Here’s that handy e-mail tool again

Everyone keeps asking me for that tool that lets you make an e-mail link that can’t be read by spambots and worm viruses. When I met Scott Kurtz he said he needed to get it again. Of course, the link is in the archives, but no one can find it. I promise, when I get a new navbar set up for the site, I’ll make it a regular link.

Here is the link to the Hiveware Enkoder Form

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Fanzing plugged on Steven Grant’s board

Steven Grant didn’t mention us specifically, but a certain someone who wrote in did. (That certain someone being David J. LoTempio of Job Wanted, though he goes unnamed in the article. I can tell because David mentions his Starman article on the concept of family.) David gives some examples of articles on Fanzing which offered actual criticism and analysis as opposed to just reviews. Then again, Fanzing always tried to offer that every month…whether it always met the high demands Steven Grant is asking for is certainly up for debate, but we did try.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Coloring books aren’t just for kids!

Roz Terrill and I found Antarctic Press’ How to Color for Comics at Wizard World Texas (at the aforementioned Steve Buscemi Guy’s 1/2 price TPBs stand). In this day and age of computer-colored books, it’s a new skill that will be very useful to those trying to find work in the industry. I thought I’d pass it along. The book comes with a CD.

This one’s definitely going on the list of Amazon books.

Actually, it’s been a while since I worked on Fanzing’s TPB list, and the “New Items” page is a year out of date! I’ve been mulling over whether to keep the Master List or scrap it. Your input, please?

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

The Wilhelm Scream

Boy, you go back through Aaron’s news archives and it’s cool what you find. Here’s something I had to pass along: The Wilhelm Scream. A scream sound effect used again and again in all Lucasfilm productions and even The Two Towers.

Unfortunately, due to bandwidth, the scream sound effect and its clips had to be removed from the site…and I have to go searching to find out what it sounds like. Anyone got a link for me?

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Last words of role-playing characters

Boy, reading this can take longer than the three TPBs of Dork Tower I bought at Wizard World!

The Canonical List of Famous Last Words of role-playing characters offers such gems as “OK, I moon the Balrog” and “I take my missing leg that he just ripped off, and hit him on the head.” Thanks to Aaron Williams for the link.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Comic store burglary!

A daring daylight robbery! A crook makes off with $50,000 worth of comic books!

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

WWTexas Con report 3: PVP, Nodwick and Viper

I mentioned the Marvel booth in my first con report. We at the Shooting Star Comics booth had the good fortune to be located right next to the big Punisher movie exhibit. We thought that was lucky enough. Then the Wizard people set up a new makeshift booth (where there had just been empty space between us and Marvel)…and lo and behold, who should set up in it but Scott Kurtz of PvP himself! Scott, a Texas local, seemed to rarely have fewer than three people waiting in line to talk with him all weekend, but I got the chance to give him the signed copy of Job Wanted I had promised him and we talked a bit here and there during the course of the convention.

Joining him was Aaron Williams of “Nodwick” (a humor comic about a group of your typical role-playing fantasy characters) and “PS:238″ (his newer book about a school for superhero kids). And in between the two of them sat Brandon Peterson, who was working for CrossGen. I’m not sure of Brandon’s current status at CGE, but I think he’s no longer with them. Scott Kurtz loudly postulated that CrossGen’s financial troubles were brought on by the free sodas in the break room.

Scott and Aaron were accompanied by their better halves. The creepy thing is, I recognized both of their wives instantly because of the drawings of them. Scott’s wife occassionally appears in PvP whenever Scott is drawing himself, and the likeness is uncanny. Ditto Aaron’s wife, Christi, who is the model for a teacher in PS:238. I suppose that their wives, being the most closely studied subjects, are rendered more astutely. Still, if I’d seen Ms. Kurtz walking down the street, I could have said, “Hey, you’re Scott’s wife, aren’t you?” purely on the basis of the drawing. That’s frea-kay.

Oh, I’d like to thank Aaron and Christi for the comps of the Nodwick books and PS:238 #3. I plan to review the Nodwick TPBs here on Monitor Duty as soon as I get through all of them. As for PS:238, all I have to say is that I’m calling The Source and adding that one to my pull list now. #3 is funny! While the PS238 story (I’m leaving out the colon from now on, it slows me down) that was in their Free Comic Book Day was enjoyable, this one had me chuckling many times. It follows a boy who has to attend the superhero school because he’s the offspring of two of the major superheroes of that universe…but so far, he’s just a normal kid who gets whomped in gym and longs to attend a normal school. It’s touching, it’s cute, it’s funny. The only thing I might recommend is a bit of exposition about the idea that the meta-children school is underneath a school for normal kids and they mix at recess and lunch. That was confusing at times; once I picked up on that, a re-reading was even funnier.

Oh: If you want to know what Victor Von Doom’s kid would be like in elementary school, check out PS:238 #3.

Other stuff…let’s see…

Viper Comics had a booth that made me envious. A nice logo, simple booth with an attractive design, good placement…and a superior product! “Dead@17″ issue #1 is all they had to push, which made for a focused sales pitch. It was the only other new independent comic I picked up because it is impressive. I can best summarize it as “If Dini and Timm made a Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic”. It’s got murdered teens, shadowy agents, mystery and zombies. What stunned me is the CrossGen-like quality of the publication for an independent comic. How they got the budget to do that, I don’t have a clue, but I can only seethe with jealousy while wishing them the best. (And now I have to buy the rest in order to see how it comes out.)

Scott McCullar and John Neal traded copies of Shooting Star Comics Anthology for Dead@17. Jeez, I paid for mine in cash! Consarn razzerfrattin dagnabbit…

And, like many at Wizard World, I left with a pantload of half-price TPBs that I bought from a guy who looks for all the world like Steve Buscemi. If you’re at a convention and see the Steve Buscemi guy, tell him I sent ya.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

WWTexas Con report 2: Meeting people

First off, J.D. Long wants me to mention that you can get beer at the concession stand in Texas. This is important (in his view) because he loved my reaction when I saw him with a beer hanging around our booth. I was getting ready to blow my stack at him for being such a moron as to endanger our booth if security should see it when he pointed out that he bought it there.

So, for you beer lovers out there, that may be a selling point for a Texas convention: beer at the con. I should think a few beers before a lecture might make for some more interesting Q&A sessions. Give Bob Wayne a couple before the DC announcement event and see if he’ll spill the beans on some hush-hush projects. It’s a thought.

Bob Wayne, by the way, is a very friendly and witty guy who manned the DC booth all three days. It was the first time I’d met him in person (after some e-mail correspondence) and it’s surprising how much he looks like the 1970s Marv Wolfman…who, in turn, was the basis for Funky Flashman in Mr. Miracle. In other words, DC has a marketing guy who is reminiscent of Funky Flashman (in appearance, but certainly not personality). Maybe some Halloween he’ll have fun with that.

Bob made sure that I had a chance to talk with Dan DiDio…the Main Man at DC. Dan and I had a good conversation about DC’s sci-fi characters, and he mentioned that they are looking at doing more with Adam Strange. I’m glad to hear it, and I only hope that the person doing anything new understands the general principles of the premise. That seems like a very low bar to jump, but after seeing the Zeta beam pulling Adam OFF of Rann when he didn’t use the beam to get there (in an issue of Impulse), I realized that some writers don’t get the idea.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Digital art tutorials

Phil Meadows and I were discussing computer coloring for comics and he tipped me off to a cool site of note: Digital Art Tutorials. A useful link for any comic book creators out there.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...