Saturday, May 07, 2005

Meeting the Penny Arcade Posse was fun, if bizarre. Gabe, the artist of the team, is the kind of guy who apparently just needs to sketch constantly. The trick was getting my sketchbook in front of him and convincing him that I wanted a sketch of Aquaman. Once that happened he was happy to give another character a try.

AQUAMAN
by Mike "Gabe" Krahulik
6 February 2005
(permission to post given 6 February 2005 in person)
Penny Arcade

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 "M", "K" and the number "96", 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 10:49 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Hey, It's Free Comic Book Day! Get down to your local comic shop and pick up a free comic!

by Tegan at 7:31 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Friday, May 06, 2005

The Hardy Boys: "The Ocean of Osyria": I snagged the first three issues of the Hardy Boys book on a bit of a lark, mostly because I wanted to buy either this or Nancy Drew, and I can't stand the art in the Nancy Drew book. This is a fun little storyarc, but it doesn't really resonate with me because... yup, I read Nancy Drew as a kid and not the Hardy Boys. Oh well. It's a solid story with nice artwork, including a great little Oz reference in the first issue. Certainly worth a look if you were into the Hardy Boys as a kid, and worth a look for kids in general.

Filler: Another AiT/Planet Lar freebie. This was one I considered buying, but didn't for various reasons. I would not have been disappointed if I had purchased it, as it delivers exactly what it promised. It's brutal, nasty, and even silly at times. And the ending is quite satisfactory. I'll be passing this along in my drawing, so if you want a chance to read it, consider entering.

by Tegan at 9:27 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Simpsons Classics #4: Typical Simpsons. This one had several shorts, all originally published years ago. No surprises here. Either you like the Simpsons, or you don't.

The Pact #1: "Father's Day": Nice little set-up issue. Four teenaged heroes get together and agree to hang out every once in awhile. Of the four, I'm familiar with Invincible from reading his trades from the library, and with Zephyr from Noble Causes. I'd heard of Firebreather before, but wasn't much interested, and Shadowhawk is completely new to me. After reading this book, I'm more interested in Firebreather and very intrigued by Shadowhawk. I guess I rate this one pretty high. Better than your average superhero book in some ways, but not spectacular because it is still set-up.

PS238 #11: I just love this book. Seriously, go out and buy a copy of the trade or something. If you like superheroes and a lightly dry sense of humor, this book is for you. I'm particularly amused by the whole "Four Square" thing, as Aaron quotes from Wikipedia on it, and I never once played it as a kid although I remember the squares being on the playground. This is just a great book.

Invincible #0: Origin, summary of current status, and a little hanky-panky all in one 50 cent package. I'm glad I read the trades first, but this isn't a bad way to get up to speed on the character. And you can't much beat the price, even if this is a mighty thin book.

Supreme Power #16: "The Deconstruction of Mark Milton": As the title implies, this issue starts a smear campaign against Hyperion now that he no longer is working for the government. And as the cover implies, the aqua-character is finally moving out of the shadows as well. An interesting issue. I just wish this book came out more quickly, then it wouldn't feel like it's dragging along.

Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker #2: This book attempts to be Manga-y, and I suppose it works to a degree. There's a huge cast being assembled, but if you know a bit about legends and fairy tales you can follow them without difficulty. And Oz keeps coming up as the destination on this journey. So we'll keep reading and see what happens.

Red Sonja #0: Ug. At least it was only 25 cents. A pretty cliche tale, typical bad girl artwork, and not a lot of deep thinking. After the remarkable Conan series Dark Horse is producing, I thought maybe I would be surprised and impressed by this character. I thought wrong.

Slowly getting through last week's comics... maybe I'll be done with them by tomorrow night...

by Tegan at 10:05 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Vintage Products. I think my favorite is the iPod at the top. I'd want one if they were on the market.

Many thanks to (postmodernbarney) for mentioning my 3-Day drawing. Hope your arms get better soon, Dorian.

When I read this headline, I immediately thought of Blade of the Immortal. Hrm.

