Warm Thoughts from the Frosty Lands

Alex Ness of the online Land of Frost popthought.com column has just

posted these warm and fuzzies about comics that should be collected into book format, including Tyrant.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, Alex, and kind words. It may yet come to pass!

What About Laughing Gravy?

* Quick, get Phil Baruth and Dan Barlow together!

Why?

Well, Dan is moving.

Up.

In the world.


Trees & Hills comic group co-founder

Dan Barlow (here's the man's blog)

just informed me and the world he's moving -- to Montpelier. "After four years of working as a reporter in southern Vermont - covering great things like a 34-year-old nuclear reactor, nude teenagers and pirate radio stations - I'm hitting the big time," Dan sez. "Well, big time for Vermont. Starting Feb. 19th I will be one of the Rutland Herald's two reporters covering the Vermont government. Yeah, the government that Howard Dean used to run before he started doing whatever he's doing now. This means I'll be in charge of writing about things like the Vermont House and Senate, our swell old Republican governor and ... nude teenagers (if they decide to follow me to Montpelier). I may even write things about our wide-eyed freshman Congressman or our socialist Senator. We'll see."

We shall indeed. Congrats, Dan!

But in the meantime -- whither Trees & Hills? What will happen to this adventurous band of New England cartoonists once Dan moves (choke) North?

Will this move mean the group is growing, spreading its roots further over the Green Mountain and Granite State landscapes?

Will the roots be deep and sound, or shallow and spread, like those damned conifers that blow over in wind storms?

Or will Dan still nurture and support the collective, or will he cast it adrift, leaving it shy of one activist co-founder?

Can Colin keep it afloat with his compatriots sans Dan?

And -- What about Laughing Gravy?

Only time -- and Dan -- will tell. Stay tuned.

[Trees & Hills group photos by Mark Martin, from his glorious Jabberous blog, circa May 2006: http://jabberous.blogspot.com/2006/05/comics-club.html -- see that link for ID of those pictured, save ---- Bjork -- who is he, anyway? And is he still drawing? Does he have a site? Did DC Comics approve of one of you wearing a Batman t-shirt? Did you have to pay royalty fees, or was that included in the price of the shirt, and First Sale Doctrine rules uber alle? Colin?]

* Speaking of which -- Damn, I let the Trees & Hills group down yesterday.

Amid all my catch-up posts, I neglected to mention that

the monthly Trees & Hills drawing party is happening, like, today, and I forgot to post the info & link about it yesterday!

Colin writes, "drawing party (always the 3rd Sat. of each month except under extenuating circumstances) will be happening this Saturday 2/17 at Tim Hulsizer's house in Keene, NH; email Tim (escapevelocity at hotmail.com) for directions and other info." BTW, here's the link to

Tim Hulsizer's site,

________________

* Don't know if you read the comments posted to this blog, but my short review of the documentary Jesus Camp prompted a strangely familiar hit-and-run swipe from an outraged Christian fundamentalist, in this case the right Rev. Don Spitz of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The link from his comment yielded this

little one-post blog,

a rant in the wilderness.

In his comment on my review, Rev. Don Spitz said:

"Sounds like you have some real serious hatred issues directed towards Christians. Suffice it to say, most, if not all problems on the planet earth are from people like you who reject Jesus Christ. Our prisons are filled with people, like you, who reject Jesus Christ. Most if not all rapes, murders, robberies and thefts are committed by people, like you, who reject Jesus Christ. AIDS is mainly spread by people, like you, who reject Jesus Christ and have sex outside of marriage or else like children with AIDS get it from people, like you, who reject Jesus Christ. I hope you will turn from your sins and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and escape the fires of eternal hell. Turning from your sins and giving your life to Jesus Christ is the only way you can escape the fires of hell and receive everlasting life. If you persist in your sins and continue to turn your back on Jesus Christ, you will be lost forever."

Now, I love this shit. Of course, as we all saw during the election season of 2000, we sinners embracing the Lord as our Savior doesn't necessary win the respect of fellow Christians, as then-not-yet-President Bush amply demonstrated by jeering and openly mocking a Born-Again woman on death row the very week of her execution. We're all to take his conversion on faith, but -- well, you get the idea. "By their works ye shall know them."

