The People’s Spacegirl Weekend
I almost don’t know where to start this week. I’m losing track of the books I’ve got floating around out there. I’m like . . .73% certain that KILLER OF DEMONS comes out this week. This was the second book I ever drew. So buy it.
A delayed Christmas gift rolled in this week and I gotta say, this is probably one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. At least in the Top Ten. I thought the paper made from recycled elephant shit was awesome, and the vinyl robot wall stickers certainly made my day. But to have my face painted into a real Chinese propoganda poster is just too good for words. I’ve wanted something from MaoPost.com ever since I stumbled across them a few years ago. Kudos to my brother for making this happen.
The caption reads “Gao ju angang xianfa de guanghui qizhi, duoqu gongye shengchan de geng da shengli.” which roughly translates to, “Hold aloft the glorious banner of the “Angang Constitution” to gain a greater victory in industrial production.”
I finally made it out to my LCS for the first time in about three months. In addition to my usual pile of HELLBOY and BPRD I picked up the last two issues of PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT which I’ve really enjoyed, the first issue of AMBER ATOM, and I have decided to move past my revulsion of Kevin O’Neill’s artwork and read THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there with WATCHMEN. I’ve yet to get more than a few pages into it. I’ve gotten used to sweaty geeks screaming “INFIDEL!” whenever I mention how much I just don’t like WATCHMEN. It’s nothing personal. I don’t deny it’s supposed importance, though I do question it -find me anyone under the age of 35 in comics who tells you what a huge influence it it on their work. I’m just sayin’ that you’re free to like it, but get off my case if I don’t. I like what I like and it’s gotten me this far.
In the category of things I do like, I really LOVE the ATOMIC ROBO costume that Devin Harrigan is working on. I have been drooling over the WIP photos he sends us from time to time. With the head and hands done it was time (apparantly) to have a little fun.
The Widget had no school all last week (and again today due to snow). I don’t know if they have February Break where you live, but it’s this random week off for no real reason, two months after Christmas Break. After all the school we’ve missed so far due to the weather I thought that rolling with this vacation was pretty stupid. But people already planned family vacations and blah, blah, blah. Suck it Disney. I’d like my daughter to be able to handle basic math before she gets to the Third Grade. Call me selfish. And it’s not like I don’t like having her around. She sort of does her own thing now and I get tons more work done when I don’t have to stop twice a day. Plus I have company for lunch. But seriously, I’m starting to feel like Second Grade is a wash.
It did make picking up my original Booth Bear, Jason “The Kubrick” Frank, at the airport a lot easier though. At conventions some artists and publishers like to hide the fact that their work is bullshit by having half-naked skanks stand around their booths in a sad attempt to draw in nerds to look at their books. These women are known as “Booth Babes” and like strippers and prostitutes tend to loathe the very people they are meant to lure in. All in all a pretty sad situation. But we keep it real in the S-Weg Zone, so I like to have my friends sit with me -warts and all. Because if people still come to check out my work then I know it must be sort of worth looking at. The only Booth Babe at my table is Dorinda from time to time, and the occasional friend who needs to take a load off her feet.
Anyway, Mr. Frank. He was in from Ohio for NEMLA. It was about as exciting as it sounds on that website. Actually, sarcasm aside, I really did enjoy the two panels I sat through. Especially since Jason is what I call a “real” comic book nerd and he managed to write both his papers with a comic book angle to them. He doesn’t give a shit what issue Lex Luthor squeezed a chunk of Kryptonite between his cheeks and made green diamonds. He cares about language, and images, the power they have, and the amazing potential of comic books. He is a Comic Book Academic, and I think that is the best, yinz. The Widget was supposed to go to NEMLA with me (and we were going to have an adventure while Jason gave his presentations) but she decided to have an emergency visit to the dentist’s office instead. Such a wacky kid! For the record, Jason is also the dude that hired me for my first ever comic book work. We sort of became friends after that.
