Sal Cipriano Dot Com

Sketch Attack: MEDIEVAL!

2012-02-10T23:33:00.001-05:00

The next Sketch Attack has now been posted. For this round, designer and illustrator Phil Balsman chose the wide ranging topic of "Medieval." While I've always dug the subject matter, having this broad a subject had me scared that too many options would lead to little turnout, but I was very (and happily!) wrong. The work looks great! As for myself, maybe not so much, but more on that later, for now, let's see how I got there...

I knew dragons would be popular so I wanted to stay away from them (I was correct, BTW), but I knew that it would be hard to resist. Indeed, my first doodles involved a warrior or knight shielding himself from a dragon's flame, albeit the dragon was never in the frame. The warrior was also going to be bloodied and beaten, and possibly on his last legs as he defended a child. Sounded cool, but again the dragon idea wasn't sitting right with me. I did, however, determine that I kind of wanted a more down to earth feel, hence the battered warrior. A little more inspiration was in order.

I turned on the Netflix to see what I could stream, and found the British movie Ironclad. I gave it a whirl, and it got me thinking Knights Templar. Those would be my warriors. I can't really recommend the film completely unless you're a big fan of gore, because it has it in spades! Anyhoo, I at least had my knights. But what would they do?

With the movie The Grey out in theaters, I decided they should fight wolves. If it's good enough for Liam Neeson, it's good enough for me. And, yeah, "they". I drew a few KT characters that basically resembled the A-Team with Snake-Eyes. I then turned to composition, and from the beginning I determined the cool Snake-Eyes Templar would be front and center lopping off a wolf head, and the Hannibal/Neeson character would be on his knees with a dead wolf at his feet. And then I didn't feel so well.

Out sick a few days, I finally returned to my drawing and started laying it out. And so far, I dug it, and kept going, but then I just couldn't place the kneeling Liam just right, and lots of erasing ensued. Frustrated and making a mess, I gave up on the sketch and decided to start fresh.

Before I did, though, King Arthur (Clive Owen version) came on free TV last Saturday afternoon, how fortuitous! I watched it for the first time, enjoyed, and felt reinspired. Back to the sketch, laid it out better than the first time, and went clean through till I had a decent pencil sketch.

For the next few days I fiddled with it, until Tuesday night when I decided to sit down and finish up. Unfortunately, I tried to lay in some ink, which I've never been great at, and it became questionable rather quickly. Blah. I stayed with it, though, gave it my best, and made my inks nearly as dirty as my pencils. A couple of saving decisions included making the wolves black and using just one color, red, for their eyes and the Templar crosses. I felt this gave the sketch a good unity at least.

The next day, on due day, I fiddled with it some more, and finally scanned it in. The last element was the motion blur I added in Photoshop to Snake-Eye's sword as it hacked across the wolf in the foreground. Call this my Ironclad inspired moment.

That all said, sadly, while this one had the most days(!) spent working and most research probably done it's my least favorite of the 4 thus far. Not saying I hate it, and maybe being ill didn't help it's progress, but something about just didn't feel as good as the first three. Oh well, it's done, and the next Attack has been picked. I may just chill out and use only pencils on this coming one. We'll see, for now, here's the sketch and be sure to check out the rest of the latest Sketch Attack!

Sketch Attack: MECHAGODZILLA!

2012-01-23T13:19:00.002-05:00

This time it was my turn to pick, and I went for my favorites: Godzilla and Friends! Well, actually the theme I gave was Toho Kaiju 1954-1975, AKA the Showa Era, and I provided this handy dandy chart to choose from:

I think, as far as giant monsters go, the only one that didn't make the cut was the Giant Sea Serpent from King Kong Escapes, and that's only because I wanted to keep to this 36 character grid. It's basically just a white Manda, so no big loss. Anyhoo, the gang seemed to be pretty excited about this one, and many characters were chosen. The first batch of sketches went up today, and there are AMAZING pieces there! (even though looks like a couple strayed from the Showa Era a bit, still awesome) You can check them out here: http://sketchattack.tumblr.com/

As for mine, I chose MechaGodzilla. I fell in love with the big MG early on in my life, and to this day no G-Foe has ever been more badass. That said, I was super intimidated to draw this. 1. It's a lot of pressure to pick the topic and deliver the goods. 2. I've never been good at drawing this stable of characters. 3. I wanted to pay homage to my all time favorites and not suck!

My first SA (Sebulba) came together well after doodling the character in my sketch book for awhile. The Sherlock one had less prep, a few character drawings and a small thumbnail, and I was off and running. Easy Peasy. This one, ouch, the first week and a half of sketching went about as well as any of my Kaiju sketches have ever gone: badly. The last one, though, gave me a modicum of hope, but I only had this weekend left to execute something!

I started the drawing on Friday night, using gray card stock paper as my canvas (figured MechaG=Grey, right?) but could not get down a composition at all. Frustrated, I turned on some inspiration, the Best of Godzilla 54-75 Soundtrack, and went back to work. After a bit of dirty sketching, I got a comp I liked and a drawing I started to dig. Definitely better than my previous attempts. I think the music made me forget about trying to get the character right, and more just loosen up and be true to myself.

The next night, I went in and changed a few things, made two of his fingers shoot off, and added his eye-beams. I mean, seriously, MG is just a big weapon, I had to show this! But then while looking at ref for some details, I noticed a HUGE error, I gave MechaG five fingers in instead of four!!! Oof, that's a lot of erasing. After finally fixing, taking away one the shooting fingers, I exposed his left leg more and noticed the placement of it was waaay off. Blah. A solution would have to come tomorrow...

Last night, after a trip to Ikea and watching the end of the Giant game, I sat back down to (hopefully) finish up. First, the leg issue. After failing to set it right, I decided the sketch needed an extra element anyway, smoke and fire! Sometimes introducing a new idea into the mix super charges you, and this one did. Fire and smoke added, it was time to decide whether it was done as a sketch or if there would be more. After some conversing and coaching by my wife, I decided to work in some ink and color by hand. Stabilo colored pencils, FW Acrylic ink, some acrylic paint (can't recall the brand), and a Papermate black pen (!) made its way onto my drawing. It became a mixed media assault, and in the end (which came at some point thankfully, that last hour was a blur), I dug that I did it.

So, now that I've explained all that, maybe next time I'll take pics along the way, here's my latest Sketch Attack...MECHAGODZILLA!

Again, here's the link to the fantastic rest: http://sketchattack.tumblr.com/

Sherlock Scan

2012-01-16T00:06:00.001-05:00

Here is the original scan for the Sherlock sketch I did for Sketch Attack. Note the warped look caused by the dying scanner. This was why I decided to mess with my sketch further.

Kung Foodies!

2012-01-14T16:19:00.002-05:00

After years of talking about it, I finally launched a food blog with some friends. Kung Foodies will be our spot to give restaurant and product reviews, share recipes and tips, and just spout our love for food. If you dig reading about food, then give our palates a check! http://www.kungfoodies.com/

Sketch Attack!

2012-01-10T22:29:00.001-05:00

One of the newest additions to my life is Sketch Attack. Started by one of my coworkers, SA is a Tumblr site where current and former employees of our company will be working on sketches on various subjects. Our frequency is about every two weeks, and so far our assignments have included Star Wars and Sherlock Holmes. I'll post mine up here as well once all of the sketches for a particular subject go up. Here now are my two so far:

Star Wars: Sebulba
For our first attempt, subject picked by SA founder Pat Brosseau, I decided on the evil, or should we say competitive, Pod Racer from Episode One: The Phantom Menace. Of all the faults the new series had, the idea of the Pod Race wasn't one of them, and Sebulba emerged as one of the cooler characters of the series. Standing essentially on his hands, the character easily lent himself to interesting positioning. This was also my first serious drawing in awhile so I really worked at making every detail seem right. At the same time, I got really messy with it, too, which felt pretty good. I thought about inking it, but exhausted myself, and afterward just didn't have the heart to muck it up with potentially (probably) bad inking. A fun Sebulba quote later, and wallah:

Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock and Watson "versus" a Lovecraftian beast.
Next up, Corey Breen chose Sherlock Holmes. Timely with the new movie just coming out, Corey was the only one to actually tackle that movie's version with very good results. I've never been the hugest fan of Mr. Holmes, but have loved the Guy Ritchie/Robert Downey Jr. retelling. That said, I opted for a more classical look with my sketch, but added a very unHolmesy element with the inclusion of a tentacled beast in the Lovecraftian vein. I figured that Holmes and Watson were just about from the same era, so why not the crossover? This was fun to do, but I learned a valuable lesson when dealing with something coming off panel: figure out what the damn thing looks completely first! It wasn't till I went back and thought this over that the sketch really started flowing. The eyes on the beast tentacles gave it a sort of goofy look which I kind of liked. The last step of the sketch sort of happened because our scanner is a bit messed up and couldn't give me a clean scan. Coming out sort of like a paper texture, I decided to duo-tone it and white out Watson and some of the background tentacles. I think the result gave it some nice layers:

And these two are just the start, the rest of the Tumblr is filled with excellent artwork, so please give it a check, and look for the next Sketch Attack around the week of January 23rd! http://sketchattack.tumblr.com/

2012...

2012-01-08T22:37:00.005-05:00

"Wow, I haven't been here in how long?!"

"This time, I'm going to kick..."

"Time for a reboot!"

How about this instead:

"Hi, blog, miss me? I certainly missed you."

After more than year and a half of absence, that's really all I've got.

If you want a more in-depth look at what I've been up to since May 2010, feel free to check my Facebook page. It's all there.

I just want to get started again.

GET DARK ON AMAZON!

2010-05-14T11:46:00.002-04:00

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Horror-Anthology-Bryan-Wolford/dp/1451596227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273851927&sr=8-1

DARK MP3 PROMO!

2010-05-14T11:28:00.003-04:00

Enjoy!

DARK NOW AVAILABLE!

2010-05-05T17:13:00.001-04:00

Dark: A Horror Anthology with my zombie/goomba story, Groan of Tedium, is now available for purchasing! Thanks to anyone that gives it a whirl! https://www.createspace.com/3445511

FF: DISTRICT 9 REVIEW

2010-04-13T21:56:00.001-04:00

My review of one of '09's best movies.

http://www.flixfiend.com/2010/03/dvd-fiend-district-9.html

MOCCA ART FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND!

2010-04-09T14:13:00.005-04:00

And guess who's back? Me! I will be sharing a table with the esteemed Mr. Kensuke Okabayashi and the lovely Ms. Marilyn Patrizio. I'll have advance copies of Dark, A Horror Anthology (with my Groan of Tedium story) for sale, as well as The Hill and other assorted goodies. Come on by!

Sal, Marilyn, and Ken @ Mocca!
Rable D11
Saturday & Sunday
April 10 & 11, 2010
69th Regiment Armory
68 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY

DARK, A HORROR ANTHOLOGY

2010-04-09T12:37:00.003-04:00

I am pleased to announce that I have a short story in a collection called Dark, A Horror Anthology. The book is coming out very soon both in print and in digital formats. I have a few copies that will be available prior to the official release, post about that coming later.

The story is called Groan of Tedium, and it's about a group of friends stuck in a funeral home with mafia zombies looking to gobble them up. Naturally, it's a dark comedy-horror mash-up. Hope you all dig it!

Here's the cover to the book, and check out more info at their blog.

BT: KILLING CONFIDENCE, THE YANKEE WAY

2010-04-09T12:34:00.001-04:00

Moving the line-up around early in the season is not a great idea.

http://www.besballtalk.com/2010/04/killing-confidence-yankee-way.html

BT: MY AL PREDICTIONS

2010-04-05T11:20:00.001-04:00

I break down the American League in 2010 including MVP, CY Young, ROY, playoffs, etc. Give it a read, and then click the BT logo to check out Seung's NL write-ups! Thanks!

http://www.besballtalk.com/2010/03/bts-american-league-predictions.html

FF: NETFLIX RELEASES 3/23

2010-03-23T23:49:00.001-04:00

My latest article on this week's DVDs is focused on Directors: http://www.flixfiend.com/2010/03/this-weeks-netflixs-releases.html

FF: THIS WEEK'S NETFLIX RELEASES

2010-03-14T16:16:00.001-04:00

My thoughts on this week's DVD's including New Moon, Astro Boy, and Armored. http://www.flixfiend.com/2010/03/this-weeks-netflix-releases_14.html

BT: REALIGNING A NEW WILD CARD SYSTEM

2010-03-14T16:13:00.001-04:00

On the heels of all the realignment talks going on through baseball, I offer up my own ideas on it including making the Wild Card its own division and adding a new Super Seventh race.
http://www.besballtalk.com/2010/03/realigning-new-wild-card-system.html

SNOW DAY

2010-02-27T20:22:00.005-05:00

Snow storms usually don't knock me out of getting to work, but the storm that swept through the Northeast Thursday and Friday knocked my usually reliable D Train out of service to Manhattan from where I am. Instead, me and Marilyn drew these "self-potraits".

MY LETTERER OF THE YEAR AWARD

2010-01-02T14:23:00.005-05:00

Just received my award from Comic Monsters! It's awesome!!! Thanks to everyone at CM, my friends, and fans(?)!

For all the awards check out their forum!

I WON THE HORROR COMIC AWARD!

2010-01-01T13:00:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone that voted for me! And thanks again to Comic Monsters for the nomination! This was a great book to work on as Scott Kolins wrote and drew his heart out. I was honored to letter over his work. I think we put together quite the unique monster mash-up book. If you missed the mini-series, look for the trade paperback in the next couple of months!

Here's the complete list of winners:

2009 HORROR COMIC AWARD WINNERS

Letterer of the Year:
Sal Cipriano on Solomon Grundy

Best Scene:
The Walking Dead #60 - Morgan searches upstairs and finds something terrible. Kids poisoned and drilled in the head, a wife shot and the husband blew his head off.

Best Cross Over:
Monster Mash up as Freddy, Jason and Ash square off for round 2. (Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash 2 Nightmare Warriors)

Best Manga:
Vampire Hunter D Volume 3

Best One Shot:
Hack/Slash Entry Wound

Best Web Comic:
High Moon

Best Anthology:
Creepy

Colorist of the Year:
Drew Berry on Sullengrey: Sacrifice

Inker of the Year:
Rob E. Brown on Bane of the Werewolf

Cover of the Year:
Zombie Tales #10

Best Mini Series:
Dead Irons

Best Ongoing Series:
The Walking Dead

Best Kill:
Batman: Unseen #3 - The Invisible Man cuts off an old flames head and then shows it to her husband!

Writer of the Year:
Robert Kirkman on The Walking Dead

Artist of the Year:
Rob E. Brown artist on Bane of the Werewolf

VOTE FOR ME FOR BEST LETTERER OF A HORROR COMIC!

2009-12-26T00:57:00.004-05:00

Voting has now commenced at ComicMonsters.com for their first annual Horror Comic Awards. Again, I thank them for the nomination for lettering the Solomon Grundy mini-series, but now it's up to you to give me a vote or not. You have to register to the site to vote, but it's really easy to do, just go here: Register

Then after you get that squared away, go here to vote for me: Vote for me!

And here's some pages from issues 2 and 4 to help with your decision.

Thanks to everyone that votes!

I'VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR A HORROR COMIC AWARD!

2009-12-16T23:35:00.003-05:00

WHOA, COOL!!! I've been nominated for my lettering work on Solomon Grundy! I'm completely flattered. Thanks to the folks at Comic Monsters for noticing my work! Now it'll be up to the fans to vote for the winners. Voting starts December 24th!

First Annual ComicMonsters.com HORROR COMIC Awards!

And here’s the official release-

ComicMonsters.com is hosting it’s first annual Horror Comic Awards. The awards fans of Horror Comics have been waiting for. Voting is open via the ComicMonsters.com site on December 24th, 2009 and ends on December 31st, 2009. Best of Luck to the Nominees……May the most brutal comic prevail!!!

The categories and nominees for 2009 are:

Writer of the Year:

Robert Kirkman - The Walking Dead - Image Comics
Tim Seeley - Hack/Slash - Devil’s Due Publishing
Peter Milligan - Hellblazer - Vertigo/DC Comics
Phil Hester - The Darkness - Top Cow Productions
Steve Niles - Batman: Gotham After Midnight - DC Comics
Jason Aaron - Ghost Rider - Marvel Comics
Mike Mignola - Hellboy - Dark Horse Comics
Garth Ennis - Crossed - Avatar Press

Artist of the Year:

Jason Shawn Alexander - Dead Irons - Dynamite Entertainment
Jason Craig - Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash Nightmare Warriors - Dynamite Entertainment/Wildstorm/DC Comics
Rob E. Brown - Bane of the Werewolf - Silver Phoenix Entertainment
Steve Pugh - Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead - Radical Publishing
Emma Rios - Hexed - BOOM! Studios
Charlie Adlard - The Walking Dead - Image Comics
Jacen Burrows - Crossed - Avatar Press
Duncan Fegredo - Hellboy - Dark Horse Comics

Inker of the Year:

Guy Davis - BPRD: The Black Goddess - Dark Horse Comics
Todd McFarlane - Spawn - Image Comics
Ryann Winn - The Darkness - Top Cow Productions
Charlie Adlard - The Walking Dead - Image Comics
Rob E. Brown - Bane of the Werewolf - Silver Phoenix Entertainment
Mico Suayan - Dead of Night: Werewolf by Night - Marvel Comics
Steve Pugh - Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead - Radical Publishing

Colorist of the Year:

Jay Fotos - Locke & Key: Head Games - IDW Publishing
Dave Stewart - BPRD: The Black Goddess - Dark Horse Comics
Drew Berry - Sullengrey: Sacrifice - SLG Publishing
Ian Hannin - Dead of Night: Werewolf by Night - Marvel Comics
Steve Pugh - Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead - Radical Publishing
Dave Casey - Proof - Image Comics
Jean-Francois Beaulieu - Marvel Zombies 4 - Marvel Comics
Wes Dzioba - Aliens - Dark Horse Comics

Best Letterer:

Sal Cipriano - Solomon Grundy - DC Comics
Rus Wooten - Marvel Zombies 4 - Marvel Comics
Rob Leigh - North 40 - Wildstorm/DC Comics
Joe Carmanga - Ghost Rider - Marvel Comics
Chris Crank - Hack/Slash - Devil’s Due Publishing
Kurt Hathaway - Resident Evil - Wildstorm/DC Comics

Best Ongoing Series:

The Walking Dead - Image Comics
Hack/Slash - Devil’s Due Publishing
The Darkness - Top Cow
Ghost Rider - Marvel Comics
Hellblazer - Vertigo/DC Comics
Grimm Fairy Tales - Zenescope Entertainment
28 Days Later - BOOM! Studios
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Dark Horse Comics

Best Mini-Series:

North 40 - WildStorm/DC Comics
Locke & Key: Head Games - IDW Publishing
The Strange Adventures of HP Lovecraft - Image Comics
Solomon Grundy - DC Comics
Marvel Zombies 4 - Marvel Comics
Dead Irons - Dynamite Entertainment
Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead - Radical Publishing
BPRD: The Black Goddess - Dark Horse Comics

Best Anthology:

Zombie Tales - BOOM! Studios
Creepy - Dark Horse Comics
Dark Delicacies - IDW Publishing
Asylum of Horrors - Asylum Press
Cthulhu Tales - BOOM! Studios
House of Mystery – Vertigo/DC Comics
Kolchak Tales Annual - Moonstone Books
Tales from the Crypt - Papercutz

Best Web Comic:

Dr. Shroud
High Moon
Lily of the Valley
La Morte Sisters
Split Lip
Halloween Man
Xombie
Pray for Death

Cover of the Year:

The Astounding Wolfman #16 - Dale Keown - Image Comics
Zombies Tales The Series #10 - Drew Rausch - BOOM! Studios
House of Mystery #13 - Esao Andrews - Vertigo/DC Comics
Dead of Night: Werewolf by Night #3 - Mico Suayan - Marvel Comics
Crossed #4 - Jacen Burrows - Avatar Press
Night of the Living Dead: New York #1 (convention edition) - Mike Wolfer - Avatar Press
Hellblazer #261 - Simon Bisley - Vertigo/DC Comics
Asylum of Horrors #2 - Aly Fell - Asylum Press

Best Kill:

Epilogue #4 - Ethan drinks – IDW Publishing
The Dead #4 - Zombie entrail dinner – Berserker
Batman: Unseen #3 - Invisible decapitation - DC Comics
The Living Corpse Annual #1 - Corpse plunger - Zenescope Entertainment
Jesus Hates Zombies Volume 2 - Zombie baby bashing - Alterna Comics
Incarnate #1 - Mot rips em’ - Radical Publishing
FVZA #2 – Vampire feeding frenzy - Radical Publishing

Best One Shot:

Hack/Slash: Entry Wound - Devil’s Due Publishing
Abe Sapien: The Haunted Boy - Dark Horse Comics
Angel vs. Frankenstein - IDW Publishing
Hector Plasm: Totentanz - image Comics
The Perhapanauts Halloween Spooktacular - Image Comics
Clive Barker’s Seduth 3-D - IDW Publishing
Zombie Tales 2061 - BOOM! Studios
Dead Space Extraction - Image Comics

Best Manga:

Vampire Hunter D Volume 3 - Digital Manga Publishing
Jack Frost Volume 1 - Yen Press
Parasyte Volume 8 - Del Rey
Cirque Du Freak Volume 1 - Yen Press
Dance in the Vampire Bund Volume 4 - Seven Seas
Higurashi When They Cry: Abducted by Demons Arc Volume 2 - Yen Press
Tetragrammaton Labyrinth Volume 5 - Seven Seas
Soul Eater Volume 1 - Yen Press

Best Cross-Over:

The Living Corpse and Hack/Slash - Zenescope Entertainment
Witch Hunter and Night - Monarch Comics/Jester Press
Dethklok and The Goon - Dark Horse Comics
The Darkness and Pitt - Top Cow Productions
Freddy, Jason and Ash - - Dynamite Entertainment/Wildstorm/DC Comics
Kolchak and Barnabas Collins - Moonstone Books

Best Scene:

The Dead #3 - Shower interrupted - Berserker
Crossed #7 - Patrick talks back to his mom - Avatar Press
The Darkness #10 - A thirty foot well of what? - Top Cow Productions
Army of Darkness #20 - Ash meets Brad - Dynamite Entertainment
Jesus Hates Zombies Volume 2 - Nurses don’t get paid enough - Alterna Comics
Locke & Key: Head Games #3 - A look inside Bode's head - IDW Publishing
The Walking Dead #60 - Morgan finds some bad stuff - Image Comics
Marvel Zombies 4 #2 - Morbius is a monster - Marvel Comics

The 2009 Horror Comic Awards will be determined by fan voting via the following link: http://www.comicmonsters.com/modules.php?name=Awards

About ComicMonsters.com:

ComicMonsters.com, founded in 2004 is the first and only site of its kind to focus solely on Horror Comics. With up to date news, interviews, and special features, such as, “The Making of”, Comic Monsters has managed to stay one step ahead of other sites reporting on horror comic news. Not only focusing on the mainstream, Comic Monsters makes it a point to highlight up and coming, as well as, independent comics…..and there’s more to come in 2010! For more information, contact: info@comicmonsters.com.

HISTORICAL MCSORLEY'S BASH #10 TONIGHT!

2009-12-04T11:35:00.003-05:00

Yup, it's that time of year again! This year is obviously extra special. Check out our "Bash Pass" designed by Joe Milazzo and my Facebook reminder letter. Come on down!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This Friday night, we embark on a most epic journey. For the past 9 years we, the Four (Fore) Fathers, have brought you all together to celebrate our vast array of friendships, intermingling one and all. For many, you only see each other at the Bash, you may never even of met, but you've Bashed together, clanged your hearty mugs, sang all the legendary songs, and made sure merriment abounded.

And now we've come to Year #10, a milestone many scoffed would never happen, but to those we laugh. The power of the camaraderie of the Bashers cannot be broken, and this year we toast to that crowning achievement. For those uninitiated, this is no typical gathering at a bar. This is a coming together of brothers and sisters from all walks of life, a celebration of all that has past and all that is yet to come. When our mugs come together we are one.