Rev. Spitz's post is a pip. I'm not mocking the man, whom I don't know any more than he knows me, but I am assessing his words. The wording resonates oddly with past brushes with other angry zealots.

Keeping the context of mere movie reviews and/or articles, I recall how, way back in 1989, I interviewed Alejandro Jodorowsky about his then-new movie Sante Sangre and placed that interview, in different forms, in a number of zines and papers, including our local 'activist' newspaper The Valley Advocate (out of Northampton, MA). My interview/article prompted a short published letter from two area feminists who attacked me for writing about the film -- which was Alejandro's delirious fictionalized account of a serial killer's career and eventual redemption, as only Alejandro could tell it -- who accused me of being a misogynist and of hating women, concluding, "We know who you are and we know what you are doing to women."

My first wife Marlene, to whom I was married still at the time, was absolutely outraged by the letter. She wrote a response, as did I. But the Advocate refused to allow either her and me to respond. The screed stood, and thereafter I made it a point to instantly respond to any such bile when it was directed my way.

Fact: In 99 cases out of 100, the accusers never, ever respond or reply.

Thus was established a pattern that became familiar to me over time, during the Taboo years and especially the Tyrant years. Foolish me -- I thought after the endless customs battles, censorship rows and difficulties finding printers, binders or venues for the calculated confrontational agenda of Taboo, doing a nice little all-ages dinosaur comic would be a piece of cake by comparison. Oh contraire!

No sooner had Tyrant #1 arrived in comic shops than a steady flow of angry letters from Creationists began to trickle into the ol' SpiderBaby Comix mailbox. By comparison with the Taboo era, the Tyrant letters were far more angry and contemptuous: I was judged a sinner for my dinosaur comic, and was a greater threat to humanity than I had been publishing horror comics. I find it hard to believe the publishers or creators of Turok, Son of Stone, Kona, Monarch of Monster Isle, Gorgo or Star-Spangled War Stories (with "The War That Time Forgot!") ever received this kind of hate mail, but those halycon days of the '50s and '60s many evangelicals cling to as "the good old days" of Christian America rule were perhaps more tolerant of that most malignant of all comics genres, the dinosaur comic book.

Of all those who wrote, sometimes vehemently judging me and my family in rhetoric fully of a piece with the good Rev. Spitz's comment, only one -- one! -- responded to my reply letters, striking up an exchange of letters (and comics) that was fun and lively and at the very least a conversation of sorts.

What I found, in all but that one case, was the letter-writers weren't interested in conversation, they were interested only in venting, in blasting me (and my family): an odd, vindictive form of 'witnessing,' to my world view.

I engage, they refuse. A sure path to communication and possible conversion, my friends!

In any case, I replied directly to Rev. Spitz's post on 2/14, which follows in the spirit of possible conversation:

"Wow, Rev. Spitz, you sure pretend to know a lot about me you don't know. Having not caused most of the problems on planet earth (though I think I can honestly say a few of those can now be chalked up to our President, who claims to be a true believer in Christ), having not been in prison, raped, murdered, robbed, or have/had/or spread AIDs, and as I do indeed believe in Jesus Christ (though not as you do), I reckon you just struck out on every single count in your rant against me and my modest post -- which is, after all, a movie review (in that it's the comments on Jesus Camp that seems to have brought you here), nothing more. What sins, precisely, am I persisting in? Not practicing my Christian beliefs in perfect accord with your own? Using the good brain God gave me at birth? Practicing my own faith as I see fit, rather than as you or others demand I do? Isn't this America? I thank God it isn't your fiefdom, yet. Making vile accusations and posting personalized bile and fear isn't in accord with the New Testament Christ I was raised with, or believe in -- nor, for that matter, is much else I can divine from your accusatory screed."

Any word from the Rev, I'll let you know.

I'm not feeling the love, though, as yet.

We used to have this old 45 RPM record in my family's modest collection, and I'll go out with that tune:

"Praise the Lord, and Pass the Ammunition, Praise the Lord, and Pass the Ammunition, Praise the Lord, and Pass the Ammunition And We'll Allllll Beeeeeee Freeeeeeeeeeee!"

Make Mine Stout!

