THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

Hellblazer #252: My second issue on Vertigo's longest running title, and the second part of the Scab storyline is really, really good. I had never been a big HB fan before, but I love the pace Peter Milligan is setting on this book, and the art is just astounding. They surely got me wrapped up now! I also got to do a really cool newspaper title/perspective thing on the last page that I'm pretty proud of.

Robin #183: The last issue! My first regular book has come to an end, and I'm pretty sad. The final arc was so good, and this epilogue follows it up nicely. Of note, I had to mix the title and creds of this one into a hand scripted note. That was pretty cool. I'll miss Freddie Williams' phenomenal art, and look forward to checking out his next book. Maybe I'll be on that one, too. You never can tell! Anyways, I'm glad I was a part of this title. Thanks to Jeanine, Mike, and Janelle for having me, and to Fabian and Chuck, and Freddie and Chris for providing the inspiration, and also to Guy for kicking booty beside me in the drum and bass section.

Black Lightning Year One #4: This one is narrated by the book's antagonist, the 100 one of the creepiest MF's in the DCU!

Tangent: Superman's Reign #12: Mr. Mop Up strikes again! Someone call Ron Villone, I'm infringing on his copyright!

Batman and the Outsiders: The Snare (tpb): Interesting, I did the first and last issues of this trade. This one outstanding series, more in the vein of a wide-screen action movie than a conventional super hero book. Fun enough, I just completed work on a future issue of this now Batmanless book.

SCRIPTAGE 9: JASON GOES TO HELL!

I'm back this month, I think Scriptage may be a once a month thing for those keeping score, with more previewing from Vapor chapter 3. I think this may be it for Vapor pages for now, at least till the graphic novel hits. That, or maybe I'll do earlier pages, but I think I want to spice it up a bit. Anyways, these are the next two pages following the last Scriptage:

VENGEANCE OF
THE VAPOR
By Sal Cipriano

CHAPTER 3

PAGE 3

3.1: Back in the cabin, Kate grabs a scalpel from Doc's stash. The Doc looks on in concern.

DOC: WHAT YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, KATE?
KATE: WHATEVER I HAVE TO, DOC.
JACK (op): AH, FOOLISH GIRL.

3.2: On Jack who is seated on the floor in meditation.

JACK: YOU GO AND GET KILLED, BUT NO HONOR CAN COME FROM THIS.

3.3: Brooks walks back into the home, he looks spent. The guard from last issue, Burt, is behind him.

BROOKS: NO ONE'S GETTING KILLED.
BURT: YOU CAN GO ON HOME NOW, YELLOW TAIL.

3.4: Jack stands up to meet Burt. Jack is quite serious, and Burt looks a little scared.

JACK: WHEN YOU SLEEP TONIGHT, A DRAGON WILL COME AND EAT AWAY YOUR DREAMS.

3.5: Jack walks out as Burt looks at him in fear.

3.6: Brooks puts the blanket down as Kate comes and puts her hand on his shoulder. In the background Burt exits and closes the door behind him.

KATE: BROOKS, WHAT HAPPENED?
BROOKS: LOTS OF WEIRDNESS IN THIS TOWN, KATE.

PAGE 4

4.1: Brooks goes and lies down leaving Kate and Doc questioning.

BROOKS: BUT WHEN I GET UP I'M GONNA MAKE SURE WE MAKE IT OUT ALIVE.
KATE: WHAT? HOW?

4.2: Close up on Brooks' head and shoulders as he turns away from a shocked Kate and Doc.

BROOKS: I'M GONNA GO HELP THE HEAVY COMMUNICATE WITH HIS DEAD WIFE... HE'LL LET US GO AFTER THAT.

4.3: Kate goes crazy and Doc tries to calm her down stepping in front of her and putting his hands on her arms.

KATE: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! HE'LL NEVER LET US OUT OF HERE ALIVE!
DOC: PLEASE LET HIM REST. HE ISN'T THINKING STRAIGHT!

