Gah! Money!

I can be a little rough on Todd McFarlane. He has a lot of money, he doesn't really do comics anymore, and his writing is a mess.

That said, he knows business.

Take a listen.

It's a half hour Fanboy Radio interview of him going off on commercial art, and it's great. I'm still not buying Spawn products, but I can see why some people would.

Fanboy Radio. The interviews are terrific, but sometimes the gushing praise coming out of Scott Heinz every second gives me severe behind-the-left-eyeball headaches. "Everything you've ever done is divinity! I wrap myself in your comics every night and chant your name! Your comics could end the conflict in the Middle East!"

You're not going to get any hard questions or straight answers out of Fanboy Radio, but every once in a while you'll hear some talented guys get up on their soapbox.

"It's a strange world... Let's keep it that way."

Currently rereading Planetary. It's hard to shake the feeling that Warren Ellis suffered a six-month pop-culture-overload-induced epileptic seizure and wrote the whole thing in a week-long meth-fueled diapered binge. It's terrific.

It's easy to miss a lot on the first time through, but not in the "LOST"-ish "Oh, I didn't see that symbol tattooed on his inner thigh" or "Oh, I should have examined that panel upside-down and through red filter lens" way that is so popular these days. I'm finding out I missed quite a lot.

It is just, like Watchmen was, a big complicated jigsaw puzzle. However, unlike Watchmen, some of the puzzle pieces don't fit. Some are the wrong size. A lot are from a different puzzle entirely, and are discarded. Not everything is wrapped in a neat package by series end, and it's okay. Some of those discarded pieces make up the most heart-wrenching stories in the tale. They're casualties.

Oh, and the puzzle is completed at the end of the run, something that certain television shows (and certain comic books) will never claim to offer.

You really need to read this, not only if you love superhero comics, but especially if you hate superhero comics.

Don't Worry About It, You'll Be Fine...

Yeah, I'm not big on pulsing headaches. I haven't started a weekly podcast singing their praises. Not a fan. For some reason, though, pulsing headaches have been a big part of my life this weekend.

Maybe it's all that exercise I've been doing for the last few of months. We can fix that.

Wife-Lady has informed me that in the Heroes/24 throwdown going down tonight, Heroes is going to be the winner in our home. I'm surprised. I'm not big on pulsing headaches, but I am big on nuclear explosions and fallout (the fictional kind, not the real kind).

Aaaand I'm blogging about television again. Seriously, what's my problem?

Comic-wise, I'm reading tons of writer interviews in this and this, which have been very exciting reads (non-affiliate links). It's very motivational. I've got my nine issue series laid out.

The only time I've submitted a script sample was to Dark Horse comics back in 1996 or so. I was probably 19. It was an awful script, and they told me to keep trying. I think I knew it would be rejected even before I submitted it. I knew zero about comics. I did a very mature, responsible thing and gave up immediately. I also stopped buying comics for about eight years.

I have no idea why I started buying comics again, nor do I have any idea why I started writing again.

I still know very little, particularly about writing them. I have no plans to make writing comics my occupation, but I do enjoy doing it. I'm a part-timer. I'm lazy. I procrastinate. My current goal is a page a day. That should mean roughly a comic a month. I second-guess every word I write.

I think I'm more Harvey Pekar than Peter David.

According to Peter, he bangs out a comic script in about six hours.

And that's why I hate people like Peter David.

The first step is recognizing you have a problem.

Gaming quote of the day:

From my daughter:

"I love it when Daddy kills the robots."

Wormsign.

News: None, really. Everybody's getting sick.

The oranges in California are all dying.

I suspect this man to be the cause:

What else? Last night, I just read a Todd McFarlane interview that was about the most inspiring, motivating piece of work I've ever read, for all the wrong reasons: "I just make up pages, and shuffle them around until I think it looks okay. I don't know anything about writing!" Astounding.

Watched Soylent Green (obviously) and Dune last week.

Soylent Green was awful, but only half as awful as The Omega Man was. The only redeeming quality of the film was the clear evidence that Charleton Heston is one heck of an actor. Even when the material is dross, he dominates every second of every scene. He could have pulled off the Ten Commandments even if he had been wearing a clown suit.

As for Dune, it still holds up very well. I don't know precisely why it got the abuse it did at its release. The acting held up. The special effects were serviceable. The story was challenging and a little swiss-cheesed from the novel, but it was still followable. Paul's the good guy, the Harkonnens are the bad guys, Paul's a freaking arch-diety. Very simple. And the production design was excellent.

