Saturday, September 18, 2004

Best known for her wonderful monkeys, Pia Guerra is a great artist and a nice person as well. She wasn't willing to give Aquaman a try, but was more than willing to give me a nice little monkey under water. This sketch was done at the first ever Emerald City Comicon.

AQUA-MONKEY
by Pia Guerra
09 February 2003
(permission to post given 29 August 2004 via e-mail)
www.hellkitty.com

As a reminder: Almost every sketch in my sketchbook was non-commissioned and done on the floor of a con. These are not the best works of the artists. These are only representative of what the artist can do under pressure in a loud, crowded, and often stressed-out environment. Most of them were done as quickly as possible, to prevent huge lines from forming. Don't judge any of these artists negatively by the artwork you see, instead be as impressed as I am by what they accomplished in far-from-ideal conditions.

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me. Click for a random Aquaman sketch.

The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "P", "G" and the number "66", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book.

by Tegan at 7:23 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

• Weight = X-3
  
• Change From Last Week = -1
  
• Met Exercise Goal? Yes
  Goal was fifteen minutes a day (walk/bike/swim) at least six days.
  
• Current Exercise Goal = fifteen minutes a day (walk/bike/swim) at least six days.
  
• Kept food diary? Yes.

Good news and bad news this week. Ignoring the weigh-in, my legs are really beginning to tone up. My upper body still needs work, but I can actually feel the difference in my legs. Hubby-Eric doesn't mind my checking, as I keep asking him to feel my legs and tell me if they feel more toned...

In the bad news category, when hubby and I walked down to the library yesterday, not a long walk by any means, I started to feel tingles only five minutes in. My exercise has been mostly on the stationary bike, and walking apparently requires a few different muscles. So I'm getting more tone, but I'm not getting enough cross-training.

There's also the upper body problem. I feel like I ought to be doing something to try and reduce my stomach size, or build some strength in my arms, but I'm not sure what I could do. Sit-ups... I have even less motivation for them than with regular exercise. I have some weights and I've considered holding/pumping them while riding on the exercise bike. I'm just not sure. Part of me thinks I ought to hold off a bit longer and make sure I'm fine with my longer exercise times and I keep them up another month or two. If I do too much too quickly, then I usually fail.

I still haven't read this week's comics. I'm really slacking off.

by Tegan at 9:51 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Friday, September 17, 2004

The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 9) by Lemony Snicket: Well now, that was different! Again, we get a cliff-hanger, but even more intense than the previous one. Again the formula seems to be thrown away, although bits of it are still there. And the information we learned in Lemony's Autobiography comes into play repeatedly as the Baudelaire's get closer and closer to the truth about themselves and their parents. As usual, Lemony warns the reader not to read further, but that's becoming a little less intense now, as maybe he's figured out that anyone who has read all the way up to book 9 probably is going to stick with it until the end. And I guess I am stuck with it... one more published book to go, then it's the waiting game for the last three to come out whenever they do. Still, it's recommended.

by Tegan at 8:07 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Will Pfeifer has a blog. Hide the children, ma! Thanks for the hot tip, Kevin.

Larry Young continues his Loose Cannon articles on comics bloggers. Check the archives for the first two parts.

Previews Online has updated. Current order forms are now available.

Nut Mike Sterling gives anyone who might possibly be curious a link to the Theme Song for the Swamp Thing cartoon.

Charlie Larson of The Garlic Shoppe noted my blog about trying garlic ice cream and left a comment for me and any readers who might be interested. He points out a second website with more information at http://www.garlicdude.com/, and that he also owns a winery, rapazzini winery, where you can get "the infamous chateau de garlic".

Mozilla Firefox is getting better and better, say users. I still prefer plain old vanilla Mozilla, but I've downloaded Firefox and will play with it a bit to see if I can't get used to it. I like how Mozilla handles tabs more than Firefox, and that's my only complaint so far. By the way, if you still use a crappy browser provided by Microsoft or AOL, you really ought to get yourself a real browser. Obviously, I recommend Mozilla, but there are other options. Most of them are far more secure than IE and updated promptly when security holes are found.

Lucas talks about the original trilogy and why he won't release them on DVD: "The special edition, that's the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it's on VHS, if anybody wants it. ... I'm not going to spend the, we're talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it." Well, I'm sorry you care so little about the fans that you can't release BOTH versions. Of course, this is really rich coming from the same guy who said: "I am very concerned about our national heritage, and I am very concerned that the films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them." And that comment was about a DVD release that had both the original and changed versions on it. What a hypocrite.

