tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41491114029158519992024-03-05T10:05:54.090-08:00I AINT GOT NO THINK!Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-89971184192436143052011-10-11T12:10:00.000-07:002011-10-11T12:19:46.347-07:00WIP yo hair...<div style="text-align: left;">(...dusts off cobwebs...) Well it's been awhile hasn't it? I haven't had much time to post here because work has been keeping me pretty busy. That's a good thing mind you... It's a nice feeling to be able to pay my bills on time for once! Aaaaaaaaaaaand I've been busy working on a new comic!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cffEQf6TFEsE58uX_QxblQh9h9hnZlECSW-AwquipC2geGTRDncn9lwiEPe9xSCx9XVEnRPIrThIz4hdrMUJ0Pv6L44S6W1TKnbVdKV38tRa55UJ4u27XU5vNfQoOjqt98o0NEXJcus/s1600/tumblr_ls774zkvIr1qcy5tzo1_500.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cffEQf6TFEsE58uX_QxblQh9h9hnZlECSW-AwquipC2geGTRDncn9lwiEPe9xSCx9XVEnRPIrThIz4hdrMUJ0Pv6L44S6W1TKnbVdKV38tRa55UJ4u27XU5vNfQoOjqt98o0NEXJcus/s400/tumblr_ls774zkvIr1qcy5tzo1_500.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662315180203995762" /></a><br />Here's a little sneak peek. I'd say it's about halfway done by now (due in part to my glacial drawing speed) and I'm hoping to get it finished and printed up before the end of October. <div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtIfI9IVXX7gYV8_GKSaQFYU5GPcksH6UAy4f4ZnHEl-owqdKNNZG5SBa-GniZ9gykQT7_XzR3Z7X_h3eqAUZ276gY1bvKssSMgvKMMG9XW0S0xCKTTY2qSdacxN1WM0opgtRHghcVUA/s1600/preview2.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtIfI9IVXX7gYV8_GKSaQFYU5GPcksH6UAy4f4ZnHEl-owqdKNNZG5SBa-GniZ9gykQT7_XzR3Z7X_h3eqAUZ276gY1bvKssSMgvKMMG9XW0S0xCKTTY2qSdacxN1WM0opgtRHghcVUA/s400/preview2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662315613439365554" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 363px; " /></a></div></div><div>Then all I gotta do is get it into people's hot greasy little hands. That's the easy part right? Who knows I may even finally get to go to <a href="http://www.staple-austin.org/">STAPLE!</a> now that I'll have something to show off. Anyways watch this space to see what happens next. Oh and hopefully more manga and board game ramblings in the next couple of months.</div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-28161706912135173352011-07-01T14:16:00.001-07:002011-07-01T14:20:22.899-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXBKOvxBOK4bllzLlBR2mlYM_RCsM7l4Ph-NRZJ-_Yml5FCc90-sRq1P-wYQ-lOzW5tFRdfDDj2Le0gCkZu5RbuRsLQ2ZYI5MWrnrCBlKtbBhvPgYnWJE2uXLC1V5RKWphVXH8-RVLyI/s1600/tumblr_lnmg5fKvXf1qcy5tzo1_500.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXBKOvxBOK4bllzLlBR2mlYM_RCsM7l4Ph-NRZJ-_Yml5FCc90-sRq1P-wYQ-lOzW5tFRdfDDj2Le0gCkZu5RbuRsLQ2ZYI5MWrnrCBlKtbBhvPgYnWJE2uXLC1V5RKWphVXH8-RVLyI/s400/tumblr_lnmg5fKvXf1qcy5tzo1_500.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624495989558733026" /></a><br /><p>It was a great party and everyone had a fun time. We played a couple of games of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38159/ultimate-werewolf-ultimate-edition">Ultimate Werewolf</a> and <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37141/times-up-deluxe">Time's Up</a>. And we were both totally surprised when Jhonna & Mike and their son Sean gave Lynn a copy of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29839/key-harvest">Key Harvest</a> and me a copy of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28044/pocket-civ">Pocket Civ</a>. Awwwwww... Thanks guys. And what else did we play?</p><br /><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40793/dice-town">Dice Town</a>- This had been unavailable for quite some time but it's back in print (to coincide with the <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/94471/dice-town-extension">new expansion</a> of course...) A really fun and fast paced Liars' Dice-esque game that is super easy to teach.</p><br /><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25568/metropolys">Metropolys</a>- Yet another game from the "I want a copy of this but I can't find it anywhere OH SHIT THERE IT IS BUY IT QUICK!" list I keep in my head. This is an action-oriented auction game with some surprisingly subtle strategic elements. Like Dice Town it's a breeze to teach and it's proven to be very popular.</p><br /><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/65200/asteroyds">Asteroyds</a>- One of my faves. It's like <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18/roborally">Robo Rally</a> in that you have to "program" your ship to race through space to collect glyphs and win the game. The catch is that you have 50 seconds to program your ship and you have to take into account the trajectories of those pesky 'roids who are more than happy to smash into you. Crashes and lols were had by all.</p><br /><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/72800/roadzters">Roadzters</a>- My collection had been lacking a dexterity game so I got a copy of this. It's like <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150/pitchcar">Pitchcar</a> but instead of flicking discs around the track you play using the Z-Ball which is this interesting little marble-sized guy with weighted ball-bearings inside so it will travel a distance and then stop. I've heard with some practice you can actually put some spin on the ball and execute some pretty impressive turns.</p>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-31299585780216707792011-05-31T11:53:00.000-07:002011-05-31T12:23:08.649-07:00ANOTHER gaming party!?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW9ieiGcBI0swC6vUum6yQ4QX0aBlyKFz5v-_w52K9p9J2Wb5oLwDRCwxaOO0ccJR8yELsmWds7abP7vOVI6x4J4Y3OWzUn4-1IBiEkbWrs24flMZVM5SN8dRK_MmQTwOYJDsLFY2oGE/s1600/gamingparty.