Been awhile...

Long time no post from me. I have been enjoying my life and time on this earth with my family. I really enjoy being a father and a husband. I spend my free time either online or drawing. I use facebook a lot to keep in touch with long distance friends. I use messenger to communicate with my two sons who live out of state 500 miles away. ( I miss them terribly.) I listen to podcasts about drawing comic books. And I go for a 2-4 mile walk a day. I have enjoyed my time here in Tennessee. It is alot different than Detroit MI. A lot more greenery and mountains. It is quite majestic. I love driving down the road and seeing horses, cows, donkeys, and goats. Life thrives here in the south. People are pretty friendly here and the town I live in is very clean and well maintained.

My weekend so far...

Independent Comics

I am sitting at Diamond House Chinese buffet waiting for them to open. They have fairly delicious food, I love ethnic foods other than American. Anyway on to comics, I haven't read any new comics lately. However a couple of months ago I had the pleasure of reading 'Comic Fan' # 4, printed by Main Enterprises. 'Comic Fan' is an awesome fan magazine with great page layout and high quality paper stock. A fine representation of the Independent Press. I'd do a search on ecrater.com and find their store to order from.
I have been submerging myself in all things 'small press'. Comics are just a lot more fun in the land of the 'Indies'. I have been lackluster for Dc and Marvel as of late. I still love the Batman and X-men, but I haven't been spending my money or time on their books lately. The change over to Small Press is very refreshing for me...and quite frankly it has been liberating! I am excited about the invent and printing of a new book releasing this summer from Fanatic Press called 'Comics Cafe'. They are doing Free Reviews of any who sends in their comic.
I have also been enjoying a talkshow on Talkshoe.com by Dan Burke entitled 'Independent Comics Cafe'. The call ID is 48818. It has been a very encouraging and upbuilding experience that I enjoy listening to. As an aspiring comic book artist it can be frustrating not being able to get your work out there for the public to see. His show is very encouraging and it has been a great pick me up. I like listening to his Podcasts while I draw.
If you don't know much about comic books or small press I highly recommend learning all you can about the movement. Independents made their mark in the 70's and they are back with a vengeance!

Give it a listen:

Apartment Fire

I recently had an incident at my apartment complex. A vacant apartment beside mine caught fire on the 17th of this month. Apparently there were some squatters that had access to a key for the empty unit. They were using the electric stove to heat the apartment. Needless to say; due to cheap wiring, it caused a huge kitchen fire. Their kitchen was directly behind my kitchen wall and it burned through my wiring and all the studs in between the wall separating our apartments. Boy has this made me re-examine my life and my priorities! God works in mysterious ways. I'm staying with my wife and daughter down south until my apartment gets fixed. Heck I'll probably just end up moving down here w/my family. I miss my friends up north and my job but I can always start over fresh. On the bright side I am now spending every second w/my precious baby girl!!

Jackie Moon!!!

Love me sexy!!! You guys gotta go rent 'Semi-Pro'!! It is very funny I think, and Will Ferrell actually sings at the beginning!!!! It's hilarious. It is going to be freezing cold tonight. It is going down to -3 below tonight!!! CUDDLE ALERT!

I've been watching alot of movies. 'Eagle Eye' sucked really really bad. 'Hancock' was great IMO!! I'm waiting to see 'Pineapple Express' & 'Step Brothers' maybe this weekend!! Until then take care guys!

2009 is already starting off with a BANG!!!

I always have liked the month of January. It's like a do-over or a fresh pair of underwear. A new chance at a new age. I don't make new years resolutions but I do have goals set for the years to come. My main goal is to work and work and work on sequential storytelling with my pencil. I never realized how hard panel to panel art could be. I have a few pages already mapped out in thumbnails and I look forward to improving my technique. I want to tell a proper story with my art. On another note I'm hoping to see my daughter this month. I might have to go to where she is because the wife isn't able to travel right now. I'll keep you posted. God Bless you and continue to strive to be a better person in the years to come! Take care of you and your loved ones. After all Family is the MOST important asset of all.

How did Satan get into MY comics?

There seems to be a reoccurring trend in movies, television shows, and now my comics! Numerous mentions of the devil, spiritualistic rituals, demons, and all things opposite of God. Let's start with Marvel. Fans of 'Spider-Man' know the fiasco of 'Brand New Day'. Mephisto or the devil makes a bargain with our boy Spidey. Which erases all continuity of Spider-Man and Civil War events. Then we move on a few years later and we have my all-time favorite Marvel comic: 'X-Force'. Needless to say I was very pleased to see 'X-force' make a comeback and the return of Domino was an extra special treat for me. But in #9 references are made to Ghost Rider (a man who is inhabited by a demon), and Demon Bear ( a demon that looks like a grizzly). Wherein Johnny Blaze says "I'm going to teach you how to kill a demon."

Then we have DC, and my all-time favorite character: Batman. Well if you haven't heard the internet buzz, or read the forums, and message boards about Batman and the Black Glove organization there has been numerous discussions about the head of said organization being none other than the Devil himself. My initial response was "WTF!!! What is Satan doing in a Batman story and why is he interested in Bruce Wayne?" After reading Morrison's run and putting the pieces together: spiritualistic rituals, demon-exorcisms, and other super-natural references and innuendos, I'm starting to think The Devil was intended to be GM's 'big reveal'. Which really wouldn't surprise me given Mr. Morrison is himself into the Occult and a practicer of magic. I guess being a Christian I find all this devil-talk to be highly offensive and quite frankly unoriginal story telling.

I do not want Satan, demons, or other evil spirit creatures in MY COMICS! I think it's ungodly to entertain these notions in my reading material. I think it is very inappropriate on both companies parts. Hell they don't even mention Jesus or God but they have no problem using Satan as a reoccurring character. I'm not claiming to be a 'model Christian' or anything but it's upsetting to me and it saddens me that my childhood hobby of comics is under attack from a very powerful evil presence and undertone. I will no longer purchase anything Grant Morrison has penned. As a Christian the idea of allowing this entity any recognition in fiction is appalling. What is happening to comic books these days? Following the trend that 'Satan is cool now' is a very dangerous and risky venture to embark upon. I for one will NOT entertain it any longer.