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| Monday, May 5th, 2008 | | 3:17 am |
Some nights there's only one other guy in the pub. Good thing I didn't try and start a fight. ©2008 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Monday, April 7th, 2008 | | 3:45 am |
Out With My Old Boss!! I view with unmitigated glee the forced departure of Mark Penn as Hillary Clinton's campaign advisor, even if it does mean she now might still have a crack at winning the nomination. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/07/hillaryclintonI've worked as a phone slave in market research in between art jobs several times over the years. The first, and one of the worst, was when I worked for Penn and Schoen Associates back in the '80s. Penn, and his partner Doug Schoen, are the dark side of liberal politics, matching the Roves and Cheneys for evil, and maybe having given them a few ideas. The duo pioneered the idea of slanted surveys: ostensibly impartial phone interviews that were slanted to influence the respondent's opinions. An interviewer might ask: "Politician X spends her free time feeding the homeless and working to help small furry animals, while her opponent, Politician Y, spents her free time having sex with foreign sailors and spreading syphilis. Based on this, who would you vote for?" The idea, of course, is to create a negative image of the opponent in the respondent's mind. Believe me, I'm only slightly exaggerating. The boys spread out from the market research to advising the pols. One of the funniest moments I recall was when Doug Schoen was on the phone with his client Jane Byrne, then the mayor of Chicago, who was in a bitter mayoral primary with Harold Washington. There were something like 30,000 votes in dispute. Schoen advised her not to challenge them, because, true to Chicago politics, the votes were evenly divided. Dougie also had the amusing habit of coming to the office on weekends wearing full polo-playing regalia, which the phone slaves -- most of whom were poor ethnic minorities -- found hilarious. PSA was a tough job. My supervisor there was eventually murdered in a porn theater on 42nd Street, where he spent his nights after working a second job. Most likely he was killed by a pre-op transsexual, since the place was a major hangout for trannies turning tricks to pay to finish their ops. He wasn't well liked. For a year or so after he died, the computer updated on start-up with: "Jerry has been dead for (X number) of days". Mark Penn, as some of you Brits know, was an advisor to Tony Blair on his last campaign. In another research job, I did Bill Clinton's polls for his last run as governor of Arkansas. One of the key questions asked was if the respondent would mind much if he left the job early to run for President. Based on that, I predicted he would become President. I completely forgot about that until several years later, after the election, when a reporter friend of mine reminded me I'd told him that. I should point out that I still consider Bill Clinton to have been the best President in my lifetime. I'm supporting Obama this time around, and you should too -- because of Mark Penn and what he stands for. ©2008 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Thursday, March 20th, 2008 | | 5:41 am |
TORCHWOOD - "Adrift"
Whoa! I just watched "Adrift", episode 11 in the current TORCHWOOD series, and I can't get it out of my head. It's one of the bleakest and most effective episodes of a SF/fantasy series -- or any show, for that matter -- that I've ever seen. Chris Chibnall wrote it and it is brilliant, darker than dark. If the message of DOCTOR WHO is that there's hope in the universe, the message of this TORCHWOOD is that there isn't. The meta-story of TORCHWOOD has always been about how confronting the absolute and the unknowable affects its heroes, and how they soldier on, and this episode carries it further than it's ever gone.
If my calculations are correct, it should run on BBC America on April 5th. Don't miss it.
©2008 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Sunday, March 16th, 2008 | | 12:59 pm |
Another Shot of Angoulême... While I'm at it, here's another picture from Angoulême 2008. It's José Muñoz's romantically noir poster for the 2008 comics Festival in Angoulême, as seen on the stairs of the City Hall. Just the photo's © me, of course. The poster would be © Muñoz and/or the F.I.B.D. I shot it in color, but I like it better in black and white. Click the url underneath to go to a larger version. | | 12:24 pm |
Angoulême 2008: Renovating the Soul of a Comics Festival This is my long-promised article on the 2008 Festival International de la Bande Dessinée that was held this past January in Angoulême, France. It appeared in print on actual paper in the C.A.P.S. NEWLETTER for March 2008. If everything works, it'll be under the cut. ( Angou 2008 )Click under the photo to see a larger version. | | Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 | | 12:28 am |
Back. Steve Gerber. Damn.
I've been back from London and Angoulême for almost two weeks. The transition to L.A. is always rough, particularly since this was a very good year at the Festival de la Bande Dessinée. At this point I can no longer blame jet lag and will have to go with crankiness as my prime motivator. Some good things: Obama seems to be doing well, and the writer's strike seems to be ending, which means the TV project can sit up and start begging again. I've gone a couple of days without resorting to extreme recreational napping for entertainment.
