$2.99, 215 Ink Story: Stephen Lindsay Art: Rolf Lejdegård, Daniel Thollin
I went into Massive Awesome with no clue as to what it was about. 215 Ink should be commended on this first issue’s standard edition cover, which depicts a group of monstrous ninjas, for not revealing the series’ two, er, unique protagonists. You see, Massive Awesome stars a zombie pickle and a Commando bacon rasher in a bandana.
Well… technically, Pickle isn’t actually a zombie but merely thinks he’s one, and Bacon has been retired from service, after breaking the depraved Pickle out of jail in the issue’s opening. The silly concept wouldn’t be quite so darn weird were it not for the fact that every other character in Massive Awesome is human. While they all recognise that Pickle and Bacon are 6 foot tall talking edibles, not one person questions it.
Massive Awesome #1
According to legend (or the inner sleeve), Stephen Lindsay doodled the characters one day to entertain his kids; they found them so hilarious that he decided to work the incompatible duo into a regular series. There’s something to be said for having the backbone to venture on with an idea that nobody else in their right mind would even consider, and I’m truly glad he did.
As with any concept this “out there,” there’s going to be a point where Massive Awesome’s novelty wears off, and the series has to prove that it’s not a one note joke. Lindsay hasn’t quite done that yet, but as it stands this debut was a lot of fun. It helps that artist Rolf Lejdegård is clearly in on the joke; the book’s kinetic visuals and snappy pace (it takes less than 10 minutes to read) evoke the stern machismo of 90s Image, but in a self-derivative enough manner to get away with it.
Massive Awesome: Pickle and Bacon
The issue also contains a brief episode from Linday’s other series, Jesus Hates Zombies, in which the son of Christ has returned to kick undead ass. It’s a similarly wacky affair, but if anything it made me appreciate Massive Awesome’s tastetacular twosome even more.
Silly nonsense Massive Awesome may be – if you were expecting anything less, you probably picked up the wrong book – but its undeniably well-executed nonsense. Stephen Lindsay’s script raises more than enough chuckles, and by the end of this issue part of my brain had almost bypassed quite how absurd the premise was. Which is in itself both a pretty awesome feat, and really quite terrifying.
When you think of Ireland, your mind generally tends to conjure images of untainted green landscapes, rainy afternoons and pallid, red-headed stereotypes. Conor Horgan, Katie Holly and the cast of One Hundred Mornings, however, think the Emerald Isle could do with a bit of a post-apocalyptic makeover. The crew are bringing their Workbook Discovery and Distribution Award winning movie to Los Angeles for a week of screenings at the Downtown Independent Theatre.
Check out the trailer below:
The film definitely looks promising; a restrained, character-driven piece more similar in tone to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road than the zombie-infested/Mad Max scenarios we are so accustomed to.
The Workbook Discovery and Distribution Award is a US “social open source” initiative that’s been set up to help those in the creative industries not only fund, promote and distribute their project but make a enough profit from it to sustain subsequent endeavours. The Workbook Project was founded by independent filmmaker Lance Weiler, best known for the effective yet ultra-low budget cult horror The Last Broadcast.
So, Doomsday showed us Scotland after the fall of civilisation… now all that’s left to make my desolate life feel complete is a post-apocalypse movie set in Wales. Think of the possibilities…
Visit www.onehundredmornings.com for more on the film, or read the press release below for dates and times:
WORKBOOK PROJECT ANNOUNCES SCREENING DATES AND LOCATION FOR DISCOVERY & DISTRIBUTION AWARD-WINNER ‘ONE HUNDRED MORNINGS’
(Philadelphia, PA) -- The WorkBook Project (WBP) is excited to announce the screening dates and venue for its Discovery and Distribution Award Winner, the Irish post-apocalyptic drama One Hundred Mornings.
As part of the WorkBook Project Discovery and Distribution Award, One Hundred Mornings was given a one-week theatrical release at the state of the art Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. In addition, the winning filmmaker will receive a special P&A package consisting of PR, street team and social media support (provided by Culture Shock Marketing and WBPLabs). The winning filmmaker will also receive 100% of the box office receipts, providing funding for future distribution opportunities.
The Discovery & Distribution Award is made possible thanks to a number of amazing partners IndieFlix, the Slamdance Film Festival, Hammer to Nail and the Downtown Independent Theater. The screening will be co-presented and supported by local independent film groups, in an unprecedented show of unity, including Cinefist, Cinema Speakeasy, Slamdance Film Festival, the Downtown Independent Theatre, and more.