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 341px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW9ieiGcBI0swC6vUum6yQ4QX0aBlyKFz5v-_w52K9p9J2Wb5oLwDRCwxaOO0ccJR8yELsmWds7abP7vOVI6x4J4Y3OWzUn4-1IBiEkbWrs24flMZVM5SN8dRK_MmQTwOYJDsLFY2oGE/s400/gamingparty.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612957630558589186" /></a>Memorial Day came and went and what better way to celebrate the holiday than to have friends over and play some games! We had a great turnout and the party lasted all day and well into the night and we managed to get in some great gaming...<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54998/cyclades">Cyclades</a>- Lynn had been wanting to pick this one up ever since she'd played it at one of the meetups. We had five players all struggling for control of ancient Greece and frantically bidding to win favor with the Gods and John managed to sneak a victory out from under our noses by amassing four philosopher cards to construct a second metropolis.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38159/ultimate-werewolf-ultimate-edition">Ultimate Werewolf</a>- After Cyclades more people had shown up and we started playing UW. Unlike standard Werewolf, the ultimate version has a variety of roles you can assign to players to keep things interesting. Like the Priest who can choose one player a night to protect from being killed. Or the Cursed Villager who turns into a werewolf if he's attacked. It was a lot of fun and I think it's pretty much my favorite party game.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/83330/mansions-of-madness">Mansions of Madness</a>- We'd picked this one up on our last round of game buying. It's a Lovecraft themed exploration game that takes place in Fantasy Flight's Arkham Asylumn universe. This was a loooooong one. Don't get me wrong, I love this game. It's just that set-up takes quite a while and the game itself lasted about four hours! It was a gas. The investigators struggled bravely against and endless horde of zomibes and in the end solved the mystery and ended the horrible curse. Huzzah!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43022/yomi">Yomi</a>- Following in <a href="http://www.sirlingames.com/">Dave Sirlin's</a> tradition of games with simple yet deep mechanics and good player balance Yomi is Janken/War-esque card game mimicing a fighting game. I'd really been wanting to play this but by the time I got around to it it was the end of the night and I was pretty worn out. Still I really liked what I saw and wouldn't mind playing it again.</div><div><br /></div><div>We're glad the party was a success and we can't wait for the next one. Of course we need to recover from this one first...</div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-40537469176617742912011-05-13T10:41:00.001-07:002011-05-13T11:17:46.944-07:00Steve Mellor is hella rad...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NQR4DWKRhgsBqk1q7PAxTu5hbTkWOhlolNEHmA00nw7RODE_17ByoyPGWLln4X2fnW8J86YMzhUXZORE8sK5UiONRl5QJS06MQH9FCFA5KwrJTWi_M0RhtpMb4AkCTpQntqHWdRtQTI/s1600/RockLobsterSm.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NQR4DWKRhgsBqk1q7PAxTu5hbTkWOhlolNEHmA00nw7RODE_17ByoyPGWLln4X2fnW8J86YMzhUXZORE8sK5UiONRl5QJS06MQH9FCFA5KwrJTWi_M0RhtpMb4AkCTpQntqHWdRtQTI/s400/RockLobsterSm.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606257399697871026" /></a><br /><div>Back when I was a kid Iwas dimly aware of the fact that there was more to comics than just the stuff on the spinner rack at TG&Y. Of course nobody is going to sell undergrounds to a ten year old so I did the next best thing and indulged in the teen humor mags du jour. Mad and Cracked were my drugs of choice but one title I'd flip through every now and then was Marvel's CRAZY! As a whole I thought Crazy was pretty lackluster but there was one thing about that magazine that made it worth picking up. Steve Mellor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mellor's work was unlike anything I'd seen before. His style combined the big-footed/classic comics influences of the Crumb/Zap crowd but at the same time forged new ground with an almost punk rock vibe. I remember his feature the "Kinetic Kids" in which he'd draw a comic strip that spanned a couple of pages and then you'd flip between the pages and it would act like a flipbook. Clever fun stuff. He also did a ton of work on the Spectacular Spider-Ham.</div><div><br /></div><div>I loved this guy's work and it had a pretty big influence on my own style. Sadly rumor has it that he's given up the art game for acting. Oh well. He made a lot of great stuff and for that I say thanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you'd like to check out some of his work go over to <a href="http://cartoonretro.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve%20Mellor">Shane Gline's Cartoon Retro blog</a>. He has posted a TON of Mr.Mellor's work (Thx Shane!) and also go to the <a href="http://www.bigblogcomics.com/2010/09/steve-mellor-squishes-superheroes.html">Big Blog of Kids Comics to check out Steve's classic "Goose Rider" story</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh... And pop over to <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/">my Tumblr to see some of the Kinetic Kids panels in action</a>.</div><div><div><br /></div></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-71488936200764426902011-04-23T14:33:00.000-07:002011-04-23T14:35:32.461-07:00Happytown!<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEzUWz2S1np_E-CkSLqJ1bA-hKGJjldQu3r4TgO6TjzmTW3gT_K9PV2hZhvNkHQJlKZorRZpyPYWBFZ_N-nctZea55a4YL8qQS7sCu0tJ0_qICLoF8gVJyYAWymLQjtKb3Dzar8VUly4/s400/happytown01.