Finally: the quantity of quotable lines approaches infinity, or maybe, eight.

"My name is a killing word."

"What's in the box?" "Pain."

"They tried and failed?" "They tried and died."

"The Sleeper has Awakened!"

"Fear is the Mindkiller. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration."

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion."

"The spice must flow."

and...

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

(See also: Milking Cats.)

Foods that Conner Enjoys:

Cheerios
Cheese
Toast
Baby Snacky Things
Pears
Applesauce
Peaches
Soylent Green

Dump.

Why is it that all my good ideas come to me in the shower, where I don't have anything to write on? I'm working my way back into to making writing a regular habit. Convention season is coming up, and I at least want to walk in knowing I have something in my holster, even if it's a Derringer.

Here, I'm getting all the music videos that are trapped in my head dumped out.

I inflict, I don't share.



Behave - Charlotte Hatherley. I'm not a girl-rock person, but Charlotte Hatherley is just too darn catchy. Macross Saga/Wing Commander visuals. And creepy drunken naughtiness.



Hell Yes - Beck. Beck is Beck, and I've been grinding through his stuff again over the last six months. Dancing robots.



Here It Goes Again - OK Go. Not new, but still fun. I know zero about Ok Go. Honestly, this is only included because Kate can't get enough of this video. Which means multiple, multiple viewings.

Interweb 2.9!

Despite how stupid the entire Web 2.0 movement sounds, periodically they kick out a real gem.

For example:
-Youtube works.
-GEverything works great.
-Del.icio.us is freaking heavensent manna, stuffed with Starburst and Werthers like a celestial piñata.
-Digg is... a prime example of the idiocy of mob rule, but it works.

I started using Netvibes a week or two ago. It mostly works. Some bugs in the RSS feed updates, a little chunky when running on a slower computer, but it's mighty handy for compiling all my feeds/blogs/mail into a single customized page. It's almost there. I will keep using it.

Try it, tell me I'm dumb for liking it.

Superdeedooper Heroes!

Since I haven't blogged in forever, I'm castigating myself with forced television blogging. Like a weathered scourge. Spare the fortieth lash.

I'm pretty big on escapism in its various forms. Any time I hear of a new fanboy movement, however, I cringe and try to hold the material in question at arms length.

Which is why I've avoided NBC's Heroes like the plague, until now.

Flashback, Saturday morning. I was bored. I was supposed to be writing or cleaning. Or rebuilding my PC. Or any number of more important things.

But instead, I wound up heading over to NBC's website and checking out the show. They put all of the episodes from the first season online. So I watched the first one.

And then I watched the rest of them.

It was a television binge I hadn't experienced as badly since I got hooked on 24.

It's not Shakespeare. Lots of people get superpowers and are very confused. But it is engaging and original. It's hard to pull out new surprises when you're feeding a horde of comic book fans that have been "shooting up" the superhero drug for a lifetime.

I liked it. And I like Jeph Loeb.

This from a guy who's gone through superhero rehab.

If you've got a Saturday when you should be doing other things, check it out.

It could definitely be a lot worse.

Ah, memories.

Remember when I used to blog?

I do.

The Omega Man Knows How To Love

Here's a Christmas gift from me to you:

Do Not Watch The Omega Man

I checked out this 1971 sci-fi flick hoping for an updated rendition of the beautifully creepy "The Last Man On Earth" starring Vincent Price. I dig Charlton Heston. Planet of the Apes was cool. I'm still looking forward to Soylent Green.

Great Scott, The Omega Man was awful. Take leftover hippy rhetoric, mix it with campy violence and touches of blaxploitation motifs, add a wholly inappropriate score, and you've got your Omega Man. "Man, the government's out to kill us, man. It's our love of technology which is destroying our inner soul child, brother." I get it. The crazy part is, the preaching is coming from the "bad guys" which are just downright goofy. They're like Batman thugs that are pulling down a job for Egghead.

See, they're mutants 'cause they see in the dark.

I'm just bitter because I actually wanted this movie to be good.

Another item on the "Reasons I Hate The Seventies" list.

Go see The Last Man on Earth instead.

Pile o' Comics

So I've got a pile of comics from my last trip to the shop, and most of them are truly noteworthy.

I will review them. Or at least some of them. Tomorrow is Saturday. I will earnestly strive to get at least one review up.

