RANDOM THOUGHTS PART TROIS

- I'm enjoying being in my apartment, listening to show tunes and just catching up with the world.

- I just ate a box of Captain Crunch cereal in less than 24 hours.

- I'm currently choreographing my 8th or 9th production at St. Joe's Prep here in Philadelphia. The show is Urinetown and the students of Cape and Sword Drama continue to live up to the theatre dept's legacy. They work hard, they play hard and they do it for the joy of the stage. Not many high schools can say the same.

- My next gig starts in April when I'll be in the ensemble of Media Theatre's Thoroughly Modern Millie. I've wanted to do this show for awhile now so I'm looking forward to the run. Show starts in May and ends in early June.

- I just had a good audition for a 42nd Street Production that would tour 3 cities in two months. I need to audition for any and every tap-related project that comes across the audition notices. Because, although there are tons of male dancers who go to these auditions, many of them just aren't that good. Sure they have that typical chorus boy all-american metrosexual look, but when it comes to actually hitting the boards, they suck. Just sayin'.

- If the rest of the year goes as planned concerning my career, I may just be making some major decisions by 2010.

- I need to start reading some good comics again.

- I really want Spring to get here. And I want Spring. Not two weeks of good weather and then suddenly it's Summer. I want that change of season where everyone starts to thaw from the winter, clothing gets shorter and tighter, the city gets kinda crazy and I can feel the sun on my face every day.

SYNERGY ASKED, I ANSWERED!

Jay Tomio, of Book Spot Central, pitched me to contribute to his website for a feature called Synergy. A question is thrown out to multiple contributors in an attempt to get as many views as possible on a particular subject. Here was my question:

Can you share something interesting about how you read fiction, the elements of story that you focus on that you’ve noticed others may not — ideally providing a few examples — and why you do so (if you know)?

You can read my response in the Synergy column here.

GIVE MY REGARDS... PHILLY INQUIRER REVIEW

...Peter John Rios' engaging tap choreography greatly enhances it; the show bursts with tap solidly delivered by all six performers. One number, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," is downright inspired, and the rest... is best when those taps are clicking.

You can read the full review here:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/weekend/theater/20090115_A_modest_Kimmel_space_hosts_a_modest_revue.html

A SALE IS A SALE, YES?

File this under the "Why am I the last one to find out about these things" category: Robin's Bookstore, the oldest Independent Book Store in Philadelphia, is closing after 73 years. I've been an on-again/off-again customer there since 1992 - when I came to Philly to attend my first year at University of the Arts. Robin's had a great selection of plays, scripts, magazines and, of course, comics at college budget prices. Now, they are discounting everything in the store to move product. After January 5th, everything will be 50% off. Including a diminishing selection of trades ranging from Preacher to Nova to Strangers in Paradise to American Splendor. If you're in the Philadelphia area, give it a look see. I know I'll be spending some X-Mas money there.

*SIGH*

I read/check Heidi MacDonald's the Beat everyday. I check it first over any other comic news site for the reasons that it's informative, it's (usually) not just a bunch of links to other blogs and it brings back fun times reading Amazing Heroes articles by "Ace" MacDonald.

For example.

In response to her women in the industry post, it was brought up that Fae Desmond, Executive Director of the San Diego Comic-Con, rarely if ever gets mentioned in any kind of lists spotlighting women in comics. And, like Heidi, it definitely gave me an "Of course!" kind of moment. See? Informative.

In a response to the recent the Spirit film release, Heidi wrote open and honestly about how she knows Frank Miller and wasn't going to play the reindeer game of jumping on him for the movie's overall performance, no matter what people may think of that kind of stance. See? Original thought.

So next came the chance to see what she had to say about the ongoing Fox vs WB studio cage-match over the Watchmen movie.

And then I came across the line (emphasis mine): Finally, while fans may be fretting over seeing Carla Gugino in a perky superhero outfit, Paul O’Brien has a useful observation in the comments.

Huh? What? Why is that... who said anything about... isn't that the same as... did she really just write that... ?

Look - I get it. It probably was a low-key, off the cuff comment to make the posting spicy and loose. And who am I to judge? No problem. But not gonna lie; it made me sigh, shake my head, and close the tag.

Whatcha gonna do, right?

VOICES IN MY HEAD!

Chris Crank, DC artist Mike Norton and special guest Kevin Mellon (artist on Thirteen Steps, Gearhead) engage in a great "behind the scenes" type discussion on the latest Crank Cast episode. It's an honest, open discussion about what it's like to be a freelance artist in the comic business. They touch on everything from the difficulties in balancing work and a life, payment and pay scales, publisher shenanigans, realities of freelance and creator owned work and more.

It's an interesting off-the-cuff chat that really points out the difference between "those in the know" and "those that assume they're in the know" - myself included. It could go a long way to inform message board discussions, blogs and other podcasts when they start to try and speak from an uninformed sense of authority, especially in terms of sales numbers, creator motivations/decisions and a very base position of working in a field that seems to want to be both secretive and out in the open at the same time.