Later today I'm teaching my first class at CCS, but I'm using this morning to catch up on some non-CCS matters. Read on...
__

Check out Cole Odell's comment on my September 8th posting and "Moving Day." Needless to say, I'm not recommending anyone ever jump insane heights into dangerously narrow, shallow pools of water. Thanks, Cole, for making the 'what if' scenario painfully concrete; I hope your reckless and unfortunate Middlebury College didn't suffer any permanent injuries.
__

This bemusing letter from my old friend Tim Viereck, aka 'Doc', who reports on a recent event involving his two innocent, unblemished children and the insinuation of malignant Bissette brainspew into his happy home:

"So I came into the living room this morning, Saturday morning. Videos have been banished for two weeks, as punishment for faulty behavior patterns, and Tamara and Pom are ensconced in an easy chair, she reading aloud. How sweet, how special!

I read an email, fill in a petition against the repeal of the estate tax, peruse some jokes sent by a friend, as the words drift into my consciousness: "... said grace, his robes moved... shifted and quivered as if hidden limbs were moving... limbs where no human being ever had limbs... "

Arrggghh! SpiderBaby Comix has found my six-year-old!

I turned his attention to Tyrant, and read a couple, but even after one, he said, "That next one doesn't look so good - it doesn't have much blood... I like the blood!", and after two, he went back outside to play.

To play whatever secret games he plays...
alone...
in the shadows...
by the ditch, perhaps with little helpless creatures...

Thanks, old buddy -
Doc"

Yes, it was difficult to manage, much less afford, but I did make a real effort to ensure every copy of SpiderBaby Comix was self-ambulatory and designed to target the youngest reader in any given geographic area. Though most readers can't feel them, there are eight spindly legs that sprout when the comix lay undisturbed for a long enough duration, with the genetically-embedded imperative to land in the lap of the most innocent and waif-like of all bipeds in their reach.

Wait, what's that scratching? Is it coming from that stack of comics -- or perhaps your comic boxes? The feeble but insistent scrabbling of thin, hairy legs....
____

Bill Stout is one of my all-time favorite cartoonists and artists, and he has elevated his work into the ranks of classic paleontology and naturalist artists like Charles Knight, Zdenak Burian, and Rudolph Zallinger. My penpal Dan Johnson (who interviewed Rick Veitch and I for Back Issue magazine about a year ago) recently conducted a lengthy, career-spanning interview with Stout, and the first installment is on newsstands now in Filmfax (Plus) #107.

If that's not enough, my Mirage Studios amigo Mike Dooney also steered me to an online audiofiled interview with Bill Stout which is

here.

Poke around that site a bit for other engaging interviews with cartoonists and comics personalities.
___

Al Nickerson's ongoing online Creator Bill of Rights debate continues: the link is forever posted on this blog (on the right), but if you've not checked it out yet, click

here.

Prepare for some intensive reading, and once you've digested all that, the latest letter from Al to Dave Sim is posted

here,

and Dave's latest response is

here.

The occasional discussion board posts regarding this ongoing discussion have been of interest, particularly the first response to Dave Sim's most recent letter by Scotsman Stu West on Comicon's board, which is

here.

Kudos to Stu, who immediately picked up where I was going with my reply, which I hope to provide ample historical context for. I'm specifically directing my replies to Al's site, as he initiated this current debate and is archiving the letters in a centralized online venue. Anyhoot, it's a worthwhile debate, particularly if you're working in the creative arts, eking out a living.
___

Meanwhile, in day-to-day reality in our country, it's timely to reflect upon the events of the past three weeks. Lest we forget:

Daily Kos New Orleans recap

Andrew Debly steered me to the September 7th entry in the blog of Tor Books editor Teresa Nielson Hayden, which offers an agonizing account of the obstacles Katrina evacuees faced trying to leave New Orleans, and it makes for sobering (infuriating) reading. Check it out:

What We Did on Our Vacation.

