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Comic Bulletin Reviews for 11/19 - X-Files #1 and Hack/Slash #15-17 ( guest-starring Herbert West, the Re-Aminator !)
My latest reviews at 
Donna Barr's THE DESERT PEACH #22 - Lady Luck - an in-depth review
Don't forget this is all posted originally at my new THE GILLIAN'S HEART BLOG!
Okay, first off, sorry for the few days away. I'm busy on a side project that hopefully should get cleaned up and absored into my daily routines in another week or so, but for now, sporadic installments it's going to be.
On a really sweet, look-what-a-good-boy-I-am note, I'm finally back on track with reading my massive, completist DONNA BARR collection, and in my never-ending quest to get people to READ this woman's work, I'm back to blogging about it. I plan, in the near future, to do a whole lot more for her, but for now...let's blog!
Donna Barr...Donna Barr...she's a genius creator, or chaneler of fictitious character's voices (as she'd likely claim - "I have no control over these people!" is practically her mantra, when it comes to her writing). Her art is equally as drop-dead drool-worthy gorgeous with its mesh of incredible detail and automatic-sketch-like freneticness. She's my god(des) of comicdom, I shit you not. So let's look at the latest:
THE DESERT PEACH #22: LADY LUCK
Ah, yes. The rape issue. Sort of. I'd heard a fair controversy of this one, because god forbid the topic of human sexuality and the horrors it causes doesn't become controversial. Conversation worthy is always nice, and worthwhile. Controversy? Sometimes I feel controversy is the only "buzz word" that actually exists. All other so-called buzz words are merely arbitrary triggers sleected for the sole puprose of spinning ourselves into a frenzy of controversy. We love it. We adore it. Without controversy, we live in not-so-interesting times, and that would be pitiful, so controversy we shall find. Sex, rape, genitals, penis, vagina, and tits, will forever help us find it and find it pretty damn effortlessly, seeing as how we all have them or at least are surrounded by them on any given day.
But I'm digressing - the rape issue. A lone woman finds herself attached to Pfirsich's (the Desert Peach's - who's the gay younger brother of the infamous Desert Fox) regiment in Afrika, and so all the men immediately begin to rile themsleves into infantile impishness - they shift between compliments and casual slurs with the speed of the clinically bi-polar, calling the girl foxy and cow and all-around undecided on which animal she should be to them.
The girl, in turn, knowing the army and how men in the army (away from women on the whole) generally are, remains aloof and distant and entirely untrusting. Pfirisch, being a take-carge kind of guy and blissfully naive, tries to smoothen things out by treating the lady like "a lady, which does little but prove to the poor girl that she's been targeted as an object for unwanted male affection - and from an officer no less!
The men quickly decide the uppity beeyotch needs to be taken down a peg, and so devise a little rendevous between another officer and the woman, which goes...shitty...kind of literally...though nothing as disgusting as you're all likely thinking at this point. Still, the question of improper advances, attempted rape, and the danger of following one's emotions be they self-rigteous or self-involved, be they hidden as love or self-preservation. This one walks a fine line, but, as with most Barr stories, the line is more schwoogled and trotted and performed Chinese acrobatics upon, rather than simply walked.
Perhaps one of the most interesting and long-term relevant moments of this issue, even though it occurs kind of as a side note, if Pfirsich's confrontation with his brother, Erwin (The Desert Fox), about the Peach's homosexuality. Erwin's known, and seemed suportive of such in past issues, but here a quick temper-flare brings out that he's forever hoped Pfirsich would "get over this phase" and stop being so childish, and that the homo-erotic stuff does actually sit uneasy with him. A fantastic little dig, especially as the readers were likely (I was) as convinced that Erwin was on Pfirsich's side as Pfirsich was! So this sudden outcry is as effective and affecting to us and to the characters - yet another Barr par for the course. This is drama, mixed with innocent charm, mixed with explicit adult content, done somehow poignant and thought-provoking and touching on a scale I rarely encounter in comics.
And her art is beginning to move into something astonishing here: she'd gone from tight detail in the early issues, to a much looser flair in more recent books, to finally here a tempestous balance between the two. It looks amazing. Here's a full page just to ogle and read (click for larger veiwing):
You can buy this issue by going HERE.
Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary talks webcomics as profitable business
Really, really, really, really, REALLY inspiring video of Howard Tayler - the creator of the daily webstrip SCHLOCK MERCENARY, a comic that's allowed Tayler to quit his day job and work for himself full time - as he speaks on how to turn a webcomic into a profitable small business for yourself. He got ME excited, that's for damn sure. Check it out below:
If for any reason the player below is buggy and doesn't work (it works for me, but I'm always paranoid about these things working cross-PC-Mac-etc.), go check it out at the source, pun intended: http://www.opensourcetv.tv/video/7.html
Many thanks to the glorious DONNA BARR for turning me on to this one! Thanks, Donna!
Mr. Scootles vs. The Inferno - An Inter-Review with HC Noel
The Inter-Review is BACK!
After a brief albeit solid hiatus, as I focused on other creative endeavors and, oh, life, I'm back with BROKEN FRONTIER full-force and ready to pump of a whole slew of review/interview hybrids starting with...
MR. SCOOTLES VOLUME 1: MR. SCOOTLES VS. THE INFERNO
Originally distributed online via WOWIO, now published by ALTERNA COMICS and distributed via Diamond to comic shops everywhere come November 26th!
Read the full two-part review/full interview with creator Howie C. Noel by clicking below:
READ PART 1 of the Mr. Scootles Inter-Review
READ PART 2 of the Mr. Scootles Inter-Review
Gillian's Heart Character ID Badges!
