Dog Mountain!

Today Ariel and I conquered Dog Mountain and now our bodies have fallen apart. Dog Mountain is about a 4 mile hike straight upward on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge and totally beautiful.

i recommend

One of the most important documentaries I've ever seen. You have to see it. Watch it in two parts on Google videos or just rent it like I did.
PART 1.
PART 2.

more old comics

Here's a strip I did about a year ago for Not My Small Diary.

Press Check!

This is probably not exciting for you but it is for me. Just got the press check for NEPTUNE and everything looks good. I can't wait until it's all done.

I recommend

This new documentary about the largest community garden in the U.S. is kind of like this year's "Who Killed The Electric Car." While you might walk away from this film with a feeling of devastation, you should see this film because it will make you want to do something good. The film is filled with amazing and beautiful real people and their fight to save their community. See it.

If you still haven't seen it

The father of Blaxploitation and and champion of Independent Cinema, Melvin Van Peebles and one of his earliest films is totally amazing. In Big Plans 3 I drew him, and came within close proximity of him at the Academy Awards but failed to mention this. I only mentioned his son Mario because he had just made "BAADASSSSS!" that year which dramatizes his father's making of "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." Looking at those drawings above reminds me that my cartooning has come a long way. And that poster for "Sweetback" is totally amazing.

Take my Summer Comics Class at PCC

If you're in Portland this Summer sign up to take my Summer term comics class at Portland Community College's continuing education program. Use the information above to fill out the registration. Class starts July 2 and ends on August 20. This class is for anybody of any skill level, two hours a week with regular assignments. You'll love it. Plus, it's super cheap. SIGN UP HERE.

THE INTRUDER part 3!

The third installment of my story of thievery and suspense is now up. It seems like it took me well over a month to make these 8 pages. What you didn't know is that I was editing "Neptune" everyday for the past couple of months and now I can happily say that I'm done. Greg took the book to the printers today and we'll be checking the proofs very soon. I can't wait.

papercutter 9 review on midnight fiction

Midnight Fiction recently put up a nice review of Papecutter 9.

i recommend

I saw this film last week in my African American Cinema class. It has got to be the best film about southern black life in the sixties that I've seen so far... Especially relative to the kinds of films that were being made at the time. I highly recommend this film.

to the printers!

Sorry I haven't made any new posts in a while. I'm busy getting NEPTUNE ready to give to the printers this Monday, and I'm working on the next installment to my topshelf 2.0 story, I'm finishing up my undergrad and getting ready to go straight into graduate school in a few weeks. Oy Vey! And that ain't the half of it.

i recommend

Today's movie is Akira Kurosawa's No Regrets For Our Youth from 1946. Kurosawa first film after the war and his only film to have a female protagonist. The film starts out before the war with a group of anti-fascist students at Kyoto University. We follow Setsuko Hara and Susumu Fujita's characters as they grow older and as the latter becomes more involved in the anti-war movement. The best sequence in this film was with Setsuko Hara preparing the soil/muck for rice planting. The film's worth it alone for this. Kurosawa was very much at the top of his game so early on. The film is out on criterion with a different cover image.

one last Papercutter plug

My good friends at BUYOLYMPIA.COM are now carrying the new Papercutter anthology which features me, Hellen Jo and Elijah Brubaker if you didn't know already. You can even preview several pages from the book.

i recommend

Todays movie is Roman Polanski's REPULSION from 1965. Polanski's first English language film stars Catherine Deneuve on her journey toward seclusion and madness. This is the kind of film that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

order Papercutter 9 online

Do yourself a favor and order Papercutter 9 online from atomic books right now!

Dairy Strip Guest Week

Last week Mr. Reklaw generously asked me to fill in for one day of his amazing daily diary comic.read it here Jesse is going to go an entire year documenting his daily life. This strip is pretty amazing, and considering how much Jesse does aside from this, such as working on his graphic novel "Couch Tag" and his weekly comic strip Slow Wave, I am quite impressed. Also, keep checking back this week to see other guest artists.

I recommend

Another film I saw last night was "No Way Out" from 1950 starring Sidney Poitier. Aside from some minor flaws this was an impressive and beautifully crafted film that was quite unique for Hollywood in 1950. I am taking a class devoted entirely to the career of Sidney Poitier and this was one of his first films. His performance in it is quite fantastic.

I recommend

I'm starting a new posting where whenever I watch a movie that I like a lot I put up my recommendation. Today's movie is STRAIGHT TIME from 1978. It's not the best movie in the world, but it's on a par with Marathon Man. Dustin Hoffman stars as an ex-con trying to make it in the outside world. It's a great cast, including Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, M. Emmet Walsh, Theresa Russell and Kathy Bates.

Big News

I had a great time at Stumptown this year and thanks again to everybody who made it worthwhile. There were so many people this year that made it a great event. I think this was my favorite convention I've ever tabled at. I probably talked more than I usually do and somehow managed to keep my voice all weekend. The big news is that my 152-page all ages comic book, "Neptune", is going to be published by The combined forces of Tugboat Press(papercutter) and Sparkplug Comic Books(Reich/Bookhunter etc.) We should have the book ready to premiere in time for this years San Diego Comic Con and Portland Zine Symposium. Above is a possible new front cover for the book.

Party Tonight!

That's right. This big event is Tonight, Friday April 17th at Guapo Comics and Coffee, 6350 SE Foster Road in Portland, Oregon!

part 2

The second part of my story, "The Intruder" is now up on the Top Shelf site right here. Hopefully, you won't be able to predict where the story is going.

goldmine

I'm so happy. I just found all of this old artwork circa 1990 from my parent's house. I haven't seen this stuff in years. My favorite is the Raphael/shotgun/explosion drawing. I don't know what the hell I was thinking... But I was obviously a genius.

It's done!

Mr. Means just got the new Papercutter back from the printers. I have to say this is the biggest comics project I've done to date. I'm very happy with the final results. We'll be premiering the book at the Comics Party at Guapo comics and Coffee this Friday, the 17th. See the poster below for more info. That's Hellen Jo's back cover by the way and her accompanying story is most excellent.

THE BADDEST COMICS PARTY EVER!

That's right! This will be the party you cannot miss. April 17, the night before the first day of the Stumptown Comics Festival we'll be having a massive party including readings and drinkings. This is the third and most spectacular poster I've made for the annual event.