The Red Riding Trilogy

Receipts from an all-day Red Riding Trilogy marathon, courtesy of the Gateway Theatre and the Wexner Center for the Arts.

While the British trilogy didn't live up to its reputation (it's been compared to the Godfather films and The Wire, but doesn't have the complexity or satisfying structure of those works) and while each successive film is less successful than the one before it, the films were still worth watching.

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Baby Huey, the Baby Giant

Who doesn't need a Baby Huey trading card? I treasure mine...

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Cartoonists Freedom Watch: Seattle Cartoonist Molly Norris Under Threat of Execution by Al-Qaida

Kathleen Parker, editorialist for the Washington Post Writers Group, wrote this week about Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris, who has been added to a list of eight other cartoonists, authors and journalists considered targets of execution by (the ironically named) Inspire, a new online, English-language Al-Qaida magazine.

Nineteen Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists have signed a petition condemning threats and
attacks against cartoonists worldwide.

I've signed it. Please consider signing it, too: http://www.cartoonistrights.com/

Kathleen Parker's essay: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071604206.html

The Huffington Post on the contoversy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/14/molly-norris-seattle-cart_n_645939.html

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Gucci in the House

Gucci Mane.

Saturday, July 24th, 6:30 pm, at Vets' Memorial, Columbus, Ohio.

Be there.

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A Canticle for Leibowitz

(Above, John Picacio's illustration for the most recent edition of A Canticle for Leibowitz, published by Eos/HarperCollins.)

John Picacio's beautiful illustration captures the dreaded atmosphere of Walter M. Miller's post-apocalyptic novel, written in 1959, better than any previous cover illustration for the book. The book's themes of cyclical history and the nature of man are still relevant today and probably always will be.

I wouldn't be surprised if Rod Serling was influenced by the novel when he wrote his screenplay for the original Planet of the Apes film (1968); the film deals with many of the same themes and in a similarly satirical fashion.

John Picacio's site: http://www.johnpicacio.com/

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Psychology Today Subscription Ad

...from the '70s, I'm guessing.

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The Sandman and Sandy, the Golden Boy

They fight crime by entering the world of dreams.

In DC comics.

(Sketch for a commissioned drawing by a comic book reader and fan of Jack Kirby.)

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Cartoonists Freedom Watch: Tiananmen Square Cartoon Censored by the Chinese Government

Coinciding with the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown (known in China as the June Fourth Movement), the Chinese government has removed a cartoon referencing the student-led protest from China’s Southern Metropolis Daily website.

The name of the cartoonist in question has not been publicized.

If the June Fourth Movement, which resulted in thousands of deaths, is of little importance (the incident is not part of any education curriculum in China), then why is the Chinese government afraid of representations of it?

The cartoon above was originally posted at: http://www.rue89.com/chinatown/2010/06/03/resistance-subliminale-contre-loubli-de-lhomme-de-tiananmen-153496

Read more about the censorship here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/02/tiananmen-square-cartoon

And here: http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2010/06/tank-cartoon-censored-on-eve-of-anniversary-of-tiananmen-square/

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City Books, R.I.P. (or, Do People in Reynoldsburg, Ohio Read Books?)

City Books, a full-service bookstore, lasted exactly nine months on East Main Street in Reynoldsburg, one of the most heavily traveled streets in central Ohio.

The book store had a nice selection of new books at discounted prices, overstock books, used books and a fantastic magazine selection. If you wanted to buy Otaku USA, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, or the imported Mojo (as I did), City Books was the place to do it. The store also frequently emailed 30% off coupons to its customers.

The store is closed now. There are no other book stores for miles around. I supported the store as much as possible, buying merchandise there whenever I was in the area, blogging and tweeting about the store, telling friends about the store.

Yes, ordering books off the internet is quick and easy. Brick and mortar and online stores both have pluses and minuses. The plus of a brick and mortar store is that you can browse through the actual books, see firsthand the cover art and paper quality, come across books that likely wouldn't come to your attention online, discover the amazing world of available magazines and, in this case, also support a locally owned business.

In this case, you could have.

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The Inkwell Awards

I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Almond, founder/director of the Inkwell Awards, at this year's HeroesCon (also met there: Jimmy Tournas, fundraiser for the organization).

The Inkwell Awards are a non-profit organization who mission is to inform the comics community about the craft of inking and to grant recognition, through an election and awards, to under-appreciated inkers in the comics industry.

