Dogfish’s Palo Santo Marron
By admin | November 26, 2008
My brother sent this article the New Yorker did on Dogfish head. It’s a pretty good read and talks about one of my favorite new beers, Palo Santo Marron. Enjoy.
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Arrested In Development
By admin | November 25, 2008
During a press junket for Universal’s Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard spoke with Maxim about the possibility of an Arrested Development Movie…
Come on Mitch!
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Illustration Friday - Foggy
By admin | July 17, 2008
Wow, this week crept up on me. I did this quick sketch tonight so I could keep on top of IF. The word was “foggy.”As I said it was quick…
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Starman Blew My Mind
By admin | July 15, 2008
As a child I consumed Superman comics like candy but there came a time when I grew up and the tights my childhood heroes’ wore needed to be left with Peter Pan in his land of fairy tales. I was on to bigger and better things. Now mind you I hadn’t given up on superhero comics I just wanted a to read about a hero that was more gritty and more bad-ass than Superman was. After all I was 15 and all grownup.
I floundered in the comic bins finding gritty dark heroes who’s series would only last for ten issues before cancellation and I had just found issue six. After I had been through Primal Force, Fate and Spectre I had stumbled upon Starman #4 in a bargain bin. I got home and plopped it and the rest of my bargain comics down on the floor next to my bed. I reached for Starman and opened the book to find a story not beginning with the main character but a man, Harry Ajax, a mystic and a Hawaiian shirt artist who, as the story implied, made a shirt so magical that it took him away from this plane of existence, never to be seen again. As it turns out I was never to be the same again either.
Starman as good literature often does at a young age changed my life. The first of many influences the book had led to a rather large collection of Hawaiian shirts. Which, I was later informed was a bit too large by my girlfriend and friends (which I am also eternally grateful for). The second was to hunt down the rest of these issues. To my surprise the series had long surpassed issue #4 and was on it’s way to issue #36. It was a task but I was up to it.
As I compiled the issues and read the issues out of order, then again in order and then again “just because.” I found Jack Knight a.k.a Starman was so unlike any hero I had read before. Jack, was a geek, a nerd, a dork, a collector, an artist, a reader and he knew it and loved it. Jack loved old movies and talked about actors I had never heard of at the time. He loved Art Deco, Art Nouveau, old music, tattoos, old movies, reading, painting, and referred to all these subjects without going into detail. Jack’s interior monologue spoke like to the reader like they knew what he was talking about, though often times I didn’t.
After finishing the republished first 18 issues of Starman in a hardcover entitled The Starman Omnibus Vol. 1, I am just beginning to realize how hard it is to write a review of something that was so close to me and just how much this book affected my life. It made me wonder.
Would I have looked up the immortal character Shade’s good friend Oscar Wilde and have read his works? Would I have looked up Art Deco and Art Nouveau way before I entered College? Would my I have concentrated on bringing out the contrast of light and shadow as much as I do if I hadn’t read 40 some odd issues with Tony Harris‘ art? Would I have not excelled in my college English classes if James Robinson hadn’t inspired me to write? Would I not have found Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis and other such wonderful comic book creators if I hadn’t read James Robinson before them? Would I have been alright with expressing my individuality in high school had I not seen it radiate from Jack Knight?
As I sit here now writing all of this after finishing the first collection of many to come I stare at my last and favorite Hawaiian shirt hanging in my closet and for the most part I think not.
Starman Omibus Vol. 1 at Amazon
Theres a starman waiting in the sky
He’d like to come and meet us
But he thinks he’d blow our minds
Painting by Tony Harris. © DC Comics.
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Hancock Almost Rocks
By admin | July 14, 2008
I just saw Hancock and it surprisingly surpassed my expectations. Don’t get me wrong it was no Oscar winner but it was a fun movie to watch. It’s effects were done well and the story held up past the super-power hitch. On top of that most special effects movies don’t pass the test of DVD so I make sure to see them in the theater but Hancock would probably hold up well on your TV.