The most perfect venue, rather the most perfect vessel for this event is, of course, the legendary McSorley's Old Ale House, NYC oldest continually operating saloon. We acquired a sort of Nirvana when we first came here, and the ghosts of this hallowed hall drew us into creating the Bash, to make sure the traditions held in the walls and petrified dust will always be celebrated. You may laugh, but there is truly something special that happens at McSorley's, and there is no greater time to experience it, than at the Bash.

So once again, we remind you that Friday evening at 7pm we begin our 10th journey together, and those undecided we extend this invitation once again, and hope you can make it. To those that cannot attend, we are sorry that you will miss an extraordinary, historical event, but are also hopeful that, one day, you too may Bash.

Thank you,
Sal, Joe, Jim, Sean
When our mugs come together we are one...

SAL ON BROOKLYN REVIEW

2009-12-04T00:16:00.003-05:00

As part of a King Con review, I say a few lines about comics in Brooklyn. Warning, my name and fellow letterer Cory Petit's names were switched.

http://briccommunitymedia.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/comic-festival-brooklyn-review/

FLIX FIEND WILL POSSESS YOU!

2009-11-16T20:19:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm finally getting back into reviewing movies. The only difference is I'm not doing it here. Flix Fiend is website dedicated to film reviews, trailers, opinions, and news, so like BeSBALL Talk I'm going specialized there, too! Come by and check it out!

KING CON!

2009-11-05T17:46:00.006-05:00

I'll be at King Con this weekend, sharing a table with my best gal, M.Patrizio and her vast array of softies and stationery. I'll have copies of The Hill and other oldies but goodies, as well as the debut (thanks to a push by Marilyn) of my very own notebook. Plus! I'm doing a lettering panel/workshop type of thing with fellow connoisseurs of the craft, Corey Petit and Leland Purvis at 1pm on Saturday. Stop on by and say 'ello, 'ello, 'ello to us. Check out their website for all the details: http://kingconbrooklyn.com/

THIS WEEK: LOBO: HIGHWAY TO HELL #1!!!

2009-11-03T11:30:00.003-05:00

I'm proud to say that this week sees the release of Lobo: Highway to Hell #1. I had the honor to letter this little diddy. Why is it special? Well first off it's drawn by Sam Keith, one of the more well respected artists of our generation, but the thing that makes this book super-fraggin' awesome is it's written by SCOTT IAN OF ANTHRAX!!! Oh hell yeah! Guys, my more formative years were spent listening to Anthrax, so you can imagine how incredibly insane this is for me. It's like the closest to being on stage with Ian that I'll ever get! I hope everyone digs it, it was a blast to work on! Check out a preview here!

BLACKEST NIGHT HALLOWEEN!

2009-10-23T14:22:00.003-04:00

BESBALL TALK RETURNS!

2009-10-09T11:51:00.003-04:00

Don't call it a comeback:

http://www.besballtalk.com/

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2009-02-19T18:24:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-02-17T21:09:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-02-16T01:27:00.008-05:00

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...

2009-02-11T13:56:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

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...

2009-02-04T12:11:00.009-05:00

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

2009-02-02T22:30:00.001-05:00

-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!

THE 7 DAY EXPANSION

2009-02-01T12:44:00.004-05:00

So, after a month, my one post on the main page experiment is over. It was just too tiny a sample of what I'm trying to do here to work. I guess the idea was to see how many people just clicked the Older Posts or the Table of Contents links. While some did, I feel the natural human trend is to read what is there and move on. We do live in a world of attention deficits, after all. I mean, heck I'm guilty of it, too!

That said, though, I still believe in keeping the main page more manageable, and while I am expanding it, I've decided to expand it to 7 days worth of posts. This doesn't necessarily mean a week exactly, but the last 7 days in which I've posted something on; since I rarely post for a week straight. Anything after that, please click the Older Posts link at the bottom of the page, or check out the Table of Contents on the side bar for more specific pages.

I hope you guys dig this format better. Thanks for reading!

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...

2009-01-29T23:36:00.005-05:00

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: While this is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, there's enough to entertain you Mummy fans out there. The effects, while not the greatest, are fun with all sorts of cool monsters populating the film including Yetis and a three headed Ghidorahish dragon. Brendan Fraser is his usual self, as he seems rather comfortable in these light hearted adventure roles, and it looks like he has another (Inkheart) hitting the screen now, too. John Hannah is the only other returning cast member, though, as Maria Bello takes over for Rachel Weisz, and, unfortunately, she kind of brings the movie down a notch. Weisz was just so quirky in the first two movies, adding a factor that didn't seem as vital as it obviously was, and Bello clearly has a hard time matching that. Luke Ford as Fraser and Bello's son is just terrible casting, too. The guy looks way too old for the role, and he just comes off as an annoying, cocky, jock type of guy. It's always fun to see Jet Li and Michele Yeoh, but they are under-utilized in this. Anyways, you can go either way, as there are some very entertaining aspects to the movie, but if anything see it for the Yeti field goal. I'm not even kidding.

Eagle Eye: This movie scared me, in a good way. I really dug the movie, the second collaboration of D.J. Caruso and actor Shia Labeuf. The first, Disturbia, was a good, tense thriller, but this one takes it up quite a few wrungs. First off, its one big action movie, in the vein of The Fugitive, and it's relentless in that department, throwing Shia and the female lead into all sorts of peril. Secondly, it's a pretty hairy thriller in its own right. The characters are being pushed forward by the mysterious voice of Julianne Moore to do things against their will, lest they want bad things to happen to them or their loved ones, and this calls all kinds of morals and judgements into question. Without giving much more away, they are asked to do something bad against the government, with the consequences of those actions being extreme. Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson were solid in their supporting roles, and Shia is his usually right on self, but I gotta give it to D.J. Caruso for pulling this all together. From the tension, to the chases (some of the best ever filmed), to just giving you one hell of a popcorn flick, he's really upping his game, and I look forward to his next film. This one's a renter.

Navajo Joe: Now here's a doozy of a Spaghetti Western. Burt Reynolds stars as Sergio Corbucci's title character, as he's after Aldo Sambrell's Native American slaughtering outlaws. What more do you need? A more coherent story would've been nice, but that's just nitpicking! I guess I expected a little more meat in that department from Corbucci, who is widely regarded as the second best SW director, after the Sergio Leone, of course. Corbucci, after all, directed, arguably, one of the top 3 SW of all time, The Great Silence. (#2 on my list!) It just doesn't have that same grit as Silence, although it does feel like Corbucci was getting himself ready for that piece. Reynolds is no Clint, but he does a good job here. The Ennio Morricone score (don't let the credits fool you!) is one of his more memorable though, with screaming ladies, heavy drums, and a tune that just catches you and never lets go. It definitely drives the movie. The very end is awesome as we find out Joe's motivation; you can see another big Tarantino influence here. Overall it's worth seeing for multiple reasons: Corbucci's development, Morricone's amazing score, Reynolds' ham-fisted performance, and a better understanding of how Quentin Tarantino approaches his films.

Afro Samurai: While this was presented to us initially as a mini series, it's clearly a movie in five parts and I'll review it that way. One of two Animes on this list, and definitely the one I enjoyed most. Samuel L. Jackson imported this one, and lends his unmistakable voice to two characters, and that alone is worth a rent, but there are many other elements that make this a fun viewing. First off the animation is excellent, with some great character design work. It all moves at a breakneck pace, but it still manages to be visually stunning and not muddy like some other Animes of this type tend to do. The soundtrack is fantastic with the RZA providing the beats throughout. Lastly, it's a simple story told with a layered style that doesn't feel tired. All of these elements just work to give you an entertaining package.

Ping Pong: This Japanese film is a tale of two movies actually. The first half is overdrawn and plodding and almost makes you want to scream bloody murder. As the Ping Pong action picks up, all of the plot lines seems to come together better, and it finishes up rather satisfyingly. I wouldn't say I loved it, but the second half is good enough to make it an alright flick. The thing that really gets my goat though, is that this movie was marketed as having visual effects on par with The Matrix, and that could not be further from the truth. I think that statement really took away from this movie, as I was waiting for it to develop into that the entire time. Annoying!

Perfect Blue: The other Anime on the list is a more dramatic movie, but well done. The story of a pop star trying to become an actress, and how that plays into her psyche, as someone is stalking and killing the crew of the film she's working on. It's an interesting enough premise, but if you look away for a moment, as I did, you may get lost as the story bobs and weaves through fact and fiction. The animation is fine if nondescript. There's a surprising amount of nudity and adult situations in the movie, which kind of threw me, but fit in perfectly to the obsession overtones the story was accenting. If you like psychological thrillers you should dig this fine.

The Italian: This is actually a Russian movie about an orphan kid who is being adopted by an Italian family; the boy is nicknamed The Italian by the other orphans. It's a very good story about a resilient kid, who gets the idea of finding his real parents after an adopted orphan's mother comes looking for her kid and doesn't find him. Fearing his real parents will come looking for him as well, The Russian runs away, and goes on a quest to find them. This is a really telling drama about Russian society, and how an innocent child functions within it. The acting is superb, and very realistic, which creates a nice base for this otherwise fantasy like journey story. It's a tad gloomy, but I recommend checking it out.

Chaplin: Speaking of gloomy, this is a pretty sad movie. Having never really been a fan of Charlie Chaplin, I never really sought out this 90's biopic starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. However, a dual spark of interest came last year between watching a flurry of silents, and Downey Jr.'s resurgence. For the most part, this was a pretty good movie, with a lot of insight into the silent era, and Chaplin's life beyond it. I honestly was shocked by a lot of what he accomplished, and went through in his life. Downey Jr. was very good, too, although it's interesting to see how he's progressed as an actor from then till now, and he was nominated for an Oscar then! Anyway, if you were ever curious about Chaplin's life and times, you should check it out.

MY PICK: I'd say give Eagle Eye a shot for the best top to bottom entertainment. It's a fast paced thriller of a popcorn movie. You should be thoroughly entertained. If you'd like something a little less action packed, then go for The Italian.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2009-01-28T13:40:00.005-05:00

Blue Beetle #35: In this issue, Jamie Reyes goes to his school dance, and Blue Beetle is accosted by Beetle like alien warriors, at the same time! I think this is the second to last issue, and this is the final two parter. Too bad I didn't start at DC earlier, I think I would've enjoyed a nice run on this.

Teen Titans #67: The New Deal storyline continues, and Brother Blood is out for...er..um...blood. Well, that was obvious. Fun issue, though, and I got to design the good Brother's caption. Oh, and it guest stars Kid Eternity, who's early 90's mini series was pretty groundbreaking, at least for me.

Reign in Hell #7: Back to back up duty again. For those that don't know, it's a pretty cool Dr. Occult tale written by Keith Giffen, and features nice art with a subdued coloring style that I'm loving.

Green Arrow/Black Canary Family Buisness (TPB): I did the last few issues in this collection. Fun, fast paced action in this book with art by Mike Norton and words by Judd Winick.

Huntress: Year One (TPB): My first full DC collection! I'm extremely proud of this collection. I lettered the original 6 issue miniseries, and I love the way this book turned out. It has a brand new cover by series artist Cliff Richards, an introduction by company president Paul Levitz(!), and just works so well as a whole. It's the origin story of Gotham's Sicilian vigilante crime fighter, and plays as both a super hero origin story and a mafia tale. Being Sicilian in origin myself, this was awesome to work on. Congrats to everyone involved in this great work! BUY THIS BOOK!

This week's preview is of Teen Titans: http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=25488

BES-BALL TALK #10

2009-01-25T12:31:00.009-05:00

In Bes-ball Talk #7-8 I wrote about the Yankees and Mets off season progress. So, for the next few Bes-Balls I want to do a round up of everyone else! Last time I did the East. Next up, the Central!

THE CENTRAL:

Cubs: Last year I thought the Cubs would reverse their Billy Goat curse, but their post season slump continued. So this off season, the NL Central favorites needed some tweaking to get over the hump and win a World Series. So far, their main goal of landing Jake Peavy through trade has failed, but the winter isn't over just yet. They've moved a bunch of pieces around in an effort, one would think, to better position themselves to acquiring the former CY Young winner. They let long time Cubbie Kerry Wood go, and traded for Marlins closer Kevin Gregg, who will set up for new closer Carlos Marmol. They traded over-priced 5th starter Jason Marquis to the Rockies for former Yankess Luis Vizcaino, adding a good piece to their bullpen in the process. Mark DeRosa was, astoundingly, traded to the Indians for some minor league pitching, and former super prospect Felix Pie was traded for rotation possibility Garrett Olsen. Of all these trades only the DeRosa one bothers me. The guy is a spark plug, but I guess they believe in an Aaron Miles/Mike Fontenot combo there. Their big signing of the winter is Milton Bradley to play right field, which was a very good maneuver. Last year, Bradley seemed to put away his troubles, and play very well for the Rangers; becoming a good teammate to guys like Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler. He's an excellent hitter, and will help this team get runners in scoring position home, something the NL Central champs could've used against the Dodgers. All in all, a decent off season that could turn great if they land Peavy before opening day.

White Sox: President Obama's favorite team just barely made to the playoffs last year, but like their NL counterparts didn't get far. This year, they've offloaded pitcher Javier Vasquez and center fielder Nick Swisher, but all they have to show for it is Wilson Betemit, Brent Lillibridge, and some minor leaguers. Most of the off season chatter with them was about trading Jermaine Dye, which would be a mistake, unless you're getting back key pieces. They are not bringing back Ken Griffey Jr., either, and there doesn't look to be any other big signings on the horizon, which, to me, could signal a fruitless offseason. Here's a team, though, that could be a fit for Bobby Abreu...

Milwaukee: The NL Wild Card winners were led by CC Sabathia last year, who carried them on his big back, but faltered once there, apparently a theme for the Central teams. This year, however, they will go to battle without Sabathia, who joined the Yanks, and maybe also without perennial favorite son Ben Sheets, but there's definitely an air of defiance coming from the Brewers that will be hard to miss. They have a new manager in Ken Macha, who brought the A's to the playoffs numerous times, and he brings former Mets' skipper Willie Randolph with him to be his bench coach. They brought in all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman to be their closer, a solid upgrade to the retiring Solomon Torres, and they're bring back their full complement of players. The same guys brought them to the dance in the first place. If they could bring in another pitcher or two, or get a solid return from Chris Capuano, then they could be serious contenders again. If not, things may get a little dicey with the shortened staff. Still, I feel that the taste of making the playoffs rubbed strongly on this group, and a return is inevitable.

Twins: About all they've done is re-signed SS Nick Punto to a 2 year deal, yet somehow the Twins are always there towards the end, competing their butts off. They have a well managed young team, with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau leading the way, and, seemingly, that's all they need. It's crazy and strange and wonderful. Good for them.

Astros: They've brought back Mike Hampton, signed Aaron Boone, and have pretty much shut it down after that, citing the bad economy. Bah, whatever, guys. Sure it's bad, but less so in baseball. This team can hit, although less without non-tendered Ty Wiggington, but have no one behind ace Roy Oswalt. They should try to work something out with Randy Wolf again, a guy that did really well for them, and whom they pulled an offer from. Bah!

Indians: So, these are the suckers that signed Carl Pavano, huh? Yes, but they may not be suckers after all. They didn't spend all that much for pitcher who still has a big upside if he's finally completely health and ready to go. A big "if" however, and one that few teams would gamble on. So give GM Mark Shapiro credit for having the guts to make the deal. More importantly, though, is the deal they gave Kerry Wood to become their closer. Wood had really started coming into his own in this role, and I think the Tribe has markedly improved themselves in this area. They also added former Met reliever Joe Smith to their bullpen, one of the brighter spots in the Mets' dismal '08 pen. Finally, they replaced Casey Blake at third by trading for Mark DeRosa. This is a great move for the Indians, as they got a clutch, scrappy player. This team is improved, and should challenge for the division or wild card.

Cardinals: I think this team is in trouble, but it's hard to ever count Tony LaRussa's crew out. Their two big moves were signing lefty Trever Miller, and trading for Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. Miller was solid for the Rays last year, and could be a very welcome addition to a virtually anonymous bullpen. With no chosen closer, this spot is going to be dicey. Greene will most certainly help their offense, should he return to form, of course. He'll need to, with 3rd baseman and slugger Troy Glaus out till May. Once they get him back the lineup will be pretty good, but with a rotation as nondescript as the bullpen, it'll be hard to climb out of 4th place. Their former ace, Chris Carpenter, is coming off major injuries, and doesn't figure to be much of a factor. They've also let Braden Looper, a surprisingly solid pitcher for them the last few years, walk. I think Jon Garland would be a good addition for this team, at least he'll put in the innings. They'll need at least that.

Tigers: One of last year's big disappointments, the Tigers will mostly need big returns from many of their players. Kenny Rogers isn't coming back and may be retiring. They've traded for Gerald Laird to catch, replacing Ivan Rodriguez and allowing Brandon Inge to return to 3rd to find his bat. They also just added Brandon Lyon to the back end of their bullpen to at least compete with Fernando Rodney for the closer's role. They simply needed more than that, but it looks like further moves may not happen. So there's a lot of banking on big turnarounds from some aging starters, but even from the youngish rotation. If that doesn't happen, the fluke of '08 may turn into a continuous slide.

Reds: They're starting a new era without Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr., but they are not yet poised for the post season. Their rotation could be solid if vets Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo are consistent. They've got some nice young position players as well, some that can really slug it out, too, and they've added a new lead off man in Willy Taveras, and a new catcher in Ramon Hernandez. Are these upgrades? Possibly, Hernandez is good and Taveras sure can run, but you always have to wonder why teams let players like this go. If they had cash, a Bobby Abreu could help them, providing mentoring and a solid bat. But that's an "if" that isn't there. So maybe a trade is possible, like the one talked about with the Yanks for Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady. I'd take Harang or Arroyo for my number 5 starter, let's give it a go.

Royals: They made a flurry of trades early on, grabbing centerfielder Coco Crisp, 1st baseman Mike Jacobs, and signed pitchers Kyle Farnsworth, Horacio Ramirez, and Doug Waechter. Four of the five guys should help this team climb to .500. They also just signed their own pitcher Zach Greinke to a 4 year deal, which was a great move, as he's an important piece to the puzzle. Manager Trey Hillman has gotten them out of last place, but in this division it's easy to go back, although, something tells me that's not happening.

Pirates: Sure, they have some good young players and pitchers, but no real leadership, and that "leads" to their constant faltering. I can't see how this season will be any different, if anything, it may get worse since they'll now start fresh without two of their major hitters, Xavier Nady and Jason Bay, both who were traded at last year's deadline. There's talk they might bring Pedro Martinez, which would be a welcome addition to their staff; at the very least maybe he can impart some knowledge and wisdom to their young starters. But even that's a long shot since they won't even bring back Doug Mientkiewicz, who's been this team's veteran leader and conscious. I mean, don't get me wrong, this team has the ability to improve, but don't expect a Rays like jump anytime soon.

Next, the West! And that's Bes-Ball.

BES-BALL TALK #9

2009-01-22T18:53:00.000-05:00

In Bes-ball Talk #7-8 I wrote about the Yankees and Mets off season progress. So, for the next few Bes-Balls I want to do a round up of everyone else! First up, the East. Lets get to it.

THE EAST:

Red Sox: While the Sox didn't land the big players, they made a bunch of maneuvers that will help fortify their team. To the starting staff they added Brad Penny and John Smoltz, both of whom will be fearful if they can return from injuries in decent shape. They also added former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito to their bullpen, adding a piece that could put it over the top in the AL East. To the bench comes Rocco Baldelli, another guy who's upside is huge should he recover from his ailment. Across the board the Sox are solid, more so then they were last year, and that could mean a pennant this year.

Phillies: I didn't care for the Raul Ibanez signing for this lefty heavy team. He's getting old, and you don't know what the pressures of Philly will do to his play. They're bringing back Jamie Moyer, and have added Chan Ho Park to compete for their final rotation spot? I'm sorry, but unless they can add a better pitcher than that, then the world champs might have taken a step backwards. If i'm them, I go and maybe bring back Randy Wolf or sign Jon Garland.

Rays: While the Rays haven't made too many huge maneuvers, they have made a couple of key ones that'll help this team in the '09 season. First, they upgraded at the DH spot adding Pat Burrell cheaply, who is younger and stronger than last year's version in Cliff Floyd. This is a big boost to their offense. They also traded away Edwin Jackson, the low man on their rotational totem pole. This allows superstar-in-waiting David Price a chance to prove his worth. With that piece seemingly set, they arguably have the best starting five in the majors, not to mention one of the youngest! Their bullpen will be questionable though, after overachieving last year, and I'm not sure a guy like Joe Nelson will do much to help out. Another body in there would be welcome. Otherwise this team is ready to go.

Braves: They've remade their rotation, which had completely fallen apart over the last year or two, and in that have improved respectfully. They added Javier Vasquez and Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami and, most importantly, Derek Lowe to anchor it. Obviously, Lowe is the big acquisition. The Mets were hotly into him, and the Phils had been linked all off season. For the Braves to swoop in and sign him is tremendous. Add a more experienced Jair Jurrjens, and maybe a Jorge Campillo or a return of Tom Glavine, and you have a decent, competitive, rotation. They've done little else, but that may be enough to compete again. They should take a flyer on Andruw Jones, and bring him home; a return that may pay off for both parties. That and maybe bringing back Glavine are about the only other moves I see happening for this team.

Blue Jays: The Jays have done next to nothing, and have lost a major piece of their rotation, with A.J. Burnett''s defection to the rival Yanks. Other than Roy Hallladay, their rotation is shot. I fear any hope this team showed down the stretch last year has largely fallen away. Unless they can turn around, and add a spark to either the pitching staff or maybe the DH position, like an Adam Dunn, then last place is a strong possibility.

Marlins: Yes! They got Scott Proctor! And, um, they got Scott Proctor!

Orioles: The O's have improved a bit, and are obviously serious about their future. They also made a play at hometown boy Teixeira, but were never seriously in on it money wise. That said, though, they have some good young players, and this year look to add top catching prospect Matt Wieters to the mix. They traded off Ramon Hernandez to make room, and signed Greg Zaun to back up the kid. If Wieters is the real deal, we're looking at the next Joe Mauer or better! They also added the "meh" Cesar Iztauri to the infield, and traded rotation hopeful Garret Olsen for Cubs outfield prospect Felix Pie. They also dropped Daniel Cabera. To replace them they signed their first ever Japanese pitcher, Koji Uehara, and also the bland Mark Hendrickson. Also, they should sign Brian Roberts to an extension, instead of constantly looking to trade the guy. I mean you need some sort of leadership! Overall, the O's have improved, and may actually beat out the Jays for 4th this year. Go O's!

Nats: They lost out on Mark Teixeira, but can still bid for Manny or Dunn if they are serious in their quest to add some thump. Or maybe they just want a face to make fans to show up, and to take some pressure off the youngsters. They subtracted Tim Redding from their rotation, but added Scott Olsen (and Josh Willingham) by trade, and picked up non-tendered Daniel Cabera. Really, though, unless they do get another bat, they don't seem any better or worse than last year. If I was them, I'd start using the Teixeira money and bring in a few (good) vets. Unless it was never really there?

*I actually like Scott Proctor!

Next up, the Central. And that's Bes-Ball.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2009-01-21T13:30:00.001-05:00

Black Lightning Year One #2: Ah, a bittersweet love story this is. Well, not the book, but me on it. I was supposed to do it from issue 1, but alas I was in Iceland getting engaged when the time came. I guess it's a fair trade off. I've done this and the next one, so at least there is that. Oh, and if you didn't get issue one, or live under a rock, the art in this is by CULLY FREAKIN' HAMNER! And it guest stars a guy named Clark...so get it!

Justice League of America #29: Hey lookit that, I've done a JLA! Better yet, it's written by Len Wein and drawn by Cris Cross! How about that for a guest team up?! I think my title design is pretty fun in this, too, as I wrap it behind ol' Starbreaker. Love it when I can use the art in the designs!

Robin #182: One more left after this! Yup, for those that don't know, Robin, Nightwing, and Birds of Prey are all coming to an end as part of the big Batman: RIP/Battle for the Cowl retool. I hope I can get on whatever incarnation this book takes next, but for now enjoy this amazing final arc as (Red) Robin faces off against the new Anarky! And if you're not blown away by Freddie's art in this, then I'm coming over there and...

Shadowpact: The Burning Age (TPB): I did the final part of the series, thus closing out this final trade paperback collection of it.

