Dream Projects

In no particular order



1.Writing/revamping/rebooting/rewhatevering Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham

If I ever get a job at Marvel, or become successful enough to be able to pitch something like this, well that would be lovely. There isn't enough humor in comics and this is one of the goofiest concepts out there. This is right up my alley.

2.Rewriting Marvel Vs. DC

This came out when I was ten years old. It completely blew my mind. However, most of it was a total cop out, and honestly, something like this is really hard to pull off (unless you're Kurt Busiek and George Perez) and letting the fans vote on the matchups ensured some serious shark jumping. The Amalgam Universe was a great concept, and looking back, it's INSANE this even happened. I'd love to do my own take on this. That'd be so much fun.

3. Writing a comic that Ralph Steadman draws

I can dream can't I?

4. Writing a comic Yoshitaka Amano draws

I can dream, can't I?

5. Rebooting Power Rangers

Musings on stuff

So yeah, I've been in something of a creative rut recently. That doesn't mean I don't have ideas. I have a ton of ideas and projects in the works, I just haven't felt as inspired recently. However, there is some movement, and hopefully my webcomic will be live before Christmas. I've been developing another project recently that has nothing to do with comics, and it's kind of reinvigorating me. I have been reading quite a lot and watching a lot of tv more recently. I know I haven't put up any reviews, and there's a TON of stuff over the summer that I absorbed that I'd like to go into detail about, but it was consumed in such rapid fashion that it's kind of just blurring together. Either way: I got some quality reading time in, and I finally finished a book that's been sitting in my queue for just about two years, and before that, it was on my "to-buy" list for like 5 years: The Clash Of Civilizations by Samuel P. Huntington.

I attempted to start this book no less then three times, and on the third time, I finished it. I've taken my fair share of Poli Sci classes, but sometimes reading this did feel like homework. In fact, I probably should have written a paper on it, just to reinforce the wealth of information on every page. Basically, Huntington predicts 9/11, and he goes into great detail about how The United States is losing power and influence to China and exactly why it's going to continue like that for the next 100 years and beyond. Honestly, I couldn't do this book justice trying to remember it here today when I finished it in July. Suffice to say, it was fucking brilliant and still relevant, I believe. I'm definitely going to have to read it again. 

I also finally finished the Monster anime, based on the manga by Naoki Urasawa. Couldn't be any more different than the book above, but it was just as brilliant. I've been wanting to finish this for years. I bought the first couple volumes of the manga in like 2009 and was blown away by how good it was. The anime is no different. Naoki Urasawa has crafted such an intricate plot it makes me want to cry tears of joy, it's just a treat to see it unravel. It's got complex characters (and a lot of characters, to boot) and it does go on for quite a bit, like 70 episodes I believe, so it's a time investment, but the pay out is definitely worth it. I give this my highest recommendation. It's more for adults than most anime, and I'd compare it to Death Note on scale and general feel. This was great.

Okay, there was much more stuff, especially graphic novels (Like Locke & Key) but I will save that for another installment. This is what i'm currently digging:

CM Punk: Best In The World

This gives me hope for pro wrestling. I've mentioned it on here several times that I'm a huge CM Punk fan, and if you are a current wrestling fan, odds are, you are also a huge fan of this guy. He's one of the most unique and intelligent guys to ever lace up the boots. This set has a great documentary on his life and career, and how he struggled to make it to the top. It's good stuff, and of course it's awesome to see a home town boy make it big. It's crazy how much I identify with this guy: He's A) A guy from Chicago(land) who's into the punk rock scene B) A huge comic book fan C) Pro Wrestler. It's so refreshing to see someone who refuses to compromise on being them self reaching the pinnacle of the business. He's done almost everything right in his career, and even when they gave him some what less stellar programs or people to work with, he almost always hit a home run. He's going to go down as an Icon, on the same level as Macho Man, Bret Hart, HBK, and others. Best in the world.

Finally making my way through Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. Can't believe it took me this long to get to this since i'm a HUGE Warren Ellis fan, but here we are. John Cassaday on pencils does not hurt one bit. Currently starting the fourth and final volume, and it's typical Ellis. Typical Ellis is really fucking good comics. Critics love this book and rank it among his best work, so far it's pretty interesting.

Finally got the third and fourth volumes of Walter Simonson's Thor. Can't wait to dig into this goodness. 

I also picked up iZombie, heard it as good, and I tragically do not own anything by Michael Allred. Crazy. 

I am in love with anything by James Stokoe right now. I finally got the first Orc Stain trade for my birthday and it was fanfuckingtastic. This guy does comics with much love, and  I will buy anything he does. His current Godzilla book (and pretty much everything he does) is like candy for my eyes. Love it.

That's it for today. Check out my Walter White/Heisenberg look for Halloween this year. Not bad eh?

Rough Sketches

At some point, My brother and I will be doing something together comic-wise. I've got a couple ideas and this might be our first project together. We'll see what's up. I haven't been as productive as I need to be lately, so this is post is kind of a half assed attempt to look like something is coming out. I need to work harder. Either way, the sketches are pretty cool, eh? My bro is tearing it up on tumblr (and the internet in general.)

His Tumblr: http://andyhoodhood.tumblr.com/

Hopefully this lead to something soon-ish.

