As we all know, Yuri wouldn’t like it when Alan is angry but of course we’d love it. Go on Yuri, tell him where to go I dares ya!
I’ve got some good news for those who want to be in the know: I’ve ordered the books. A very limited run but the cost is quite low so if the demand were there and I had taken pre-order moneys I could be tempted to order some more. I must stress also that these are primarily for the Webcomix Thing 2010 convention however and if I sell out then I will need to see a serious show of faith from the fans if they want a taste.
When they arrive I’ll explain futher and add photos.
In other news, webcomic writing idol Krazy Krow has started a new story and this time he’s crossed into superheroing with Spinnerette featuring a heroine in a very dapper Spider Woman-esque outfit. Krow states that this is just a one off but may continue it if he builds a big enough readership. Guys give the man a hand!
Recently I’ve been watching some superb television such as:
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979): the original and best and probably the best thing Sir Alec Guinness ever appeared in. Most people remember poor Sir Alec as the elderly Obi Wan (something which dogged the Shakespearian Actor until his death) but he really made the mild mannered, ultra intelligent and calm English gentleman spy George Smiley. The entire series is on YouTube if you want to watch it.
- Red Riding (2009): very easy to write this off as yet another crime drama but this three part-er covering muder, police brutality and corruption in Yorkshire between 1974 and 1985 is really underrated and holds possibly some of the best acted, directed and emotionally charged scenes in 2009 including a scene where a mentally disabled man stands in a courtroom being charged with murder, barely unable to understand or even comprehend what exactly is going on. Really gripping and powerful stuff and Sean Bean’s part is absolutely epic.
- The Thick of it (2007 onwards): Probably agreed to be the anti-West Wing. As depressing and hilariously cynical as its American counterparts are hopeful and positive it continues to enthral me with the swearing and the deceptive and subtle plots which show a serious political web ever-changing underneath all the witty and bunker-busting one liners.
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Pond to Pond #8 : Charity & comics, Marsh Rocket porn and obesity 101
By Pressyuk on February 24th, 2010Posted In: Podcasts, blog
Stumbling through your front door like the boyfriend who spent way too much time down the pub, Pond to Pond #8 is here!
This time we’re covering:
- How comics & charity go hand in hand covering campaigns such as the Comic Creators Alliance superb effort recently.
- How Marsh Rocket porn (especially Marsh & Victor Black) would be so awesome.
- How there are no fat people in Australia.
- How to smuggle wine into a music festival.
Listen below, download or check out iTunes!
No ploblems here! Watch Scottish comedian Limmy and you’ll understand.
Things are gearing along fine for the Webcomix Thing 2010. May need to order some more fridge magnets and badges but I am confident I’ve got enough postcards. I’ve also gathered together all the high resolution pages that I’m going to send off for the book.
I had a bit of a crisis of confidence and spent of most of work on Thursday printing out A5 sized boxes on A4 pages, cutting out the A5 pages and staring at them for long periods of time. Jules then reminded me that Marsh Rocket is printed in A5 (or something near it, its out by a centermeter so no bother) so when I got home I spent a while staring at that too.
In the end, I went along with A5 anyway and so hopefully by the end of the month I will have placed an order for 30 A5 copies of the Hard-Graft book 
Any that I fail to sell at the Webcomix Thing will be put on sale here. Price will be at most around £3.50 – £4 inc P&P and I’ll chuck in anything that I have left (fridge magnets, badges, postcards, etc).
One thing I’m stuck on is the whole signing thing. Plenty of artists and/or creators sign their books and include nice sketches and so forth. I however am to drawing what Eddie the Eagle was to the Ski jump so the best I could do would be a signature and some stick figures? Hope thats okay everyone!
Also checked up on the Fan Map and saw thats its roughly doubled in size! Hello to new (or existing) readers Vilem (Spain), Jeremy (Utah, USA), Chantal (Calgary, CA), Valeria (Russia) and Someone Else & Thomas in New South Wales, Australia!
I had spoken about real ale mavericks Brewdog previously but since then they’ve gone a step further and released a 41% beer, taking (or re-taking) the title of “worlds strongest beer”!
I could waffle on but check the video after the break..
↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Thursday evening is an eventful one here for myself and possibly a celebration of British values. Something that happens (on varying days of course not everything happens on a thursday) from Lands end in the people’s republic of Cornwall all the way up to the very Scottish Shetland Islands in the far North East.
This is the age old practice of popping to your local pub with your mates, paying a pound, taking a sheet and a pen and spending two or three hours bickering over questions posed by a popular local guy acting as quiz master for the chance to win a sizable cash prize of between £50 – £250.
Ladies and Gents welcome to the world of the pub quiz. Something that is rivaled only by Trivial Pursuit (or dispute) for its ability to divide and unite in equal almost simoutaneous measure.
When I was a child, I was brought up to respect an opinion and respect the right of someone to voice that opinion. He or she may be right or they may be talking utter tripe but they have the right to say that. And trust me, in my household it was dog eat dog and if you either could not or would not stand by your opinions you will lose a debate but my family would always hear you out first. I have a lot of respect for that.
For example I respect the right of Hugo Chavez to have an hour long rant once or twice a week on his nice TV show Alo Presidente and on the opposite side of the political spectrum I respect the right of BNP Leader and arch-racist Nick Griffin to go on a national debate show in the UK to voice his foul politics.
What I do not respect is someone in academic authority who is behind a successful photo-comic/sketch page/whatever reading an opinion column which has the temerity to say that their comic is not a comic and then use his superior platform to galvanise his or her audience into attacking that column. That is utterly and completely wrong and someone in that position should know better.
My opinion? I don’t agree with Jules on some points. I think there are great and successful photo comics but I don’t think certain ones are comics rather they’re intelligent sketch pages such as those that belong in a well to do publication like Punch or The New Yorker.
But do I think she is arrogant, ignorant, idiotic, ridiculous or just plain bitchy? No! Because she presented her arguments calmly and logically from a professional point of view. That is her opinion guys deal with it. Don’t get angry, don’t shout at her because she decided to speak up, debate with her!
The treatment that she has received in the past 24 – 48 hours has been nothing short of shameful. She has been made to walk outside, stand on a chair be tarred and painted, bow for hours on end and wear a sign saying “I’m an idiot” while the baying mob (currently at 120 comments at the time of writing) criticize her endlessly and repeatedly.
We claim that we live in an enlightened and civilised society and that we enjoy the freedoms that people had died to defend time and time again. We look at the likes of China and scoff at their endless cycles of violence, mayhem and mob lynchings when we fail to realise that our own actions echo those very same horrible periods of history.
People should be made to read Li Zhensheng’s experiences and look at his photos. They should read abut the son whose father, the Helionjiang Party Secretary, was condemned and punished for days simply for being too old and “elitist” and how this son who tried to speak out, to voice his opinion, was gagged with a dirty sock and condemned himself.
Several days later he fell out of the window of the building he was being held at. The mob said it was suicide but in their hearts they know what really happened.
Today I look at that poor soul and I feel that he was the lucky one.