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598895568433317650" /><a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/4873679287">Hey kids! COMICS! Go check out my latest over on my Tumblr</a>...Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-76238057787639049962011-03-30T14:35:00.000-07:002011-04-06T11:43:06.171-07:00PAR-TAYYYYY!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAxEYOqZz6ZPgC9xZAJfU19UEW1-WmvBTApupHu5j4d5UOSF6zkv1BJdvtSdWgHI0cUd7kDkj8xMPsjS45BOymlHyYnVaCGlLF_IJghWf7hSKoFX0IpeJ-UHyr0tYCoqly3IJJ-3I3Vg/s1600/gameparty.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 398px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAxEYOqZz6ZPgC9xZAJfU19UEW1-WmvBTApupHu5j4d5UOSF6zkv1BJdvtSdWgHI0cUd7kDkj8xMPsjS45BOymlHyYnVaCGlLF_IJghWf7hSKoFX0IpeJ-UHyr0tYCoqly3IJJ-3I3Vg/s400/gameparty.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589990222922643218" /></a><br /><p><br /></p><p>Guess who threw an awesome gaming party last night? This guy right here... and his wife... who did the lion's share of the work. :) We had a bunch of people over and got to break in a bunch of new games we'd picked up recently.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54433/nanuk">Nanuk</a>: One of our guests brought this. All eight of us played (it plays up to ten people!) and it's kinda like Liar's Dice except instead of dice you've got cards and it's all wrapped up in an Eskimo theme. Quick and fun, would play again.</p><br /><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20963/fury-of-dracula">The Fury of Dracula</a>: Ok, we've played this one before many times but we finally bought our own copy so we won't have to borrow Aaron's anymore. Bit of a marathon session on this one seeing as how all the hunters were newbiew who had to learn the copious rules but they played a good game. They tracked down Dracula and VanHellsing killed him after sustining two bites and having only ONE point of health left!</p><br /><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/67928/puzzle-strike">Puzzle Strike</a>: It's like Dominion meets Puzzle Fighter Turbo and they have a sexy baby. This little gem was designed by Dave Sirlin, a guy who used to work on designing video games (notably fighting games) so he's very much aware of things like challenge and player ballance. Every turn players ante a gem into their gem pile. If your pile totals 10 or more you lose so you have to combine little gems into big gems and them crash them into your opponents. Lots of mean attacks and cool powers make this a fun game.</p><br /><p><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2653/survive">Survive</a>: I have been dying to get a copy of this ever since I heard it was going to be reprinted. Players must get their peoples (with hidden point values) off of a slowly sinking island. To sink the island each player must remove an island tile on their turn. Some island tiles give you helpful stuff (swim to safety, extra boat) but most of them have things that seriously bone you (whales, sharks and of course sea monsters!) Through a some smart playing and a little luck I won. Woo-hoo!</p><br /><p>All in all we had a great time and hopefully this will be the first in a long line of gaming related soirees.</p>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-79607247363765429372011-03-12T10:53:00.000-08:002011-03-12T12:13:47.478-08:00Never shall the two Dicks meet...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGN7Qp6US_JWY_Th6a4UDCJtwkDF_7c6SRF4ozjYWASlkFk09uVmlsl3mIIaSZvrDUSCZINeNFVyA4RCIZUvFwq-HtZfFcr1z4pyBX8JXHvVG3dWrS75D92U1ZAtC1ALB75Z641dJq3k/s1600/Dick_Tracy224g.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 123px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGN7Qp6US_JWY_Th6a4UDCJtwkDF_7c6SRF4ozjYWASlkFk09uVmlsl3mIIaSZvrDUSCZINeNFVyA4RCIZUvFwq-HtZfFcr1z4pyBX8JXHvVG3dWrS75D92U1ZAtC1ALB75Z641dJq3k/s400/Dick_Tracy224g.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583269280588286226" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u><br /></u></span></div><div><p><a href="http://www.tcj.com/dick-locher-and-dick-tracy/">Dick Locher calls it quits on Dick Tracy</a> and I gotta confess I've got some mixed feelings about that. On the one hand I've never liked the idea of "legacy" strips. As far as I'm concerned Dick Tracy died with Chester Gould.</p><p>On the other hand Locher's take on America's favorite detective was <a href="http://joshreads.com/?cat=54">one of the strangest things to grace the comic pages</a>. His art had this dense, almost expressionistic, quality to it. Storylines meandered all over the place for months on end like some sort of mash-up between a fever dream and a Samuel Beckett play.</p><p>And true Dick Tracy fashion the villains met their fates in some creatively gruesome ways. Killed by a falling wind generator, blinded by perfume, dental-electrocution, crushed by a plane during a play... To top off his run on the strip Mr.Locher has given us a frog-faced serial killer being eaten by rats in a granary during a thunderstorm. Shine on you crazy diamond.</p></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-87097940679761580692011-03-04T09:55:00.001-08:002011-03-10T10:29:35.903-08:0040 whacks with a Top Shelf AX<div>You know the funny thing is about a couple of years ago when <a href="http://www.lastgasp.com/d/32824/">Tokyo Zombie</a> came out I went ahead and purchased several issues of <a href="http://www.seirinkogeisha.com/ax/">AX</a> (the de-facto spiritual successor to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garo_(magazine)">Garo</a>) from <a href="http://www.lastgasp.com/d/23659/">Last Gasp</a> figuring, "There's pretty much no way I'll ever see this in English." Well wouldn't you know that <a href="http://www.topshelfcomix.com/">Top Shelf</a> would have to go and prove me wrong by releasing <a href="http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/ax-vol-1-a-collection-of-alternative-manga/645">an English language version of the eclectic bi-monthly indy-manga anthology</a> and I've finally had some time to dive into it and I gotta say I'm loving this book.