expo America 2012 is right around the corner. Last year I wrote a focused pre-event article giving tips and advice on how to approach the show using my last two years prior of experience of tackling the Javits. That advice came in handy for myself as well, since my Book Expo America 2011 experience was absolutely amazing. I got so many awesome books, met awesome people, made connections, got amazing photos and plenty material for various articles.

This year I plan the same and I feel it might be good to reiterate some of my tips, rewrite them or maybe even give some new ones before delving into my very long list of highlights for the show.

One of the things people always focus on are sensible walking shoes, something with support, but I’m going to change my assessment on that fact after last year wearing obscenely sensible shoes. They were perfect when I was walking the floor. The minute I had to be standing on a line though, they became less sensible. They’re arched and designed to actually wobble with the groove of your foot, but once you’re just physically standing still with a bag or two of books waiting for the one author whose line is so long you’re not sure where the actual end of the line is you’re wishing you’re in sandals or barefooted or something like that. So what is my suggestion now? I have no idea. Take your feet into account, know what works for you in a situation like that. I’m thinking sandals, but you can’t get away with that easily and be professional. So just do what is going to be comfortable for you, whatever that is. Although barefooted is not a good idea.

The biggest tip I’ve going to do my best to implement is “running” back to bag check when things get too physically heavy and I end up being completely exhausted by shows end. I have events and signings and galley giveaways and just walking around aimlessly all over the show, not to mention Blog World and I might actually forget to get back to bag check, but even if I do, that rolling suitcase not allowed on the show floor will be there for when its time to go home.

So with some tips out of the way, the real fun can begin, my personal highlights and what I look forward to. I am not going to provide times, booth numbers or anything like that. That information is all on the internet, the mobile app and various blogs and news sites. This is just things that people going to Book Expo should be looking for or be excited to hear me talk about and for those not going to Book Expo a way to imagine it all before photos and proper reportage comes their way.

I’m going to start with regular authors instead of celebrities, etc.


Daniel Handler is at Book Expo again, but he’s there as Lemony Snicket this time around. It’s been some years since he’s entered the Unfortunate Universe. Along with the great comics artist SETH, the first in his new series, All The Wrong Questions, will be previewed.


Andrew Gross who wrote the awesome EYES WIDE OPEN, will present his newest novel 15 SECONDS.R.L. Stine will be there for his newest adult focused novel, RED RAIN.

Children’s illustrator Scott Nash presents his first self penned book The High Skies Adventures of Blue Jay The Pirate.

Michael Connelly who became even more popular than before after theMatthew McConaughey starring film The Lincoln Lawyer will be there for the latest Harry Bosch novel (for those only familiar with the movie, Bosch is Haller’s half brother and an LAPD homicide detective).

William Joyce, author/illustrator and academy award winner will be there promoting the book adaptation of the amazing The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Tracy Hickman, co-writer of the epic DragonSword, Deathgate and other fantastic series, will be there with publisher Shadow Mountain for his Tales of the Dragon’s Bard series.

Journalist Alex Stone will be signing his book, Fooling Houdini, one of the lesser known books at the show that really caught my attention.

Walter Mosley, the best selling crime novelist will be there in promotion of his sci-fi novel, a flip book of two novellas.

Ridley Pearson has a new adult suspense series that starts with The Risk Agent.

Children’s book writer/illustrator and coincidentally one of my former college fellow students, David Ezra Stein will be promoting his upcoming Because Amelia Smiled.

One of the greatest children’s writers ever, James Howe, will be there for his upcoming picture book, illustrated by Chris Raschka, Otter and Odder.

That doesn’t cover even remotely everything that I’ll even be into but it should focus you enough.

In terms of celebrities with autobiographies or novels, well it’s a choice list.

Molly Ringwald has written a novel.

Q104.3’s Carol Miller, has a memoir.

Kevin Pollak has also written a memoir. Oh and if you haven’t checked out his newer podcast Talkin’ Walkin, you’re missing out.

Michael Ian Black has new book to promote in America, You Sexy Bitch co-written with Meghan McCain, who I believe shall also be there.

Frank DeCaro, best known for his movie reviews on The Daily Show and Sirius radio program, is promoting a collected recipe collection.

On top of that,  these three chefs of TOP CHEF fame shall be at the event!

Season 6’s Mike Isabella, Season 7’s runner up Angelo Sosa (also of Top Chef All-Stars) and Season 5’s Carla Hall (now of The Chew).

In this listing I have left out a lot. My schedule is filled with galley times, panels, chefs, other major writers, comic artists, celebs and more. It is a full and crazy schedule which I doubt I’ll accomplish as there’s only 60 minutes in an hour and who knows who long some things can take between waiting, talking, getting a photo, a signature and getting to your next location which can be down the aisle or across the room, but it’s all worth it.

Hope you have as much fun as I plan to!

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Teen Boat has launched and out to sea!

Posted on 05/24/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

A couple weeks back I was happy to attend a Launch Party for the collected edition of TEEN BOAT by Dave Roman and John Green. I’ve been reading and enjoying their work separately and together since way with their book Quicken Forbidden and following through with their work in the FLIGHT anthologies, various mini comics, Agnes Quill, and much more. The party featured books, a boat, food, musical performances and fun. I filmed some of it and made a video.

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MoCCA Fest 2012 – The Video!

Posted on 05/18/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

The following video has gotten some praise and heads up from individuals involved in it and now I share it officially on my website.