I'm presently reading The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler, recommended by Alan David Doane, and preparing to interview George Romero about Land of the Dead, which I consider a masterpiece (along with Romero's previous Dead films). Somehow, the two go together with uncanny precision. Now that the Bush Administration has put the lid on photos of the dead from New Orleans (for the same reasons given for not photographing the incoming wounded and dead from the Iraq War), Romero's image of the dead rising from the waters takes on an eerie, almost prescient resonance...
___

While there are countless Katrina relief efforts underway, including many from the comics field, one upcoming effort I've been informed of is Phil Yeh's community-galvanizing effort in Houston, which Rick Veitch just fired my way. FYI, Phil has been creating comics since 1970, including one of the first graphic novels (circa 1977). He remains best known for Theo the Dinosaur (1991) and The Winged Tiger (1993), but he has been a whirlwind of activity each and every year, tornadoing into neighborhoods all over the world to host pro-literacy comics and graphic novel workshops in community libraries and work with local youngsters and artists to create colorful public murals. Phil is a true comics and creativity activist, and it's no surprise he has quickly adapted an already-planned Houston event to Katrina relief efforts.

Phil is seeking donations of comics and graphic novels for Katrina victims. The press release offers the necessary details:

"Yeh is now working with the Houston Public Library to bring donated books to area shelters for the many people who are homeless due to this tragic event. He also plans to paint a mural with the some of the children in the area's shelters. Publishers and artists who would like to donate books for the relief effort can send books directly to the North Channel Branch Library, Harris County Public Library, 15741 Wallisvile Road, Houston, Texas 77049. Please address the donations to Pat Lippold, Branch Manager. All donations are tax deductible."

For further information, contact Rob Valentine at (805) 735-5134.

BTW, Phil's planned Houston workshop is happening, too. "Yeh's graphic novel workshops at both the downtown Houston Main Public Library at 4 pm on September 28 and at the North Channel Branch Library at 6 pm on the 29th will go on as scheduled. The events are free to the public."
_______

On August 30th, an AP report filed by Jennifer Loven offered the underreported bon mot that President Bush "answered growing anti-war protests with a fresh reason for American troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields that he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists."

Wait a minute -- isn't that what many of us said three years ago? Does our President even know what he's saying any longer???
___

A few emailers asked where I got the poverty figures I cited in one of last week's posts. I'm being pretty rigorous about citing sources and/or online sources that are neither specifically left nor right; that info came from the AP as well, specifically Jennifer C. Kerr's August 30th "Poverty Rate Rises to 12.7 Percent
Changes Marks Fourth Consecutive Increase," which offers the following insights:

Even with a robust economy that was adding jobs last year, the number of Americans who fell into poverty rose to 37 million - up 1.1 million from 2003 - according to Census Bureau figures released Tuesday. It marks the fourth straight increase in the government's annual poverty measure. The Census Bureau also said household income remained flat, and that the number of people without health insurance edged up by about 800,000 to 45.8 million people. ...While disappointed, the Bush administration - which has not seen a decline in poverty numbers since the president took office - said it was not surprised by the new statistics....

The Bush Administration is "responding" to the reality of the mounting poverty and health care crisis precisely as they responded to Katrina: not at all. The last decline in poverty figures, according to the AP report, was in 2000, during the Clinton Administration. From the beginning of the Bush Presidency, all the effective policies instituted by the previous Administration were willfully abandoned, stripped, or inverted, as demonstrated most recently by the horrific underperformance of FEMA (which, under Clinton, was streamlined into one of the most effective FEMA eras in that organization's history). Parallel to that demolition of various poverty-relief efforts, Bush and his cronies have also gleefully realigned the distribution of tax burdens and wealth, even as the current stage of corporate evolution has inflated CEO salaries and packages into the stratosphere, increasing the disparity between incomes to levels unseen since the 1930s.

The "by the numbers" portion of the AP report is staggering:

31.1 Million People living in poverty in 2000

37 Million
People living in poverty in 2004

$44,389
Median household income in 2004 (unchanged from 2003)

45 million
People without health insurance in 2003

45.8 million
People without health insurance in 2004
_______

Finally, I needn't elaborate on the recent turn of events with FEMA management (and mismanagement), in which Bush had to eat his risible praise of Michael Brown aka "Brownie" to replace "Brownie" with a new acolyte (aka "Duct Tape Man"). This is indicative of the nature of almost all Bush Administration posts, rewarding political cronies regardless of their true abilities or inabilities, pawning off the responsibilities of and obligations to public safety and key regulatory positions as if Bush were a Fraternity kingpin blessing his circle of frat brothers. It's a vile spectacle now laid naked to the world, though anyone watching has been aware of this and could see this inevitability coming. The mask has been ripped at last from the Phantom's face, and there's no spinning or taking back that moment (maybe now more people can understand Jim Jeffords' decision to leave the Republican party in the first year of Bush's Administration: when, exactly, did Jeffords see the mask ripped away? His autobiographical book on the subject, reportedly ghost-written in part or whole, skirts the revelatory moment).