A nice handy list of The Seven Wonders of the World. All three versions.

The Seven Gummie Sins.

Yawn. Another theory about Jack the Ripper.

Librarian.net points us to a use for old catalog cards.

FilkerTom wants us to watch Conspiracy Theory Rock.

Important Changes to Your Citizenship Agreement - Please Read and Retain For Your Records. Via Elayne.

The Space Needle as a giant WiMAX antenna. Hmmm.

Ooooh, a cupcake protector. I want one.

Ok, this is just bizarre. But it involves Weird Al, so I'm posting it for hubby-Eric's amusement.

Is Alias (the brand-spankin' new comic book company) in trouble? Well, I kind of hope not, since I ordered a couple of their books (Pakkins Land and the Oz book).

Fridge Letters.

by Tegan at 6:35 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Happy Cinco de Mayo... and 05-05-05 day.

by Tegan at 11:16 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

I've been picked to get a free comic in Yet Another Comics Blog's Free Comic Book Month. Dave is sending me Andi Watson's Breakfast After Noon to try out.

Still time to enter, if you want a comic book too. Details are here. And if you feel up for a raffle, please do the BBBB Breast Cancer 3-Day Benefit. It's for a good cause, and I'm hunting for more cool books to add as prizes.

by Tegan at 8:37 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Happy day, little one! I'm amazed at how quickly you've grown up. I hope to see you, either tonight or later in the week. Enjoy your day!

by Tegan at 10:47 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Catching up... one more week's worth of books to read and review...

JLA #113: "Worlds In The Balance": I'm still not sure why the switch was needed. I guess I'm enjoying this story overall, though. Lots of plotlines nicely woven together, lots of threats. And it feels like there's hope for a nifty resolution of some sort. I do find it really amusing that somebody didn't bother to tell the artist about Aquaman's costume change, but the colorist was notified... thus Aquaman's magic hand is apparently morphing out of a glove. Ha!

Seven Soldiers: Klarion The Witch Boy #1: "From This World To That Which Is To Come": I'm not even going to pretend to understand this one. Very little makes sense from the standpoint of the DCU I know, but then, this doesn't really seem to be the DCU I know. Did I like it? Well... I think this one will require the full set before I can judge. As it is, I'll give it the average rating for a superhero book and play wait-and-see.

Teen Titans #23: "Secrets and Lies": Why is Tempest flying on the splash page? Ahem. Not a bad tale. Dr Light still doesn't seem like much of a threat to me. When Tempest says he's frozen the water in his eyes, it occurred to me that he could have frozen other fluids, like blood, and down goes Light. There are a number of other Titans who could've taken him down as well. So threat? No, sorry. The whole Identity Crisis spillover is ok, but not thrilling. The end is of interest, but only because I wonder what Batman will do once he finds out.

Birds of Prey #81: "Undefended Border": I think I'm actually just getting tired of this title or something, because the story didn't engage me much at all. I didn't hate it, but I didn't find it all that interesting. Group of martial arts experts. Yawn. Drug dealers. Yawn. Helena's gone bad. Yawn. Maybe next month's will be better.

Aquaman #29: "Undertow": Oh boy. I just know that some people are waiting to hear what I have to say about this one, and I'm just not sure what to say. Ok. I guess I do know what to say. It sucked. It was pretty bad. Not nearly as bad as it has been in the past, but pretty darn smelly. Even Gleason's work, which I've grown to like quite a bit, was weak in this issue. Vulko was written completely wrong. The man was Arthur's BEST FRIEND for many years, this isn't how the two would deal with what happened between them. It just screams "wrong, wrong, wrong!!!" as I'm reading it. Poor research, or poor editing? I can't tell. And while having some Sub-Diegans visit Atlantis seems like a fine idea, this is a pathetic way to go about it. "Hey, wanna come cruise to Atlantis with me?" "Sure thing, old guy!" Then you've got the Martian Manhunter, who is Aquaman's closest friend in the Justice League, again acting like an almost-stranger. Does Aquaman have any friends in Arcudi's universe? Does he have any history at all? And lastly, there's this thing with the fill-in issues. What's wrong NOW? Why a two-part fill-in right smack dab in the middle of a story-arc? ARGH. And two issues ago I was actually enjoying this book quite a bit. What happened?!??