4.4: Kate pulls away from Doc.

KATE: THE HELL HE ISN'T! THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO GET US OUT OF THIS MESS.

4.5: She storms out of the cabin into the night.

KATE: AND IT'S NOT TAKIN' FANCY PICTURES!
DOC: KATE, DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!

4.6: A worried Doc turns to see the exhausted Brooks sitting up again.

BROOKS: CAN'T A MAN GET ANY SLEEP IN THIS TOWN?

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...

I guess I've been watching a lot of movies lately, huh?

He's Just Not That Into You: Coming out around Valentine's Day is always pretty genius for a romantic comedy, but this one may be detrimental to a couple. It's really about the troubles of dating and relationships in general, but done in a comedic way. We caught a free screening of this, so it made those issues a little more manageable. I also found myself not hating the movie as well, contrary to the reviews. (shocking!) It's far from perfect, but the characters have enough in their compromised screen times to make it work. Everyone was pretty relatable, as I saw a little of myself in most of them. I'm not sure how much I can recommend it, but there are worse movies in this genre to be caught watching. ;)

Coraline: This is more of a partial review, as I completely fell asleep for the middle of the film. I'll give a more proper review when the DVD is released. I definitely liked everything I saw. It's visually pretty amazing, and the story is imaginative enough to draw you in. We saw it in 3D, so there's that aspect of it that is interesting, and I actually jumped during one scene where I thought a flock of birds had flown into the theater. However awesome that was, I did feel that the 3D glasses took away from some the film's colors. I guess I can check that theory when the DVD is released as well. One last thing I want to comment on was Dakota Fanning's voice for Coraline, and the overall character design itself. The latter was a thing of beauty, with some fantastic expressions, which was really lit up by Fanning's voice acting. It was a pretty natural marriage. Anyways, to be continued...

Black Sheep: I first heard of this indie horror movie from New Zealand during the Tribecca Film Festival a couple of years back. I really wanted to go see it, but it never happened. Once it came out on DVD I put it on my queue, but never moved it up.Well, it finally made it to the top, and I am happy to report it was amazing! Why? Why, you say? Well, let me tell you... Black Sheep is a tongue in cheek horror farce about...bloodthirsty mutant sheep! That's why! I mean, they literally had me at "bloodthirsty mutant sheep", but add in the tongue in cheek factor, and you have perfection in my eyes. It's like Dead Alive or Undead in that way. So if you like those kinds of movies, please rent this! I mean it's a movie about crazy sheep! WTF?! That's ballsy! Ooooh, and human were-sheep!!! You need nothing else, go now. Sheep it up!!!

RocknRolla: After making the very interesting, but a bit too complex Revolver, Guy Ritchie returns with the super awesome good time of a crime movie, RocknRolla! With all his signature character types, music savvy, and interlocking storytelling, Ritchie has achieved near genre perfection with this flick. All of these elements combine into one slickly entertaining film that dazzles till the end. I loved pretty much every moment of it. I could tell you more, but I feel good enough to just end it there, just see it.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels: Speaking of the director, I've seen bits and pieces of Guy Ritchie's first movie over the years, but funny enough it took me two viewings to see it completely this time around, too. While it's not a bad movie at all, I think I can safely say I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I would. It's a bit disjointed, and while you can see where he's headed, overall it lacks that Ritchie wit that I've come to love. The musical ques are phenomenal though, and the ending is quite good. It's not a bad movie at all, and was a pretty solid debut, so there's that.

