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You are what you read. And what you see. And what you hear.
I am Heath.
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Friday, October 24, 2003
From the Reading Pile XXII Bries Catalog 2003 As a catalog, this beautiful screen-printed item doesn't work so well, says the woman staffing the table for this "publisher of fine comics" at SPX. And I'm amazed and disappointed that that's the case. This catalog -- the most impressive I've seen -- is a wonderfully produced item complete with tucks and folds, illustration details, and handwritten descriptions. The catalog features work by Pieter de Poortere, Lamelos, Stefan van Dinther and Tobias Schalken, Ulf K., Uli Oesterle, and others, which should give you a sense of the kinds of comics Bries trafficks in. Wonderful stuff -- and a catalog, while worthy in its own right, that's well worth ordering from. $3 to Bries, Kammenstraat 41, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium. Gabagool! #2-3 (June and September 2002) Despite the funny animals depicted on the cover of #2, this is farn from an anthropomorphic mini. After obsessing over whether the Fantastic Four should have welcomed Spiderman into their ranks -- and withstanding his landlord's rant about blowjobs -- Christopher Vigliotti gets ready to go to a Brazilian restaurant with his roommates and his almost-girlfriend. The sequence in which he selects an outfit (p. 7) works well, and the dialogue during the dinner party is quite clever, as are the first four panels on p. 13. Love the waiter on p. 11! There are artistic moments (p. 19) in which this comic really shines, and given the solid scripting, my only complaint is that #2 is too short at 24 pages. So the longer #3 -- at 36 pages -- is quite welcome. The "all action" issue opens with some surprisingly Tom Hart-esque drawing (especially given the usual Tony Consiglio by way of Peter Bagge artwork) and Christopher Vigliotti dramatically (panel 5, p. 3) retells the tale of bounty hunting, the Y2K "problem," and the recovery of a magic guitar. Ace Frehley makes an appearance, Jed name drops Alan Davis, and the glowering Aris Samaras finally says something. Throw in some able narrative interludes, a flashback to eighth grade, and the first edition of Fiend Folio, and you've got an impressive story of friendship, violence, and justice. The inside back cover sports a column by Cousin Lenny about the Bronx, adding a nice zine-like feel to an otherwise excellent comic. I can't wait to read more of Gabagool! $1 from Mike Dawson and Chris Radtke, P.O. Box 1638, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101-1638. Gabagool! #1 Special Edition (February 2003) Contributing to the general comic book geekery of other issues of Gabagool!, this 28-page "special edition" adds an element of InterWeb fannishness. Our hero, Christopher Vigliotti, scours the Web for Star Wars and Spiderman news before going home, dreams of ROM, Voltron, and Cthulhu dancing in his head. The roomies debate the merits of selling pot versus working at the grocery store and go to a bar, where they call back the "Who talks like you?" joke from #2 (p. 11 -- p. 10 in this issue), reminisce about their old band at SUNY-Albany, and hatch their plan to become bounty hunters. It appears as though this "special edition" is a reprint of #1, but that's OK. Continuity Chris would approve. Indeed, for this is the issue in which the bounty hunters find Doreen's dad. The at-work small-panel sequence on p. 17 is a nice piece of minimal narrative, and the manner in which they find Bill is a pleasing punchline, especially given the doubletake. The issue closes with a three-page throwaway titled "Secret Santa" and an opinion column by Cousin Lenny. My only advice would be to use the text-based column to break up the comic -- and to get a Xeric grant. Mike Dawson and Chris Radtke could easily publish a longer book. $1 from Mike Dawson and Chris Radtke, P.O. Box 1638, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101-1638. House of Cards Using a deck of cards as the organizing principle, Shawn Cheng shares a 44-page story about love and loss, wishes and wanting, sin and snowglobes, pets and preference, adventure and absence, Halloween and hollowness, and music and mistrust. Cheng's artwork is at times evocative of Megan Kelso, and if he's able to maintain this level of lushness daily online, he's a talent to watch. Quite impressive. Write Shawn Cheng for more information. In a Rut Apparently an ashcan promoting the fifth issue of David Stanley's comic Outside, this 12-page story is a good introduction to his work. Artistically reminding me somewhat of John Hankiewicz's Tepid work, Stanley's drawing blends sketchy realism with occasionally oblique cartoonishness. A young boy grapples with his growing attraction to women, and his sister and