Top 10 Anthropomorphic Characters In Comics

1. Usagi Yojimbo

If you've ever read Usagi Yojimbo, you know he's the real deal. Modeled after the legendary Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi, Usagi is perhaps best known for guest starrin in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He's also has his own on going series (second only to Dave Sims' Cerebus in most issues by a single creator, although Stan Sakai doesn't have  a Gerhard to help him) since 1988. His epic series has seen him face off against corrupt merchants, ghosts, ghouls, other ronin, warlords, demons, and many more. If you don't think  Usagi is the #1 Anthropomorphic character in comics, you need to commit harakiri.

2. Sonic The Hedgehog

To the best of my knowledge, Sonic has the longest running comic series of ANY video game character, which is quite a feat. Especially for an Archie comic. Sonic's staying power boils down to his way past cool demeanor, great supporting cast, and overall cool concepts that goes WAY beyond what you see in the games. There's a reason this is the most successful video game adaption, the creators, over the years, have fleshed out the Sonic mythology to great detail, and crafted some sophisticated and complex tales. ( no pun intended)  They've even had several spin offs, including Knuckles, that badass muthafuckin' Echidna. Sonic deserves his #2 spot.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yeah, most of you are probably wondering, "why aren't they number 1?" Besides the fact that the Turtles conquered the world, when they were largely meant to just be a parody of Daredevil and X-Men, and ended up being the BIGGEST THING IN THE UNIVERSE until they were dethroned by Power Rangers and Pokemon. The Turtles were great. The original comics by Eastman and Laird were creative, funny, and unique. The Archie series was really fun. The subsequent reboots and rehashes were okay, but they couldn't recapture that original magic. The Turtles had some good movies, a great cartoon show, and a shit ton of toys to their credit. If you haven't heard of TMNT, you fucking suck.

4. Howard The Duck

Howard The Duck was a weird, mildly successful joke character that caught on with the public briefly, spawning a cringe worthy live action movie, and basically became a cult hero. Howard has had some decent runs, mostly his original run, and made some pretty cool appearances in "Secret Invasion":

(tucked under Stature's boob)

Hey, he did help quell the skrull invasion. That alone gives him a nice spot on this list.

5. Cerebus the Aardvark

Cerebus was originally a Conan The Barbarian parody that somehow turned into some crazy metaphysical commentary on religion, politics, women, and basically whatever Dave Sim was feeling strongly about at the time. There's some good stuff in his (long) run which currently holds the record for most issues done by a single guy (or something) at 300 issues. It is notable for sparking the "indie" spirit and some people claiming Dave Sim is a demigod of independent comics. IMHO, it's just O.K.

6. Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham

It's a fucking pig version of Spider-Man. Peter PORKER. COME ON!!!!! Just pure, unfiltered brilliance right here. Bacon x Webs= license to print money.

7. Darkwing Duck

LET'S GET DANGEROUS. Darkwing Duck is a badass in any form. Television, print, radio, whateves. His comic series from Boom! is no different. Besides being a really fun Batman parody, Darkwing Duck really has some decent stories behind it. Pretty cool villains and a really good parody of "traditional" superhero comics. Definitely one of the most badass motherduckers of all time.

8. Conservation Corps

The Conservation Corps were way ahead of their time. They were "green" before green was cool. Riding the wave of eco-conservatism popular in the late 80's/early 90's, The Conservation Corps were do gooders in the vein of Captain Planet. They guest starred in the Ninja Turtles Archie series before falling into obscurity. Someone please do a reboot.

9. Mighty Mutanimals

The Mighty Mutanimals was a TMNT spinoff done by Archie comics, starring some dudes that were originally villans. (Leatherhead and Ray Fillet) They largely toiled in obscurity after tangling/teamin up with the Turtles a couple times. Still, some cool characters there. #reboot.

10. Knuckles The Echidna

Knuckles is badass enough to get his own spot in the top 10. There are a lot of great characters stemming from Sonic The Hedgehog, but Knuckles is just such a stone cold badass that he gets the number 10 spot. He's that cool. He had the dopest kicks.That goes a long way on this list.

Honorable Mention

Bucky O'Hare

Biker Mice From Mars

Street Sharks

The Dark Knight Rises

I enjoyed this movie as much as I possibly could. They pulled it off. I have no desire to nitpick this movie at all. It delivered for me. The cast was phenomenal, the stakes were upped and the pacing was air-tight. I marked out for the Bat-Copter. Marion Cotillard is always a plus. Everything worked for me, and the last 45 minutes I felt like a little kid again. I'd easily see it again at least 2 more times. Bravo and Kudos to Nolan, this trilogy is a great achievement.

Almost ready to launch....

More Zen Arcade

 

So yeah, I really need to make a word press.....

New Zen Arcade Pages

I've got some new Zen Arcade pages from Chris, and I am liking them a lot. This shit cracks me up, and the best is yet to come. Shit is almost rolling. :)

The Good Stuff

These are my personal favorite graphic novels, in no particular order. I'm not going to elaborate (some i've already written about on here) but I will say that if you like good storytelling, you should check these out. There's a lot of variety here and it's not for everyone. This is a connoisseurs list. The good stuff.

Y: The Last Man

Teenagers From Mars

Asterios Polyp

Black Summer

Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 12: Grasscutter

Girls

V For Vendetta

JLA/Avengers

Criminal

Infinite Kung Fu

Thor by Walter Simonson

Flex Mentallo

Casanova  Warning: Casanova is INSANE

The Nightly News

That's just a start....there's so much I left out..(Akira, Monster, DMZ, most superhero titles......)