The French Connection 2: Crazy as it may sound, I liked the sequel to the classic more than the classic! The beauty of this movie is that Gene Hackman's character, Popeye Doyle, is taken out of his element and placed into Marseilles, France. And like the first film, the city plays a huge role as well. The dynamic works in an incredible awkwardness that supplies a ton of atmosphere that looms over the entire film. It's much more brutal and raw than the first one as Doyle continues his hunt for the criminal mastermind Charnier. There's such a desperation to Doyle's plight that it makes your skin crawl as he struggles to understand his French counterparts while trying to get his man. Hackman is just as gritty and intense as he was in the first part, and in my opinion, deserved an Oscar for his performance. This is a fantastic movie that all lovers of the French Connection, and film in general, should see.

Latitude Zero: While classic Godzilla director, the late great Ishiro Honda has made many fantastic movies outside of that series. This one, unfortunately, isn't one of them. It's a sci-fi tale about a hi-tech submarine and its crew that operate out of a secret Utopian society. Opposing them is a mad scientist (Cesar Romero!) who is trying to...well, I'm not sure what he's trying to do actually, but he's surgically creating an army of hybrid beasts to do it with! Among those creations are some bat men and a winged lion with the brains of his failed captain! When he kidnaps a famous scientist and his daughter, the good guys, along with two scientists and a reporter from the real world, set off to get them back! High adventure ensues, really bad high adventure. The effects are not good in this one, as they were in many of Toho's movies around this time. Even the great Akira Ifukube's score seems uninspired. Admittedly, there are plenty of great elements here, but it just doesn't work. Oh well.

District B13: This movie should've been on the last Movies I've Seen Lately... but I somehow forgot it. That's not to say this was a bad movie, as it's actually quite entertaining. It's like an old 80's action movie with new fighting techniques, and that to me wins. Utilizing the new martial art, Parkour, and its inventor, the movie takes place in a slightly futuristic Paris in which the horrible blockaded neighborhood of B13 is being threatened by a nuke with a timer that's been set off. In come two men to stop it, one a special French agent, the best of the best, and the other, a man from the streets of B13, whose sister is a slave of the local drug lord, who also has the bomb in his possession. It's a completely action packed movie, and I highly recommend it to all action nuts. The plot is thin, but who gives a flying, well you know.

The Pixar Story: A fascinating view of the world of Pixar from the very beginning, a beginning that I hadn't a clue about, to tell you the truth. I was shocked to see how long this studio has been developing and working together. I'm a huge fan of Pixar's movies, as they have proven to be not only at the top of the animation field, but also are pretty high at the top of the story field as well. They guys are just masters of these crafts, and this wonderful documentary just shows every aspect of that. I respected them before, but now that respect has reached a whole new level. I'm not sure if this doc is easily found, as it can only be watched as an instant download on Netflix. So for those that have that, get to it!

Toy Story 2: This was the only Pixar full length movie I hadn't seen, strange since I loved the first movie. Just slipped through the cracks I guess, but since watching the Pixar documentary, I really wanted to see this. As with all of the Pixars, it has one hell of a great story with the best animation out there. The story is a bigger adventure story than the first one, with some of the main characters, led by Buzz Lightyear, on a quest to find and bring home Woody, who had been stolen by an "evil" toy store owner/collector who needs Woody to complete his set of Woody's Gang toys and collectibles. The thing plays out as perfectly from there, as you would expect from Pixar. It's funny and emotional, and so well done. I'm constantly amazed with these guys, and I'm looking forward to their next movie, Up.

MY PICK: Overall, I think the two sequels, Toy Story 2 and the French Connection 2, are the best of this bunch, however, for something new, I'd recommend RocknRolla and Black Sheep; although I seriously doubt some of you would like the latter. So, even though I spent the least amount of words on it, my pick is definitely RocknRolla. It's a hell of a fun movie. Rent it tonight!

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

Wednesday already?! Sheesh, Marilyn's Birthday on Friday and the NY Comic Con on Saturday took out some of the steam from my sails. Anyways, here's this week's books...

Green Arrow/Black Canary #17: After a couple of issues by the magical Swando, I'm back on the duo's adventures (at least for these next two). There's a new writer on the book now, Andrew Kreisberg, but it seems pretty seamless from what Judd was doing. Mike Norton, who I chatted up with at the con, is still kicking booty here.