And here's another picture from Nancy's Garden. Just because I can.

by Tegan at 3:23 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Thursday, September 16, 2004

Aquaman #22: Why is it so hard to write a little review for this book? I liked it. A lot. I guess I have some mixed feelings about it because of the disappointment I'm feeling that Pfeifer is leaving the book already. I'd hoped for a two year run or so. And now, just as the book is really starting to pick up speed, he's gone. One more issue. So I feel a bit put off by the book because I just don't know what will happen next.

I did enjoy this issue. The moody artwork is great with the guest at the beginning of the book. In fact, I'll go so far as to say Gleason ought to get a shot at a Batbook once he's tired of working on Aquaman. As usual, Gleason's storytelling is very strong. I suspect that some fans may not like his style, but it's grown on me very fast, and I love it now. I would adorn this entry with samples of it, but maybe I'll save that until I actually review the book on my Aquaman website.

I like how Pfeifer is handling his plot threads. There are two important subplots in this issue, neither of which is ignored, but neither of which breaks the flow of the story. One of them gets a spot in the story where Aquaman is busy dragging a bad guy to the authorities, and the other gets the cliffhanger page. Nicely managed.

The main plot is also fairly nifty. It's a standard Aquaman takes on the badguy tale, but it reveals character traits as well as gives the artwork a chance to shine. Nothing super special there, but it is crafted so well I find it easy to forget how standard the storyline is. Strongly recommended.

Coming soon: Hey, how about this week's comics? To review: Birds of Prey, JLA Secret Files 2004, Identity Crisis, JSA: Strange Adventures, The Batman Strikes!, Strange, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, and Colonia. Also some library books, and more exercise shows. Maybe a movie or two.

by Tegan at 5:19 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton: I'm pretty sure I saw a recommendation for this on somebody's blog, if it was you, please feel free to comment so I can give you proper credit and a link.

This is a wonderful Victorian style novel about the circumstances following a family after their father dies, including the adventures of the younger daughters in finding future husbands and getting enough money to make up a dowry, the eldest brother's worries about his status in the church, and the younger brother's life in the big city. Unlike the real Victorian novels, this book is short enough to read in a couple of sittings. Also unlike real Victorian novels, the main characters in the book are all dragons. There were moments that I felt that the story could have moved along just a wee bit faster, but to do so would have sacrificed some of the style along with the motivations of a couple of characters.

In any case, this was a fun read, well worth picking up at the store or library, and Jo Walton is definitely an author to watch. A paperback version of this book is due out in December.

by Tegan at 1:05 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

How Krypto protects his secret identity. Mike Sterling is still nuts. I love it. Be sure to scroll down a bit and read about the Swamp Thing board game.

Technically legal signs for libraries to post to warn library users about the so-called "Patriot Act" and its impact on their privacy. Via Wired via librarian.net.

Modulator points us to 100 Photographs that Changed the World. Chilling indeed.

Stuart Hughes talks about his current job.

Don't let them know if you are Irish, because that makes you a terrorist.

What to do if this plane is hijacked. Frightening images from a real airline card that contain apparent space aliens and mutant airplane doors that eat people.

Our election sign for the heavily disputed presidential race has been stolen for a second time. This time I called the police and filed a police report. It is against the law in Bothell to steal or damage election signs. The officer said it would be nice if we had a video camera we could aim at the sign, but since we don't he'll make sure patrols visit our street frequently. Speaking of our sign, here are more reports, including video of the event that made us put it up. I promised the officer I would get another sign tomorrow (number 3!) and he said, "Get two."