Hellblazer #251: My first Vertigo book! Man, I've been waiting for one of these for awhile, and I'm pretty proud to take over from Jared Fletcher as the new letterer of John Constantine's travails. And as if I won an award, Peter Miligan has taken over as the writer, and the art is by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini! The new storyline is called Scab, and it is quite the cool horror story. I'm excited! Please pick this up!

Comic Book Resources has a preview of Justice League of America #29:
http://comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=1906&disp=table

And Newsarama provides a preview of Robin #182: http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=25398
(make sure you click the viewer when you get to the link!)

AKA: POLITICA 1/20/09

2009-01-20T23:51:00.004-05:00

Barack Obama was inaugurated as our 44th President today. Tonight he's been partying it up, and deservedly so, but tomorrow he begins his first day on the job, and the question remains: how good will he do?

But today was special, amazing, intense, and it blew me away. I was stirred in many ways as I sat at my desk at work, and watched and listened at the CNN box in the corner of my screen while I lettered the final issue of Nightwing. A coincidental beginning and ending there for sure, but the theme wasn't lost on me as George Bush had coffee with Barack, and honorably passed the baton over to him. It left me wondering about Bush, what has transpired over his time in power, and what Barack will do with his time.

It made me realize that both of these guys are human, and that we may be expecting too much out of Barack. Bush, on the other hand, seemingly lowered the bar very low, so anything Obama does that is viewed positive will be made out to be a miracle. I do give some credit to Bush, however, he did keep us safe after 9/11, and say what you will about the Wars, and a lot can be said, mind you, but it's kept Al Qaida on the run and off of us. I will never question Bush's heart and love for this country and what it stands for. What Obama does to continue keeping us safe will be one of his administration's defining factors.

The economic crisis will be another, but just as important. I think it's safe to say on some level or another everyone fears for their jobs. After the massive stock market drops, every part of our lives are being affected in one way or another. I'm not silly enough to think that Barack's inauguration will magically change anything, but I do think the shift in power, and the hope that it brings will make everyone feel better, and that, in itself, might spur a change in our economic woes.

Today really was amazing, though. Obama gave an incredible speech, although I kept waiting for a great punchline! He instead delivered a nice sustained speech that really hit many levels of emotion. I choked up when he talked about how he's the son of an immigrant, much like myself. I understood when he said there are many challenges ahead, but he confidently intends to meet every one of them. And I applauded when he said he'd extend a hand to those unwilling to unclench their fist. It's a bold proposal, but one that has to be met with respect.

I'm impressed with Barack Obama, our newest President, he's exactly what the country needed, but I am realistic enough to know he's going to need a lot of time to accomplish what needs to be done. Luckily, he's instilled a sense of hope in me, and for now that's most definitely enough.

KUNG FOOD! THE SERIES BEGINS!

2009-01-18T17:41:00.015-05:00

A couple of years back, around my Speakeasy days, I was in the process of creating a new mini series with the name Kung Food! The premise of that was sort of a Jackie Chan type of flick set in a supermarket. I never got around to actually writing the story, and, honestly, I'm kind of glad I didn't, but that name always stuck with me. I had to use it for something. Well, for the two of you that have followed this blog, you know that I've wanted to start writing about food, better yet, my obsession with it, for quite awhile now. I mean, I loooove food, I love writing, so it was time to hop to it, huh? Well, I'm about to stop the talking and start the hopping, or rather the writing!

So, against my fiancee's better judgement (she hates the name!), I welcome you to Kung Food!, my all purpose flour that I'll use as a home for various food writings. I can't say exactly how this will go, but figure some restaurant and food product reviews, maybe an interview here or there, lots of opinions, some recipe sharing (since I adore cooking), and whatever else I can think of. My first outing here goes under the "whatever else I can think of" part...

This will not come as a shock, but I am 100% in love with pizza. We've had a romance that stretches back to my first days of solid food. Being Italian, I've also always thought of myself as a fellow with a pretty discernible taste for the stuff, so let me tell you, I've eaten a lot of pizza in my life! Some bad, some good, some just there, it's always interesting to see just what'll stick to my palette, and what I'll discard and file under "never to be had again"!

That all said, what I present to you now, in this inaugural Kung Food! edition is my Top Ten NYC Pizza Joints: (You'd think I'd start it with my Top Ten Chinese Joints or something!)

Wait! Sorry...let me preface this by saying that I am a severely loyal Brooklynite, who thinks we have the best pizza of the 5 boroughs, so I'm naturally comprising this list with mostly Brooklyn joints, however I will keep you updated if I find a new place that can join this list.

Enough yapping, here's the list:

10. Bay Ridge Pizza: This would be one of the newer additions to my list, but after carefully considering some of the alternates, like DaVinci's, J&V's, or Pizza Wagon, this place wins out. It does so on the power of one of the best Sicilian squares in Brooklyn! It has a great, great sauce that makes every bite a sweet one! 7704 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11209

9. Patsy's: While there are now many locations of the original Patsy's franchised out there, I particularly like the one on West 23rd Street and 8th ave. I've always had a very good brick oven pie there, recommend it with onions! It's also a good place to sit and have a pie or pasta, if you have lots of folks with you, and are in Manhattan. 318 W 23rd St., New York, NY 10011

8. Di Fara's: I'm sure you've heard the story, and unfortunately the hype: A little old Italian man makes classic pizza with a very unique and even more classical method. Yet despite what Time Out New York did to make the place blow up, the fact remains Mr. Domenico DeMarco makes a very mean pizza! It's almost a show to watch. Be warned though, it took long before the hype, now it just takes forever to get a pie! 1424 Ave. J (at East 15th St.), Brooklyn, NY 11230

7. Totonno's: This is the classic Brooklyn brick oven place. While I didn't get there till a few years back, its history is legendary. It's completely no frills, you just order a pie, chill, eat, and repeat. No toppings are even necessary, it's perfect as is. Just be warned, once they finish their dough for the day, they close shop! 1524 Neptune Ave. (near West 15th St.), Brooklyn, NY 11224

6: Numero 28: (or No. 28) Now here's a real classic Neapolitan style brick oven pizza by an actual family from the Naples! These are long pizzas with the freshest toppings imported from Italy, and truly something different than the normal brick oven pizza. The chef, who we followed from L'Asso, knows what he's doing, and surrounded by his family, is cranking out possibly the best brick oven pizza in Manhattan. 28 Carmine St. (at Bleecker St.), New York, Ny 10014

5. Peter Pizza: No, not the Italian Peter Pan, wise guy! This place reminds me of my youth, as the owner/pizzaiolo cut his teeth at my favorite childhood spot, Ciccio's. He brings the same great style and flavor he honed there to his own spot, and even upped it a few notches. The pizza is just some of the best slices you can have, nicely finished with a wonderful sesame seed crust! His Sophia Loren slice rocks the house as well. 2358 80th St. (at Stillwell Ave.), Brooklyn, NY 11214

4. 99¢ Fresh Pizza: To me, getting good, regular pizza in Manhattan is harder than it looks. They all taste generic to me, and none have ever stuck with me except for this little gem. Located in Hell's Kitchen, and behind the Port Authority, on 9th Ave, these fine (Pakistani?)gentlemen pump out these perfect little pizzas with a nice simple flavor. I religiously get one, two, or three either before or after a night of drinking at Rudy's. 569 9th Ave., New York, NY 10011

3. L&B Spumoni Gardens: L&B has a crazy loyal following, and not one done in by hype. Brooklyn Originals have been lining up for their unique squares, with the sauce on top of the cheese, since 1939! I've been going to this place all my life, and it's particularly awesome in the summer as you can sit in their spacious "garden" and eat, eat, eat! Check out their Spumoni (a vanilla, chocolate, pistachio creme ice) and Italian Ices afterwards! 2725 86th St., Brooklyn, NY 11223

2. Nick's: The Forest Hills champion of the brick oven may actually be the overall champion of this style of pizza. Nick's has some the best mozzarella that I've ever tasted on a pizza, and they don't skimp out on it. Complement that with excellent sauce and dough, and you've got the makings of legendary pizza! The wait staff is excellent here as well, and that really makes a difference. 10826 Ascan Ave Forest Hills, NY 11375

1. Peppino's: The official pizza place of me and Marilyn's relationship! We've come to Peppino's loyally since it's inception, which was right around the time of ours. A family owned brick oven restaurant that makes you feel right at home, but most importantly is super delicious! The classic Margherita is great, but it's the vodka sauce pie that's to die for! Piled with mushrooms, prosciutto, and a delicious vodka sauce, it's my favorite pizza in all of NYC! And be sure to try out some of their other dishes, as they make excellent heroes, great soups and salads, and yummy pastas! All in all, it's hands down my favorite spot, and since I go at least twice a month, I'm proud to put it at the top of my list. Pep is a nice guy, too, and him and his family really take care of you. Peppino's deserves your patronage, so get moving! There are two locations, both are excellent. Bay Ridge: 7708 3rd Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11209, and Park Slope: 469 5th Ave. (between 10th St. & 11th St.), Brooklyn, NY 11215

*Special thank yous to Marilyn Patrizio, my pizza partner in crime, my mom, who created my pizza obsession, and to Ian "Iceman" Parfrey, who got me thinking about this list when he needed some pizza suggestions!

SCRIPTAGE 8: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN!

2009-01-15T00:09:00.002-05:00

After a year plus, Scriptage is back! I think the major reason I haven't posted one of these in a while is that, besides this blog, I didn't do much writing last year. A little tweaking here and there, but nothing I could really sink my teeth into. Lettering has really filled the comic book section of my life, and I've enjoyed the break.

Recently, though, Jok has gotten back to work on finishing the Vapor, which has forced me back to making sure the finale of the book is prepared. After all, we have a commitment to getting the graphic novel out there to all the fine folks that purchased the first two issues. Rereading my old scripts has been fun, so I thought this was the perfect time to restart Scriptage.

For those that don't know what this is, simply, it's a place where I deposit script excerpts. More descriptively, it's a study in the development and changes I've gone through as a comic book writer. It's sort of therapeutic for me, and I hope that maybe a couple of you get something out of it, too. If anything, it's me making ass out of myself, so there's always that!

Naturally, we'll start with Vengeance of the Vapor, from chapter 3, and an early preview of what's in store in the OGN. This is the 2 page opening of the book, which starts as a flashback and then picks up from right after page 22 of issue 2. Thanks for reading!

VENGEANCE OF
THE VAPOR
By Sal Cipriano

CHAPTER 3

PAGE 1

1.1: Flashback. New York, 1857, on a small piece of land, by a small church, in the middle of downtown Manhattan, it’s the funeral of Brooks’ dad. Many people are in attendance: all poor and suffering, a few gang members in shoddy bandages, and in front of the priest conducting the ceremony is young Brooks, also bandaged, holding little Kate’s hand. In back of them is Dillon, a little younger here.

PRIEST: …AND SO WE LAY INTO THIS PIT, OUR FRIEND AND FELLOW CITIZEN, WILLIAM MORRIS ROGERS, FOR ETERNITY, AND FOREVER MORE. AMEN.
CROWD: AMEN.
CAP: NYC 1857

1.2: After the funeral Dillon kneels down and puts his hands on the kids’ shoulders. Brooks looks mad, but Kate is slightly smiling.

DILLON: YOU KIDS BOTH KNOW YOU’RE WELCOME TO COME WITH ME WHEN I HEAD WEST IN THE MORN. BESIDES, THERE’S NOTHING LEFT HERE, AND A NEW START’LL DO YOU GOOD.
KATE: DO YOU MEAN IT, GRANDPOP?

1.3: A defiant Brooks takes his grandfather’s hand off of him. Dillon is saddened by this and Kate looks on sadly as well.

BROOKS: NO, KATEY, FIVE POINTS IS WHERE MOM AND DAD RAISED US. WE’RE PART OF THIS, AND WE AIN’T GOIN’ WEST EVER!

1.4: Dillon gets up and looks Brooks in the eyes. Kate is starting to cry.

DILLON: I WISH I COULD STAY TO CARE FOR YOU, BUT I GOT OBLIGATIONS NOW.
BROOKS: RIGHT. GO BE SHERIFF. WE’LL FIND OUR OWN WAY, RIGHT?
DILLON: YES. YES, THAT’S RIGHT.

1.5: Dillon leaves the kids standing holding hands. His face is in the foreground with tears welling up in his eyes but not falling. In the background, Kate is crying on Brooks’ shoulder.

PAGE 2

2.1: Back to the present and Brooks is still at the cemetery in Heavy’s Shed. This is a close up of his face and the tears are flowing down it. It is evening time.

BROOKS: WELL I LIED, GRANDPOP. HERE I AM OUT WEST, BUT YOU KNEW I WOULD BE, HUH?

2.2: Back up to show he is on the muddy ground looking down at the ground.

BROOKS: YOU ALWAYS TOLD ME TO FIND MY OWN WAY, AND I TOOK IT TO HEART. TOOK AWHILE, BUT I FINALLY LEFT NEW YORK, LEFT KATE. I MADE SOMETHING THAT WAS WHOLLY MY OWN, TOO.

2.3: Close in more. He looks up at the Vapor’s statue face with tears coming from his face.

BROOKS: BUT NOW YOU’VE SENT FOR ME TO FOLLOW YOU, AND I’M SORRY, BUT I JUST CAN’T GO AGAINST ALLA THAT!

2.4: Brooks stands up and wipes his tears with his sleeve as he continues to talk to the Vapor bust as if it were actually his grandfather.

BROOKS: I’M NOT LIKE YOU. I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU CONVINCED YOUR PALS OTHERWISE. MY NAME IS BROOKS ROGERS, I’M A SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHER.

2.5: Brooks starts turning to begin to walk away, looking back at the tombstone one final time as he does.

BROOKS: AND I HAVE A JOB TO DO.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2009-01-14T16:08:00.005-05:00

Booster Gold #16: A Faces of Evil book! Booster Gold takes on Enemy Ace in part two of the Reality Lost storyline. A very good storyline, I should add. Dan Jurgens makes me think of a time in comics that were a little more carefree and fun. Even in this more serious issue, there's just a sense of knowing what makes comics entertaining. It reminds me of the great Justice Leagues of the late 80's/early 90's. He's made a fan out of me. Due to a scheduling thing though, I miss out on the next issue. You get the ultra great Rob Leigh though, so you're in good hands!

Manhunter #38: Break out the mop, I'm closing out another one! Marc Andreyko's Manhunter ends once more, which is sad since more fans should be supporting well written books like this. Well, it was a good return with fantastic art by Michael Gaydos, and if you didn't read it, shame on you! I lettered almost every issue of the return, sans two (both done by Travis Lanham), and I had a good time doing so. Working for editor Joan Hilty was excellent as well, and I'm hoping to be able to do that again soon. Finally, good luck to Marc and Michael on their next projects, I'll be looking for 'em!

Newsarama provides this week's preview of Booster Gold, go check it out! http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=25206

BES-BALL TALK #8

2009-01-11T19:00:00.003-05:00

I wasn't planning on doing another one of these this soon, but last night I posted on Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham's blog about the possibilities of Ben Sheets joining the team. It was in response to Yankee blogger Rebecca's very well written post about why they shouldn't. I thought I'd post it here and expound on it a bit.

First off, I'm a fan of Ben Sheets' work when he's been healthy. Sure it hasn't been consistent at all, but he's no doubt an ace, and I still tend to stand on the “get Sheets” side of things, so I’d like to offer a counter point to any of his detractors.

My reasons are this…comparing Sheets to the rest of the free agent crop of starters, in terms of ability, I don’t think anyone can say that he’s not at the top. His price tag isn’t something I worry about, since we’re talking the Yankees getting him, and not a small market team. Plus with his history, he brings down his market value a tad, even though he is clearly better than let's say A.J Burnett, another injury prone pitcher whom the Yanks also signed, not to mention a little younger.

However, price and injuries aside, what Sheets provides is an ace at the number 3 or 4 position. It makes it so that we only have to allot one slot for a kid, Joba. Don’t get me wrong, I want a Phil Hughes, or the like, in there at some point, but after last year’s Hughes/Kennedy debacle, I don’t think it’s wise to have kids take up both of the 4 and 5 spots. Remember, Joba is still unproven. Everyone assumes that he’s a lock to go out and be amazing and injury free, but he’s not, and the Yankees can’t afford to go into another season with that looming over them.

Now, if Sheets can be the guy he’s meant to be at a normal capacity, then we got ourselves a hell of a rotation. Sign me up for a CC-Wang-Sheets-A.J.-Joba rotation any day of the week! If he gets hurt somewhere down the line, fine, then we can throw one of the other kids in there. Meanwhile, Hughes and company are getting more seasoning in Triple A or in the bullpen, and building their own arm strength and characters.

Much has been said about Sheets’ arm angle and how it relates to his injuries, well, I think this is fixable. A change of scenery, a new pitching coach, and an organization with better facilities and capabilities will help him immensely. I think the guy has a good chance to turn it all around. This could potentially be quite a coup.

Look at the Red Sox recent signings as examples. I think they are very smart to take flyers in Penny and Smoltz. These are great pitchers, but should they succumb to injury again, they have back ups waiting. If they’re healthy, though, the rest of the AL East is in trouble. Sheets can work in the same way for the Yanks. I really think the reward far out weighs the risk, and since I also think the Yankees are getting another seasoned starter no matter what, Sheets should be that guy.

I do believe in the young guys, though, and this is another pro-Sheets reason. I don’t want to clutter the rotation with a Derek Lowe or Ollie Perez, who will both command at least three years. Don’t get me wrong, I'd like Perez as well (Lowe not so much), but this is why I want Sheets above all others. One or two years is all it's going to take. One or two years of possible ace like material at the number 3 or 4 slot, and then we can get the kids in there at some point. I think a contract for him would be a good, crafty maneuver.

And that's Bes-Ball.

BES-BALL TALK #7

2009-01-09T00:40:00.005-05:00

NY NEEDS...

A hell of a whole lot has happened here in NY since the last time I did a Bes-Ball Talk. The Yankees signed CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, while the Mets signed a new closer, Francisco (KRod) Rodriguez, and traded for a set up man, JJ Putz. All big moves that made the teams better, but the Hot Stove is still burning, and there are moves yet to be made by my area teams.

The Mets need another pitcher, maybe even two. Derek Lowe seems to be the best available target, and one of the prime catches of the whole season. He's a good durable pitcher, who won't set the world on fire, but will win for you or at least fight hard to do so. It seems, though, that he wants more than the Mets may be willing to spend for a pitcher, which absolutely makes no sense to me. Their rotation is shaky past Johan Santana. You hope that Mike Pelfrey is the stud that he looked to be in the second half of last season, but his career prior to that may raise an eyebrow or two. Personally, I think the guy's a bulldog,and he brings a fierceness to the mound that the Mets don't have otherwise, so I think you may be OK there. If John Maine can return to form, after his injuries, then you might be in even better shape, but that's an iffy situation. There's a general thinking that the 5th spot will be left for some young guys to battle in, which leaves the 4th open. Now, if you can't get Lowe, which is possible since the Braves are heavy into him since losing out on Burnett, and also surprisingly losing John Smoltz to the Red Sox, you have to try to get Ollie Perez back. I'd actually take Perez over Lowe, as he's younger and has a better up side. After him, it could get scary. I hear that they have an offer out to Tim Redding for some strange reason. I don't like that guy's make up at all, and his record last year feels like that of a 5th starter on a bad team, not the Mets! I'm not a fan of Randy Wolf either, so my only other choice, unless you're bringing back Pedro, is Jon Garland. Now, to me, there's a decent choice to put in there. I've always liked the way Garland goes about his business, and I'd welcome him on my team any day. Honestly, they have to get Lowe or Perez first, or I'd be afraid for that rotation otherwise.

The Mets also need another outfielder. You can't go into the season with Beltran as the only known quantity. Call me scarred by the Melky Cabrera fiasco, but how can you trust that Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis will give you what they did last year?! And Ryan Church is a huge question mark after his concussions! No way, I would not feel safe with those three. They need Manny or Bobby Abreu out there. Manny is the obvious choice, as he instantly makes the team better even if they do nothing else. The Wilpons are crazy if they don't want this guy. I don't care for his personal makeup as much as the next guy, but get real, this isn't a personality contest, this is about winning and making cash, and Manny will pay back the team he signs with with boatloads of both. You want safer, more PC, though? Cool, sign Abreu. You can bat him in front of David Wright and Carlos Beltran, and he'll get on base for them no problem, or put him behind and he'll drive them in at least 100 times next season. Guaranteed. To be honest I loved Abreu on the Yankees, but it doesn't seem like he's coming back, so I'm hoping the Mets pick him up just so I can still watch the guy play. Ha! I guess you could sign Adam Dunn, too, and after Delgado leaves you can play him at 1st base, which isn't the worst idea. Either way, the Mets need another good bat in there.

For the big spending Yankees, the needs are less. One more pitcher may be needed since it seems like Andy Pettitte may have pitched his final Yankees game. I don't mind a battle for number 5, but to me Joba Chamberlain is not a lock for the rotation. You need another guy, and for me that guy is either Ben Sheets or Jon Garland or even Ollie Perez. Garland, for the reasons mentioned above, Perez is an intriguing lefty wild card, and Sheets has ace like material. I didn't mention him for the Mets because, for some reason, he doesn't feel like a Mets pitcher to me. Just a feeling. I'd love Sheets for the Yanks, though. If not, I'm ready to accept Phil Hughes or Alfredo Aceves into the rotation. Phil Coke should be left to the bullpen for now, and Ian Kennedy should get ready for a trade. I'll miss Pettitte, but the rotation needed a new life infusion, and CC and A.J. and whoever else bring that. Couple that with Wang and Joba and you're good to go. The bullpen is pretty set, unless you put Joba in there, and then you went from very good to dominate.

The other move the Yankees want to make is a clearing of the outfield situation. I don't think Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon are going anywhere, but Xavier Nady, Nick Swisher, and Melky are all on the block. To me, if you get rid of Nady and Melky, you're good to go. Maybe send them to the Giants for Aaron Rowand. This way you put Swisher, who I'd actually like to see play, in right, and Rowand in center, with Brett Gardner as the back up. Of course, there's also the Manny what if? Well if that would happen, A. it would be insane, and B. you'd have to play Damon in center, which means Nady would have to be traded for either a prospect or another bullpen arm or an utility infielder. (although I do believe an utility infielder's competition between Cody Ransom, who I really dig, and newly acquired Angel Berroa, may be already set.) And you can really live with Damon in center if you get Manny, especially as a one year stop gap. If you left the team "as is" though, I can deal with that too. Matsui is your full time DH, Gardner/Melky in center, Nady/Swisher in right, Damon in left. Swisher backs everyone up there, as well as backing up Tex at first. I think that would work out fine. There are worse things for Joe Giradi to deal with than having a good, flexible bench!

Next time, I'll go around the league to see how everyone else is progressing.

And that's Bes-Ball.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...PLUS!

2009-01-07T18:24:00.010-05:00

Here's the last month's worth of lettering releases including today's:

Booster Gold #15: Dan Jurgens returns to write and draw his creation! And you know, the guy has made a fan out of me. This is one fun book. I missed out just recently on #17, but hopefully I'll be back on it soon.

Secret Six #4: Interesting mini series with some equally interesting characters. I don't know much about it though, so I can't comment more than that. Good art though!

Batgirl #6: I put the icing on the cake of this miniseries. Call me Mr. Mop Up.

Batman: Private Casebook HC: I did a couple of issues in this Detective Comics hardcover collection. Got to work on an issue with Peter Milligan, who's one of my favorite writers, and one with Paul Dini, good company there! And Dustin Nguyen's artwork has soared to new heights on this book. He's easily become one of my favorite artists.

DCU Holiday Special 2008: I lettered the Robin/Nightwing story, naturally. The art was by Family Dynamic's Tim Levins! A holiday treat indeed!

Birds of Prey #125: I really dug this one drawn by Scott McDaniel. He handled this action soaked issue perfectly. Honestly, I think it's one of the single best things he's done. Glad I could be along for the ride.

Superfriends #10: A holiday issue! Rejoice!

The All New Atom Vol. 4 TPB: I lettered most of this trade, which includes the last issue of Gail Simone's run and all of Rick Remender and Pat Olliffe's storyline, Inside Out. I wish they had found a way to release Inside Out on its own though, it really deserved it.

Reign in Hell #6: I did the full issue this time out as Mr. Swando was attending to other business. I head back to back up status though with the next issue.