It's taken Katrina to at last open more of America's eyes to the reality of our situation. The abuses of power the American public and press have not only endured but sanctioned -- by delusional somnambulism and/or active indifference -- may finally be too blatant for even the most devoted of the flock to remain blind to for much longer. In the wake of the recent revelations concerning Karl Rove's role in the notorious Valerie Plume case, in which arguably the most influential Presidential aide in over half a century was shown to have vindictively breached national security to serve partisan reliation (a treasonous act), the incarceration of NY Times reporter Judith Miller (for an article that never saw print!) has finally put the press on notice. One of their own has gone down; it should be Rove, not Miller, behind bars (while Cheney and DeLay continue to enjoy an arm's length from the dirty deeds of their respective aides and associates, Rove himself is individually culpable this time).

We've seen a procession of government officials from Colin Powell to "Brownie" willing to fall on the sword for their Commander in Chief. But when Miller went to jail, I hoped that all journalists (not just the few who have been tackling this Administration, against enormous stacked odds) finally realized the stakes of this high-risk "game" includes their own -- themselves -- and that finally honoring one of the fundamental obligations of the press and their importance to a true democracy may be the only hope of saving their own asses.

An invigorating sign that even the most complacent and corporate of the US media might finally be waking up from their long slumber is offered by Marlene O'Connor, my beloved first wife, who told me this past week about a stunning turnabout in the wake of Katrina on none other than NBC news. Keith Olberman (aka the Bloggerman) was the man; Marlene tracked down an online transcript of that momentous event. It was last Monday night on NBC news, and you can read it for yourself

here.

___

OK, enough of that. Tomorrow, a report on my first day teaching at CCS...

Taboo art, 24 Hour news, dinosaurs, and dreams...

First off, a timely announcement for Taboo fans and art collectors:

I received an email this week from the cover artist of TABOO 6, Cruz Montoya (then signing as Cru Zen), who writes:

"I am selling a few paintings. One happens to be the painting titled "DEPRIVATION". I painted this oil on canvas in 1990. You chose the work for the cover of TABOO #6 [in] 1992.... The painting is up on ebay at the moment. Yea, I am still painting."

That was an astonishing cover painting, and one well worth picking up. The auction on ebay still has a few days left, but you should go and take a peek regardless, just to savor the imagery. Check it out at

Cru Montoya's site

or go right to ebay and place your bid:

TABOO 6 cover Deprivation

The particulars: "Original OIL on CANVAS - Painted by CRUZ 1990 - TABOO COVER Issue #6 1992 - PAINTING IS AUTHENTIC -Canvas measures 24 X 36 inches w/frame 25 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches - SIGNED ON BACK - NOTE: Cruz continued to work on this painting after the transparency was sent to SpiderBaby Grafix for reproduction (long before publication) - Minor changes appear in finished work(study images) - ...email with questions before bidding - Painting is in EXCELLENT CONDITION with Original Frame - Selling AS IS - LARGE FILE PLEASE WAIT -" ...and yes, it can take some time to load, unless you have DSL.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, go for it!
__

On a more personal note, I've been having vivid dreams of late. I don't keep a record of 'em, the way my amigo Rick Veitch (Rarebit Fiends) does, but sometimes they stick. I had an amusing one this morning I thought I'd share. Tucked betwixt two winter dreams -- one involving traveling on a narrow, icy road that became a pleasurable sliding fest, and the other culminating in a spectacular, too-close-for-comfort view of a gigantic fallen oak caught in a span of power wires shuddering and splintering into pieces until it was clear of the unbroken lines (Hurricane Katrina ripping through the dream pool?)-- I had a hilarious dream early this AM involving Eddie Campbell coming to Vermont to film a Pepsi commercial he had been assigned to direct. I talked him into doing a ‘nunsploitation’ commercial that began, Ken Russell-like, with an attractive young imprisoned nun facing an unorthodox exorcism, and ended with a shot of a happy-Jesus statue clutching a can of Pepsi after the nun’s escape (thanks, somehow, to Pepsi).