I’m betting some might be curious of the musical loop I invented for this. Well, I personally titled it “The OK GO Show Around The World Raises the Banner!” Hopefully no one ever feels that I should get punished since I’m not making any money off this thing.

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MoCCA Fest 2012: The Post Event Text Overview

Posted on 05/11/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

As I continue to work through and edit my few hours of footage shot at MoCCA Fest 2012 into a comprehensive, but entertaining and enjoyable not longer than 25 minute mini-document I felt I would proceed with a written look at my experience by properly cataloging and talking about the many comics and stuff I purchased, perused or was interesting in purchasing till that thing called limited funds hit its eventual wall.

If you are really just waiting for the video edition I give you a special gift as a reader of Pop-Culture Spectrum.
This link and the following embedding will bring you to a hidden version of the entire 9 minute set done by Daniel Johnston as part of the After-Party on Saturday night.

STUFF I WAS ABLE TO BUY

Uncanny Very Near Mint #1 & Very Near Mint Vol. 2:  I first got introduced to Justin Petersen’s Very Near Mint in 2011 at the very short time I was there.  After reading it I was ready for Volume two and now a year later I finally have it.  The closest thing I can compare the book to is CLERKS.  Well, more accurately CLERKS: The Cartoon.  On a day when two comic shop owners don’t get their weekly shipping, a new shop opens across the street and everything goes to hell and that’s just the beginning.  Funny, action packed, awesome characters, friendship, love, betrayal, conspiracy, all rolled up in a nice package.  Now I can’t wait for Volume three!  The Uncanny extra one-shot added some great history and character development which made the VNM universe even larger and real than thought before, so a definite must have.

Space Box #1 and The Taco Way of Finding Happiness:  These two minis are by Nate Bear who also does awesome designs for shirts, stickers, prints and more.  His art style is one that I find myself immediately attracted to.  Slightly sloppy, super cute.  Taco Way is done like a self-help book from a dog while Space Box is a full on short comedy piece.

Win Some, Lose:  Not much to say about this one because of the circumstances.   I actually almost felt pressured to by this, as I was caught distracted while making a purchase at the table next to this guy’s and it was his friends who forced it on me and I wasn’t in the mood to be rude (tip to Simon if he ever does any other conventions, don’t let this happen).  Simon Reinhardnt‘s art definitely needs some work, but I will say that the writing on this while a little cliched was actually a good preamble that could lead a larger more expanded version of the same work if redone with much stronger art and a longer stretch on the beats.

Showman? The Bret Braddock Adventures Vol 1 & 2:  David Blumenstein’s collections of his awesome webcomic were actually on a checklist of things I knew I wanted to purchase at the show and the books (as well as the writer/artist himself) delivered in every way possible.  The second volume actually goes beyond what the comic online is up to… as there are about 20 strips to go on the web.  Seriously hilarious, I’m really curious to see what David comes up with after!

Our Broadcast Day-Comics About Television Shows:  Pat Lewis “curated” this awesome little collection of hilarious stories, including his awesome Sesame Street meets L&O parody.  This little book deserves to be bigger but if delivers hilarity of seven brands with Alex Robinson‘s imagining of Mad Men in the 70’s and the dearly departed Dylan Williams with artist David King‘s side story from Leave it to Beaver “taking the cake” of the collection.  The cover is a little deceptive with it’s Angela Lansbury, Jaleel White and Ellen Degeneres images, so if those comics exist anywhere, I hope they see print one day.  If not, an Our Broadcast Day Issue 2 needs to happen.

So Buttons #4: Jonathan Bayliss is a really good writer and he’s been fortunate enough to have most of it drawn by T.J. Kirsch, David Beyer Jr., Tim Ogline and more .  In the newest collection though the ante gets upped as he has a story drawn by the one and only Fred Hembeck and work from Noah Van Sciver.  He had a special preview book of the next issue as well with an awesome Tom Sciolli cover.  His work is all slice of life and personal, but very funny and very good.

Lars the Last Viking Goes To The End of the World:  Another Caravan of Comics book that I planned picking up without a doubt. Matt Taylor‘s work is very evocative with powerful blacks that just make the book look like woodblock paintings.  I also love that as exciting and action packed is being a Viking tale, it’s also really funny.

BLUE:  This is the one majorly distributed book I got as Top Shelf is handling it, but I chose to get it direct from its creator Pat Grant at the Caravan of Comics.  Based in the history of Australian surfing comics it features stunning double page spreads.  One of my favorite comics people, New Zealand’s Dylan Horrock’s even wrote the mini intro which adds definite coolness.

Trip City Visitor’s Guide 2012:  The first print publication from the web collective puts some excellent prose from the likes of Dean Haspiel, Christopher Miskiewicz and Jefferey Burandt into print along with illustrations and art from Jen Ferguson, Eric Skillman, Jennifer Hayden and more.  It’s an excellent primer for the site, and a great little tome as well.  Digital may be the future, but print will/should not ever die.

Rat Bastard – Small Does #1:  Over 10 years ago, Cliff put out the first Rat Bastard comic.  The six issues that exist have long been amongst a favorite in my collection, always easily accesible for re-reading.  When Cliff came back at last year’s MoCCA I was saddened that RB was at the time only planned for a webcomic, so I am more than super ecstatic that he has survived very rough health problems and come back in full swing, even helping to put together an original convention in Asbury Park, NJ the weekend of May 12th.