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a wide variety of stuff sandwiched between these covers and at times it can be a bit of a mixed bag. I mean let's be honest there rarely is such a thing as a perfect anthology (although <a href="http://www.buenaventurapress.com/KE6/index.php">Kramers Ergot</a> comes pretty damn close. <a href="http://www.buenaventurapress.com/news/">RIP Buenaventura Press</a>...) but the pluses far outweigh the minuses and we've been needing this book. There hasn't been this in-depth an examination of alt-manga since <a href="http://www.viz.com/">Viz's</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Comics-Japan-Underground-Now/dp/1569313725">Secret Comics Japan</a> or <a href="http://www.blastbooks.com/">Blast Book's</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Comics-Underground-Japan-Anthology/dp/0922233160/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299349053&sr=1-1">Comics Underground Japan</a> (and let's throw <a href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/">Fantagraphics'</a> <a href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1112&category_id=234&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=62">Sake Jock</a> in there while I'm thinkin' about it...)</div><div><br /></div><div>The book itself is a shockingly beefy little tome. You get 400 pages in a compact 6.5 x 8.5 inch package (pretty close to the dimensions of the OG AX...) graced with a lovely cover by Akino Kondo and inside there's wide variety of alternative manga. There's good stuff by some familiar faces (<a href="http://www.ponentmon.com/new_pages/english/prison/frame3.html">Kazuichi Hanawa</a>, <a href="http://www.garandesign.com/day/test_imiri3.html">Imiri Sakabashira</a>, <a href="http://www.don-tatsumi.com/index.html">Yoshihiro Tatsumi</a>, <a href="http://www.hanakuma.com/">Hanakuma</a>...) and there is a bunch of new artists who's work I've never seen before. Some stand outs for me included <b>Enrique Kobayashi's ElDorado</b> by <a href="http://blog.livedoor.jp/shimatorax/">Toranuskue Shimada</a>, <a href="http://www3.big.or.jp/~t-kawa/">Takao Kawasaki's</a> <b>Rooftop Elegy</b>, <a href="http://izigensya.com/">Shinya Komatsu's</a> winsome <b>Mushroom Garden</b>, <a href="http://homepage3.nifty.com/yukarock/">Yuka Goto's</a> <b>The Neighbor, </b><a href="http://yamamototakato.com/">Takato Yamamoto's</a> ero-guro-esque <b>Into Darkness,</b> and of course <a href="http://akinokondoh.com/">Akino Kondo's</a> pair of charming tales <b>The Rainy Day Blouse</b> and <b>The Umbrella. </b>And there were even a couple of stories in there from the volumes I bought from Last Gasp! Namely Mitsuko Yoshida's <b>The Tortoise and the Hare</b> as well as Namie Fujieda's <b>The Brilliant Ones</b>.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>There are a ton of comics here and this book is definitely well worth picking up. And I just found out that it is official and <a href="http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/ax-vol-2-a-collection-of-alternative-manga/753">Top Shelf will be releasing AX VOLUME 2!!!</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU9Tqa-LHsIip67f1h5Vhb-DKwnsqmLT5JBP9xp-V_l9lDxa29JRSMiBAOL8VnBcVuV1ojpIDTN3WICu7JZ4YhkTEsgjRBlBcIu39tz-S5qZvSxnq2s6qfQBNF0tfsu6EeOwhJdgUctE/s1600/ax_vol_2_cover_sm_lg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU9Tqa-LHsIip67f1h5Vhb-DKwnsqmLT5JBP9xp-V_l9lDxa29JRSMiBAOL8VnBcVuV1ojpIDTN3WICu7JZ4YhkTEsgjRBlBcIu39tz-S5qZvSxnq2s6qfQBNF0tfsu6EeOwhJdgUctE/s400/ax_vol_2_cover_sm_lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581752770757211698" /></a><br /></div><div>I really enjoyed the first volume and I can't wait to see what the second one holds in store. Hopefully we'll see more work from AX regulars/superstars <a href="http://www16.plala.or.jp/fukumitsu/">Shigeyuki Fukumitsu</a> and <a href="http://d.hatena.ne.jp/moka223/">Shigehiro Okada</a>. I'd love to see Yuka Goto's totally bonkers art-brut <a href="http://www.seirinkogeisha.com/book/sample_flash/seigi03/comicflash.html">Justice Corps</a> in action. I've heard Toranusuke Shimada's Traumerei is a great read. And I'm dying to know what is the deal with <a href="http://saruhage.com/">Kotobuki Shiriagari's</a> sprawling epic which seems to involve lots of explosions and people shrieking in terror.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hopefully the next book will also include some artists who didn't make the cut for the first volume like the intricate screen-toned stylings of <a href="http://www15.ocn.ne.jp/~yarn/">Shizuka Nakano</a>. There's the European-flavored sci-fi/fantasy comics of <a href="http://www.minoruland.com/">Minoru Sugiyama</a> (<b>Mother Cosmos</b> looks pretty cool...) And the crazy work of <a href="http://michihiro.holy.jp/">Michihiro Hori</a> who's current series involves a group of high school students obsessed with making lacquered bowls. Of course if wishes were horses it'd be nice if they started including articles about manga/gekiga as well (a'la Comic Art) but I don't think that's gonna happen. Oh well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyways... AX #1 is great GET IT. AX #2 don't drag yer feet gettin' here.