It was great to see Eddie again, even if it was in the Jungian realm; it’ll be a loooong time before Marj and I are able to visit Australia.
___

I've just added an active link to Dr. Michael Ryan's marvelous Paleoblog on the menu at right, and highly recommend you visit long and often. Michael was among the most energetic paleontologists who helped me through the arduous Tyrant research efforts, as he has Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, aka Cadillacs and Dinosaurs) for years. Michael is now curator of paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, posting ongoing illustrated blogs detailing his own fossil digs (lots of photos!), travels, and all things saurian, including past entries by yours truly (a history of dinosaur comics that will soon be archived on my own site, now under construction) and a link to a very engaging history of dinosaur movies. Check it out!
___

And hey, speaking of dinosaurs, the Chinese dinosaurs are coming to Vermont! I can't believe it! I saw a few of these fossils close-up back in my Tyrant days, when I was an active member of the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology (an adventure I'd love to re-engage with soon). But now we can all have a look at 'em, when the traveling exhibition of Chinese dinosaur fossils visits the Montshire Museum of Science starting on October 15th, 2005.

Here's the scoop: "Chinasaurs: The Great Dinosaurs of China" will be at the Montshire from October 15 through December 18. The exhibit features six full-sized skeletons originally excavated from the Gobi Desert their home, along with ossified remains of some of the creatures that lived alongside and underfoot. The exhibit includes the ever-popular Velociraptor, displays of the unusual feathered dinosaurs that have captured the imagination of us all since their discovery, and many other fossils from China's prehistoric past (including dinosaur eggs and footprints). It looks like a fantastic exhibition -- see you there, I hope! Free with Museum admission.

The Montshire Museum of Science is waiting for you mid-state at One Montshire Road, Norwich, VT 05055 (phone: 802 649-2200, Fax 802 649-3637, E-mail montshire@montshire.org), and they're open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For online info and pix, go to:

Montshire Musuem site

Heartfelt thanks to writer and dear friend Diane E. Foulds for bringing this to my attention.
____

You know, I'm told that Diane once said: "If God is supposed to be so loving, why did he create all those awful dinosaurs?"

Diane, the short answer is, He may not have. All hail the True Creator, The Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Since the ongoing struggle by devout Christians against Darwinian theory and evolution continues unabated, and since the latest offensive front spin-doctoring Creationism into “Intelligent Design” has now opened a fresh can of worms, it only seems appropriate that

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

should rear its fettucini-like head. As my cartooning bro' Tim Truman exclaimed, "At last! I have found a religion with which I am completely comfortable" (and Tim was a preacher's son, y'all, so say amen!).

There's clear scientific evidence (well, as clear as anything Creationist and "Intelligent Design" acolytes have provided) that the Church might be on to something here. I mean, look at other cultural myths: the snake-headed Medusa might have emerged from a visitation of the Flying Spaghetti Monster settling on a female worshipper's head in ancient times, and more contemporary manifestations like Toho monsters Dogora and Hedorah were clearly inspired by the Flying Spaghetti Monster's fossil record. Besides, we all know there are indeed midgets in this world.

Given the recent words of wisdom from none other than our own President, I implore you all -- really, we need to leave no child left behind in exposure to the many alternative theories and myths of creation. There are some lovely Creation stories from around the world, but few are as awe-inspiring and utterly convincing as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Why do they think they call it "Angel Hair"?

I'll leave the final word to Tim:

"May His Words and His Wisdom be taught to all young Kansas school children who are not yet of drinking age."
___

A few more odds and ends:

There's an ongoing online discussion about the Creator Bill of Rights (another Scott McCloud invention!) that I've been participating in for a few months. Cartoonist Al Nickerson is the brave soul who re-opened discussion and is providing a one-stop venue for the debate, which is

here

and now among the permanent links on this blog (see right).

There's also some more 24-Hour Comic news to report:

* First, a reminder: 24-Hour Comics Day is October 7, 2006 -- not 2005. Sorry for the confusion in my last post. Thanks for the correction, Nat, who adds, "I'd prefer people not think it's sooner. We've moved the date of 24 Hour Comics Day from April (where it was this year and last) to the fall for next year, due to various logistical reasons."