I will also endeavor to bring my primary computer back to life.

It's strange, but I feel like podcasting. Haven't recorded in months, but the urge is still there, and I don't know why.

Here's my dilemma: I always feel like reviewing anything is such a massive copout. "No one loves a critic." I always get done with a review or podcast and think: "Wow, I should have just created my own product instead of reviewing that guy's stuff."

It's much easier to analyze than to solder your own thought-stuff into a working circuitboard.

My satellite script has been creeping back out of my subconscious, which means it's going to keep bugging me until it's written down. I just need to get the stupid script done. It's like getting a reminder from your dentist. You hate the stupid reminders, but you'll feel better after you go.

I'll do at least one review though. I like writing them. Once my stupid computer is back, I'm considering more podcasts.

Have a good one. If you're standing in line for the PS3 right, I officially disown you from my tiny circle of loved ones.

Adios.

Random game chat excerpt of the day:

Playing a game while refreshing the election results.

This gem pops up:

"I remember dinosaurs, I remember the Boston Massacre."

Helpful Bonus Hints, You MORONS.

A few nuggets of joy, looking over my CA voting guide.

Special Bonus Tips for all California State Politicians:

- Your position must not contain any spelling or grammatical errors, either in the handbook or on any voter info websites (Republicans, I'm looking at you).

- Your platform statement should be longer than eight words (Libertarians, Peace and Freedom Party, American Independent Party... Seriously, it's like you guys slept in and had 30 seconds to write something).

- Use of all caps does not portray urgency, it portrays desperation (Peace and Freedom party again).

- "California must never be like Ohio or Florida." Thanks for that cautionary opening line from the Democrats (SecState statement). Opening line. I swear. Words to live by. Everybody, let's be careful out there. Morons.

- There's no way in hell I'm visiting your Myspace page. I'll open that sucker up, and you'll have a John Mellencamp MP3 embedded, I just know it. You're not fooling me. That, and pictures of you with aviator sunglasses. (American Independent Party)

Let's be careful out there.

We could turn into another state if we're not careful. Like Chicago, or something.

Kate's new thing

So yeah, I'm one of those boring grownups that blogs about their kids, because I have no other life.

Kate's thing now is Krypto the Superdog.

She calls him "Superman the Dog!"

She'll climb on the bed and yell "Superman the Dog!" and jump off.

I didn't even know she knew who Superman was.

Pitchforks and Torches

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I believe completely in the entrepreneurial spirit of America. I was raised to believe in climbing the ladder, and America has a history of making that possible. I'm cool with that.

I'm not cool with people sawing off the ladder once they get to the top.

Perks of Privilege

Some of the later points are stupid and anecdotal. The statistics are what I'm looking at.

This isn't just party politics. This is developing into full-blown class warfare.

I always loved history, because someone once told me, "History is the best subject for study, because it will make you the ultimate conversationalist. No matter who you're talking with, if you know your history, you'll both be more enriched by the conversation."

Whenever history describes a wealthy minority exploiting a poor majority, eventually it leads to guillotines and the like. The Mongols. The French. The British. The Spanish.

I'm not affiliated with any party. The party that owns the poor will carry the election this year.

Okay, fine, I'll play fair. Check this out. Just to add a little counter-perspective on the "downtrodden" Americans:

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Just trying to depress you a little more on your Tuesday. Because you're not pissed off enough.

Egads, I'm tired.

The Legend of Zelda is so rad.




In depth analysis forthcoming, I swear.

The funniest thing I've read this week.

Recipes from the Ambien cookbook.

Much needed laughs on an overworked week.

Music and math

The math geek in me just finds this exercise fascinating:

Whitney Box Flash

Journal-y Journal, Woobadeedoo.

Meh. Too busy to be interesting.

No news, except that everyone I know is in exactly the same position.

It's finally autumn here, which is really the only season California has besides summer. I never thought I'd ever miss snow.

I'm a little played out. I honestly just want to write a one-shot right now.

I read an old autographed copy of Longshot #1 I picked up months ago recently. My word, was it awful. Like, if it was a television show, it would be on the WB. Writing that makes your fillings hurt.

I'm planning a convention blitz for next year, with the understanding I have to have something to show when I get there, even if it's just an ashcan, even if I have to draw the thing myself (!).

My mind likes to work in long arcs, which works out to epics which are impossible to complete. Impossible for me, anyway.

The 16 page format is looking better and better.

Adios, everybody. Have a good rest of the week.