Give Crank Cast Episode 167 a listen. You wont be disappointed.

FROM THE MOUTH OF...

...Dave Gibbons:

Sequential Tart: You spent some time pencilling Green Lantern. Who do you prefer--Hal or Kyle? Why?

Dave Gibbons: Hal, of course! The other guy isn't really Green Lantern, is he?

- Under the Hood, Sequential Tart volume II issue 7, July 1999

RANDOM THOUGHTS PART DEUX

- In the past 24 hours, I've been in Philly, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

- I ate 18 individual Now and Later candies on the bus home from NY tonite.

- On Monday the 15th I start my next theatre gig: choreographing a show called Give My Regards to Broadway, which will become a tap dance revue built around popular standards as well as a general overview on the history of the tap. It's a new production - wow, a world premiere! - and is more or less my first fully professional choreography work even though I've been choreographing for community theatre, high schools, summer programs and corporate events since I was sixteen. It'll be up at the Kimmel Center in Phila starting Jan.8. http://www.kimmelcenter.org/news/item.php?item=2008-12-08

- Will I make any New Year's resolutions this year? Have I ever really kept my old ones?

- Elizabeth Banks is my new 'It Girl'.

- After GMRTB, I'll be doing my 7th corporate event with Commerce Bank - now called TD Bank - and Zakarak Productions. I'll be teaching again up in Manhattan and I'm looking forward to it since this year the style seems like it'll be a mix of swing and jazz. Very awesome. And it might be even bigger for me this year than in previous years. More to come.

- I'm harboring a crush on someone. Haha.

COVER HOMAGE: KEVIN MAGUIRE - CON'T

Scott Cederlund of Wednesday's Haul points out that Maguire was playing with his classic cover camera angle with the Who's Who Update '87 (cover date Oct'87) entry on the Justice League. The shot includes members from several eras: original, satellite, Detroit and, at that time, current. Can you tell who's missing in this post-Crisis revised history?

RANDOM THOUGHTS

- Thanksgiving is coming up. And at my parents' home, it's a mix of traditional (turkey, stuffing), Puerto Rican (rice) and Pennsylvania Dutch (oyster filling, copes corn). Last year, I gained about 15 pounds during the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's, which prompted me to go on the Master Cleanse Lemon Diet to lose it all. Let's not make a repeat of that shall we?

- In December and January I'll be choreographing a mostly tap dance revue show at the Kimmel Center.

- I saw an adolescent cat roaming around the underground Subway tracks while waiting for my ride. He was poking around looking for the vermin that run around between trains. It was the first time I saw a cat on the subway lines. I fully expected him to get zapped by that mythical "third rail". Kitty was cute though.

- In 4 years I'll be 40 (but hopefully still act like I'm 20)

- Saw closing night of the play "Scapin" put on by the high school drama club that I've worked with on and off for the last eight years. They are a great group of students led by a talented and committed adult staff. One of the students was an intern in North Philly for the Obama campaign and her energy and spirit talking about the experience was wonderful and infectious.

- I need to get back on the dating train.

- My youngest sister's dance concert at West Chester was this past weekend and she did wonderful. I'm probably most proud of her when I hear others talk about her and tell me how fun she is to work with and how her spirit keeps everyone jumping. She's my kind of performer.

- Although my birthday was uneventful, not to mention I was a bit sick, I love all the messages I've received on Myspace and Facebook. It was a good day. And my roommate made me cake. Yum.

- I'm gonna miss my Uncle this holiday season.

- I keep seeing and thinking about people I haven't seen in years. It's like the ripple effect of my life is going back to the center again.

- I get happy when I buy candy.

COVER HOMAGE: KEVIN MAGUIRE - CON'T

Derek Coward, of the Comic Book Noise podcast, has informed me of yet another Justice League #1 cover homage - this time from Trinity Angels #3 (Sep'97) published by Acclaim. Who was the cover artist? Hell, who was the cover artist, artist and writer? You guessed it - Kevin Maguire himself. This one would fall between the Titans Sell-Out Special of '92 and Fanboy 3 of '99. Have a look:

MARVEL'S GOT SOME GIANT BALLS DON'T THEY?

According to the newest Marvel solicits for books shipping in February 2009, Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk issues #1 and 2 will be given an all-new printing in anticipation of the continuation and (I assume) completion of that series.

In other words, they want buyers to double dip and repurchase two issues of a series that should have wrapped up in 2006.

Marvel - you got some balls.

It falls under collusion, but retailers should send Marvel a wake up call and place not one single order for the new printings of issues 1 and 2. Nada! You want to stop being treated like low-man on the totem pole in this ongoing game of late-shipping books, classified solicitations and delays? Stand up and make yourselves be heard and so 'Thanks, but no thanks' to that Bridge to Nowhere. Obviously, no one was worried about making money on the series back when it fell of the boat, especially since Lindelof is swimming in Lost money, and surely Marvel is treating Yu to a nice chunk of their Secret Invasion profits. So why give Marvel anymore money for a series that is working its way to being almost three years late? They didn't want it back in 2006, why give it to them now?