The MidKnight Marauder: I’ve been waiting to see what mural/graffiti/canvas artist LogikOne would do with a full fledged superhero comic for awhile now.  His graffiti work always had that dynamic and he created visions that spoke of a larger universe.  Finally, Anthony Pugh (Logik’s true name)  has put together that comic and it is intense and hard hitting as I expected.

The Potter’s Pet:  Written and illustrated by the current team on the Adventure Time comics series, Shelli Paroline and Braden D. Lamb, this is a simple parable with great art work and humor.  I’ve enjoyed Shelli and Braden’s work through the three excellent Star Wars anthologies they were in, as well as Shelli’s work on various BOOM KIDS! Titles.

The Face Skull:  Pat Dorian’s humor reminds me highly of Ivan Brunetti.  Dark, sadistic, off the cuff, but very real and powerful.  He uses a Spectre-esque parody to deliver completely surreal images that are gruesome and hilarious.  Pat uses the “host” of Face Skull to make great quips on life’s foibles, but mostly on the idiocy that exists in corporate illustration work.  It makes for fine comic booking.

Blindspot #1 & #2:  I’m not sure how I ever missed the first issue of Joseph Remnant‘s short stories collection book, but reading the work you can easily see that on top of the just published Harvey Pekar’s CLEVELAND which he illustrated, Joseph is an amazing story teller himself.  He has that knack of just funny, interesting realistic writing that one can see in many of his fellow colleagues and constituents,.  The closest comparison I can think of for a layman that might create an image would be Daniel Clowes’ Eightball as it created two films the public might now best.

CELLS 1 & 2:  One of my last purchases of the weekend, I was glad my eyes pulled me into the amazing covers by Nate Wooters.  These books are cute and yet at the same time gorgeous.  One of the really cool things is his illustrated outro page.  Instead of just having a page of text, he draws it out as a comics page and it really works and adds something special.  I also like how he polls his readers to choose an element for the story since he has way too many to use and they’re all good.

Hurt Heart Voice Box figure by Noah Xifr:  The best way to explain this thing is to just show it:


I’m kind of a toy fiend, especially one of a kind or super limited type of toys, plushes, etc.  but I have to be careful as they get super expensive

Gastrophobia Volume 2-Amazon Attacked!:  I would’ve definitely purchased this at MoCCA if I hadn’t pre-ordered through David McGuire’s Kickstarter which guaranteed me a copy if for some reason I
couldn’t make the show and also got me a really cool button.  Gastro is an excellent strip and one that I highly support and look forward to further volumes as they come out.

For all the purchases I made there’s all the purchases I didn’t get to make and what make the show so amazing so with the assistance of business cards I’d like to mention creators who caught my eye and could’ve easily broken my bank account.
Eric Alexander Arroyo
Greg Kletsel
J. Sjostrom
David Boyle
Joshula Boulet
Heidi Black
Joel C. Gill
Antonio Romero
Micheline Hess
Alphabet Horror Vacui
Sarah Benkin
Maria Scrivan
A Riot Storm Productions
Spike & Sass
Wu Gene Hong

All together this year’s MoCCA Fest had really showed the event finding its perfecting footing inside the 69th Armory with a great room with plenty room and plenty to explore and if one has pockets deep the ability to walk away with some amazing works and if their pockets were less deep they got an assortment of adventures, a few free comics here or there, and amazing panels and even art workshops and they helped out a great organization like the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art.

The video presentation shall arrive sooner than later and still be timely for all the comics it promotes. As well as all the panel sessions which were timeless instead of announcements of upcoming projects that needed to be out to the public in a set time.

The convention as stated in the opening is a celebration about the history, present and future of comic art and a must go event. Make sure to visit the museum when you’re in New York, check out all the comics I linked here and come to the show next year.

 

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An Exquisite Corpse Sketch Collection

Posted on 05/02/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

 

At this year’s (2012) MoCCA Fest on top of the books I got and the footage I shot (coming very soon) I also came up with a fun sketchbook concept of an Exquisite Corpse.  I knew a concept like this meant I’d probably end up with way less sketches than I’ve usually gotten in the past, by handing out up to three different sketchbooks during a convention and picking them up at different points.    I spent some time putting together the final works into a sort of readable collage which you can see below.  As Lars says at the end, Enjoy!

A full sized version of this image can be found at the following link.

Here is a linked listing of the artists involved by panel:

Panel 1: Laura Lee Gulledge
Panel 2: Shelli Paroline
Panel 3: Braden Lamb
Panel 4: Pat Lewis
Panel 5: John Hazard
Panel 6: Micheline Hess
Panel 7: Pat Dorian
Panel 8: Cliff Galbraith
Panel 9: Anthony Pugh
Panel 10: David McGuire
Panel 11: David Blumenstein
Panel 12: Matt Taylor
Panel 13: Pat Grant
Panel 14: Michael Hawkins
Panel 15: Alex Robinson
Panel 16: Jun Nunez
Panel 17: Justin Peterson
Panel 18: Joseph Remnant
Panel 19: Doug Bratton
Panel 20: Lars Jakobsen

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Walking Dead: The Game, Survival DRAMA! (instead of horror… get it?)

Posted on 04/30/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

(the following review is dedicated to my friend, “Rhiannon” Miller)

Life is full of choices. Which shirt do I wear? What should I have for lunch? What movie should I go to? Who should I save from the attacking zombies?