Nightwing #153: It's the last issue! Naturally, that means I'm closing up shop. Haha, but seriously, it was good to come back to this book to see it go. This was among the first books I did regularly at DC, and after a five issue absence it was nice to see Dick Grayson again. Also, I really dig working with editors Mike Siglain and Harvey Richards, there's a good vibe with them.

Both of these have Origins and Omens backups for those keeping score. I lettered those as well.

Here's previews for both books, courtesy of Comic Book Resources. Green Arrow/Black Canary #17 Nightwing #153

BES-BALL TALK #11

In Bes-ball Talk #7-8 I wrote about the Yankees and Mets off season progress. So, for the next few Bes-Balls I wanted to do a round up of everyone else. First, I did the East. Then, the Central. And now the finale of the roundup, the Wild Wild West!

THE WEST:

Dodgers: Can these guys finally suck it up, and sign Manny Ramirez already?! It's a joke, really. This guy was their whole team last year, and they can't go 3 years on the guy? I'm shocked and disgusted, but that's a story for another time. Otherwise, the Dodgers have had a fairly decent off season as they controversially resigned Rapheal Furcal, who almost went back to the Braves, and Casey Blake, who performed very well for Joe Torre's team. They're also bringing back starter Randy Wolf, who replaces (not really) the departed Derek Lowe. Other smaller moves like bringing in Mark Loretta, Brad Ausmus, and Guillermo Mota are all pretty sound, and should help round out the bench and bullpen, but there are a couple of important questions heading into spring training that will need to be answered. If they fail to bring back Manny, can they compete? Will Joe Torre's book mess with the way his players view and trust him? How does Jeff Kent's retirement affect them? With the Manny situation unresolved, the Hot Stove continues to burn in Dodgertown...

Angels: They lost big on Mark Teixeira, and lost their closer, K-Rod, to the Mets, so now the question is do they have enough to keep up their dominance of the AL West? Their only moves have been to resign outfielder Juan Rivera, and sign their new closer, Brian Fuentes. They also let long time Angel Garrett Anderson walk, as well as starter Jon Garland. Some think Fuentes could be better than Rodriguez was, but he's yet to prove that, and in a tougher league he may actually take a step back rather than forward. GM Tony Reagins says they are not in the Manny race at all, which, of course, is silly. They may have a lot of outfielders, but this team is in desperate need of another bat, and if not Manny, maybe Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu can fit the bill. I can totally see Abreu on this team, but Dunn, who can also play first base, would make more sense. If they don't make any other moves, I'd say this team may finally be ripe for the picking.

Giants: San Fran's team started out early signing reliever Jeremy Affeldt swiftly, and it seemed like a sign of a another high spending Hot Stove season. Well, besides the Yankees' moves, that really hasn't come to pass, now has it? Regardless, I'd say the Giants made some pretty good maneuvers. Besides Affeldt, they added Bob Howry to their bullpen, bolstering things up nicely. Edgar Renteria was signed to man the shortstop position for the next couple of years. A decent enough move, although I always considered him second fiddle to Orlando Cabrera (still on the market!), and he's aging. Most definitely, their biggest signing, so far, is that of Randy Johnson. Last year, the Big Unit proved he could recover well from another back surgery. Staying in the NL West was definitely a great move for him, and an even greater one for San Fran. He'll help the great youngsters on the staff, including Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, and maybe even help Barry Zito settle more, as he won't be viewed as the veteran. It definitely gives them one hell of a solid rotation. One last possible signing for them could be Manny, and they certainly have never shied away from a big signing. He could certainly propel this rag tag lineup to the playoffs, especially since the pitching staff is that good.