We did a little wandering in Boston while we where there -the weather on Friday was amazing. But we only stayed long enough to have an amazing slice of pesto pizza at The Upper Crust and visit NEC in Harvard Square. then it was back up the Red Line and back to (sigh) New Hampshire to rescue Dorinda from the Widget, who was at work with her mommy after visiting the dentist and having a wonderful time, but totally tweaking the poor woman out. We did take the time to snap a photo of this rather unfortunately named hardware store though.
The Widget was psyched to have Jason staying with us. I don’t think she quite grasped that it was a temporary thing. She kept referring to him as “The New Guy”. As in -Me: “Whatcha doin’ Widget?” Widget: “Watching Doctor Who with the New Guy. Then we’re gonna play Castle Crashers. Right New Guy?” Jason: “Uhhhhm, I think your dad and I-” Widget: “OBEY MY WILL!”
On Saturday we headed down to LAB Boston (minus the Widget) for Spacegirls From Beyond. I had no idea what to expect and was very nervous because we were mixing no less than five different circles of friends together in once space. Dorinda’s new boss, Doctor Dave, even came. I really like Dave. Everyone seemed to get along and have a good time. We went out for Vietnamese and ingested all sorts of fun stuff, like tendon, tails, tripe, tentacles, and other things that start with “T”. There was also a lot of hot cock being passed around, but the less said there the better. We discovered that even when it’s free, vodka and Red Bull should be avoided. I’m pretty sure that everyone who drank it was rendered sterile. My other observation for the night -pole dancers and harsh GE florescent lighting do not mix.
All rayguns must be checked . . .
. . .Before taking to the pole like the dirty bitch that you are.
Personally, I can never resist a good CHRISTMAS STORY moment.
I am of course biased, but I thought Dorinda’s photos looked the best. Benn and Liz Robbins took a huge number of pics and so many of them came out looking killer. I’m not sure how they picked these three out of the bunch. All the different models looks great and LAB Boston was a neat little store. We got there early so we got to check out some of the clothes before it all got packed away for the night. I was surprised with the huge crowd that turned out and was ver happy for Benn and Liz.
It’s Sunday now, the Widget is in bed, Dorinda is getting her Poetry on, and I’m sitting at the computer thinking about how much I’d rather be sitting in front of my xBox. Speaking of xBox, I got Gears of War 2 recently. The first one sort of left me feeling let down, but everyone raved about the multi-player aspects. So I took a gamble on GoW2, because now I have XBL and I can interact with other gamers. And it still bores me to death. I keep playing it in the hope of wringing $60 in gaming fun out of, but I’d probably have better luck getting blood from a stone. It’s not a bad game, but there’s just nothing about it that’s amazing. The story makes Halo’s narrative look like a major work of literature, and the controls are less than responsive at times. Most annoying is the way the Microsoft servers like to kick you out of a game -usually at a critical moment. But using the chainsaw attachment on the Lancer, and other satisfying coupe de graces (be sure to watch in HD) go a long way towards fixing things. Just not quite far enough. Even though I’ve been playing Bad Company for months now, it’s still the best thing going as far as Explodie McShootie games go.
And finally, if you’re in Boston next Sunday, be sure to visit me at THE BOSTON COMIC BOOK & TOY COLLECTOR’S SPECTACULAR. I’ll have my big old pile of super-discounted paged with me.
RANDOM SPLENDOR
-So You Want To Be A Comic Book Creator? I think you can interpret this article in one of two ways -as either brutally honest, or as snarky as fuck. Personally I think it’s both. I loved it.
-Greg Rutters Definative List of 99 Things You Should Have Seen On The Internet. I don’t know if I’m proud or slightly ashamed that I’ve seen most of this stuff. Rappin’ Bert & Ernie are still one of my favorites.
Optimus 4 Obama
Oh for the love of god, won’t someone chop this man’s hands off so that he can’t produce stuff like this anymore!?! Oh wait, I forgot. He draws with his feet.
Yes! I tried reading wathchmen about four times, and it’s never gripped me.
Then again, a lot of comics don’t grip me.
Hey Scott, make that 100% for KOD this Weds, it’s on my shipping list. Wonder no more!
Ah, leave Liefeld alone. The way people go on you’d think he drew with the ability to make people go blind. And any jokes to the effect of “he does” is cheap and ugly… liek ur momlol.
