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At first, I was a bit annoyed. I love comics and graphic novels and I try my best to follow the great examples of the genre. Sadly, so many things fall in the shadow of Marvel and DC that I am bound to miss out. When the Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalists came out I was amazingly excited to see that they instituted a new graphic novel category. Here’s where the annoyance came in: I didn’t recognize anything on there. Fantastic.
This feeling quickly gave way to the awesome possibilities in this list. Now I could go out and start reading some amazing work that I had no preconceptions about and that had already proven to some pretty trustworthy people that it was good. With that in mind I found myself at Borders last night and picked up Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life. Although the nomination was for volume 5 of the series I wasn’t about to start in the middle. In case you didn’t pick it up from the title (you unobservant creature you…) all I could say about this thing was wow. No, scratch that: WOW!
When I first saw the cover visions of Powerpuff Girls ran through my brain. This was a good sign. Within a single page I was already laughing. The characters, a fun gathering of Scott’s friends, family, band mates, and special guests adversaries, are instantly believable and interesting to read about. O’Malley found a way to bring me into the fold and make me care about the people faster then I can ever remember. I was hooked.
As the story progresses we get to see Scott try to figure out some of the most common things in his (and the readers) life. Intimate moments in his life like a date with his (sort of) girlfriend, who is a 17 years old and still in high school, are wonderfully illustrated and come across with a tenderness that is hard to find in the other books. And then they throw in super powered fights and evil ex-boyfriends. Believe me, it works, seriously. Funny, thoughtful, sweet, awesome, and addicting, this series has so much to offer. Anyone who is a fan of great writing in general and graphic novels specifically should go out right now and pick this up. You know what, if I know you, talk to me and I’ll lend you my copy. I hope to spread the greatness of Scott Pilgrim as far as I can.
This post gets a little more personal then most Thursdays. Not in the I-cry-at-such-and-such-movies personal. More like the this-is-something-private-yet-not-embarrassing sort of personal.
I’ve openly admitted that photography isn’t what I do day to day. Yes folks, I am an office monkey. A Dilbert like peon wrapped in the comforting fuzz of gray fabric that comprises cubicle walls. It’s really not as bad as that sounds, but I love pretending that it is. Mostly for the funnies and to better relate to some of the more subtle jokes in shows like The Office. Anyways, in the daily grind that I get to enjoy there is one fantastic silver lining. There is one constant thing that makes me smile. It makes me laugh, makes me think of fun nerdy things that I appreciate outside of work, and just generally keeps me much happier at work then I would otherwise be.
It’s computer wallpapers. Yup.
Please don’t let that be as anti-climatic as it might seem on the surface. I’m very serious about this. What do I, and those who work in offices like I do, look at all day long? Our computer monitors. This piece of equipment is very important to my daily duty (hee hee, duty) and to my sanity. Unlike some others who just choose the typical Microsoft bit to adorn their screens I actually take a little time (a really little, I’m very good at doing Internet searches) and find something that suits my tastes better.
Marvel wallpapers are always a great start. That is, if the current things they throw up for free are from a series I love. Then there are steampunk wallpapers. With steampunk being my current obsession (and the subject of my next cosplay outfit btw) I regularly use some of my brains back end processing power to think of prop ideas. Lastly, but most assuredly not leastly, I make frequent use of the free items available at Alex Ross’ website. I mean come on, look at this man’s work:
I promise you that this scaled down image that I got from his site doesn’t do his work justice. His style is really amazing and it’s unique in the comic world. Alex Ross creates beautiful work that feels like Renaissance paintings of comic characters. And this is exactly why I love looking at his work and so many other images.
When I see something that fantastic on my desktop it makes me think of art. A well done wallpaper has all the elements that I feel connected to: color, spacing, composition, etc. Being able to see these interesting pieces of art on a daily basis keeps my brain grounded in an artistic world that the usual daily work I do doesn’t touch. By having art in my sight along with the logical workings of my work I am able to stimulate both sides of my brain. This is who I am, and I love it, and I need to feed all of it. Most people probably don’t think this much about the image that stretches itself on their computer screen but I do. It’s like I said: wallpapers, as simple as they are, make me smile, laugh, and generally feel nerdy. Why wouldn’t I appreciate them?