</div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-80238672291310969382011-02-12T14:13:00.000-08:002011-02-12T14:24:17.990-08:00AKKUSUUUUUUUUUUU!!!<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIudic4crevYUirSrE2xZB4s7cYEtLer7A5mIVknkKBaFL1WWdROumBe_KYiotZMgzi3rYCtfYUtT8cnoafxZnTT0aEs4TGi33R_zgV5phF0bFfpCAZ66M4zyqRBHupwc6qNWIT3fORxY/s1600/ax_cover_lg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIudic4crevYUirSrE2xZB4s7cYEtLer7A5mIVknkKBaFL1WWdROumBe_KYiotZMgzi3rYCtfYUtT8cnoafxZnTT0aEs4TGi33R_zgV5phF0bFfpCAZ66M4zyqRBHupwc6qNWIT3fORxY/s400/ax_cover_lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572930083343333474" /></a>Today is a good day. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting compounded by delays and fruitless searching I'VE FINALLY GOT <a href="http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/ax-vol-1-a-collection-of-alternative-manga/645">A COPY OF AX</a>!!! Trip report to follow...Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-47822766002976382482011-02-08T10:57:00.000-08:002011-02-08T11:42:15.400-08:00Dude... Where's my manga?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDaEC_HoaRHm-c9d7EBXTNriZMDmI0gGunOdl0eSnHU35Ms8CStXku_590VxR1RwnC0kUxOLPu6i5KTdQKdxzqGNsBi_S6FbsRmyc8o2J9LLF4vhKBUl8KZ86s7ptycA4NNdfz6bftps/s1600/978-4-08-870096-0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDaEC_HoaRHm-c9d7EBXTNriZMDmI0gGunOdl0eSnHU35Ms8CStXku_590VxR1RwnC0kUxOLPu6i5KTdQKdxzqGNsBi_S6FbsRmyc8o2J9LLF4vhKBUl8KZ86s7ptycA4NNdfz6bftps/s400/978-4-08-870096-0.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571400100204419218" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I'm not even sure where to start when talking about Kosuke Masuda's <a href="http://jumpsq.shueisha.co.jp/contents/gag/index.html">Gag Manga Biyori</a>. All sorts of weird characters, historical figures and everything in-between experience crazy shenanigans after being pulled through a Gordian knot of the bizarre logic common to gag manga. <div><br /></div><div>I'm only familiar with this manga from having seen the tiny 5-minute long episodes of the anime (directed by <a href="http://www5c.biglobe.ne.jp/~akitaroh/">Akitaro Daichi</a> of Sexy Commando fame...) but holy crap do they cram a lot of insanity into those five minutes. It's a pretty hilarious series and I would totally buy it if it was available in English.</div><div><br /></div><div>fake edit: Couple of quick notes. GMB used to be in <a href="http://shonenjump.com/e/">Shonen Jump</a> but now it's in <a href="http://jumpsq.shueisha.co.jp/index.html">Jump Square</a>. The latest season of the GMB anime has changed to full blown 1/2 hour episodes. <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/3184483255/i-was-in-a-bit-of-a-gag-manga-biyori-mood-today-so">This action figure of protagonist Shotoku Taishi looks hella rad</a>.</div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-60237374588593734402011-02-03T10:29:00.000-08:002011-02-03T10:58:29.400-08:00Dive dive DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!Whoops. I forgot I've been sitting on the last couple of Tokion/Garo comics for quite some time. Here's the last Toyo Kataoka strip... <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/3089770788/tokion-manga-flashback-attack-8">Submarine Family</a>!<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/5413363591/" title="Submarine Family 1/4 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5413363591_9355365f94_b.jpg" width="642" height="1024" alt="Submarine Family 1/4" /></a></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-537604523901712242011-02-02T13:06:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:15:32.038-08:00Cold n' Crabby...<div>Oof. It's good to be back. I managed to survive Christmas, a visit from the in-laws and their generous gift to both of us in the form of a matching set of particularly nasty head colds. But that's behind me and now it's a new year with new possibilities, new projects to work on aaaaaand a new episode of <a href="http://sigikki.com/series/tokyoflowchart/index.shtml">Tokyo Flow Chart</a> for you to enjoy! <a href="http://sigikki.com/series/tokyoflowchart/index.shtml">GO! READ IT NOW!!!</a></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPP6jgLt5VGx8undVt8eY83xuQIT9P38eRXHPaMxrE0qSwDWexi0KdfdXD32p1x_uUeF35WDwRK9cBmC1fIjdRijYiEgBj4zlxJdfXXz4LLp_Odnp0nCJtUtqXiB4UFh7csAEQbfXgfE/s1600/tokyoflowchart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 114px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPP6jgLt5VGx8undVt8eY83xuQIT9P38eRXHPaMxrE0qSwDWexi0KdfdXD32p1x_uUeF35WDwRK9cBmC1fIjdRijYiEgBj4zlxJdfXXz4LLp_Odnp0nCJtUtqXiB4UFh7csAEQbfXgfE/s400/tokyoflowchart.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569203755268536354" /></a>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-58044735012991160292010-12-15T12:43:00.000-08:002010-12-15T12:44:59.448-08:00We're doin' this......we're makin' this happen.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LNSqlghNIMM?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LNSqlghNIMM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-2114103442702166342010-12-10T13:44:00.000-08:002010-12-10T13:46:42.235-08:00Mashin' it up like taters son...This is what all da kool kidz are doin' right?<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J_4WVNBGwd4?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J_4WVNBGwd4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-4420976267241801632010-11-27T11:08:00.000-08:002010-11-27T11:10:25.838-08:00Oh Snap...<div style="text-align: left;">I made a thing. Cheggit oot.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/f0E3JIjo03w?