That last decision isn’t really easy, it can change your entire life or at least in the case of Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead your entire experience over a five episode monthly season. At first it may seem not completely apparent how much your experience will truly change and in terms of major beats I’m not sure it will or if puzzle solutions will change as much as just dialogue and plot sequences, but it still makes for a fully replayable (sic) adventure. Doubly so because even without the chance to have portions of the story play out with different dialogue choices and segments, Telltale has put together an interactive graphic novel that one could see re-reading, just as one reads The Walking Dead comic again or owns the Walking Dead TV show on DVD to watch it again, good storytelling with quality acting.

For fans of the TV show the service is bit less, but they will get to see Glenn before he went to Atlanta and Shawn and Hershel Greene before Shawn became a Walker. Comic books fans get a minor character who did major things, as Lilly’s life before the apocalypse gets fleshed out. Everyone else we’ve been introduced to are original characters and while some reviews have stated these characters to be one dimensional, I feel that means they went for really super quick playthroughs (sic) to get their reviews out and never really took any time to listen to all the various conversations in which they are, including Doug, who was based completely on an actual real person. Of course none of them are as fleshed out as much as the lead character the player controls in Lee Everett. A character just as engaging, intriguing and with a variable personality even because of player choice. It seems like a small thing right now that you can decide if Lee is totally loyal, valiant, kind and all that jazz or mostly single-minded and only looking out for himself with a truly jerky attitude or something in between.

At many times the feel of the game is much for like a very interactive and controllable graphic novel. While there are actually puzzles which can take some common sense and in other times a good eye and understanding of logic as well as even the occasional very easy what has been known to be called QTE, which essentially translates to mashing a button and then mashing another button just at the right moment. There’s also some very minor targeting situations, but they are handled much more like a point n click adventure as Telltale has handled in the past. To my trained eye there doesn’t seem to be much change to the game design that differs from earlier Telltale Games such as Back To The Future, Sam & Max and Wallace & Gromit, and I’m one of those people who actually found those games to have a perfect balance of being easy to pick up for a complete non-gamer and only too easy for the strictest of puerile game players who want to feel like they’re taking a lawyer’s bar exam while playing a game or just find flaws to find flaws

I love most of all the art style which finds a way to combine what has become now known as Telltale’s signature art style with a very comic book feel with a line style that evokes both Walking Dead’s original artist Tony Moore and current artist Charlie Adlard. The animation does have various glitches that are easy to ignore, but can be jarring. In certain environments if you try to walk to the edge of the screen that isn’t actually passable, I noticed the animation would fall to a crawl. There was some texture parsing and floaters in cinemas that is distracting, but again not so much to ruin the game and make one scream bloody hell. Unless you you’re someone who demands absolute perfection and I mean ABSOLUTE perfection, which means, you’ll never ever be happy or satisfied and you better hope there’s a zombie apocalypse soon and that you become a zombie quick so that your brain becomes one process of eat, eat, eat. Which you know, could be interesting, but since I see myself as someone like Rick Grimes and possibly Lee Everett (who knows, it’s only one episode so far), you’ll end up being smashed to bits by me.

I actually highly recommend The Walking Dead game. It’s available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC/Windows and Mac , so your options to play are very high. You can also choose to try out things with just purchasing one episode for $5 or getting the entire season. On the Telltale site there are even better deals that get you the whole season and other games as well if you’re new to Telltale and want to explore stories such as Back To The Future Part Four or Jurassic Park 1.5.

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MoCCA Fest 2012: Pre-Show Acknowledgments! (now with more stuff!)

Posted on 04/24/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum
a
above image created by Rick Parker

The 10th Annual MoCCA Fest is coming up this coming weekend April 28-29th, located for the fourth year at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue between 25th and 26th Street on the island of Manhattan in New York City. I have attended the fair since 2002, and actually before that when it became a conception when the 2011 Small Press Expo in Maryland was canceled.

Every year it has provided me with a great chance to catch up with friends, discover new comics, hear amazing stories, get awesome original sketches, and feel like a part of history as through its panels it preserves the history of comics just as the museum does, while creating a new history by embracing the next line of comics through the fair which features many times students, independent comics artists who expand the pantheon and artists from around the world including Norway, France and this year as you’ll see below a cadre from Australia.  By being located in a central location not far from Madison Square Park and tons of awesome restaurants and with exhibitors who sell as many prints, t-shirts, pins, stickers, and even plushes as they do comics, there’s actually something for everyone!

For this year’s fest I’ve decided to do a pre-fest look at things that have been announced as debuting or being specially promoted for the event. That list is quite long, but I’ve chosen a selection that I feel gives you a good guide of NOT MISS items while divulging in the very large and expansive show, which includes excellent panels as well.

Hans Rickheit will be officially debuting his newest graphic novel Folly: The Consequences of Indiscretion

The absolutely stunning NOMADS – An Anthology will be available. It’s 40 pages of full color and seven amazing artists.

Tara and Paul Abbamondi bring their newest, a 40+ page collaboration titled The Stolen Lovelight

One of the most exciting things has to be what is being called Caravan of Comics. 12 artists from Australia will be traveling across America hitting various conventions and shops. Their first convention will MoCCA Fest. Among the talented group are David Blumenstein, who will bringing the two collections of his comic Showman? The Adventures of Brett Braddock, Pat Grant debuting the American edition of his comic BLUE through Top Shelf, Matt Taylor will be on hand with his comic Lars the Last Viking Goes to the End of The World, Jen Breach should have two comics with her, one drawn by Doug Holgate called Clementine Hetherington and the other drawn by Jase Harper called Humans Are The Weirdest. They’ll be lots of more, but those are some highlights.