The thing itself isn’t very nerdy. The thing is just sort of a thing, a thing people do, a thing that falls under the category of body modification. Are you tired of me using the word thing? Yeah, okay, I am too.
The item in question is a tattoo. That’s right, I got ink done. Last Saturday was my birthday (woooo party!) (not really) and the Friday before that I went to Sideshow Tattoo to get some work done. The artist, Matt, was really excellent and worked with me on an idea and then was great enough to do the work. So, without further ado, here’s a quick picture of it:
At first glance, do you know what it is? If you don’t I’m not surprised. It’s a variation on the X-Men symbol. That’s right everyone, my first tattoo is a comic book reference. I wrote briefly in a previous post about my long-standing interest in the X-Men comic series, but please allow me to expand now.
When I was kid I didn’t get a lot of reading in my life. I didn’t grow up in a home full of books and there really wasn’t anyone around to draw me into the world of literature. But then, in third grade, I found myself at a KB Toy Store and picked up my first comic book. With that I opened the door to a whole new obsession. At that young age I started reading things that were far beyond what most of my peers were getting into. The stories in X-Men showed violence, deception, sacrifice, acceptance, prejudice, racism, and above all else, family. Through those stories I fell in love with reading and with the stories that were available first in those cheaply printed pages and later in novels. I have no doubt that my ability to read pushed me further in school. I was always a great student and I trace this back to my level of reading comprehension, which comes from me always having my face in a book, which comes from me having first loved to read by exploring the world of the X-Men.
This tattoo is an expression of that. This tattoo represents my love of reading, my love of the X-Men, my pride in the dedication I put into my schooling over the years. It is a constant reminder that I can always learn new things, explore new worlds, be moved by the trials and triumphs of characters that aren’t even real outside of some pages and my imagination. This tattoo is a reminder of so many things that make me who I am. Yay me! 
I’m pretty exhausted right now. I spent the weekend at the Sacramento Anime Convention rubbing shoulders with those like me. With those who love anime, comic books, cartoons, drawing and art. I had a chance, with a few bills in my wallet, to support some new talent. Most people might not think of their spending money like that but I do. As a photographer, I understand the difference it can make to some people when others willingly pay for your work.
I didn’t really decide to start buying pieces of art. I have been out to galleries and seen things that I’ve wanted, photographs and paintings and sculptures of various sorts, but the prices there were for serious collectors. At least, it felt that way. I’m by no means a rich man but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to support people and their passion. If you read my previous post you know that I was lucky enough at the Yaoi Con to meet Jo Chen. I knew and loved her work from the Marvel series Runaways and I was able to buy these two pieces:
Pretty cool right? I sure thought so. Jo Chen is well established. Her work is amazing and I was excited to meet her after having already seen her work on the covers of the Runaways and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Serenity issues I already own. This was like meeting a movie star for me; this was meeting someone I appreciate and respect because of their work. By buying her prints it was like me buying a movie because I love a specific actor or director. I know I already supported her work by buying the issues but this was a much more direct way to show her appreciation and to support her in the hopes that she’ll make more.
And that’s the key. To support people. To support artists, local or not, so they can continue to make the great things that I enjoy. This weekend I met plenty of amazing artists and one of them was named Sarah Straub. I walked by table after table of artwork and while I appreciated it all it wasn’t until I glanced down at her prints that I said, “wow.” Even now, I don’t know what it was in those images that made me feel this way, but they did bring out that response in me. There was one, specifically, that made me feel something, and that’s the mark of true art. Her work hasn’t been used as widely as Chen’s but it’s exciting to find her and to think, “yes, she can make it, if she keeps at it.” Being a life long nerd and comic reader doesn’t make me an expert or anything but I’d like to think I found something great. And with that thought came my desire to support her, however I could. So I bought this:
I love this print. Mostly, I love it because I love Gambit. (Quick side note: Gambit, as portrayed in the Wolverine movie, was TERRIBLE. That is NOT how he is and I hope that anyone who reads this understands that!) This wasn’t the piece that made me stop and stare, this was just the one that I wanted to see on my wall. The print that made me stop and stare, the one that made me feel a little weirded out, was this one:
When an image pulls out an emotional response from me instantly I know it’s something special. Both Sarah and Jo do this. One is doing great works for worldwide companies. The other is doing her best to meet people at a small table in the hallway of a local convention. Whatever they may be doing I love having the opportunity to support them, even if it’s just with a few bucks. Money speaks, now more then ever. I want mine to say, “thank you, I love this, please keep going.”