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/f0E3JIjo03w?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-57921950430267971422010-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:002010-10-31T10:55:42.976-07:00Happy HolloweinerAh yes... Another October 31 and yet another night of kids pounding on our door even though all the lights are turned off. Although I gotta confess I do have a weakness for scary movies so yesterday I watched <b>Paranormal Activity </b>which I enjoyed quite a bit even though afterwards I was all like, "If the boyfriend hadn't been such a jerkass none of that mess woulda happened." And today in the spirit of the holiday I watched the documentary <b>Hell House</b> which was frightening in it's own way (hella good movie. go see it if you haven't...)<div><br /></div><div>Watching those films got me thinking about when was the last time I was really scared by a movie. I mean... really really REALLY scared. Jump out of your seat and yelp scared. Weeeeeeell. There is one incident in particular that I remember from a while back. Ahem...</div><div><br /></div><div>It was the early 90's and I was meeting my Dad for a visit. We had lunch, talked and decided to go see a movie. Now this was in the Summer and the sky was getting dark so we hustled into the theater and counted ourselves lucky we got inside before it started to rain. Checking the marquee, the only film showing that didn't totally suck was Clive Barker's <b>Candyman </b>so ok two tickets for that please.</div><div><br /></div><div>We're watching the film and in the background you can hear the sounds of rain pounding on the theater exterior (good thing we beat that storm!) The film rolls on and we get to a scene where Virginia Madsen's character is interviewing people trying to get information on the Candyman but nobody wants to talk to her about it because it's just too horrible.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally she meets this kid who agrees to tell her a Candyman story he heard second-hand about this guy who's son was a crack baby that grew up into a crack toddler that basically screamed all the time. One day they're at the park and the kid has to go to the bathroom so he sends the shreiking kid into the bog all by himself. After a short while he notices that his kid isn't screaming anymore and thinks to himself, "That can't be good." So he goes into the public restroom looking for his kid and doesn't see him. He also notices all the stall doors are open except for one. The kid continues his story, "So the guy reaches for the door... and pulls it open... and he sees..."</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Right at that moment there is the LOUDEST clap of thunder I've ever heard in my life and all the power goes out in the theater casting everyone into total darkness.</div><div><br /></div><div>Holy shit. For a moment it's silent. I mean pin-drop silent. Then people start screaming. Within seconds the emergency power comes on and theater staff tell us that a severe thunderstorm knocked out the power and all tickets will be refunded or exchanged for another showing. My Dad and I opt for the refund because there is NO WAY anything else that happened in that film could match the scare we just got.</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy Halloween folks.</div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-25559583390880393702010-10-10T13:05:00.001-07:002010-10-11T10:06:32.961-07:00Hey kids! COMICS!!!After what seems like an eternity I'm finally back to doing what I love. Drawing comics. Now granted I've been drawing doodles and sketches and little one-offs here, there and everywhere but I finally decided to get back on the horse and do actual full blown stories.<div><br /></div><div>After spending so much time doing loose drawings in my sketchbooks I practically had to re-learn how to draw comics. The end result being this little number. Any comments and critiques to help me learn how to suck less would be greatly appreciated. So without further adieu let's read on...</div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat01.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div><p><a name='more'></a></p></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat02.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat03.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat04.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat05.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat06.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat07.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat08.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat09.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat10.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat11.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat12.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://rootstudio.org/comics/fmb/fat13.png" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-28394106555278187502010-10-03T10:35:00.000-07:002011-05-27T14:07:55.528-07:00Dude... Where's my manga?