Random Art: One More Before Turning The Page…

Posted on December 31, 2014 by geelw

Well, I was going to try and wrap things up for 2014 with a a few more posts, but it’s been a weird enough last month or three that I’m just about wiped out. Here’s something odd I whipped up last night or early this morning while up way too late thinking. Anyway, Happy New Year for those of you out there. If you’re out and about celebrating, get wherever you’re going and back home safe. If you’re like me and spending the evening home in front of the tube, yeah, stay safe as well. Don’t fall off the couch and crack your head on the carpet or whatever. Yeah, I lead the thrilling life, folks!

See you all in a day or two. I may post tomorrow, but that depends on me getting out for my resolution stroll in the cold air. I think two or three miles a day is a good start…

Dark Horse Comics Blows Out Its Star Wars Line With a MEGA Sale!

Posted on December 26, 2014 by geelw

With Dark Horse Comics having to give up its successful Star Wars license for good as of 2015, what’s a comic company to do but blow out everything they currently have in a big sale of epic proportions? Well, other than rent a small moon-sized space station with the ability to destroy planets in order to try and keep that license going, of course. Anyway, from now until 11:00 p.m. (PST), Wednesday, December 31, you can get twenty years of Star Wars digital comics at half price. That’s a LOT of books, folks. Well over 500 issues (568, I believe) of different comics totaling over 28,000 pages of stories and art. Yikes. Anyway, you can buy these digital issues singly at half off or just say “What the Force?!” and just get every single issue for $300. I wonder if your favorite reading device will creak and groan from the strain of all that content? Will it weigh more if you happen to have enough storage space to fit every book on a hard drive or other storage media?

However great this deal sounds, remember this, Padawans: The internet can indeed be more dangerous than Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than you can online. You must be cautious. Granted, you can and should save all that reading material to “the cloud” in order to access it any time you like. But I’d also suggest a home storage solution just in case that cloud goes all Alderaan one day. Hey, in space, no one can hear you scream… unless you lose all your stuff you thought was safe because you didn’t have a safer home backup. Then, it’s all “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.” as you see that money well spent vaporize into nothingness. Get this deal, for sure – but make sure you stick it somewhere safer than online with the rest of the stuff that seems to get swiped on a regular basis. Given that these books will never see the light of day again (thanks, Disney!), it’s best to stock up, even on those issues that you wouldn’t read.

Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Some Illustrated Reads For Almost All Your Needs!

Posted on December 22, 2014 by geelw

I should have done this post sooner, but I was busy catching up on a lot of reading. Ha and ha. Anyway, books galore came this way (most of them digital) and I still have a huge backlog of stuff to read into 2015 thanks to the crunch of reads of too many types. In case you’re stumped for a last minute gift idea or just want to know what I read when I’m not writing or reading about stuff to write about (it’s a damn vicious cycle, friends), here are a few titles you might want to sample in this somewhat hastily prepared guide… Continue reading →

The Entire Screen of One Game: Life Imitates Games…

Posted on December 18, 2014 by geelw

So, yes indeed plus tax, my week has been crushing on a few fronts (starting with the kitchen nightmare now going on for over a MONTH. Who’da thunk it? Me, grrrrr!). But at least I’m taking it more or less in stressful stride. Anyway, I got a massive laugh earlier today thanks to someone sending me a link to a “game” that intentionally can’t be beaten no matter what your skill level is.

The words “You can’t win the game. It exists only to destroy your mind.”, prod you to play this browser game, more likely than not with a defiant gleam in your eye and a steady hand on the keyboard. Controls are dirt simple: move with the left and right arrow keys and jump with the Space bar. Of course, this is easier said than done as you’ll see in most likely under a minute that truer words have never been spoken about this game being mind destroying. Well, unless you’re also talking about life in general, of course. Ha and ha-ha.