The female collective of Coffee Spoon Comics will have a new collection available and I’m sure as many copies they have left of their individual minis as well. The collection will be a music issue and this great short is one of the stories.

Lawrence Gullo, best known for Baritarian Boy, should have a newest book called My Surgery available.

789 Studio’s Rain: A Collection, which received its backing and support through Kickstarter will be making its official debut at the show.

Dave Shabet will be there with the collected edition of his comic Dead Winter and who knows what else.

Sean Ford will be debuting his book Only Skin published by Secret Acres.

Alexandra Beguez and Kim Ku are sharing a table and they have a fascinating assortment of mini comics and prints.

Thomas Baehr will have his newest POLE-The Comic Strip with Penguins collection Make Guano Not War.

The Adventuring Comapny will be there with with the recently released Very Near Mint Vol.2 and more.

Nate Bear does a lot of stuff including mini comics, but one of the cool things he has is this new I Scream Truck print that I’m sure will be at MoCCA Fest. Do not miss this table, his work is great.Anthony Pugh, the artist aka LogikOne will have a self-published book on hand. As a long time fan of his works I’m excited by this.

Juan Nunez will have the first issue of his mini-series Cabeza available.

Holly Foltz will have issues 1-3 of her comic Unpleasant People at her table.

Lesser Key Studios will have their stunning Ianuae available, as well as stickers and buttons.

Tom Hart’s Retrofit comic Daddy Lightning will make its debut.

Trip City which features work from Dean Haspiel, Jennifer Hayden, Dan Goldman, Seth Kushner, Nick Abadzis and many more will be offering the Trip City Visitor’s Guide.
Pat Lewis is going to have an anthology of comic stories about television called Our Broadcast Day. This should be worth it for the “Mad Men” story by Alex Robinson on its own.

Fantagraphics are bringing a cadre of books in limited supplies as debuts, many of them not officially coming out to stores for months!

All this doesn’t mention many folks who I am excited to see who haven’t announced what they’ll have at the fest, sometimes bringing complete surprises or not wanting to a reveal and then have something go wrong. Do yourself a favor and check out the list of of exhibitors.

 

 

 

On top of the exhibit/merchandise/fest room there’s also the panels which are always exciting. You see the whole schedule at the MoccAFest site, but here’s a few selections of interest.
SATURDAY
either in ROOM A or B (check the schedule for updates and during the convention)2:15 P.M. Gary Panter receives the Klein Award, presentation by Bill Kartalopoulos
3:15 P.M. Comics creator Hans Rickheit in conversation with
4:15 P.M. “Harvey Pekar’s Final Projects”: Jeff Newelt (editor of The Pekar Project) and artists Joseph Remnant (Cleveland) , Rick Parker, Sean Pryor, Dean Haspiel (The Quitter) and JT Waldman (Not The Israel My Parents Promised Me) celebrate the life and work of comics pioneer Harvey Pekar with his widow, writer Joyce Brabner.

SUNDAY

11:15 P.M. Rick Parker Drawing Workshop. Rick is an incredible teacher and can teach something new and interesting to people with no experience to total masters of the craft.

12:15 P.M. “To Run a Comic Shop”: Alex Cox (formerly of Rocket Ship, now with CBDLF), Tucker Stone (Bergen Street Comics), Thor Parker (Midtown Comics), and Gabe Fowler (Desert Island), will tell stories of comic shop retailing.

5:15 P.M. Animation! Every year the show’s ending panel is cartoons from folks also involved in comics. This year the two main features are Devin Clark of Ugly Americans and Aaron Augenblick, whose studios has worked on Super Jail, Ugly Americans, Wonder Showzen and some awesome shorts.

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The Unkillable Charlie Hardie

Posted on 04/20/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

Car chases, attempted murder, mansions on the hill, underground prisons, psychopaths, agents, directors, actors, cops, criminals, lawyers, big whigs, buxom babes, nudity, sex, drugs, death, destruction… sounds like a regular day in Hollywood doesn’t it? At least the Hollywood of the movies, but for Charlie Hardie it’s the most atypical day in usually decidedly chosen humdrum life.
Excitement was the norm for him, till one day and for the last few years he’s done everything in his power to have the most basic, boring life possible. Life doesn’t ever go the way one plans, especially when the man running your life is writer Duane Swiercynski.

This isn’t how the Charlie Hardie trilogy of FUN & GAMES (June 2011), HELL & GONE(October 2011) and POINT & SHOOT (scheduled for 2013) begins, but that’s the crux of the matter. I became a real fan of Duane’s through his work on CABLE Vol.2 , in which Nate Summers and an unnamed child travel through a crazy future. I had been marginally introduced to him prior through his book The Blonde, but it was with Fun & Games that his brand of high octane, high adventure, crazy twists and wilder turns really grabbed me and have turned me into an always and future fan.

As with some of the best of crime noir fiction, the Charlie Hardie series is very visual. As you go through each passage, there is no way to not envision how this book would be translated on to the big screen with any of the current aging action stars of the 80s who are still kicking ass and taking names at the helm. Personally I see Val Kilmer or Russell Crowe when I close my eyes and/or pour through the pages, but I’m not a movie executive or a financier or even someone with the money to buy the rights to take the energy on a script adaptation, no, here I’m just a fan who thinks you should be as well.