<div style="text-align: left;">I've been catching up on my web reading lately and I saw Top Shelf announced that due to a shipping snafu the AX anthology has been available just not showing up in stores. Fortunately the problem has been resolved and hopefully I'll be able to get my grubby mitts on a copy soon enough. I feel like I've been waiting forever for this book to come out and it got me thinking about various little comic gems that seem to have fallen through the cracks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting" href="http://img442.imageshack.us/i/fnassoc.png/"><img src="http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8250/fnassoc.png" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Remember Eiji Nonaka's <b>Cromartie High School</b>? When AD Vision went belly-up not only did this result in us not getting the last leg of the series but I think it also killed the chances of us getting to enjoy his follow-up series <b>Mirai Chounaikai </b>(Future Neighborhood Association) which follows the adventures of a... well... A neighborhood association in the future. Every chapter had them dealing with various issues affecting the community. Maintenance, littering, alien abductions, psychic warriors.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" title="ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting" href="http://img809.imageshack.us/i/tfchart.png/"><img src="http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/8135/tfchart.png" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Tokyo Flow Chart</b> by <a href="http://www.voiceblog.jp/miruno603/">Eiji Miruno</a> is one of the titles that's a part of <a href="http://www.sigikki.com/">Viz's partnership</a> with <a href="http://www.ikki-para.com/">Ikki </a>and I must say I am loving this comic. TFC takes the standard yonkoma strip and spins it off in a zillion different directions wringing larfs out of every panel. Ok, this one hasn't exactly "fallen through the cracks" but I do feel it's kinda on the bubble seeing as how it's part of the Sigikki "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" initiative and this comic deserves a wider audience.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hmmmmm... Two brilliant gag manga authors both named Eiji. COINCIDENCE!?</div><br /><div>And while poking around on the Ikki website I saw that Taiyou Matsumoto's No.5 will be available on the iPad in Japan, Canada and the US!</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh and one more very important thing. In the latest entry from <a href="http://samehat.blogspot.com/2010/09/seirinkogeisha-book-previews-online.html">Same Hat!</a> they linked to a section of manga previews from <b>AX </b>publishers <a href="http://www.seirinkogeisha.com/">Seirinkogeisha</a> and I found out that the gentlemen who I've been referring to as <i>Jiro Ishikawa</i> all this time is actually named <b>Toyo Kataoka. </b>Oops. My apologies all around especially to Mr. Kataoka. And boo to Tokion magazine for getting his name wrong in the creator credits.</div><div><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-12129779859878590532010-09-15T11:12:00.000-07:002011-02-03T10:59:58.534-08:00GRANNY NOOOOOO!I'm still working over my fevered little brain how to get this comic jam thing to work. I really really reeeeeeeeeally need to talk to the guys at Bedrock City because they expressed a definite interest in making this happen (even if it's just to promote their store...)<div><br /></div><div>Still chugging forward on the comic which is almost finished (not almost enough though for my tastes) and <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/1127387338/tokion-manga-flashback-attack-7">I've uploaded some more Toyo Kataoka manga</a>. <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/1127387338/tokion-manga-flashback-attack-7">Cheggit Oot</a>.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4993849590/" title="Grandma by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4993849590_656f214291_b.jpg" width="645" height="1024" alt="Grandma" /></a><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-75113560573904988152010-09-09T13:25:00.000-07:002011-02-03T11:01:01.297-08:00~bonk~<div>More Tokion manga! This time we've got the first of three strips by <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/1093305869/tokion-manga-flashback-attack-6">Toyo Kataoka</a>. Let's kick things off with <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/1093305869/tokion-manga-flashback-attack-6">Building Fetish</a>...</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4974479889/" title="Building Fetish 1/2 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4974479889_cd92020a28_b.jpg" width="657" height="1024" alt="Building Fetish 1/2" /></a></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-24439231089000367262010-08-31T09:18:00.000-07:002010-08-31T10:00:20.636-07:00North Houston Comics Jam post-reportThe first NHCJ came and went. So "how'd it go?" you may be asking yourself. Weeeeeeeeeell... Not so good. Let's be honest, I didn't seriously think we'd be busting the doors down but I thought at least a FEW people would show up. Instead one guy showed up asking, "Is this that drawing thing?" and I had a hunch he was there under the impression there'd be free food. At least he was a good sport about it and we even drew a couple of strips before calling it a night.<div><br /></div><div>So it looks like the first NHCJ is also going to be the last NHCJ. Oh well. I tried. Lynn pointed out to me that this part of town is mostly older families/retirees and probably has fewer creative folks than the in-town Montrose/Westheimer areas. Ok, I'll give you that. But this part of town is also home to <a href="http://www.bedrockcity.com/">one of Houston's best comic shops</a>, <a href="http://www.vinaledge.com/">one of Houston's most ecclectic record stores</a>, and <a href="http://www.jerrysartarama.com/">a great art supply store</a> that told me they had a lot of customers who draw comics so I guess you can understand why I'm so baffled by the dismal turnout.</div><div><br /></div><div>~sigh~</div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder if <a href="http://www.houseoftwelve.com/jam/">Cheese Hasselberger</a> ever had days like this?