Created for the Ludum Dare a 48-hour competitive game jam that takes place at least thrice yearly, Tom Murphy (or Tom7) went and cooked up the more than aptly titled The Entire Screen of One Game for this December’s Ludum theme of Entire Game on One Screen. A simple platform jumping game that turns into a lesson in… um, something,

I laughed within about five seconds as the game quickly changed from a simple platformer to one that in no way shape or form could be beaten by conventional means. Of course, this won’t stop some hard-heads out there who refuse to let any game get the better of them. To those hardy souls with too much time on their hands, I wish the best of luck. To those non-gamers who just want a unique and always transforming digital art piece, I say enjoy the view and maybe move those squares around a bit just to change up things every so often. Oh, and retro visuals aside, this one will require a fast computer and decent modern browser. You’ll soon see why (he says, cackling madly)…

THE FLY: Outbreak – IDW Invokes Cronenberg, So It Better Be Worthy…

Posted on December 17, 2014 by geelw

Hmmm. As a David Croneberg fan, I get the shaky eyebrow whenever someone uses his name to sell a project, particularly one linked to one of his better major studio horror films. That said, I’ll give IDW Publishing a bit of a break (wrist or ankle – see the film and you’ll get a chuckle from that, I hope) for its upcoming five-part miniseries THE FLY: Outbreak. While the press release isn’t giving much away in terms of the plot, if what’s below is done up correctly, it just may work for even the most jaded fan of the film. To wit:

Years ago, a scientist had a horrific accident when he tried to use his newly invented teleportation device and became a human/fly hybrid. Now his almost-human son continues to search for a cure for the mutated genes. But a breakthrough turns into a breakout, and anyone exposed risks turning into a monster as well…

Now, to me, that sounds like a mix of 1959’s Return of the Fly and the not at all needed 1989 sequel to Cronenberg’s film, The Fly II, but in what’s looking to be more the capable hands of writer Brandon Seifert (Hellraiser, Witch Doctor) and artist menton3 (Silent Hill, Monocyte).

Of course, this got me wondering if Cronenberg’s idea for a “sequel” that’s been in limbo for a few years (studio politics at work again, whee!) is finally going to see the light of day and the green light that means he can shoot the damn thing. I didn’t even think that a proper sequel or remake was even possible, but I trust Cronenberg to always shake things up and deliver the unexpected. But I guess let’s have this IDW book hit the stands and see how it sells first before buzzing about anything else that lands on movie screens a few years down the pike…

Random Art: Monday’s Not as Manic, But a Bit Chuggy…

Posted on November 24, 2014 by geelw

Hmmm. Things are moving NOW with the internet up here, but for about an hour or two it was slow and annoying. I had to reset my computer to make sure things weren’t mucking up on this end (they weren’t), but now things are mostly okay. The crazy news of the day is NYC is supposed to be transforming 10,000 former pay phone locations into public wi-fi hubs, which is stupendous news. Well, if you live in the wealthier areas of the city and its outer boroughs, that is. According to the New York Daily News, some poor neighborhoods (which have MORE people in them, by the way) getting these extremely helpful solutions are getting kneecapped slower service on their kiosks, a bad thing if you consider access to information comes in handy for less educated people who need to be up on things. Granted, it’s up to those communities to put a foot down and demand the same service the hipsters get, but we’ll see what happens when these stations start rolling out.

Anyway, the ~~lady~~, er, tree sketch above came from my head while I was waiting for the service here to kick back in. “Ar my seams straight?” Yeah, they’re fine, ma’am. Okay, now that things are back to “normal”, I need to get back to work!

Random Art: So Much For Sunday Success…

Posted on November 23, 2014 by geelw

Well, today was a total bust on the productivity front. Two Starbucks with two crappy signals meant me getting some exercise walking from one to the other and not posting anything all day. One had a connection that kept dropping out and the other had no connection at all. This particular location has an issue with their wi-fi being there sometimes and slow when more than ten or so devices are being used. Sometimes, waiting for the place to clear out helps. Today, it didn’t. Anyway, it wasn’t a total waste, ladies and gents. Have a tree on the house, a-ha and ha-ha.

Well, let me see if I can whip out another quickie post before pumpkin hour. I’m going to have a busy week coming up anyway playing catch up with a ton of posts, downloading some games to review and generally being occupied every day with some writing. I hate being so far behind, but every so often, this sort of annoyance can kick off a creativity spurt. Fie on you, still busted kitchen and other stupid troubles! POW! BAM! I’m a mushroom-cloud-layin’ motherf***er, motherf***er! I’m Superfly T.N.T., I’m the Guns of the Navarone! Yeah, stay out of my way Monday – you’ll just be bad for yourself at this point, grrrr!