her friends discuss the kind of men they like as a result. Meanwhile, the boy and girl's mother copes with the "octopus" at work. It's a good, multi-level look at sexual attraction and harassment, and if it's any indication of Stanley's wider work, Outside appears promising. Free at SPX from David Stanley, 850 N. Randolph St. #103, Box A35, Arlington, VA 22203. The Patron I picked up several of Jamie Tanner's minicomics and pamphlets at SPX. Featuring excellent artwork, off-kilter narratives, and hand-decaled items, they are interesting objects as well as excellent reads. This 28-page 2002 publication includes four connected vignettes about Heinrich Bruno, a monkey-man and "patron of the pornographic arts." I'm not quite sure who the dead body on p. 20 is, but the panels depicting Bruno's children (pp. 17 and 23) are awesome. A solid read, but slightly dissatisfying. Write Jamie Tanner for more information. Sketchbook 2 Designed by Cheryl Weaver, this 40-page handmade collection of "pictures which have been cleared for publication" combines elements of Farm Pulp, Jeff Zenick, and John Porcellino. Content includes cubes, chair construction, belligerent birds, word play, artistic analysis, passionate pickpockets, and history that's not heavy handed. It's an interesting idea for a publication, and even though I was initially put off by the price, Anders Nilsen remains a need to read. Very nice. $10 to Anders Nilsen, 3103 W. Augusta Blvd., Chicago, IL 60622. The Movie I Watched Last Night LXXX One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest This is one of the better movies made in the last few decades. A young Jack Nicholson shines as the lead character in this adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel about a man who's transferred from prison to a mental hospital. It's mostly a statement that life is what you make it and that you should never give up regardless of the challenges you face. It's also a wonderful character study of people who find their confinement safer than the wider world even though they're not formally committed. And lastly, it's a strong argument to question and stand up to authority for what you think is right despite an overly oppressive environment. In the end, Nicholson's antihero Randall Patrick Murphy falls prey to the very system he's trying to game, and the only character to truly become free is the quiet hulk Chief Bromden, played by Will Sampson. Despite the accolades heaped on Scatman Crothers for his role as Orderly Turkle -- and later appearance in Nicholson's magnum opus the Shining -- I think it's the young Danny DeVito (Martini) and Christopher Lloyd (Taber) who deserve considerable kudos along with Nicholson. DeVito is priceless -- and almost unrecognizable. A brilliant movie. Worth revisiting. Event-O-Dex LXXX Monday, Oct. 27: The Mary Reillys, Star Star Quarterback, Rosa Chance Well, and Mark Robinson pop up at TT the Bear's in Cambridge. Mention Me! XLVII Joi Ito's been egosurfing Amazon's new Inside the Book search, so I thought I would, too. I had no idea I've been quoted and cited in so many books! Among the books that have dropped my name:
That's pretty rad. Peters and Reich cited articles I wrote. I can go home now. Wednesday, October 22, 2003
The Movie I Watched Last Night LXXIX Cat People Complete with a mournful David Bowie theme song, this early-80s self-described "erotic fantasy" is a wonderful example of cheesy horror/softcore crossover. A redux of the lycanthopy myth, this is a loose remake of the 1942 movie by the same title and focuses on the trials of two siblings who suffer from an age-old curse. The progeny of a race of leopard people, the two turn into voracious felines whenever they're sexually aroused, and the brother -- played by Malcolm McDowell -- tries to persuade and seduce his sister, played by the lovely Nastassja Kinski, to become his lover. Because it's only safe for family members to sleep together. Otherwise, others die. She'll have nothing to do with it and takes up with a zoo curator -- the heroic John Heard -- who strives to secure her love while unraveling the curse of the killer cats. Set in New Orleans, the movie has some nice city and country shots -- along with a stereotypical bayou bumpkin played by Emery Hollier. The suspense is light, as is the erotica, and the Maxx-like flashback exposition adds an out-of-place mythical element to the proceedings. All in all, Cat People is a nicely atmospheric period piece that attempts to blend and bend genres with some success. Mention Me! XLVI When I was only a lad, I was actively involved in the Boy Scouts. Order of the Arrow, two National Boy Scout Jamborees, scout camp staff, Eagle Scout -- the whole nine yards. Back in the day, I and several friends published a staff newsletter for Camp Indian Trails in southern Wisconsin that was reviewed in Factsheet Five by Mike