From the Inkwell Awards' brochure: "Honoring his superior, prolific inking work over the decades, as well as his genuine and chivalrous reputation, the core committee chose to name the Hall of Fame award after Joe Sinnott. Our Lifetime Achievement category describes the award as a Hall of Fame designation honoring an outstanding inking career covering a minimum of 25 years. Two artists are chosen each year. Besides Joe himself (2008), past recipients include Dick Giordano and Terry Austin (both 2009)."

Learn more about the Inkwell Awards, including news on inkers, an inkers' database and links to the Inkwell Awards' eBay shop: http://www.inkwellawards.com/

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Read The Signifiers #1 Online For Free!

The new Signifiers Universe WordPress site goes live today, where you can read The Signifiers #1, updated every other day, for free!

Previous and future Signifiers work will be uploaded after The Signifiers #1 is serialized, including Landlark, the Heat-Seeking Dwarf pages which haven't yet seen print and the Xeric-grant awarded Reactionary Tales #1, featuring the debut of Larvae Boy, Emperor of the Insect World and This Eternal Flaw.

Comments on the site will receive a quick response. The Signifiers Universe site also features my Twitter feed.

Bookmark the site and get some good, free, cosmic readin': www.NenoWorld.com/SignifiersUniverse

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William Shatner Digs His "Groovy" Clothes

From the December, 1968 issue Screen Parade...

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Try Delivering the Mail Yourself!

It never fails to amaze me how indignant some get when the US Postal Service raises the rate of a first class stamp. The Service is currently attempting to raise the cost of delivering a letter within the United States to 46 cents.

Let's say you live on the west coast and a letter delivered to someone in New York, in two or three days.

You could deliver it yourself, by car, by train, plane, or motorbike. To do this, you'll want to factor in the cost of the gas for the car or bike, or the train or plane tickets. If you travel by car or bike, you'll want to factor in meals and also the cost of wear and tear on your vehicle.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, you'll want to factor in the cost of your time - time you could be spending earning money or doing something else you want to do, instead of hand delivering one letter cross country.

Or, you could pay someone 46 cents - less than the price of a candy bar - to do it for you (saving you, in the process, somewhere between a lot of money and a whole lot of money).

Where's the contest?

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Jesse Cale's Alphabet

I've been listening to Jesse Cale's new children's albut Alphabet: 26 letters, 26 songs.

The short, fun melodies and retro electronic sound remind me of Mark Mothersbaugh's Music For Insomniacs, Volumes 1 and 2. Alphabet isn't just an album for kids, though - anyone can enjoy it!

The album features charming cover art by Christen Nelson, who also designed the kickin' Clint Eastwood poster for AwesomeFest 2010: http://funkyohiowhatnot.blogspot.com/

You can order all 26 Alphabet songs for 9.99! Just search for Jesse Cale's Alphabet on iTunes.

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Inking With a Brush

Crops from one of three Mesh panels I penciled and inked today (they haven't been "cleaned up" yet").

The looseness in the inking of this anonymous bus rider is closer to what I'm trying to achieve; the same face drawn a year or two earlier would probably have been inked much tighter.

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Cartoonists Freedom Watch: Malaysian Cartoonist's Books Banned by Home Ministry Officials

The (ironically designed) Barison Nasional (National Front) flag (above).

Last August, National Front officials in Malaysia confiscated over 400 copies of political cartoonist Zunar (Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque)'s magazine Gedung Karton.

Now the Home Ministry of Malaysia, under questionable pretenses, has banned three more of Zunar's books: 1Funny Malaysia, Perak Darul Kartun, and Isu Dalam Kartun (IDK), issuing the statement "The contents were not suitable and detrimental to public order".

Read more about The Barison Nasional's harrassment of Zunar and his publishing company here: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/7380-you-can-ban-my-books-not-my-mind-

Journalists and writers' groups condemn the banning of Zunar's cartoon compilations: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/7387-groups-want-comical-ban-lifted

Lunch with Zunar and his wife, Fazlina: http://anilnetto.com/malaysian-politics/meet-cartoonist-extraordinaire-zunar-and-blogger-fazlina/

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Old Los Angeles Street Map

I love the colors and design of this old Bank of America sponsored Los Angeles street map, published by Rand McNally.

There is no copyright date on it. Any cartographers out there who know what year this was published?

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