Teen Titans #66: I got to start a new storyline, The New Deal, with this issue, which is always cool. I riffed off of the Teen Titans logo to create the story title, and I think it turned out rather well. This issue also begins the first of many changes for the team, and I'm into the direction Sean McKeever is sending them into.

The War That Time Forgot #8: The dinosaur action continues. The next issue of this really heats up with Scott Kollins filling in and really killing on the art side of things.

El Diablo #5: The big showdown with the Freedom Fighters! And it's some serious super hero brawling, let me tell you. I dig the Freedom Fighters, and thought their recent mini series was pretty damn good. So it was great being able to put words in their mouths in this book.

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...

2009-01-05T15:49:00.009-05:00

The Brothers Solomon: It seems to me that every time I use the Netflix "Watch Instantly" feature I end up watching a stinker, and this movie is no different. This comedy stars Kristen Wig and Will Forte of SNL fame, both of whom I really like, but neither could save this one. It's about two inept brothers, Forte and Will Arnett (who I don't care for), who want to have a baby so that their comatose dad (a wasted Lee Majors!) will be proud of them when he wakes. Wig plays the surrogate mom. I guess this was the ultra poor man's Baby Mama. There's nothing more to say, I'd just plain avoid this one, it's pretty bad.

Wanted: Now here's a movie a know a lot of folks hated, but I just loved. Whatever, I'm a sucker for a fun action movie, and that's what this one is. The film is about a perpetual loser named Wesley Gibson, who's deceased dad was part of a secret guild of super assassins, who now are out to recruit Wesley into the fold. What's then laid out is a spectacle of Gun-Fu action that's to die for! (yes, that was a pun!) This movie was based on a comic book mini series by Mark Millar and JG Jones, and I'm pretty positive that a lot of the negative buzz around it was from fans of the series who didn't like the adaption. To be fair, they changed a major part of the concept, but see, to me, it was in benefit of the movie. Both can stand on their own now as two sides of the same coin. James McAvoy, as Wesley, is fantastic, and he's got a fun array of characters behind him, including Morgan Freeman, who has some choice one liners. My one disappointment is that Angelina Jolie, as Wesley's trainer, did not look good in this at all. Someone please feed this girl a steak already! I was seriously cringing. That aside, you should dig this movie if you're the type of fan that can suspend your disbelief, and just enjoy a crazy action movie.

Stardust: Another movie with a comic book connection, this one to former scribe Neil Gaiman and painter Charles Vess' novel. It's a fantasy story about a star that falls to a realm just outside of Earth, and the race by various characters to retrieve her and her power. And yes I said her, that being Clare Danes, whom I've always been a fan of. She does shine, literally, here too! It's an OK movie, if not a tad bit boring. The movie kicks it up a notch, though, when Robert DeNiro finally makes an appearance as a sky pirate captain with a very fun secret. It's not an amazing movie, but it is entertaining, and definitely worth a rent.

Adaptation: See, now here's a movie that critics and fans both loved, and I just couldn't get that into. Not that it's a bad movie, but it just wasn't ringing the right tune for me. Nic Cage is very good in it, and when he's on, he's on, but still, something wasn't true for me. I think I just feel like a lot of these type of movies feel forced. I've liked some of them plenty, but I find myself rolling my eyes more often than not. I can still say to see it, if you haven't already, because it is no doubt a unique movie.

Bee Movie: I like Jerry Seinfeld. He always brings a nice, neurotic POV to everything, and in an animated movie tailored to him, he puts his talents on display. Sounds like he had a good time doing it, too. The supporting cast is fun as well with Matthew Broderick and Patrick Warburton in fun roles. Unfortunately, though, the movie as a whole isn't all that, and everything just sort of falls into your lap without much reason or repercussion. I mean, it's not terrible, and it's entertaining to a point, but the story has obvious flaws. Also, Dreamworks' animation department needs to play some catch up. Their movies pale in comparison to Pixar's, which are the gold standard of the genre, but they don't even match up to Blue Sky's work. All in all, it's an OK flick, but don't expect more than that.

The Fall: Somebody please let Tarsem (Singh) make more movies! The Cell was pretty good, and in The Fall he extends the palette to suit his whimsy in fantastical ways. Sure, it took a little while to come out, but this is a definite rental. In this part drama, part fantasy that takes place in the 1920's, a paralyzed stuntman tells a little girl a fantasy story that blurs the lines of reality. The visuals are stunning, the characters are funny, and the best part of the movie? The little Romanian girl! Holy crap, she's amazing! So natural, it's just an unbelievable performance, and the mark of a great director as well. The fantasy section is just the type of story I like, too, with a band of heroes all fighting for the same cause through insurmountable odds. This is a must watch for everyone.

The French Connection: Having seen this on broadcast TV as a kid, I only just knew of it as the Bensonhurst movie, but I'm glad to have finally seen it as an adult. This is a pretty intense movie all around, with some excellent acting lifting it even higher. Gene Hackman is just awesome as Popeye Doyle, a hard nosed NYC cop, and Roy Scheider, as his more level headed partner, is right on as well. The back drop of 70's NYC is the real star, though, as its grit leaves scars all over your psyche. I, of course, loved all the Brooklyn scenes, and can make out lots of spots from my childhood. The ending is fantastic, and surprising as well, but makes so much sense. Great movie, and glad I got to finally watch it properly.

The Red Balloon: I've honestly have never heard of this short 1960's French film, but it's one of Marilyn's favorites from her childhood. We got to see a free showing of it recently, and I was blown away by it. The plot is simple, a boy finds a red balloon and keeps it for himself. The boy and balloon become fast friends, (yes, I said friends!) and all the neighborhood children are driven insane with jealousy. The first half of the 34 minute movie is a very sweet story about the friendship, while the second half becomes a non stop chase scene as the kids try to get the balloon to torture it. If you can find a copy of this, grab it, if you can see a screening of it somewhere do it! It's just wonderful! (Actually Netflix has it as a Watch Instantly! Go now!)

Mamma Mia: 5 minutes into this movie, I was hooked; who knew I liked ABBA so much?! I guess I do, though, because I was bopping the whole way through this screen adaption of the Broadway play, based on the songs of ABBA. The cast looked like they had a ton of fun making it, too, especially Meryl Streep, who looked 20 years younger in this. The movie is extra startling for me because the main character is the splitting image of my cousin's girlfriend! It's bizarre! Is this is a good movie, hard for me to say objectively, as I was so into the music that I just felt like I paid my cover charge, got drunk, and danced all night. So, I guess in that regard the movie is a success. Really it's just a lighthearted, fun vacation of a movie. So, stop being so uptight, and just give it a whirl. Why the heck not?!

Leatherheads: I think I wanted to like this movie more than I did. I mean, it is pretty decent, but it's not a masterpiece. George Clooney does well on both sides of the camera, though, so you have to give the guy credit. The story is about the legitimizing of football as a national sport, and the rough and tumble guys that help make it happen. It's tongue in cheek, and feels like an old Laurel and Hardy type of movie at times, and that helps it move along. The pesky Renee Zellwegger, who's kind of perfect in these types of roles, continues to get under my skin lately. I think her choice of characters recently have just all been very annoying. At least in Bee Movie I couldn't see her making silly faces! If you dig lighthearted football stories, this one is for you.

Baadasssss!: I just finished watching this. Figured I could write and watch at the same time, but it didn't work out too well, and now I severely have to get to bed! Anyways, Mario Van Peebles made this movie as a tribute to his dad, Melvin Van Peebles, based on his account of the making of the movie Sweet Sweetback's Badasss Song. I've never seen that movie, but I want to now! This movie, however, is a fantastic account of what it was like to make an independent movie in the early 70's. Mario has done his dad proud with an excellent break out performance. A good fun cast all around, too, with the surprising Rainn Wilson as Van Peebles' makeshift sidekick leading the way. I really dug this movie, and I highly recommend it for so many reasons.

MY PICK: This is a tough one, but I'll go with The Fall from this batch, as I think it's the most suited for a wider audience. You should definitely see that one. It's so different and beautiful, and the performance of Cantinca Untaru, the little Romanian girl, is just spellbinding. So definitely see that one first!

I hope you dug these reviews; now go watch some movies!

A NEW YEARS TINKERIN'

2009-01-03T15:22:00.005-05:00

Well, I started some physical changes here recently with an updated Hello and Bio, as well as adding a subscription button, and now I've made some more changes.

-For now, I've made it so you can only read my latest post on the main page. I've done this to speed things up on the main page. It might turn out to be abit annoying though for those that like the instant gratification of a blog. Time will tell. I'm thinking about doing a post roundup if I write a certain amount a week, that might help. One thing at a time though. Anyways, you can find all of my posts in neat sections under the Table of Contents section, which is cleaned up, updated, and finally features every last post since the beginning of this blog!

-Gone from the side column is the Bibliographies; it was just a bit too clunky to keep in this new format. You can now find them on their own page in the Table of Contents. I still need to update them since my late summer/fall break.

-I added some peeps to the links list, now called Comrades in Arms. Some old and new friends have made the list to spice it up.

That's it for now. As always criticisms, comments, or emails are welcome! Thanks!

*And for those that missed it, I wrote a News and Notes: Year In Review 2008 yesterday! Check it out here!

NEWS AND NOTES: 2008 YIR!

2009-01-02T01:59:00.010-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Because YOU asked for it (you really didn't) I present to you my 2008 Year in Review! This is going to be very Sal-centric, so bear with me, or skip it!

JAN:
-One year ago, salcipriano.blogspot.com grew up into SalCiprianoDotCom. The reason was to write more in a magazine like format, which didn't really completely come to fruition yet, but I'm working on it! I started blogging about the titles I'm lettering, which has evolved over the year. I also began doing movie reviews.
-Me and Marilyn saw Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein live, but while we did my car was towed!
-I interviewed The Brooklynites authors for Brooklyn Original.
-Cloverfield came out, and made me feel super weird.

FEB:
-The Giants won the Super Bowl! What a great game against the previously undefeated New England Patriots. The game featured one of the greatest plays in football history: the Eli Manning escape and pass to David Tyree, who caught the ball with his helmet!
-I started writing Bes-ball Talk, although I didn't know it would become a column till later on.
-Marilyn was interviewed by the ultra hip Flashfilm.com.
-We went to the Norman Rockwell Museum for Marilyn's birthday, a small, but nice place.

MARCH:
-The first issue of my Atom run came out with my revamped lettering design.
-I had Korean BBQ for the first time! Pretty good!
-We went to a Maple Festival where I had some fine pancakes and sausage!
-Ric Flair retired after losing to Shawn Michaels in one of the best wrestling matches I've ever seen at Wrestlemania 24. Thank you again, Flair!
-I reached the not-so-big-a-deal 200 posts here.

APRIL:
-I watched the Yankees beat the Rays in an early season game. Who knew that the Rays would dominate the rest of the year?!
-Mayor Bloomberg's Congestion Pricing was denied, and I rejoiced!
-Another great New York Comic Con came and went.
-My friend Brad had work in an Art Students League show.
-I bought a new bike.

MAY:
-Me and my cousin saw the Yanks beat Seattle, but we watched most of the game from the cocktail lounge across the street from Yankee Stadium.
-I began playing for the DC Bullets softball team.
-One of the best comic book movies ever came out, Iron Man!
-The first issue of Huntress Year One came out. It was the first book I got to start from the beginning at DC.
-Marco DiLeonardo had his second art show.
-The new Indiana Jones severely disappointed me.

JUNE:
-I hung out at the newly formed BQE Press' table at the Mocca Art Festival. They will be publishing The Adventures of Bio Boy as a trade in the future.
-I had a fun birthday party at McGee's Pub. Also, Marilyn took me to Mesa Grill, and we went to Mohegan Sun
-After a way too hot Renegade Art Festival we went upstate for Eric Wilkerson's art show.
-We went to see the Staten Island Yankees play the Brooklyn Cyclones in SI.
-I went to the Borgata for the first time, and me and my cousins saw Bob Saget and his filthy mouth live!
-I discovered Italian Spiderman and life was never the same again!

JULY:
-We went to an art auction featuring the works of the late, great Ed Resto. I was fortunate to win a piece.
-Leif Skoggins was born!
-The first issue of Two Face Year One came out. Pretty cool that my first two minis were Year Ones, this one was written by my pal Mark Sable.
-DC took us to see The Dark Knight at the IMAX! That was one incredible experience, and one hell of a movie.
-Yanks acquired Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, and Ivan Rodriquez for a final push for the playoffs.

AUG:
-We went to Cape Cod for a few days. This was a very relaxing and much needed trip.
-That said Yankee push faltered after Joba Chamberlain hit the DL.
-The DC Bullets ended a pretty bad season with a loss. I wasn't thrilled with my overall play, but my batting had gotten better in the latter half of the season.
-We saw Bobby Flay on a taping of YES' Center Stage. Afterwards we hit Flay's Bar Americain.

SEP:
-Leif Skoggins was in the mammoth Totoro Forest Project book!
-We got a Nintendo Wii. I hadn't had a system in close to 10 years!
-I started playing softball in a very fun pickup league where the batting continued to get better. Fielding, though, is another story altogether.
-The Yanks were out of the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, but they still closed Yankee Stadium in style. I went to one of the final emotional three games there and loved every second of it. I also got to go on a Stadium tour which was excellent.
-We went to Washington DC to see the monuments and catch a Nationals/Mets game.
-El Diablo, the mini series, to date, that I'm most proud to have lettered came out. I just went buck wild with the design.
-We went to a Big Draw event that was quite fun.

OCT:
-The Phillies won the World Series, and Bes-Ball Talk returned to the blog in a big way.
-Kensuke Okabayashi did a book signing at Kinokuniya.
-I lost at Beer Pong at the company Halloween Hangout. Now that's news!
-We also went to Archaia Studio Press' awesome Halloween Party!

NOV:
-Me and Marilyn got engaged in Iceland!
-Also, Marilyn had ornaments in Art Star's holiday show, and was featured in Danny Gregory's An Illustrated Life.
-I had jury duty.
-We went to the comedy show Moonwork.
-I had multiple Thanksgiving dinners.
-Oh, and some guy named Obama was elected the President of the US.

DEC:
-The McSorley's Bash 9 was a huge success!
-The Yanks signed CC Sabthia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira!
-Despite the bad economy Christmas was surprisingly pretty fun this year.
-Our New Year's Eve party rocked!

And that was pretty much 2008 for me.

My 2009 Resolutions are as follows: more writing, getting fit, getting to work earlier so I can work longer, becoming a better softball player, and generally getting more organized.

I hope your 2008's went well, and you have an excellent 2009!

ANYONE HOME?

2008-12-29T01:35:00.012-05:00

For those of you who've checked in all month, and said what the heck, Sal, you were kind of on a roll after your last break even with the Iceland trip, and then bang, nothing again for almost a whole month?! Yep, well it happened, though happily not because I was in a funk or anything. It's just that holidays tend to do that to me, lots of things to take my attention away and stuff. I missed a crazy Winter Meetings period in baseball, and all kinds of other interesting occurrences to write about. Alas, what can one do, but catch up, move on, and try to do better.

Which is what I started tonight by editing my Hello Readers and Bio sections. See, all month, while dealing with holidays and stuff, I've thought about how can I make the blog run better, or, more accurately, make me run better? I've started to establish columns, and that's cool since I really want to make SalCiprianoDotCom more of a magazine, but I need to have more of a schedule to really make it work. So that'll be something to cement in the coming weeks, which will get me working towards goals, and hopefully getting you guys coming back more often.

Should be a win-win situation...as long as I can actually do it! I better do it, I just reupped this website for two years! ;)

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2008-12-03T18:14:00.003-05:00

Superman/Supergirl Maelstrom #3: I think this may be the only issue of this sci-fi mini series that I'm lettering, but it's quite fun. The creative team of Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Phil Noto is damn good. I dig Noto's stuff and I think writing team of Gray and Palmiotti is under rated. These guys always entertain me, and what more do you want?

Terra #3: And speaking of that writing team, I also lettered the third issue of Terra. Huh, how odd! This one, to me, is even better because it's drawn by Amanda Conner, who's art I absolutely love! This one is more on the fantasy side of things, and I gotta hand it to G/P for mixing genres into the super hero realm with these two books. Good stuff!

El Diablo #4: Last, but most definitely not least is the book I've been singing major praises for, El Diablo. This issue is the craziest yet! And I think controversial! Some good back story is explained, the great action continues, and some special guests at the end will make the next issue awesome. Also, this issue welcomes new editor Brian Cunningham into the fold and he did an excellent job of managing this issue. Very cool dude too!

Here's the title page from the book. I dug how I worked out the chapter and credits here. Plus, I think this is the first look at the caption boxes I created for the book.

Courtesy of DC Comics.

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...

2008-12-01T13:00:00.001-05:00

The Incredible Hulk: The first of two good sequels of I've seen lately. This is more of what I expected from a Hulk movie. While not a perfect movie by any stretch, it tells the story of Bruce Banner a hell of a lot better than Ang Lee did with his attempt. Gone were the annoying comic book panel transitions, and in came the Hulk Smashing, and more importantly, the Banner running. It felt like the old TV series, which always had the right formula down, and really paid big homages to that. Those homages made this movie feel more iconic. Some of the CG wasn't great, and I'd definitely say I liked the look of the first Hulk more, but overall this was a much more fun film.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army: The second sequel in a row to over match it's predecessor, Hellboy 2 really married well the aesthetic that Guillermo del Toro honed in Pan's Labyrinth to the Hellboy mythos. The creatures were outstanding, with an insane attention to detail given to every last one of them, and let me tell you there are tons on display here! Not only was it visually more stunning, it just felt altogether more fun. The decision to make this more of a BPRD movie was a sound progression over the first one as well. In their expanded roles Abe Sapien, Liz, and the welcome addition of the gas man Johann Krauss perfectly played well with Ron Perlman's ever amazing portrayal of the title character. Of the two summer sequels, this one was tops all the way.

Meet Dave: This is a movie I may have skipped, but it was one of the few movies on my Icelandair flight that I hadn't seen, and was even remotely interested in. Anyways, the result wasn't as bad as I was expecting, and probably one of Eddie Murphy's better movies in awhile. Here, Eddie plays two roles, the first being a robot ship that looks like the captain of the ship, whom he also plays. The captain and his crew have come to Earth to find a missing rock that will save their planet. This is a family movie, but Eddie shows he can do quite a bit under those restrictions, and his robotic performance sorta reminded me of his Coming To America role. This is not a great movie by any means, but I was entertained, and I thank Eddie for keeping my mind off of the fact that I was 36,000 ft in the air for awhile.

Kung Fu Panda: This was a pretty fun movie. I mean, how can you go wrong with a Kung Fu animal movie anyway?! While it's no Pixar movie, the folks at Dreamworks always seem to come up with some decent flicks. The voice casting was fun with Jack Black in the lead role. The action was really good, and the animation was pretty well done. I want to also point out that the scattered 2D animation might've been even better! This one's worth a rental.

Disturbia: The rising star of Shia LeBeouf continued with this thriller. This is a pretty solid movie with a good cast, engaging story, and excellent pacing. The director, DJ Caruso, really knew when to turn up the juice on this, and everyone plays along perfectly. The heavy of the movie is the always excellent William Morse, who turns in one hell of a creepy performance. I like what Shia does on screen, and I'm looking forward to Eagle Eye, when it's released on DVD later this month, as it's also directed by Caruso.

The Happening: So many people hate this movie. Maybe they're sick of M.Night, or maybe they didn't get what he was going for, or maybe they just plain felt it was bad. I'm not going to try to argue, but while I felt it wasn't the Shaman's best, it wasn't a bad flick by any stretch. I thought he was going for a real old school type of sci-fi flick, while trying to get real everyman perspectives, and I think he succeeded on both levels. I'm also a big fan of the guy, so I can admit wanting to like the film. The performances were odd, but good in a human way, with John Leguizamo being the most memorable in a smaller role. The plot didn't have the M.Night twist, just some possible theories as to what the heck is going on, which was interesting. I dunno, it's debatable either way, but I'd say give this movie a fair shake, and let me know what you think.

The Game Plan: So I tested the new Netflix player for the Mac with this movie, and I thought it was a nice, funny, family flick. The Rock is always cool to watch, but the little girl who plays his daughter is the real standout. Decent movie that I expected very little from. The jury is still out on the Mac player though, as it has some kinks, but it's only the Beta version, and I'm just excited that they finally have this option.

Sukiyaki Western Django: Now here's a dozy. Prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike took one of the seminal Spaghetti Westerns, Django, spiced it up with equal parts ancient and post modern Japanese flair, and came up with one hell of wacky mashup film. It's a homage to not only Django, but to all Spaghettis in its own interesting way. First off, all of the actors perform their lines in English, and while some pull it off, most sound really bad. I think this is Miike saying this is what it would've sounded like if all of the Italian actors weren't dubbed in the old movies, although I'm not sure why. Quentin Tarantino makes a cameo and sounds even worse! The action is pretty darn good however, and the characters are pretty distinct and quirky. It's definitely worth checking out, of course it may try your tolerance levels.

Wall E: I mentioned earlier about how other animations don't measure up to Pixar's, well here's the perfect example, as bringing up the rear of this Movies post is Pixar's latest, Wall-E. This is beautiful, masterful film making, and a true testament to Pixar's dedication to art and craft. (not to be confused with arts and crafts!) Wall-E is about a garbage robot in a bleak future where humans have been forced to leave Earth. Yet, Wall-E continues to work, and has actually developed what seem like emotions. His world is turned upside down though, when a scout robot lands, and he falls heads over treads over her! They soon embark on a space adventure to return the humans to Earth. The film is especially beautiful because for most of the film there is no actual dialogue, just lots of noises by the robots, yet it's completely understandable. All of the well earned credit goes to sound engineer Ben Burtt for going above and beyond with this film. I can't say enough about the heart of this story either, it's just so sweet, and makes you feel really good. I loved it, please see this if you already haven't.

MY PICK: Obviously it's Wall-E. This is a must see for fans of not only animation, but of all film in general. I can't see too many people not liking this one. Second to Wall-E, I say Hellboy 2 is a fine bet for a good, fun night in.

I hope you dug these reviews; now go watch some movies!

LATEST LETTERING RELEASES

2008-11-29T13:30:00.004-05:00

Since I was out last week, and this past week was shortened by the holiday, here's a combined clump of books I lettered that were released in the last two weeks. No pages this time, guys, sorry.

Batman: Gotham Underground (TPB): The collection of the miniseries by Frank Tieri and Jim Calafiore was released a couple of weeks ago. This was a pretty decent mini series with big hard hitting battles with all kinds of Gotham City baddies. Most of the Bat Family appears here too. I did issues 6-8 of the nine issue mini.

Robin #180: Great issue featuring the big battle between Robin and Red Robin, plus the big reveal of who this RR really is. Unfortunately I missed doing #181 because of the Iceland trip. Hopefully I'll pick up with #182 again.

Robin: Violent Tendencies (TPB): This collects the Violet storyline and the return of Spoiler, including the awesome Robin/Spoiler Special. I lettered everything except two issues, the first and #174.

Blue Beetle #33: Awesome art in this one by Rafael Albuquerque. The first page had a challenging perspective issue for me with a highway sign, but I think I nailed it fairly well.

Reign In Hell #5: Another back up for me.

The War That Time Forgot #7: The plot thickens here, and giant spiders attack! This one hell of a cool book for lovers of old sci fi horror movies.

NEWS AND NOTES

2008-11-25T11:34:00.009-05:00

-For those that don't know, we went to Iceland last week. It was pretty awesome. I'll do a write up with pics on that soon. The big news that"s spun out of the trip is that me and Marilyn are now engaged!

-There's a new book out on the market that you must get. It's called An Illustrated Life, and it takes a look inside the artist's sketchbook. Some of the featured artists include R.Crumb, James Kolchalka, Chris Ware, and James Jean, but forget about them because Marilyn is also featured! I am very proud that she has been included in this beautiful, exquisitely designed book. I tip my hat to Danny Gregory for putting together such a treasure. Congrats to both Marilyn and Danny, as well as all the great artists who contributed. Check out the amazing trailer here.

-Marilyn also has 10 ornaments up for grabs at Art Star's X-Mas show in Philly. We will be there for the celebration. Here's the info from Marilyn's blog.