And if someone actually did buy the original issues back in 2006, you should bring in those original issues to a local comic shop that is selling the new printings and ask if you can swap yours for the new ones.

In fact, Marvel should put out a press release stating exactly that: 'True Believers! Anyone who already has the older issues should be able to swap it out for the new ones. Excelsior!' Because you know Marvel is going to give it a new cover or new design dress just to make it more appealing.

I don't know what could be anymore smug than this move. The only other thing I can think of is delaying an issue of a major series while also delaying over fifteen other titles connected to that event and only telling retailers a day before said issue was supposed to ship. Surely Marvel is much more civil than that and would never want to start a war with their retailers.

Oh wait...

COVER HOMAGE: KEVIN MAGUIRE - CON'T

My buddy Matt clued me in to yet another homage to Kevin Maguire's classic Justice League #1 cover. This is from the current Angel: After the Fall series from IDW and was done by Frank Urru and Paolo Maddaleni. Angel is in the prime Guy Gardner position front and center. Lorn, the green-skinned other-dimensional being, is in the green-skinned Martian Manhunter position. Obviously. Fun stuff.

FROM THE MOUTH OF...

...Mike Carey on the next big X-Men event potentially arriving in 2010:

"If you see Messiah Complex as being like the story that was made inevitable by House of M - if you see House of M and Messiah Complex to some extent as bookends - this is the story that Messiah Complex makes inevitable. It's a direct sequel to Messiah Complex. With some, I think, amazing character stuff, character development. A very very powerful payoff. And I think it's going to be as good as Messiah Complex if not slightly better."

- Uncanny X-Cast Episode 51 (timestamp: 1:32:28)

FROM THE MOUTH OF...

...B. Clay Moore:

"What is so hard to figure out about Final Crisis again? I wonder what readers would say to Animal Man or Swamp Thing if they debuted today."

WASSUP 2008!

This is too funny not to share. Reconnecting with an old friend, a little gathering of high-school friends tomorrow, and now this video - it's like nostalgia weekend over here.

COVER HOMAGE: KEVIN MAGUIRE - CON'T!

Phillip Duncan, Editor of Superheroes-R-Us, sends along an addition for the Justice League #1 cover homage post. Here's the image by Parr & Kevin for a comic called either Halloween Man or Dig Those Cats...:

FROM THE MOUTH OF...

Mark Millar. On his Fantastic Four run with artist Bryan Hitch:

IGN Comics: How long are you and Bryan looking to work on Fantastic Four? Could you see yourself staying on board if Bryan shifts to other projects? Also, when is this arc expected to begin?

Millar: It kicks off in January and we're on until December. This book is out every month and we've been stockpiling all year to make sure there are no problems. We'd have a fill in before we'd have a delay. I am ****ing sick of late comics. Seriously, I stipulated this and everyone was in agreement. It's a monthly book.

Is it?

FF #554 (shipped 2/13/08) on time
FF #555 (shipped 3/12/08) on time
FF #556 (shipped 4/09/08) on time
FF #557 (shipped 5/21/08) 1 week late
FF #558 (shipped 6/25/08) 2 weeks late
FF #559 (shipped 8/13/08) 5 weeks late
FF #560 (shipped 9/24/08) 6 weeks late
FF #561 (scheduled to ship 9/10/08) 5 weeks late so far

'Sick of late comics' hmmmm?

FROM THE MOUTH OF...

...Keith Giffen:

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not railing against the use of rough language. Some of my favorite films, books, etc. traffic pretty extensively in it, but in a Batman, or, for that matter, any mainstream superhero comic? What were they thinking!?

Unbelievable.

Again. Find those responsible and show them the door.

- Unfortunate Confluence of Words, Oct. 10, 2008

IT CONTINUES...

Devil's Due CEO J.P. Bickett confirmed for CBR News that his company is not purchasing "Mouse Guard" publisher Archaia Studios Press -- but someone else is, and ASP's creator contract is changing as well.

This is from a recent article on Comic Book Resources. But from what I can see, it omits the information that Kunoichi, Inc., a company formed by DDP’s Josh Blaylock, is also owned by DDP CEO PJ Bickett.

Also, in a recent Beat post, ASP writer A. David Lewis is asked:

Q. But is it fair to say that you are negotiating? In other words you don’t have to go to the new DDP/ASP?

To which he replies:

A: Yes, that is ENTIRELY fair to say. And that’s what I wanted to stress: Mark/ASP/DDP has said plainly that we are welcome to take our properties elsewhere and without debate.

If DDP isn't part of the equation, if there is a separation of "church and state", why is it confusing for everyone to tell the difference? And I find it hard to believe that Lewis is privy to what Mark and company have said to all the other ASP creators who are in the middle of renegotiating.

I'd love to see wording on an actual contract myself.