To all the artists. To all the painters, digital artists, photographers, writers, anyone who creates anything that expresses how they feel, don’t ever stop. Ever.
Hello, Dear Reader!
It’s time once again for Nerdy Thing Thursday, and what a treat it is this week. I had something in mind a few days ago and was all set to throw it out there. It was going to be magical, wonderful, beautiful, and a lot of other things that end with the letter l. But instead, I saw a small note on Facebook earlier today, and now I’m bringing you something FREAKIN’ AWESOME.
Dear Reader, THE IRON MAN 2 TRAILER HAS ARRIVED!
Please, take a few minutes and go witness the epic glory of this trailer. I’ll wait.
Duu duu du du duu duu duuuuu du du du du DU da du du du du….. (can you name that tune?)
Alright, you should be back by now. Do you feel better? Refreshed? Perhaps you even feel like a better human being?
It’s been well documented in this blog that I’m a bit of a comic nerd. By a bit, of course, I mean a totally huge slightly obsessive comic book nerd. I started with the X-Men and they will always hold a special place in my geeky heart but over the last few years I’ve really come to enjoy Iron Man.
Captain America typically gets the credit for being the “ideal” American. It’s sort of written into his name, which just seems like cheating. He’s an upstanding citizen (most of the time, I won’t bore you with details of when he’s not), he’s immensely patriotic, loyal to his friends, always displays the highest level of manners and respect to those around him. He’s just a nice guy. Tony Stark is not.
Stark, a.k.a Iron Man, is a corporate man. A captain of industry. A man who uses his immense intelligence to create amazing technology and make mounds of money while also living a double life as a super hero. Alright, yes, Tony probably drinks too much, loves women a bit too much, and is a cocky jackass sometimes. But even with that, why isn’t HE considered the ideal American?! Tony Stark embodies the pinnacle of our capitalist society. For all of the good he does Captain America goes home at night to, I don’t know, pump iron or something. Tony Stark helps save the world then goes back to the office to run his company. A company that keeps thousands of people employed, well paid, and contributing to our society. He’s not perfect but perfection is an illusion. Trying to be perfect just makes it all the more devastating when the cracks in your lie start to show. Tony Stark doesn’t pretend to be perfect, he accepts who he is, accepts his greatness, and works on his shortcomings to be a better person. Everyone could use a little more of that goodness. On May 7th, 2010, we’ll finally get it.
I told you I was a nerd. Maybe you didn’t believe me when I posted in various places on this blog that I proudly carry the flag of a nerd. Of a geek. United States of Total Dork. This should teach you never to doubt me…
A few months ago The Roommates and I were playing a wonderful game called Tales of Symphonia. This post isn’t about the game so I’ll spare you the details but suffice it to say that the game and the sequel are both amazing. Oh! I almost forgot! For future reference, whenever I talk about The Roommates I mean Kellie, Derek, and the honorary one (he doesn’t live here, technically) Gabe. Anyways, we were playing the game and somehow we started talking about cosplay. What’s that? You’ve never heard of cosplay? I could break it down for you but I’ll let Wikipedia handle this one:
Cosplay (コスプレ, kosupure?), short for “costume roleplay”, is a fan labor type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan. Favorite sources include manga, anime, tokusatsu, comic books, graphic novels, video games, hentai and fantasy movies. Role play includes portrayals of J-pop and J-rock stars, visual kei, Taiwanese puppet characters, science fiction characters, characters from musical stories, classic novels, and entertainment software. Any entity from the real or virtual world that lend itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Inanimate objects are given an anthropomorphic forms and it is not unusual to see genders switched, with women playing male roles and vice versa.