Amazing Spider-Man #78/519: "Moving Up": Ok, let me get this straight... Aunt May and Jarvis? I like the twist in situations. Now that Aunt May knows Peter's secret, it's not such a big deal to introduce her into the world that Spider-Man knows. I'm very interested in seeing more of her take on it. So the whole first half of the book was great. Then we got to the second half, which is all set-up for a new storyline. Not so great. I wanted to see more of Jarvis dealing with Aunt May's questions. Maybe next month.

Conan #15: "Wolves in the Woods": While there is nothing wrong with the artwork, I'm missing Cary Nord throughout this issue. I can hardly wait to see more of his work. On the other hand, this is quite a tale, showing young Conan battling a wolf and gaining some of his interest in the outside world. This book has been consistently interesting, and it's nice to have a main character who just wants to have fun.

Solo #4: Howard Chaykin: This was the best one yet. There wasn't one story in this book that I didn't enjoy, except maybe the last autobiographical one, and that one wasn't really meant to entertain so much as educate, I think. This is just out and out GOOD. Certainly worth a look or two.

The Grimoire #2: Way too confusing. I would hope to get some more unsubtle hints as to what is going on, but this one seems to want to leave the readers in the dark as much as the characters. Or more so, as at least Amandine seems to have a good idea what is happening around her, even if some of her knowledge is wrong. I still like the art, and I think I like the story, but until I know what is happening I'm a little disappointed by this one. But only a little.

Beowulf #1: Not sure what to make of this one. I was amused when hubby-Eric finished the book and told me he liked it. It wasn't something he really wanted to order. I like the beginning, the war story. I found the "Powers" bit to be slightly annoying, but I have a feeling it's not going in the same direction, so I should be ok once I read the next issue or two. Again, I'm just not sure. It's fascinating, but is it good?

Four Letter Worlds: "Love, Hate, Fear, Fate": Sixteen short stories loosely based on the four words, each with a four-letter title. I have to admit, I liked all of the stories in this anthology, which is odd for me as there is usually one I don't care for. But the best one had to be Jeff Parker's story, if only because of who the main character is. Man, that one had me grinning from ear to ear, especially the last panel. This is a good book, and a strong anthology.

by Tegan at 7:17 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Time to make this "official" as it were...

• This will be a basic drawing. I will put the names in a hat and get a friend or somebody to draw them out.
  
• For every $15 that you donate to the Seattle Breast Cancer 3-Day for me I'll give you one entry.
  
• Mailed-in donations must be postmarked by June 14th, Online donations must be made by July 7th.
  
• In addition to your donation, you must E-Mail me (tegan@eskimo.com) with a subject line of "3-Day Drawing" and indicate that you want to be included in the drawing.
  
• There will be multiple prize packages, which haven't been set in stone yet.
  
• You can win multiple times (up to three times per person).
  
• I will be paying for all shipping charges within the United States. If you do not live in the US, please contact me before entering.
  
• The drawing will be held AFTER the 3-Day walk, probably on July 31st, to give me time to recover from The Walk.

Prizes so far (may be combined into prize packages):

• Street Angel 1-5, including an autographed copy of the mini-comic
  
• Abadazad 1-3 set
  
• Bricktop A1 Special
  
• The Dave Johnson Sketchbook
  
• Codeflesh
  
• Last of the Independents
  
• The Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto
  
• Channel Zero: Jennie One
  
• The Annotated Mantooth
  
• A variety of Heroclix

The goal of this project is to get enough donations that I can participate in the Seattle Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. I will still do the drawing even if I do not get enough contributions, but I'll certainly be happier about it if I do make my goal.