Swiercynski takes the choice of an almost fourth person approach here, jumping from the perspective of various characters, including the peripheral. This style is kept up through both books and while jarring at first, it allows a really inventive way of revealing bits and pieces of a much larger whole. As much as this is Charlie’s adventure, there is so much more going on and each clue, hint, tid bit and revelation into this huge architecture Duane has built just expands in such ways that you can pretty much completely understand why he’s taking his time with the third book. Originally this trilogy was going to come hard and fast, June and October of 2011 and then March of 2012. After finishing Hell & Gone and then reading the first openings of Point & Shoot at the end of it, I was salivating at the bit for the final chapter, wondering how after how large, crazy and thrilling the second book was, it could be topped. That’s the idea with a trilogy right? To keep building and building. Not that there’s many trilogy to compare to. In its own way Charlie Hardie’s story and Duane’s concept to do it as three self-contained but completely interconnected books is truly quite original. The only real trilogies I can even think of in literature that may have begun as being conceptually the same is the work of Robertson Davis, all other trilogies have such different histories and origins.

One of the most fascinating things from this fourth person style of different perspectives is you gain an appreciation and interest for everyone involved, even the people who die or the people who just seem like they’re pure evil. It is one of the most amazing aspects of the writing that would definitely get lost in transition from page to screen.

I must say I enjoyed HELL & GONE much more than FUN & GAMES. There’s just so much intrigue, character development and the type of nail biting I personally love. FUN & GAMES for most the most part is escaping the horror, not stopping for one moment to explore, while HELL & GONE is the locked chamber, with no where to run, so you better figure out how to just survive till you can escape. I can only guess that the final book is the insanity where you try to decide to go into the lion’s den.

FUN & GAMES and HELL & GONE were published by Mulholland Books and are availabile at all fine book retailers and in all e-book formats.

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Super Big Kickstarter Roundup (April 18th, 2012)

Posted on 04/18/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

The following are projects I would love to pledge to for rewards and to see the projects happen. In some cases the projects are at 100% and that just means I wish I had hundreds of thousands of dollars just to be on board, in others they’re struggling or at the half way point and so they need your help as much as mine. All of them are stuff I really think is awesome and wish I was full of disposable income.

Cooking In Heel-A Memoir Cookbook: I absolutely love cook books which are more than just a collection of recipes and this one seems to be just that. Combining some Southern style seafood with pulling up the memories of being black, transgendered and I believe a lesbian in New York City and the troubles of that and that is one amazing read or at least it sounds like one.

Fairy Quest-Outlaws: Paul Jenkins isn’t one of my favorite writers, but he has written lots of stuff I’ve enjoyed. Mostly his Werewolf by Night, his issues of the Tecknophage series with Al Davidson and some of his issues of Spider-Man. In terms of Humberto Ramos, I actually never really loved the guy. He can be awesome of some stuff, the vampire series he created himself was awesome. So you’d be wondering why I’m into this book… well it looks awesome and sounds awesome. It reminds of TELLOS in ways and that book is one of my favorite things ever.

A WALL: I checked out Lila Roo’s prevoious art projects and I was really impressed. She has a great visual eye and this project could be awesome. She’s also beautiful and makes beautiful stuff.

NEKRO: This strategy adventure game has some amazing graphics and a conceptually good story. I don’t tend to get attracted to RTS or warfare games, but the premise behind this one with the artistic design really has my eyes open.

Dr. McNinja’s Radical Adventures: I love simple reflex platforming games, combining that mechanic with an original story featuring Christopher Hasting’s Dr.McNinja for mobile platforms is just awesomness and Chris agrees and he’s only marginally part of the project other than giving permission.

Mystery Pets Art Book by Diana X. Sprinkle: I’ve loved Diana’s comics for a long time. True Hue has been a steadfast favorite forever. I of course never got to see the first book she did here cause the internet is too huge, but this larger follow-up looks awesome as all let out.

Wish Pictures: I don’t talk online anymore, least at all webcam… but this could totally make me get back into it. Every conversation to be in a different room? Also this type of technology getting going could lead to it’s inspiration, Star Trek: TNG’s holodeck to becoming a reality.

Rob Schamberger paints professional wrestling’s Heavyweight Champions of the world: I’m curious to see how much he can really tackle here if he succeeds. He’s got Punk, Harley Race, Ric Flair… but will he really go all the way with this? He’s going to have to a Great Khali, and as comments noted, a David Arquette, not to mention a Tyler Black, a Sid Vicious, a Yokozuna, a Vader and when it comes to guys like Big Show and Kevin Nash… will he do Diesel and The Giant or consider those as one painting reflecting them as a whole?

Jane Jensen’s Pinkerton Road: The first official gamne has now been announced for Jane Jensen’s production company, that would be Moebius, but they’re still far from getting the financial backing to making that dream a reality. Jane Jensen is an incredible writer and I believe with no one and nothing holding her back in the publishing area she can do something amazing in this influx of the rebirth of old school gaming as a main stream concept with periphery engines instead of everyone using Wintermute and AGS (even though those games are awesome including everything by Wadjeteye) and having games be American made instead of ports and localizations from Spain and Germany. I want this to happen and so do you. Telltale Games are awesome, but there needs to be more big guys are the market!

Super Powered Revenge Christmas: An original graphic novel with Santa Claus and others as superheroes and villains written by Bill Corbett of MST3K and Rifftrax fame and drawn by Len Peralta. I don’t think there’s much more to say.

 

Xombie-Death Warmed Over: After sitting in development hell, James Farr has finally got XOMBIE back to do with as he pleases. Unfortunately that means the big movie isn’t happening, but he can now focus on getting a second season of the cartoon finally out there to the adoring public with your help. I was much more into the comic series that was birthed from the Xombie cartoon, but this fact remains… awesome.

