Monday, June 25, 2007

A Fistfull of Swag

Like all epic westerns, we rolled into the Big Apple Con this weekend as men on a mission, full of grit and determination.

Unlike most epic westerns, however, we didn't ride horses or wear cowboy hats and heck, we weren't even remotely near the West...

What made the Big Apple Con experience feel like a Clint Eastwood spagetti tour de force, was the strange way that even the smallest things didn't turn out as expected.

KING! sold a few books, mostly when I told people the famous catchphrase, "He kills monsters." It's amazing how that get's people to pick the book up. I still don't know why it works, but I'll live in ignorance as long as it continues to sell a few more books. The Lithos, however, didn't sell at all. Just like when we went to the Cactus Con in January, the image caught the eye of almost everyone. Unlike at the Cactus, nobody thought it was worth grabbing. Their loss.

I also had time to strike up conversations with most of the people in our direct area, which lead to some interesting situations. One table was from a radio show called The Comic Book Novice, which runs 9 pm on New York's 1240 Am WGBB. That conversation lead to them doing a video interview which will run at some point on their website (I'll let you know when it's up) as well as an offer to come on the show some night down the road.

On the other hand, I discovered during what I intended to be an innocent (and brief) introduction with another neighbor, that her claim to fame was doing somewhat graphic, dominatrix orientated sexual photography with anatomically correct puppets. I don't think I need to say more than that- the mental image that will conjures is all the punchline you'll ever need...

On top of all of that, I walked away with a armfull of swag that would make Billy the Kid jellous. Among the treasures I managed to gather over the weekend were the latest Gamera movie (subtitled), the 2 issue Marvel adaptation min-series of Buckaroo Banzi, a few choice Famous Monsters of Filmland issues I've been missing and (my personal favorite) the Japanese program to the 1980 "blockbuster" Flash Gordon!

And yes, I know that none of that sounds like the makings of the western epic I alluded to at the beginning of my entry today... but I was approached by a mysterious stranger who wanted to recruit me for a wild and potentially lucrative secret mission... But that's the story for another day.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Weekend Warrior

This weekend, come check me out at the Big Apple Con at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. Me and the guys from Megazeen will be there, selling cool swag. I'll have the last of our first printing of KING! as well as some cool KING! lithos, so grab them both before they run out. We'll also have on display the cool custom Lego figure that David Oakes made for us...

Say hi- I'll be happy to see you!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Don't Stop Believin'....

Like alot of people, I watched the last Episode of the Sopranos tonight; Without giving anything away to the 3 people who cared what happened who weren't watching the episode live, I can say that it gave me something to think about in my own writing. For a few years now, I've been working on Enlightenment, with an eye toward making it not only a series of stories, but one that works from the beginning to be moving toward a pre-determined end. As much as many viewers might have come away without a sense of satisfaction from the final episode, I think Mr. Chase gave people exactly the ending he'd been planning all along.

I think, if you look at the episode and reflect on what happened in it and what lead up to that point, there is a very clear philosophy that is presented on how the world works. I'd love to spill my view of it here, but I'll hold back on that for now. I will say, however, that I'm going to be alot sneakier from here on out in how I craft my details, because I saw things in that episode that made me realize that if the philosophy that Mr. Chase provided in the Sopranos could be tied up so perfectly in that, then I have a long way to go to present a different view and make it compelling.

As for the Episode's title- I saw at least 3 things that it could refer to; Depending on which one you pick, tells you what happened next...

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Little Big Con

For anyone looking to see more of me, I'll be out and about at the Big Apple Con in NYC on June 23rd & 24th. We'll have copies of KING! and cool KING! Lithos, as well as Megazeen 13 and a bunch of other goodies. We may have some copies of the old B&W Enlightenment preview book, which is sure to be a collector's item.

It's a cool little Con- a few neat guests, a reasonable door fee and a few Indy creators will be there...

Check it out if you can.