Jason Bateman plays his classic straight man role (which I love) almost to a fault in the latter half of the movie. He gave the best comedic performance of the movie but I felt he was missing a connection to his wife played by Charlize Theron (who knocked it out of the park as usual).
Will Smith for the first time in what I can remember made me forget he was Will Smith in a movie. He has always brought his best to every performance (I dig most of his movies) but this was the first time I forgot he was the Fresh Prince.
All in all it’s a good movie and you’d do well to see it in the theater or rent it at a later date.
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Singing Praises
By admin | July 13, 2008
Friday night I went with my friend Nick to see his friends’ band at Fergie’s Pub. I’m really big into the local music scene just because there is a lot to weed through before you get to something really good. Not saying that there are not good acts but there are a lot of not so good ones.
In any case the Tin Bird Choir knocked my socks off. The lead singer had a voice reminiscent of Norah Jones and they play some great folk rock which they describe as Pennsylvania Barn Rock. Check them out.
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A Model World
By admin | July 11, 2008
I recently finished Michael Chabon’s first collection of short stories, A Model World and Other Stories. The book was split into two parts, “A Model World” and “The Lost World.”
The first part “A Model World” collected six in which most of the main characters are put in not out of the ordinary situations but their resolutions are always seem a bit extreme but not out of place.
The second half, “The Lost World” is a series of short stories that follow a young boy Nathan Shapiro growing up dealing with his parents’ divorce. Maybe it’s only because the stories about a dysfunctional family but this section of the book reminds me of J.D. Salinger’s stories about the Glass family in Franny & Zooey and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.
In the end this collection of short stories is a good read complete with Chabon’s masterfully crafted sentences and a great companion piece to his first book The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
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Illustration Friday - Sour
By admin | July 10, 2008
This week for Illustration Friday the word is sour. I feel this might have been a bit rushed this week. I am not sure about how much I like the two figurs in the main panel. I am also not sure about using Crackhouse for a font but it was the only one I could find that was similar to the look I was going for. I do like the first panel and the rocks.
By the way how do you guys like the new header above? I’m trying to get some uniformity with everything on my blog. If you click it it will take you to a page with all my Illustration Friday posts.
Previously… Week 3, Week 2, Week 1.
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Foxes’ First Full-Length
By admin | July 9, 2008
For the past two weeks I’ve been addicted to the Seattle based band Fleet Foxes’ self-titled full length. The album has a cohesive sound but each song is great and can stand on it’s own. Lead singer Robin Pecknold’s voice is reminiscent of Jim James of My Morning Jacket but the band as a whole has a unique sound with hints of the Beach Boys, Panda Bear and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
You can check out some of their tracks at their MySpace page, download free live tracks at Daytrotter, watch their new music video on Pitchfork and then go buy their album (and their equally as good EP).
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Superman: Man of Style
By admin | July 8, 2008
Superman has been my favorite superhero since I can remember, so when Project Rooftop held it’s Superman: Man of Style competition to redesign Clark Kent’s costume for his 70th birthday I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, I had three other paying freelance projects going on at the time so my entry was late but I am very honored that it made it as an honorable mention (fifth one down) out of 200 other entries.
The thought process to get to the costume was this…
Before I went to the drawing board I took time to think about what works with Superman’s image and what doesn’t. I think his “S” shield and cape are two of the strongest and most recognized parts of his designed and really say Superman. Secondly I felt the color scheme shouldn’t change and he needed some sort of spit curl.
The one thing I thought Superman always lacked was sexiness. He seemed like the perfect guy but only Lois ever seemed to swoon over him. Well maybe Cat Grant but that doesn’t count. Then I remembered watching Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman with my twin sister and she said something to the effect of, Dean Cain is hot but he looks kind of goofy in the Superman uniform.
With my design I have attempted to streamline his uniform and really push the diamond shield look by reflecting it throughout his uniform. I have his shirt sleeves end in triangles, his belt become more of a diamond and the “S” in his shield become more pointy than bubbly. I enlarged his shield a bit and had it become one with the cape. I also took away his underwear on the outside cause that really doesn’t say sexy.
I think I accomplished what I set out to do. I hope you guys enjoy.
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