Giant Donuts-NYC shop: I’ll never be able to eat a donut shop, unless they go for Gluten free or something. Or if I just have one donut a year, but the charm of their pitch video and the idea behind the shop just makes me excited. Worth checking out.

The Great Chicken Wing Hunt: This documentary looks amazing… it deserves a final cut and the ability to go out to markets to be seen in festivals and picked up for distribution on HBO or Showtime or something like that…maybe Bravo? Anyways, watch the full official trailer too. Also New Yorkers, come see it in downtown Manhattan on April 28th.

Cold and Loud-An Alaskan Rock Anthology: I’m completely unfamiliar with the rock scene of Alaska, but there seems to be a lot of Metalcore going on. Good metalcore at that, well, if you like Metalcore, I do sometimes. It’s not just Metalcore though, there’s some Electronica, Ska, Folk and Poppy stuff happening. Here’s some of the bands on this anthology so you can get a feel of what they’re all about.
Anchors Alive, City In Ashes, Bolt Action Beaver, Kallahanak, Pretty Birds That Kill, The Rocket Surgeons, T.I.A..
It’s important to note that all the tracks on this anthology were recorded new in a session at one studio with each band, they are all unreleased which makes it extra special.

Altruistic Complex-Book 1: This manga-esque anthromorphic comic by Zilford is really cool looking and reads well too. See for yourself right here.

Ace Kilroy: I can’t believe I’m just discovering this awesome webcomic now. You can see the thing yourself at Acekilroy.com, but this collected edition sounds awesome. A little hefty in price but that has to be because of the Kickstarter feeds and just making it available in the format they want with having their full colors being printed in color and such, which has to be expensive at a lower print run. Good stuff. 

 

Road Trip with Bibi the African Grey Parrot: Hilarious pitch video. This could turn into an awesome webseries. I’d be curious to see where the bird ends up and how it reacts to new things and if she can really learn new phrases and words. Bibi hates New Jersey, it stink. Bibi want La Brea, tar…tar… don’t belong. I don’t know.

The Car: This almost finished short looks pretty cool. I’m curious to just follow it.

Franklin, The Ladies Cat: Now this is some serious fun right here. This cat looks great and the voice is hilarious. I could see Franklin easily on Comedy Central or Adult Swim.

PuppeTyranny!’s Beans, Beans, Beans: This is one of those weird things where the pitch video really caught my eye that I just had to include it in this list.

Plastic Galaxy-A Documentary About Star War Toys: I still have a ton of my Kenner’s. The pitch video on this is actually weak, but the premise is really good. I hope they speak more to the actually Kenner folks on this then the collectors, because I really don’t need to hear from more collector’s and fans, but stories from the folks at Kenner who basically created toys from production sketches for a live action that hadn’t even been cast yet like Bobba Fett would be amazing.

2D6, geek rap group’s second album, Hey Fartface: Do not go by their pitch video. It shows a badly filmed live performance. Go to their Last.FM page and download the free mp3s. These dudes are really good and really funny. They deserve to expand their act, especially their live act which needs work.

Eryn Woods West Coast Summer Tour 2012: This Kickstarter is more a case of discovering a musical talent in Eryn Woods that I was not privy to before this. The tour is all west coast and I can’t see myself getting out to Cali anytime soon without a bigger deal involved, but for those out in Cali and the West coat, worth checking out and those not, just check out her music. She’s also absolutely stunning which is just a bonus.

 

 

The Many Worlds of Mr.Diddlewit: There many good children’s series up on Kickstarter, but this one in particular caught my eye so here I offer it for your information to check out.

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A look at Da New Guys-Day of the Jackass: A Super Fun Indie Action Title

Posted on 04/10/2012 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

In the world of pop-culture there are many things I enjoy, but two certain interests developed around the same time. My love point n’ click adventure games and my almost addictive enjoyment of sports entertainment/professional wrestling. Both these interests have evolved over the years even if the actual subjects haven’t. The best of point n click games are still interesting, but not heavy intensive art work with quirky dialogue, cool characters, a wacky plot and interesting puzzles. Wrestling has generally been the same since my childhood, quick paced action with some slow down, colorful larger than life characters, story lines that are a mix of reality and the completely unrealistic.

In the recently released game “Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass”, programmer, artist and designer Chris Burton has found a way to merge the two. Although one would say it’s much more Hulk Hogan’s Rock n Wrestling cartoon as classic adventure game, it still makes for a funny, ridiculous and crazy game.

That isn’t to say it’s without flaws. The art isn’t completely polished (but definitely has charm and is a big advance from the 8bit graphics of the first non-commercial gae), some of the later puzzles fall into the trap of being mini-games, but all together it is worth your time along with the original game which is available for free.

I had the pleasure/privilige to shoot Chris Burton a few questions via e-mail before the game officially came out and I’ve been sitting on his excellent answers for awhile. I can only hope that if my short review didn’t make you have interest, the following with links and various screenshots will.

1.) What was the deal with the bear head in the arena in Da New Guys?

That goofy-looking bear is based on my baby brother’s old teddy, who we used to make all kinds of dumb stories about when we were kids. It’s kind of an in-joke that nobody but us would get, which is why it’s not very prominent, but good old Bear’s present and correct in Day of the Jackass too!

2.) What was the original inspiration for Da New Guys? Was it always wrestling based or did the characters come first?