A's: Billy Beane always surprises everyone with crazy moves, and this year's was to trade for one year rental slugger Mat Holliday. An excellent move for them that was coupled with the signing of another slugger, and former A's MVP, Jason Giambi. I was kind of sad to see The Giambino leave the Yanks, but it's nice that he was able to go home again, where he had his biggest glories. Those two are huge offensive upgrades to a team that always seems to compete. Look for them to possibly sign Orlando Cabrera, and complete a pretty successful off season.

Diamondbacks: Arizona's team let a lot dudes walk this off season: Randy Johnson, Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson, Brandon Lyon, and Juan Cruz, but they still have their young core perfectly intact, and that's their bread and butter. The loss of the Big Unit won't hurt much as their rotation is still solid, and they signed the reliable innings eater Jon Garland to fill his spot. I've always liked Garland, and he should do very well in the National League. Hudson is replaced by Felipe Lopez, an OK replacement, but not really an solid every day guy. Still, though, I think this team will be fine, and is probably getting better with more experience.

Rangers: No major moves by the slugging Texas Rangers this off season, but a flurry of minor league contracts were handed out, including the recent Andruw Jones one. That one may work out well if Jones can find himself again. It will create a log jam out there, but there are worse things to have happen, especially if Jones can produce again at a high level. They were close to signing Ben Sheets, but the oft injured pitcher's latest medical report shows he may need surgery. Ouch, I feel bad for that guy!

Rockies: Lets sum up their off season action like this: they shipped out one of the best hitters in the game, Matt Holiday, and traded for perennial 5th starter, Jason Marquis. Um....yeah. Good luck!

Mariners: With a new GM in place, the Mariners are trying to clean house, and tidy up a bit starting with a new manager, Ken Wakamatsu, and moving down the line. Unfortunately for them though, they've got a lot of contracts other teams just don't want. They traded away their closer, J.J. Putz, and others to the Mets and Indians, and there has been rumors of maybe Jarrod Washburn being traded as well. They seem to be in the market for a bat, but whether they are willing to spend any sort of money for one is a mystery. Bobby Abreu, Garrett Anderson, and Ken Griffy Jr. are the names bandied about. The latter would be a nice story. Another trade could land a bat as well, maybe Washburn or Erik Bedard for Hideki Matsui? Yankees could easily fit one of those two into the 5th spot and send Joba to the pen, but we're not talking about the Yanks, are we?

Padres: This team has seemingly hit rock bottom as their owner goes through a messy divorce. His imperative: cut costs drastically. That means trade guys away and let others go. Others like long time closer and saves leader Trevor Hoffman. Crazy! They traded away Khalil Greene, and have been trying to trade their ace, Jake Peavy. They've anointed Heath Bell their new closer, and have made some minor signings, but this team is in trouble, more so if they get a Peavy deal done. Last place is all but a certainty.

Certainly with so many free agents still unsigned, the Hot Stove still burns, and I'm sure I'll comment on any other action that may occur. Next up, though, thoughts on Torre's book and ARod and steroids. And that's Bes-Ball.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

El Diablo #6: Well, the mini series has come to an end, and I totally miss it already. I did a lot of work on this one, creating balloons and caps for almost every individual character. Jai Nitz wrote a hell of a story that surprised me more than once, and Phil Hester's work was fantastic. Ande Parks and Guy Major are two of the best inkers and colorists in biz, and I was honored to work with them on this. And the editors, from Nachie Castro to Brian Cunningham, were awesome. Loved it, and I look forward to this story being collected. If you missed out on it, shame on you, you missed one of the best minis in the last year. Go seek it out. And for those that read it, thanks!

Secret Six #6: I've only done a couple of issues of this, but it seems rather good, and it has a crazy swerve ending! There's also an Origins and Omens back up story featuring the Mad Hatter.

Black Lightning: Year One #3: Superman guest stars as BL's origin story continues!

Here's page 4 of El Diablo, please click to enlarge:

Courtesy of DC Comics.