So here's another picture from Nancy's Garden:

by Tegan at 9:43 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography: I'm sure that if I were really into the Snicket books, instead of just reading them and enjoying them, I would love this book. I would be pouring over all the references, trying to figure out the codes, and seeing if I could learn what the whole thing is really about. However, I'm not that deeply into the series, and while this was a fun little book, it wasn't what I wanted from the series. I think I'll stick with the regular books, thanks much. Highly recommended if you are deeply into the books, otherwise, mildly recommended.

by Tegan at 8:52 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Princess Mononoke: After seeing Spirited Away, I was expecting a lot more than I got from this movie. It's not a bad movie by any means, but it does pale in comparison to the later film. Taken on its own terms, this is a beautiful fantasy about people learning to live with gods. Or maybe vice versa. One thing that was clear only at the ending of the movie was that there weren't really any bad guys. It's a movie that asks questions and never feels the need to force a pat answer on the viewer. It's a great movie... but I don't recommend watching it the night after seeing Spirited Away.

by Tegan at 9:12 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Farscape [1-09]: DNA Mad Scientist: This one shows the crew more divided than they've been in the last few episodes. We see more of Zhaan's cruelty in what the three do to Pilot, but it's difficult to say if it really has anything to do with what happened in the previous episode. Just when you think that this group is becoming more than just a bunch of people on the same ship, something like this happens and they are all strangers again. This is still an excellent exercise show.

Farscape [1-10]: They've Got a Secret: Definitely a D'Argo episode, in which we finally find out his horrible crime. While there was a nice subplot related to the ship, the episode was truly being carried by Anthony Simcoe, and he pulled it off. The horror of what happened to him, played out in his mind by the other crewmates, is beautifully done. And the ending, including Aeryn's promise, works extremely well. A very good episode.

Farscape [1-11]: Till the Blood Runs Clear: We get a bit more of Crichton the scientist here, as he attempts to figure out how he ended up going through a wormhole. When he actually manages to create a new one, wow... nice moment there with Aeryn panicking. I liked the Furlow character, though I wondered if I'd seen her somewhere before or if she was just such a standard stereotype that I thought I recognized her. Nice use of the alpha male concept by Crichton, also. He may not be familiar with this new universe he's been thrown into, but he does manage to think on his feet pretty well.

by Tegan at 8:05 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tips for Hurricane Preparedness. Via Collective Sigh.

The Electoral College site has added a new feature. Cartograms show the size of a state in proportion to whatever you are looking at, in this case electoral votes. So you can look at a "map" of the United States and see how their electoral votes compare to their neighbors.

Readers of The Register started turning off Windows "features" after an article ran that said what features ought to be turned off by default. The results weren't pretty.

The Germans are advertising Oktoberfest in Klingon.

Ghost Towns for Sale. The one mentioned is up in British Colombia, and was built in the 1970s. I would love to go where there aren't any people.

Today is election day in Washington state, and people are getting upset at the new primary for entirely the wrong reason. Most people are upset that they can't choose any candidate. I'm upset that the state is paying for an election in which the parties want only party members to vote in. I have no problem with parties electing their own candidates, but I want them to do it on their own dime. The taxpayers shouldn't be paying for it, and this primary is the most expensive in the history of the state if you add in all the "voter education" advertising and extra printing costs. I voted, but I refused to mark a party or vote in the partisan elections. And if I thought it would make a difference, I'd sue the political parties to recover the costs of the election for the state. They wasted our money. THAT's what we should be upset about.

I went to a birthday party for the child of a couple of my college friends recently. Tristan turned one:

He was really hard to get a picture of. This one is amazing, as more shots turned out looking a bit like this:

I should have put the camera on the "sports" setting, then maybe I could have gotten more pictures.

by Tegan at 10:17 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Monday, September 13, 2004

Justice League Unlimited: The Greatest Story Never Told: Heh. Booster Gold. Heh. On the one hand, I found it completely unfair that Booster could save the freaking world and still get dressed down by Batman, on the other hand... it's Booster Gold. I loved the "Green Lantern" running joke, too. A nice little fun one. I still hate the new theme song.

JSA #65: This book definitely works much better for me, personally, when it focuses on just one team member. In this case, the focus on Hourman works nicely to keep the book from spiraling out of my knowledge. Ok, I had to ask hubby who the "D" guy was because I couldn't remember, but other than that it was pretty good. Now if only every issue was so readable.

Go Girl: The Time Team: Nice little manga-sized book, nice little simple Archie-like characters, fun little story with a bit of moral thrown in for good measure. Nothing I would recommend to your average superhero reader, but that's not what this book is aimed at. This is a girl book, and makes no promises to be anything else. For what it is, it succeeds nicely.

Powers #4: The coloring in this book throws me off, just like it's supposed to. The story throws me off even more, but then this book has done that from the start. This is a terrifying story so far, and Bendis isn't a writer I exactly trust to keep things calm and happy at the end. I'm waiting for the next issue. It's nice that these have been coming out so fast, by the way. I'm wondering if they will fall off pace again soon, and hoping that I'm not jinxing them by saying so. And no, I didn't read the letter column. I generally don't on this book.