“The Discovery and Distribution award is an effort to help give a boost to exciting creative works that might otherwise not be seen. We look to leverage the creative community to help get the word out and to collectively work to make a DIY discovery and distribution effort easier” says Lance Weiler, the founder of The WorkBook Project.
What: One Hundred Mornings screening Where: Downtown Independent Theatre, 251 South Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 Screenings: Opening night is Thursday September 16th at 8:00PM
One Hundred Mornings cast and crewConor Horgan (writer/director), Katie Holly (producer) and Kelly Campbell (actor) will be in attendance for the opening night event.
Every night of the run other than opening night will feature an independent local short film curated by Cinefist, Cinema Speakeasy and Slamdance. Check www.downtownindependent.com/ for programming updates.
Awards include: Slamdance Special Mention, IFTA for Best Cinematography
Set in a world upended by a complete breakdown of society, two couples hide out in a lakeside cabin hoping to survive the crisis. As resources run low and external threats increase, each of them faces a critical decision they never thought they’d have to make.
About The Workbook Project Discovery and Distribution Award
The WorkBook Project Discovery and Distribution Award is part of an expanded WBP initiative to provide tangible options for those working in film, music, games, design and software to fund, create, distribute and sustain. The award opens new channels and modes of distribution currently unavailable in the traditional system and established festival circuit. Pooling distribution channels, making them accessible, and spotlighting a featured filmmaker with theatrical run and packaged PR through secured resources, the WBP Award displaces a limited bottleneck system with an open-source, sustainability model. In addition to the winner, The WBP awarded another 20 selected filmmakers with an exclusive digital distribution access package provided by WBP Award partner IndieFlix that will place them on Hulu, iTunes, Netfilx, and variety of other outlets.
About the Downtown Independent
Downtown Independent is the hub for independent film in Los Angeles. The state-of-the-art facility houses a 222 seat auditorium capable of screening films in any format from 35mm to digital 3D. Located at 251 South Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles the theater provides easy access for independent productions to reach a live audience. Downtown Independent is the space for intrepid Angelenos to enjoy the latest independent films as well as classics, new music and art.
Shelfabuse.com has five eBook copies of Mark Fisman’s Coffee to give a way. It’s a surreal but hyper-stylish graphic novel that will appeal to fans of such writers as William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson and Jeff Noon. A preview containing the first two chapters of Coffee can be read at http://marcfiszman.com.
“Coffee takes us through a bizarre world of insane marketing, mind-expanding drugs, sexual cravings, sausage cars, geometric abstraction, hyperdimensional slavery… and, of course, coffee. On occasion, also fish. Just when it’s beginning to make some semblance of sense, Fiszman adds or removes another layer of reality from Coffee, and you’re left stranded once more, ever bewildered but never bored.”
For the opportunity to read the entire digital book (PDF) for free, simply email here with ‘Coffee Comp’ in the subject. In exactly a week’s time, five confused souls will each receive a download link to the eBook.
Coffee by Marc Fiszman
Coffee will be available from 20th August as a 385pp. print-on-demand paperback (£9.99) and DRM-free PDF eBook (£3.99), both available through Marc Fiszman’s site at marcfiszman.com.
2009 Director: Bong Joon-ho Script: Bong Joon-ho, Park Eun-kyo Cast: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo
Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned in this peculiar South Korean film from Bong Joon-ho, the director of The Host. While this quiet tale of a woman intent on proving her son’s innocence after he’s convicted of murdering a teenage girl couldn’t be more different in style than Joon-ho’s monster movie, it retains his irregular tone and inappropriate humour that may seem alien to Western audiences.
Joon-ho paints a quaint picture of South Korea; one of peasant villages, inept cops and intimate communities a world away from the sleek architecture of Seoul that we are so accustomed to seeing onscreen. Seventy year old actress Kim Hye-ja justly won Best Actress at the 2010 Asian Film Awards for her portrayal of the incessant Hye-ja, who doesn’t pursue justice the Hollywood way (à la Taken),but through directness and charity. Won Bin is the one weak link here as the idiot son Do-joon, a comical halfwit who at times seems to have wandered in from a Farrelly Brothers movie. Perhaps the film’s biggest shortcoming is that Joon-ho fails to convince us that the world wouldn’t be a better place with Hye-ja’s beloved boy behind bars.
Mother (2009)
Joon-ho throws genre conventions out the window, and several major plot elements are left to interpretation. Where does Hye-ja get her seemingly endless supply of cash from? Elsewhere, a key character’s appearance on the murdered girl’s mobile is never fully explained. Yet while the plot’s idiosyncrasies will probably earn it as many detractors as supporters, the irresolute ending deserves far deeper discussion than Inception’s “is it/isn’t it a dream?” conclusion has garnered.