-And speaking of amazing trailers, have you seen the new Star Trek one!? I pooped my pants it was so awesome! Also, the latest Watchmen one is very poop worthy, maybe even more so. The Wrestler trailer, while good, makes the need to get Turnbuckle out very urgent. That one hits close to home in an uncomfortable way.

-On the plane to Iceland I watched My Name is Earl for the first time. I think I saw about 5 episodes worth, and I gotta say that I really loved it! The concept is great, and the cast just clicks fantastically. I've always loved Jason Lee, and kinda always see myself in his characters. Some people have even said I bear a bit of a resemblance, which I don't see, but hey there are worse dudes to be compared to, I guess.

-Saturday night me, Marilyn, Head Monkey Pat, and his girlfriend Skater Jenny, went to see a charity comedy show called Moonwork. Apparently it's been going on for 12 years, unbeknownst to me of course. Well, it was pretty awesome, for 20 bucks you get roughly an hour and a half worth of stand up and all the beer you can drink! All New Yorkers should be all over this, as I will now be. One of the featured comics was Kristen Schaal from Flight of the Conchords! She was pretty awesome in her own awkward way. The headliner was very good, although I can't seem to recall his name, but my favorite guy was the opener, Kumail Nanjiani, who had me in stitches.

-On Friday afternoon, DC treated us to a grand Thanksgiving feast. Man, was it good! Turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, salads, veggies, desserts, the works! And we're talking pretty good quality stuff here made by Time Warner's chefs. Pretty awesome, and I thank my bosses for it.

-A few years ago, I watched a great BBC show on a flight to London called Spaced. For those that don't know, this was Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's TV show before hitting the big screen with Shaun of the Dead. Well, I finally got to watch it again on DVD and it's still holds up. The show hits close to home, as the main character is a struggling comic book artist sharing a flat with a female writer. If you loved Shaun and Hot Fuzz then I recommend you pick up this new DVD.

-I had jury duty Monday, and while initially unhappy to go, (who's happy really?) it turned out to be an alright experience. First off, I didn't get called at all, so that was good. I then spent the day surfing the Internet and reading Bourdain's Bone in the Throat. I also had lunch with my sister who works right by there. We went to this place called Salty Pickle and had sandwiches. Apparently this is a chain from Colorado that's made it's way East. This downtown Brooklyn location is their first in NYC, and I have to say it's excellent. Anyways, I don't have to serve again for 8 years, so hurrah to that.

-I still didn't write that restaurant review for Char no. 4, but I still really want to, so I'll try to make that happen soon.

-I hope everyone enjoyed my little Bes-ball output in the last few weeks. I'll have more to say after the Winter Meetings, unless something major happens. Having some regular features is very important for my own state of mind, I just hope I'm putting out some entertaining reads along the way.

-New Vapor pages are rolling in, and Jok is kicking ass once again! I can't wait to finally get the collection out as it'll be more along my original visions for the book, than what might've come out had the mini series lasted longer. I'll get some of his pages up very soon.

-Next Friday is the McSorley's Bash, and I'm frigging stoked! Year 9, can you believe it?! I met Marilyn there in 2003, so I feel an extra special affinity for it now. Anyways I hope you all can join us on the 5th.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! That's the news and I am outta here!

AND...BREAK!

2008-11-15T15:43:00.005-05:00

I'll be off from blogging for the next week or so. In the meantime enjoy the content, including all of the Bes-Ball Talk (Baseball) columns I've written lately. Thanks for reading. See you soon!

BES-BALL TALK #6

2008-11-13T09:27:00.010-05:00

OK, so with the Mets and Yanks' seasons all wrapped up, we now turn to the Hot Stove. Tomorrow is a big day, the day when free agents can begin talking with teams about contracts. This is usually a scramble to sign the top guys, and this free agent class has some big ones. Heading the list are pitchers CC Sabathia and Francisco Rodriguez and sluggers Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira. There's a nice slew of good options for teams behind them, too. Let's start at the top though.

By now everyone knows that the Yankees' intentions are to sign CC, and blow everyone out of the water with an offer higher than what the Mets got Johan Santana with. The offer may start at 150 million for 6 years, and it'll most likely go higher than that. I think this is a smart move. The Yankees are in desperate need for a true ace and CC is a horse of one. The guy can flat out go. He would head up a rotation that has Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlen definitely behind him, and then possibly a returning Andy Pettitte, and either another free agent, or a return of Mike Mussina. I'm hoping for a Pettitte/Moose back end myself.

Moose had one of his best seasons, winning 20 games for his first time. If he decides not to retire, I think you have to bring him back. I'd sign him for 2 yrs with an option for a third. He's given a lot to this organization and it would be nice to reward that. Also, I'm more in the camp of saying that his bad 2007 was the fluke and not this year. Just look at his career, there's no reason to think otherwise.

I would take him and Pettitte over free agents AJ Burnett and Derek Lowe in a heartbeat. Burnett is an injury waiting to happen. Sure, he throws hard, but I just don't see this guy's value otherwise. Did we not learn anything from Carl Pavano? Derek Lowe though is on level with Moose and Pettitte, and would be welcome if one of those guys don't come back. I predict that it won't happen, and Moose and Andy return, AJ signs with another AL East team, possibly his hometown Baltimore Orioles, and that Lowe goes to the Mets.

Mark Teixeira is a guy I'd love to have on the Yankees. He's a great first baseman, obviously our biggest positional need, and a great all around hitter with high on base percentages. If he doesn't resign with the Angels, a strong possibility, there's not many teams I see him going to because A. he wants to play for a winner, and B. he's going to be expensive as all hell. There aren't that many teams that can provide both.

If the Yanks don't get him, the field gets tricky after him. You'd be looking at a trade, maybe for a Prince Fielder type. *They've just acquired Nick Swisher as I'm writing this, so if they plan to use him as more than a bench guy (centerfield/first base backup) then he could be the first baseman. That throws a little monkey wrench into my ideas...however I'll continue for now. My suggestion for the Yankees past Teixeira (and prior to Swisher!) though would be to move Xavier Nady to first. The guy has played there before, and it would open up the outfield for two possibilities...

The main one being bringing Manny Ramirez home to the Bronx! While this may be a long shot, crazier things have happened. This is baseball's most feared hitter, and while may his defense is subpar at best, he more than makes up for it with the bat. Now, he wants major cash and at least 4 years, but so far the Dodgers, who have till midnight to work out a deal with him, haven't come close to that. The Yankees can, and it'll be interesting to see who else will jump in on the sweepstakes. Honestly, though, I'd don't see the Yanks getting him, but I've always envisioned him on the Mets. I think this is a greater possibility than most think. Omar Minaya has long coveted him, so don't be surprised if they open up the wallets for the guy.

If the Yankees don't bring in Manny or Teixeira, than I suggest bringing Bobby Abeu back. The guy was a model player in his time here, and I'd welcome him back in a heart beat. Again, put Nady at first, him back in right, Damon in left, and please, please give Brett Gardner a chance in center. He's something we haven't had in a long time: a bonafide speedster, a real pest on the base paths, and if his major league hitting can develop, he can be gold. Melky Cabrera can be the fourth outfielder since he can play all three positions. *The acquisition of Nick Swisher may change this. Melky has now been pushed to the fifth outfielder, and may end up traded or in Triple A, and Swisher may push Gardner out of the starter role. I just don't see the need to go get a center fielder this year, when we have interesting in house options.

As far as outfield options for the Mets, besides Ramirez, you could be looking at signing Raul Ibanez, whom they were linked with at the trade deadline. This makes sense if you can get over that he's getting up there in age. However Ibanez was a late bloomer, and may have a good 3 year deal in him. Bobby Abreu could be a good choice if not for his past link with the Phillies. If not those, you already have Ryan Church, Fernando Tatis, and Daniel Murphy signed or under control and ready to go for the corner positions. Can you live with that? Probably not. Adam Dunn could be an option as well, if you can get over all the strikeouts.

Dunn could also be an option for Tampa Bay as a DH/outfielder, as well as Pat Burrell, who apparently has cut ties with the Phillies. The World Series champs may actually have a great shot at filling Burrell's role with Manny, which could make for an interesting bidding war with the Mets, and further up the rivalry, however, big money free agents really isn't Phildelphia's MO. Another guy all these teams could look at is Milton Bradley, who has calmed down a bit and is a pretty damn good hitter.

The Mets, however, have a more pressing need: the bullpen. This will probably have to be almost completely reconstructed. I'm sure Aaron Heilman is on his way out, and there are plenty of suitors out there who'd want to plug him into their rotation, which I've always believed the Mets should've done. The closer role will be interesting, but to me it's a no brainer: sign K-Rod! The guy is young and far from being done. He's one of the best in the game, and no one else on the market is better. I've heard Brian Fuentes name being kicked around for the Mets, but honestly I don't see a guy like that having the make up for NY. Go get K-Rod, and work your way down. Maybe a David Weathers type veteran to start.

To handle these guys, and give them more pop than Brian Schneider, the Mets should sign Pudge Rodriguez to a one year deal with an option. He didn't do anything in his short time as a Yankee, but the guy has had a stellar career, and would fit perfectly on the Mets. Grab one more starter, maybe resigning Ollie Perez or grabbing a Jon Garland or even a trade for a Javy Vasquez type, and you're good to go.

One last thing I would suggest to the Yankees is to get a couple of good guys to round out the bench. This has been a weak area for the team in past years, and after this past season it's time to get a better look at the options. Wilson Betemit in now gone in the Swisher trade, so you need a backup infielder. My suggestion would be Mark Loretta. I've always loved this guy, and he did great as a starter for the Red Sox. Get this guy, and let Cody Ransom stick with the team, and you're golden.

There are a ton of other interesting names on the free agent list, and it'll be interesting to see where, if anywhere, that some of them land. Like, I'm very curious to see where Jason Giambi will take his stache. I'll miss him on the Yanks, but I think it was time to move on. If Bobby Abreu doesn't come back too, then I'll be interested in his landing spot as well; most folks think the Cubs is a logical spot. What about Randy Johnson, who's a few wins shy of 300? Will the Dodgers bring back Rafael Furcal, and Manny, and will they be players for CC? Matt Holliday was already traded this week, shockingly to the A's. What other big trades will happen? Jake Peavy sounds good to go to the Braves. Lot's of intriguing questions this off season, and a couple of interesting answers have come already, but they'll really start coming after midnight tonight. Get your score card out.

And that's Bes-Ball.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2008-11-12T12:51:00.004-05:00

Legion of Superheroes In the 31st Century #20: Last issue! And I'm glad I got to be the guy that put this to bed. This was one of the first books I worked on here at DC, and it helped me land Robin. I've done the bulk of these in the past year, too. Anyways, this is a good issue featuring Metallo as the main baddie. Nice ending too.

Green Arrow/Black Canary #14: Speaking of last issues, this is Judd Winick's last issue on the book. He wraps up Connor Hawk's return here in action packed fashion. Mike Norton continues to kick butt on the art side, and he will be continuing on this book. Big plus!

Manhunter #36: Not the last issue, but it's coming. It's unfortunate too, this book is excellent. Andreyko and Gaydos have poured their heart and soul into this book, and it shows. It's a lot of work to letter, but it has been very satisfying to be part of this team.

Booster Gold #14: Part two of the Starro storyline. Rick Remender did a good job carrying his Atom style of sci-fi action here, so if you liked that, this book is for you! Dan Jurgens returns next issue to write and draw and I'll be along for the ride!

Here's a page from Legion. I chose this one because the Metallo logo here was actually part of my title design. What happened was that the penciller had originally drawn in a title design, that disappeared during the inking process. So I went ahead and did a new one, however editor Harvey Richards, while digging mine, wanted to use that original. He recreated it from the pencils and I jazzed it up for page 1. Harvey, though, wanted to use mine in some way too, and he suggested putting it here. I thought it was a great idea.

Please click to enlarge!

Courtesy of DC Comics.

BES-BALL TALK #5

2008-11-10T18:41:00.004-05:00

OK, so with the Mets' season recap in the books, I'll now turn to my boys, the Yankees. I got in some comments about their season in Bes-Ball Talk #3, so some of this may be redundant, but I'll try to keep it fresh and thorough.

This was quite a different season for the Bronx Bombers, than those of the past chunk of years. Forget different, with the Yankees not making the playoffs since 1993, it was downright strange! It was true though, and while disappointing, I can accept this year as injury plagued and transitory. Will they make it back next year? Well that depends on some key off season maneuvers, and some more gelling within the team.

First off, the injures were ridiculous, and for the most part the replacements weren't suitable. On the starting pitching front, we lost Chien-Ming Wang for most of the season due to a freak foot injury, an injury that also downed key reliever Brian Bruney! Then, Joba Chamberlain was converted into a starter, pretty much effectively I might add, but he went down for a month to injury as well. The replacements for these valuable pitchers, ace and possible future ace respectively, were Sidney Ponson and Darrel Rasner! Lets also not forget that the season began with Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy stinking it up, at least till Hughes was injured and Kennedy was sent to the minors to grow up. Adding insult to these injuries, at the end of the year, none other than Mr. Injury himself Carl Pavano made it back to help out the staff! Now you know that's bad! Another rookie came along at the end of the season, and Alfredo Aceves impressed us all in his few starts. Figure him as a possible long man next year, if we don't bring back Dan Giese, who did decently in the role.

While not injured, Andy Pettitte had the worst second half of his career. The Yanks had really counted on him being one of the reasons they were going to make the playoffs, thinking he may've put them on his back like usual, but it wasn't to be. Something was off, maybe nagging injuries? Maybe just getting tired. I don't know. All I know was that he blow a lot of games. The opposite to Pettitte was Mike Mussina, who had a fantastic comeback year, winning 20 games for the first time in his career! This and the closing of the Stadium made the end of the season special despite missing the playoffs. I'm really happy for Moose, and if he retires, he should be very proud.

In the bullpen, other than Bruney, everything seemed rather stable, well the disaster that was LaTroy Hawkins not withstanding of course. And, man, did I hate that signing! Anyways, guys like Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez held their own till almost the end when both became a bit shaky, luckily Bruney was back by then to help out. Before the deadline we had Kyle Farnsworth pitching better than he had ever in pinstripes, but he was dealt away for catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Damaso Marte, also acquired at the trade deadline (along with Xavier Nady), was a letdown, however I would still suggest getting him back. Phil Coke was a nice surprise down the stretch, and I'm looking forward to seeing more from this lefty next year. Joba started and ended in the bullpen where he's always been dominant, and Mariano put in a pretty great Mariano year.

Getting back to Joba for second, I really felt that this year would've been better off with him in the bullpen for the duration. Having him transfer over to the rotation, however successful, seemed to be a distraction for everyone else. Sure, he was needed, but having this guy in his eight inning spot, for one more year at least, would've shortened the games. I also feel the Yanks would've tried harder for a trade for a starter towards the deadline had they left him alone, which could've helped. Next year they say he'll be in the rotation, and I'm fine with that as long as they keep true to it and let that issue settle.

Losing Wang was part of a one-two punch knockout, with the second being losing Jorge Posada. This is the clubhouse leader, the motivator, and a rare catcher who can produce big numbers. Coming off his best year ever, it was quite a blow to lose him for 2008. His replacements were backups Jose Molina and Chad Moeller to start and then after the trade deadline I-Rod, who completely bombed in NY. That was quite shocking actually, as it seemed that the Yanks were about to stabilize and make their run.

Nady, the other deadline trade, fared well though, and it seems he will be taking Bobby Abreu's spot in right filed next season. A shame Abreu may not be back though, as he had another solid season. Another loss to the outfield was Hideki Matsui, our most clutch player, for nearly two months! While Matsui is mostly a DH now, there's no discounting that his midsummer loss was huge. Johnny Damon had a banner year though to make up for it a little, however the center field situation was bad. Melky Cabrera lost his job after being unable to hit the ball acceptably, and one of his replacements, Brett Gardner, hit worse. I do like this guy though, he has speed and towards the end he seemed to be figuring out major league pitching.

In the infield, Jeter was injured for a bit, and A-Rod for a bit longer, and neither hit as well as they could. Both were pretty bad in big spots, more glaringly Rodriguez, who scored a record breaking contract last year only to regress this year. Speaking of regression, what the heck happened to Robinson Cano?! This guy went from batting champ runner up to batting chump champion! The loss of Larry Bowa to the Dodgers as well as scoring a nice contract surely affected Cano. He started regaining a bit at the end, so we'll see what happens, if he's not traded beforehand! At first base, Giambi had a decent year to end his contract, not spectacular, but livable, although he too suffered from the non clutch bug.

And pretty much the Yanks didn't have a bench they could really rely on. Morgan Ensberg and Richie Sexson both stunk at different points and both were cut, Wilson Betemit continues to be an OK player, but nothing special, and guys like Justin Christian were eh. The only hope was career minor leaguer Cody Ransom, who seemed to play well in the spotlight. Maybe he'll make the bench for next year.

The most interesting spot wasn't on the roster itself, but with new manager Joe Giradi. Filling Joe Torre's shoes was going to be tough, and unless the Yanks 100% tanked, his job was secure, at least for this year. And it was no doubt a rocky one. He didn't seem to click with a lot of the players, especially some of the vets, surprising as he played with some of them. He definitely had communication problems with guys like Johnny Damon, which is very odd, and more importantly with GM Brian Cashman. His problems with the media were especially troublesome, often clearly coming off as telling half truths or outright lying. I understand him wanting to protect the organization and his players, and he's known to be a more "keep it close to the vest" type of guy, but there are better ways to handle these things. He also didn't handle the line up well, switching things up way too often, even when things were going well. About the only thing he did handle well was the bullpen, which was a huge step up from Torre. Hopefully he learns well from his mistakes, and can come out looking and feeling better.

So overall, there was this sense of inconsistency that loomed over the entire season. I talked about the Mets not getting the big hits, well the Yanks were worse. This hurt them severely at the wrong times. After a very slow start, they came back after the All Star break firing on all cylinders, and upgraded at the deadline with Nady, I-Rod, and Marte, but then fell into a massive season killing August slump. They did kick into high gear again in September, but it was a tad late, and that was basically it.

The final game at Yankee Stadium was an emotional affair, handled with class and majesty. Winning that final game helped as well. I guess, in retrospect this was the difference in the Yankees and Mets seasons. The Yanks, were given a free pass this year by most fans, and when they failed to make it, it seemed to be OK. They still were able to close down the Stadium in an excellent way with a Pettitte win and Mariano save, then still had Mussina's 20th win to play for, which they achieved in the final weekend. The Mets, on the other had, were given this tough task of trying to make the playoffs in the final weekend and closing down Shea Stadium, and when they lost, it took the wind out of every sail they had, and left a bad taste in their mouths.

Both teams have a lot of work to do this winter to make sure they make the playoffs. Especially in their new stadiums. It'll be interesting to see what their respective GMs do, and I'll give my Hot Stove analysis next time. For now, that's Bes-ball.

NEWS AND NOTES

2008-11-09T00:51:00.006-05:00

-We're going to Iceland on Saturday! This trip came together pretty quick once Marilyn found out about the incredible deals Iceland Air has been offering. While I hate flying it sounds like it could be a pretty cool trip, no pun intended. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good pics for Depicted.

-Obama winning the election was quite the event, and we even had a small get together to watch the event sports style. While I know these are common, they aren't for us. Not that weren't ever interested, but this election really was a spark plug of debate. It was cool to see what some of my oldest friends thought of the proceedings. I also got to write my first real political column, although maybe the one about Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan takes that honor. Either way, I dug doing that. Politically, I ride that middle line of independence where I can slide either way depending on who I like, so it was cool to be able to talk about that amongst other things. If I write more political columns, I think I'll keep the AKA: Politica title as it kinda stands for an alter ego for me that even I didn't know I had.

-So after a few years ban of Halloween, and our initial continuing of that ban this year, we actually decided to hit a Halloween party the day after the holiday. Archaia Studio Press threw a grand party in their space, a gorgeous former vaudevillian theatre. Having visited publisher Mark Smylie earlier this year at this space, me and Marilyn felt that this was a party not to be missed. Our costumes only came together 2 hours before the party with Marilyn designing a cloud mask with raindrops and me making a felt "robber" mask. It was quite silly, but at least it was something.

-We started watching 30 Rock on DVD and I'm quite enjoying it so far. I'm a big fan of Tina Fey's and she's just always on when she's writing as well. The cast is good, with Alec Baldwin being so perfect in his role. He really shines in comedies.

-We went to this great restaurant called Char #4 that I'm thinking of reviewing more in depth. Food writing is something I'd like to try to get more into here, so maybe that can be a first. If not, I'll cover it more in the next News and Notes.

-Another eatery I went to this week was Hallo Berlin, a German place in Hell's Kitchen. The spot doesn't have much of an atmosphere, and is actually pretty no frills overall, but the food and beer were excellent, and that's all that really counts, right? I had a bratwurst and potato pancakes along with a giant humpen of Spaten Munich lager.

-Fall softball continues to be fun, although I'm pissing myself off on the field. I think I'm psyching myself out on defense, when I should just relax and be more natural. At bat I'm not doing too bad, although I'm getting under a lot of pitches, which is odd considering how I swing. Today was particularly fun as we played on essentially a little league field which was 180 feet to the fences. I believe 8 home runs were hit today, none by me. Fun to see though. I only had two hits on the day, but was very happy with how I was hitting the ball overall. I also gunned down two runners at first base from short right field!

-We went to James G. Barry's CD/book release party. Jim is one of the Four Fathers of the McSorley's Bash and a Brooklyn Original. His new CD reminds me of Jack Johnson meets Greg Graffin filtered through a fine Blues screen. I truly dig what he's going for, and his book companion makes a perfect set. Check out his My Space for songs and purchasing info.

-Recently we've discovered Airborne, and I think we may be addicted. Is that bad? I mean it's got a ton of Vitamin C and other things that are good for you, plus it's got an interesting kick to it. I hope it's not bad for you...

That's the news and I am outta here!

BES-BALL TALK #4

2008-11-08T13:07:00.003-05:00

With the Hot Stove season almost in full tilt, teams have until November 14th to resign all of their free agents. This is the time when teams are planning their new rosters, signing free agents and making trades, building their farm systems and generally setting up the best teams they possibly can under their budgets. I love this part of baseball, but to truly understand what teams are going through you first have to look at what teams did to get to this point. So before I go buck wild on the Hot Stove, being a New Yorker, I'm going to look back at the Yankees and Mets of the 2008 season. Somehow, I'm going to try to write multiple Bes-Ball Talk columns, starting with the 2008 Mets, before the November 14th deadline, so we're all ready for the Hot Stove to really heat up.

First off, The Mets. They had a tumultuous season. They came in with a lot of hope after 2007's collapse. Carlos Beltran made the bold statement that they were the best in the NL East, cocky because of that collapse, I guess getting Johan Santana will do that, but a bad move none the less. I never understand why you would bother, especially since you have so much to prove already. Needless to say, they did not come out strong. Manager Willie Randolph bore the brunt of this, exposing a weak side of the former Yankee that did not endear himself to his players and upper management. The player side of things seemed to really deteriorate with guys like Carlos Delgado completely not playing for him, and people said Manny was bad! Delgado was just more subtle. Jose Reyes, my least favorite of the Metropolitans, was another player that didn't seem to respond well to Randolph, who was trying to make him into a more respected player. This finally all came to a head when Randolph was fired by General Manager Omar Minaya in terrible fashion. They actually had Willie fly off to Anaheim, and did it after the Mets won game one of a three game series with the Angels. The Mets, especially Omar, looked really bad here. I don't even agree with the firing honestly as I think Randolph could of turned this ship around just as easily as Jerry Manuel did.

So bench coach Jerry Manuel took over the team in a coup that seemed planned from within. As much as Manuel endeared himself to everyone that Willie didn't, this guy rubbed me the wrong way by being involved in Willie's firing. The point though was that Manuel did turn the ship around, firing up his team where Willie could not. Delgado played like an MVP the rest of the year and the Mets seemed poised to get to the playoffs and do some damage. Unfortunately, their pitching all but broke down.

