Tagged: party

James Altucher

The Most Unbelievable Thing You’ll Read Today…

  • News
  • January 30, 2012

160069v2-max-450x450-8152441…comes from James Altucher on TechCrunch:

If you, the entrepreneur, self-publish a book you will stand out, you will make more money, you will kick your competitors right in the XX, and you will look amazingly cool at cocktail parties. I know this because I am seldom cool but at cocktail parties, with my very own comic book, I can basically have sex with anyone in the room. But don’t believe me, it costs you nothing and almost no time to try it yourself.

via Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book | TechCrunch (emphasis added).

I won’t even start with the “creating a comic costs you nothing and almost no time” supposition. But I will say this: if you are at a cocktail party where being a multimillionaire entrepreneur does not get you access to your object d’amor d’moment, but being a comic book creator does–

–dude, I want to go to your parties, because I don’t remember anything like this at TechCrunch events.

Real Steel Director Shawn Levy Enters the Ring

Real Steel Director Shawn Levy Enters the Ring

  • News
  • January 25, 2012

Shawn Levy, director of Real Steel, now out on home video, is one of the most commercially successful film directors of the past decade. To date, his films have grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide. His youthfully enthusiastic approach to filmmaking is evident in the storylines and characters he creates and reflects his joyful intensity for each project at hand.

In 2010, Levy released Date Night, a film he directed and produced. Levy’s production shingle 21 Laps also produced the hit comedy What Happens in Vegas, which went on to earn over $200 million worldwide.

Levy both produced and directed the blockbuster Night at the Museum franchise. To date, the global success of this franchise has netted more than $1 billion in worldwide box office.

Previously, Levy directed the 2006 comedy The Pink Panther. Levy also directed the smash hit Cheaper By the Dozen, which went on to gross more than $200 million worldwide.

In addition to his directing slate, Levy is producing the feature-film comedy Neighborhood Watch,” and his production company 21 Laps/Adelstein is producing the ABC sitcom Last Days of Man.

Levy graduated at the age of 20 from the Drama Department of Yale University. He later studied film in the Masters Film Production Program at USC, where he produced and directed the short film Broken Record. This film won the Gold Plaque at the Chicago Film Festival and was selected to screen at the Directors Guild of America. (more…)

REVIEW: “Dark Victory” (Lady Lazurus #2)

What began as intimate, largely internal, spiritual conflict in Michele Lang’s historical urban romantic dark fantasy series with Lady Lazarus explodes onto the mind’s screen with the second installment, Dark Victory (Tor, Jan. ’12, hardcover $25.99, Kindle $9.99, release party at Book Review in Huntington, Jan. 22nd 4-6 p.m.), with new spiritual-ethical dilemmas of how far is too far to go to save a soul, a person, a whole people?—to make your head spin as only Lang knows how.

It picks up where we left off: August 30th, 1939 on the almost-eve of Hilter’s invasion of Poland. Magda is back in Hungary and has captured the dark angel Asmodel, demon-brother of her beloved and once-archangel Raziel (he gave up his immortality to join her fight against the Nazis and make a difference, instead of being a spectator…shades of the Watchmen ethical dilemma of To Do or Not To Do?) She’s pulling out all the stops so that everyone can join forces and maybe, just maybe, thwart her powerful-but-fragile sister Gisele’s dire prophecy of blood and doom for her Jewish people and certain, final death for all, including herself (able to return from the dead, but at terrible cost and with severe limitations). Whatever happens, Magda has to try to protect her precious friends and all she loves, even if it means her own, ultimate damnation (shades of Bleach’s Ichigo, and you can also hear Scarlett O’Hara saying, “I don’t care what it takes…if I have to lie, cheat, steal, or even murder…as God is my witness…”)

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JOHN OSTRANDER: Fighting The Good Fight Scene

Bless Mindy Newell.

I was suffering from the condition she described so well in a recent column – being blocked – and she supplied the cure as well. She talked about the difficulty in writing fight scenes in superhero comics and then claimed both I and Denny O’Neil know how to do it. I’m not always sure that’s true with me but it did give me this week’s topic. Thanks, Mindy!