Of course, you see where I’m going with this. We had a dry run at the SacAnime weeks ago but on Halloween weekend we went to the Yaoi-Con. This is where it gets a little…different. Even more different then just talking about cosplay in general. Yaoi is a subgenre of anime and manga that celebrates love between males. Yup. As J.D. and Turk on Scrubs explained to us all, “it’s guy love, between two guys.” I’m not gay, The Roommates aren’t either (Derek even brought his girlfriend along), but a great number of the people there were. I’ve grooved on the dance floors of gay clubs in Sacramento but the casual gay relationships all around was totally different. Not to get too much into it but I felt like I was looking at what society would be like in the near future. Except, you know, with more props, wigs, and a general level of dorky things. It was a great chance for us to dress up, act like idiots, get some great deals on Japanese comics/toys/artwork, run around a hotel, laugh a LOT, and just generally have a good time.
So, basically, I spent three days running around dressed as The Wonder Chef, complete with a giant fork! You read that right, a giant fork. It’s taller than my head and I made it out of PVC pipe, plywood, Gesso, and spray paint. The first day I had some issues with it since I had to get used to the low ceilings in the hotel but I adapted. We spent Friday walking around and checking out the items for sale at the swap meet. We went to the opening ceremonies and were treated to a fantastic surprise. Kellie had entered a writing contest put on by the convention every year and at the ceremony they announced the winners. She won. That’s right, won. Not second place, not honorable mention, she took first place. She was speechless and it made us all super happy. Hell of a way to start the weekend right?
Saturday we walked around meeting random people, which included spending more time with a group of girls who also came as Tales of Symphonia characters! We had two doubles since they had a Decus and Genis which are the characters Derek and Gabe went as, respectively. They were pretty great to talk to. I won’t bore you with the little details but I do want to mention the highlight of the day for me: I got to meet Jo Chen. I have admired her work for a long time but my memory being what it is I had forgotten that she was going to be there. I walked into the dealer room and there she was with a table full of her amazing prints on full display. I spent a lot of time debating what to get but ended up with a large print of her cover for the Serenity graphic novel and two smaller prints from her stint on Runaways. Besides the two I mentioned she’s also done a ton of work for the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer comic series. It was great to meet her and be able to thank her for Runaways. After all, it was her cover art that made me take a look at it in the first place and I haven’t stopped reading it since.
Since that was the high point, here is the low point: I tried taking pictures. In the tradition of the amazing photographers here, I took my equipment and I went out that night with the Roommates to get some cool night shots of them in their outfits. From the start something seemed a bit off. Anyone who has experience with photography starts getting a feel for your settings and your environment. If I’m shooting at 1/15 with F4.5, for example, then the image should look a certain way. Plus, I’ve had enough experience with my flash units that I know when things aren’t right. I wish all this supposed knowledge would let me figure out what was wrong that night. The settings on the flash and camera just weren’t giving me the image I knew it should be. Shot after shot I was changing one thing or another trying to get the photography just how I wanted it but it seemed that when I did get it right it was more luck then anything. I should have trusted my instincts from the start but it took one specific shot to show me that there was something wrong and it wasn’t me. I had Kellie and Derek set up for an image and I took the shot. It was ever so slightly blurry so without adjusting a thing I shot a second shot a few seconds later. Well wouldn’t you know it, the second shot was blown way out. It was like my flash suddenly had 5x the power even though I didn’t change a thing! The batteries were new, both times the flash said it was ready so it wasn’t like the first shot was at a lower power setting. Even now I have thought about it over and over and can’t figure out what the issue was. What I was proud of was that I adapted. I got a few good shots out of that session and the next day did more without thinking about my flash unit at all. I knew, being at the con, that I wasn’t going to figure things out there so instead of wasting the opportunity to get some shots of Kellie in her new outfit or Derek and his girlfriend together I did what had to be done. Things are going to happen when I’m out in the field and the more I shoot the more confidence I have that whatever comes up I can and will take care of it.