Johan Santana started off slow, but the traditional late season bloomer did so in a big way, pretty much putting the team on his back and almost single handed putting them in the playoffs. Mike Pelfrey can be commended as well. I think this pitcher was another bad season away from being banished to minor league obscurity, but he turned it up; becoming a horse of a pitcher. This guy has the right attitude on the mound, and reeks of confidence now; a major turnaround from the guy we saw last year and early on this year. After that though things became questionable. Oliver Perez was as inconsistent as ever, doing well against the better teams and stinking it up against the bad teams, strange. John Maine seemed to take a step back from his near ace performance of 2007, eventually getting injured and missing close to the last two months. And Pedro Martinez was again injured, and never really gained his composure when he returned. I think Pedro's done honestly. Their bullpen, which at first seemed shaky, became way worse when closer Billy Wagner went down with what eventually became a season ending injury. The rag tag bullpen blew an astronomical amount of saves down the stretch, and their collective ineffectiveness can easily be blamed as the number one reason for their second collapse in a row.

Another giant, glaring reason was their inability to score the big runs towards the end. This pretty much excludes Delgado, but guys like Reyes and David Wright did horrible despite turning in more than respectable numbers. Numbers don't mean much though. Carlos Beltran didn't do so bad, but I like this guy's overall play, and still don't understand why the Yanks didn't pick this guy up when they really needed a center fielder. As for the rest of team, Luis Castillo was a total bust at second, and now the Minaya has the real dilemma of how to get rid of the guy. Ryan Church had a pair of concussions that ruined his season, and apparently making him hate the team. Some nice surprises were the return of Fernando Tatis, comeback player of the year, and the emergence of rookie David Murphy. I like this kid, he seems to play ball the right way, and the Mets can use that. Catching was a bad position for the Mets with new backstop Brian Schneider unable to hit, not to mention, boring me each week on Joe Benigno and Evan Robert's talk show, and Ramon Castro injured as always.

Once the late inning problems began for the Mets after Wagner's injury, things seemed like they began to go downhill for the team fast, and the Phillies, enroute to a World Series championship, were able to catch up and surpass them. The Mets looked afraid towards the end of the season, maybe the pressure of falling apart two years in a row were too much for them, which wouldn't be surprising. That's a pretty tough thing to overcome, however maybe the pieces didn't have the proper makeup to really get tough in the clutch. These are all questions that need to be answered before next season. It'll be interesting to see if they realize what the questions really are, or if they'll look at rebuilding just the pieces that are obvious, like the bullpen.

I'll take a look at the Yanks' past season next time, and then really dig in to the Hot Stove. So stick around, it should be a packed week of Bes-ball Talk here!

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2008-11-05T11:35:00.003-05:00

El Diablo #3: This one came out better than the second issue. I made character specific voice over caps for this one, which makes my life tougher, but it's all for the good of the cause. Of course that negated something I did in issue 2, but hopefully I'll have a chance to fix that when the trade comes around. If you haven't gotten aboard yet, whatcha waiting for?! It's a good, hard-hitting story with amazing art!

Nightwing: Freefall (TPB): This trade is almost all me, which is pretty exciting. Here's a little note, the first issue of this storyline was done by a different letterer, however one of my first assignments here at DC was to do the lettering corrections on this issue. One of the corrections I did was to redo the title design completely. (a rare occurrence) After this issue, I took over the storyline, and really made it my own. Just wanted to point that out for fans.

Need another reason to pick up El Diablo? Here:

Click to enlarge!

Courtesy of DC Comics.

AKA: POLITICA

2008-11-03T20:37:00.010-05:00

Politics may not be my usual forte, but there's been an issue that's been bothering me leading up to this Election Day. Tonight, on the eve the biggest election of our generation, I want to talk about how glad I am that it's all going to be over after tomorrow. This may not be a popular column, but it's how I honestly feel.

First off though, to be clear, come morning I'm voting for Barack Obama. Overall he's done a great job of selling himself and his ideas, and it didn't hurt that he chose Joe Biden for his running mate, a guy I can trust to take over if, God forbid, need be. That said, Obama supporters have made me ill. OK, I get it, you're voting for the guy, but stop cramming it down my throat already! All the flags, and hats, and shirts, and links to propaganda (that I'm not going to read), and the obonoxiously large buttons (I really can't stand the buttons!) have been overwhelming me. Now, there's nothing wrong with supporting, but it feels like more of a trend than people being political for the right reasons. Either that, or alot of them are just voting for him solely because he's a Democrat, which may be equally as bad.

Let me side wind here for second to discuss my own political views. I don't have an affiliation to the Democrats or Republicans either way. When I registered to vote, I was 18 and too young to understand any of these things, or more bluntly, didn't care. As I've grown up into the person I am today, (still alot of growing to do, btw) I've become a "trust the person for who they are" type of guy, and not who their affiliation is. In my life, I've voted Republican, I've voted Democrat, but always on the basis that I get the person running, and believe in their individual ideals.

Now that said, I can't stand this changing parties for sake of change parties stance that so many people have been taking. Yes, Bush was terrible overall, although I can think of few things I liked about him, but supporting Obama just on that is very narrow minded to me. John McCain is a guy I've liked for a long time, as far as politicians go. He's done some good things in his life, on top of being a war hero, which I feel people forget about, and, most definitely, he is not George Bush. Before the conventions, debates, and choices of running mates, I honestly didn't have a clue who I was voting for. At times, I heavily leaned on the McCain side, because the guy spoke in a way that made sense to me. No doubt, Obama was completely impressive, but I've long felt McCain would make a good president, better than Bush at least!

However, when the real race began after the conventions, Obama blew McCain out of the water at every turn. First off, the running mate choices clearly went to the Dems. Biden has always been a decent choice for a presidential candidate himself, so having him on the ticket made sense. Mrs. Palin, though, just made things very odd on the Republican side. At first, she came out charismatic and interesting, but soon, the obvious realization that she wasn't ready for this came through, and that has hurt McCain. Palin's politics also seem to veer into areas that make me uncomfortable, making this Republican ticket something really not for me. To further the cause, in the head to head debates with Obama, McCain came off as petty and condescending, and that really sealed the deal for me. And so, as individuals, McCain and Palin lost out to Obama and Biden. And that's why I'm voting the way I am. Not because of a preconceived notion that the Democrats were going to be better, but because they are better for who they are. I really do feel that the Dems have a good shot here because they've done everything right, and came across as more than capable of making the decisions and changes we deserve.

So to those that have been rooting for Obama in a big way, good for you, but I hope you've done it for reasons other than because he's a Democrat, and he has to be better because he's not in the same party as Bush or, God forbid, because it's cool. It's scary to think that some folks haven't looked at it from a fair judging point. I hope I'm wrong.

In the end though, I'm with Obama. He's the right choice for me. And all the votes he can get, no matter why it came in, is needed. I just hope that after tomorrow all of the hoopla will calm down, and whomever wins can just get to business. Even if it's the Republicans.

Tomorrow should be one hell of an interesting day.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T14:10:00.005-04:00

We have this puppy up outside of our office. SFX by Steve Wands!

click to enlarge

MCSORLEY'S BASH 9!

2008-10-30T13:41:00.002-04:00

You are all cordially invited to our 9th annual McSorley's Bash. If you don't know what this is, this is a party myself and 3 friends have been throwing for 9 strong years now, where we invite everyone we know and see them all mingle. It's a celebration of camaraderie and really good beer at NYC oldest pub. It's always been fun, so I hope you're all able to come down.

Flyer design by Joe Milazzo.

BES-BALL TALK #3

2008-10-29T23:46:00.003-04:00

When I did the first couple of Bes-ball Talks I thought I had a killer new idea for a regular column. They had both gone well and the season was yet to start. Well, unfortunately the rhythm I had hoped to start never really materialized for some reason. Which is unfortunate, I mean, talk about a season to have voiced my opinions on! Well, its over now, so I guess I can only move forward. However, I like talking baseball, with a focus on the Yanks, so I'm going to try to talk more consistently on the subject. Today's column is a look back at this past season in general. After that I'll do a break down of the Yankees' and Mets' seasons, and Hot Stove thoughts for both. There, I have subjects to work with for awhile.

I'd say this was a season where a huge surprise presented itself to the baseball gods. The Tampa Bay Rays had arrived in a big time way. Not only did these guys come from perpetually being last, but they came out strong and stayed strong throughout the year. As a Yankee fan I knew this was trouble. We had our own problems, and having to deal with the Rays, on top of the Red Sox, was going to be bad deal.

Not only were the Rays strong, but the Blue Jays and Orioles were very pesky, making the American League East very competitive, and, in my opinion, the strongest division this year. While the O's dropped out, the Jays were in there with the Yanks trying hard for the wild card till just about the very end. These two teams never really had a chance for the pennant anyway, and the Rays had pulled away with the Sox directly on their tail. The Sox though had to deal with Manny and his disgusting display half the year, as he tried to get out of town. I'd say this was a key factor in the Sox not catching the Rays, as the the distraction seemed to be a bit much.

The Yanks really never had an extended hot streak and that hurt them. It was a tough season all around though, losing Jeter and ARod to injuries early on for abit, and then the bigger blows of losing Chien-Ming Wang and Jorge Posada for the season. I mean, Wang was our ace and Posada is a true leader, not to mention his bat, and understanding of the pitching staff. Converting Joba into a starter was a side show that wasn't needed, and while he did well, he ultimately got himself injured, and was out for a month. ARod went through an ugly breakup, and even uglier (ongoing) relationship with Madonna, and we also lost the clutch Matsui for most of the season. Those, coupled with a lack of hitting in the clutch, completely derailed the Yanks season, and I didn't even get to Giradi's first year as manager...

So, the Rays grew up fast, although anyone really watching should have seen this coming. They had started to be really pesky in the last couple of years, at least against the Yanks. Being in last place for 10 years also gives you the advantage of choosing all the great draft picks, and, boy, did they ever parade them out. Throw in some wily veterans, and give them the wisdom and culture manager Joe Maddon brought in, and you had a recipe for success. This is a team that's going to be good for quite a while. And that's scary.

In the AL Central, you had a battle that lasted till a day after the season, with the White Sox finally beating the Minnesota Twins. The Twins were the real story though. They lost Johan Santana, Tori Hunter, Carlos Silva, and Matt Garza and still battled the entire season with a team of good rookies and growing stars. That's good management all around on display there. The Indians and Tigers were pretty disappointing this year; never really threatening for too long. And the Royals, while better, have a long way to go.

Rounding out the AL side of things, the Angels dominated the entire year, pretty much running and hiding by the beginning of September. Texas will be better next year though as their batting got better with Josh Hamilton, who was the highlight of the All Star break, and maybe their pitching can follow. Seattle was the biggest bust of the year, which was definitely surprising as they seemed competitive on paper.

In the NL East, the Mets blew it again at the very end. The Phillies just seemed to want it more, and did it with their play and not with loose words and dance routines. The Mets also fired manager Willie Randolph midseason in a cowardly, ugly fashion, and in a way it felt karmic that they didn't make it. Johan proved his toughness tough by kicking booty till the very end. The Marlins seem to be improving, and to the Mets they were the death knell. The Braves still need retooling, despite Chipper Jones' phenomenal year, and the Nats are still just the bad Nats.

The NL Central proved to be an interesting race with the Cubs matching their off season outlook and maximizing their potential, finishing first decisively. The Brewers battled right into the Wild Card with gritty play, and an extremely successful addition of CC Sabathia. The Astros had a nice last minute run, but were derailed by Hurricane Ike. The Cardinals did better than expected, and its seems that Pittsburgh, despite trading a couple of key players, have a good future ahead of them.

In the West, Joe Torre's Dodgers were the only story. Not only did Torre come to the team, have to settle the locker room, and prove NY was as much about him as it was the talent, but then he had to deal with the Manny trade, a factor from midseason on. Luckily, he dealt with everything as he always has: with calm and wisdom. The locker settled for the most part, and Manny was the picture perfect citizen, leading them right into the playoffs. It was just what the team, Torre, and Manny all needed; a kind of medicinal injection that gave them life, and a real good baseball story. I cant even think of anything else worth noting from the division.

The playoffs were interesting, but, of course, another animal all together. The dominant Angels once again fell to the Red Sox, and the Rays' magic continued as they dispensed of the White Sox pretty easily. The Phillies proved their worth further by taking out the Brew Crew, and Torre's boys upset the Cubs, who were trying to break their 100 year old curse. The Phillies then took care of business and eliminated the Dodgers handily. The Red Sox and Rays battled for 7 tough games though, as they should have after the season they had, and even though the Sox mounted a nice comeback the Rays won out.

Which all led us to this most interesting World Series; one that I'm sure Fox was dreading. They had to be praying for a Torre and Manny showdown with the Red Sox, but instead you got this ratings bomb that has been more engrossing than the last few no-contests. Here you have two teams that leave all of their blood and guts on the field fighting for the championship, what more could you want?! One team that has battled hard through the years, proving their grit time and again, and another that may be one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all time, clashing for the first time for trophy. Both teams had hungry, electric, young players that have given us their all, and both who were ready to place their stamp on the world.

Who knew this series was intended to have one of the oddest finishes ever?! After the Phillies had taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, blanking the Rays offensive stars, the two teams played the soggiest six innings I had ever seen! Game 5 was a tale of two nights, the first ever in baseball history, with the first six innings coming Monday night, and the last three concluding this evening. Monday was insane, with a sick amount of rain poured on the players. I guess the umps wanted to wait it out, and not call it with anyone having a lead. Thus, once the Rays tied it, it was immediately suspended till tonight. Unfortunately for the Rays though, Maddon made some bad decisions, and Brad Lidge closed the door on them 4-3. So, congrats to the Phillies for winning the 2008 World Series!

You definitely take the unpredictability of baseball for granted during the long 162 game season, but in these short postseason series it all becomes apparent, and the appreciation level for the game shoots through the roof. This was one crazy season, and now comes the rebuilding time, the Hot Stove season, one of my favorite parts of baseball.

And that's Bes-ball.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2008-10-29T08:12:00.002-04:00

Reign in Hell #4: Again, I'm the back up story guy on this. It's a Dr. Occult story that's been very good with some damn good art throughout.

The War that Time Forgot #6: This is a pretty good mini series, and having recently completed issue 7, I'm starting catch my stride with it. I really dug Bruce Jones' work on the Hulk a few years back so I'm glad that I'm digging working on this story.

One of the reasons this book has been is the level of action, basically historical type characters facing off against one another with dinosaurs running amok all over them, as in this page...

Please click to enlarge

Courtesy of DC Comics.

MOVIES I'VE SEEN "LATELY..."

2008-10-27T14:12:00.014-04:00

"Lately…" being over the last 3 months! Sheesh, I'll try to keep these shorter, but you may need popcorn for this anyway. Oh, and I think I've only been to the movies three times in the past couple of months, and once was a free screening, and another time for an old favorite Times sure have changed, huh? Crazy. Anyways, at the end of this I've got a new feature, so give it a check.

Tropic Thunder: This movie is really the Robert Downey Jr. show, with everyone else taking a back seat to his hysterical performance. The dude's been on fire this year. Anyway, the movie is funny, but not overwhelmingly so. I just expected to laugh a little harder than I did given the cast. Tom Cruise's part is pretty good though, go figure.

Appaloosa: Could've been a good western, but Renee Zellweger stunk up the screen big time. I wanted to shoot her myself. It sucks because Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen were excellent, and played off each other very well. The supporting cast is solid, as well as the actual story, but man that woman ruined it. Grrr!

Marie Antoinette: Ugh. This movie goes nowhere. Nice style, music, great costumes, but that's it. I give props to Sofia Coppola for trying something a tad different with the subject matter, but I can only give so much.

Yellow Brick Road: A feel good documentary about a group of mentally challenged folks putting on a performance of The Wizard of Oz. It's very well done, and better than I expected. You really feel for everyone involved.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: A fun sequel, and one that compares favorably to the first movie. Not that the first set the bar that high or anything, but this was just as fun I thought. Of course, Doogie Howser steals the show here as well.

Penelope: I can't recall if I've mentioned this before, but I dig Christina Ricci. I like the way she acts, and it don't hurt that she's a cutey. She gives a nice cutesy performance in this fairy tale about a girl with a cursed pig nose, and her quest to find her true love which will break it. Nothing groundbreaking or anything, but pretty OK for a rental.

The Hitcher: Another OK for a rent movie. This one being on the thriller/horror side. BTW, can anyone tell me the difference between the genres?! Anyways, Sean Bean is real good in the title role of this remake. He's brutal and relentless, but sly and witty. The movie itself is not without its problems, but get it for him.

War In Space: Bad, bad, Toho sci-fi flick from the 70's. The company had exhausted its Godzilla franchise for the first time (of 3), and so they were struggling to get something together. Sci-fi was pretty big at that point, but this is one hell of clunker. It's cheap and crappy all around. Skip it, even if you are an enthusiast.

Dead Fish: I may not be a big Italian Mafia movie fan, but I sure as hell love tales of the London Underworld. This is a fun movie with Gary Oldman leading the cast as a hitman who falls for a girl that wants nothing to do with him, and of her boyfriend's flight from both the mob and other crazies he owes money too. All the plot lines converge at the end, naturally. Good, fun cast with all kinds of eclectic characters.

Frida: This was a damn good bio pic about the Mexican painter and her struggles in both the art world and a changing Mexico. The cast, direction, and cinematography are all excellent. The problem I have with alot of bio pics is their lack of a good story arc, this movie, however, doesn't have that. It flows very well right to the end. It's probably the best acting Salma Hayek has done too, and Alfred Molina is really fantastic as well.

Starbucking: The subject matter of a guy on a quest to hit every Starbucks ever isn't bad, especially considering he's not the most stable of people, but the doc itself is terrible. I was into this for like a second, then blah. Bad job keeping my interest, documentarian.

The Fountain: Darren Aronofsky's 3rd movie centers on the notion that love is everlasting, but it comes across more as love equals everlasting pain and suffering. Don't get me wrong it's a pretty decent movie, but the movie's message is muddled, and the story is too vague to really get the point across. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weiz are both good in the lead roles, but the story is so bleak you almost dread the resolve of their arcs. And truly it was a thing of dread. It's a beautifully shot film, and Aronofsky is definitely creative, but I was left abit unsatisfied, although I can talk at length about the story. Maybe that was his point.

Baby Mama: I'm a fan of both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and I loved their time together on the Weekend Update segments of SNL, so I was really looking forward to this. Well, its a decent enough laughter, but falls short on really utilizing their talents, so it's overall a tad disappointing. It's fine for rental though, so enjoy.

The Colossus of Rhodes: The next two come from directors I love, but are both horrendous. First, Sergio Leone's first film, the swords and sandals pic The Colossus of Rhodes. I really could not get through the first 30 minutes of this slow, boring, terrible movie. It's no wonder that film historians seem to erase this one from Leone's otherwise unblemished record.

Ghosts of Mars: Next we have John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, a by the numbers sci-fi action horror movie. You can tell Carpenter was completely burnt out by the time he got to this one as there is not one bit of freshness to it. He just grabbed elements from all his other movies and slapped them together. This movie has one of the worst last lines, if not the, ever.

Speed Racer: I had read all kinds of bad reviews for the Wachowskis latest, an update of the 60's anime series, but to hell with that! I loved every morsel of this film! It's like a super sugar sweet candy coated, adrenaline fueled, brain freeze! The actions and visuals are outstanding, and the story, while simple, is completely fine. It's really just an outline for all the coolness. Who cares about anything, just turn your brain off, and enjoy!

Black Snake Moan: I had no idea what I was getting into when I rented this, except for a half naked Christina Ricci and Sam Jackson looking like scruffy, grumpy old man . What I got was that and more. This is a pretty damn good movie with satisfying story arcs for both main characters, and even for some of the supporters. And yes, Christina Ricci half naked throughout most of it helps. Alot.

Run, Fatboy, Run: I really dug this one, and mostly because Simon Pegg is just one of the funniest SOBs working today. I've loved him in just about everything he's been in, mostly because he's pretty relatable, especially here. Sure, it's a typical feel good story, but it's got everything I love: a down on his luck protagonist, a dirty successful antagonist, an impossible goal, insurmountable odds, and the eventual amazing comeback. Loved it.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer: This is one hell of an original idea excellently brought to the screen by Run Lola Run's Tom Tykwer. This guy's got chops. Basically, it's about a very interesting serial killer during the French Revolutionary era, who really doesn't realize what he's doing because he's just following his hyper sensitive nose. Sounds weird? It gets more bizarre as it goes. I recommend this, because it's really different.

Lost in Translation: I finally got to see this movie, Sofia Coppola's movie prior to Marie Antoinette. I liked this one a lot more than that one, but it's still not great. Her stories seem to follow this pattern that isn't engrossing enough for me. Maybe she's trying to be too realistic, or maybe hyper sense of that, but it doesn't work for me at all. Still though, she's trying different approaches and that's commendable. Bill Murray is great as usual, but I'm starting to realize I don't Scarlett Johansson much as an actress.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan: This is an OK comedy, and like Baby Mama I felt that more could've been done given the materials to work with. The premise of an Israeli super agent becoming a hair stylist in NYC is perfect comedy fodder, but there wasn't enough done with Sandler's character once he gets to the States. I expected more super agenty stuff while he cut hair, like using special cutting techniques and stuff. It's not a bad rental though, so go ahead.

Ultraman Tiga/Ultraman Dyna: This was my first Ultraman experience ever, and I hated every moment of it. I've always shied away from Ultraman for some reason, maybe feeling loyalty to Godzilla and Gamera, but I was craving giant monster movies I hadn't seen so I popped this on my Netflix. It's from the late 90's, and if someone can tell me Ultraman is better than this, please do, because at this point I don't wanna see anything else from the series.

The Island: Pretty good sci-fi flick from Michael Bay. This is probably the first movie I watched after the last "Movies..." post, so it isn't so fresh in my mind, but I liked the premise enough. I guess I shouldn't spoil it, but it's a good movie, with maybe more meat than other Bay movies usually have. Give it a check if you haven't seen it.

Drillbit Taylor: Another comedy with potential that falls short, this one falling way short. This bully movie staring Owen Wilson has some fun moments, but overall it wasn't worth the time. It's basically just there.

Eagle vs. Shark: Onto movies I actually watched this weekend, finally. E vs S stars Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords and relative newcomer Loren Horsely as one very weird, and extremely awkward couple. While we watched it for Clement, Horsely completely steals this movie. It has a pretty sweet heart, and made me feel good. I recommend this movie.

Thumbsucker: This one had it's moments, and super fun supporting roles by Vince Vaughn, Benjamn Bratt, and especially Keanu Reeves, but overall ran abit long, and left me a bit unsatisfied. I mean it's good, but something about it didn't ring right with me in the end. I'm not gonna say not to see it, because it's worth it for the supporting spots, so give it a check, and let me know your thoughts.

MY PICK: Out of these reviews I really think you should see Perfume: The Story of a Murderer before anything else here. This movie is very different from the normal Hollywood fare, and is pretty excellent all around. It's definitely something to talk about at the water cooler. Put it on your Netflix now.

OK, I'm done, phew, you can go now. Go on now, go outside and play or something. (so what if it's raining!)

NEWS AND NOTES: THE KETCHUP EDITION

2008-10-23T16:56:00.011-04:00

Or the Catch Up edition, whichever your hearts desire. Unfortunately, after a two and a half month break, I may have forgotten a few things. For those that dig these, my apologies. Let's go to the video tape...

-We got a Wii. That was early September, and at least a small contributing factor for my absence. The last video game system I owned was the first Playstation, which bored me rather quickly. I think getting away from my strict Nintendo allegiance hurt my interest in gaming. The newer systems all went for realism in games, which I'm not all that into. After not having any interest in their Gamecube system, Nintendo definitely scored with me with the Wii right from the start, causing me and Marilyn to have a 2 year debate on it. We both loved the interactiveness of it, but were hesitant to get back in the "game". However, when Wii released the Fit this summer, that was the final swaying tactic. So now we're proud owners. The system is just what I needed too, a release and exercise vehicle with a mostly cartoony edge. So far we have Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Godzilla Unleashed, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Lego Batman, and Ninja Reflex. If anyone has game suggestions please let us know.

-As a side note to that, I got Lego Batman for free from participating in a Lego Build Off contest at work. I got my ass kicked handily, but it was a fun way to get out of work abit, and I got a hot new game for my troubles!

-The DC Bullets softball team ended the season with a loss. It was a fun first year for me despite the losing record. I met a lot of cool folks, some of whom I now consider friends, and I already look forward to next season. Me and Pat are redesigning our logo so it'll be a fresh start all around. I'll show that off once we get final approval. I must say, I did get bit by the softball bug, and I'm now playing in a choose up league that goes year round! So far I'm batting .474, but playing blah defense. I seriously need to up my game in that department.

