It's here! Ed Brisson over at New Reliable Press has gotten You Ain't No Dancer, Vol 3 off the presses and into the Diamond catalog. Nice cover by Kazimir Strzepek, I might add. I'm really excited to see my story in print, not to mention some of the other contributors like Dalton Webb, Jason Turner, and Catia Chien. You might notice the book is in a bicubic 8x8 format rather than the long format the previous 2 were in.
It's going to be debuting at SPX in October, where I may or may not be attending...haven't decided yet.
In any case, here's the details: Retail Price: $11.99 Format: 8in x 8in, 176 pages, B&W, Soft Cover Diamond Order Code: JUL084163 ISBN: 978-0-9738079-3-6
I can't help but saying wow, what a great film. Technically, cinematically, and emotionally Pixar's best. I'm reluctant to say I like it better than the Incredibles since that flick is story-wise so close to a perfect movie for me, but yeah..Wall-E is scary good.
And you know what? I knew it would be. Those over-achievers in Emeryville are masters of putting character into every last pile of rocks, scrap of metal, and cloud of dust in the film. And the vividness they are able to achieve with such a limited color palette is amazing. In fact, the first 30 minutes is a great minimalist exercise in film animation. No spoken dialogue, no super-flashy sequences, no epic score... just one character, great timing, brilliant sound design, and Hello Dolly!
I know I'll be buying the DVD, watching the production footage, and re-watching the movie to gawk at the details. What struck me as I thought about the story afterwards was that the whole film takes place within a relatively short time frame. Pixar's known for the care they put into character development. Wall-E goes from the first 30 minutes of a whimsical, meandering pace and then, as the story leaves Earth, suddenly ramps up to almost breakneck speed for the remaining entirety. Super-condensed character arc. And yet, the ongoing relationship between Wall-E and Eve still take center stage, and you can't get it off your mind throughout the whole thing. Bravo Andrew Stanton!
I'm on somewhat of a hiatus from comicking, but just to get the creative side of the grey matter flowing I took up painting. Since my place is currently sans studio -- my drafting table is stuffed in a closet or something -- I set up shop on my dining table, which has gotten pretty messy. I love seeing other artists' workspace, it gives you a unique glimpse at their methods. Here's some photos of mine.
So I attended the annual South by Southwest Music, Festival, and Film Conference in sunny Austin, TX. It was a week full of cheap (or often free) booze, giveaways from bands, and lots of cool people watching. I got to see some bay area favorites of mine like Scissors for Lefty and Two Gallants, but also some cool new bands like Sodopp (who flew in from Japan!)
Moved to Austin! and STAPLE! Indie Media Expo 2/9/2008 1:39:00 AM
So I've moved to Austin and after a month and a half, I think I"m finally settling in. I'll be exhibiting for the first time (!) at Staple! Independent Media Expo, which should be loads of fun. Planning on bringing on my leftover copies of Hurricane Season #1, as well as a new minicomic I've got in the works... if you're in Texas, come check it out!
So I've moved to Austin and after a month and a half, I think I"m finally settling in. I'll be exhibiting for the first time (!) at Staple! Independent Media Expo, which should be loads of fun. Planning on bringing on my leftover copies of Hurricane Season #1, as well as a new minicomic I've got in the works... if you're in Texas, come check it out!