Please feel free to promote this drawing elsewhere, on blogs or message boards (as long as it's on-topic, darnit. No spamming!). The more donations I get, obviously the more happy I'll be.

by Tegan at 11:34 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Monday, May 02, 2005

Conan and the Jewels of Gwahlur #1: It's your standard Conan story, with some not so standard artwork by the talented P Craig Russell. If you like Conan and you like strong fantasy artwork, this one is good to grab.

Lions Tigers & Bears #3: Ah, finally a character I can identify with... Courtney's a bit smarter and bolder than Joey, but unfortunately, she's not the one who is free. Lots of history in this one, including the battle between the stuffed animals and the beasties. And a sad ending, too. Still a little overcute, but good nonetheless.

Noble Causes #9: Ok, so that's not Liz... what is it? And what will happen to Rusty? And what about the body-switching? and... and... Ok, so I like this book a lot. I just don't like waiting for it. Oh yeah, and the back-up story has taken a turn for the gruesome.

Chickasaw Adventures #2: "The Battle of Akia": Still could use a bit of polish, but it's really an excellent book. There are things in here that I never knew about, particularly the way the French and British manipulated the tribes into fighting for them. This is a solid educational book.

Bloodhound #10: "Ashes To Ashes": The final issue of the bloody and gore-filled book that really should have gotten more issues. The ending, while it ties the storyline up, isn't really very satisfying. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

Green Arrow #49: "Road Trip": Is it just me, or is Roy getting "killed" an awful lot lately? Anyway, decent story. I'm more than a little disturbed by the actions of the villain in this one. And although I think I'm supposed to know who that guy is on the last page, I'm just not sure.

JSA #72: "JSA/JSA": And just like that, the story ends. Huh. I'm not sure if I should be relieved or annoyed. It was quite a long set-up for such a quick resolution. Still, there were a lot of clever bits in this one, and it was such a good way to finish it off. Not bad. Just average.

The Batman Strikes #8: "Firefall": I really don't have much to say about this title. For what it's trying to do and be, I suppose it's just fine. I'm not really enjoying it a lot, but it's ok. I don't really like this version of Batman much. I think maybe I ought to stop buying it.

Powers #10: Ouch. Lots of typical Powers stuff, and the ending of the storyarc. And the beginning of something new. If you like Powers, you'll probably like this one. If not, go find another book.

JLA: Classified #6: "Hell... Hell... The Gang's All Here!": So Booster sends half the team into hell, including Mary Marvel, and what exactly does Guy do to help? This is as funny as any of the other Giffen stuff. If you don't like the Giffen League, avoid.

by Tegan at 3:51 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Let's see if I can catch up before Free Comic Book Day...

Strange #5: So he finally accepts what he is, and starts training. Beautiful artwork, and a mostly interesting story, although I felt shades of Star Wars in the whole "I have to go to them" bit. I did like the cliffhanger. All-in-all, not bad.

Green Lantern: Rebirth #5: "Rings": Still a bit confusing, but I think I understand what's happening, at least. I like the look of Aquaman in this issue, even if he's only in a couple of panels. Yeah, one-track mind and all that. Until this series is finished, it's going to be hard to say if it's really good or not. Right now I place it in the "average super-hero book" range.

True Story Swear To God #13: "Dollars & Sense": Nice cover, showing "good Tom" and "bad Tom". I note that the background on "bad Tom" is grapes, and on "good Tom" is palms... does that indicate Napa and San Juan? Anyway, the story in this one is Tom's employment. The offer that he gets from one firm is just insane, and I love the reaction to it. The ending of this issue is very real and very painful. Tom is trying... but poor Lily. I can barely wait to see the next issue.

Barbarossa and the Lost Corsairs #1: Beautiful artwork, but the story moves almost too quickly to keep up with. It uses stereotypes to keep the reader on track, and it works, but there isn't a lot of substance to it. Until the end. Having bold pirates flung into another universe does change the rules a bit. I'm still curious.

Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1: "Talking Backwards Sdrawkcab Gniklat": Ok, Zatanna really messed up that one. When you add in the revelations about what she did to Batman from Identity Crisis, you've got one mixed up magician. I don't really know what else to say, but this does seem like a promising start.

Justice League Unlimited #8: "The Island": I think I really like this version of The Question. I particularly like how this mystery unfolds, with the real issue of the story not being the traitor at all, but whether or not it is safe to be completely paranoid. Fascinating, and cool.

Shanna The She Devil #3: "The Killing Season Part Three": More semi-naked woman battling dinosaurs. What more could fanboys want? Still no character development beyond Shanna herself. The guys seem to be mostly stereotypes waiting for death. But, hey, it's got dinosaurs! How bad could it be?

by Tegan at 1:14 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Happy Blogday, Polite Scott!

Things You Just Don't See In Superman Comics Anymore. Wow, this is a can't miss.

Rewriting the Wizard of Oz for the chatroom generation.

Look out! It's a burrito!

The conflicted Rush. Snared by his own words.

Ouch. Car Tipping.

First ever Time Traveler Convention. And the last one, since only one is ever needed. Whatever.

Keep Clam. It's going to get clammy in Washington and Oregon soon.

by Tegan at 9:41 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Check out Free Comic Book Month at Yet Another Comics Blog.

by Tegan at 8:11 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Transcript: "Hello, this is your Sunday Training Walk audioblog from Laura Gjovaag, I'm at the fourteenth milepost on the Burke-Gilman trail, a bit past Lake Forest Park. I've walked five miles on the trail to get here, and to warm up I did two miles on the treadmill. So it's another five miles back home, I'm going to turn around now, get my ten-mile walk in. Though I guess it'll be twelve miles if you count the treadmill stuff. On the trail today just tons of people, bikes, joggers, walkers (I saw some more 3-Day walkers), and uh, those folks on the skates that lurch at you all the time. I also saw a bicyclist just wipe out right in front of me. He was going a little too fast around the corner. Not much else to say. Heading back now, really tired. Kind of excited though, I've done seven miles without too much difficulty and no pain. So, good sign. Twenty miles won't be so hard, hey? Alright, that's it. *blip*"

* When I started today's walk, I intended to go to the thirteenth milepost, making it a total of ten miles when I counted in the two miles on the treadmill. As I got to the thirteenth milepost, I was feeling really good, so I continued on to the fourteenth. That gave me an extra two miles, but also a couple of other problems...

* I actually saw a bunch of 3-Day walkers on the way back, including the group I spotted on the way out. I also had a cyclist come up behind me and say, "Are you doing the 3-Day?" and when I said "Yes" she responded that she was doing crew on the 3-Day.

* It's a credit to the quality of skaters that I generally meet on the trail that none of them have actually hit me yet, but they've come mighty close and it always makes me nervous to have some huge guy lurching at me, even if the movement is required for him to just keep going forward.

* I heard it even more than I saw it, the slide of bicycle and gears across the trail and into the bushes, and the brief yelp of pain as the guy went down. I asked him if he was ok, and like a typical guy he got up, wiped the blood off his knee and hand and said he was fine. Then he got on his bike and attempted to ride off, but only got a few feet before getting off the bike and walking it. Luckily his car was just up the hill and he had a buddy, laughing at him the entire time, to help him.

* I was fine at the time I audioblogged, but was sore by the time I got home. In particular, my right leg had some severe muscle cramping. Worse, though, was the gigantic blister that I didn't realize had formed and didn't notice until I took my shoes and socks off. It's on my left heel, and it's long and thin so it's going to be annoyingly difficult to cover and protect for tomorrow's walk. However, those are the only two problems, and I feel pretty good otherwise.

Another funny thing that happened... as I was passing Wayne Golf Course, a golf ball came flying out to the trail, and bounced right in front of me. I was startled, and looked around, but nobody else noticed it. I picked it up, walked over to the fence and called, but nobody responded. I eventually put the thing in my bag, I'm not sure why, and walked on. I still have it.

by Tegan at 2:18 PM Seattle time - Permalink