The death of Steve Gerber adds something to the general bleakness. Howard the Duck was one of the last things I loved in mainstream comics. Steve was to my mind the first Marvel writer to have a voice of his own, and his best work stands up today. To this day, I can't drive past the Sherman Oaks Galleria without thinking of his hilarious Death Mall Star Wars parody in HTD all those years ago. It's also fun to think that there was a time when the only comics character with an active sex life was a duck. Damn.
©2008 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Thursday, January 24th, 2008 | | 6:47 am |
Angoulême 2008 - Night 1 Here's a couple of quick shots from Wednesday night in Angou. Me with the Festival's President, the awesome Argentine artist José Munoz. I caught him sneaking out of the building for a cigarette, like everyone else in France. Photo by Leo De Sa, at the opening of the Exposition de la Bande Dessinée Argentine. Also a pic of the legendary Gilbert Shelton creator of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, taken by me later at Le Chat Noir. ©2008 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Friday, January 18th, 2008 | | 3:37 am |
On the Road to London and Angoulême
I'm heading east to London and Angoulême later today. For those in those villes, I'll be in London Saturday Night, Sunday and Monday, then Angou Tuesday through Saturday. I'll be back in London Sunday night and Monday, heading back to L.A. on Tuesday the 29th. I hope to catch up with a few of the usual folks.
-- Jim | | 3:33 am |
The Fireplaced Ear -- Comics -- What Do I Read, What Do I Enjoy? I wrote this as a post on CIS-CAF, a forum comprised of folks who were on the old Compuserve Comics Forum back at the dawn of time. I liked it, and I haven't written about comics enough here on L.J. Re: What do you read, what do you enjoy? Unlike a lot of you, I've been reading more comics in the last year or so than I have in many years, in fact, probably more than I was reading in the Compuserve Years. I never was much of a superhero fan, and the shift of a large part of the industry away from people in tights, along with the rise of mainstream graphic novels has been a real boon to me as a reader. One of the best reads I've had this year was IDW's THE COMPLETE TERRY AND THE PIRATES -Volume 1: 1934 - 1936. I've always admired Caniff as an artist, but I never managed to read a large enough chunk of his work to realize how good a writer he actually was. A couple years into TERRY, his stuff crackles, as funny and sophisticated as any of the movies of the era. I'll be getting Volumes 2 and 3 soon, as well as IDW's upcoming Noel Sickles' SCORCHY SMITH book. I also loved the hilarious I SHALL DESTROY ALL CIVILIZED PLANETS: THE COMICS OF FLETCHER HANKS (Fantagraphics) which reprints the real but twisted work of early comic book artist Hanks. Modern stuff I loved includes Bryan Talbot's awesome rumination on history and Lewis Carroll, ALICE IN SUNDERLAND, and Posy Simmonds' brilliant TAMARA DREWE, which I've only read online at the GUARDIAN site so far. I'm planning on picking up the just-published hard copy when I get to London in a couple of weeks, even at the miserable dollar exchange rate. Simmonds' ability to tell stories about real people in realistic situations with beautifully realized character drawing is at it's peak. Pamphlet comics I've been following, either as single issues or trades, include the clever and gorgeously colored `50s tiki noir, HAWAIIAN DICK, by B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin (Image), Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith's FELL, along with most of Ellis' indie catalog at Image and Avatar, especially the great CRÉCY, Templesmith's WORMWOOD, GENTLEMAN CORPSE, and Stan Sakai's USAGI YOJIMBO. I'm also enjoying Simon Spurrier and Frazer Irving's unique sci-fi mini-series, GUTSVILLE (Image) which gets right into the belly of the beast. I did make a couple of recent detours in the superhero world with DC's ELONGATED MAN phonebook reprint, and the hardcover of Neil Gaiman and and Andy Kubert's 1602. I've always loved Carmine Infantino's gorgeously drawn ELONGATED stories, and the classic ear in the fireplace scene remains one of the funniest in superhero history. I enjoyed 1602 quite a bit, but I'm so far out of the Marvel universe that I couldn't figure out who some of the characters were versions of. That's most of what I've been reading lately. I'm heading over to the French comics Festival in Angoulême soon, with a list of new Euro-stuff to look at. I found 2007 to be a great year for comics, and I hope this year will be just as exciting. ©2008 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Friday, December 21st, 2007 | | 4:16 pm |
Deck Them All! Use Buddy Holly! -- or something like that! From in the belly of the Hollywood Holiday Hell-beast, Here's a Happy Holiday Hieroglyph -- Hah! I had fun digitally painting this one. Ol' Cold St. Nick seems to have gone all Swamp Thing on me this year. I sent this out to the folks I have current e-mails for, and this is for the rest of you. Click on the pic to see it larger. Cheers! -- Jim ©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 | | 11:18 pm |
The FLYING TORPEDO Strikes... Here're two pseudo-1960s comics covers that I worked on for the NUMB3RS TV episode "Graphic", which aired November 23rd. They were designed and laid out by Trevor Goring ( http://www.electricspaghetticomics.com) with finished art by Mike Vosburg ( http://www.vozart.com). I did the logos, lettering, aging effects and coloring. A very fun job. Click on the pic to see a larger version. In the story, the ULTRA WORLD comic is an unpublished ashcan done back in the day by the artist played by Christopher Lloyd. Having nothing else to do with the thing, I thought the ep was the best of the current rash of comics-related storylines in TV crime shows including CRIMINAL MINDS and DEXTER. ©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights reserved. | | Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 | | 12:06 am |
My NUMB3R's Up!