Ahem. Can’t wait for KOD. How long was it between completing the first issue and seeing it published?
WHAT?! I CAN’T HERE YOU. LEIFELD’S ART HAS MADE ME BLIND!!! (though I must say, this is one of his less radically fucked up pieces -his recent Marvel work, OMG, ART FAIL.)
And two and a half years. I did a 6 page sampler while I was still working a day job, then did Jenny Everywhere, then did Robo #1, then finished KOD #1, then finished Robo Vol.1, and then did KOD #2 and #3. Things got better organized after that.
Has the New Guy replaced me? *whimper*
I think one of the reasons that Watchmen had such an impact on me is that I am a Cold War Kid. Born in 1964 I was raised fully immersed in the Cold War culture. I knew, *KNEW*, in my heart of hearts that I and the world at large would die in a rain of nuclear fire. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the Military-Industrial Complex? So the idea that someone, anyone, was actually trying to solve the problem of the Cold War (rather than exploit it) was very attractive. Even if two million people died, it beat killing off the entire planet.
Dorinda looks killer in that costume. I’ve even seen her live in her Star Trek outfit.
The New Guy is gone, so your position is safe.
As for WATCHMEN, everything you just said makes absolute sense. I get it. WATCHMEN is totally a Cold War book. But like the Cold War I think it had gone from being immediately relevant to an historically noteworthy book.
I wish I could find the good copies of that Star Trek pic. I had a few of them. . .
Hi scott I tired to reply to your comment in your Atomic Robo tpb post but for some reason couldn’t. Anyway I just wanted to say glad you liked the review snippet and maybe you should check out some of our episodes sometime!
I’m with you on Watchmen. Not only do I not like Gibbons, but the only thing I’ve ever been able to stomach from ‘sir Moore’ was his Swamp Thing run.
Hellcat has indeed been a fun series.
Barry -yeah sorry, I’ve started closing the comments at the end of every month. It cuts down on the amount of spam I have to deal with. I listened to that entire episode btw and I really enjoyed it. I’m planning on checking in for future podcasts.
J_ay -Well don’t get me wrong. I LOVED Top 10, Tom Strong, Terra Obscura, and some more that I am probably forgetting. But don’t worry. I’m not gonna rag on you for not liking his other work.
Which reminds me: Josh, sorry for busting your chops for liking Crystal Skull.
Scott- licking that pole wouldn’t be a CHRISTMAS STORY moment– more like a “God I hope penecillin clears this up” moment :p
Not a problem Scott. No two people agree on everything… or anything in some cases.:)
Brian -yeah I wish there was a way to post that video. And then again, I’m glad that there’s not,
Hey Scott my name’s Raph, I host the Geeks Unite Network. You spoke to my co-host Juan at NYCC. I just wanted to thank you for coming on the show and you are free to come on at any time you’d like. I’m a huge fan of Atomic Robo, keep that awesome stuff comin’!
Killer of Demons #1 is a big time FUN experience - plus a higher hot babe count that Atomic-Robo. My best purchase of the week, Thanks for the good time. Give me more!
Picked up KoD #1 yesterday, and holy crap, I haven’t enjoyed a book that much in a long time…probably since my first Deadpool book. Awesome art, and Yost’s writing was spot-on.
Sorry to go all fanboy on you, but it was a great first issue, and I’m looking forward to the next one.
The only bad comment I have to say about Killer of Demons is this: Why only 3? I have to go with the family here, it’s great fun, obviously the art is nice and now I’m eager to get #2! Good Job Mr. Wegener!
KoD rocked, man! And I guess it’s been selling out down in MA/RI, so I’m glad I snagged a copy. My only gripe is… I kinda felt bad for the demons in the fast food place haha I mean, the girl at the strip club was obviously evil, but those burger guys were just doing their thing, trying to make their way in the world…. and I can’t remember the last time I was in a fast food place and the employees were that nice. Anyway, it ruled. You selling the originals from it? If so, make sure to bring them to the Boston Con, I’ll pick one up for sure!
Hey man, not sure if you remember me or not. basso introduced us and we hung out in Batlimore Con a couple years back, J.P.P.? Well anyway, I just read your Killer of Demons and man I must say”GREAT WORK MAN”! I really dug it! Major good luck with that title!