On the surface, writing a fight scene might not seem that difficult. You have two steroid queens pounding the poo out of each other, right? What’s the big deal? Actually, there are a number of things to keep in mind.

Let’s start with the pragmatic. As with movies and television, fights in comics are depicted, not simply described. In the credits for both film and TV, you can find the position of “fight choreographer” and, yes, it’s very like a dance choreographer. Think of fight scenes as very violent dance. Rhumbas with a right hook. Cha Chas with a karate chop.

The fight needs to be imagined in steps so as to be clear, effective and – in movies and TV – safe for the participants. The fight also has to build in intensity. There’s a great film by Walter Hill called Hard Times (1975), starring Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Strother Martin about a bare knuckle fighter working pick-up fights around New Orleans during the Depression. There are several fights in the film and not only do they have to build individually but overall the fights have to build with greater physical and emotional intensity throughout the film to the climax.

In comics a fight scene needs one clear, definable move per character per panel. Also, for best impact, the blow is begun in one panel and then completed in the next. When possible, you end the page with one character about to strike and start the next page with the blow connecting or the other character blocking or dodging. Part of the magic that happens in between panels is that the reader “sees” the motion but only if the action in both panels is clear.

You also want to think of variety. Punch, block, counterpunch, block gets old real fast. In boxing, a boxer will go for the head, the ribs, stomach and so on to mix up the blows. In comics, you can include head-butts, kicks, leaps, martial arts moves and so on. You can also imagine a variety of different settings. Where the fight takes place can determine what fight can take place.

Different characters have different fighting styles. Spider-Man is an acrobatic fighter; the Hulk… well, Hulk smashes. Unless your character has made a change in their fighting style as part of the story, have them fight the way they are supposed to fight.

Just as important as the moves is the fact that the fight is a scene in the story you’re telling. All the rules for a scene apply – what does the character want, how badly do they want it, how far are they willing to go to get what they want? What does it tell us about the character, what does it tell them about themselves? What is revealed, what is concealed? How does this scene move the story ahead? The story is not there to justify a fight scene; the fight scene is there to advance the story. If it doesn’t, it wastes space.

There should be an ebb and flow in a fight scene. The outcome should not be a foregone conclusion for either party. Motivation will play a key factor in any fight. Maybe your character keeps getting knocked down but keeps getting back up. Keep in mind that the opponent is not always another person; it can be time, it can be physical obstacles, it can be the weather, it can be something inside of the characters themselves. All these should be factors in a good fight scene.

Finally, leave room for the artist to work their magic. When working plot instead of full script, I often just gives the basics to the artist – what’s at stake, what are the beats in the action, what is the outcome – and let them choreograph it. The artist is not your hands; the artist is your partner.

It boils down to this: you’re telling a story and that involves conflict. Conflict reveals character – who someone is as opposed to who they think they are. A fight scene is that conflict in its most physical, graphic form but it’s still part of the story. When in doubt, tell the story.

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

Review: “Cold War: The Michael Swann Dossier: The Damocles Contract” #1

There were three phases the entertainment industry went through during the Cold War. The first was “The Russians are Coming!” when movies and comics and what have you spat out tales of woe like I Married a Communist, in which we were warned that the enemy wore no convenient uniform or had any distinct facial features that could tip us off that he was the most horrible man in existence. Then you had the “Man, what would it be like if the Russians were coming?” phase where we had movies like Red Dawn and books like Red Storm Rising, trying to give us an idea of what a real shooting war with the Soviets would be like.

Now we’re in the “Man, remember when the Russians were coming?” phase, where we all get nostalgic for M.A.D and make video games about what it would be like to weather a Russian invasion, like in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the like, but in modern times. We’re suckers for traditional western wars, which probably has its roots in fetishizing World War II while forgetting that most combat veterans don’t like to remember what they did back then.

Beth nabbed issue 1 of this comic called Cold War: The Michael Swann Dossier by John Byrne since I professed my undying love for East vs. West in my Supergod review, and she thought this would be right up my alley. I like it a lot.Well, it’s kind of generic, but we’ll talk about that and whether or not it matters.