</div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-53292030391321024522010-08-29T13:58:00.000-07:002010-08-29T14:04:13.827-07:00T-24 and counting...Welp. Tomorrow is the big day! The very first meeting of the <a href="http://www.rootstudio.org/jam/">North Houston Comic Jam</a>. I honestly have no idea what's going to happen. A ton of people might show up or nobody might show up. Either way I'm going to be there with my ziplock baggie full of pens and a stack of sketchpads ready to dive head first into whatever the hell happens. And also... Weinerboy.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4939326642/" title="Weinerboy by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4939326642_76b839b3ee_b.jpg" width="480" height="641" alt="Weinerboy" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-70661742112765145622010-08-21T13:50:00.000-07:002011-02-03T10:32:57.943-08:00FIRE BAD! RIFFZ GOOOOOOOOD!!!<div><a href="http://madamluna.livejournal.com/">Madamluna</a> done went and <a href="http://madamluna.livejournal.com/529586.html">posted a thing recently</a> that reminded me of an old project I had squirreled away in my "Widows and Orphans" box of unfinished comics. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you...</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4913548077/" title="Frank 1/7 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4913548077_933a54b2b4_b.jpg" width="676" height="876" alt="Frank 1/7" /></a></div><div><p><a name='more'></a></p></div><div><br /></div><div>IWATHHFS was a little something I was slapping together many years ago back when I was self-publishing my own comics and it's basically a pastiche of my current-at-the-time interest in punkabilly/surf music and psychotronic movies.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was planning on sending it to <a href="http://www.roctober.com/" rel="nofollow">Roctober</a> magazine but sadly the project just kind of fizzled out when REAL LIFE got in the way of drawing comics.</div><div><br /></div><div>Still it's an interesting artifact to see me make an effort to evolve my crappy drawing style. Let's read on shall we...?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><center style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4914153366/" title="Frank 2/7 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4914153366_3e1a2111f0_b.jpg" width="676" height="886" alt="Frank 2/7" /></a></center></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4914154694/" title="Frank 3/7 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4914154694_5cdb3c4bf7_b.jpg" width="676" height="866" alt="Frank 3/7" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4913554307/" title="Frank 4/7 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4913554307_025eb9f1a6_b.jpg" width="680" height="876" alt="Frank 4/7" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4914157888/" title="Frank 5/7 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4914157888_24d76d65d7_b.jpg" width="676" height="876" alt="Frank 5/7" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4913563839/" title="Frank 6/7 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4913563839_43b0a7b37b_b.jpg" width="676" height="869" alt="Frank 6/7" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4914167436/" title="Frank 7/7 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4914167436_db7d39d442_b.jpg" width="680" height="880" alt="Frank 7/7" /></a></div><div></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-61012044792445877322010-08-19T13:23:00.000-07:002011-02-03T11:01:38.947-08:00Mo manga, mo problems...I am seriously jazzed. Less than two weeks until the comic jam!<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also I've uploaded some more Tokion/Garo manga for your enjoyment. This time we've got <a href="http://rootstudio.tumblr.com/post/978728441/tokion-manga-flashback-attack-5">Jiro Ishikawa's Got Little Got Big</a><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7620370@N02/4907920167/" title="Got Big 1/4 by rootbradford, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4907920167_a32887e7c3_b.jpg" width="670" height="1024" alt="Got Big 1/4" /></a><br /></div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149111402915851999.post-39092153583887943272010-08-10T19:11:00.000-07:002010-08-10T19:18:10.444-07:00Sneak-a-peek<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGfMG43ZITR1wg5Mm8NVlIuO_LYgK0X5KEugmCpMHakp39dFev6rsO9ba7N8b9b18RN5N0IYfBD6xwT1RbIoudc32ipxpAizARV9lQq_KtjvTmsILH0pfvXP8fK0OTf6dDp0Bk2L76eY/s1600/comicpreview.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 228px; height: 327px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGfMG43ZITR1wg5Mm8NVlIuO_LYgK0X5KEugmCpMHakp39dFev6rsO9ba7N8b9b18RN5N0IYfBD6xwT1RbIoudc32ipxpAizARV9lQq_KtjvTmsILH0pfvXP8fK0OTf6dDp0Bk2L76eY/s400/comicpreview.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503969725666047570" /></a><br /><div>After way too many years of farting around in my sketchbooks I've finally mustered up the effort to get back to doing what I love.... Drawing comics. Here's a little preview of the strip I've been working on for the last couple of weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>It feels so weird to be making comics again. I'm practically having to re-learn how to do a lot of things but it's so satisfying to have something to focus my energies on. The finished product will be cleaned up on Photoshop and hopefully I'll have it up for your reading enjoyment in a week or two.</div>Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00376324960867659574noreply@blogger.com0