Still to review: Aquaman.

by Tegan at 9:51 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

DC Solicits for books shipping in December are up, and Aquaman has a new writer. John Arcudi. I haven't read much Arcudi, so you all will have to tell me if he's a good writer.

Newsarama reports that Free Comic Book Day 2005 will be May 7th. I'll change the link on the sidebar to the new date soon.

Shawn has useful advice for college students.

Hysteria. Via Brown Equals Terrorist.

by Tegan at 6:14 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Spirited Away: Wow. I had somehow managed to avoid any descriptions of the plotline of this movie so I came into it with only the vaguest notion of what it was about. Had anyone tried to explain it, it probably would have turned me off to it, as the concept is so incredibly odd that no description would really do it justice. Let's just say that it's a visual feast worth a look simply for the artwork... but the story is also ok too. Highly recommended.

by Tegan at 3:55 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Sunday, September 12, 2004

Farscape [1-05]: Back and Back and Back to the Future: Sci-fi cliche this time: a character gets "unstuck" in time and can see future events. I seem to recall Red Dwarf doing this one particularly well. And this version was pretty good, too. I like how Crichton dealt with each change, although I'm not entirely sure why he stepped on the mask like that. A pretty cool version, nicely done.

Farscape [1-06]: Thank God it's Friday. Again.: The crew gets stuck on a planet where it's always the day before "rest day". Science fiction cliche: the population is drugged by evil aliens who are using them to harvest plants which are also destroying the local ecology. This one is less of a cliche, I suppose. I could come up with other similar works if I thought about it long enough, but it isn't so common, and it was well done. There are always enough original elements in this show that, even though I'm feeling like the plots are retreads, I'm still enjoying it overall.

Farscape [1-07]: PK Tech Girl: I just didn't see it. I mean, there was supposed to be a whole chunk o' chemistry between John and this new gal, but there was nothing there. The actors went through the motions, but that's what it looked like to me... going through the motions. And when the drama of the episode really hinges on the relationship between the two characters, that means that a lack of chemistry really impacts the show heavily. Oh well. I guess the alien menace in this one made up for it to some degree.

Farscape [1-08]: That Old Black Magic: As opposed to the last episode, which lost something due to lack of chemistry, this one had it all. Including a grave robber (of sorts). Crais and John work well together, with perhaps only Crais' slight resemblance to Blackadder as a distraction. The whole mysticism thing is interesting to see in such a show, but it definitely worked in this episode. This is also the first episode to end on an unsettling finish, almost a cliff-hanger. Until I see the next episode I won't know if it actually is a cliff-hanger, but that's what it appears to be.

by Tegan at 8:49 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Today was a Seattle ComiCard Convention day. The listed guests didn't all show while hubby-Eric and I were there, but we only stayed for a couple of hours.

The first person I talked with was Kathleen Webb, who is best known for her work on Archie comics. I got a sketch from her back at the first Emerald City Comicon, just before I started asking for permissions. She has no problem with me posting her sketch, a non-Aquaman but aquatic nonetheless sketch. It will be posted on October 2nd.

My goal for this con was one sketch and one permission. Halfway there already!

Next up was Bill Schelly, author of Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder and all-around comic book historian and generally cool guy. I had him sign my copy of the Otto Binder (rhymes with tinder) book (which I haven't reviewed only because I haven't yet finished enjoying it). Bill told me there aren't a lot of copies left and also that Jackie Estrada admitted to him that the book probably contributed to Otto getting a much-deserved spot in the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame.

After talking with Bill for a few minutes, we wandered over to where Roberta Gregory and Donna Barr were still setting up. We chatted with Donna for a bit, including some discussion of internet privacy and government computers.

While hubby-Eric got sketches from the two lovely/scary ladies, I chatted a bit with Phil Foglio (including admitting that I'm the one who roped him into Anglicon this year) and Cheyenne Wright. I haven't seen Cheyenne since I started reading his webcomic, Arcane Times, so I had to tell him that I'm enjoying it. Even if I don't quite get the Mousferatu thing.

Eric came over with his two new sketches for his Green Lantern themed book (anyone or anything as Green Lantern) and Donna had drawn an Oz/GL crossover while Roberta Gregory provided her well-known character with a GL symbol stamped on her... um... butt.