* Ryan Estrada (see yesterday's post, below) writes, "The two 168 hour comics have indeed started something. Why, Bez, the individual who was to be 'going down,' has since started his 24 pages a day, every day for the rest of the year effort, and is going strong. Sure, a lot of them are quick doodles and stick figures, but it's still an incredibly awesome thing to do. But none of it would have happened if you two crazy kids hadn't started it off to begin with. And for that, I salute you." Ah, garsh, Ryan, nice of ya to say so.

* Vermont Public Radio broadcast an interview with yours truly and curator Gabriel Greenberg the week before the Brattleboro Museum event, and you can check it out

here.

* Alan David Doane has also just posted a follow-up interview with the guest curator of the Brattleboro Museum 24 Hour Comic Marathon that's worth a read, and that's over

here.

* One more permutation of the 24-Hour Comic deserves mention. This event coincidentally fell on the very weekend of the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center’s 24-Hour Challenge: actor Will Keenan’s Go-Kart Films (distributed on video & DVD by Koch;

click here for more info)

and Hoverground Studios had a major hand in Cinemasports. I held on to the press release I was emailed on Friday, August 26th, and here it is:

"Shoot your own movie in less than a day! Cinemasports is the Iron Chef of Filmmaking, where teams work feverishly to complete a movie in less than a day, that must contain a specific list of ingredients. Finished movies screen that very night. Concurrent global events often exchange movies in time for the evening screening. This is a community based, one-day filmmaking event open to all levels of filmmakers . Participation is free and open to anyone wanting to make a movie. This Saturday there will be two events happening on each side of the country - San Jose, CA & Manhattan, NY.

Here is how it works: Teams of filmmakers will get together and will be given ingredients that must be included in a 3 minute film. Each group has 10 hours to write, film, edit and complete their project...at 8pm participants and an audience will get a chance to watch each of the finished masterpieces. Whether you put together a team of your own, or want to come by yourself and be a part of the magic - this event is ready for you to participate: actors, directors, editors, writers, technicians, and anyone with an idea that really need to be turned into reality. To register for the event go

here!

If you are looking for a team or just want to touch base with other filmmakers, please visit our forum and feel free to ask for help (or just join the community)

here!

The whole thing starts the morning of Saturday, August 27th:
09:00 AM Filmmakers' Kickoff / Ingredients Announced Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park - Southern Corner at the Statue of Quezalcoatl - The Plumed Serpent Market and San Carlos Street, (near San Fernando Street)(VTA Light Rail access), San Jose, CA, 95113 USA
The films will be screened later that same evening:
08:00 PM Public screening of finished movies
MACLA - Black Box Theater
510 South First Street, San Jose, CA, 95113 USA
Tickets: $5 Participant / $10 Audience
For more details, examples of past submissions and specifics on the NYC event,
please visit:

Cinemasports

See you there!"

Did you catch the reference to "concurrent global events"??? Why, Quezalcoatl must be writhing in his ages-old sleep. I wonder if Scott McCloud knows about all this. This is astounding!
___

Speaking of indy actor Will Keenan (star of Tromeo and Juliet, Operation Midnight Climax, Love God, Waiting, etc.), there’s a bit of a controversy brewing over the overt similarities between Patrick Hasson’s Waiting (2000), a feisty independent film Will starred (and ate shaving cream) in, and the trailers for an upcoming comedy entitled (ahem) Waiting..., from writer/director Rob McKittrick.

At the time of this writing, online promotion or sources (including imdb.com postings by McKittrick) deny any association with Hasson and Stefanic’s film: on August 27, 2005, McKittrick wrote, “I can assure you, it's not a ripoff of the Will Keenan film. I wrote it back in '97 (and have the writer's guild registration and copyright to prove it), a couple years before the Hasson film came out” (see

McKittrick's comments,

and check the related threads).

I never judge a creative work before I see/read/hear/experience it, but I must say the trailer immediately rang bells and had me assuming Waiting... was a remake of Waiting, until I saw not one name associated with the 2000 film in the credits. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops and plays out.

Thanks for joining me here... more later!