The Stormtroopers Are Comin'!

Well, my first Mid-Ohio Con has come and gone and, I gotta say, aside from the drive there and back, it was a blast. I met a lot of really cool people, picked up some great comics (which I'll be reviewing later over at my other blog) and ate a great hunk of steak for supper. Seriously, I wasn't hungry till about eleven a.m. the next day. I guess this is the last time the convention will be held at the Columbus Hilton, which is a shame because it's a beautiful hotel.

I ran into a lot of familiar faces and met a lot of new people. Columbus is an awesome city. Too bad the weather sucked. It would've been fun to do a little exploring like Nik and I did when we went to S.P.A.C.E. earlier this year.

There were, of course, losts of folks in costume. Batman, Superman and Aquaman were the obvious expectations (well, maybe not Aquaman) but it seemed the most popular costume this year was Stormtroopers. Oh, my God! There were so many Stormtroopers, I was beginning to think we were being invaded!

The list of folks I'd like to give props too is virtually endless, but I'll give it a try: Peter David for Psi-Man, Matt Feazell for the groovy Batman sketch, Tom Scioli for carrying on the tradition of "The King," Craig Bogart, Margot Kidder, Mike Imboden, Uko Smith for not being our neighbor, Dave Nestler's model (& Kelly Connelly look-alike) Nicole for stopping by the Pickle Press table and turning us into drooling idoits, Steve Harrison for all the free comics, Art Baltazar because he's so polite, all the guys from S.P.A.C.E. whose names I can't recall just yet, Green Lantern, Soloman Grundy, Catowman (this one might end up a pin-up) and Stuart Sayger. If I forgot anybody and you're reading this blog, I apologize.

I did some pretty cool sketches (if I do say so myself). This guy is probably my biggest fan. All he wanted was two Marvel characters clashing and I'd just picked up an old copy of The Eternals where Ikarus fights an automoton of the Hulk, so it was meant to be. I've done a bunch of sketches for him, including a giant headless Mysterio, and I still don't even know his name. I've discovered "good girls" don't sell, but "bad girls" are like chum for sharks. This "devil woman" I did for the fun of it was gone in about an hour. As it turns out, the buyer has a collection of "devil girls," including one of the Powerpuff Girls in a devil costume. Die-hard indy comics fans will probably recognise Pam Bliss in the background. More sketches and pictures will be posted later as soon as Nik and Dwayne download/develope them and send 'em to me.

Sorry, no "Hot Girls with Candy" this time.

A good time was had by all!

Ohio or Bust!

It's convnention time again!
This November 26th through the 27th, you'll be able to catch Nik Havert and myself at...

This is my first time at Mid-Ohio, but I hear it's what they call a "big little show."
Just click the banner above for more information.
If you happen to be there, stop by the Pickle Press table and say "hi."
I'll have plenty of candy cigarettes to share.

The Seventh Reason TV Was Invented!

I blame my wife for this one, or more to the point, her love of the GSN's Lingo and Chuck "Naturally Stoned" Woolery, but I've discovered what might be the number one reason TV was invented. I'll call her number seven, but that's only because I'm not doing the reasons in any order other than as they come to me.

Check here and here for the previous six reasons.

Normally, blue-eyed, blond Barbie Dolls don't do it for me, but damn! My running joke is the only blonde I ever liked was the one I married, who just so happens to be named Barbi. Anyway, Miss Missouri, Shandi Finnessey, a 25-year-old graduate student who has published a children's book (I'm not even gonna touch that one!) and was crowned the 52nd Miss USA, is now doing time on the gameshow network's Lingo opposite host Woolery. Is there nothing she can't do?!

"If They Film...Kill 'em!"

Hollywood does it again! Proving once and for all that the Hollywood movie machine has come up bone-freakin'-dry in the "orginal ideas department," producers, in their infanite wisdom, have decided that the world absolutely, positively cannot go on without remaking my favorite movie of all time. I'm speakin' of course, of Sam Peckenpah's masterpiece, The Wild Bunch, the very movie that this blog was named after (sort of). My good buddy Nik decided to make my day, or torture me to the brink of insanity, by bringing this unholy task to my attention. Thanks, Luddy!

On a lighter note, I've discovered the sixth reason why TV was invented. You can find the first five reasons here.
If you ain't figured out who she is, check out Two & A Half Men. Not bad for starting out as that weird-looking girl in Heavenly Creatures. Yeah, I know, I watch too much TV. It's a sickness.

Revenge of the Sith

I don't go to the movies anymore. At least not like I used to. Back about the time Titanic and Godzilla were raking in the bucks at the box office, I began to get really particular about my movies. One big-budget craptacular after another finally made me realize there were damn few movies being made anymore that were worth my hard-earned cash. And when it came time for Episode One of the prequal Star Wars trilogy, I was utterly depressed. I wasn't too thrilled with Episode Two, either.

Such a thing wasn't the case with Episode Three. The special effects were mind-blowing. The plot, though a bit rushed, was true to Star Wars form. Lots of action, drama and, most important, Wookies! I was thrilled to see Chewbacca, in a tie with R2D2 as being my favorite Star Wars character back in the day. I love characters who could literally rip your arm off and beat you with it. Chewie's appeal I'm sure has something to do with my love for Big Foot, the Sasquatch and the Yeti, but that's a whole 'nother story.

The most valuable lesson to be learned in Episode Three? Never try to sneak up on Yoda.

I hope you weren't expecting too much out of this edition to the ol' blog, after all, I was the last person on the planet to see this movie so there's not a lot I can possibly say about it that hasn't already been said. I was pleasantly surprised by it and that's saying a lot for me.

Why Was TV Invented, Anyway?

All this talk about TV, such as here, here and here, has made me ask myself just that question. Why was TV invented, anyway? So, I thought and thought and thought and for the life of me, I can only really think of five (in no particular order) good reasons:
Reason One
Reason Two
Reason Three
Reason Four
And last but not least:
Reason Five
I'm sure there are a few more reasons, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. Does this make me a bad person? I submit these lyrics from a Don Henley song in my defense:

"You yankies are so silly about matters of the heart,
Don't you know that women are the only works of art?"

Watchin' Too Much Damn TV!

Free time is a valuable commodity to me, so when I'm not at work, playing with my kids, spending QT with the wife or working on my latest comic book project, I try to watch as little TV as possible. As I've said before, I'm particular about what I watch. For instance, I finally managed to talk myself out of watching Surface. I found a pretty cool show called Cinema Insomnia on my local public access channel. Hosted by a rather odd fellow named Mr. Lobo, CI plays some perfectly rotten horror/scifi movies, but it's not the movies that're worth watching. Like Svengoolie, it's all the stuff around it that makes this show interesting and entertaining, though probably not to everybody.
As for TV shows that've been around awhile, According to Jim is pretty damn funny in spite of the fact that it falls into the Home Improvement catigory of sitcoms (i.e. dumb guy with smart wife). The comedic chemestry between the cast is nothing short of brilliant. Plus, it has Kimberly Williams in it. I don't think I have to say more. The Office is another returning champion. Based on a British TV show, our American counterpart has one thing up on the original: Greg Daniels as one of its executive producers.
And as for new TV shows, I'm still a big fan of My Name Is Earl and Squidbillies and that's about it.
Now, I know what you're probably thinking: This guy watches a lot of sitcoms. Well, there was a time when I was all about the drama. I watched nearly every Law & Order out there, though my favorite drama was Third Watch, but since it was cancelled last season, I've pretty much lost interest in TV drama. My own life is drama enough thank you very much.