The episode of NUMB3RS that I worked on some fake 1960's comic books for is scheduled to run this Friday night (11/23) on CBS. I did logo design, lettering and coloring over artwork by Trevor Goring and Mike Vosburg, and had a lot of fun with it. I also "aged" the ersatz funnybooks using paper scans from a century-old proto-comic. The mystery of the show is set at a comics convention, and a lot of local indie comics folks (but not me) are in the background.
I'm not a regular NUMB3RS watcher, but I've enjoyed the show when I've seen it. The premise is that some mathematicians use complex equations to solve crimes, and it usually makes sense for at least the hour. Check it out.
©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Sunday, November 18th, 2007 | | 7:50 pm |
Excelsior! Stan Lee! On this past November 11th, C.A.P.S., the Los Angeles cartoonists’ organization I belong to, awarded Stan Lee our “Sergio” award for lifetime achievement. It was a good night. Mark Evanier hosted, and Stan was charming, gracious and funny. For me it was a reminder of the genuine man and talent beneath the huckster shell we so often see today. Marv Wolfman gave a particularly moving appreciation of Stan as an editor and as a person. I was especially happy that Stan addressed the collaborative nature of the creation of the characters he’s often given sole credit for in the mainstream press -- a good move in a room where at least one person has a kid named after Jack Kirby. (Possibly someone had tipped him that many of us had recently seen Jonathan Ross’ BBC documentary, IN SEARCH OF STEVE DITKO.) My photo here is from earlier in the evening, when a C.A.P.S. member presented Stan with a bottle of “Excelsior Water”. The “Sergio” statuette is much nicer. Click to see a larger version of the photo. The C.A.P.S. dinner was taped for use in the upcoming documentary on Stan, TRUE BELIEVER, so you might get a chance to see what went on at some point. ©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Monday, November 12th, 2007 | | 10:20 pm |
"...."
In Japanese manga, “....” in a speech balloon is the glyph that means “there’s nothing to say”, usually signifying a kind of stunned speechlessness. Leave it to the Japanese to have a non-word for it.
I haven’t posted to LJ in a while because it’s become harder and harder to talk about my life. As I’ve mentioned before, my writing partner and I sold the option to a TV series in the glorious green-lit days of just a week or two ago, a thing that represents six months or so of unpaid work to reach that stage. Now, due to the Writer’s Strike, it floats in Limbo, presumably the same misty realm with all the unbaptised Catholic children who died before the Pope eliminated that particular rule.
Even though I’m not as yet a WGA member, I support the strike on the issues, in particular on payments on digital delivery. I don’t see myself crossing any picket lines, even if I could. A continued strike, however, could well ruin any dreams I have for solvency and happiness in my lifetime.
I suspect that if you go to a massage parlor in LA, these days, you don’t get a “happy ending”, you get a morally ambiguous one.
....