The characters always come first. Wrestling obviously plays a big part, but I think the heart of any Da New Guys story always has to be about the characters – I don’t think it would work if the story was ever just “they have to win the match so they can become champions”.

That said, the trio came about through playing a “true” wrestling game – Smackdown 2 on the good old PSOne. It had a really great create-a-wrestler mode, and then play with them through auto-generated storylines. I made the three heroes, then the game would make up rivalries for them to get involved in. Brain had a stick-on goofy smile, Simon was always grumpy, and so the characters just grew from there.

3.) Defender looks a lot like Cobra Commander, what’s the story there?

Google tells me that’s from G.I. Joe, so it isn’t intentional – though the comic-book influence definitely is. He’s a bit of a comic-book geek, and has a bit of a “hero complex”, so his costume tries to reflect that. His first appearance had more of a “samurai warrior” vibe, but it got refined and smoothed out over time to make it more original. Also, for as-yet unexplained reasons he wears a helmet to stay anonymous!

4.)I believe I noticed Kurt Angle in the first game in the Gym, is that correct?

It is! All thanks to a lack of texturing ability and easy-access to online images. I loved that Kurt was so over-the-top and in love with himself, but unlike Brain he’s actually a decent wrestler.

5.)Who are some of your favorite wrestlers? Also what are some of your favorite wrestling stories/angles?

I’ve been out of tune with wrestling lately – most of my memories are from the late 90s. Macho Man’s up there at the top – who can’t laugh every time he shouts? I loved any moment William Regal would try to “educate” the fans by showing them proper table manners – wrestling’s known for its stereotyping but I think that’s all part of the fun. The family issues between Vince and Shane McMahon were also great – I think that was the main dramatic angle I was genuinely swept up in. Also: Doink the Clown!

6.)Who/What inspires your brand of comedy? Films/TV/Comedians

I like humour that’s got the right mix of being wacky but also based in reality. In the same way that the game’s art style has caricatured people in a perspective-correct world, I try to push things over-the-top but still have clear “rules” that ground it all (the characters can get hurt, for example). I used to watch a lot of British sitcoms like Only Fools and Horses, which was very character-based and had a simple but charming humour to it. Unfortunately though, my cynicism’s growing and these days I’m more into comedians like Doug Stanhope.

Wallace & Gromit‘s more of a direct influence, I’d say, because of how well they manage to blend action and comedy together. The chase scene in A Close Shave is a perfect example of that: it’s wholly entertaining, and it’s got a very good mix of genuine jokes with geniune thrills.

7.)What are your full aspirations for Da New Guys? You’ve developed an animation and now finally have the second game, is there a next step or did the process of over 9 years betwen games drain that dream?

My ambitions grow with each project, and each one takes more and more effort, so I think any potential “next step” for Da New Guys would really be huge. I’ll never say no to anything else DNG-related, but I think another game would be so ambitious I’d have to really think hard about how to go about it properly. If people respond well to their first sequel, I’d certainly be very enthused to do another one!

8.)In terms of construction, how much of the game is all you(not counting the music) and what did Wadjeteye bring to the table?

Wadjet Eye got involved very late in development, so up until the middle of last year it was all me. That said, I think having Wadjet Eye on board massively improved the game. The story and pacing was final, but in an adventure game it’s the small moments and details that matter, and I got a ton of feedback. Not just from the excellent testers, but Dave and Emily were both very open about what they liked and didn’t like, which really helped me bash the game into shape. There were a couple of moments in the game where, looking back, the puzzles really weren’t so intuitive, and they were great to bounce new ides off of.

Wadjet Eye also gave me a whole bunch of voice actors! The first Da New Guys game was all voiced by myself, and it’s pretty obvious. While there are a lot of new characters in the sequel, there are some returning as well, but Dave was able to get some great replacements who I really wish I was able to get at the time I made the first one.

9.)I noticed in the art gallery that the characters started out as 3D models which you then drew over for Day of The Jackass, what was the thinking process for this decision?

The main reason the game took so long to make was because for a long time it really lacked the polish I wanted it to have, and the low-budget was painfully obvious when it came to animation. I can’t animate 2D at all, so when – after having learnt 3D animation – I discovered a way to animate in 3D space and rotoscope the frames into the game, the answer was obvious. It was a very elaborate and time-consuming job to convert the 3D to 2D, but I think it paid off really well, and let me come up with new puzzles that took advantage of it. Whereas before it was difficult enough to make a character hold their hand out, now I could make them kick, climb ladders, and do whatever I wanted. That freedom really meant I didn’t have to cut a puzzle or be less ambitious in a cutscene, just because I wouldn’t be able to portray it.

I’m really glad you’re enjoying it so far, and thanks for the interest!

I finally finished the game various times since that interview and slowly but surely getting this article up for print since the game became officially available at the end of February/almost beginning of March.  It is currently on sale from Wadgeteye Games and for $10 is worth it for anyone who enjoys funny point n click adventures with full stories and enjoyable characters.  There are arguments that can be made that NO ONE would want to help The Brain and that’s true, but I can think of many popular comedies full of annoying, stupid characters that we enjoy following… Mr. Bean, Peter Griffin, etc. and luckily for most of the game one plays the more enjoyable courageous, interesting guy that you wonder why he even hangs with these guys and the tough, grumpy, gruff guy that makes you wonder why he hangs with these guys.  It’s that awesome triumverite we’ve seen before and done well in an animated indie cartoon adventure.

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