Paperman - Full Animated Short Film by Disney

This just made 2013 worth it.

 

Introducing a groundbreaking technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques, first-time director John Kahrs takes the art of animation in a bold new direction with the Oscar®-nominated short, "Paperman." Using a minimalist black-and-white style, the short follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what the fates have in store for him. Created by a small, innovative team working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, "Paperman" pushes the animation medium in an exciting new direction. 

Dear Disney, please make a full-length animation like this vs yet another princess-with-a-sidekick-musical-who-meets-her-prince production. Thank you.

The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Comic Book Men

Currently watching AMC's Comic Book Men thanks to Netflix:

AMC’s unscripted tribute to the collector returns for a new season this fall. Watch Kevin Smith and his crew of fan boys turned pop culture experts live, work and breath comic books. Mike, Walt, Ming and Bryan geek-out over rare artifacts and memorabilia and discover treasures of the comic collecting world. Realize your inner superhero and satisfy your fan boy fantasies by joining their outrageous podcasts where they tackle the burning questions all fans grapple with; what is the ultimate superpower and how best to relive the nostalgia of your childhood.

Love it and am a fan of Ming who is always seemingly getting dumped on. But, it's a nice inside peek into the world of the comic book shop -- how it's mostly people unloading their comic and toy collection...well, of the episodes I've watched anyway.

And now I wonder if there's a Comic Book Women version out there...? Hmmm....

Facebook, Let's Do This!

Happy Friday All!

So I bestowed my old iPad unto MaMa Chan awhile back during the holidays. It was hard to give up since I wasn't going to be replacing it. But, I did it.

I decided that it was time for her to get onto Facebook so she could more easily connect with our relatives overseas since they're all on Facebook. 

I set up her account and began teaching her how to view posts as well as 'liking' things.

Well, she's been on a liking frenzy until last week when she decided to play around with messages.

A Facebook message from MaMa Chan

She sent me smiley faces. Just. Smiley faces.

So then, I sat down with her and showed her how to type in Chinese which is damn hilarious considering I do not write/read Chinese.

Anyhow, she's graduated from liking and is currently practicing to write with Notepad.

Gene Luen Yang Announces New Boxers and Saints Graphic Novels

One of my favorite graphic novelists ever, Gene Yuen Lang, has just announced exclusively with Wired.com his latest project Boxers and Saints. You can check out a 10-page excerpt of it over at Wired -- suhweet!

Now, Yang announces his latest graphic novel project, Boxers & Saints, exclusively at Wired.com. Due out this September from First Second Books, the slipcased edition will contain two volumes that explore the stories of two peasants during the Boxer Rebellion in China who struggle with issues of identity during a time in Chinese history when many were asked to choose between their country and their faith. While Boxers tells the story of a peasant who joins the Rebellion, Saints follows the spiritual journey of a Chinese woman who converts to Catholicism.

I just appreciate what an amazing story-teller/artist he is. And reading more about how he started, inspires me to get my ass off the couch...or something to that effect :)

The Dad, a.k.a. BaBa Lee

'Tis a bit overdue, but here's the latest comic with another one coming up on Friday :D

Special Message from Stan Lee

What a wonderful and awesome thing to do -- here, here Stan Lee!

Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics and hero to many, went out of his way to send a special message to one of his fans. Bowe Cleveland was shot in the Taft Union High School shooting on January 10th. When Lee found out Bowe was a huge Marvel fan, he took to YouTube, created an account, and recorded this message. 

 [via Geekosystem]

COMICAZI Comic Book Spotlight via Dig Boston

INTERVIEW: BOB BUTMAN OF COMICAZI by DIG BOSTON

This local comic book shop, Comicazi, is definitely on my list to check-out/return to. Dig Boston just posted a great Q&A interview with the owner of the shop Bob Butman:

What are your favorite comics?It just changes so often, so, y’know. I can go from really, really be loving something that’s out this week to digging out some comics from the sixties. 

What do you like this week, for instance?The Massive, Brian Wood. I don’t know where it’s gonna go, but it’s a nice introduction to a world that’s kind of refreshing. It’s a little different post-apocalyptic and different take, definitely, cause you’ve got Y: The Last Man, you’ve got The Walking Dead, these are all kind of post-apocalyptic futures, and this one’s far, far from both of those. So far, so good, I’m really enjoying that. 