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Pilot Season 2011 Voting Kicks Off With Meltdown and Chipotle

New York, NY  (December 2, 2011) Top Cow Productions and Image Comics announced today a premiere launch event at Meltdown in Los Angeles for the Pilot Season 2011 voting period. The Pilot Season “Take Control” party invites Los Angeles fans to meet the various creative teams involved in 2011’s Pilot Season competition, get their books signed, and get the details on how they can determine the winning series this year. The event is co-sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, through arrangement with marketing firm Bonfire Agency.

Since 2007, Pilot Season has become the leading fan-driven comic event, allowing creators to compete with brand-new original properties for fan votes. This year, Top Cow released eight unique pilot issues by eight creative teams ranging from established industry pros to up-and-coming talent to screenwriters and even one NFL All Star. With all eight books in stores, voting will begin on Monday, December 5th at topcow.com, where fans can also find additional information on each title.

To kick off the highly contested month of voting, Top Cow and Image Comics have partnered with Meltdown Comics to host a “Take Control” launch party on Wednesday, December 7th from 7:00-9:00pm. Fans will have the opportunity to mingle with the creative teams, get their Pilot Season issues signed, receive free comics from Top Cow, and enjoy free food and drinks furnished by Chipotle Mexican Grill. Confirmed guests include Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rahsan Ekedal, Morgan Davis Foehl, Dennis Calero, Brad Keene, Matt Hawkins, Filip Sablik, Nick Nantell,Dan Casey, and Troy Peteri. All fans in attendance will also receive “Buy One, Get One Free” certificates for future visits to Meltdown’s neighborhood Chipotle at 7660 Sunset Blvd. Meltdown Comics, one of Los Angeles’ premiere comic shops, is located at 7522 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046 and can be reached at (323) 851-7223.

This year’s voting process has evolved from previous years. From December 5th to December 18th, fans will be able to vote as often as they would like for their favorite series. On December 19th, the four highest vote-getters will continue to the second round. Until December 25th, fans will be able to vote once per day for their favorite series, with the highest two vote-getters continuing to the final round of competition on December 26th. The final winning series will be determined when voting closes on December 31st and will be announced in early January 2012.

“Pilot Season is one of the highlights of the year for all of us at Top Cow and we’re thrilled to kick off the voting in style at Meltdown,” commented Top Cow Publisher, Filip Sablik, “Rather than just do a standard signing event, we thought it’d be fun to have a party and celebrate all these great new books! I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a couple impromptu campaign speeches on December 7th.”

“We’re thrilled to have Chipotle on board for this leg of the Pilot Season program,” added Steve Rotterdam, Bonfire Co-Founder and Partner. “It makes the event all the more celebratory.”

For more information on Pilot Season, go to topcow.com. For additional information on the event and Meltdown, head to meltcomics.com.

 


 

MINDY NEWELL: Pissed Off Again

Lots of ruminating this week. Mostly political. Mostly causing me to make sure my passport is up-to-date and to wonder what the hell country I can move to if the Repugnanticans – my term for what passes as the Republican Party these days – actually win the Presidency.

This past Thursday, November 17th, marked the two-month anniversary of the start of Occupy Wall Street. Some smart mouth caller to the Tom Hartman show pointed out that the prefix “anni” comes from the Latin anno, which means “year,” so November 17th couldn’t be the “two month anniversary.” Why did I think while listening to this jackass that he was a front for the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity or Karl Rove’s American Crossroads? So just call it an observance, a tribute, a celebration, or a commemoration, asshole.

The Los Angeles Times reported on November 20th that police officers who just walked up to students peacefully demonstrating in solidarity with the Occupy movement at the University of California-Davis and pepper-sprayed them dead-on in their faces have been put on administrative leave while their actions are investigated. (You can go to my Facebook page to see the video, or check out this link.) Hmmm. Administrative leave. That means they’re getting paid. Just like…

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NYCC: There and Back Again

NYCC: There and Back Again

  • News
  • October 24, 2011
Cover of "The Essential Batman Encycloped...

Cover of The Essential Batman Encyclopedia

My time at the New York Comic-Con has come and gone and a good time was had.

As expected, I had countless whirlwind 30-60 second conversations with people, shaking hands, hugging, kissing, and making rather merry. There were some extended conversations and a few business meetings which was nice.