-Me, Marilyn, and her bro Anthony went down to Washington, DC in September to take in some sights, and watch The Mets play the Nationals. My cousin Anthony played tour guide for us. It was my first time to the capital, even though I've been to Maryland a trillion times. I gotta say I quite dug it. We didn't get to see everything because of our limited time, but I'm looking forward to a return engagement. I want to also mention that, so far, Nationals Park is the best baseball stadium I've been too. Just a gorgeous, inviting place. I suggest you baseball fans get down there next season.

-Speaking of baseball, the day after the DC trip cousin Anthony and I took in our final Yankee Stadium baseball game, fittingly against Ant's Baltimore Orioles. It was a hell of a classic Yankee game, with every possible Yankee moment happening like Jeter's signature spin jump throw and a Mariano save. I wasn't emotional till the end, but man I'm gonna miss that place. Lots of great memories there, the best for me being the 2000 ALCS championship win against Seattle. Great game and an excellent time was had by me and some of my best friends. That and all kinds of other memories rushed back to me at the close of the game. Well, goodbye old friend. Your son will do you proud I'm sure.

-One last DC trip side note, we took Bolt Bus down, and I highly recommend it. This is Greyhound's answer to the Chinatown bus, and I'm real glad they created a cheap safe alternative. It was clean, comfortable, driver was nice, and the bus (a brand new fleet) was just tremendous all around. Give it a check, they even offer dollar fares!

-I started reading two books this summer and didn't finish either. I kinda just stopped reading altogether once August hit, part of the funk no doubt, but then the itch hit again, and so I picked up and devoured Anthony Bourdain's Gone Bamboo. Excellent mob book with CIA overtones. I love this guy's writing, it just really speaks to me. I've quickly have moved onto his Bone In The Throat, which precedes GB. If you're going to read these don't read them in the order I have, as characters overlap, unless you want to create a sort of Pulp Fiction effect. Anyway his books, fiction and non, are fantastic so get to it.

-Speaking of Bourdain, we've been watching his No Reservations show on DVD lately. This is definitely the way to go with any show. Episodic TV watching is just not for me anymore. Give me big chunks at once and I'm much happier. Same goes with comics for that matter. I'm pretty much trades all the way now. Anyhoo, Bourdain's travel show is just perfect for a guy like me: smart alecky New Yorker travels the world, eats a ton, drinks more; what's not to like? I'd love to have a drink with this guy one day.

-Speaking of guys I wanna have a drink with, Bobby Flay fits that description as well. A born and bred New York chef that has transcended his profession, and leaked out into the mainstream consciousness, Flay has always hit the right key for me whenever he's been on the Food Network. We got to see Flay at a taping of the Yes Network's Center Stage. Host (and Yankee broadcast announcer) Michael Kay and Flay really provided an entertaining back and forth interview, NY style. I loved every minute of it. Flay said he's thought about going into NYC politics in the future and I would fully support the guy. I was actually interviewed outside for a show segment that got scrapped, oh well. Afterwards we hit Flay's Bar Amercain for a delicious lunch.

-Marco DiLeonardo's next art show is this Saturday night, here's the details: 9:30pm, Glascott Funeral Home 102-03 Metropolitan Avenue, Forest Hills, NY 11375 US, F/R train to 71st St (Queens), walk up 71st to Metropolitan, take a left, you're there.

-Sad to say, but Brooklyn Original may be dead, however there may a Phoenix rising from it's ashes. Stay tuned!

-I probably jumped the gun on the BQE Press/Bio Boy news, however there is progress and some interesting decisions have been made. Look for more news soonish.

-Vengeance of the Vapor is moving forward again, with some hot new pages coming in from Jok just this week. Looking forward to wrapping that up and putting together a slick new trade. It's crazy to see pages again after a gap, but it's hella cool exciting. I'll prop some pages up soon!

-Couple of trades I've read recently include the Gotham Central hardcover and the Minx book Janes in Love. The GC book was excellent. For those that missed the series, this is one sweet collection. It's hard boiled action all the way, with plotlines that really make you think. The Janes book, unfortunately one of the final books of the Minx line, was equally as sweet, but for vastly different reasons. The Janes books have had great growing up into your skin tales with an underlying theme of infusing art as escapism for blandness. The art in both books, by Michael Lark and Jim Rugg respectively, has been expressive and strong, with excellent attention to details. I give a thumbs up to their efforts. These are great books for the non superhero set, even though GC has a little bit of that. Fans of CSI and Degrassi will enjoy these, spread the word.

-We've been recently hooked on DVDs of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Flight of the Conchords. I can't imagine that you can get any better off the wall writing than these two. Sure, they're both on cable, so they have more leeway, but still, this is funny, laugh out loud stuff! IASIP is my favorite of the two, with lewd, disgusting story lines ruling each episode. To take a quote out of a friend's book, "I can totally hang out with these guys and get drunk." It's a good thing than that the show centers on 3 friends that own a bar, huh? The acting is just so right on perfect it's ridiculous, with Charlie Day almost always stealing the show. This is must watch TV. FOTC is a great show in it's own right, powered by the insanely humorous songs that the show revolve around. I listen to the soundtrack daily! Rent these both, you won't be disappointed.

-I've been drinking Spaten and Sam Adams Octoberfest beers lately. Both are very good. Spaten is like a classier Heineken, while the Octoberfest is a more full bodied nutty tasting beer. The Octoberfest is limited, so make sure you grab some quick!

-I joined Facebook finally. Nuff said...

-Some things to expect on this blog soon are a complete break movie run down, the return of both Besball Talk and Scriptage, and some all new new stuff.

I think that's it, so I'll start building towards a new one. For now, that's the news and I am outta here!

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2008-10-22T14:03:00.006-04:00

OK, here we go, new format (again). I'll do the list format that I've used lately, plus post a lettered page from one of the releases. Posting the covers just didn't make a lick of sense to me. Seeing my work does.

Family Dynamic #3: I'm sad to see this book go. Hopefully it won't be down for long and J.Torres and company can really get rocking on it. I'd love to be along for the next ride.

Blue Beetle #32: My first BB. Love the work Rafael Albuquerque has done on this book, although he didn't draw this issue. He's back on the next one, which I also did.

Page 1 of Family Dynamic #3. I chose this one because I dug my title/creds design. Please click to enlarge.

Courtesy of DC Comics.

OMG...

2008-10-22T13:14:00.014-04:00

I, uh, I lettered this: http://fashionista.com/2008/10/post_1502.php?img=1

Camera phone photo by Robert Clark. And in all seriousness, if you want a copy go here: http://www.dvf.com Proceeds go to the Vital Voices charity.

DEPICTED 10/22/08

2008-10-22T00:58:00.005-04:00

It's the Great Phoenix, Charlie Brown!

Phoenix has his own blog, you should check it out! http://www.itsthedog.blogspot.com/

LETTERING RELEASES DURING MY BREAK

2008-10-21T18:23:00.008-04:00

Here's a complete list of the books that I've lettered that were released during my blog break, with some short notes:

Reign In Hell #2-3 (backups): I followed Mr. Wands' style guide, but have slowly made these backups my own.

The War That Time Forgot #5: I've seemingly have taken over for Jared Fletcher on this book, as I'm currently lettering my 3rd issue.

Teen Titans #62: This book thankfully kills a painful childhood memory. Thank you Sean McKeever!

Batgirl #2: This book feels like our new Gotham Underground.

Two Face Year One #2: I'm very proud of this book. Getting to letter my pal Mark Sable's story was a real honor. Loved the prestige format handling of it.

Batman Confidential #20-21: This will make an interesting trade. Glad I got to do the entire storyline.

Robin #178-179: Freddie Williams is blowing me away with every issue. I love this storyline too. I'm glad I've continued to help define Robin's world.

Batman and The Outsiders #10-11: Frank Tieri was a good choice to replace Chuck Dixon.

Booster Gold #12-13: 12 was a fill in for me, but 13 and 14 (out next month) is an Atom reunion with Rick Remender and Pat Olliffe! This short story is a great companion piece to Rick's Atom storyline. Highly Recommended!

Manhunter #33, 35: Schedules suck sometime, especially when they break a run. I have done every Manhunter since her return except for 34. Dem's the breaks.

El Diablo #1-2: Please go get this book if you can! It's an awesome story and idea by Jai Nitz, with superb art by Phil Hester, solid inks and colors by Ande Parks and Guy Major, respectively, and my best lettering to date!

Family Dynamic #1-2: This book got shortened to 3 issues, but what a ride they are, please collect them all, and let DC know you want more!

World of Warcraft #11: I think I did that one...

Batman Strikes! #49: Robin solo story, how fitting!

Batman: The Black Glove (hardcover): I lettered one of these issues, woot!

Cartoon Network Action Pack #29: Hadn't done one of these since I first started.

Green Arrow/Black Canary #13: I've done a few issues of this book now, and I gotta say I dig it. Maybe I can stay on, who knows.

Legion Of Superheroes in the 31st Century #19: After skipping a few of these, I got back on for the final two. Last one hits next month. This one has a cartoonied Booster Gold!

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen: Here's another that I'm super proud to have been a part of. Editor Matt Idelson and I clicked on all cylinders as we got this bad boy done. Excellent story by James Robinson, whose work I've always dug.

I believe that's all folks!

EYE OF THE TIGER

2008-10-20T21:56:00.010-04:00

I may be the cheesiest mutha ever, but that song has always been my official theme song. Whenever the chips are down, and I need that mega awesome comeback, I crank up Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor and battle through. Or at least I try to. See, trying is what I've always been about, and I can be one persistent son of a bitch. Maybe it's the pop culture I was raised on with a steady diet of Godzilla movies and WWF wrestling. Or maybe it's just simply because my parents scratched and clawed for everything they've ever had, and their dedication to raise their kids and have a decent life really made a huge impression on me.

This is what happens whenever I'm doing something and I take a break, like I have on this blog recently. I become reflective. I ask myself is what I do worth it? Is it enough for my own happiness? Well, as for that latter, it's never enough. No matter how small the steps, I always want to move forward. Has it all been worth it? Damn right. Have I struggled? Absolutely. Maybe I haven't made it as far as some of my colleagues just yet, but my path has taken me in different directions, and I'm cool with that. I'm in the industry I love, I have a girlfriend whom I adore, a supportive family, and some damn good friends. That's more than cool. That's happiness. And it goes beyond instant success.

Why say all this? Because every time I stop writing, take a break from the blog, or just get into some serious funk, I need the Eye of the Tiger to get it back on. I need to remind myself that what I've done in my life is good. That I'm good, but more importantly that I have to continue to improve myself.

What this break has also done, besides thinking about all this, is that I've looked at what I've been doing over here, and while there's some things I've dug about SalCiprianoDotCom, there's way more that I could be doing. There's more of me that needs to be expressed. This blog needs to evolve a little. I think I can do that. I think I need to evolve a little. For those of you that have been checking back in on me, I thank you. I hope you enjoy this evolution. It's the thrill of the fight.

-S

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES...

2008-08-04T22:38:00.003-04:00

NIGHTWING #147: A crazy impactful new storyline starts here as Nightwing helps a witness at the behest of Two Face! Sadly, the next part of this storyline was given away due to scheduling, so I didn't see where this goes in advance, but this first part is really good.

MANHUNTER #33: This is one hell of a return storyline, and I can't stop saying how much I dig Michael Gaydos' art on this book. He's made for stories like this, and I'm glad I've been on this book.

ROBIN #176: Fabian Nicenza continues his Batman RIP tie in storyline here, and it just gets better. Nicenza has been named the new writer and coming back to draw the book is my old Speakeasy compadre Freddie Williams! All the news here: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080804-robin-nicieza.html

STORMING PARADISE #2: While Chuck Dixon has left DC, he continues this excellent War book at Wildstorm. I really dug stepping in for Pat Brosseau on this issue as he was in full Trinity mode when this one was due.

DEPICTED 8/04/08

2008-08-04T17:50:00.003-04:00

Me and Marilyn hit the Bronx Zoo yesterday. Always a fun outing, but not too many pics were taken. This is the best of the few I did take.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-07-27T16:04:00.005-04:00

HUNTRESS YEAR ONE #6: Yes! My first full stand alone mini series is complete, and the final part is coming at you this week. This Huntress mini series has been pretty darn good, so kudos to the team of writer Ivory Madison and artist Cliff Richards. I had a ball working on it, and I especially dug being kind of the default Sicilian language guy. Also, I really stuck to this purple Huntress theme for the titles, sound effects, and captions, and think the product turned out rather well. If you didn't pick it up, I suggest either A. finding the issues or B. waiting for a trade, because it was worth reading. If you like mobster tales this is for you, and if you're into the Batman universe this one's up your alley as well.

*The cover wasn't available at the time of this posting.

FAMILY DYNAMIC #1 PREVIEW

2008-07-27T15:51:00.004-04:00

I'm lettering the upcoming J.Torres created, DC published, comic book extravaganza Family Dynamic, and J. has put up a preview at his blog. I worked on various issues of Teen Titans Go! and Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century with J. and I was eager to work on this book. First off, it's creator owned, how awesome is that at DC without being Vertigo? Secondly, more importantly, J. is reteaming with his Copybook Tales cohort Tim Levins, and I loved CBT! So this is a bit of a geek out for me. Rounding out the team is inker (and great cartoonist in his own right) Dan Davis, hella awesome colorist Dave McCaig (Nextwave!), and edited by El Capitain Adam Schlagman. For the preview go here: http://jtorresonline.blogspot.com/2008/07/comics-arent-just-for-kids-anymore.html

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...

2008-07-22T01:36:00.000-04:00

THE DARK KNIGHT: Wow, what can I say, I thought this was as perfect as we've seen so far in the comic book movie genre. Why? Mostly because while there are great comic movies, like the recent Iron Man, they are just that: great comic book movies. With The Dark Knight I felt like I was just watching a flat out great movie. Definitely the best I've seen this year at least. Chris Nolan's movies have become these great character studies with this one pulling itself in so many ways. The cast is phenomenal, with the obvious big nod to the late Heath Ledger as a resoundingly convincing Joker. Gary Oldman really came into the Gordon role here, Aaron Eckhart continues to charm, and Christian Bale did his usual splendid Bat-act. Also, Michael Caine again deserves kudos for his take on Alfred. The action was intense every step of the way too from it's opening bank heist to the mega awesome truck chase scene. There were so many layers here that just kept getting peeled further and further back to reveal the demented, at least for a Batman movie, plot that unfolded. The resolution was very interesting to me, and I'm already looking forward to seeing how they pull the next movie together. This realisticish take on Batman has proven to be a success amongst the hardcore and mainstream fans, and I think it's where Batman should be movie wise. Sure there's some points that are a little less than realistic, but who cares? At the end of the day it's still Batman, so it can't be all grim and grit. There has to be some fantastical elements to it. All in all, this is a damn good movie and if you haven't seen you better get moving. I've seen it twice, once on the IMAX courtesy of DC and once on my own dime. I'd have no problem seeing again too. It's that good.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH: Yay, free screenings! This is one movie I probably would've missed, but free is me. And you know what? It was pretty bad, but the kind of bad that's just total campy fun. The gimmick here is the 3D, but unfortunately my screening wasn't in 3D, oh well. It doesn't hamper the movie although the enjoyment factor would have been definitely raised had I had the funky red and green glasses. Brendan Fraser hams it up Mummy style, which is always fun to watch. There's some good effects and overall it works. All you movie snobs stay far away lest you implode within seconds of the flick's start!

HANCOCK: I also saw this one for free, though through a hookup this time from my cousin Sal. I'm not ashamed to say I enjoyed it for what it was: a simple, cliched super hero movie. It's short enough not overstay its welcome, and the plot has enough "surprises" to stay interesting. The first 20 minutes are excellent actually as Smith's "hero" doesn't give a damn about anything. Smith, as usual, is pretty entertaining, if you disagree you need to seriously lighten up. Basically, that's my mantra for everything lately. Ech, don't want to get into that again... Hancock has some pretty nifty visual effects throughout, which are handled reasonably well by director Peter Berg. I've now liked every Berg movie I've seen (Very Bad Things, The Rundown, and this), but I've yet to see The Kingdom or Friday Night Lights. Apparently he handles messed up characters very well. Anyways, I wouldn't run out to see this, but if you get roped in, just clear your mind and have fun. And definitely rent it if not.

BRUCE AND LLOYD OUT OF CONTROL: The tech boys from Get Smart get their own direct to DVD movie and boy is it bad! It's really like a pilot to a TV series or something. Scenes seem to just get lumped together without much thought to continuity. Trust me when I say you don't need to see this.

FINISHING THE GAME: This is a movie, a mockumentary actually, about producers trying to finish Bruce Lee's final movie, Game of Death, with a new actor in Lee's role! Wow, this movie doubly hits close to home. First off, I loved Bruce Lee, still do, and grew up watching all his films. They were fantastic, he was fantastic, so this movie was pretty fun for me. Also, I went to high school with one of the actors vying for the part! Mousa Kraish sat in front of me in freshman Italian at Bishop Ford HS, and we would both draw comics together; eventually coming up with a hero called Strato-Man, who I'd fiddle with for quite awhile after HS. Well it was cool to find out that Mousa, who I haven't spoken to since that year, has become an actor. He was great here, and I wish him much luck on his way to stardom. The movie itself is filled with fun, quirky characters although all in all it wasn't the best film ever. Good enough to check out though, especially for you Lee fans!

PERSEPOLIS: A very beautifully animated film based on the graphic novel of the same name. It's about a girl growing up Iran in the early 80's and how she changes along with the country. It was nominated for an Oscar, and I can see that, but after a while it kind of starts to drag, and loses me for a little bit. I'd still say see because it is good, and you most likely won't have the attention problems I did.

JESUS CAMP: A documentary about Midwest Evangelical Christians who send their kids to a camp to get all the beliefs driven into their heads. It was a pretty revealing doc, but in the end I am just astonished that people can be this fanatical, which kind of turned me off to it. I guess this wasn't the subject matter for me.

HELLBOY ANIMATED: BLOOD AND IRON: One of two animated shorts released after the first Hellboy movie. Saw this on the Watch It Now and it wasn't bad. If you dug the Hellboy movie you should dig this alright as it has all the voice talent of the film, and is even directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Now if I could just get out to see the second movie...

CEMETERY MAN: Bringing up the rear is actually the movie I watched most recently. Cemetery Man is a 1994 Italian movie based on a back up comic to the wildly popular Dylan Dog series. Starring Rupert Everett and featuring an eclectic cast of supporters, this movie is stylistic, strange, gory, and sexy. I'd say strange more than anything, and by the time the end rolled around I had tuned out abit. It's about a cemetery worker and his mute sidekick, who steals the show, who have to rekill the reanimated dead at night. It's tongue and cheek for sure, but there was some semblance of a message to it. Eh, watch it if want to see a weird horror movie with some naked women.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-07-21T01:29:00.003-04:00

This is a big week for me, folks. The release of my first two DC trade paperbacks, another Year One book begins, and my return to Robin!

TWO FACE YEAR ONE #1: This is awesome, not only is this book a whopping 48 pages, not only does it coincide with the release of The Dark Knight movie, but it's written by my buddy Mark Sable! I had a really great time lettering Mark's hard boiled tale of how Harvey Dent becomes Two Face. Also, Jesus Saiz provides some stunning art here, and Mark Chiarello's cover is to die for! Please grab this book!

ROBIN #175: After missing out on the last issue, I'm back on the Robin boat, this time with writer Fabian Nicenza (Batman Confidential) at the helm! Good working with Fabian again on another Bat related book. This is a Batman: RIP tie in, BTW, and guest stars my pal Nightwing. Yeah, we're buddies now.

COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE TPB: OK, check it out, my first of two trades out this week! This is a first for me, and let me tell it's super hella cool seeing my name in a DC collection. CTA was a total scifi book starring some of DC's more scifi characters. It was written by Adam Beechen and was pretty darn good. I had lettered the final part of the lead story; I also lettered two parts of the Forerunner backup story in the miniseries, but it was not included here.

AUTHORITY PRIME TPB: The second trade is the Authority Prime collection from Wildstorm. I had lettered part 5 of the miniseries written by Christos Gage and illustrated by Darick Robertson. For old school Authority/Stormwatch fans this one is pretty good as Henry Bendix causes some havoc for both teams from beyond the grave!

Courtesy of DC Comics.

MEET LEIF SKOGGINS

2008-07-20T19:25:00.003-04:00

Marilyn was invited to be part of an amazing charity event to help preserve Sayama Forest, also known as Totoro Forest, started by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki. The event will feature an auction which will be held at Pixar Studios! The list of artists is astounding! You can check out the Totoro Forest Project here.

For her contribution, Marilyn created this fabulous forest friend named Leif Skoggins. She asked me to help her with Leif's story, and I was more than honored to collaborate with her on this. Miyazaki is my favorite anime director, and this is a fantastic cause. So here it is, the story of Leif Skoggins. We hope you enjoy it!

Leif Skoggins was born a little different from the rest of the Skoggins of the Great Forest of the South. His features were a little bigger, more exaggerated. As he grew amongst the rest of the Skoggin toddlers, he just became bigger and bigger. Soon he was bigger than most of the adult members of the Skoggins, despite still being a youngster. The other Skoggin kids soon took to regularly belittling the giant Leif, who was now the size of the trees! One day he could not take it anymore, and packing his side satchel, he took off for the deeper, more remote, Northern Woods. A section of the forest where even the bravest of creatures would dare not roam. That suited Leif just fine, as he wanted to be alone forever more. However, the woods did not want to take part in this and the creepy old trees began to try to scare the Skoggin off. And Leif was indeed scared, but he also did not want to go back home where he would be ridiculed. So he began to cry, sobbing about all his woes. The old trees, unaccustomed to this reaction, began to feel bad, and offered Leif a leaf of their own. The Skoggin graciously accepted their offer and blew his nose. Afterwards Leif and the trees told each other stories and shared hot cocoa with marshmallows and toast with some maple butter.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest the older Skoggins were out trying to find their precious young Leif, but were forced to stop when suddenly the trees around them began falling violently. They were being chopped down by mysterious metallic monsters! The Skoggins, lifelong protectors of this forest, were helpless against these relentless monsters, and retreated underground to cry about their failures. The trees screamed in agony in a language only heard by the pure forest creatures and the wails carried all the way to the Northern Woods where Leif had been slumbering. Upon waking up, his new friends, the old trees, were crying for their fallen cousins to the south. Leif promised to help them, and in making a few giant leaps was back home in minutes. The metallic monsters stopped in their tracks at the sight of the giant Leif. The Skoggin gave out what appeared to be a single yelp of anger, but it shook out fleshy two legged creatures from the monsters! Leif ran off these scared new creatures, and the monsters became lifeless in their wake. The Southern trees gave Leif a special giant leaf to place in his hat in appreciation for what he had done. The Skoggins came out of their underground homes, and were so happy for Leif they threw a party right there and then! Even the children were impressed and dropped their name calling, except that some called him the true protector of their forest. This pleased Leif just fine, and he smiled.

Leif Skoggins is © 2008 Marilyn Patrizio

BORGATA VS. MOHEGAN SUN

2008-07-20T18:40:00.002-04:00

So recently I went to two of the east coast's best and more well known casinos: The Borgata in Atlantic City and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. It was the first time I had been to either, and I was quite impressed with both. They are very different though, and for those looking to hit one of these soon, but can't decide if you should go north or south, I thought I'd give you a little compare and contrast.

Let me preface by saying you should definitely hit both.

First off, Borgata is a high class act all the way. It's without a doubt the slickest casino in AC. Beautiful chandeliers adorn the ceilings giving you that feeling that you are somewhere special. I almost felt under dressed in my dress shirt and jeans. Not that Mohegan Sun isn't high class, but Borgata just has this ritzy feel that MS doesn't.

The Sun, on the other hand, is more like a theme park. For those familiar with Vegas casinos, I imagine it's similar in vein. MS, built on a Native American reservation, and I believe run by the res as well, really puts the NA culture at the forefront of design. This makes it abit gimmicky, albeit a very well gimmick. I'd definitely give the designers the advantage in the creative department though. MS is just a marvel to behold inside and out. You feel like you are gambling out in old west with caves, wolves, and various other scenic accoutrements.