Gunderloy, who described it as a "punk fanzine that seems to be edited by Boy Scouts." That has been one of my guiding principles in journalism, as well as on the Web: "Would this work in a punk fanzine that seems to be edited by Boy Scouts?" Imagine my disappointment when I learned that Larry Livermore's Smart Punks idea was a Maximum Rocknroll April Fool's joke. But leave it to Noah, one of the former editors of that newsletter, Stafficidal Tendencies and, later, ST, to dig up an old Jambo photo and identify who is now an active blogger. Too funny. Wi-Finally! Jon Lebkowsky has some good news for Austinites and book lovers everywhere. Book People, one of the best independent book stores in the country -- and a necessary stop every time I visit Aus-Town -- now has WiFi. They've got an impressive selection of books by local authors, a wide-ranging newsstand, a cafe -- and now WiFi. Right on. Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Technofetishism XLVI To accomodate my iSight camera and iPod -- my PowerBook only has one FireWire port -- I just got a Belkin 6-port FireWire hub. The little plastic stand doesn't work so well, but I'm glad that I don't have to swap devices any more. I didn't like having to unplug the iSight in order to charge my iPod. And now I can take pictures of other things when they're plugged in!  I also got the iTrip from Griffin Technology. Because I don't always take my laptop home, I'm sometimes frustrated that I can only listen to my iPod with the earphones. And I'd like to be able to listen to what's on my iPod while in friends' cars. Again, without earphones. So far, the iTrip seems to do the trick. Monday, October 20, 2003
From the In Box: Games People Play XIII According to Media Dietician Adam Gaffin, the Hobo Railroad should be called the Ho-BORING Railroad: Do not take the Hobo Railroad -- unless you are having severe insomnia problems. Noted. The Movie I Watched Last Night LXXVIII How to Make a Monster Not to be confused with the 1958 movie by the same name, this made-for-TV mauler is a shallow take on video game development, artificial intelligence, the potential for avarice in the technology business, and virtual reality. Can't get Robert Culp? Steven Culp kind of looks like him and doesn't act any better. Wonder what Carnivale's Clea Duvall has done before? Look no further. The basic gist of the flick is that a video game project is about to go over time and over budget -- and that it's not test marketing well in the scary department at all. So a misfit trio of developers featuring the requisite brute, phiolosopher, and nerd (played by a Rick Moranis lookalike, pretty much) is brought in to up the terror ante. Philosopher Sol does a Net search for "monster" and imports the results into his "million-dollar AI engine." Julie Strain is brought in for some Lara Croft-like motion capture, and the movie goes downhill from there. The monster AI gains sentience during a storm and takes over the telemetry suit used for the motion capture. The suit absorbs body parts of the people it kills -- and continues to play the very game the developers are making as it attempts to kill them. In the end, humanity wins and loses in one fell swoop, as the sole survivor falls prey to the very philosophical and political foibles that got the team into the mess in the first place. That '70s Show star -- and Ashton Kucher's Punk'd patsy -- Danny Masterson co-stars in an uncredited cameo as Duvall's character's physically and emotionally abusive boyfriend. His enthusiastic email exchange with heroine Laura Wheeler is not to be missed. Games People Play XIII Saturday morning, after a quick blessing by the Reverend Father Asteroids, Brad and I hit the road to head north to Weirs, New Hampshire, where we spent much of the day at Funspot, the second-largest arcade in the country. Funspot -- "the spot for fun" -- claims the largest collection of classic video games in the world. Between now and Jan. 16, 2004, if you buy $20 worth of tokens -- 80 tokens -- Funspot offers a coupon for 50 free tokens. What a deal! Brad and I went crazy. Here are some snaps:                                 I'll have to head back. We didn't have much time to poke around Weirs Beach, and there are several functioning tour railroads nearby. Among them: You can access a guide to New Hampshire's scenic railroads online. Also not so far away is Ruggles Mine and Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves, which seem cool. Ah. At home, I'm a tourist. Weather Report XIV With a frost advisory issued last night at 9, the Bourne Bridge closing because of ice, and flakes of thin ice on car tops this morning, it's clear that the cold has finally snapped for real and that fall is officially here. High today, 52 degrees. Glad I made my bed with flannel sheets last night! |
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