Still Loved by Rejected!

There's a cool site called Covered where artists do music-style covers of their favorite comic book covers; then there is Rejected By Covered, where there are still tons of people that can draw better than me, and yet they took two more of my covers; a Gene Colan tribute and one of the first covers I remember seeing, The Freedom Fighters #1.

Lest Ye Be Judged

The exceedingly handsome Judges Panel for the Blue Whiskey Film Festival in Palatine, Illinois.  This was a great pair of guys to work with, which was handy because we all liked different things.  My festival fave was Fleurs du mal (Flowers of Evil); Falling Overnight won Best of, and Turkey Bowl, The Dead Inside, Absentia, The Wanteds, and The Day Carl Sandburg Died were all well received, among others.  You can check out the whole lineup at www.bwiff.com.

BWIFF Journal

Live music in the lobby before the screenings.

BWIFF Journal #2

Me and festival coordinator Mike Noens.  I'm not sure he had slept since the previous fest.

BWIFF Journal #3

Dinner between screenings.  Man, the food is always good in Palatine.

BWIFF Journal #4

Hardware at the Awards Breakfast.

BWIFF Journal #5

Awards brunch at the Blue Whiskey Film Fest.  Already looking forward to next year!

In The Year 7510

Finally had to write down the directions for how the TV works for when I'm away and the family wants to watch it. It takes five remotes for it to work and I'm totally okay with that.  There's something that makes you feel less liberal about having a big flatscreen TV but I am getting used to that as well.

Everything Old is New Again

How cool is Duane Swierczynski?  I pre-ordered his new book, Fun and Games, for my beloved Kindle, and he sent me a postcard from The Alamo.

G.I.s In Space (Super-8 B/W Silent, 1982)

My homage to old-time serials, watched feverishly in my teen years; I shot this mostly in my parent's garage with Estes rockets and borrowed costumes from the high school. Filmed on black-and-white Super-8 Tri-X film stock in Muncie Indiana in 1982, later projected on the wall and recorded on SVHS, now presented digitally.

Geekbusters (Super-8 Silent, 1984)

Fueled by multiple viewings of Ghostbusters at the local cinema, and armed with shop-vacs and jumpsuits, my friends and I made this parody short in 1984, filmed on Super-8 in Muncie, Indiana. Later this was projected on the wall and taped onto SVHS, and very recently digitized for your modest pleasure.

Justice By The Slice (Super-8 Silent, 1986)

So many people have told me that the movie Super-8 reminds them of me, and this might be why.  For your modest enjoyment, the saga of a vigilante pizza deliverer, shot on Super-8 Silent film stock in Muncie Indiana in the summer of 1986, later projected on the wall and taped on SVHS, recently encoded for its 25th Anniversary.

Uncensored Heroes (Super-8 Silent, 1986)

An old plastic Batman helmet from my childhood and a renewed love for comic books spurred on this short, filmed on Super-8 in Muncie Indiana in 1986 (with a long gap and some rewrites due to a case of mono). Still wishing I had filmed the poker scene featuring the Golden Age Flash and the Golden Age Sandman, but alas.

Accepted By Rejected!

There is a pretty cool site called Covered where artists do covers (music style) of their favorite comic book covers; there is also Rejected By Covered, which still has a lot of talented people on it, all of whom draw better than me.  But it struck my fancy nonetheless so I whipped up a few covers of comics that struck a chord in me as a youngster; and, shockingly, they took them all.  Whether this foretells a rise in my cartooning skills, frozen since about 1979, or a thinning of the talent pool on Covered, is for the viewer to decide.

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fumetti

For the few that missed me, I was out goofing off in Europe.  This is Rome, a great city with history on every corner.  For my hometown, history means going to the McDonald's where they have the neon sign from the 50s, so this was quite a culture shock.  As you can see, they have let things get a little run down, though.  Would some asphalt and a few Starbucks hurt anybody?  Just saying.

Check, Please

A statue in Italy commemorating how hard it is to catch a waiter's eye to bring you your bill at any local restaurant.  Around tourists, Italians seem aggressive and in a rush, but when you catch them in their own element you learn they prefer to chill out, drink wine, eat pizza and have leisurely lunches; basically how I spent my first few years of college in the mid 80s.

The Touch of a World That is Older

Grave of Marconi, the dude that invented radio, Florence, Italy.  This church also has Machiavelli, Dante, Michelangelo, and some other big names who had big honking statues and other huge monuments dedicated to them.  Meanwhile, my brother here looks like he got put in the pet cemetery.  AV nerds always get the short end.

Johnny Stecchino

In Florence, the outside of the church where Marconi is taking the long dirt nap.  I sort of figured out if you know how to say "Scusi" and "Grazie" you can pretty much make your way across Italy.

Said I Shot A Man Named Ray, Took His Wife To Italy

This big shack is the Parthenon.  Half of Rome looks like a movie set.  Besides the obvious Sergio Leone and Mario Bava and Dario Argento movies I would recommend "The Bicycle Thief" and "La Dolce Vita" and "Big Deal on Madonna Street" for the classics; some good contemporary movies include "Cinema Paradiso" and "Johnny Stecchino" and "I'm Not Afraid."

Statuesque

Me:  "I think I compare favorably to the statue of David."  Wife:  "You must have been looking at a statue of Socrates."

Rock On, Romans

I like how in Rome the buses run wherever and whenever they damn well please, you better be ready to tuck in to a hearty meal all the time, and you can buy Dylan Dog and Nathan Never comics at every newsstand.  But my favorite thing was these posters plastered all over the city advertising an upcoming rock concert by showcasing an old man shushing people.

London's Calling

Crazy statue in the Tower of London, England.  Everywhere you look there are ideas for new D&D adventures. 

Holidays in the Sun

British Museum, London.  Where they keep all the stuff they took when they conquered the world, once upon a time.  London is a great city, which I felt very comfortable with since I have watched a lot of Doctor Who and read Harry Potter.  What you might not know is that the food is better than you'd think and the Tube is a great invention.  Even more surprising was that Obama was there at the same time and didn't invite me to the barbecue at Downing Street.

She Wouldn't Have A Willy Or A Sam

Where Anne Boleyn was beheaded at the Tower of London.  Didn't see Natalie Dormer around anywhere.

BBC 1, BBC 2

One of my favorite areas of London, the South Bank.  Tons of good little shops and restaurants and hipsters and buskers.  Stalls full of paperbacks.  Found some good British hardboiled stuff here.  Big Ben dead ahead, the Eye behind.