Hye-ja’s quest to prove her son’s innocence reaches such an unexpected and harrowing conclusion that it’s easy to forgive Mother of its many quirks.
8/10
Extras: An insightful 40 minute Making Of documentary, cast and crew reflections, ‘The Transformation of Hye-Ja Kim,’ and a trailer.
DVD released 20th Sept 2010 by Optimum Home Entertainment.
Ape Entertainment artists come to Wizard World Chicago
(San Diego, CA – August 16, 2010) Ape Entertainment is bringing some of the most groundbreaking creators to Wizard World Chicago while also hunting for new talent. Pocket God iPhone app creators Dave Castelnuovo and Allan Dye will be on hand, courtesy of Wizard World, to sign a limited edition version of Pocket God #1 with cover art by Dye himself. Ape Entertaiment COO Brent E. Erwin will be reviewing portfolios at the Ape Entertainment booth (#117) as the company launches a special contest for artists and colorists. From the beginning of Wizard World Chicago through the end of September, submission of a portfolio automatically enters you to win the chance to do a paid back up story in one of the licensed KiZoic line titles releasing in 2011.
Another innovator, Rob M. Worley, will be signing at the Ape Entertainment booth to promote his new book Scratch9. Worley is best known for founding the first website to track news on comic book related films www.comics2film.com. Revered by industry leaders, Worley’s works spans decades and continents. From webcomics to novels, from Komikwerks to Marvel Worley’s work is a unique vision and enjoyed by every level of comic book fan.
“We work with some of the most amazing people,” explained Erwin. “Dave and Allan created a fun and addicting game and then allowed Ape to translate it to comics where it has gone on to sell 25K copies in the first week of its digital release. Transferring a well known property successfully to a new medium is no easy task, but having great partners who understand the world of comics makes our job so much easier.”
Ape Entertainment is specifically looking for pencilers as well as colorists. All submissions after the event can be sent to submissions@ape-entertainment.com. The Pocket God signing will be Friday at 3pm and Erwin will be on hand to review portfolios throughout the entirety of the show.
Ape Entertainment
About Ape Entertainment: Founded in 2003, Ape Entertainment is the brainchild of lifelong comic book devotees David Hedgecock, and Brent E Erwin. Home to such popular titles as GO-GO GORILLA AND THE JUNGLE CREW, SUPERHUMAN RESOURCES, BLACK COAT, ATHENA VOLTAIRE, and THE TROUBLE WITH KATIE ROGERS, it is also the North American publisher for DreamWorks Animation licensed properties SHREK, THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, and Kung Fu Panda.
2010 Story: Edward Park Art: Jan-Ove (Jove) Leksell
“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying,” begins Maximum Lifespan, with a little help from the ever judicious wit of Woody Allen. Dr. Ed Park presents us a world where immortality through science is a reality, where the rich far outlive the poor and the Boston of 2098 harbours a fortified population of elitists more interested in living longer lives than full ones.
This three-part graphic novel chronicles the offspring of the sinister Symbiogenesis Corporation’s Dr. Ken Garrett, who is not beyond using his children as guinea pigs in his quest for eternal life. Symbiogenesis has developed Telorestore; a medical breakthrough that has raised the average human lifespan to around 160 years… but doesn’t take into account that most organs will wear out after only 100, and the controversial Transhumanism; the cloning of new bodies for which to transfer one’s consciousness to. Symbiogenesis also sustains the decapitated heads (or ‘decorpitated’) of billionaire industrialists, ensuring that they are kept connected to the real world even after the minor setback of death.
Maximum Lifespan
Rival firm Eternity, however, offers virtual reality entertainment so immersive that those unable to afford such medical procedures can at least immerse themselves in the illusion of youth. Perhaps what’s most striking about this science fiction parable is just how many ideas Park throws at us. If the story touches on similar themes elsewhere in recent pop culture (The Island, Repo Men) it’s because these themes are not only relevant but likely to impact mankind in our own lifetimes.
Dr. Park is a Southern Californian physician practicing Ob-Gyn, Laser Aesthetics and Anti-Aging, and it’s clear from the outset that extensive knowledge and research has gone into Maximum Lifespan. Park even states in his bio that he currently takes the contemporary equivalent of the aforementioned Telorestore.
Teeming with mythological and philosophical allusions, Maximum Lifespan’s ideas do occasionally take precedence over its characters. Placid protagonist Will Garrett, a pawn in his father’s twisted games since birth, is far less interesting than many of the background personalities. But an action-packed third act does bring the story to a satisfying conclusion, even if the scene in which buxom scientist Lana Pierce removes her skirt to bandage another character’s gunshot wound feels so incongruously schlocky in an otherwise intelligent story.