That night, being Halloween and all, there was a very interesting auction for charity that we all went to and laughed our asses off at. I would give details but no one would tell me the “secret” of the auction on the forums and I won’t ruin it for anyone else who might come across this. Afterward it was drinks, some dancing at a rave with a bad DJ, and just some general hanging around with interesting people. It almost sounds lame to say this is what happened on my Halloween night but after even more running around on Sunday and enjoying some panel discussions (with VERY inappropriate topics!) I can easily say that while some people had a great holiday I had a great weekend.
PS: where are the images of me in my outfit you ask? Well, head on over to www.cosplay.com and see if you can find them. No, really, try to. I didn’t take any of myself, obviously, but there’s a good chance someone else out there got some! Pictures of my cosplay photographs will be coming soon!
Okay, this post really has nothing to do with Reading Rainbow. Just reading.
Also, this post has almost nothing to do with photography. This is just a, “get to know the photographer/blogger” sort of post.
Reading has been very important to me throughout my life. I always did really well in school and it wasn’t until I got a bit older that I started to believe my success was based in my early love of reading. I still remember when I got my first comic book. It was, of course, an X-Men comic that I picked up at a KB Toy Store. Old school, I know, KB isn’t even around anymore as far as I know, but that specific issue is still in my collection. What’s that? A whole collection? That’s right. I haven’t counted them (and probably never will) but it has to be easily in the thousands by now. One of my previous posts was about my attempt to organize my beloved issues and just having to see them all made me really confront how many I have and how quickly I’m going to run out of room to house them. What’s that you say? Put them in the garage? Perish the thought! No, I will not. The heat and cold would do far too much damage.
I fear I’m getting very far away from the point of this whole post. Forgive me…
So, reading. Yes. It’s very important. I had the idea to write about this after posting on a discussion over at 20 Something Bloggers. Through an extremely unfair conversion of events I was just FORCED to try to list my top 5 books of all time. Let me get this out of the way: this is impossible. Really, just unacceptably impossible. Besides the fact that this list could change constantly since I’m reading multiple magazines (currently Esquire and Runner’s World), books (just finished Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk) and various manga/comics (rereading X-Force and The Gentleman’s Alliance Cross vol 5) I would be hard pressed to choose among all the things I have ever read. But hard pressed I was, and the list was made. Sort of.
1. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I seem to read it every year and I can’t put it down EVERY TIME.
2. X-Men. I know, I’m breaking the general rule, but I love it so much. Especially when written by Joss Whedon or Brian Michael Bendis.
3. The Harry Potter series. I don’t think I have to explain anything further here.
4. Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
5. I’m trying so hard to come up with a solid #5 and I can’t do it. I guess this is just an open slot!
I’m sure you’ll hear more about my love affair with reading later. As I said, the reading never stops.
It’s like getting a little pebble in your shoe. A small one that isn’t big enough for you to stop mid step and take care of it but you still notice it. Imagine that feeling but in the back of your mind. Maybe it’s that bit of dusting you’ve put off for a long time, or the photo album you’ve wanted to put together for ages. In my case the nagging, this little pebble of annoyance, was caused by my comic books. That’s right, comics, my beloved vice consists of small bound volumes of beautifully drawn visual stories. Not just a few either, several hundred that I’ve collected over the years.
I still remember my first comic. I got it at a KB Toys store when I was in the third grade. X-Men #14, specifically. I can still recall almost every detail of every page of that issue, which is just a testament to how many times I read it. Thanks to that comic I discovered the joys of reading. I fully attribute my long standing love of literature, of visual storytelling, and art in general to the X-Men. I won’t go into too much detail about my early life (just yet, maybe later) but with all the various things going on reading was a constant companion and remains one to this day.
So why was it bugging me? Because like so many other things in my life I had neglected to organize. I had boxes everywhere, random groupings of issues separated throughout my room, and just a general level of, “ugh!” with my possessions. So today I decided to break down that pebble and finally get some of my mess in order. And you know what? It was pretty amazing. There’s nothing like getting your life in order. Yes, even if it’s “just” organizing comic books.
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