I arrived early enough on Thursday that getting my badge was a breeze and wish more shows were so well staffed. I began running into people I knew the moment I entered the Jacob Javits Center and was delighted. My first appointment was with an editor about a project I can begin talking about next week. We got to know one another beyond the e-mails and phone calls and I think we got along just swell. She then snuck me onto the show floor two and a half hours early so I got a chance to wander and chat with some people who were going to be otherwise mobbed the remainder of the weekend.

Sure enough, once the doors opened to the four-day pass holders and professionals at 4, the aisles quickly filled and moving around was far less fluid. I did make a point of checking booths that had my stuff on display and was pleased to note DelRey had both The Essential Batman Encyclopedia and The Essential Superman Encyclopedia out for the fans. Across the way, Watson-Guptill had Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics out. And just arrived at the TwoMorrows booth were the first copies of Stan Lee’s Universe, where I acted as a consulting editor in the project’s final weeks (and a spiffy looking book it is, too).

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Review: “Holy Terror”

Holy Terror
by Frank Miller

You probably know somebody who changed a lot after 9/11.

That person was reasonably cool, you hung out. Maybe you were in a wedding party together, maybe you knew them from school. But after 9/11, they went extreme. It was like talking to a different person– someone who you would have sworn didn’t have a mean bone in their body suddenly talked about killing anybody wearing a turban. (If you don’t have someone in your life who fits this description– and God, how I envy you– a good example in popular culture would be Dennis Miller, who went from ex-Weekend Update anchor to Fox News Commentator.) Maybe they had a reason, maybe not, but you were shocked by how far they might go.

And if there’s any comic book character who embodies how one bad day can twist you and change you for life, it’s Batman. Which is where the story of Holy Terror really began.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZg4UOB2uCk[/youtube]

This book, finally in stores this week after numerous delays, was originally conceived as Frank Miller having Batman fight Al-Qaeda, and the serial numbers are barely filed off. We have a caped vigilante who is in no way Batman, a female cat burglar who is in no way Catwoman, and a cop who is in no way James Gordon. Never mind that this is coming out from Legendary Comics, the comic book arm of Legendary Pictures, who is working closely with Warner Brothers on the current Batman films. It’s not Batman.

Sure it’s not.

So we start off with a chase scene between Not-Batman and Not-Catwoman which degenerates into foreplay– think what we had in last week’s Catwoman #1, but even more explicit– which is climaxed (sorry) with an explosion.

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Fortier Takes on Sword and Soul Stories with "GRIOTS!"

  • News
  • September 23, 2011

GRIOTS
Edited by Milton Davis & Charles Saunders
MV Media LLC.
284 pages

This reviewer has often made it known that he enjoys anthologies for two reasons; the first being the concept of similarly themed tales from various writers collected between two cover is just plain fun.  The second is the continued encouragement of the short story format. For many years academics were decrying the extinction of this form with the loss of so many monthly literary magazines and they were right to do so. But thanks to the emergence of genre themed anthologies, the short story has truly had a strong resurgence in popularity over the past decade.

Now comes this truly unique book which heralds the supposed creation of yet another fiction genre, that of “sword and soul.”  In the opening introduction, editors Davis and Saunders, both African Americans and leading writers in the field of fantasy adventure, detail a history of the genre first established by pulp writer Robert E. Howard when he invented sword and sorcery with his well known Conan adventures.  Whereas Saunders entered the field in the 1970s with the creation of his own barbaric warrior hero, Imaro and later Davis followed suit, each imbuing this fantasy sub-genre with what they believe is a clearly felt African sensibility.  Davis argues this is a new, original evolution of the well established sword and sorcery theme.  Are they correct, or simply trying to sell us something old with a new coat of paint?

As always, reviewing an anthology to determine its entertainment worth is pure mathematics.  You simply count how many stories are in the volume and then during the course of reading label those which are exceptional, those which are simply mediocre and those that are ineffective. At the end, whichever way the scales tip, you have your verdict.  GRIOTS, that’s French  for African storytellers, collects fourteen tales of exotic action and adventure all presented by African American writers.  Here are my favorite six in this collection.