Digital artist Jove Leksell depicts a world of shimmering cityscapes and sterile laboratories, and his clean line art and 3D rendered backgrounds are perfectly suited to the book’s vision of future medicine. Leksell gets numerous opportunities to cut loose from the stark futuristic landscape with a series of increasingly bizarre dream sequences, and they’re an absolute visual treat.
Naturally, religion plays a part in Maximum Lifespan, and Park offers a fascinating dilemma; what would be the point in contemplating heaven when you’re unlikely to ever go there? How many people would throw aside all ethics to look thirty at sixty, or add another valuable decade to their existence? As one character ruthlessly remarks “Homo sapiens 1.0 had a good run. Isn’t it time we had an upgrade?”
8/10
For more on Maximum Lifespan, visit www.maximumlifespancomic.com for character bios and a 53pg sample. The eBook is now available from the site for just £2.99, with a full-colour hardcover edition ($29.99) to be released August 18th.
2009 Director, Writer: J Blakeson Cast: Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan
Like criminals Vic and Danny upon the unsuspecting Alice, The Disappearance of Alice Creed creeps up on its unsuspecting audience. Director J Blakeson’s low budget debut opens with two nondescript males (Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston) silently shopping for tools, lining the inside of an equally nondescript white van and insulating a bare apartment. Through little to no dialogue, we are forced to watch as Alice is dragged from the streets by the ex-convicts, ball-gagged, stripped naked and tied to a secured bed.
To say any more of the plot would be to veer into spoiler territory. J Blakeson’s debut is a tautly wound coil of lies and double-crossings, one that slows after those first stomach-turning ten minutes and becomes an intricate character-centric thriller. Structurally, it’s more in line with an intelligent play than the violent cockney gangster nonsense that British cinema so often accommodates, making superb use of just three capable actors and predominantly taking place in one cramped apartment.
The Disappearance of Alice Creed - Gemma Arterton
As the titular Alice, Gemma Arterton reminds us that she can do far more than simply looking pretty in such shallow Hollywood pap as Prince of Persia and Clash of the Titans. Several of the promos for Alice Creed have played upon the notion that Alice isn’t quite as helpless as she seems, which may make for a more tantalising concept but is somewhat misleading. Arterton’s Alice is never anything but a terrified victim, and, when the opportunity presents itself, takes advantage of the situation as anyone with the will to survive would.
The sinister, snarling Eddie Marsan is always excellent, and it’s left to Martin Compston to prove that he’s far from the weakest member of this troika as the vulnerable but devious Danny. Compston rose to fame in Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen (though Brits might recognise him from Monarch of the Glen), and this movie sits alongside his excellent turn in the underrated True North.
The Disappearance of Alice Creed is the sort of memorable little gem that shows on a few cinema screens and itself swiftly disappears. The film sags slightly in the second act, with a few too many double-crossings and counter-crossings than one can possible juggle while still suspending disbelief, but the acting talents of Arterton, Marsan and Compston more than compensate for the barrage of implausible plot twists.
Now, here’s an odd little competition. Lincoln Butterfield Animation are currently giving away a copy of their latest all-ages book RIP M.D., as well as offering a personalised caricature as part of the ‘Will the real Lincoln Butterfield please stand up?’ promotion.
Several artists have each illustrated their idea of exactly what a personified Lincoln Butterfield (the name of the publisher) might look like, and want you to vote for the character/portrait that will ultimately represent the company. One lucky voter wins the book and the opportunity to see their own ugly mug immortalised by the winning artist.
‘Will the real Lincoln Butterfield please stand up?’
From the press release:
‘Will the real Lincoln Butterfield please stand up?’
Want to win your own copy of RIP M.D. PLUS a personal caricature drawn by one of Lincoln Butterfield’s finest???
HOW THIS MADNESS WORKS…
PART ONE: VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE LINCOLN BUTTERFIELD PICTURE
The artists over at Lincoln Butterfield Animation have all looked deep into their unconscious minds and have each drawn their own repressed image of what they believe Lincoln Butterfield would look like if he/she/it actually existed.
These characters are being posted on their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/lincolnbutterfield) Monday 16th for your scrutiny and judgment; all you have to do for the chance to win a free copy of their Graphic Novel RIP M.D. is vote for your favorite Butterfield. Leave a comment underneath the picture of your choice and your name will be placed into a Top Hat (more on that below). The character with the most votes wins. Easy.
PART TWO: THEY PICK A WINNER FROM EVERYONE WHO VOTED
When the election is over, every voter’s name will be placed into a Victorian top hat and one name will be pulled from it. This person will win an advanced copy of the graphic novel AND the option to submit their mug shot, which will be transformed into a personal caricature by the artist of the winning Butterfield. Lovely.