What are the best and worst parts of your job here?That’s tough. The best, there’s tons of good. We have a huge community here. My parents came to visit this past week, and they were staying with us, and I’m driving down the street, and I’m waving to Officer Tom, who comes in and gets his Warhammer. I can’t go far without bumping into somebody that I know through the store, and what a big outstretched community that has become...

Read the full interview here.

Boston Comic Con 2013

I'll definitely be noodling around the Hynes in April :)

The 2013 Boston Comic Con, New England's largest comic con, returns Saturday and Sunday April 20 to 21, 2013 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

For more, visit the Boston Comic Con website (tho I hope it gets spruced up as the event draws closer)

My Current Batgirl Collection

Some of these covers are gonna be framed for sure!

Interested in keeping up to date with what issues I have and the many more that I'm missing? Check out my Project Batgirl page! (But, really, this is for me to keep track of so that I don't double up on anything -- which I may have already...d'oh.)

Comic Book Shop Hopping Weekend

Bedrock Comics and The Million Year Picnic = Batgirl success!

My weekend was pretty much spent comic book shop hopping -- searching for back issues of Batgirl / Cassandra Cain. Here was the itinerary:

Bedrock Comics, 371 Worcester Road,  Framingham, MA
Mr. Lee and I first checked out Bedrock Comics out in Framingham. We'd driven by it before many times, but never stopped to visit. Why hadn't we before?!

The owner (I think he was anyway), Jim was super nice and helpful -- he found the only two back issues hidden amongst the Catwoman section!

Other than not being able to find Batgirl issues -- for some reason there was no Batgirl section. Maybe someone bought them all out? If so, do I have an adversary in my quest? -- everything else was crazy well organized. Issues were grouped together with a note if any were missing. AND, back issues were only $0.50!

This will definitely be a stop anytime I'm in Framingham for sure.

New England Comics, 14A Eliot St, Cambridge MA
Ok. So usually, when Mr. Lee and I hit up comic book shops there are sometimes signs saying 'no beverages.' We walk in anyway with our cups of coffee and usually don't get hassled. But this time, immediately upon entering the shop, Mr. Lee was told to leave his coffee at the register.

There was no 'hello' or anything to acknowledge us first. It was 'please leave your coffee at the register.'

I've actually never been to this particular location -- usually Mr. Lee and I visit the Quincy or Coolidge Corner spots. Needless to say, we were a bit put off. We didn't really noodle around. I did find a few issues, but we decided to leave instead and go to one of our fave shops which was just around the corner...

The Million Year Picnic, 99 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge, MA
It's our tried and true stomping grounds and it proved to be most successful.

First off, the staff was super nice AND I found dozens of back issues -- score! It was a substantial pile to carry and when I got to the register, I asked if I could possibly get a price break. It was a great suggestion by Mr. Lee because I received 10% off!

Currently, I have a lot of reading to do, but I'm also compiling a list of what I now have so that I can cross check in the future to avoid doubling up on issues.

This weekend was quite the haul and there are many more shops to visit (i.e., JP Comics & Games is a must on my list considering it's in my neighborhood).

Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy Bastian Is Frackin' Awesome

Cursed Pirate Girl cover by Jeremy Bastian

My latest read and most amazing discovery? Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy Bastian.

This epic graphic novel has been around for the past several years -- how could I not have known about it before?!?! It wasn't until the other weekend when I was noodling around the comic book shop that I learned about Cursed Pirate Girl. It was one of the featured books on display.

I picked it up because it looked amazing. A badass girl with an eye patch on the cover? Fierce. And then, I opened the book...

Holy shit.

The illustrations are frackin' phenomenal.

It's so very rare to see good black and white artwork in graphic novels. Usually, the balance is so far off where there's too much black or too much white that it hurts the eyes. But here, I couldn't get enough of Bastian's work. His inking and line work technique are exceptional -- creating tones of gray even in the night scenes where black is the primary color.

My eyes were overwhelmed in a good way. I wanted to see every single detail -- I still do (I'm going to re-read the book but re-read the artwork this time).

crazy,  magical illustrations & textured, frayed paper

Flipping through the pages, you feel as though you're being transported to another world -- think The NeverEnding Story / Alice in Wonderland as drawn by Sir John Tenniel / Peter Pan. The story itself is so well told. A parrot in a fish? Yeah, I believe that. Why wouldn't I? Of course! Brilliant.