Moving on, three artists were sitting at the table next to Phil and Cheyenne, busily working away. One of them I had already managed to get a sketch from. Siya Oum did a wonderful Manga-style Aquaman for me at a Seattle con a year ago. She thanked me for posting the sketch and told me she sends folks to see it. With her help, the other two artists agreed to do sketches for me.

Chad A Du Lac did an older bearded Aquaman for me. I love the sense of motion he gave Aquaman in his sketch. I have permission to post the sketch, and it will go up on October 9th. He's between websites at the moment, but when he gets a new one I'll link the image in my sketchbook to it.

After Chad's bold effort, Tiana Tampico added her version. As we'd been discussing Namor and his ability to fly a little earlier, she did a classic version of Aquaman shooting through a school of flying fish. Her version of Aquaman has a great knowing look on his face, and I adore the fish! It brings my fish count up quite a bit. I have permission to post the sketch, and it will be my featured sketch on October 16th. Tiana is also between websites.

As I was getting sketches, hubby-Eric decided to ask for sketches from the trio. I'd already told them his theme, and they were eager to give it a shot. Chad Du Lac drew Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz movie as Green Lantern. Tiana drew her character Mythrysta "Myth" Thorell as Green Lantern. Siya opted for a traditional look, and drew the classic Hal Jordan Green Lantern... and it's really good, too.

There were a couple of other artists hanging out, but none that appeared to be sketching. I talked with the writer and artist at Thunder Frog Comics, but Harrison Wood had to go deal with a premature moving day (he was originally told he had three more days) and didn't have time for a sketch. I did get to flip through their latest project Kat & Dogg, and I would have picked up a copy of Mighty Mites if I'd had three dollars on me.

I got up the courage to talk with Greg Scott Bailey who is working on a book called Mocktales. The story involves a major city being thrown into an alternate dimension where elves and magic exist. The city is, of course, Seattle. The art samples on his table were excellent. The only thing lacking was a story page to judge his storytelling skills by. Because of his employment situation he was charging for sketches, but we struck a deal. I would promote his website on my blog, and he would draw a sketch for me. He drew a classic Aquaman which will be posted on October 23rd. I plan on following the development of his book, which should be out in time for San Diego next year. The concept interests me, and I liked what I saw of his artwork.

The last guy I talked with before leaving was Thomas Doherty, editor of Committed Comics. He had some good news for me about getting permissions for me at San Diego this year. He talked with a few of the folks on my list and planned to e-mail me the results once things had calmed down a bit for him. Seeing me at the con reminded him. The only name he could remember right off was Jamal Igle, who apparently thought I was a bit insane to ask permission but gave it anyway. So a whole new stack of people will be posted once I get the confirmations from Thomas.

Eric and I then wandered a bit around the dealer tables. Nobody has the last few books I need (especially not at a price I could actually afford), so we were looking only. As with the last few ComiCard events, the turnout was a bit low. Until the economy turns around it will stay low. Which is why I question the wisdom of having another ComiCard Convention on November 14th, only two months away. On the other hand, the guest of honor is Michael Turner, so that will draw more than a few people in. What do you think the odds of me getting a free sketch from Michael Turner are?

Well, we had fun, met some old friends and made some new. And had a decent sketch count, even if Eric didn't get to meet Paul Chadwick. All-in-all a pretty successful con for us. We'll have to see if we can make the next one.

by Tegan at 4:35 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Captain America #31: The first page summary sums up the entire Avengers Disassembled storyline with one question: "What in the world is going on here?" I'll add, "And why would anyone want to read about it?" to that. Anyway, Cap smirks his way through the villains in this one, and then there's a bad guy at the end. Whatever.

Green Arrow #42: Ollie really is a sexist twit, isn't he? Strong little tale, but it's decompressed enough that I wish something more would just happen already. Mildly recommended.

Bloodhound #3: This isn't a fair comparison, but I could call this book "Chase on steroids" and I wouldn't be that far off. Clev isn't a nice guy, but he's got the ability to track down other not nice guys and so he's needed. I liked the cameo of a Supergirl-like figure in the mall scenes, as well. I really am enjoying this book.

Still to review: Go Girl, Aquaman, JSA, and Powers.

by Tegan at 7:09 AM Seattle time - Permalink