A little more about RIP M.D.,
RIP M.D. was written and illustrated by Mitch Schauer, an Emmy® Award winning producer, writer and designer. Comic book veteran Mike Vosburg has brought his innovative, illustrative style to the artwork’s inking, and Michael Lessa and Justin Yamaguchi have created a whole new look for RIP M.D. with their cinematic color and special effects expertise.
Marc Fiszman’s Coffee is virtually impossible to synopsise. There’s a sentient, reality-hopping coffee mug called Nameless Entity #4, who turns out to be a nameless caffeine-addicted marketing guru who is led by a naked time traveller in a top hat called the IT Guy to believe that might be the Messiah… and more weirdness than you can shake a dusty VHS copy of Eraserhead at.
I may well be wrong about some of the above. Coffee takes us through a bizarre world of insane marketing, mind-expanding drugs, sexual cravings, sausage cars, geometric abstraction, hyperdimensional slavery… and, of course, coffee. On occasion, also fish. Just when it’s beginning to make some semblance of sense, Fiszman adds or removes another layer of reality from Coffee, and you’re left stranded once more, ever bewildered but never bored.
Coffee by Marc Fiszman
Since writing these regular reviews, my definition of what exactly constitutes a comic book – or graphic novel, for those plonkers who find the term “comic” demeaning – and distinguishes sequential art from an illustrated novel or picture book have been redefined time and again. Coffee isn’t quite like any graphic novel you’ll ever have seen before, yet it’s certainly not a picture book. The words and images do not simply complement one another but work in chorus. Marc Fiszman creates abstract imagery from simple geometric shapes, and when Coffee hits its stride, flicking through the book’s striking imagery via a Flash viewer gives the impression of a flipbook animation. It’s not only unique, but highly effective for this type of fiction, and only in the few instances where Coffee reverts to pure prose does the absurdity suddenly fall flat.
It perhaps goes without saying that Coffee isn’t for everyone. It’s definitely a demanding book, one that will require multiple rereads to fully appreciate. Fans of William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson and Jeff Noon will love Fiszman’s disjointed narrative, inspired philosophies and sinister disembodied entities, while others will no doubt find it impenetrable and more than a bit pretentious. But then that’s the great thing about unbridled creativity; it’s always going to terrify the majority.
8/10
Coffee will be available from 20th August as a 385pp. print-on-demand paperback (£9.99) and DRM-free PDF eBook (£3.99), both available through Marc Fiszman’s site at marcfiszman.com.
2009, DC/Vertigo Written and Illustrated by Jeff Lemire
With Canadian artist/writer Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth currently receiving widespread acclaim, his previous efforts Essex County Trilogy and The Nobody are justly receiving a great deal of backdated attention. But it’s easy to appreciate why The Nobody slipped under the radar last year; this contemporary take on H.G Well’s The Invisible Man is imbued with Lemire’s distinct storytelling approach and an atmosphere thick with xenophobia and paranoia, but doesn’t quite come together as well as you might have hoped for.
A tale of fear and loathing in small town America, The Nobody is narrated by teenage outcast Vickie, who recounts the arrival of bandaged stranger John Griffen to the peculiarly named Large Mouth. The reclusive but mannered Griffen instantly becomes the talk of the town, and the obsession of Vickie, who yearns to see under the dressing. But as another mysterious guest arrives in Big Mouth, and Griffen’s grip on his sanity loosens, the town and its residents are, in the words of Vickie, “changed forever.”
It’s a shame, then, that the air of menace that Vickie’s initial narration hints at doesn’t quite live up to its potential, and Griffin’s time in Large Mouth climaxes in a tragedy so predictable that it’s rendered as hollow as the body between the bandages. Any story in which a freak enters a town of distrustful, gun-wielding yokels only really has one outcome, really.
The Nobody - Jeff Lemire
Lemire’s overall story might not be entirely satisfying, but his storytelling talents are indisputable. The black, white and blue illustrations depict a world of intensely white expanses and deep, consuming shadows. The Nobody’s characters are crudely drawn yet utterly distinctive, and the work of an artist more concerned with telling a human drama through his art than producing pretty but vacuous imagery. One particular 8-panel sequence, in which Griffen slowly binds an invisible hand in against a black background fascinates and engrosses me more with each revisiting.
The Nobody may lack the emotional participation of Sweet Tooth or the assurance of Essex County Trilogy but it’s an interesting oddity that is definitely worth a read, if more for the appreciation of Lemire’s visuals than his oddly hollow story.
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