Cobbled together on Christmas Eve (and a bit of the previous night), this was my first experiment with Final Cut. It’s pretty rough, has tinny sound, and is purposely and very obviously derivative of every crap action movie trailer ever made, which is, of course, exactly what Flint Toledo is.
I love it.
The production of the three-issue ‘Strange New Visitor’ story arc (it was initially titled ‘New Year’s Revolutions’, for anyone who might be interested) in this January’s Superman titles has come to a close, at least as far as my part is concerned. I finished the art on the last issue a few days ago and am now ensconced in my childhood home, ready to be nursed back to health.
Some of you may know that a six page fill-in was planned for the second issue (Adventures of Superman #624) early on in the scheduling process, both to ease my burden and to ensure completion of the books before the holidays. It was an editorially sound decision. The deadline was extremely tight from the start and it was the smart thing to do. I regret, however, that I wasn’t able to see the project through to completion.
Completion, or the failure to do so, is an ongoing theme for me and as I’ve become more and more aware of this shortcoming over the last several years I’ve come to understand that it’s something of an epidemic in our society - one which is, by nature, accentuated by those of us with an excess of ambition.
Of course, you can’t have ambition in excess, can you? But ambition can be a bit like testosterone in that, without some degree of responsibility and focus, it manifests itself as a lot of reckless wanking. Nothing much gets accomplished and you’re left with stained sheets of paper and a few hazy recollections of a good idea you once had.
These six pages are a sore spot because, for once, I accepted the responsibility from the outset of completing a project, but was denied the satisfaction of closure due to circumstances beyond my control. Sort of strips a guy of any sense of honour.
Despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, I’m left with a renewed sense of respect for my time and energy. Maybe ‘New Year’s Revelations‘ might have been a more appropriate title.
Well-wishes go out to everyone who worked on these books, especially Tanya and Richard Horie who are stuck colouring them through the holidays, and whoever ended up doing the fill-in work on issue two (Cully Hamner was originally slated to draw them but bowed out for reasons unknown).
Merry Christmas.
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I don’t wanna hear any guff from any of you. I’ve posted now, okay? Are you all happy?
I come to the site with news of glorious quality for those two or three of you still interested in my exploits abroad. My blog is active. Feel free to bookmark my personal travel journal - too late congealed and fairly unloved but you never know what may come of it.
What about Comic Books, you say? Honestly, I find myself disinterested in everything paper-pictures these days…with the possible exception of the upcoming SEAGUY, which will no doubt be to Cousteau as a shaken ziplock bag of Red Bull, hot gravel, Steeve Reeves fliks and Power PC processors is to Roald Amundsen.
I imagine that when you’re traveling overseas in the land of your ancestors you’re bound to be inspired by all manner of things, both historic and inexplicably, spiritually nostalgic. After all, are we not all bound by bloodline and innate sense of self to our generational roots? Does not the smell of the earth and the cut of centuries-old stonemasonry resonate deeply within the soul of the prodigal traveller? Surely.
It makes perfect sense, then, that Brenden would send me this.
I don’t know what kind of internet connection you’ve got, but I can assure you that this 7MB download is worth the wait. Makes me want to go into advertising.
Eternal thanks to Matt Forsythe for tracking down this piece of art. Go and read his blog for more treats!
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Not available in North America as of this writing!
Of course I downloaded the entire second series. Of course I did. Jesus, after the heart-wrenching Series One ending, could I honestly have been expected to wait around for BBC marketing to hand me the conclusion according to their fiscal year? I downloaded a DVD rip of the UK release and I consumed it like the better part of a pumpkin pie.
I’ll save you all a contrived review and simply say that I haven’t been this moved by a series ender since the final episode of My So-Called Life.
A friend of a friend sent this to me this morning. I thought I’d post it here in case anyone in the Montral area happens to come across it. As for me, I think I’ve got a little something in mind…
It’s called the Montreal Book Project, and it has two main goals. The first is to collect creative samples from the many talented people who are here in Montreal and have them published in a book. The second is to increase networking and flesh out the next generation of writers, screenwriters, filmmakers, comedians, artists, and photographers in the city. Hopefully in the end we’ll wind up with a marketable product which is not only an opportunity to gain exposure but also to make useful contacts with like-minded people living here. So far response to the idea has been really enthusiastic.
Here’s The Lowdown…
People have asked how long their submissions have to be, what the theme of the book is, and/or in what genre they have to write. At this stage it’s best not to lay down too many restrictions because the project will inevitably take shape on its own, and certain themes will naturally emerge. Some people may already have a hot new idea in mind, or a favorite short story kicking around from school. They may opt to write a film treatment, hand in a portrait or an abstract, or wonder if someone would make an illustration for their story. Maybe it’s a comic essay or crazy monologue. Partner up, go solo, send in one thing or lots of stuff, whatever you want. Everyone gets their own credit and anything is possible. The only rule on content is that if you don’t love it, it defeats the purpose of putting it out there with your name on it. So I will say this: take your time to put together something you love and feel represents your marketable talent.As of today, feel free to start sending in stuff whenever you’re ready. We’re looking at a March 1st deadline. The email address is montrealbookproject@hotmail.com
On my end, I’ll start approaching potential publishers and work on a website to give the project a home. I’ll also put together a jury of sorts to help work through and edit the material. Should we receive a massive amount of work that could not all fit into a book, selections will have to be made to determine what best fits the overall spirit of the project. The fine print,
then, is that there are no guarantees that your work will get published - or that we will find a publisher at all. But I have no doubt that this project will be a success.
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Work on Superman has obviously been Priority #1 for the last few months, but this ought to whet the appetites of the devoted.
Flint 2 is currently slated for a March release, but I’ll definitely have a trailer up before then. Stay tuned…
Kitten back from vet, newly castrated and groggy. What have I done?? :( 14 hrs ago
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