And what I appreciated most? That the Cursed Pirate Girl is so fearless. She can kick your ass if she wanted to. She found out she was missing her eye (I won't reveal how) and what does she do? She just finds something to cover it. No biggie.

If I had a daughter, this would be tops for bedtime story/required reading.

I am so blown away.

Thank you, Jeremy Bastian for the inspiration and magic!

Facebook When You're 30-Something..Something

My friends rag on me for wearing Hello Kitty sneakers -- especially at a recent baby shower where a pile of stilettos were at the door with my lonely pair of purple kicks intruding the mix...but maybe it's my subconscious trying to fight-the-power of growing up :P

And, if you've ever wondered what my process is for making the comic, here's a peek into my sketchbook:

rough sketch / outline for the comic

Usually, I'll work out an actual drawing, but sometimes I have most of it mapped out in my head and then I'll start working it up in Illustrator with my Wacom pen and tablet -- building the art, moving things around, deciding between 4 or 3 panels to tell the story, and finalizing the text.

In this case, I originally had the hand holding the phone in the second panel and ah-Lin in the first. But then as I fleshed it out, it made more sense to me to flip the two.

Anyhow, check out the comic in analog form in this week's issue of the Sampan Newspaper.

Process: Goat Cheese is Poo

The poopy goat sketch

Mr. Lee asked me about yesterday's I-hate-goat-cheese comic: "So, how did you do it? Did you do it all with the computer or did you draw it?"

I sketched out the goat with my trusty 3B pencil, took a photo of it, Dropbox'd it (because I'm too lazy to use the scanner since I do all my work lying in bed), and then went over it in Illustrator with my Wacom pen and tablet (the itty bitty Bamboo model because it's portable). From there, I worked everything out in Illustrator.

Now, I tend to inwardly cringe a little when people ask me if I did something via the computer or if I drew by hand. It makes it seem as though drawing with the computer requires no effort -- that the computer magically draws everything out for you. 

Sure, you can make it trace something out, but you can also use a lightbox and do the same thing by hand.

I look at Illustrator and my Wacom pen & tablet in the same way as breaking out acrylic paints, brushes, and canvas. 

It's a medium. It's a tool. It is neither better nor worse.

How Do I Really Feel?

I hate goat cheese. That is all.

A night with Louis C.K. in Boston

From top to bottom, left to right: view of the stage from our seats, me and Mr. Lee pre-show, Louis C.K. thanks to the zoom on the Canon S95 digicam.

The highlight this past weekend has to be the Louis C.K. show on Saturday night at Symphony Hall.

I'd been hearing about him for quite some time, but never thought to check out what he was about until I caught his stand-up show Chewed Up on Netflix. And I kicked myself for not finding out about him sooner because the man is hilarious!

His humor is self-deprecating and he finds those small, innocuos moments and horrible thoughts we've all experienced/had to get you hee-hawing away.

This particular show was no different -- I was rolling as much as I could given that I was still getting over my flu (nothing was going to stop me from seeing him ^_O). Mr. Lee and our New Yorker amigo were absolutely dying.

He ended the show on such a strong note -- even slipped in a joke about slavery and how the Chinese built the railroad. His total disgust for Boston / his hometown of Newton and how we all turn into horrible human beings when we're behind the wheel were my faves -- but from beginning, middle, to end it was a solid show.

And now, I'm downloading his other shows and trolling Youtube for anything and everything I can find like this Howard Stern interview he did back in 2006:



Louis C.K. rules.

Batgirl, Issue No. 44: My Search Continues...

Batgirl, Issue No. 44

I'm on a mission to find back issues of Batgirl / Cassandra Cain at my local comic book shops. Granted, Mr. Lee found an eBay listing for a lot of what I'm looking for, but I'd rather have an adventure and search through old boxes -- that is part of the fun.

Fortunately, success was had yesterday at New England Comics in Quincy. I wish there'd been more but I'll take what I can get :)

This was an interesting issue. Up until now, I've only known of Cassandra Cain as on her own. But, here, I got to see her under Batman's wing.

Oh well, won't find out much else until I can find another issue(s) in some random order. Wish me luck next time! Altho, my life would be a lot easier if DC Comics would just compile her earlier appearances into a trade paperback.

P.S.Apologies for being MIA the past week. I got hit with the flu -- even rung in the new year all sick and gross on my couch. Only a week later do I feel semi like my old self...which means, comics are on the way!