Thursday, June 30, 2011

O'Blarneys Pub

A Harp Lager.
And a cute redhead.
Yummmm!

Hello Cone Kitty?

I'm not sure what kind of magical creature that is.
A cat with a warning cone on it's head?
Is he blowing magic farts? Or is that the toes of the bigger beast?
No warning cones in the danger zone.
I think the Wannabe Tribe carved this totem pole.

I'm not too worried about though, my vacation has just begun.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Whatever floats your.....goat?


Get her motor runnin',
Head out on the seaways?
Whatever floats
Your goat?

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Jungle Princess at Super Ordinary Living

I have posted a special komic kover of Princess Zorna over at Super Ordinary Living, my web comic.
 
Alex “Xela” Schomburg, was a great cover artist.  He did a lot of the early Captain America, Namor, Human Torch, All Winners books during WWII.  He also did this cover (below) for Exciting Comics featuring the lovely Judy of the Jungle.  Alex was famous for being one of the first comic artists to use an airbrush for his cover work.
Above is my loving digital watercolor tribute to (well okay, complete rip off of) Xela’s Judy (below).  Super Ordinary Living’s own Zorna Jungle Princess in a Super Orbital Luminaries issue by Omnibus Komics, my own fictional komic kompany.
 This is one of his many All Winners covers from the WWII era.
Alex also did a lot of Scifi magazine work.  He passed away in the 1980s.
I used to have one of his All Winners posters on my wall as a kid.  I spent a lot of time watching Toro and the Human Torch burn through German oil tanks while Cap and Namor busted some Nazi chins.  All while dodging a hail of bullets.  Amazing stuff.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

News from New York

There is news worth reporting coming from New York this weekend.

Gay marriage has been legalised in New York State!
I'm sure there are some Americans that are nervous about this.  Heck, I know some of them.
But personally, I feel this is a moment worth celebrating.  Anytime civil rights are recognised and respected it is a great American moment.
There has been a phenomenal shift in public attitudes on this topic in the last ten years.
I believe it is a shift towards the good, and I hope to see it continue.
I think anytime groups of people can overcome their abstract stereotypes and actually introduce themselves to the American people, that the people of this country will see them as real people and will show them compassion and respect, and hopefully LOVE.  And that is what this issue is about, Love.  Because love is the only thing that can build a lasting and healthy family.  Love is the thing that makes our lives worth living.  And love is such a precious thing that no law should ever get in the way of love without very, very good reasons.

Thank you New York.  I know this hasn't been easy.  But thank you.
And if that political quagmire they call a state government in New York can pass good and decent legislation like this, maybe there is hope for Washington DC.  Too much to hope for?
Well, call me an optimist!

Onward and Upward America!

-- Jay Larsen

Friday, June 24, 2011

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Eight Panel Mystery Theatre Presents

Eight Panel Mystery Theatre Presents
In Chilling Sensa Read!
by Overton Topp







 I am the Watcher.  Consider the horror of what
has been presented here.  What lessons can be learned?
That is not for me, The Watcher, to say.
I have audited classes.  But I do not take a degree!
Yes, I know this is the Ninth Panel.
I am the Watcher.  Not the Explainer.
Watcher, not Counter...
I watch, but I do not understand!
Continued After Next Two Commercials
Presented by Eight Panel Mystery, with One Panel Non-Explanation and Two Panel Advertisements Theatre, otherwise known as an Eleven Panel Comics Mashup Productions, Limited*
------
*Very, Very Limited


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

OK is NOT a BAD Thing


I saw Green Lantern. I saw the mostly bad reviews of Green Lantern.
I thought the reviews were unfair.
The reviewers seem to want Green Lantern the film to be as great as Lord of the Rings or more recently, Game of Thrones (excellent by the way, best TV show since Battlestar Galactica, No Really, it was that good).  But truly epic films are one in a thousand.  So many perfect things have to line up to get a truly unforgettable film in the can and on the screen, the odds are stacked against such a thing happening.  As a person who has managed multiple year-long, multi-person projects, I can tell you that you swing for the fences every project and try as hard as you can for perfection (or at least greatness) and if you are lucky you get a “good” product, a “solid” and “respectable” result from all your team’s efforts.  But epic greatness?  You aim for it, but you don’t get it.  Except for once in a while the gods smile, the fates are kind, the stars align, some mysterious thing happens (which you can’t explain or duplicate later) and one project out of hundreds turns out stellar, epic, wonderful and magical.

I hope that every movie I go to see is going to be the next miracle movie.  But I don’t expect them all to be EPIC.  I do expect that the movie making team tried for FANTASTIC.  I encourage them to try.  But I am happy with a GOOD movie.  And Green Lantern was a good movie.  It was a chili dog and fries movie.  It was a straight ahead fantasy action film.  And it delivered a good ride.  It was not fillet mignon and lobster.  But I don’t want surf and turf every meal.  Green Lantern was a plastic action figure.  It was not a Faberge Egg.  But plastic toys are fun to play with.  Who ever got to play with a Faberge Egg??  Give me LEGO and GI Joe any day.
And more than anything, Green Lantern the Movie gave me what I can honestly say is the thing I get the most enjoyment from in a movie: ANTICIPATION.  For about a year I got the solid joy of wondering how good the Green Lantern Movie was going to be.  Would the special effects be convincing?  Which plot points from the comics would they keep?  Which characters would they highlight?  How would they pronounce "OA"?  How silly would the little blue Guardians look?  Would they make radical changes to the mythos or the characters?  I enjoyed all of that speculation and anticipation.  A Lot.

And then, the movie was good.  It was fun to see what had been worked on so hard by so many people.  And then it was over.  Thanks, Green Lantern Team!  In brightest projector, in blackest theater, no popcorn shall escape my sight!  I had a fun time playing with the plastic action figure they presented.  I even hope they make a sequel.  Fighting Sinestro will make for a much better plot than fighting Parallax anyway.
I see no reason to give the film bad reviews.  It wasn’t an epic masterpiece for the history books.  So what?  But it was not a BAD movie.

And now?  The anticipation turns to Captain America: The First Avenger coming in July.  Will the shield look stupid?  Will the Red Skull be scary or just silly?  Hugo Weaving is always cool, so I have high hopes for Red Skull, the movie version.  But it might not be a great movie.  It might just be OK.  And I am okay with that.  Avengers, Assemble!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011