Ralph -yeah that was during my podcast blitz. Lots of fun. Welcome to the blog, and I’d love to get on GUN again!
Ernie - Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, definitely more babes. Hard to avoid with demon BDSM bartenders and underage strippers.
Matt -Fanboy away my friend. LOL
Karel -oh the door is open for future KOD mini-series. Though now I would have to work it around my ROBO schedule.
Alec -Oh hells yes I will have that art. Most of it’s for sale for less than $30. While I am very glad everyone is enjoying it, I can’t look at it without flinching. Not because it’s bad per-say. Just because I’ve learned so much since doing KOD.
Toney - dude, I totally remember that. We ate at that little outdoor bar place and Lawrence split his pants jumping on the bed LOL. Oh and I also totally insulted your comic by accident when I was talking about another comic but I used your titles. Normally I can’t remember names. But I always remember making an ass of myself.
I have a firm belief that if Scott didn’t make an ass of himself at least once a day, his head would explode.
But it’s one of your many endearing traits.
I think another reason that it is hard to fully appreciate Watchmen now is that so much of what made it new and innovative at the time has been copied/borrowed so much by other creators that it has become ingrained in comics and comes off as been there/done that to someone who picks it up after reading a lot of today’s main stream comics.
See you Sunday, Scott.
Yeah, you can tell that you did KoD a while back… not to say that it’s poor quality (because I still like it better than most of the tripe you see around) but you certainly have improved since then. But, I guess, if after drawing so many issues, you DIDN’T improve I would like that would make you cringe even more, no?
I’m gonna jump on the “I love KoD” bandwagon. This is the first thing I’ve read by Yost (and I’ve got the Next Avengers DVD, he wrote that right?) and I wasn’t sure what to expect from someone I see as an X-Men guy, but it was hilarious.
Also, I got the second Robo trade, and Matt Fraction talks about a story you drew and he wrote, Scott. Has that been published? And if so, where can I get it?
Tetsubo -I tried to bet Dorinda five bucks that you would post something like that. She wouldn’t take the bet.
Brian M -yes all true. What I always get a kick out of is Moore himself. He wanted to kill off a bunch of D-List character than DC had just aquirred the rights to, they said no, and so the entire cast of WATCHMEN are imitations of some of the lamest characters in the DC pantheon. I also really like how Moore didn’t write WATCHMEN with the intent to change comics. He just wanted to tell a story in a certain way. So while I may not care for the book I have nothing but respect for that crazy old wizard. I’m a few chapters into LEAGUE of EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and I’m having a hard time with the art. But Victorian steampunk is a small passion of mine so I’m forcing myself to keep reading.
Alec -good point. I could ahve gotten worse, right? Now THAT would have sucked.
Josh -that was PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #14 and #15 from last year. Cory Walker did art for #13, which is the first issue in that 3-issue arc.
That’s because Dee is smart.
Even if she did marry you.
Brain M - EXACTLY! A friend of mine borrowed Watchmen about a year ago. His response was “It’s good, but not really groundbreaking. Almost every comic I read uses this stuff.” Then I pointed out that all the comics he reads were made post-Watchmen.
Checking in finally~
I adore those pix of Dorinda! I want one! AND…of course, I already have MY copy of Killer of Demons #1…ready to be signed on the 4th of April *^_^* As well as a few more Atomic Robo issues. See you in Boston! YAY!!!! I promise I haven’t been stalking you…yet!
Oh, and - Synchronicity…The Hubby and I were just discussing last night how impossible it is now - after the death of Captain America and that whole Marvel Civil War fiasco, and all relatively recent internal and external societal struggles of The Fantastic Four; The X-Men; Daredevil; and the modern DC Heroes among many other contemporary characters - for new readers of Watchmen to be able to truly experience the brilliance of those books. I’m sorry to have missed the original. I try hard to visualize what it must have been like the first time around. Although, I think I’d still be a bit disappointed in Alan Moore’s female characters.
Also…I “TRIPLE-dog-dare ya!” Are you certain that wasn’t a Festivus pole?