© 2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 | | 12:18 pm |
A Couple More... What the heck. I'm in the mood. Here's two more of my favorite Harvey horror covers. Both are by Howard Nostrand I believe, but the CHAMBER cover could have Lee Elias' hand in it. Erm... Let me rephrase that... © Harvey Comics, and again lifted from the Grand Comics Database. Click on the pic to enlarge. The excellent Nostrand story "8:30 P.M.", which has nothing to do with his great gorrifying cover, is reprinted in Dan Nadel's ART OUT OF TIME - UNKNOWN COMICS VISIONARIES, 1900-1969, and is well worth tracking down. It's a moody Will Eisnerish fantasy piece that's quite lovely. © 2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | 11:45 am |
Something Wicked... ...for Halloween. As a kid, I was creeped out by this cover more than any other I can think of. THRILLS OF TOMORROW was one of the first old 1950s horror comics I ever bought, and my mind rattled trying to find an explanation for the scene pictured -- and why someone had photographed it. It didn't help that there was no story in the issue having anything to do with it -- although that probably made it creepier. The Grand Comics Database (from which I nabbed this image) says the story ran in another issue... an accident... or something more? Click on the image to see a larger version. This cover was drawn by the great Howard Nostrand and published by Harvey Comics, who mostly give us CASPER and RICHIE RICH these days. © them, I expect. ©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Monday, October 22nd, 2007 | | 3:07 am |
The Price of Non-Fame (Redux)...
As I hit another birthday, and approach really, really, extremely really moderate success, my life continues to get creepier. Last night, again, someone misidentified me as someone famous and bought me a drink. At least this time, she was a woman, and reasonably attractive. As usual, I was too tired, not quick-witted enough, or, unfortunately, just not evil enough to use this to my advantage. Inevitably, it led to that awkward conversation where I had to try to discover who the fuck she thought I was and what she wanted from whoever that person was. I heard someone whisper “writer-director” in the background hum, but that hardly narrows it down. Then there was the inevitable sense of loss and depression when she realized I’m not whoever it is I’m not and lost interest immediately and just started stared quietly at the wall behind the bar in a drunken haze. I like to think Francis Coppola would have at least gotten a blowjob out of it (although after his last few films, he doesn’t really deserve one). If he still used the "Ford" in his name, I'm positive he would have.
As I’ve mentioned before, this happens a lot. I’m a middle-aged big guy with a beard and glasses, and look like what you get from Central Casting when you order a director. Just the night previous, at the Cat & Fiddle, a drunken Russian guy I had never met before stopped in the middle of asking me “Do you trust BITCHES?” repeatedly to tell me “you look like famous Russian director”. You’ll love my ALEXANDER NEVSKY, dude. A while back, a local homeless guy I sometimes donate to told me he thought I was a famous producer, and then proceeded to give me comparatively good career advice. I live in the weird.
I am now contracturally a “professional writer”, and, technically, also an associate producer. My writing partner and I have officially sold the option on our animated TV project, which now lurks in development as the writers' strike looms dark on the horizon. Mentioning this in the awkward conversations under discussion here, however, only confuses the issue of whether or not I’m Matt Groening, Floyd Mutrux or even the extremely late Orson Welles. One wonders how the actual folks cope. Well, I guess it's easy for Orson, nowadays.
©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 | | 10:18 pm |
Mime Out...
I guess now Marcel Marceau is in a REAL box.
©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Monday, September 24th, 2007 | | 10:04 pm |
How Will I Be Defined In A Dictionary? HAH! Damn. When they're right, they're right. Although I'm not sure "academian" is a the correct word, which unfortunately proves their point. ©2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. | | Friday, September 21st, 2007 | | 11:32 pm |
DRAGON WARS - Snakes With A Plan! There's probably a lot more important things that I should be writing about, but I caught DRAGON WARS last night and had a lot of fun with it. DRAGON WARS (a.k.a. D-WAR) is a Korean CGI fest shot here in Los Angeles with an American cast, and it's currently got a theatrical run here because, frankly, any movie that destroys our city is jake with us. This is a monster movie, and not the kind that can or should be taken too seriously, but the creatures are cool, and the scene where the snakeish bad dragon coils around the "Liberty Building" (in reality known to us Angelenos as "that big white building with the heliport on top that's in all those movies so people think we have a skyline" ) works pretty well. The script and the direction are very Asian, and give a very odd quality to the performances of veteran Caucasian thesps Jason Behr (from ROSWELL), Amanda Brooks and Robert Forster. I say DW lacks the brilliant bits of last year's Korean monster entry, THE HOST, but it's worth seeing on the big screen just to see giant snake-dragons slithering through Downtown and menacing hipsters in Silver Lake. While's it's unlikely the film's South Korean creators ever saw this early '60s THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD cover, I see a certain kinship and am perfectly willing to exploit it. I've also been meaning to show it since I read some posts about the "100 Greatest Comics Covers of All Time". This classic Joe Kubert number is one of my all-time favorites. © 2007 Jim Wheelock. All Rights Reserved. |
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