GILLIAN'S HEART CHARACTER BADGES!
As seen on my GILLIAN'S HEART BLOG
Yup, those cool little badge thingies up in the right corner-ish area of the GH Blog (one of the images based on the image above of THIS WWitWorld Blog), those are Flickr-made badges of the three characters we have sketches/art for: Gillian, Nuts, and Mr. Right! Refresh the page and the badge should switch from one to the other, until you see all three. Lots more will be added as the art for new characters comes in.
Here's the three badges up close for easier reading:
Our heroine, the lovable Gillian, also known as "Gillian X" (her super-heroine persona). Potentially she wields the power of Superman, but only when she's in the throes of the truest of true love! Her level of love = level of strength.
NUTS, THE WONDER SQUIRREL! Gillian's furry ears and twitchy nose in NYC, keeping tabs on and reporting back all the wrongdoings in the city! Only Gillian can talk to him.
It's MR. RIGHT! Founding but now ex-member of the Axis of Justice, after they became a government think tank and he broke off to become a Libertarian Anti-Hero the likes of which few comics have ever seen. He's always right. That's why he's a villain.
Gillian X image by Cal Slayton (of the somewhat dated but still uber-cool SHADES OF BLUE comic). NUTS and MR. RIGHT art by the insanely talented RICK WORLEY, whose first comic:
A WASTE OF TIME
Can be purchased HERE.
More GILLIAN'S HEART news to come! This blog is still under development (all these old posts were imported from my older BLOGGER blog), and the comic's main site is equally on its way.
Ev'ry'ting it be comin', mon...
100th POST! Comic Bulletin Reviews for 11/12 - yeah, I'm sticking around, but I've still moved!
Okay, so I'm sticking around here, cuz I still like Blogger, and my WORST WRITER IN THE WORLD blog, but I'm primarily going to be posting content over at THE GILLIAN'S HEART BLOG. Then, when I have the time, like now, re-posting posts there over here. But Wordpress is turning out to be pretty cool. But so is Blogger. Sigh...
Oh, and THIS IS MY 100TH POST!!! WHOO-HOO!!!! Guess I couldn't really just ditch after 99 posts and no 100th. Yeah, this feels good. So what if it's more work? I can deal. (*gulp*)
Anywho, without further ado:
The latest reviews with
WARNING: Some of these are quite catty. If you're opposed to negativity and snark, steer clear, or you can just get catty and snarky back with me and leave a comment ;)
All "Bullet" ratings are on a 1-5 scale, 5 being the highest/best.
That's it for this week - more to come! --Dave B.
The blog you need to advertise your stuff, save $97 in getting it.
READ THE LAST POST!!! Then come back here for major super-important news...
Okay? Okay, so...ignore the new blog as listed in the last post, my new blog is now:
http://www.gilliansheart.com/blog
So here's the skinny on something I just learned, for those of you trying to move to WordPress, or thinking of it.
There's WordPress.COM...and then WordPress.ORG
The .com version is a free blog, like blogger, and still has awesome SEO, but it's not terribly customizable. You have very limited options and overall it plumb isn't worth it. That was my attempted http://www.gilliansheart.wordpress.com blog. That's gone now. Already, yes. It had a life shorter than a lovebug. Sad, but moving on.
WordPress.ORG is the place to go. Download the latest version of WP.org at the site, onto your computer, then go buy some webhosting. Most of you will already have a hosting account, and if you don't go get an account with
DREAMHOST, because they rule, and as a gift from me here's a promo code for a whopping $97.00 any plan purchased - 97OFFANY
That's right, plug that promo code in and you'll get nearly a hundred bucks shaved off the top. A year plan costs $120.00, but with this code it'll only cost you $23.00. How's that for service? Basically, I'm now with DreamHost, and they're a wonder. They rule. Furthermore, now that I'm with them, I'm an "Affiliate", and I COULD be linking you to their site and earning $97.00 per person that signs up with them via me. Instead, I've opted to create a promo code that offers my entire possible profit to you, as a discount, so I earn nada, and you get the hosting you need to have an unbelievably powerful WordPress.org blog. You're welcome.
Once with Dreamhost, and so also with a webist URL name (www.Whatever.com), log in to your account, head down to "Goodies", then "One Click Installs". Make sure you choose to install "Advanced" and not "Easy", and choose WordPress under Advanced. Now choose the name of your blog. If it isn't the default www.Whatever.com, you can have it placed in www.whatever.com/blog Then Dreamhost auto installs WordPress.org FOR you!
Now you have a blog. Go to your blog + "/wp-admin" (so www.Whatever.com/blog/wp-admin) and log in with user/pass. Now you're inside your fully customizable blog. You can import all your Blogger posts, so you lose nothing, and WordPress.org is going to have people find you like never before. Next up will be learning about "Plugins" and how they work. Plenty of tutorials online for those, so you should be fine. Love you all, and hope to see you over at DreamHost and on your own WP.org blogs soon! Expecially you creators! You NEED this! Blogger will never put you out there the way Wordpress will!
Cheers. --Dave B.
P.S. - Yes, "Gillian's Heart" is the upcoming webcomic of mine. The blog will now serve as the blog to it, when the time comes...
P.S.S. - If you opt for the monthly Dreamhost plan (why the hell would you, paying every month, but just in case you're retarded and do so), you'll get $51 off the $60 price. Then pay monthly, which will add up. Don't do it. But if you must...that's FYI.