Service wise, Borgata wins hands down. Not only are the Borgata waitresses a sight for sore eyes, which borderlined ridiculous, they are constantly on top of you, stop that. We were never lacking for a drink at Borgata, which was excellent. At MS, unfortunately, this was not the case. Me and Marilyn were severely lacking in the drink department all day long. Service just never came over to us, sans when we first arrived. Borgata wins in every way in this department.

I won more money at Borgata so as far as games go I'd go with them, but honestly slots wise it felt all the same. I just liken someplace where I win money, any money, than not. Being a much bigger casino though, the Sun has more to choose from, and they separate their giant rooms with a nice mall area.

Mohegan Sun definitely wins in that department though. More shops for those tired of gambling, but still looking to get rid of some cash. There was a general store type place we stopped in that really fit the motif of the casino.

It's hard to say which had more restaurants though, which isn't a plus for MS since it was bigger, although there were more affordable variety there. Borgata had this cool cafeteria area though with cheap, but excellent, food alternatives. Me and my cousins enjoyed some excellent cheese steaks, roast porks with broccoli rabe, and fancy burgers there. At the Sun, me and Marilyn classed it up at Todd English's Tuscany. Both had enough choices to make one happy. I gotta say I think I saw more places at Mohegan that I would go to.

Traveling there, for us being Brooklyn, it's quicker to AC than to the Sun, but also we don't have to drive through the city to get to AC. Just a jump over the Verranzano and Outer bridges, and it's pretty easy from there; almost a straight 2 1/2 hour shot down the Garden State Parkway. For the Sun, once you bob and weave out of NYC traffic, it's about an equal trip up I95 to the res. And its a much more interesting trip site wise, I think. You get to see some cool Con cities plus a fair amount natural sites. It maybe slightly longer, but I dug the drive to the Sun more.

One very cool thing about the Sun was that we got to hear/see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy playing a free show right there in the casino. Free! For me this was a treat because I was big into the rebirth of the Swing scene in the 90's. Borgata had nothing like that, and while we saw a pretty good Bob Saget stand up show, the price for it was very inflated. Free wins in the entertainment department.

I think that's all I have, so who wins? It's hard to say, both were very good. As far as sheer spectacle, I say Mohegan Sun, but for pure gambling experience go to Borgata. The choice is yours.

DEPICTED 7/18/08

2008-07-18T19:07:00.001-04:00

So I picked a new camera recently. A Fuji Finepix J10. I wanted to jog my photography skills back into use, so a small, easily portable point and shoot was the way to go. Hopefully putting up some pics will encourage me to keep shooting. And that's what Depicted will be all about.

This shot comes from Radegast Hall in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. RGH is a great German place with ginormous beers and excellent food! I highly recommend it. In the pic, pal and artist Anthony Picone shows off said ginormous beer. It's bigger than his head!

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-07-15T01:01:00.003-04:00

WORLDS OF WARCRAFT #9: Hey look at that, my second WoW credit in a row! This is a pretty damn good fantasy book for those that enjoy the genre. I mean it's written by Walt Simonson! What more do you want?! Err, well I got nothing, that's it for this week. However, next week is going to be monstrous! Why? Stay tuned!

Courtesy of DC Comics.

DEPICTED 7/11/08

2008-07-11T15:36:00.004-04:00

Is it a new feature? One can only hope!

Here we have DC letterer supreme Patrick Brosseau (front) and Best Shots reviewer Mike Lorah post DC Bullets victory over WNYC, as we were about to head into Bar Nine for victory drinks.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-07-06T20:36:00.004-04:00

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #19: The Batgirl/Catwoman storyline continues, and finally Batman is back in his own book. Kevin Maguire's art in this book has been spectacular, and if you're a fan of hot girl comics you'll love it even more because Kevin draws some of the hottest! Fabian Nicieza's story has been pretty damn good too. I remember meeting Fabian when I was a teenager, and being very cool. He was writing Alpha Flight then and I absolutely loved the book. Cool to be working with him on this.

HUNTRESS YEAR ONE #5: Batman shows up here too in the penultimate chapter of this mini series. I'm happy to say that I've finished the sixth and final issue this past week, and that makes my first full miniseries completed. I'm very proud of this book as everyone kicked major booty on it, and I got to create my own style guide for it. I also became a defacto Sicilian guide for the series, which was pretty cool.

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #10: The second part of the League of Their Own storyline which has GA/BC and crew facing off against The League of Assassins is just as action packed as the first part. Man, Mike Norton is great for this book, I love it. Unfortunately I didn't get to do issue 11, Swands takes the reigns on that one.

Courtesy of DC Comics.

CIPRIANO!

2008-07-06T19:47:00.001-04:00

Awesome, I had a Spaghetti Western all my own and didn't know it. And I'm not talking Vengeance of the Vapor!

NEWS AND NOTES

2008-07-04T00:25:00.001-04:00

This is a News and Notes I've been drafting over the last few weeks, so this a warning: it may feel sorta disjointed.

-So it was my birthday last week, and my friends and coworkers and family got my nice and inebriated. I thank them all! But, man, I'm now 33 which is like a crazy kick in the ass. Hopefully a good one, we'll see as the year moves forward.

-As part of the birthday weekend we hit a few cool places like Mesa Grill and Mohegan Sun. I also went to Borgota in Atlantic City before that, and I want to do a compare and contrast post, which will be different for me. Look for that sooner than later.

-To end off the weekend, we hit some batting cages because God knows I needed it. We hit on the slow pitch softball which was like waaaaay faster than my league pitches. After whiffing a few I finally started catching up with the ball, and I think that's going to help me overall.

-I debated talking about this in a movie post, but it's not a movie, not really a doc either, just hours and hours of director Kevin Smith doing Q&A's with college crowds. It's An Evening with Kevin Smith. If you're a fan, which I am, than I suggest you give it a look, because there's a lot of fun stories here. After awhile of watching it I realized I had watched a few of these segments elsewhere, but for the life of me I can't recall where. I watched it on Netflix instant viewer, which is awesome, but I don't get around to using nearly as much as I'd like.

-We hit this year's Renegade Art Fair as fans and not vendors and boy were we glad! It was super hot to start and unfortunately they had some pretty bad storms blowing through. Naturally I managed to pick up some t-shirts before took off. Got a cool t-shirt from my craft fair pal Viva Ortegacy! and a very cool Brooklyn neighborhood shirt.

-Things haven't gone so well for the DC Bullets losing 2 close games to The Onion and a blow out to the High Times. We did kill Archie Comics somewhere in the middle , but I was on the other team! Archie was short and me and fellow teammate Gary Collins volunteered for them. At least I managed a hit that set up Archie's only run. I played much better in the High Times game turning a double play from the catcher's position and getting real good "wood" on a shot that was caught. We played Gawker on my B-Day and won big time though, with yours truly hitting a birthday triple! Man was I winded though, sheesh! Our latest game was against Scholastic and while we lost 6-3 I managed to go 3 for 3 with a double and RBI. So maybe the batting cages helped abit. Here's the latest write ups: vs. Paris Review, vs. The Onion.

-Brooklyn Original, the blog, is running again albeit slowly. We put up Tommy Lombadozzi's 2nd column so go give a check. There is something major coming In BO's future, so for those that thought it dead, you will be very surprised about it's future.

-While in AC, we caught Bob Saget: Live! It was a pretty cool show with comedian James Smith opening up for the former Danny Tanner. Smith had me in stitches and almost threw off my appreciation for Saget's brand of humor. Saget if you haven't seen his stand up is crazy lewd and vulgar, like the Mr. Hyde to Danny Tanner. It's pretty amazing. He really interacts well with the crowd too. All in all a fun show.

-The Mocca Art Festival went pretty well earlier this month, and not just because of the cool Bio Boy news. I picked up some cool books including Matt Loux's Salt Water Taffy, which was completely excellent, and the astounding mini anthology Five by Becky Cloonan, Vasilis Lolos, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, and the insane Rafeal Grampa. But the best book of the con, hands down, goes to Girls Don't Poop by Mario Van Buren. A tiny mini comic on that exact subject matter. It's perfecto!

-Last, but not least I give you Italian Spiderman. Don't say I don't love you.

That's the news and I am outta here! (I'm sure I forgot stuff this time though oh well!)

THE HILL AND VAPOR REVIEWED

2008-07-02T00:26:00.000-04:00

From Newsarama's Best Shots. Thanks to Mike Lorah for his honest takes on my books. Good, bad, or ugly honesty always helps me. I take pride in the good stuff and learn from the bad. So here they are:

The Hill (Markosia; by Mike): For fans of snappy one-liners and relentless action, The Hill should be a fun ride, but it’s one that unfortunately has little going for it beyond those surface elements. Government assassin Jill and genetically engineering monster Jack are products of The Hill, though the nursery rhyme connection doesn’t go much deeper than that (Jack can only be killed by a head shot, which is about as far as the connections go). Although Jack shows a compelling emotional range, from confusion to rage, love to regret, Jill seems capable of only unending bitter anger—the abuse heaped on Jill by her father, for his scientific pursuits and government contracts, goes beyond the pale into the realm of ludicrous. The art is mostly solid, though occasionally cluttered and one of the action sets was particularly hard to follow (Jill loses a limb, which I didn’t realize until three pages later).

Vengeance of the Vapor #1-2 (Markosia; by Mike): Another offering from The Hill’s creative team, this one shows much considerable creative growth: A mix of western and masked vigilante genres, writer Sal Cipriano and artist Jok’s series shows some promise. A brother-sister tandem (Kate and Brooks), searching for their sheriff grandfather, visit a western town under the thrall of homicidal gold hunters. The dialogue is stiff and the villains’ treatment of Kate is misogynist in the extreme; however, Cipriano does tease a question about Brooks’ ultimate loyalty, and even offers potential nuances to bad guy honcho The Heavy. Jok’s art is sometimes muddy with too many lines, but his storytelling is mostly clear and the character designs— though not imaginative—show enough variety to keep the characters distinct.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-07-01T00:35:00.001-04:00

THE ALL NEW ATOM #25: The last issue. I'm sad. This book was really going places. Rick Remender wrote one hella sweet sci-fi story to end the book and the art was top notch throughout by Pat Olliffe and crew. I also feel this book brought out my best lettering to date overall, and I can't wait till they trade it up. I think alot of people are going really be wowed when they read that, it was that good a story. I hope I get to work with these guys again soon too. For now Viva La Atom!

NIGHTWING #146: Speaking of endings...the end of the Nightfall storyline finishes off with a slam bang thriller. This has been one hell of a story too with great art by Rags Morales and Don Kramer, who has really stepped up here. His next issue, #147, is his best yet actually. It's cool to end this storyline as it's one of the first I started on, and while I didn't letter the first issue I actually had redesigned the title for it.

MANHUNTER #32: MH's return is in full swing with Blue Beetle guest starring. Michael Gaydos' art in this book is tremendous, and I really dig where Marc Andreyko's going with this storyline. i think it's more hard hitting than ever before.

INFINITY INC. #11: Here's a book I haven't done before, written by the incomparable Peter Milligan. I liked my title/credits for this storyline, and got a few complements from editorial. Pretty cool.

Courtesy of DC Comics.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-06-25T00:01:00.003-04:00

HUNTRESS YEAR ONE #4: The Huntress faces off with an assassin in Venice, then comes to Gotham! This is sort of a transition issue for the character as she leaves her native Italy for Gotham. It's a very good issue with some excellent work by both writer Ivory Madison and artist Cliff Richards.

JSA CLASSIFIED #39: Me and fellow lettering cohort Travis Lanham double teamed this two parter (he did issue 38) at the same time and knocked it out! The story centers on former boxer Wildcat as he battles a gang of fighters! I loved doing this book as I totally dig this character and it had sweet art by the underated Shawn Martinborough. Between this story and the last, with equally sweet art by Ramon Perez, Wildcat has looked hot and I'd love to see a series based on him.

Courtesy of DC Comics.

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...

2008-06-24T17:19:00.006-04:00

GET SMART: Me and Marilyn hit a free screening of this update of the classic series, and we were pleasantly surprised. I mean I went in expecting absolutely nothing so that helps, but I was quite entertained. I laughed out loud a few times, and overall, while the movie doesn't exactly break new ground or anything, it wasn't, by any stretch, a bad movie. Steve Carrell was very funny, despite hearing that he was just phoning it in, and the rest of the cast all looked like they had a great time. Ann Hathaway has developed into quite the little number, and the always pleasant Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was charming. Alan Arkin is always great, and look out for a number of fun little cameos. Carrell's Maxwell Smart was abit of a departure from the original, more intelligent and more capable overall, more believable I guess, although this is not a believable movie by any stretch. I liked both of those aspects though. Bigger budget than I expected too, with alot of neat visual action sequences. All in all good stuff, especially for free!

THE MIST: I'll say it right away, you have to see this movie! It took awhile for the DVD to finally get shipped to me from Netflix, being on the Very Long Wait list for a month or so, and then it took me another month to finally watch it, but wow was it worth the wait. This is the latest from highly acclaimed director Frank Darabont, as he adapts another Stephen King story to astounding success. The story revolves around townsfolk trapped in a supermarket after a mysterious, and apparently deadly, mist overtakes the town. Thomas Jane, giving his best turn since 61*, leads a spectacular cast as a famous movie poster artist who takes his kid with him to the store after a violent storm takes out all the power in town. It doesn't take long for chaos to break loose either as people start to realize there is something deadly in the mist. From there the story turns into a survival movie as the paranoid and divided folks try to defend the supermarket from the various creatures coming out of the mist. The story builds to a boiling point with accurate precision from Darabont, and you're left just as exhausted as the remaining cast at the end. Speaking of the end, if that's not the most f'd up moment in recent cinema than I don't know what is! This is a great movie with a hard hitting and true message, and you really have to just see it. Go grab it now, and let me know what you think!

THE ONION MOVIE: The weekly satire newspaper makes an equally satirical movie, but instead of being about a newspaper The Onion is a nightly news broadcast. Good transition I'd say, and maybe this would work better as a half hour show. The movie though is really a parody in the vein of Kentucky Fried Movie. Actually, someone send Zucker and Abrams a check because this movie is basically a rip of KFM, which is like one of my all time favorites. If this movie were better I'd probably be inclined to say it was a homage, but it wasn't. I mean it wasn't all bad and I chuckled a couple of times, but most of the skits don't work. The hands down best segments go to the fake Steven Seagal trailers for his new movie "Cockpuncher!". Now that's the movie I really want to see!

BE KIND REWIND: Michel Gondry's latest flick is an alright movie; not bad, not great, just ok. It stars the fantastic Mos Def and Jack Black star as video store clerks who decide to make their own versions of movies after Black accidentally magnetizes the store's entire inventory. The story is silly, like most of Gondry's, and does have its charms, especially during their remade movie sequences, but it runs a tad long and becomes rather formulaic towards the end. It's entertaining enough for a rental though and I wouldn't hesitate to do so if I were you.

VINCE VAUGHN'S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW: This is a pretty good documentary/slash concert film revolving around Vince Vaughn and his band of comedians as they trek across America in their bus on a nonstop 30 day tour. It's a pretty damn good look into what it takes to be a stand up comedian, much more so that Seinfeld's Comedian. Vaughn is always a joy to watch and is funny, sympathetic, and charming in this. The group he's gathered is up to the task, and each guy has his own interesting story to tell, not mention all of them being pretty damn funny on stage! It's not all fun and games though as Hurricane Katrina hits as the tour is in mid swing, detouring the crew and changing some of their plans. Hate to say it, but the tragedy adds an interesting element to the doc. This is a very funny, emotional, and completely engrossing movie and I recommend it.

ANGEL-A: This movie almost slipped through the cracks for me. That would've sucked since I'm a fan of Luc Besson's movies. He had stepped back after directing The Messenger to write and produce a bunch of action flicks. He was probably a little burnt out after the epics The Fifth Element and The Messenger, so his return to directing was decidedly a much smaller film. Angel-A is about a down on his luck small time crook who owes too many bad people money. When some gangsters threaten his life lest he pay within a day, he decides maybe it's better to end his life, but when he tries to, he instead ends up saving a woman, who was also trying to kill herself, instead. The woman is gorgeous and instantly pledges her life to the crook. She begins helping him sort out his life by very unconventional means, and soon you begin to realize that there is much more to her than initially thought. I won't give more away, but it's a neat little love story. What I love about Besson in general is his ideal of putting love above all else in his films, and thematically every aspect of his stories usually follows a path behind it. It's very prominent in The Fifth Element and it's very prominent here. Overall, it's a good movie, so get to the renting.

BQE PRESS TO PUBLISH BIO BOY/TURNBUCKLE AND MORE!

2008-06-22T12:25:00.002-04:00

Finally! Well, I've been saying I've had Bio Boy news for awhile, and at the Mocca Art Festival the cat came out of the bag. BQE Press, mentioned for the first time here, will be publishing the bulk of my library of creator owned material!

To start there's the collected edition of The Adventures of Bio Boy! The wrestling noir OGN, Turnbuckle, created by Marco DiLeonardo and I, will follow that one up. These are both books that are 100% done, so you know for sure that they will be released as soon as BQE Press is ready. I'm told that Bio Boy will be released in late September.

I'm very happy that Lou and Charles have taken on my books, and I thank them for giving the books the release they've deserved. We all had worked very hard on them, and I know that BQE will do them right. They are smart folks with good heads on their shoulders, so keep your eyes peeled on their website for all the details.

Lastly, I want to thank anyone that followed Bio Boy during the initial Speakeasy run, and have been patiently waiting for a collection of the work. I think you'll all be very happy on how we wrapped up the series!

DANGERMART REVIEWS BIRDS OF PREY #119

2008-06-20T16:35:00.003-04:00

My lettering is briefly mentioned, go give it a read: http://dangermart.blogspot.com/2008/06/birds-of-prey-119-review.html

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-06-16T22:04:00.004-04:00

BIRDS OF PREY #119: I'm corning the market on lettering the female superhero books. Let's see...on my plate currently I have Huntress Year 1, Manhunter, the current Batgirl/Catwoman storyline running through Batman Confidential, Green Arrow/Black Canary, and now Birds of prey which brings a few of those characters together! This new storyline settles the BOPs into a new home and brings Manhunter and Black Canary to blows! I really dig my title and credits for this one so keep an eye out!

WORLDS OF WARCRAFT #8: I've been reading this book since it started and I've dug what Walt Simonson's done with this fantasy story, so it's pretty neat to letter an issue. Plus it gave the talented Mr. Steve Wands a break so he could go on his honeymoon! Woo!

Courtesy of DC Comics.

THIS WEEK'S LETTERING RELEASES

2008-06-11T21:40:00.007-04:00

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #18: The second part of Batgirl/Catwoman storyline is chockfull of girl on girl action, or something like that. There's a really fun dog chase sequence in the book that trumps that though!

HUNTRESS YEAR ONE #3: Things heat up as Valerie takes a big step in becoming The Huntress! BTW, the well designed and illustrated covers to this series are by Matthew Clark. For some reason he hasn't been in the credits.

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #9: My first ever issue of the fabulous duo starts a new storyline guest starring Plastic Man! Hopefully I can rock out this whole storyline as I'm digging the art of Mike Norton on this book, and Cliff Chiang's covers are incredible!

Courtesy of DC Comics.

LIVE: MOCCA ART FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND

2008-06-06T12:31:00.007-04:00

I'll be there hanging with my BQE Press pals @ table B45. Who is BQE Press? Well they are just a cool new little company headed by former Eisner nominated All About Books and Comics manager, and current Secretary of the Grand Comics Database, Louis Mazzella, and freelance writer and Newsarama contributor, Charles Q. Choi. Mocca is their debut anywhere!

Their first book is a special convention ashcan comic of Chris Brimacombe's Curse of the Wendigo, which I lettered. They will have postcards and pencils and the aforementioned book, so come by and check them out. Fans of my books will get quite a nice surprise out of the postcards!

More news next week about BQE Press' launch and how it ties to Bio Boy! (hint, hint!)

All the info for the Mocca Art Festival can be found here: http://moccany.com/artfest-main.html

MOVIES I'VE SEEN LATELY...

2008-06-06T12:30:00.000-04:00

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: After an 18 year gap Indy finally returned to the theaters, unfortunately to lackluster results. While not horrible, and not unworthy of the series either, it definitely was my least favorite of the 4. Featuring a plot that involved the ancient Mayans and spoiler: aliens, Indy goes on an absurd adventure to find a weird crystal skull and the mom of a greaser played by Shia LaBeauf. There's some great fun action dispersed throughout, but overall I found it all a bit tired and forced. The chemistry between Indy and Shia is good and the movie does have little nods to the other ones which was nice. I guess Spielberg and crew just wanted a little ode to the series and something for the fans. I just wish it felt a little less forced.

THE BROTHERS GRIMM: Supposedly Terry Gilliam's worst movie ever, I found it to be much better than that and really quite enjoyable. Sure, it's a bit more mainstream, but not more than say 12 Monkeys was. Grimm is about the two brothers making their way in the world as fantastical con artists defeating demons and such and getting paid handsomely by townsfolk. They are soon whisked away by a french general who doesn't believe in them and are made to go try to stop children from being stolen from a local town. The brothers are in way too deep with real magical and supernatural elements and have to figure themselves out before it's too late. Good FX and a fun story with great acting by Matt Damon and the late Heath Ledger heading the cast.

TIDELAND: Now you want to really talk about Gilliam's worst, I do not suggest this one. I could not take it at all. Like Alice in Wonderland on heroin, but with none of the charm. Just an ugly movie with annoying acting by the leads, Jeff Bridges excluded. Blah.

SERAPHIM FALLS: A really good little western starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson, well at least till the last 15 minutes where it disintegrates completely! Brosnan is an outlaw on the run from Neeson and his gang through the snowy mountains of the West, which is all good Spaghetti Western feeling stuff, but then at the end it get all trippy in the desert and becomes a complete joke. Very odd and silly ending to an otherwise good story.

SMILEYFACE: Wow, I'm sorry, but this is a bad movie. It's a stoner movie that stoners may think is right on, but really just comes across as poor film making. Just as bad as Tideland, not recommended.

MY NEIGHBOR TORTORO: Been on a Miyazaki kick lately trying to watch the ones I have not seen and Totoro kicked it off. An excellent movie that's totally cute if not a tad short and anticlimactic. It tells a nice little story of responsibility though so I can let that go. It felt like the granddad of Spirited Away in a way. Beautiful animation.

KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE: This one is a more well rounded story and overall I dug it more than Totoro. Kiki is a witch in training who goes to a big city to hone her craft. Along the way she starts a delivery service because she can whisk across the city easy on her broom. It's a story of acceptance and is just solid throughout. It's cute and the animation of course is excellent. I loved Kiki's little black cat the best.

NAUSSICA, OF THE VALLEY OF THE WINDS: This one was Miyyazaki's second feature ever, after doing the Lupin movie, and was the first of his own ideas. It's also the most serious of his resume with a pretty great sci fi story, similar in feel to Dune, in the center. Marilyn didn't care much, but I love a good sci fi and this one is excellent. Great animation, if not a little different from Miyazaki's patented style, with tremendous design work throughout. Great story too. Highly reccommended for you sci fi geeks!

A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT: French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's followup to Amelie, one of my favorite movies ever, was quite good, but nowhere near the level of perfection as Amelie. A little boring at times, but engaging throughout. Engagement is a bout a woman (Amelie's Audrey Tautou) who doesn't give up hope that her husband will come home from World War 1 even though it's been years since it's been over and her quest to find out what happened to him. It has Jeunet's signature flashback sequences and style and is beautiful in every aspect. It does run a tad long, but overall I liked it.

PARIS JE TAIME: A collection of 5 minute works set in different parts of Paris from all kinds of different directors such as the Coen Bros, Wes Craven, Run Lola Run's Tom Tywker and various other great directors. Most of the movies are quite charming and fun, but some are too artsy or boring or just plain bad. Tywker's short was the best with Natalie Portman as an actress in Paris trying to get a part and her new relationship with a blind man. The way Tywker shoots it is incredible and worth the price of admission. Second best was the Coen's with Steve Buscemi as a tourist in the Paris subway, very fun. The good pieces definitely outnumber the bad, boring, or weird so I'd say give it a looksie.