READS: Kirby’s Mister Miracle Gets The Artist’s Edition Treatment

Posted on November 5, 2014 by geelw

Jack Kirby’s post-Marvel career was prolific and in some ways, even busier than his time at the House of Ideas. Unfettered by much of what annoyed him while at Marvel, the King got to create new characters and worlds that he had more complete control over and even picked up a lousy-selling book and made it a showcase for his wild ideas.

One of his more unusual books in his four-comic Fourth World series was Mister Miracle, which lasted a mere 18 issues, but was pack to the gills with Kirby’s super-stylized artwork (for much of the run) and powerful plots packed with panache. Wait, I’m kind of sounding like Stan the Man there for a minute, huh?

Anyway, once again it’s IDW Publishing to the rescue with another lovely hardcover Artist’s Edition that collects seven issues of Kirby’s run on the series (#2, #3, and #5-9) in the premium 12″ x 17″ Artist’s Edition format color scanned from the original art. The book isn’t set to be in stores or online until January 2015, but it’s a must for Kirby fans as well as comic art fans who want to see Jack’s art at full size and in glorious black and white. Pricing should be around $139.99 or less, depending where you shop.

Image courtesy previewsworld.com

I kind of like this cover better than the top image, but that’s just me. That and I wonder how well a Mister Miracle movie would go over if it combined Kirby’s Fourth World wildness with the “hiding in plain sight in surburia” from the 1987 one-shot and 1989 series revival. Hmmm… it’s too bad I can’t write up a script treatment, as I have a ton of ideas now floating in my head.

Random Art: Tuesday Tries Its Best to Trample. Trees to the Rescue!

Posted on November 4, 2014 by geelw

So, today was a royal pain in the few places that ouch the most. Let’s see now: there’s a wall in one bedroom here that needed two minor patch jobs thanks to the pipe behind it getting slightly leaky. That’s all well and good and the inspector who popped up last Friday gave out that appointment like he was handing out Halloween candy. Then, on a whim I had him check out the wall in the kitchen with the two cracks in it and *whamm-oooo*, things got ugly. Suddenly, he’s up on a stepladder here and mumbling into his cellphone. I hear “asbestos” mentioned and my brain spins around like a kid on a soda shoppe stool who just got a free scoop of ice cream in his sundae. Only it’s not a sundae I’m getting, but a lousy case of déjà vu all over again (thanks, Yogi!) with a big fat, juicy Red #40 colored cherry on top.

Yuck…

Continue reading →

READS: The Art of Living Dead Dolls

Posted on November 3, 2014 by geelw

The first thing that struck me about Mezco Press’ The Art of Living Dead Dolls ($20.00) was that the great Basil Gogos is still among the living. The 78-page magazine-sized trade paperback has an energetic intro from the master monster painter himself to kick things off before the parade of awesome pro and fan art to follow. Granted, it would have been really great to see a Gogos version of a Living Dead Doll here. But just knowing the man is still around made me smile and reminisce about some of his stellar horror covers for Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine back in the 60’s.

The assorted art ranges from surprisingly cute to genuinely disturbing and you’ll see pieces from illustrators such as Joshua Hoffine, Angus Oblong, Dan Brereton, Yuki Abiko, Emily Yishizawa, Michael Pasquale, Rotten Orange, Stephen Blickenstaff, Shelby Vogal, and others. The different interpretations of dolls from the Guinness Book of World Records-holding lineup shows how they’ve inspired each artist in creating their memorable works. My personal favorite doll is knife-wielding Sadie, with her odd eyes and simple black dress. She’s very well represented here in a number of nice drawings and paintings, but I’m betting fans will find their favorites here among the pages of this coffee table tome. Or is that coffin table? Mua-ha-ha-haaaaa!

After the eyeful that is the pro gallery, there’s a few pages of nice fan art, again in many different styles. The book closes out with some great tattoo work fans have photographed and sent in to be immortalized in print forever like the images on their skin. As this is more of an artistic celebration, the book isn’t exactly text-heavy brain food at all. Those who want an entire history of the doll line will want to also pop on over to the official Living Dead Dolls site to discover more about these creepy collectibles and see how the lineup has changed over the years. Longtime to recent LDD fans will eat this book up and yes, it makes a great gift if you’re giving someone one of the dolls this year (or whenever) and need a nice bonus to add to that horror-themed holiday/birthday/other occassion gift box.