NEWS AND NOTES

-This year's Royal Rumble was a decent enough effort from the WWE. The Rumble match, with its 30 participants and over the top rope battle royal like atmosphere, has always been one of my favorite matches. This year's edition falls in the middle category of not bad to pretty good. It milked the hanging on by a thread spot a bit too much, but I give them credit for trying to make things exciting. Rob Van Dam returned for the match to much excitement, if you're a fan, of course; which I'm kinda not. Randy Orton won, which worked well within the context of the Rumble storyline, as he and his Legacy crew worked together till the very end. Other than that match, the big highlight of the night was Matt Hardy turning on Jeff Hardy, costing his brother the WWE title. Overall, decent enough wrestling action.

-I only caught the last 4 minutes or so of the Superbowl, but, man, that was excellent! Great back and forth action made for an exciting finish. Although, where was the review of the final Cardinals play where Warner got the ball knocked out of his hands?! Something smelled fishy there. I caught a couple of the commercials today, like the new trailers for GI Joe, Transformers 2, Star Trek, and the awesome MacGrubber Pepsi spot! That last one was the best of all, but I wonder if non-fans of SNL were left scratching their heads?

-Christmas went rather well as far as getting some new games for the Wii. The titles included de Blob, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Dream Pinball, and The Complete Lego Star Wars. All of them are pretty good for one reason or another. While it took me a while to really get into Smash Bros., I've finally really caught a good stride in the story mode, and it's really enhanced my enjoyment of it. Otherwise, the brawl mode moves way too fast. de Blob is a nice game with very smooth animation and graphics, and is rather fun to play. The object is to recolor the town, after the evil Inkt Corp has desaturated it. I've also downloaded a couple of Wii Ware games in the last month: Tetris Party and World of Goo. The latter is one of the best games I've played so far on the system, while the former offers some unique innovations on the timeless classic, like a Balance Board compatible mode!

-My final line for the SFLOI fall/winter softball league was .415/.436/.642, 22 hits (including 2 HRs, 1 Triple, 4 Doubles), 7 RBIs, and 15 runs scored. Offensively, I did much better than I did with the DC Bullets (although I'm still not sure what the final line there was), but I had more at bats (55) in which to work out the kinks. I even hit an over-the-wall home run in the last game, which gave me a nice highlight end the year with. Since then, I've hit the batting cages to keep sharp until the new season starts. And with SFLOI, that could be at any time!

-Me and Marilyn hit the James Jean show recently at the Jonathan Levine Gallery. It was very cool to see his work in person. We wanted to go to the opening, since Marilyn went to school with James, but a double whammy of a huge snow storm and her not feeling well made it impossible. Sounds like we missed a good one! Anyways, the work is astounding, highly imaginative, and very inspiring to see. Get down there before it's over!

-So I think I'm a fan of Power Rangers: Jungle Fury. There I said it. What do you expect, I grew up on Kaiju movies! I could say more, but I fear I've said enough.

-Is it weirder that I always seem to love the American Idol casting shows? Shut up, Sal!

-Speaking of AI, I gave my sister the XBox 360 version of the show for X-Mas, and the couple of times I've played it, I have to say I liked playing the pop star. Haha! On a more manly note, Mortal Kombat vs. The DC Universe is excellent! Grr! Fight!!!

-Upcoming on the blog, I'll have the last of the Bes-ball Hot Stove Division Roundups, more Kung Food! and Scriptage, and possibly something brand new. For those that are wondering when The Battle of Brooklyn will begin, it may be a little while yet. I'm mentally prepping for it. It's actually kind of scary to start committing to this story. Is it a short story? A novel? I don't know, and that's the scary part. I'm going to let it write itself. We'll see how it goes.

-I'll be at the NY Comic Con this coming weekend roaming around, doing a little schmoozing, and giving out a few copies of The Hill. If you see me, give me the what's up, and we'll catch up. Hope to see some of you folks there!

That's the news and I am outta here!