Things have been hectic, but I just wanted to post some artwork for a new project Seth and I are trying to kick off called, “Party Crashers.” These characters will make their first appearance as part of our one-page Spook’d story in Digital Webbing Presents #17, but Seth and I had so much fun working with these characters in that story that we just had to create a comic about them. If you make it to Wizard World Chicago, look us up in Artist Alley at table 9046 (we should have some sample pages for Party Crashers ready by then).

Well, I have one of the projects for the site in good enough working condition to let people start using it.  It’s a webpage that grabs news headlines from some of the primary comic book news outlets and makes them available here (with a handy link to the actual story at the originating site, so you can read all the details on any story that catches your attention).  I’ll be adding some more sites as I go, but for now, it grabs news headlines from Newsarama, Digital Webbing, The Pulse, and ICv2 (I’m currently working on adding Comic Book Resources to the mix).
 
The application behind it is currently set up to check the sites for new headlines on the hour and every 15 minutes afterwards (to help save a little on those other sites’ bandwidth).  Anyways, you can check it out by following the link on the right or the link here.
 
Enjoy!

I have some projects that need some quick turn around, so I’ve been focusing on them instead of the blog. I should have them out of the way by tomorrow evening and should be able to rekindle my blogitivity by Wednesday (including catching up on the Education Rebellion responses to Stupidity Reigns). In the meantime…Gir, entertain our guests.

“Yes, sir!”

Looks like the courts reversed the reversal of the reversal of the…well, you get the idea. Tony Twist and Todd McFarlane have been at this legal battle for years now, and for some reason, it keeps going back-and-forth. At least the damages are less than the initial ruling by about $9.5 million…but I’m sure some of that savings went to legal fees, and I’m sure it’ll be appealed again.

This isn’t the first time the “Twist” has plagued someone with problems.

…in a way, The Twist really ruined my life. I was on my way to becoming a big nightclub performer, and The Twist just wiped it out. –Ernest Evans aka Chubby Checker

Maybe if Tony wins, Chubby Checker’ll jump in on the legal action claiming that the hockey player’s violent reputation is tarnishing the good image of his song. But then, I don’t really think he cares that much about it. But it’d be funny to see his Twistin’ songs mixed into a video with the court proceedings as the courts “twist again like we did last summer. Yeah, let’s twist again like with did last year.”

Well, it looks like it was a light day on the supidity front over at Stupidity Reigns with only one thing for me to comment on.

The Topic: Slander
The Culprits: The Italian legal system.
The Issue: The phrase, “You are nobody.”

DarkOra’s Response: Way back in the day, there was a talented essayist by the name of Philip Dormer Stanhope. He was the 4th Earl of Chesterfield and is commonly referred to as Lord Chesterfield. He wasn’t the greatest man in the world (often considered a selfish man and a bit of a ridiculer), but his collected Letters to his Son contains some tidbits of wisdom and clever observation, including this lovely quote:

“If you are not in fashion, you are nobody.”

A phrase Italy should be familiar with since they have the likes of Versace, Armani, Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, and tons of other fashion designers.

And there’s our Education Rebellion for the day. I’d like to mention that even though we’re not that bad here in the U.S. there are some problems, so support the organizations out there trying to hold on to as much free speech as they can. In comics, you can support the cause by helping out the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. You could become a member, pick up a copy of Even More Fund Comics, or buy a t-shirt like this classic from Frank Miller:

The Arizona Replublic has an article about Phoenix kids learning to create comics. I’ve heard some small press creators talk about hooking up with libraries to do something like this, but it’s good to see a retailer (Samurai Comics) getting involved. Why?

Instructors, local comic writers and artists will help guide students through the session and offer advice about the professional world of comics.

The summer series is a free event, but registration is required. All art supplies are provided, and students are encouraged to bring their own tools, too.

Look at that marketing. Comic trivia plus a combination of different local writers and artists to get them discussing comics. Giving away graphic novels to get kids and teens (the class is for ages 12-18) reading comics. Giving away gift certificates to get attendees to stop by the store. That’s one way to help get more kids interested in comics. I wonder if there are other retailers that do this kind of thing during the summer. I’ll have to keep an eye out and see. But for now, if you’re in the Phoenix area and know some kids interested in doing something creative with their summer vacation, be sure to let them know.