“Changeling” by Carole McDonnell is my favorite of the bunch.  It tells the story of three sisters and their fates in a poignant tale of human emotions from the noble self-scarifying nature of true love to the petty ugliness of greed and jealousy.  Three princesses, each cast in a different mold confront the meanings of their lives and truth while resigning themselves to destiny proving the age old adage that a leopard can’t change its spots.  McDonnell is a gifted writer and she lays out her plot with an efficiency of words that mesmerize and paint images long remembered after the reading.

“The Three Faced One,” by Charles Saunders was no surprise as my second favorite here in that it is us another great tale of the wandering warrior, Imaro, the hero of several of Saunders’ novels.  This story finds Imaro coming to the aid of a tribe of cattle herders being taken abused by a three-faced demon.  Once more the powerful hero must pit his muscles against the forces of evil sorcery.  This is pure Imaro gold and worth the price of admission by itself.

“Skin Magic” by P.Djeli Clark is a gripping, original action piece about the victim of a dying sorcerer’s curse.  A young thief must live with moving tattoos etched his chest that are actual portals to other worlds and the monsters that live there.  How he comes to deal with this horrid fate is a very gripping and exciting entry. 

Whereas co-editor Milton Davis’s own “Captured Beauty” is the rollicking action tale of Changa, who despises slavery and risks his own position with his sympathetic employer to find a kidnapped maiden and rescue her from a cruel master who wields black magic.  

Another winner is “The Demon in the Wall,” by Stafford L.Battle featuring beautiful Makhulu and her warrior grandson Zende.  Together they must rescue their captured family from the demoness Swallow and her human ally, the rich and fat Fabu. Together they are an unbeatable combination of sorcery and strength.
In “The Queen, The Demon & The Mercenary,” by Ronald T. Jones, Queen Zara’s land is besieged by an evil demon warrior and her salvation lies in the hands of an enigmatic mercenary with a cocky air of self-confidence.

The above half dozen are extremely well done and highly recommended.  At the same time honorable mention goes to “Awakening” by Valjeanne Jeffers, “Lost Son” by Maurice Broaddus, “The General’s Daughter” by Anthony Kwamu and “The Leopard Walks Alone,” by Melvin Carter.

The remaining four failed to impress me and one was so convoluted in its prose, I re-read it twice and still couldn’t decipher what exactly was going in the story.  You may have a different opinion.  Still six truly well crafted adventures and four equally well told make GRIOTS a winning anthology unlike most of the fantasy found on today’s book shelves.  Is it really a new genre?  I leave that for you to decide, me, I just enjoyed the stories regardless of what anyone wishes to label them.

+++

Review Postscript – I do have one final critique concerning GRIOTS, but as it does not concern its literary contents, I felt it best to set this issue apart from my main review.  Many readers do not give much attention to the accompanying artwork in such volumes but they are, at least to this reviewer, an integral part of the book’s overall presentation.  Following the tradition of classic pulp fiction, GRIOTS, besides its lovely cover painting, also showcases fourteen black and white interior illustrations, one for each of the stories. 

And therein is my frustration as the art is delivered by half a dozen artists.  At their basic core, anthologies are diverse stories all connected by a central theme.  Nothing helps cement that theme more than one artist bringing his or her talent to a book, giving it a visual cohesiveness that is crucial to the overall feel of the tome.  But when a reader is confronted by multiple art pieces done in a variety of styles with differing levels of quality that unifying thread is shattered. 

Consider this analogy if you will.  Imagine being invited to a fancy, hip hop dance with lively modern music.  You’re out on the dance floor have a grand time when suddenly you have to hold up because every new track being played has to be handled by a new D.J.  All too soon what was once a fun time is now a discordant mess.  A single, talented D.J. can clearly leave his or her personality imprint on such a party, a single illustrator for GRIOTS would have left the same kind of visual oneness.

I would strongly urge the editors to consider using only one interior artist for their follow up sequels.  And just so you do not think I’m anti artists, let me finish with saying I really liked the work of Stanley Weaver, John Jennings, Paul Davey and Shawn Alleyne found in this book.

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